Chapitre 109: The Spies at the Train Station

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

February, x782.

A few more months have passed since Elicia brought Angel to the guild. Angel, or rather Sorano Agria, spent only about a month with Fairy Tail before she decided that she did not wish to join a guild. Instead, she decided to venture out on her own and make a name of herself as an independent wizard.

No one really expected Sorano to join the guild, though. She always seemed to be irritated whenever she was in the guild hall. Especially when she saw Mirajane, Elfman, and Lisanna. Though she never mentioned the reason. So, everyone figured it was only a matter of time before she left.

Around the same time she left, the x781 S-Class promotion Exam took place. This time, the participants were Cana, Gray, Ultear, Natsu, Mirajane, Mest, and the three members of the Thunder God Tribe. Then, after several tests of skill and combat, Mirajane emerged as the newest S-Class wizard.

Immediately after returning from Tenrou Island, Mirajane took her first S-Class quest and completed it easily. And with that boost in her confidence she did something reckless. She decided to take her younger siblings with her on her next S-Class quest, which was against the guild rules.

"Come on." Natsu said as he and the Straus siblings stood outside of the guild hall. "I have a bad feeling about this quest. You should take me with you, too."

"We don't need your help, Natsu." Mirajane said arrogantly. "If something that I can't handle happens, what makes you think you'll be able to help."

"Big Sis, is it really a bad idea to take Natsu with us?" Elfman asked hesitantly. "It wouldn't hurt to have some back up, would it?"

"Elfman's right, Mira." Lisanna said, holding onto Mirajane's arm. "Natsu's pretty strong, too, you know."

"Are the two of you saying I can't handle this alone?" Mirajane asked angrily. "If that's what you think, then you two can stay here."

'There's no way I'll fail to keep them safe.' Mirajane thought to herself as she turned around and started walking away from the guild hall. 'If Erza can complete all her quests without failing, than so can I. And since I'm better than she is, I can protect Elfman and Lisanna, too, with no problem.'

While Mirajane was thinking, Elfman and Lisanna exchanged glances. Mirajane had already told them that she was taking them with her to help Elfman get a powerful [Beast Soul] for his [Take Over Magic]. And if, at least, Elfman did not go, then they would be putting her kind gesture to waste.

"Sorry, Natsu." Elfman said, lowering his head timidly. "But you'll definitely be strong enough to take S-Class quests soon."

"Yeah, Sorry, Natsu." Lisanna added in a clearly forced, cheerful tone. "But we can go on a quest together after we get back, okay?"

With that, both Elfman and Lisanna also turned around before jogging to catch up with Mirajane.

Meanwhile, Natsu stood at the guild hall's entrance with frustration clearly written in his expression.

"Hey, Gramps." Alfonzo said from behind the bar. "Are you really gonna let her take those two with her?"

"*Sigh* Her ego has grown too large. A bit of failure will do her some good." Makarov said while shaking his head gently.

"Yeah, but failure in this case could cost someone their life, Old Man." Alfonzo said, clearly disagreeing with Makarov's decision of inaction.

"Mirajane is strong, My Boy. And she's fiercely protective of her siblings, she'd never let anything happen to them." Makarov said in a solemn tone. A moment later, however, his tone turned playful while he wore a mischievous smirk as he continued. "If you're so worried, then why don't you trail them? I bet that girl would be happy to know you're so worried about her."

"Fine, I will." Alfonzo said with a nod. Then, he leapt over the bar and started walking toward the guild hall's entrance. "Tell everyone that I had to enforce the guild rules, or something, when they asked why I'm not cooking any more today. See ya later, Gramps."

Not waiting for Makarov's reply, Alfonzo disappeared through the guild's doors a few moments later, leaving Makarov to watch him with his eyes and mouth open wide.

"Wait, did he just leave me to explain why he left in the middle of his shift?" Makarov exclaimed quietly. "And the worst thing about it, I'm the one that told him to go after them. Even if it was a joke, he did not suggest it himself at all."

At that moment, Max Alors walked up to the bar.

