Lector

Lector (レクター Rekutā) is an Exceed and a Mage of the former strongest Mage Guild in Fiore: Sabertooth.

Appearance
Being an Exceed, Lector's appearance is that of a small, mildly anthropomorphous cat standing on his rear legs, with his two front legs acting as hands of sort. His fur seems to be dark brown in color, with most of his body being red, but his face, belly, paws and the end of his long tail being pink. He has large, pointed ears, and prominent tufts of dark fur jutting outwards in correspondence to his cheekbones, where his whiskers are.

Lector doesn't don a complete outfit, instead sporting just a blue, sleeveless button-up vest which is left open, and has three dark round buttons on its right side.

Personality
Lector is a highly arrogant cat. He has a habit of belittling others, considering everyone to be beneath Sting, and, in general, beneath the Sabertooth guild as a whole. During the Grand Magic Games, he constantly states that Sabertooth members will easily win their matches, even berating Frosch for simply asking who would win. When things don't go as he foresees, Lector is left in a stunned state, best seen when Yukino Agria was easily defeated by Kagura Mikazuchi and when Sting simply quit the race he was in.

Upon seeing Sting and Rogue, the two Dragon Slayers Lector constantly praised for being true Dragon Slayers, being single-handedly defeated by Natsu with relative ease, Lector was left speechless and distraught. However, it appears that Sting's loss has humbled Lector, having told Jiemma that even though Sting lost, he learned more from his fight in defeat rather than in victory, seemingly changing his arrogant ways.

History
After seeing Sting fight for the first time, Lector followed Sting and begged him to allow him to become his student. Sting was confused as the why Lector wasn't scared of him, but Lector claimed he just wanted to become strong. Sting admitted it would be weird to have a cat as a student, but told Lector to follow him anyways.

Several years ago, Lector began to brag to others about how his friend Sting killed a Dragon on his own. However, no one believed him and others even started saying bad things about Sting, which greatly upset the little Exceed. As he was crying, Sting put his hand on Lector's head and promised that he would defeat a man named Salamander.

Grand Magic Games arc
Lector appears after Sting Eucliffe defeats a Dark Mage. He claims that he and Frosch will not lose to the Fire, Iron or Sky Dragon Slayers. He then high-fives his partner Sting telling him that he was the most powerful Dragon Slayer.

During the months leading up to the Grand Magic Games, Frosch and Lector go to Magnolia and hear that Natsu Dragneel will be participating in the tournament. The two Exceeds go to report this to their partners. Hearing the news, Sting gets enthusiastic while Rogue expresses his disinterest.

At the city of Crocus, after Sting and Rogue fight and defeat some Mages, Lector says that that was a total joke, and Frosch agrees. They then meet Happy and call him an idiot and that he is stupid-looking. He then explains to Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia what Third Generation Dragon Slayers are.

During the Grand Magic Games, Lector is seen cheering for Team Sabertooth. Often whenever a fight between Sabertooth and another guild takes place, when Frosch questions who will win Lector becomes mad and scolds his fellow Exceed. Lector is stunned when Sabertooth drops to second place during the Games. He is also visibly shocked when Yukino loses her match against Kagura Mikazuchi, though he is quite indifferent when Jiemma expels her from the guild that night. Sometime later, he is awakened after Natsu intrudes the Sabertooth lodgings. He comments on how Natsu's strength would make him one of the top ten fighters of Sabertooth if he was part of the guild.

Later after the events of the third day, Lector stands alongside Sting while watching Ryuzetsu Land get destroyed. That night, Lector asks Sting, who is staring up at the night sky, if he can't sleep. Sting responds that he has a feeling he'll be fighting Natsu the next day, stating that it's something he's been waiting seven years for.

