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...

The countryside zoomed past as Lucy watched out of the train window. As planned she had met Bisca down the train station at the specified time and after exchanging mild pleasantries, the pair of them had boarded the vehicle leaving themselves a couple of minutes before leaving the station.

The door to the room opened up and Lucy turned her head to see her fellow mage enter the small compartment they would be sharing. "Sorry about that," apologized Bisca. "It happens everytime and they still don't learn."

"What did they want to talk to you about?" asked Lucy.

As she took a seat and ran her fingers through her hair, Bisca allowed an exasperated sigh to escape her lips. "It's basic firearm laws," explained the sharpshooter. "I mean I can understand their fear when somebody walks onto the train with a rifle slung over their shoulder, if warning signs didn't start going off I'd be worried about the safety of everyone on here. Every time I have to show them my insignia and explain to them that I'm a member of Fairy Tail and need my weapon in order to complete the job I've been assigned. Then it's 'sign here, here and here, initial here.'"

"I imagine that must get annoying," said Lucy.

"Well that part I can live with, it's just the fact they confiscate my weapon until the end of the trip," said Bisca with a huff. "It's times like this where I wish I could use Requip magic like Erza."

"Requip?" asked Lucy having never heard of that type of magic before.

"Putting it basically it means that she is able to store her weapons in a little personal pocket dimension," stated Bisca. "It is a little more complicated than that but it pretty much sums it up."

"Wow, it seems like everyone in Fairy Tail has amazing abilities," said Lucy with stars in her eyes.

"Well some are more useful than others but everyone plays a part," said Bisca. "Anyways, lets discuss the plan?"

Lucy swallowed nervously before doing her best to compose herself. Already, this was a lot different to how her mission with Cana had gone. "Alright then, what do I need to know?" asked Lucy.

"According to the details on the sheet we'll have to meet with the mayor once we arrive in town," stated Bisca. "Considering you can only gauge so much from a job request we'll need to have a thorough discussion with him to learn out the smaller facts, things like when these bandits are most active, how far out from the city they strike and so on so forth."

"I take it you've done jobs like this before then," said Lucy.

"Of course, and from experience you have to plan well ahead in order to get everything to go smoothly," said Bisca as she made herself comfy on the train seat, running her fingers through her hair as she did so. "Once we get the details we can plot out a strategy accordingly that will give us the best chance of success."

Lucy couldn't help but admire the way that Bisca was going about this job, already having taken into consideration so much just from her experience and the small details that had been on the request form. Somehow she was starting to feel like this job was going to go a lot more smoothly than her previous one and as Bisca began to share some stories of how her and Alzack had completed some missions, she began to relax a little feeling like she was in good hands.

…

Natsu looked at the elderly man in shock. "I think I misheard you," Natsu whispered.

Makarov looked at the salmon-haired teen calmly. "Like I just said, we are heading towards a meeting with the other guild masters."

Natsu struggled to rein in his temper, his body visibly shaking. "You said we were going on a job."

Makarov craned his neck to look at the countryside scenery whizzing past him. "I said something like a job," he corrected.

Natsu clenched his fists and tried to take a deep breath. He had to keep calm and collected;he didn't want the old man to think he was immature. "This is nothing like a job."

"How so? We are often requested as mages to provide safety to people as they travel through dangerous territories," Makarov pointed out.

Natsu gritted his teeth, nearly any semblance of control gone. "This isn't dangerous territory!"

"You'd be surprised. A meeting of so many powerful mages is basically an invitation for an attack."

"Who'd want to attack a bunch of old geezers?"

"Well consider what would happen if an attack went down," said Makarov as his eyes sharpened. "You have the heads of over two dozen of the most prolific guilds in Fiore discussing political business. All of those who are attending are well aware of who else will show and if they are unable to do so they will send someone they trust in their place. What would happen though if one or two of the guilds meant to be attending didn't show? While every guild leader is powerful there are always people out there stronger than them. So what does that mean? Were they assaulted on their way to the meeting, did their train get derailed or was their drink poisoned when they thought they were perfectly safe? There are hundreds if not thousands of possibilities of what very well could happen in a situation exactly like this one. So then tell me Natsu, do you still believe an escort mission like this one isn't classified as a job?"

Natsu grumbled a distorted response as he turned his attention to the window and looked at the scenery. Makarov allowed a small smile to cross over his features happy to have convinced the boy even if the pink haired lad hadn't exactly responded positively. The leader of Fairy Tail was well aware of the fact that Natsu had not taken well to the fact that he had been stripped of being allowed to go on jobs. While it was harsh Makarov had deemed it necessary and he would welcome the boy's anger in order to ensure his safety.

