So for those of you who have read my other stories you know I can be a bit evil. Be it leaving in a cliff hanger or how the plot twist and turns as the story is written. I like to think that this story is gonna be about as evil as I can get without killing half of NaLu. Which you know I would never do unless I'm feeling particularly evil.
Now I'm not gonna say much up here, the rest will be down below but before you go on to read what I have so carefully master minded I would like to take note that, my friend and co-op partner, XSteleAliniax edited this entire story. And I do mean there's like ten chapters already written and when we're not working on 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' she's helping me go through the nonsense that is my writing that I did at like stupid early times in the morning.
Know what? Go read the chapter and I'll tell you the rest later.
The Magnolia Crews
Chapter 1
The bustling metropolis that is Magnolia may look sweet, what with its numerous parks and the Sakura trees while the entire metropolis is surrounded by thick luscious forest, but that is only the surface.
The city of Magnolia is in fact one of the most crime ridden cities in the world. The city is made up of several crews. You have Dragon Force, that is run by a mysterious man that goes by the name "Salamander."
Then there's the main rival known as Light and Shadow. The only known fact about this group is that they have co-leaders that go by the codenames "Light" and "Shadow."
An up and coming crew that has been seen a few times is Sabertooth, but no ones knows much about them other than the fact that they can't keep up with the big dogs.
But the big crew you have to keep an eye out for is the Heart Crew. This crew is made up of nothing but females, but it's said if you look one in the eye it's the last time you'll see anything.
The leader of this ruthless crew goes by the name "Heart", but no one can get close enough to know anything. Any guy that tries to get in is often found dead in the next week with a very noticeable heart carved on his chest.
Every female in the group is extremely loyal to their leader and if one is caught, she would sooner give up her life then spill the beans on their organization.
But there is one important fact that everyone in the city knows: the crime boss who catches Heart rules the city of Magnolia. Heart has every cop, every judge in her back pocket, if she says the word you can either end up dead in an alleyway or living the high life.
It's nearly sundown and a hooded figure can be seen running down an alley to escape a group of men chasing after her, but just for all her luck she hits a dead end.
"Shit, I was hoping I wouldn't have to resort to this." The figure pulls throwing knives out of a back pocket.
The group of guys block the entrance and the one crosses his arms over his chest while a grin covers his face. "End of the road; tell us what we want to know and we'll let you go."
She hisses, "Never, loyalty trumps all." And throws the knives, striking all but the leader who avoids it before running at her.
Then smoke fills the alley and the female can no longer be seen. When it clears the male lets out what sounds like a growl before turning around and checking to see if any of his men are still alive.
~Meanwhile~ Female P.O.V.
'Shit, that was close.' I think as I wipe the sweat off my brow and turn to see my partner. She has blue curly hair and a light blue dress that is hidden by a jet black cloak.
"Thanks, Juvia, I didn't know how I was gonna get out of that one." I lean a bit over to watch the guy check his friends for life before walking out of the alley.
I hear a sigh and turn to see my partner shaking her head. "Bookworm, what is Heart gonna say about this? She just got rid of your arrest warrant a week ago from the last time you took out a group of dragons."
I wave my hand at her. "Aw, Heart won't mind, besides I was trying to get to Fairy Tail." Juvia frowns. "Come on, Heart is holding a meeting in half an hour."
As we turn and start running over the rooftops she says, "Fairy Tail may be neutral ground between the families but only inside the building."
I want to roll my eyes but we're leaping a rooftop at the moment so instead I say, "I know that's why I was running rooftops to get there but they ambushed me as I was crossing dragon territory so I had to retreat."
We slow down once we see our home, the Love and Lucky Banking Corp building, up ahead. "You know as well as Juvia does that there are ways for us to travel that don't involve going through another's territory."
I snort. "Juvia, I'm fine. I know how to take care of myself." She stops and frowns and I flinch as I realize what I had said. "It's just Juvia has already lost one partner in the past two years and Juvia doesn't want to lose another. Look at Heart and Titania they've been working together since Heart's father owned the company and ran the crew."
I run my hand over my face before looking at my watch. "Look we can talk about this later, don't we have a meeting we have to be at?" Her eyes go wide. "Shit, Heart is gonna skin us both if we don't hurry."
We take off at a full run and quickly jump to the ladder that leads to the side door of the building that is only used by the crew members. Once inside, Juvia leads the way to the conference room where the other members of the crew are already waiting.