The Fourth Day's event, Naval Battle, involves knocking out competitors of a giant water sphere. Sabertooth sends Minerva to the event, that later remains with Fairy Tail A's Lucy Heartfilia as the final two competitors. Lector, however, states that Minerva has already won, followed by the agreement of his partner Frosch, what in fact happens later in the event. After the end of the Event, the Fairy Tail Mages run towards Minerva in anger, prompting Sting, Rufus and Orga to appear in front of her, intimidating the Mages. Lector is seen watching sternly what could be the starting of a fight between the two Teams, but Erza prevents it.

When Natsu, Gajeel, Sting and Rogue are later called forth to face each other in a tag battle, Lector is seen smiling in anticipation from the sidelines. He expresses various emotions while watching the fight such as shock and excitement. When Sting starts getting severely beaten down by Natsu, Lector starts to cry. He quickly regains his smug, confident attitude after hearing Sting's vow to win, and grins with excitement as he enters Dragon Force. As he begins to pulverize Natsu and Gajeel, Lector comments on how strong he is. Lector smiles happily when Sting seemingly defeats the two Dragon Slayers, but when this turns out to be false, Lector looks on dumbfounded.

Lector cries at the sight of Sting being overwhelmed by Natsu's attacks, and remembers himself asking Sting to make him his student when they were younger, which a young Sting accepts. Lector yells that Sting is the best while crying. However, when he ends up defeated at the hands of Natsu, Lector cries depressingly even more.

Lector is present that night when Jiemma scolds Sting and Rogue for their defeat. When the Guild Master begins resorting to cruel beatings and a shameful excommunication, Lector shakily speaks up, trying to convince the old man that both Sting and Rogue did indeed try their hardest. When asked of who he is, Lector reveals his Guild Mark as a member of Sabertooth. In response, however, Jiemma obliterates him, saying that cats have no right to bear Sabertooth's mark.

In truth, Lector is whisked away by Minerva's Magic seconds before being killed, which put him in another dimension and saved him from harm's way. Lector is then put up for ransom, being used as bait for Sting to win the Grand Magic Games; if Sting fails to win, then the two will never be reunited.

When Millianna was released from Minerva's grasp, Lector clung on to her and stayed hidden beneath her cloak. Moments after Sting surrenders, Millianna appears carrying a sleeping Lector, who is awoken by Sting. Jumping out of Millianna's arms, Sting and Lector tearfully reunite, together again at last.

Sting and Lector hug each other, crying in relief, while the audience is cheering for Fairy Tail's victory. When Fairy Tail does not answer Sting's question concerning Natsu's whereabouts, a worried Lector asks if something has happened to Natsu. Later, Lector is present at Crocus Central Square when Toma E. Fiore tells the Mages about ten thousand Dragons' attack. As Sting reacts to the news with a serious expression, Lector happily encourages him, telling him to do his best.

After being sent to protect a separate part of Crocus, Lector and the rest of Sabertooth are soon confronted by a large Dragon. Before the fighting can escalate, Rogue informs both Lector and Frosch to flee the scene, which they do without question. Watching from afar, Lector sheds tears of joy when Sting states that Natsu's words gave him the courage he needed to protect his comrades. As the carnage around the two Exceed escalates, Lector, now wielding a fallen stick, stands in front of a cowering Frosch, stating that he's going to protect his friend.

Lector accompanies Sting to the banquet at the Royal Palace several days after the Mages' victory against the Rogue of the future and his seven Dragons. While there, Sting and Lector search for Natsu, hoping to reconcile with him. However, when the two find out that Natsu is nowhere to be seen, Lector mocks Sting for his reaction to the fact. Then, when Sting runs up to Gajeel and states that he'll "settle" for him instead of Natsu, Lector tries to calm Gajeel down, explaining that Sting is unruly and asking the Iron Dragon Slayer to try and be friends with him. While Sting apologizes to Yukino and asks her to rejoin Sabertooth, a drunk Kagura appears, demanding that Yukino join Mermaid Heel, greatly shocking Lector and those of Team Sabertooth. Shortly thereafter, after Arcadios silences the Mages fighting over which guild Yukino will join by announcing that the King is going to make an appearance, Lector is left utterly flabbergasted when Natsu appears in the King's stead, having stolen the man's clothes and crown.

