//------------------------------// // The True Face Of Lullaby: Part 3: Deadly Scereavo // Story: The Great And Powerful Fairy Tail // by The Corrupted Champion //------------------------------// The true face of Lullaby: Deadly scereavo Trixie was awakened by the scent of the night air, and something warm next to her. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she turned to see the unconscious form of Erigor slumped next to her. she went stark still at the sight of him. Her eyes darted around to take in her surroundings. she was inside the magic mobile again, and it was getting dark out. "how long was I out?" she asked herself quietly. She didn't actually expect an answer, but she definitely would have appreciated one... Slowly, she sat upright; careful not to wake Erigor, and inched her way out of the car as slowly and quietly as possible. The door left open; Trixie tiptoed about four paces before- "...Going somewhere...?" she heard the familiar voice of lazaro ask behind her. Trixie spun on her heel to face him, and there he was, sitting atop the magic mobile. Her staff rested against his shoulder. "You!" she gasped. "...me..." he said calmly. Trixie's eyes narrowed at him. "...what do you want with me?" she demanded. "Have you forgotten already?" he asked. "I am to collect you and bring you to Lady Bloodmoon...she has plans for you..." a vicious smile in his tone. "...and who is this 'Lady Bloodmoon'?" Trixie asked. Lazaro nonchalantly slid off the top of the car. "...My employer..." he stated. "...She's given Master Marik ownership of a silver mine as payment for our continued services..." he looked up at her. "...One of which being-" he jabbed a finger into her chest. "-acquiring you." "Why?" she asked. Her question seemed to catch Lazaro off guard. "...Don't know, don't care..." he said said simply. "All I know is that she has big plans for you..." He turned to look down at the extravagant building a small ways off. "...right about now...Lady Bloodmoon is enacting the ritual to release the demon Lullaby upon the Guildmasters' Conference and the rest Clover." Trixie "...none of you will get away with this...Fairy Tail will stop you!" Lazaro broke into laughter. "Oh, how cliche!" he bellowed. He turned back to Trixie. "Hahahah! That's certainly holding true so far!" he laughed. "Let's see how long that luck keeps up!" That's when an ominous purple light bled out not far from the building. A horrendous roar thundered across the valley that made Trixie cover her ears. "Aaahhh!! what is that!?" Lazaro however seemed quite pleased. "Ohoh!" he declared before slowly turning back to Trixie in a menacing fashion. "...looks like your luck has just run out." A massive beast that looked like some horrific living tree had erupted from the purple light and stood towering above even the large conference hall. Its face seemed permanently contorted into a demented grin, and all three of its eyes shone like nekomata fire magic. Trixie gulped as she observed the creature. the very sight of the abomination sent a shiver up her spine. "Th...That's Lullaby?!" she shrieked. "...yes..." Lazaro answered malevolently. Trixie was shaking. she used to think that the Ursa was the most terrifying thing she would ever see...Oh, how wrong she had been. This horrific beast...she had no words for it. It looked like some nightmarish parody of an Ent or a Dryad... her body was screaming at her to run... every preservation instinct she had was screaming at her... ...but she didn't... growing inside her was something that was becoming stronger by the minute...fury. Her gaze lowered to the ground, obscured by her long silver bangs. "You monster..." Lazaro grinned cruelly under his mask. "...do you intend to do something about that?" he asked, as if wanting her to fight him. Trixie was shaking with fury. "...You..." she growled. "...YOOOUUUUU!!!!..." she charged at him and threw a punch. Lazaro effortlessly caught the punch. "...Just give up." he said with a bored tone. Trixie cried out in pain as Lazaro twisted her arm behind her. "...You're completely at my mercy." he said coldly. Trixie tried a wild swing with her free arm; Lazaro caught that one too...just as Trixie had hoped... Trixie opened her hand slightly, revealing a small object. "Eat this, ass hole!" she declared just before the small object exploded in a blinding flash. "Grrrrrraaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!" Lazaro howled in rage as he thrashed on the ground; his hands clawing at the eye holes on his mask. "You little BITCH!!" he roared, not that Trixie was paying attention, as she rolled frantically down the hill towards the conference hall. several feet down the hill, she finally managed to stumble back to her feet and ran the rest of the way down. Unknown to Trixie, however, she had an observer; a woman garbed in black and red... "ALL OF YOUR SOULS ARE MINE FOR THE TAKING!!" the demon roared. Many of the guild masters were running and screaming frantically in a panicked gong show. It didn't take Trixie long to finally track down Master Makarov and the others. Natsu was the first one to see her coming. "Hey, there's Trixie!" he declared, pointing at her. "What the hell is that thing?!" was the most articulate reply she could come up with at the moment. That's when she became aware of the presence of a few others. a man with a strange wizard's hat like her own, except it was black witha a spiked red band. he wore dark sunglasses... 