~*****~

Erza ends up making me carry her up the stairs to the outside for her to warn the people outside. "If you value your lives, then you will leave this place at once!" Erza shouts into the megaphone we'd found. "This station's been taken over by evil wizards. They are threatening to broadcast a deadly spell over the loudspeakers that would kill everyone here! I beg you, run as far as you can!"

"Hey, lady! Why would you make everyone panic like that?!" I gaze off to the side as a train worker appears.

"I would rather that than watch all of these people die." Erza hums. "In fact, you gentlemen will need to evacuate as well." They do leave after a moment, and I heave out a soft breath of relief. "Now that I've cleared everyone from the train station, I wonder what Erigor's next move will be."

The wind picks up and I turn around and gape. "Whoa--" I stammer. "Hey, uh, Erza, I think Erigor's making his next move."

"It's-- It's some kind of wind barrier!" Erza exclaims.

"You know, I've always wanted the opportunity to fight the queen of fairies," I hear Erigor's voice. "I know the little Ice wimp isn't going to be much of a challenge." I scoff at him. "But unfortunately, I don't have time to play with you two right now."

There's a flash of light. It shoves Erza and I into the wind barrier. "Erigor!" Erza shouts. She tries breaking out, but it knocks her back almost immediately.

"It's useless. There's no way you'll never be able to break through my magic sealing barrier! You see, it's one way only. If you try to escape, the wind will tear you apart!" Erigor shouts.

"What is the meaning of this, you scoundrel?" Erza asks angrily.

"We've wasted enough of our time on you Fairy Tail Flies," Erigor comments. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

"Come back here!" Erza shouts. I push my finger into my ear and yawn. "Curse you, Erigor! I will find a way to stop you!"

"So, it seems he wasn't targeting the station after all..." I hum. "What town does this train stop at, end of the line?" I tilt my head, trying to remember. "It's Clover, isn't it?"

Erza glances back at me, her brows furrowed. "Yes, what of it?" She asks a little breathlessly.

"Well, aren't the guild masters having a meeting there?" I question again, my head tilting again.

Erza's brows lift almost immediately, and she hurries past me, running down the stairs. "We need to question all of them to see what their plan is!"

"One hundred percent gonna go with targeting the guild masters," I call after her as I run down after.

~*****~

Erza seems to accept that what I put together is true and starts demanding questions on how to break the barrier. "Erza! Aria!" I hear Gray shout as I sit on the shoulders of one of the unconscious men.

"Hey, Gray, you still have your clothes on!" I say with a grin.

"I thought I told you to go with Natsu!" Erza shouts.

"We decided to split up. Never mind that, now! Listen, I just found out Eisenwald's real target is Clover! The next town up!" Gray exclaims.

"Ten steps ahead of ya!" I chime.

"Then you know Erigor's heading toward the conference as we speak! He's planning to use the Lullaby to kill the Guild Masters!" Gray shouts.

"Only problem though, is that the station is surrounded by a wind barrier." I retort.

Gray nods. "I know, I saw that earlier. If you try to break through that thing, it'll make mincemeat out of you."

I jut my thumb at Erza. "We know." I comment.

"Whoa, is your arm okay?" Gray asked Erza.

"I did some basic first aid to hold her over, but she's going to need time to rest." I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose. "We need to figure a way out of here. Erigor needs to be stopped."

"Wait a minute, I remember them talking about somebody named Kage," Erza mentions as she approaches us. "Back at the pub I'd mentioned earlier. We have to find that man, you two. He was the one who broke Lullaby's seal."

"A dispeller." Gray hums. "A seal breaking wizard! He can take down the wind barrier!"

"That's what I'm hoping," Erza nods. "Now let's start searching!"

"Right!" Gray and I nod. The three of us head into the halls, searching for the wizard called Kage.

The building shakes wildly and I glance upwards. "I guess Natsu's going on all out, huh?"

"Natsu!" Erza shouts as we begin running towards the source of the destruction. "Do not harm him! We need him alive!"

"Way to go, you fire freak!" Gray sneers.

"I don't know what I did wrong, but I'm sorry!" I vaguely hear Natsu cry as we enter the room. Erza's already moving in to threaten Kage, and I wonder if he thinks she's going to cleave him through.

"You will dispel the wind barrier." Erza commands in a cold tone. "And you will do so without complaint."

Natsu collapses to his knees and curls up against my legs, shaking wildly. "Just do it, man! This chick's a real monster!"

"Shut up, Natsu!" Gray hissed.

"Understood?" Erza ignores Natsu's comment.

"Fine, I'll dispel it!" Kage says shakily. Just as he moves, a hand bursts through his chest from a ring of magic. I grimace and rub at my brow. "Why-- Karacka!" Kage whimpers as his body bows backwards.

The chubby man that got away earlier was pushed out from the wall, looking terrified as his friend falls to the ground. "Kage!" Erza gasps.