When we enter, Heart looks up from her papers. "You're late, Rainwoman, and Bookworm what is this I hear about you taking on another group of dragons?" I flinch but when I go to answer she says, "We'll deal with that later, right now we have more pressing matters."
I quickly run to my seat on the right hand side of her's while Juvia moves to her's farther down. Across from me sits Heart's partner, Titania, who is known for her skill with any type of sword. Her real name is Erza Scarlet but we refer to her as her codename.
Only Erza and I know Heart's real name. Lucy Heartfilia, daughter of the renowned Jude and Layla Heartfilia. Jude ran a small gang, but when he was shot down by the Light and Shadow crew a few years back, she brought the Heart Crew into the spotlight.
Everyone knows who we are just not who the members are, but you can tell who is in the Heart Crew by their tattoos. Heart has her's on the back of her right hand but she always wears fingerless black leather gloves so no one knows.
I'm snapped out of my thoughts when a brunette asks, "Heart, what exactly does Light and Shadow hitting Dragon Force have to do with us?"
Heart looks up from her papers again. "They're doing it to drag Salamander out into the open, and when he does come out we're gonna swoop in and pick him up."
The brunette nods but Erza says, "Cana, how many times do I have to tell you not to bring booze to a meeting?" Cana glares at Erza and takes another sip from the bottle of liquor in her hand. "You know I think better when I have alcohol flooding my veins."
We hear a giggle and look over at a woman with long white hair and blue eyes. "What's so funny She-Devil?" I say when I see she's watching Heart.
"Oh, it's just the fact that we're actually gonna capture the leader of Dragon Force." Then the shock hits us and a woman with chin length silver hair says, "Heart, what does that mean about the deal between us and the other families?"
Heart looks up at the girl. "Easy, Yukino, I told them that if they caught me they would meld their ranks with mine but if I catch one of their leaders instead it makes the competition a little more fun."
Erza scowls at our leader. "I still can't believe you're going through with that." Heart looks away and mutters, "We've been over this, Titania, it's the only way to reduce some of the conflict in the city as well as expand our grasp over it."
Erza leans back in her chair, her armored gauntlets clinking as she crosses her arms. "Still, did you have to do it in such a way that Salamander is hunting you down even as you plan to grab him up?"
Cana does a spit take, Mira gasps, Yukino practically falls out of her chair and Heart stares at her partner before getting her act together and saying, "How the fuck do you know about that? I have all my files, be it on computer or on paper, locked away so no one can see them."
Erza gives a grin of malice. "I've been your partner for years, Heart, I know every one of your passwords, past and present."
Hearts grumbles and glares at her partner. "We'll settle this later in the training arena. For right now, though, She-Devil, I need you to find Ghost and redirect her to follow Salamander. Rainwoman, there is a group of Light and Shadows hunting around on the waterfront, you know what to do. And, Yukino, we need some new poisons and a sleep serum that will go undetected under extreme scanning."
Each woman, in turn, nods before standing up and walking out, but when I go to follow Juvia, Heart calls out, "Bookworm I need you to stay the rest of you are dismissed."
When the others leave I look at her curiously. "What's the matter, Lu-chan?" Using my nickname for her. Heart looks at the papers laid out before her but doesn't really see them. "I think I found him after the past ten years; I think I found him Levy."
I gasp. "You don't mean...?" She nods. "After ten years of looking I think I finally found Natsu, but I won't know until they bring him in."
I pause for a second before saying slowly, "Lu-chan, is Salamander Natsu Dragneel?" She looks me in the eye. "I'm not 100% positive, but like I said I'll know for sure when you bring him in."
Nodding, I give her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry I'll make sure it goes off without a hitch." She nods and I leave the conference room.
Heart P.O.V.
After Levy leaves I lean back in my chair to bite back the tears that threaten to fall. Once they're gone, I gather my papers and make my way up to my office on the top floor.
As I walk in the door my intern, Wendy, says, "Welcome back, Heart. How was the meeting?" I give her a forced smile. "It was great, but can you clear my schedule for the rest of the day?"
She nods and I walk into my office and sit in my chair before grabbing a photo and spinning around to look out the windows.
I look at the photo that was taken ten years ago, before our group had to split up. I'm standing in the middle while a guy with pink hair has his arm slung over my shoulder, and on my left a blonde and a black-haired guy stand with goofy grins on their faces.