Tartaros arc
Lector arrives at Cube, along with Sting, Rogue and Frosch, just in time to rescue a now demonified Minerva from the assault of Mard Geer, the Underworld King. He tells the woman that he hasn't seen her in a long time, with Frosch agreeing with him. When Sting explains Erza that they were able to find them because of that letter Erza sent to them, Lector nervously tells Erza that the letter sucked, with Frosch's help. When Mard Geer explains that all 3,000 Faces will activate in an hour and eradicate Magic, Lector mumbles in disbelief that Magic is going to disappear. After Sting and Rogue tell Erza to take the Exceeds, as well as Minerva with her and find a way to stop Face, Lector pulls an unwilling Frosch to come along with him, explaining that he believes in Sting, finally convincing his friend to join him. Lector along with Frosch, Erza, and Minerva then seek out the control room and on the way come across Panther Lily and Happy. After a short reunion between the Exceeds, Minerva recognizes Franmalth on Happy's head despite the Demon appearing like a strange mushroom. She then plucks him off, much to Happy's horror and explains that the "mushroom" is one of the Nine Demon Gates, and that he will probably know where the control room is. Her actions earn her ample praise from Lector and Frosch.

As they walk on and he hears Minerva wonder about Sting and Rogue's wellbeing, Lector comments that her sentiments are moving, and mentions to Panther Lily that Minerva's specialty is cooking. Seeing Panther Lily's expression of amazement, Lector expresses his worry over his one-track mind; he is then intimidated into pressing forward by Erza.

Lector and the others soon arrive at the control room's wreckage, where they spot Crawford activating Face, courtesy of Seilah's Macro Curse. His movement is soon taken away by Seilah, and he, like the others around him, is forced to asphyxiate himself, though with the arrival of Mirajane, who takes out the horned woman, Lector's movement returns, and he notices the chairman fall to the ground as well. Much to his dismay, however, the chairman was successful and Face begins to activate. Lector then watches, in amazement, as Erza matches Kyôka blow-for-blow in their battle; when everyone hears a loud roar in the distance, and Frosch becomes scared, Lector comforts it, saying that everything will be okay. After hearing Acnologia, Lector stands with Frosch as they both look upward, frightened at what is to come. Lector then later watches Kyôka become one with Face's Lacrima and ponders why she would do such a thing.

As Kyôka and Erza fight, Lector notices Face's timer count down to zero substantially faster until he, like everyone else, is struck by Kyôka's ability to manipulate the senses, inflicting him with much pain. He then comforts Frosch as it, too, writhes in pain, and later grits his teeth in anger as Kyôka completely dominates Erza by removing her five senses. However, his sadness turns into cheer as Erza manages to stage a comeback towards Kyôka; he questions if she awakened some new power as a result of her loss of sensation, but then reacts rather blandly when Happy states that her ability to continue to fight is merely because she is Erza. Then, after Kyôka is defeated, Lector notices Face's timer rapidly approach zero instead of stop, even after Minerva deals a fatal blow to the Demon. Finally, as the countdown reaches zero and Face activates, Lector looks on in terror.

Within the next seconds, Lector watches in disbelief as Earth Land is drained of its Magic Power by Face. When Face fails, he and Frosch are visibly shocked. A week after the defeat of Tartaros, Lector returns back to Sabertooth, along with Sting, Rogue, Frosch, and Minerva, who was turned back into a human, joining the rest of the guild in a joyous celebration over the latter's return.

Avatar arc
After Natsu, Happy and Lucy arrive at the guild, Lector and Sting excitedly greet them. Looking around, Lector asks where Carla is, to which Happy asks where Frosch is. Lector tells him that Frosch, Rogue and Minerva are out on a mission. Suddenly, Natsu grabs Lector and asks where they went. Lector says he doesn't know but that they didn't leave long ago so they might be at the town entrance. Natsu thanks him and runs off. Lector then follows Sting, Rogue and Frosch, in their mission to assist Natsu's group. However, when they arrive the Fairy Tail Mages have already dealt with the problem, which impresses Lector. He then asks Frosch for his opinion, but, to his shock, the Exceed has vanished, finding itself near the Fairy Tail group.