He guessed though that he could give the boy some leeway now, knowing full well that he had matured a fair bit over the past couple of years. There was no way though that he would send him on something which could be devastating to Natsu's physical health but perhaps he could look at some jobs not too dissimilar to the one they were currently on.

Picking up a magazine, Makarov decided that he would spend some of the time with the other guild leaders discussing possible options. Until then he would pass the time enjoying the photospreads that the 'Weekly Sorcerer' was known for.

As minutes ticked by, Makarov peered over his reading material to look at the boy from time to time and knew something wasn't quite in place. Finally it clicked and he couldn't help himself as he asked the question. "Natsu, do you feel ill at all? I seem to recall that you used to get quite a severe case of motion sickness back in the day."

Natsu turned his head to be able to look Makarov in the eyes. "I haven't felt that since 'that day,'" answered Natsu before turning his attention back to the outside scenery. Makarov quickly understood what it was that the boy meant and decided that any further investigation would likely tear the relationship he had with the boy even further. Thus silence was champion as both of them refused to say another word to each other for the rest of the trip.

...

"Are you sure this is the best course of action?" asked Lucy as she and Bisca stood at the edge of Oshibana, a large horse drawn wagon with them.

"The mayor offered us this equipment in order to lure out the bandits, there's even a couple of chests in there as bait," said Bisca. "Considering our chances this is the best course of action."

"Couldn't you ride in the wagon though?" said Lucy afraid of the fact she would be encountering these people on her own.

"I need to be able to see everything that's happening on the outside," explained Bisca. "The mayor told us that the merchants were attacked by six men roughly two miles out of town. I need to be able to confirm that all six are present and accounted for because we don't get paid if one of them gets away. Those are the terms and conditions we agreed to."

"But..."

"Don't worry about it, I'll be following on foot and will always stay within range, you've got nothing to be frightened of," assured Bisca. "Just remain calm and we'll have secured this trade route before you know it."

"If you say so," said Lucy begrudgingly as she hopped onto the wagon seat and grabbed the reigns of the horse. With a slight flick of the wrist the animal began to trot away from the city and down the dirt path. Lucy glanced over her shoulder to see that Bisca was doing one last inspection of her weapon, giving the celestial wizard a quick boost of confidence. She had heard the stories that the gunslinger had told her on the train and there was no doubt that she was good at her job.

Turning her attention forward once again, Lucy focused on the task at hand. She had to play the part of an oblivious merchant. Lucy licked her lips and loosened her grip on the horses reins. She began to hum. Hopefully, the bandits would attack soon and they could wrap up the mission.

There was a turn in the road ahead. An optimal spot for an ambush and she'd be in Bisca's blind spot for a few crucial seconds. Time slowed to slow to a snail's pace and every bump and jostle of the wagon was amplified tenfold for the nervous Fairy Tail member. Finally, the cart turned the corner.

Fifteen thugs stood in the centre of the dusty path, all armed to the teeth. Lucy gulped, this was more than expected. "C-can you move, please?" Lucy didn't have to fake the fear in her voice. The mayor had only told them that there were six men so why were there more than double that standing in front of her looking to tear her to shreds? Had the mayor lied to them about the number of potential enemies so that they were more likely to accept the job?

A seven foot tall man stepped forward. He had bulging muscles the size of a babies head. He wore a black tank top, matching boots and camouflage pants. Scars criss-crossed his large, battle-hardened body. He causally held a massive halberd with one hand. He grinned. "I'm afraid not. If you play nice though we'll go easy on ya."

Lucy slowly reached for her keys, hoping that Bisca would turn the corner soon and provide support. The leader of the bandits held his weapon in front of her. "You know what to do boys."

The men issued their war cries and charger forward. Lucy held one of her keys out in front of her with a flourish and leapt off the wagon. "Gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus!" Lucy called out.

The bull appeared out of thin air and his large axe carved through the first five men before they could blink. The rest hesitated to face the animal head on. Their leader's face turned beetroot and a vein bulged dangerously on his forehead. "Kill them both!" he roared, spit flying out of his mouth.

Any further tirades by the opposing man were stopped when a sniper shell smashed into his face and sent him careening to the ground, unconscious. The remaining thugs stood in shock as they tried to figure out where the shot had been fired from as another one of them was knocked off their feet. The bandits faced a dilemma: Fight or flee? Taurus made their decision for them by smashing his axe into three more men. The remaining men took flight, tails between their legs.

Bisca could only smile as she stared down the barrel of her gun.

"Piece of cake."

…

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