"Hey, Alfonzo, can I get another serving of the usual?" Max asked in a loud enough voice to be heard from the kitchen.

Like that, time went by without a response. As it did, Max's expression was filled with more and more suspicion. Meanwhile, Makarov continuously cursed Alfonzo in his mind for the mess he would have to clean up shortly.

A few moments ago, just as Alfonzo stepped through the guild's front entrance, he saw Natsu, who had not moved since the Straus siblings left.

"Come on, Natsu." Alfonzo said as he walked past the pink-haired boy and patted him on the shoulder. "Let's go on a little adventure of our own. We can see what the Kingdom has to offer."

Turning his head when he felt the hand land on his shoulder, Natsu saw Alfonzo wink at him as he spoke. At first, Natsu, who was not the sharpest tool in the shed, had no idea what Alfonzo was talking about. A few moments of confused thinking later, he understood and smiled brightly.

"Okay, I'll go get packed quickly." Natsu said as he ran off.

"You'd better hurry!" Alfonzo shouted after Natsu. "Meet me at the train station, we don't wanna miss the next train."

Hearin g that they would be taking the train, Natsu stumbled. Before he could fall to the ground, however, he corrected himself and continued on his way.

The reason behind Natsu's stumble was quite simple, actually. Like all Dragon Slayer wizards, after reaching a certain threshold of power, Natsu became quite susceptible to motion sickness due to his heightened senses. So, Natsu did not fare well on any vehicular form of transportation.

Meanwhile, Alfonzo also rushed back to his mansion to pack for the journey. He knew that he and Natsu would have some time before Mirajane, Elfman, and Lisanna boarded a train to the quest location. They had to pack, too, after all.

And just as Alfonzo expected, he and Natsu, after meeting up outside the station, were just in time to see Mirajane buy the tickets for herself and her siblings.

"Alright, Natsu, we have to stay hidden." Alfonzo said quietly. "We don't want them to know that we're following them. And if everything goes well, they won't know for the entire trip. Remember, we're only here to make sure that nothing happens to them, got it?"

"I underst---" Natsu said energetically before Alfonzo clamped his hand over Natsu's mouth before dragging him behind a pillar.

"Hey, did you two hear that?" Lisanna asked as she looked around.

"Hear what?" Elfman asked.

"I thought I heard Natsu's voice just now." Lisanna said while looking around the station. "Do you think he followed us?"

"Of course not." Mirajane said dismissively. "He gets motion sickness, remember. There's no way he would willingly ride a train to follow us. You probably only heard someone that sounds like him."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Lisanna said, still glancing around the station from time to time.

"Anyway, let's go to our train's platform to wait." Mirajane said as she started walking away.

Naturally, Elfman and Lisanna followed Mirajane through the station. At the same time, Alfonzo poked his head out from behind the pillar to check if the coast was clear.

"Okay, we're in the clear." Alfonzo said, stepping out from behind the pillar a second later.

Unfortunately, when Alfonzo clamped his hand over Natsu's mouth, he also covered his nose by accident. So, Natsu was desperately clawing at Alfonzo's hand, that was still clamped over his face.

"Oh, sorry about that." Alfonzo said as he released Natsu.

"Were you trying to kill me, Alfonzo?" Natsu asked angrily.

"Sorry, man, I was just trying to make sure they didn't catch us." Alfonzo said with a wry smile. Then, his expression turned serious as he continued. "Look, Natsu, we can't let them see or hear us. We have to be like spies, got it?"

Hearing the word "spies," Natsu's eyes lit up. Then, out of nowhere, he pulled a pair of sunglasses with a fake nose and mustache attached and put them on his face.

"That's right, we're spies, now." Natsu said with great enthusiasm. "We have to blend into the crowd and keep an eye on our target."

'I don't know this moron.' Alfonzo thought to himself as he slowly backed away from Natsu.

A moment later, Alfonzo pulled his backpack off of his shoulders. Then, he pulled out a pair of black robes with red cloud patterns on them, throwing one at Natsu.