"No, he was our only way out of here!" Gray complains.

"Kage, don't you dare die on us!" Erza snaps as she holds him upright. "We need your help. Do you hear me?"

"I think we're losing him, Erza!" Gray comments.

"You're the only one of us that's able to dispel the Wind Barrier! Just hang on!" Erza says urgently.

I keep rubbing at my brow before the shivers set in. "How could you do that to one of your friends?" Natsu growls. "He's a member of your guild! He trusted you and you tried to kill him!" Natsu roars at Karacka. The man whimpers in fright before slipping back through the wall. "How could you?!" Natsu slings himself at the wall and destroys it with a savage blow. "Is that how you dark guild members treat each other?"

"Please, Kage," Erza continues to plead. "Stay with us!"

"He's unconscious," Gray explains. "It's just no use."

Erza begins to beat on Kage. "We can't let him die! He's our only way out of here!"

"But there's no way he can use his magic in this condition." Gray states.

"If I force him to, he will!" Erza hisses.

I start rubbing at my arms and hiss out irritably. "God, it's freezing in here! That damn wind barrier is pushing in a damn draft! Can't anything go right!?" I shout angrily as I begin pacing around.

"Bad timing..." I hear Lucy murmur behind me.

~*****~

"What? Erigor wants to use Lullaby on the guild masters!?" Lucy shouts in complete disbelief.

"We have to stop him!" Natsu shouts.

"That's easier said than done," Erza states firmly. "Erigor cut off our only means of reaching Clover and has headed there by air."

"I'm pretty sure that we could catch up to him on the magic-mobile, but we can't do anything until we figure out how to get on the other side of this barrier." Gray explains.

"How are we gonna do that?!" Lucy asks.

Natsu tries to bust through the barrier, only to get knocked back on his face. "God, this sucks!" I hiss irritably. "I've got all this stupid ice magic stored up inside and I can't even dispel it because the damn barrier would create a blizzard! Not only that, anyone tries to touch it and you get your arm practically ripped off."

Erza tries pleading with Kage again, Natsu tries the barrier, and Lucy and Gray start shouting at Natsu to stop. I start rubbing at my arms irritably until I gaze towards Lucy, my eyes zeroing in on the key holder at her hip. "HEY, LUC--" I'm cut off by Natsu hitting me and the two of us sprawling onto the ground. I groan and rub at my head. I lift my leg and slam it into his gut for good measure before standing up with a groan. "Your spirits! Can we use those?!" I ask as I grasp at her hands. "Like back at Everlue's when Natsu and I were pulled through the spirit world by accident?"

"Normal people would suffocate to death if they tried that." Lucy commented dryly. "It's hard to breathe in their world! Besides, a Celestial Wizard can only open a gate wherever they're standing."

"Huh?" Natsu hummed.

I groan and pinch the bridge of my nose. "So what you're saying is, you need another to open a gate elsewhere? Aren't they supposed to be like, all powerful?"

"Yeah, but the act of a human entering the spirit world is a serios breach of contract!" Lucy comments. "I didn't care when you did it because it wasn't my key! It was Everlue's."

I groan and tilt my head back. "Your magic is so boring!"

"For real, breakin' the rules is super fun." Natsu agrees in a dead sort of tone. "I really don't get your magic."

Happy suddenly screams, causing the four of us to panic. "I just remembered, Lucy!" Happy says shakily.

"Remembered what?" Lucy asked.

"WHAT I WAS TRYING TO TELL YOU ON THE WAY HERE!" Happy shouts.

"On the way here?" Lucy trails off.

"When I was barfing out the window?" I ask. "I heard you say something about Lucy being weird."

"Look!" Happy produces a golden key from his little bag.

"HOW'D YOU GET YOUR PAWS ON VIRGO'S KEY?!" Lucy shrieked. "Didn't anyone teach you that it's wrong to steal things?" Lucy pinches at his face a bit.

"But I didn't steal it," Happy whines. "Virgo asked me to give it to you."

"C'mon guys, we're wasting way too much of our time listening to this nonsense." Gray comments.

"Who's Virgo?" Natsu asked.

"She was the big gorilla looking maid at Everlue's Mansion," I hum. "The one with the soft--"

"Oh yeah!" Natsu chirped, his fist plopping into his hand.

"Apparently, her contract with Everlue was broken as soon as he was arrested!" Happy explains. He holds the key up to Lucy. "Before we all left that day, she came up to me and said that she wanted to sign a new contract with you, Lucy!"

"Great, I get a big, ugly spirit." Lucy sighs. "Anyway, thanks for letting me know, but I'll have to deal with her later. If you didn't realize it, right now, we need to find a way out of here."

"But--" Happy whimpers.

"SHUT UP!" Lucy pulls on his face. "WHY CAN"T YOU JUST MEOW LIKE EVERY OTHER CAT?!"