I sigh. "Natsu, why didn't you tell me it was you?" My mind flashes to a hot night filled with romance and I slightly blush at the memory. Looking back out the window I feel a presence hidden in the shadows. "You certainly got here quickly. I only told She-Devil to call you ten minutes ago."
I hear a giggle and she replies, "I never could hide from you, Heart." I turn and give her a smile "How did the mission go, Lisanna?" She frowns. "Heart, you asked me to call you by that instead of by your name, now I ask that you call me by mine."
Nodding, I set the frame back down. "Forgive me, Ghost, since we grew up together it's hard to break the habit." She nods. "About the mission, he doesn't know you're alive but he knows that Heart took over the company."
Frowning, I look up at her. "What about Light and Shadow, any news on them?" She grins and says, "You're never gonna believe what I found out."
I raise an eyebrow and she points at the picture frame. "The twins in your picture?" I look down at it and it clicks. "How did that happen?"
She shrugs. "I'll be taking my leave now. Last time I checked he was at Fairy Tail, eating his order of ghost chili chicken and a fire whiskey."
I nod and she fades back into the shadows. I turn back around until I'm again looking out the window, I can see the Fairy Tail bar from where I'm sitting.
'Mira made a good choice opening that bar.' I decide as I watch the line grow while the sun sets.
Sighing, I stand and walk out of my office and take the elevator to the lunch room floor where the other ladies, that aren't out on missions, have already gathered. When the elevator opens I dodge the throwing knife. Grabbing it out of the wall, I see the mark engraved on the handle.
Anger seethes within me as I stomp into the lunchroom. The women freeze when they see the stormy look on my face, and I say in a low tone, "If you don't want to be on missions for the next 6 months straight, I suggest you sit down now."
Every woman there sits at the tables and I walk over to see Millianna throwing her throwing knife where it lands standing up straight in front of her. "How many times do I have to tell you the lunch room is not for fighting? That's what the training room is for."
Millianna leans back a little, but I calm down enough to say in an even tone, "For the next two weeks you will be partnering with Rainwoman, while Bookworm is restricted to base."
She nods, and Levy sits quietly knowing it's her punishment for getting into trouble so soon after I wiped away her last arrest warrant.
"Listen up Ladies we have a big mission coming up and we need all hands on deck. Bookworm, you'll be in the study researching anything we need. Titania, after dinner meet me for sparring practice. Virgo, Millianna, I want you to get the basement ready for a prisoner. Cana and Bisca, you're on security duty making sure it's amped up for when we capture him. Am I understood?"
When all the ladies cheer I wait for them to calm down before continuing. "He's the leader of one of the strongest crews in Magnolia. Once we capture him, his crew will come after us so we have to be ready. Now, enough of that, lets eat."
Finally, the cook and the servants bring out the plates while I sit in my seat.
After dinner, everyone splits up to do their own thing while I head down another floor to the training gym.
When I open the door I see Erza already there sharpening her swords. "You ready, Erza?" She looks up at me and grins saying, "It's about time, Lucy, it has been a while since we last sparred." I raise an eyebrow and say, "Is that why you left before dinner was over?"
She nods and walks over to the training mat. I walk to the position opposite of her and take on a relaxed posture.
While she sizes me up I make the first move by moving in and ducking to come up behind her and kicking her in the back of the knees. She jumps forward and pushes off with one hand to offset the kick to the knees.
I chuckle and she says, "Just like old times, though, I didn't expect you to take the right, typically you take the left." I shrug and dodge her kick before catching her foot and twisting it off to the side. "I figured I would change it up this time."
She does a roundhouse, managing to free her other foot, and when she jumps back she says, "So, why have you been looking for him?" I freeze and growl before jumping forward and swinging with a left hook. She dodges, but ends up getting caught with the right.
While she catches her breath I say, "It's history between him and me." Before she can reply I sense Ghost. "What is it, Ghost, you know I hate being interrupted during sparring practice."
"Forgive me, Heart, but I thought you'd want to know that Light and Shadow are planning on attacking one of the hideouts at the edge of the forest tomorrow." She says from the corner of the room.
I freeze for a second and Erza suggests, "You know the She-Devil hasn't been released for a while." I look from Erza to Ghost and make up my mind. "Alright, Ghost, let your sister know the details and then get back to your position, you are vital to when we grab Salamander."
Ghost nods and fades into the shadows.
Ghost P.O.V.