Put that on and take off those silly ass sunglasses." Alfonzo said, pulling the robe on as he spoke. "Make sure to pull up the collar, too. It can hid our facial features.

Seeing the cloak, Natsu was even more excited. On top of looking cool, the cloak was a real disguise. Just the thought of putting on a disguise made his fantasy about being a spy even more intense.

While Natsu was putting on the cloak and undoubtedly thinking something stupid, Alfonzo created a pair of metal hats that looked like straw hats with his magic. On top of that, he carved a number of sigils into them that would obscure their presence.

"Put this on, too." Alfonzo said, handing one of the hats to Natsu. "Both of us have pretty noticeable hair. If se don't cover it, they notice us quickly."

'I always wondered why Lici made these cloaks.' Alfonzo thought to himself as he walked toward the ticket counter. 'But right now, they're really coming in handy.'

A few moments later, Alfonzo and Natsu were standing on the same platform as the Straus siblings.

"Remember, you have to play it cool." Alfonzo said quietly. "We're only following them. The only time we intervene is if they are in real danger."

"I know that." Natsu said with a huff. ""I'm not stupid, you don't have to keep repeating yourself."

"Not stupid, huh?" Alfonzo said, giving Natsu a side eye.

As if to prove his own statement incorrect, Natsu's attention shifted to a small booth selling meals to be eaten on the train.

"Hey Alfonzo, wanna have a competition to see who can eat the most bento boxes?" Natsu asked as he started running toward the booth.

Before he could even get halfway, however, Natsu was stopped when Alfonzo grabbed him by the back of his head and hoisted him into the air, while somehow making sure that his hat did not fall off.

"Didn't I just tell you to play it cool?" Alfonzo said angrily in a quiet voice. "And why the fuck are you saying my name loud enough for half the station to hear it?"

"I'm sorry." Natsu said in a pain-filled tone while tears comically streamed down his face. "I won't let it happen again. Please put me down."

At the same time, Lisanna started looking around the platform.

"I could have sworn I heard Natsu's voice again." Lisanna said as she looked around. Although the two people in black robes with red cloud patterns drew her attention momentarily, she continued to look for the source of the voice she thought she heard. And this time, I swear I heard him say Alfonzo's name."

Hearing the name Alfonzo, even Mirajane started looking around, hoping that the person she was looking for was worried enough about her to follow her on her quest.

"Come on, Lisanna, there are so many people here, it was probably just someone that sounds like Natsu." Elfman said. "Besides, look at the time. Alfonzo shood still be in the guild's kitchen. Can you imagine how much chaos it would cause if he left to follow us."

After hearing Elfman's completely logical and equally wrong reasoning, both Mirajane and Lisanna deflated a little. They both thought it was a bit of a pity, though. It would have been so romantic if the boys they liked followed them secretly to protect them.

Not long afterward, an announcement over the train's P.A. system pulled the girls out of their fantasies.

{"All passengers traveling to Malba City, please make your preparations."} The voice of a female station employee said. {"The train well arrive on platform seven in two minutes. I repeat…"}

Exactly two minutes later, the train arrived at the platform. Then, once its doors were opened, all the passengers started to board.

It went without saying that Alfonzo and Natsu boarded the same train carriage as the Straus siblings. Then, after everyone was seated, it only took ten minutes for the train to pull out of the station. And as soon as it started moving, Natsu's motion sickness kicked in. However, before he could give them away, Alfonzo chopped him on the back of the neck, effectively knocking him out and keeping their identities secret.

Meanwhile, Natsu, as he was losing consciousness, had one last thought before everything went dark.

'I feel like I'm forgetting something.'

Back at the guild hall, Happy was sitting on top of the group of young wizards' usual table with a lost expression on his face while most of the guild was causing an uproar after discovering that Alfonzo had left in the middle of his shift.

"Where did Natsu go?" Happy asked no one in particular.

L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS
SixthSense1029

Read 5 chapters ahead on my Patr3on at:

https://patr3on.com/SixthSense1029

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy the story.

Comments, Reviews, and Power Stones are always appreciated.

commentaire Commentaire 10

Voter

Chapitre 110: Failed Take Over

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Malba.