'why are you where sunglasses at night...?' a cynical thought chimed in the back of her mind. "...It's a demon of Zeref." he said grimly. 'Zeref...?' she knew that name before... "Natsu and Gray! Get everyone to a safe place!" Erza commanded. "Stop barking orders!" Natsu cried indignantly. "Yeah, you're not the boss of us!" Gray rang in. Erza gave them an intense glare. "Just DO IT!!!" she growled. "Aye!" they both chorused as they ran off. The demon looked off to the side. "...YOU DOUBT MY POWER?! THEN I'LL PROVE IT TO YOU!!!" it bellowed as it gathered magic energy in its mouth and fired it at a mountain in the distance, completely obliterating it. The resulting explosion was a bright flash and a blast wave that knocked Trixie off her feet. How far away was that mountain...and yet... the sound thundered in her ears... the flash it made was blinding, and the blast wave was like standing in a hurricane. Finally the blast subsided, revealing that the mountain was indeed gone; reduced to a deep crater, Trixie would wager. "I HAVE NO NEED FOR THOSE WITHOUT MAGIC WITHIN THEM!!" It roared. "I PREFERE THE TASTE OF WIZARDS' SOULS, AND I WILL DEVOUR ALL OF YOURS!!!" "Oh yeah?!" Natsu challenged. "Bring it on, big guy!" "Good Luck!" a group of bystanders cheered from several meters away as they tried to take cover. Trixie gave them all an unamused look. "...yeah...don't help us out or anything..." The demon Lullaby reared its head upward. A massive spell circle appeared at its mouth and it gave a thunderous roar; a deafening blast that left everyone grasping at their ears to keep from instantly going deaf. Many of the guildmasters screamed and panicked, but Makarov merely grinned. Erza readied her twin swords. "Ready?" she asked. "Oh yeah!" Natsu and Gray both cheered before the three of them charged forward. Trixie however was frozen in place. staring in terror at the massive abomination before them. "HEAVEN'S WHEEL!! DANCE, MY SWORDS!!!" Erza called, the Heaven's wheel armor taking shape around her, and charged forward, a host of floating swords at either side of her. It didn't escape Trixie's notice when the beast recoiled in pain at he attacks. The ground at Gray's feet seemed to snap-freeze in a matter of seconds. "ICE MAKE LANCE!!" he called, launching a barrage of icy spear- like projectiles at it. Again, the demon howled in agony. Trixie couldn't believe what she was seeing. They could actually hurt this thing? A smile formed on her face. Natsu flew forward; propelled by his own flames. "FIRE DRAGON: IRON FIST!!!" he roared. Blasting through the night sky like a rocket, he hit the demon square in the jaw, sending it stumbling back even further. Trixie conjured her star-shaped hover-board; the "Levistar" as she affectionately called it, and took off to join the fray. Her comrades' success bolstering her confidence, she mustered he magical strength. "STARFALL BARRAGE: DOUBLE GATLING!!" she called as a violet spell circle illuminated each hand and a rapid-fire stream of star shaped energy blasts exploded against the demon's chest. Trixie observed with satisfaction as wooden shrapnel would splinter off with each hit. Volley after volley...blast after blast... Erza, Natsu, Trixie and Gray hit the demon about three times each before a blast wave exploded outward from it. "YOU'RE MAKING ME ANGRY!!!" it roared, swatting at them, to no avail. The demon opened its mouth wide and seemed to devour the massive spell circle that was above it. Trixie backed off a little to assess the situation. "...well, that can't be good..." she muttered as she looked down to see that all manner of vegetation in the area seemed to instantly die out...hell, she could feel what ever it was doing sapping her own energy as well; she wondered if the others could feel it as well... "JUST ONE NOTE AND YOUR SOULS WILL BE MINE!!!" the demon bellowed triumphantly. It inhaled deeply and unleashed its deadly song... ...at least, one could be certain that's what the demon intended; all that really happened was it opened its mouth and uttered the sound of a poorly played flute...a poorly played, broken flute... Trixie blinked a couple times. "well...that was underwhelming..." The demon was shocked. its face warped into a mixture of disbelief and indignant fury. "I DON'T UNDERSTAND!! WHY CAN'T I PLAY MY MELODY OF DEATH?!" "It must be all those attacks!" Goldmine, the Guildmaster of Quatro Cerberus deduced. "They punched so many holes in that thing that it totally messed up its sound!" Lucy declared. The demon suddenly drooped as it realized this itself... "...All that build up for that? talk about going out with a whimper..." Up on the hill Lazaro observed the same thing and slapped his palm to his forehead. "...Erigor...you fucking moron..." Lazaro growled. "...why my superiors want you in on their plans is beyond me..." Lazaro felt a cold shiver run up his spine. "...Seems for all that boasting, the mighty Lullaby is