Hey Everyone! AAA here with you guessed it; an UPDATE! I amaze myself sometimes. Anyways sorry this is late but work's been a pain. But this is the last chapter before the HEIST OF OUTPOST DRACOON! (The all caps were for emphasis). So the next chapter will be twice as long and I'm starting work on it now. And there's MORE! The second piece of fanart from Kristallin is DONE. This one is NaLu straight from chapter one. Go to deviantart and check out her work, it's all fairy tail, and she's amazing as always. Last but not least leave a review (please, I personally respond to every single one), a favorite, and a follow. They mean the world to us writers. And without further ado here is chapter 7 of Guild of Thieves! Also I own nothing, Mashima does. And forgive any glaring mistakes. Wrote this entire chapter on an iPhone
1:30 PM Wednesday, 49 hours remaining
"I'll have one inferno burger please with extra hell sauce, and a glass of water. And...what do you want Happy?" Natsu asked, looking across the padded booth at his blue haired little buddy.
"I'll take the fire fish sandwich please. And an apple juice to drink" Happy said as he looked up from his menu, a wide smile on his face. Natsu couldn't help but smile and shake his head at his young partner. The kid had an IQ over 250 and yet all he
/ever seemed interested in eating was fish.
They handed their menus back to their young waiter, a guy around Natsu's age, dressed in a bright red polo and black slacks. "You got it boss. Drinks will be right out" he said before turning around and heading around a corner to place their order.
Natsu sat back and put his arms behind his head. He pulled his hood off and ran his handthrough his hair, bringing the spikes up. He did a quick survey of the restaurant, and found it was surprisingly empty for the middle of the day. The restaurant
/was called Hell's Kitchen, and the decorum matched its name. Low red lighting colored the entirety of the restaurant. The walls were decorated with silhouettes of fire that constantly moved and shaped into various forms. Yet despite the name, the
/air inside was nice and chilled compared to the sticky humidity of the outside atmosphere.
"So Natsu what have you got planned? All you did was legally buy steel wool, plastic jars, two twenty-four cans of soda packages, and a blender. If you have a plan, I'm lost" Happy asked as their waiter brought their drinks and taking a sip of his juice.
"Well Happy, those are ingredients for the surprise party this weekend" Natsu said, poking his head out of the booth, scanning the surrounding area, making sure no one decided to eavesdrop.
"Natsu we're the only ones in the restaurant. Can you please just tell me what you're planning?" Happy asked, his juice and patience both gone.
"It means thermite, cat. Yet knowing Salamander's MO, it's a little too soft, not enough bark and not enough bite if you know what I mean" a gruff voice said behind them.
Happy nearly jumped out of his seat, before wheeling around to see a tall, muscled man with piercings dotting his entire face. His long black hair flowed down like a wild mane. He was dressed in a black tank top, with brown camouflage pants and an armor
/plated black leather jacket. Fingerless gloves with pitch black plates adorned his hands. He had a wicked grin with razor canines. A grin that bore a striking similarity to Natsu's. The new arrival placed his elbows on the wood paneling surrounding
/the booth. He had a glint of mischief in his eye, as he towered over the teenager.
"The steel wool is your iron oxide, the cans of soda are your source of aluminum, the blender to turn it into powder, and the jars are for mixing and casings right?" the man asked, looking across towards Natsu.
Happy looked towards Natsu and was stunned to see Natsu grin back and nod at this complete stranger. "Who the hell was this guy, and how does he know Natsu?" Happy thought to himself.
"Nice to see you to Metal." Natsu said with a nod to the new arrival. "Happy meet Gajeel "Black Steel" Redfox. He's…in the same line of business as us. Gajeel meet Happy, my little buddy". Natsu said introducing the two, a grin on his face.
Happy wheeled back in his chair to stare at the man. "YOU'RE THE GAJEEL?" he asked in a loud voice, pointing his finger at the man.
Gajeel only grinned, and put a finger up to his lips, silently shushing the teenager. He walked around and pulled a chair from an adjacent table, placing the back of the chair towards their table, and taking a seat. He picked up one of the knives laid
/on the table and began twirling it in his fingers. "So, what's the job Salamander?" Gajeel asked looking towards Natsu.
Natsu crossed his arms in front of his chest and shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Just taking Happy on a road trip." He said, indifference laced in his voice.
Gajeel stopped twirling the knife, and placed the tip of the knife into the table, slowly embedding it into the wood. "I'll give you an A on deliverance Salamander, but you and I both know that's bullshit." He said in a low voice. "For starters, I heard
/that ingredient list for that so called surprise party this weekend. You're making thermite, no doubt about it and if I had to guess you're hitting that shipment of weapons coming into Outpost Dracoon. It's the only decent score coming into Hargeon
/after that stunt you pulled a few days ago. Second, there's no way you would ever take a road trip voluntarily with your motion sickness, so I know that's bullshit as well. The only question now is why you're here in a very public restaurant, with
/the ingredients for a very nasty bomb but without your secret ingredients." He finished as he sat back in his chair, crossing his arms.