After I get my orders from Heart, I quickly take off to Mira-nee's room to tell her. At her door I knock, even though I could easily let myself in. When she opens the door she lets me in and after she closes the door back she says, "What's the matter, Lisanna, I thought you were out on a mission?"
Turning around I push my hood off. "I still am, but I have news from Heart. I won't tell you everything right now, but you have a mission to take out a Light and Shadow group that is attacking one of our hideouts at the edge of the woods."
Her eyes narrow as she says, "On the edge of which territory?" I gulp and say, "Dragon"
"Damn it, Lisanna, you above anyone else knows what's in the works right now, and an attack like that could ruin everything." She doesn't yell but she is clearly pissed.
"I know, Mira-nee, but it's Light and Shadow attacking one of OUR safe houses. I've already told Heart, and Titania said you needed to get out of the base and Heart agreed. Mira-nee, if anyone can take out this group without raising suspicion, it's you." I say, moving closer to her while lowering my voice.
Mira nods. "Thank you, Lisanna, I'll move out tonight, but you should get back to your mission before you lose him."
I want to scoff but instead I hug her goodbye before leaving her room and quickly making my way back to Dragon Territory on the other side of town. As I approach the building where he lives, I hide in the shadows more often to keep from being seen.
The reason why my nickname is Ghost is because I move without a sound but I can never figure out how Heart knows I'm there.
When I get to the building, I open the window and slip in quickly, moving to the study where I know he's talking to his second in command. Once inside, I hide in the shadows and listen as he talks.
"Gray, any news on Heart?" A man with ink black hair who is missing his shirt shakes his head and says, "No luck, she's locked herself up in her base, and it doesn't help that their security is top of the line."
The man with the pink hair nods before turning to the the man with long black hair and says, "Now, why did I lose another set of grunts to the Heart Crew?"
The man with the black hair clears his throat. "We ambushed Bookworm when she was roof hopping and managed to knock her off, but what we didn't expect was for her to turn tail and run the other direction, so we followed her."
Salamander growls, "And?"
The black-haired man scratches his arm before saying, "We blocked her in a blind alley, and when I started asking questions she said, "Loyalty trumps all," before throwing a set of knives and taking out almost all of my group. Fortunately, I managed to dodge, but the rest were hit."
"What happened to the woman?"
A sigh. "Before I could tackle her the alley filled with smoke, and when it cleared she had disappeared."
Salamander swings his fist through a wall. "Damn it, Gajeel, you know we need to capture one of them to find out who Heart is!"
The man, Gajeel, shakes his head. "I don't think it will be that easy; loyalty is big in the Heart Crew. Remember when we managed to trap the one thats goes by the name 'Rainwoman?'"
Salamander sighs. "Yeah, I lost ten men to the river because of her."
"She said something that day that has stuck with me even after all these years." Salamander turns and glares at Gajeel. "Well spit it out."
"Hearts are made to be broken, but loyalty is never betrayed. We will die to protect that loyalty and our Heart." Gajeel says softly.
Salamander freezes and says, "I haven't heard that saying in over ten years, but it's impossible she's dead."
Gajeel looks at the man in confusion while Gray says, "We need to find Heart, this will solve many questions if we can capture her."
Salamander waves his hand and both men leave the study. Suddenly, he looks over at the corner where I'm hiding and says, "I know you're there, now come out before I shoot you."
I snort but remain where I'm at. "You think you can find Heart so easily, maybe you should take your eyes off her and focus on the fact that Light and Shadow is moving through your territory to attack one of our safe houses at the edge of the forest."
Salamander growls, and I quickly move forward until I'm holding a knife to his throat and whisper in his ear. "You want Heart, right?" When he nods I say, "Tomorrow they plan to hit the safe house. Get there and she will be there."
He growls, "You can't tell me what to do, you silly woman" I back off into the shadows saying, "True, but home is where your heart is."
When he pulls out a gun is when I make my escape out the window of his study and up to the roof. While I wait to see if he follows or not, I press a button on my bracelet and bring it up to my mouth.
"Home, come in, home" I whisper, hoping Titania or Heart has their ear piece in, and seeing as they typically do I'm not surprised when both answer, but only Heart speaks up.
"Well did it work, Ghost?" I grab a hold of the gutter and climb back down until I'm sitting on the ledge next to the window. I grin when I hear Salamander issuing commands to prepare for tomorrow and I say into the mic,
"Operation, "Home Is Where the Heart Is," is a go. He sets out at 1800 hours."