"She can be pretty scary," Gray mutters.

I snort. "She must've learned it from Erza," Natsu hums.

"But she's a bit dull, now that I think about it." I say loudly.

"What'd you say?" Lucy roars at me, her fist raised.

"Virgo can drill holes, remember, ding-dong?" I comment impishly. "She can make a tunnel for us to the other side of the barrier."

It was like an immediate light switch on everyone. "O-Oh, that's right--" Lucy laughs nervously. "My bad, I'm sorry--"

"Don't apologize to me--" I shout as I lift up Happy and shove him closer. "Apologize to him!"

"I am so very sorry," Lucy bows, her head clunking on the ground a few times before she actually gets the key. She stands off to the side and blows out a soft breath. "I call upon thee, in the world of the celestial spirits. And now, I beckon you to my side at once. Pass through the gate! Open, Gate of the Maiden. Virgo!"

Instead of the big gorilla looking maid we saw before, out comes a petite, beautiful maid with pink hair. "You summoned mistress?" Virgo chirps politely. "What can I do for you?"

Natsu and I glance at one another, our faces seemingly equally disappointed. "Who're you?" Lucy asks, pure shock written over her face.

"What's up, Burger! Man, you look great!" Natsu compliments as we approach her. "You lost some weight!"

"My name's Virgo." Virgo retorts almost dryly. "I apologize for any trouble I might have caused you."

"She didn't just lose weight, Natsu!" Lucy shouts.

I prod at her side curiously. "Aw, man, you're not super soft anymore." I hum dejectedly.

"I apologize, but that form was to please my previous master." Virgo explains with a polite smile.

"She's a completely different person!" Lucy shrieks.

"I'm a very loyal spirit who'll do anything to please her wizard." Virgo explains. "So I try to take on whatever form I think my wizard will find most appealing."

"I dunno, I kind of liked it when you were all big and tough looking." Natsu comments.

"Yeah, that form was super cool." I nod.

"Did you two really? Well, then..." Her posture shoots up and I beam. "I can switch back if you like." Her deep voice bellows.

I reach my arms up and lean into her front. My head rests comfortably on her stomach and I laugh. "Super soft!"

"Don't listen to them! I'm your wizard!" Lucy shouts. "And I like the other form better!"

Virgo reverts back to her small and dainty form. I grumble irritably and pout. "As you wish, mistress."

Lucy lets out a sigh of relief before approaching Virgo. "I'm afraid we don't have much time. Can we work out the contract details later?"

"Of course, whatever you'd like mistress," Virgo nods.

"Do you really have to call me mistress?" Lucy complains.

Virgo's gaze zero's in on her whip and I feel my lips curl up into a smirk. "Call her mommy."

Lucy flinches and stares at me in horror. "Would you prefer I called you that, mommy?"

"No!" Lucy shouts.

I begin to guffaw. "What about Queen?" Virgo asks.

"No." Lucy sighs.

"What about Princess?"

Lucy hummed. "Oh, yeah, that's more like it." She coos.

"Princess? Yeah, right." Gray grumbles.

"Hurry it up ladies," Natsu groans.

"Yes sir," Virgo bows slight as a ring of magic appears below her. She burrows deep down into the hole.

"Oh, wow, look at her go!" Gray hums.

"Nicely done, Lucy." Erza compliments before banging Lucy's head to her breast plate.

"I got dibs--" I shout as I leap into the hole after Virgo.

"No, wait-- You got dibs last time!" Natsu shouts after me.

~*****~

Once everyone is safely out of the building-- well, those our group, and Kage, I finally release the pent up ice magic inside of me. Frost billows from my skin and gets wildly sucked in by the wind barrier. My head throbs violently for a moment until I can think properly.

"Do you feel better?" Erza asks as she plants her hand on my icy shoulder.

I nod hesitantly. "It's just a drawback from my internals. They freeze over sometimes." I explain and slap at my chest. The ice covering my form shatters and slips down my body. "Let's head towards Clover."

"This wind is crazy!" Lucy complains.

"Princess!" I glance over to see Virgo holding onto Lucy's skirt. I'll keep your panties from showing."

I glance over at Gray and snort. He's red in the face as he stares at them. "It's no use..." I hear a soft grumble. I glance over at Kage's body and step over to peer down at him. "You'll never be able to catch up to Erigor. You can't stop us. We've won."

"Where's Natsu?" Erza asked.

"Happy's not here either," Gray notices.

I jut my thumb down the road. "My guess is that they're already on the way. So let's not waste anymore time and follow his lead. I'll supply the magic for the magic-mobile, just make sure you keep me in the seat, Erza."

Her brows quirk up before she smirks proudly.

As soon as I'm in the seat and the car moves, my head lolls back against the window, whining and groaning about the movement.