Alvarez Empire arc
After the Alvarez Empire invades Magnolia, Lector stands with his guildmates, prepared to enter battle after hearing Ichiya's call to arms. Lector later travels north to help deal with the incoming Alvarez fleet of over three hundred, alongside the other prominent members of Sabertooth and Blue Pegasus. Lector then makes it to the northern battlefront and fights Alvarez foot soldiers alongside Sting, however, faced with menace of Bloodman, the Sabertooth-Blue Pegasus alliance retreats to their camp, where Lector sits and comments on the sheer number of enemy forces they're facing.

Later, with the captive Sabertooth and Blue Pegasus Mages freed by the reinforcements sent by Fairy Tail, Lector and Frosch observe Gajeel tearing through their enemies, impressed by his power, only for their admiration to turn into shock when they witness Yukino slap Sting to knock some sense and courage back into him. However, her method proves effective and Sting leads his Guild back into battle, Lector and Frosch helping them out. Lector is later subject to the effect of Irene Belserion's Universe One and is warped to a strange forest, alongside Frosch, Yukino and Elfman, with the latter guiding them to the Fairy Tail Guild's new location, courtesy of a voice that only he could hear. As they walk, Lector comforts a worried Frosch upon the whereabouts of Rogue, and the group agrees that the only way to reunite with everyone is to head towards the guild. As they press on, Sorano, Yukino's sister, appears, and when Yukino addresses her as such, Lector can express only astonishment.

Lector then proceeds to watch Yukino and Sorano's high-emotion reunion, whereupon he tearfully comments on sisterly love. When Frosch takes Sorano's words of Yukino having the wrong person too literally, Lector tells his friend that it doesn't have to understand their words.

Magic and Abilities
Aera (翼, エーラ, Ēra): As he is a member of the Exceed race, Lector is capable of sprouting angelic wings as a means of flight.

Welcome Back, Frosch
Running into the guild in a panic, Lector tells Sting (calling him "Master") that Frosch has gone missing, which earns him an automatic telling off from Rogue; he furiously apologizes for taking his eyes off of the Exceed. Accompanied by Sting, Rogue and Yukino, Lector travels to Magnolia to look for his friend, where they all run into Gajeel and Panther Lily, the latter of whom points them in the direction he saw Frosch last (after a few choice exchanges between Gajeel and Rogue). Soon, the group runs into Wendy and Carla; the latter tells them where she saw Frosch last. Before they leave, Lector frantically shakes Carla's paws and calls her beautiful. The group then quickly finds Frosch, but before they can help they are stopped by Rogue, who expresses his desire to let Frosch find its way home by itself; Lector states that its impossible.

Lector then goes on to watch as Frosch comes into contact with Gray and Juvia, but is stopped once more by Rogue before he can help; Lector then watches in surprise as Frosch tells the two Mages that it wishes to go back to Sabertooth by itself. Lector continues to watch as Frosch eventually comes into contact with Erza and smiles when he sees Frosch ask for directions, claiming that seeing something like that for the first time moves him; night eventually falls and as Frosch sleepwalks, Lector cheers for it to make it home. However, Frosch unfortunately makes its way to the wrong guild.

The Exciting Ryuzetsu Land
At the terrace of his guild, Lector, together with Sting, wonders about the explosion he saw from afar.

Trivia

 * Lector's earlier concept was not that different from his final design, though he did possess some outstanding features. Foremost, his tail was far more bushy and large in size, coming across more fox-like than feline-like. Although he still possessed his vest, he wore a pair of large sunglasses that completely concealed his eyes. This, combined with stance and demeanor, made him seem a little more tough and rugged than in his final design.

Battles & Events

 * Rebellion within Sabertooth
 * The Great Banquet