made of balsa wood rather then oak..." a sultry voice mused behind him. "Lady Bloodmoon, I-" Lazaro began but was cut off. "...don't fret, Lazaro...I would have been amazed if that idiot's plan actually had worked..." the masked woman said calmly...too calmly. "...You knew this would happen...?" Lazaro guessed. "I did." was her simple reply. "I'm pleased you still carry that seal I gave you Lazaro...It has allowed me to monitor your progress...and hers." "why do you want her so badly, anyway?" Lazaro ventured to ask. "All you have yet told us is that she is valuable to you, but why is she so valuable?" He glared at her. "...And why waste MY time getting me involved with this if you knew it was going to fail?!" Bloodmoon wagged a finger at him tauntingly. "Groundwork, sweetie... if you want your plan to go smoothly, then you must first lay down the groundwork..." she elaborated at Lazaro's apparent confusion. "Eisenwald is all but gone. defectors have destroyed their guild hall and rescued their prisoners. They now move to find honorable work with legitimate guilds. This mission was to determine whether or not there were any wizards in Eisenwald worthy of being brought into my plans..." she explained. "...Bring Erigor back to Blood Diamond; I will explain everything in greater detail to you both, and a few others, once he has awakened..." "...as you wish..." Lazaro hissed. "YOU DARE MOCK ME!!??" the demon roared before stomping on the ground like a child throwing a tantrum. Everyone on the ground could feel the earth shake with every impact. "I WILL KILL YOU ALL!!!" it declared; fiery red lights burned in its three eye sockets. "Now he's REALLY MAD!!" one man said as many of them ran in panic. "Stay together!" Trixie called to them as she rocketed toward them. She and Gray both stood in front of them. "I hope you know defensive spells..." Trixie said giving the young man a sideways glance. "Of course!" Gray shot back. "Here it comes!" Lucy shrieked. "ICE MAKE: SHIELD!!!" Gray called out as a large wall of ice shot up from the ground in front of them. "STARLIGHT WALL!!!" Trixie called, summoning a multitude of glowing star-shaped masses of energy connected by glowing lines forming a golden glowing grid; stars even etching themselves on to Gray's ice shield. The double shield spell worked perfectly against the demon's flames as barely a lick of flames got passed it. Gray noticed this and gave Trixie a surprised look. "You reinforced my ice shield?" he asked. Trixie was feeling drained. "...I've seen...a lot of different kinds of magic...and I've dipped a little into all of them..." "RRRAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHH!!!" the demon bellowed furiously as its flames seemed a waste of energy. Its fury only growing when it saw Natsu devour them; sucking them up like a vacuum cleaner. "Hahah! Now I've got a fire in my belly!" Natsu chimed triumphantly. "YOU'RE NOT HUMAN!! YOU'RE A MONSTER!!!" The beast fumed as it threw a punch at Natsu, which he easily dodged. That look on the demon's face... was that...fear? "You don't get to say that!" Natsu shot back, sprinting up the behemoth's arm. "REQUIP!!" Erza called, the Black Wing armor replacing the previous suit she wore. "ICE MAKE: SAUCER!!!" Gray called, this time creating a spinning buzz-saw blade that shot toward the demon, slicing into its body. Trixie held out her left hand in front of her. she had one heavy hitter left in her...she'd make it count... and archs of energy that looked like she had once again taken pieces of the night sky now extended from her wrist, one going up, the other, down; resembling a long bow. she brought her right hand to meet her left, but only for a moment, as she drew it back, forming what looked like a spear made of the northern lights... "The flames of my right hand!" Natsu declared, his right hand bursting into an intense flame. "...and the flames of my left" Now his left hand was engulfed. "...put the two together and this is what you get!" He brought his hands together creating a large fireball above his head. "FIRE DRAGON:BRILLIANT FLAME!!!" He threw the fireball at the demon with all he had. Trixie smiled. Her intent all along was to time her last attack with Natsu's, and he didn't disappoint. "ORION'S ARROW!!!" she called, and released her spell, launching at the demon. Trixie's smile widened as it had the desired effect as it shot through Natsu's flames, drawing them to follow its path. Their combined attack exploded through the demon's chest, a blast of bizarrely beautiful rainbow colored flame erupted from its back before it engulfed the demon's abdomen and began spewing out of its mouth and eye sockets, as well as all of the holes that their attacks and made in its body. The demon frantically clawed at its face as it howled in agony before its head exploded in a rain of blazing splinters; it was already half disintegrated by the time it hit the ground... Trixie was panting as she dropped to her knees. "...we...did it..." she finally said. "That you did...well done, my children..." Makarov said approvingly. "That was quite the finale, Trixie. you mix your magic with others' well." he commented "Yeah, that was so cool!" Natsu