They met at the river's bend where festival lanterns thinned into trees. Noctis waited in the shallows, cloak drinking the moonlight. Handlers fanned out. Beside a broken willow stood a woman with needle sigils along her sleeves.
Nyxen, the Night Sting smiled without warmth.
Noctis (cold): "Orders are the same. The boy returns with us."
Erza drew a measured breath. Natsu rolled his shoulders. Gray's palms misted. Lucy lifted her keys. Wendy touched her scarf, steady.
Wendy (soft, firm): "We're with you, Ryuji."
Ryuji — Winter Dragon: Frost Step!
He slid from stone to stone, setting a thin Frost Veil at his flank like angled glass.
Noctis cut the air—shadow curved and keen.
Noctis — Abyssal Crescent.
Gray — Ice-Make: Shield!
Layered plates caught the edge; Natsu warmed the steam off harmlessly.
Natsu — Fire Dragon's Talon!
He spun in, heel blazing—Noctis thinned away, only to meet steel from above.
Erza — Requip: Heaven's Wheel Armor!
A controlled storm of blades sheared strips from the cloak's rim.
Nyxen flicked her wrists; sigils flared.
Nyxen — Night Sting: Hemlock Volley.
A lattice of black-glint needles fanned toward Lucy and Wendy.
Lucy — Open, Gate of the Lion! Leo!
Loke intercepted, aura flaring.
Loke (cool): "I've got you, princess."
Needles skittered off golden light.
Lucy (quick): "Thank you—return!"
Loke bowed and vanished.
Lucy — Open, Gate of the Scorpion! Scorpio!
Scorpio (jaunty): "Sand wall—iroiro yo!"
A dune surged up, eating the spill of needles; Nyxen angled away.
Wendy — Sky Dragon's Arms!
Support wrapped Ryuji and Erza with steadiness.
Ryuji — Winter Dragon: Iron Fist!
Frost burst as he dropped a handler.
The river darkened at Ryuji's ankles.
Noctis — Grasp of Dusk.
Shadow hands clawed up.
Ryuji — Winter Dragon: Frost Step!
He skimmed free, then snapped his heel down.
Ryuji — Winter Dragon: Frost Spikes!
Spines surged—not at Noctis's feet, but at his shadow, pinning it to stone.
Gray — Ice-Make: Lance!
Lances wedged the spike-cross tight, locking the cloak.
Noctis — Umbral Rift.
A slit of night tried to shear the bind—
Erza — Requip: Flight Armor!
A blur of motion; she dashed through, breaking the rhythm.
Natsu — Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!
The punch landed center-mass. Stone cracked; Noctis hit the bank.
Nyxen's sigils brightened to a surgical gleam.
Nyxen — Night Sting: Vesper Thread.
Filaments whipped for Wendy's wrists—
Erza — Requip: Lightning Empress Armor!
Charged plates sparked; the threads snapped.
Erza — Requip: Black Wing Armor!
A crushing overhand cleave pinned the last stubborn folds of cloak.
A sigil burned to life on Noctis's chest—circles within a circle, ink-black and wrong.
Erza (sharp): "Back."
It pulsed. His body unraveled into dusk—an escape seal.
Noctis (fading): "The leader wants the boy. Stronger Members are coming."
Handlers blanched. Gray tightened ice collars. Natsu snorted. "Figures."
Nyxen had already angled for the treeline. She paused, wrist turning once.
Nyxen — Night Sting: Widow's Kiss.
A single, hair-thin needle drifted back through reeds.
Ryuji felt a mild sting at his shoulder. He glanced—just a pinprick—and flicked it away.
Lucy closed Scorpio's Gate with a grateful nod.
Wendy hovered by Ryuji. "Any numbness? Dizziness?"
He shook his head, eyes on the fading mist.
Erza sheathed steel, back in standard armor. "We deliver these men to the guard and return. We report tonight. We've won."
Natsu thumped Ryuji's good shoulder. "Nice trap, frostbite."
Ryuji almost smiled. "You hit hard."
They headed for Magnolia as festival music rose again. Ryuji touched his shoulder once where the prick had already faded.
It was nothing.
They went home.
Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima/Kodansha. I only own Ryuji Kazuma and this fan story. Non-commercial fan work.