February, x782.

The train ride to Malba took nearly an entire day. During the trip's duration, Alfonzo Knocked out Natsu at least four times. And the reason was simple, he was just too noisy. Even with his severe case of motion sickness, the first thing he did every time he woke up was to start shouting. Whether it was at Alfonzo for knocking him out or to complain about how sick he felt, he seemed to be incapable of doing it quietly.

After finally reaching Malba, Alfonzo dragged the still unconscious Natsu off the train. Then, while staying out of the Straus siblings sights, he used a weak electrical shock to wake up the pink-haired Dragon Slayer. Not before stuffing a muffin in his mouth, though.

"*Sigh* I don't know what kind of miracle it was that they never noticed us." Alfonzo muttered while he watched Natsu eat the muffin with gusto. "It's a good thing I never taught Mirajane [Magic Power Detection]. Otherwise, we would have been caught long ago."

On the other hand, Alfonzo also refrained from using [Magic Power Detection] to track the siblings. Although Elfman and Lisanna probably would not have noticed anything if he did, Mirajane's sensitivity to magic power is higher than theirs, so she might have noticed it. And sense everyone in Fairy Tail is familiar with Alfonzo's magic power signature, she would have definitely recognized him in that case.

"Hey, their moving." Natsu said quietly, finally understanding that being too loud will get him knocked out.

"Then, we need to start moving, too." Alfonzo replied, moving in the same direction as the siblings.

Like that, Mirajane, Elfman, and Lisanna made their way through the city, booking rooms in a hotel at their destination.

Meanwhile, Alfonzo and Natsu followed them from a distance. They, too, booked a hotel room, with two beds, at a hotel different from the Straus siblings. They did, however, choose a hotel with a view of the other hotel's entrance.

That night, Alfonzo and Natsu took turns watching the other hotel's entrance, with Natsu taking the first shift. To Alfonzo's surprise, Natsu did not do anything to blow their cover while he was on watch. Instead, he somehow managed to fall asleep.

"*Sigh* I should have known he wouldn't be able to just sit still for that long." Alfonzo muttered to himself after waking up and seeing Natsu sleeping in a chair near the window closest to Mirajane's hotel.

Dragging Natsu to his bed, Alfonzo used [Magic Power Detection] with the lowest output he could manage. When he noticed that the three siblings were still sleeping, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then, he took a case out of his luggage, carried it over to the chair Natsu was previously occupying, and took a seat.

"Now, I guess I should find a use for this." Alfonzo said as he opened the case.

Inside the case was his no longer useful Automail left arm.

After scanning the arm for exactly how much of each metal was present, Alfonzo made a couple of designs in his head. Then, he started disassembling the arm. First, he removed the metal sand container from the upper arm. Then, he modified its shape. In the end, he turned it into a small waist pouch that he attached to his belt.

With Space expansion sigils and weight reduction sigils, the metal sand container was no heavier than a coin purse.

After that, he removed the spiked rope concealed in the arm's forearm and set it aside.

As far as the remaining materials went, Alfonzo stripped them from the adamantite frame, putting the bearings used for flexibility in his luggage. Then, he started manipulating the adamantite to create the frame for a set of gauntlets.

These gauntlets would only cover just as much as the wrappings he usually wore around his hands, wrists, and forearms. Then, he added the necessary weight reduction sigils. After that, he coated the frames with the orichalcum, making sure to leave a space in the right gauntlet for the spiked rope to be stored while adding a suitable number of space expansion sigils.

"I should probably do the same thing to the left one, too." Alfonzo muttered as he put the finishing touches on the right gauntlet. "Although I don't have the materials to make a rope for it, yet. It would be pretty bad ass to have my own version of the ODM Gear."

Like that, Alfonzo continued working. Eventually, just as Alfonzo finished, the sun began to rise from the eastern horizon. Unfortunately, Alfonzo had to break his habit of getting in some light training first thing in the morning when leaving Magnolia this time.