"Good work, Ghost, keep on him and let us know what happens. Home out." Titania says, after a second of silence.
Salamander P.O.V.
I can't believe I let that spy get away, but now I have more pressing things to worry about so I press the button on the intercom. "Ice and Metal, report immediately."
Not five minutes later, Gray and Gajeel are walking back in the study doors looking like they're ready to attack.
When the men stand at attention I say, "Easy men, I have just received news that Heart is stationed at a safe house on the edge of the woods near our territory, but Light and Shadow will be attacking tomorrow, so Gray, I need you to round up the grunts. Gajeel, set up look outs on the borders and prepare my weapons. We set out at 1800 hours to capture Heart."
As I give each man his orders he leaves the study to get to work. With not many hours until we move out, it's only right they move with speed.
After they leave I settle into my chair and open a secret drawer under my desk. Inside sits a locket and a framed photo. I grab the photo and push the locket to the back of the drawer.
When I turn the photo over, I quickly get lost in the memory of that day.
~Flashback~
"Natsu, come on, Dad wants to take a picture." I look up from my plate of chicken to see my girlfriend, Lucy, running over from where her parents are standing next to a camera.
I grin, finishing off my plate. "I'm coming, Luce. Have you seen Sting and Rogue?" She nods and points to the tree over top of us.
When I follow her finger I see Rogue sleeping on a branch, and Sting about to throw a water balloon at the sleeping teen.
"Oi, Sting, Rogue, it's picture time." I yell out, causing Sting to miss his shot and Rogue to jump out of the tree.
"Ah, Natsu did you have to wake him, that was a perfect shot!" Sting says after he drops down next to me. I grin. "The perfect shot is one you take."
Sting rolls his eyes. "So, Uncle Igneel has already started teaching you?"
I nod. "What of it? I like the fighting techniques he's teaching me. Hell, one day I'll be so good at hand to hand I'll be able to take the Grand Champion, Capricorn, down."
"Good luck with that. No one can beat him, that's why he's gone undefeated his entire career." We turn to see Rogue and Luce walking up behind us.
I stick my tongue out. "Just you wait, I will be number one." Luce gives me a hug. "Sure you will, but for right now, Dad wants to take a picture of us all."
We walk over to Lucy's Dad and he says, "Alright, now line up for the picture." I throw my arm around Lucy's shoulders while Sting has Rogue in a headlock, both wearing grins.
Lucy's dad says, "Say cheese!" So I say, "Pickles," and the photo is taken.
~End Flashback~
I chuckle before recalling that a week later Sting and Rogue, along with their families, disappeared into thin air. I notice a drop on the glass but when I wipe it away another one quickly takes it's spot.
'Oh, Luce, you're the only girl I've ever loved.' I think as I wipe the tears away. I can't help but wonder what really happened on that night all those years ago but I know one thing for sure: I've only ever loved one girl, and that's all I'll ever need. But, now with this Heart character taking over Love and Lucky, the company that should have belonged to Luce, I know I need to take her and claim what is rightfully the Heartfilia's.
I put the photo back and close the drawer just as Gajeel opens the study door and says, "All preparations are complete, now you need to get some sleep. It's almost dawn and we move out in twelve hours time."
I nod and he closes the door again. I stand up with a sigh and quickly make my way to my room for some much needed sleep before tonight.
So, what do you think? Did you like it? Did you hate it? Leave a review or P.M. me to let me know.
Now let's get to business.
Normally I disagree with the weekly uploads, but that's because impatience gets the better of me more often then I like to say. However for this story I will make an exception, because like I said, I feel like being evil.
What I said earlier is true. There are already ten chapters written out. I will say this ahead of time. I have no actual plot for this story planned, I just write the story as I feel it should be written. Meaning it jumps from one to the other, but I must say it's been working out so far.
Now, Stele is probably gonna kill me for being so evil but eh. She'll live with it. She's an awesome editor and an even more amazing friend.
Hmm, anything else I'm missing? Um, um, oh I know. Go check Stele out and while you're at it go check out our co-op I was telling you about earlier. The story is on my profile but how that one works is that She and I go back and forth writing chapters. I write the odd chapters and she writes the evens.
Y'know I had this whole spiel thunk up and I just forgot it. Eh it happens. I think I'll let y'all go for now, so with that.
Grizzly out for the night.
P.S. Grab the bull by the horns.
