"Wait a second! Didn't they get punished for this?!"
"They did. Back then, Eisenwald's leader was arrested, and the guild was officially disbanded. But most dark guilds ignore those orders and just keep operating in secret," Erza explained.
Lucy's face went pale. "Maybe I should just… head back."
"Aye, it's too late now," Happy said with a grin.
Erza's eyes narrowed, her expression hardening. "If I'd realized it was Erigor back then, I'd have taken them all out on the spot. They wouldn't be left to cause trouble."
"Whoa, whoa, calm down!" Lucy yelped.
Su Yan chuckled. "No need to worry about what could have been. If we find Eisenwald, we'll destroy the whole guild and that'll be the end of it."
"Destroy a guild?!" Lucy's eyes went wide. Destroying a wizard's guild sounded like a massive undertaking, but Su Yan spoke as if it were no more difficult than swatting a fly.
Erza nodded. "Exactly. If they're trying to unlock Lullaby's magic, they're up to no good. Eisenwald must be wiped out."
Lucy gulped, "But… it's just the few of us… and I'm not exactly a fighter."
Happy patted Lucy's shoulder. "Don't worry! Su Yan and Erza are super strong, and Natsu's here too. Taking down a dark guild is a breeze!"
Lucy took a deep breath, reassured by Happy's confidence. Right! Erza was Fairy Tail's strongest female wizard, Su Yan was practically invincible, and Natsu was a fire-eating powerhouse.
Just then, Lucy looked around. "Wait… where's Natsu?!"
On the train, Natsu was barely holding himself together, gripping his stomach with a sickly expression. Motion sickness had kept him silent during the whole conversation, and he'd missed getting off when everyone else did.
He had leaned out the window to call to them, but his weak voice was lost in the noise.
As the train sped away, a man with a deathly aura took the seat across from him. "You look awful. Feeling okay, kid?"
Natsu groaned, unable to respond, his focus entirely on keeping his nausea in check.
"I heard you're from Fairy Tail. I'm envious; that's a real guild," the man continued with a sneer.
---
**Onibas Train Station**
"What happened?! We left Natsu on the train!" Happy wailed, frantic.
"I wasn't paying attention! I should've noticed he was struggling with his motion sickness," Lucy admitted, her face full of guilt.
"Doesn't matter—just get him off that train now!" Erza barked.
Lucy tried calming them down. "Alright, alright, let's not start a fight over this!"
Erza turned to the station manager, her face stern. "We need you to stop that train, immediately!"
The manager shook his head, looking perplexed. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but stopping a train just because someone missed their stop is impossible."
Erza's eyes flicked toward the emergency stop signal switch behind him. "Happy."
"Aye, sir!" Happy nodded, understanding instantly. He unfurled his wings and flew to the switch, pulling it with his paws.
**Ring, ring, ring!**
The emergency alarm blared through the station, startling everyone.
"What happened?"
"Is there an accident?" murmured the crowd waiting on the platform.
Erza handed her luggage to a stunned station worker. "We'll go after Natsu. Please have these sent to the Chili Hotel."
The station manager's jaw dropped. "This… this is against every rule!"
Lucy sighed, glancing at Su Yan. "She's impossible."
Su Yan just grinned. "That's Erza for you."
---
**On the Train**
The man, Kageyama, leaned back, eyeing Natsu, who was still struggling to stay conscious. "Fairy Tail, huh? That Mirajane girl is famous. I see her in magazines now and then. What a beauty."
Natsu glared at him but couldn't muster a response.
"And I hear there's a new cute girl in the guild. You know her?"
Natsu clamped his mouth shut, fighting the urge to retch. If he had any choice, he'd never set foot on transportation again.
"Our guild doesn't have any cute girls, you know? Mind sharing a few with us?" Kageyama sneered, lifting his leg to kick Natsu squarely in the face.
"Why are you ignoring me, huh? Just because we're from a dark guild, you think you're better than us?"
Natsu's eyes opened, and without a word, he swatted Kageyama's foot away.
"Ah! Finally decided to fight back, huh?" Kageyama laughed, only to be met by Natsu's steely glare. "What are you… trying to do?"