It wouldn't be good if they lost the Straus siblings while he was training. And he didn't trust Natsu enough to let him tail them without being nearby in case he did something stupid.

So, instead of going to the courtyard to train, Alfonzo ordered some room service. By the time the food arrived, Natsu was just waking up. Then, after they both ate, they noticed Mirajane, Elfman, and Lisanna leaving the hotel.

"Let's go, Natsu." Alfonzo said, taking note of the direction they traveled in.

With that, the duo dawned their cloaks and hats. Then, they quickly left the hotel and caught up to the siblings. After a walk through the city, they saw the siblings enter city hall.

"Do we have to wait again?" Natsu asked in a whiney tone after he and Alfonzo found a place to watch the entrance to city hall without drawing attention to themselves.

"Did you think we'd follow them into city hall?" Alfonso asked while rolling his eyes.

"I mean, anything is better than waiting around like this, you know." Natsu argued. "Besides, if I sit still for too long, I fall asleep."

"I noticed." Alfonzo said, rolling his eyes again.

"Ooh, I know!" Natsu exclaimed happily. "I just had a great idea!"

"For some reason, I seriously doubt that." Alfonzo said exasperatedly.

'What was I thinking bringing this hyperactive pyromaniac with me?' Alfonzo thought to himself exasperatedly.

"Anyway, let's hear it." Alfonzo muttered while glancing at Natsu.

"We should have a fight until they come out." Natsu said as if he just had the world's greatest idea. "I mean, we're both really sensitive to our surroundings when we fight, right? That means we won't miss them when they leave."

*Smack!*

"I thought you said you weren't stupid." Alfonzo said, sounding tired as he slapped Natsu upside the head. "If we were to fight in the middle of the city, the destruction would be insane. On top of that, as soon as Mirajane and the others left city hall to see the commotion, they would recognize our magic immediately."

"Oww! You could have just said no." Natsu said while rubbing the back of his head where he was hit. "You didn't have to hit me."

"Yes, I did." Alfonzo replied with a nod. "I had to reinforce the point."

Like that, the duo continued to wait and bicker, which made the hour long wait feel much shorter than it actually was. Then, when the Straus siblings eventually came out of city hall, they resumed their trailing.

This time, the siblings ended up leaving the city. Following them from a distance, Natsu's nose started twitching.

"It smells like a strong beast is nearby." Natsu muttered. Then, he looked up into the sky. "And the clouds are moving ominously. I really have a bad feeling about this."

"She probably took the Beast King Subjugation quest that was on the S-Class board." Alfonzo muttered as if he didn't already know which quest she took. "I didn't know the location, though. Otherwise, I would have driven here and left you behind."

'Those clouds look just like what I remember the sky looking like when the anima gate opened.' Alfonzo thought to himself as he glanced up at the sky. 'As long as Lisanna doesn't get hurt, there's a good chance that she won't be pulled through it… I hope.'

"What?" Natsu exclaimed in response. "Why would you do that?"

"Because there is no way I'm taking a chance that you would puke in my baby." Alfonzo said in a matter-of-fact tone.

With some more banter along the way, Alfonzo and Natsu noticed that Mirajane, Elfman, and Lisanna came to a stop. So, they found a good vantage point and watched them make their final preparations.

"Okay, you two." Mirajane said sternly. "I'll take care of the fighting. You two watch from a safe distance. And make sure you pay attention. Even though we all use different techniques, seeing how I fight the Beast could be a good experience that will help you improve."

"Okay, Big Sis, I'll pay attention." Elfman replied.

"Yeah, we'll get stronger so that you don't have to worry about us so much." Lisanna said, pumping her fist energetically.

IN response, Mirajane allowed a gentle smile to grace her lips. Then, she rubbed Lisanna's head affectionately.

"Silly girl, I'm your big sister." Mirajane said. "I'll worry about you no matter what. But I'll still be happy if you get stronger so that you can protect yourselves better."

Meanwhile, from the place where Alfonzo and Natsu were watching from.

"I didn't know Mira could smile like that." Natsu said with a disbelieving expression on his face. "Now that I think about it, I didn't know she could smile at all."