cheered. "Oh, yes, that was amazing!" a new voice chimed in. "You kids made defeating that demon look easy." another said nonchalantly. Trixie looked toward the sources of these new voices. "...thanks..." she said as she took in the two new people. She then gave Makarov an inquisitive look. "Ah. gentlemen, this is Trixie Lulamoon, one of the new recruits I told you about." Makarov introduced while Trixie gave a friendly nod. "Trixie, this is Guildmaster Bob of the Blue Pegasus guild." he said gesturing to the large flamboyant man dressed in pink. "It's delightful to finally meet you!" the man said cheerfully as he held out a hand, which Trixie took. "Nice to meet you too." Trixie replied. "...and this is Goldmine; Guildmaster of the Quatro Cerberus guild." Makarov said, indicating a tall middle aged man wearing a wizard's hat much like her own except black with a red band. "It's a pleasure." Trixie greeted. She shook his hand as well. "The pleasure is mine." Goldmine said. "Well...I'm not sure what was going on with all that, but I think it's obvious that we all owe a round of thanks to the Fairy Tail guild." "Ya think so?" another man said uneasily. "...well...even so..." the man trailed off, drawing everyone's attention to the large crater where the conference hall...used to be... "THEY WENT OVERBOARD!!" many of them shouted simultaneously. "Woah, woah, woah...that's all on Blood Diamond and Eisenwald!" Trixie interjected. "Would you have preferred if we DIDN'T chase these guys all the way from Magnolia just to save your ingrate asses?!" she fumed. "And now you have the gall to turn around and hold US responsible for THEIR destruction?!" It had been quite some time since she'd felt this indignant. "Well, why don't you go and jump down into Clover Canyon if ya feel so strongly about it?!" By the end of her rant, Trixie was panting heavily; a nasty snarl on her face and the guildmasters who had set her off were staring shell shocked at her. Apparently, they have never had the appallingly large holes in their logic pointed out to them before... "...please explain this to us..." one of them finally said. Trixie scoffed. "Hell with that noise!" she snarked. she spun on her heel and began walking away. "...Erza, this was your mission, you tell them; I've had enough of twits for one day!" Erza was taken aback by Trixie's outburst, but proceeded to explain everything from her hearing the conversation at the pub all the way through to Natsu's defeat of Erigor and Lazaro's last second surprise... They were assured that the new information would be taken into account, but Fairy Tail would be hearing from the magic counsil about it some time soon. "Hey, Trixie!" Trixie looked up to see Lucy coming up to her. "what's up?" Trixie greeted. "I was wondering how you did all that?" Lucy asked. "...combining your spells with Natsu and Gray's, I mean..." "I tinker with magic." Trixie said simply. "if a spell doesn't work the way I want it to, then I keep tweaking it til it does; even if it's just to boost someone else's spell." she explained. "Just about all my spells could probably seamlessly combine with someone else's magic...I've always had a particular talent with that, ever since I was little." Trixie scrathed her head sheepishly. "Natsu probably would have finished off the demon without my help with his raw power...I just wanted to get one last hit in..." ..................................Back at the Fairy Tail Guild hall............................ Sunset Shimmer stood in front of the request board, marveling at how varied the magic jobs were... "Maybe I'll take the cursed cane job...?" she mused. "Going on your first job, huh?" the large man, Elfman inquired. "Yeah, though i can't decide which one I'll pick yet...I'm thinking I'll probably go for either the cursed cane or the Pirate fort..." she said offhandedly. Trixie had gone off with Erza and her teammates earlier that day, Lightning Dust had resolved to get to know the other guild members by asking to tag along with them on their jobs. She's gone with a small group who called themselves "Shadowgear", Luna was helping Mirajane around the Guild hall as a sort of older sister for the whole guild; anyone who had an issue or just had something to get off their chest, they all seemed to take to her quite quickly. To Luna's credit, she was very good at it, it seemed... Sunset covered her eyes with one hand, and jabbed at the board with the other..."...did I hit one?" Elfman laughed. "Yup!" Sunset looked where her hand had landed to see the Pirate Fortress job. "Oh, cool!" She looked over at the bar. "Mirajane, I'm taking the Pirate fort job!" "Ok! that's good to hear, good luck!" she said while bringing out a serving tray. Sunset was eager to try out a couple new tricks that Macao taught her about how to use her fire magic with more efficiency. a peculiar difference between their magic was that Sunset's flames were bright orange and yellow, but would often flicker noxious black... she would have to do some research on that later... but for now, she had some Pirates to slap around. she went back to the apartment that she shared with Trixie, Lightning, and Luna, and prepared for her trip to Hargeon port...