"Haha.. I know what you mean, Natsu." Alfonzo said with a chuckle. "But her smile is really pretty. Plus, it suits her better than her usual resting bitch face."

As Natsu nodded in response, he and Alfonzo both saw Mirajane's eyebrow and lips twitch.

"What's wrong, Mira?" Lisanna asked, tilting her head to the side.

"I don't know." Mirajane replied. "But I felt like someone was thinking something rude about me. On top of that, I got the urge to punch Natsu for some reason."

"Why are you always so mean to Natsu, Mira?" Lisanna asked with a pout.

*Roar!*

Before Mirajane could respond, a loud, bestial roar could be heard from not too far away. A few moments later, a large creature with long, thick arms, sharp claws, thick red and green fur, sharp fangs, a white mane, and golden horns approached from ahead of the siblings.

"Alright, you two." Mirajane said as she flared her magic power. "Get back and enjoy the show. [Take Over: Satan Soul]."

With her chant, Mirajane was engulfed in dark flames. Then, as the flames flickered out, she was once again revealed. However, this time her appearance had changed.

Mirajane's hair spiked up wildly, she grew a pair of bat like wings, and her attire changed. Now, wearing a very revealing maroon swimsuit-like outfit that exposed most of her breasts and abdomen, she also wore thigh-high , high heeled boots of the same color with black and gold accents that exposed her thighs as well.

On top of that, her forearms down to her hands changed in form, growing larger and were covered in golden gauntlets with long claws. And rounding out all the changes in her appearance was a long, black tail and patterns on the left side of her face, over her left breast, and on her exposed thighs.

As soon as Mirajane's transformation was complete, she spread her new wings and flew toward the Beast at break-neck speed.

From there, a battle that shook the landscape occurred. While the Beast only used its powerful body to fight, Mirajane used not only her trained martial arts, but she also threw around dark magic spells that changed the landscape whenever the Beast avoided them.

The fight went on for nearly two hours. And although Mirajane was never in danger of losing the fight, it was clear that the fight was taking a toll on her. On top of the Beast being more durable than she expected, she had to defeat it without killing it. Although killing it would be much easier, if she did, Elfman would not be able to take over its Beast Soul, making this trip pointless.

Eventually, however, Mirajane was able to knock the Beast unconscious. Though almost all of her magic power had been used up, causing her to revert back to her base form as soon as the battle ended.

"Okay, *Pant* Elfman, Do it. *pant*" Mirajane said, trying to regulate her breathing.

"Okay." Elfman said nervously. Then, he approached the downed Beast with unsure steps.

"Come on, Elfman, you can do it." Lisanna cheered from behind.

A few seconds later, Elfman reached the Beast's body. Then, he placed his hands on its chest.

"[Take Over]." Elfman chanted as the Beast's body began to glow.

A few moments later, Elfman was also covered by the glow. Then, when the glow dispersed, the Beast Mirajane had knocked unconscious, was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a new Beast, that somewhat resembled Elfman, was standing where Elfman once stood. This was naturally Elfman after taking over the Beast's soul.

"*Roar!*" Elfman roared as he raised his hands that now sported sharp claws.

"Elfman, you did it." Lisanna cheered as she ran toward her older brother.

In response to Lisanna's cheer, Elfman turned around. However, when he did, Mirajane immediately noticed that something was wrong. She saw that his eyes were filled with cruelty and the thirst for vengeance.

"Lisanna, stay back." Mirajane said while she, who was already closer to Elfman, took a step in front of Lisanna. "Elfman isn't in control right now. The Beast has control of his body."

"But how is that possible?" Lisanna asked with a hint of horror in her tone. "What happened to big brother?"

Although Elfman was significantly stronger than he was in the canon, he still had the same weak will that he did before Lisanna's presumed death. So, just like in the canon version of events, he was unable to subdue the Beast's soul when he performed his [Take Over].

"The Beast's will overwhelmed him." Mirajane said, transforming back into her [Satan Sol] form. "I'll have to either knock him out or keep him occupied until he can regain control."