"It is a good question. One you shouldn't be asking. Move and you die." a new voice said, from behind Gajeel. Natsu and Happy both jumped, surprised by the new voice. They looked towards the newcomer and noticed the gun they had pressed to the base of
/Gajeel's neck. They were standing right behind Gajeel, with the gun held at their side, obscuring the firearm from view of any casual observer. The newcomer was dressed in the same attire as the waiter from earlier, bright red polo with black slacks,
/yet the waiter was now a petite waitress. The newcomer pulled the hammer back on the gun.
Gajeel didn't noticeably react, in fact he looked bored despite the development. "Salamander can you tell the girl to take the Glock 42 away from my head. I don't want to make a mess in this fine establishment, nor do I want to hurt your friend" Gajeel
/said, his eyes not once blinking as he spoke calmly towards Natsu.
Levy responded by pressing the barrel of the gun harder into his neck. "And what makes you think you're in any position to threaten people?" She said in a near whisper. But Natsu could've sworn he heard what sounded like curiosity in her voice.
This was getting out of hand. Fast. By instinct alone his eyes honed in on the only logical place Gajeel could be concealing a gun. And that's when he saw, under Gajeel's arm, in his jacket, was a pitch black desert eagle, aimed right at Levy's midsection.
"Listen here Shrimp." Gajeel began in a voice that sounded almost like he was mocking her. "I don't make threats. I either kill." He said as everyone at the table heard him pull back the hammer on his gun. "Or I don't."
Levy looked down and noticed the bulge of the hand cannon pressed right against her flesh. She fought the urge to swallow the lump in her throat. Sweat drops began to form on her forehead. How did she miss it? Had she gotten sloppy? "No. This guy is good.
/Really good." She thought to herself, eyes never leaving sight of the gun.
"Have you ever seen what a .50 caliber hollow point round does at point blank range? I haven't but I hear it can tear people in half. And I'm dying to find out if that's true" he finished looking over his shoulder. A predatory grin stretching across his
/face.
Happy looked across at Natsu and saw his fingers encircling the knife from his silverware set. Natsu's face betrayed no emotion. His eyes were locked on Gajeel's hand. Scanning for the slightest hint of movement. Noticing what his partner was doing, Happy
/began inching his hand towards his steel backpack, anticipating the worse.
With a sigh Levy lowered the gun and holstered it in the back of her pants. "Would you mind leaving then? I have business I need to discuss with Natsu" she asked, making sure the other waiters were not around.
Gajeel seemed to ponder the request for a minute, before he let out a low chuckle and withdrew his hand from his jacket, raising his hands slightly above his head. "He's all yours." He said, standing up from the table.
Even though there was no visible reaction, Happy could tell both Natsu and Levy considerably relaxed as he stood up to leave. Yet Natsu's fingers were still curled around the knife. Always on edge. Happy snickered into his hand at his own joke.
"Hey Salamander," Gajeel said as he walked away. Natsu looked up and over his shoulder and met Gajeel's gaze.
"Gladiator in arena consilium capit" and with that said, Gajeel walked towards the glass door and walked out of the restaurant.
"You ok?" Natsu asked to Levy, looking at the petite bluenette, who had taken Gajeel's seat, and planting her head flat on the table.
"Yeah I'm fine. I can't believe he got the drop on me though. No one has ever forced me into a stalemate like that" Levy said into the table.
Natsu and Happy took a quick look at each other, and evil Grinchlike grins slowly spread across both of their faces. Natsu was the first to begin the teasing assault
"What was that? No one has ever made you feel like that? Gajeel: tall, dark, and brooding has mesmerized Levy's heart" Natsu said, clasping his hands together like a maiden in love.
"She loooooves him" Happy added on. And that was the straw that broke the camel's back as both Natsu and Happy burst out laughing, tears rolling down their faces.
Levy did not raise her head from the table, but her arms shot out, grabbing a hold of the back of their hoodies. With surprising strength for a woman of her stature, she brought both of their faces down into a face first slam on the table.
Levy's cheeks were as bright red as the trickle of blood that came down from Natsu's mouth and Happy's nose.
"Son of a bitch!" Natsu cursed out loud. "Was that really necessary Levy?" He asked her, wiping the blood away with his napkin.
"Yeah you didn't have to hit us so hard, you big meanie!" Happy added on, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose, in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
"Oh you're both fine. Anyway Natsu, I slipped the PBAN into your shopping bags. You'll have enough to make six "cakes". Levy said the last word using air quotes. "Two for the main power, two for the backup, and two extra just in case." Levy explained
/motioning down to the plastic bags under the wood table.
"Thanks Levy. Just what I need. This party is going to go off without a hitch. I'm getting fired up just thinking about it" Natsu replied, his signature grin forming on his face.
"Hey Natsu, I've got two questions." Happy said, raising his hand up over his head.
"What's up little buddy?" he replied, looking across at his blue haired partner.
"What's PBAN?" Happy asked, confusion spread across his face.
"Polybutadiene acrylonitrile" Levy interjected, cutting Natsu off, earning the bluenette a glare from the pyromaniac.
Happy just openly stared at her. His brain not understanding a word that she said
Levy sighed and shook her head. Natsu had to fight back the urge to laugh at her frustration. "In layman' terms, it's rocket fuel. Propellant to be exact." Natsu chimed in from his side of the table, happy that only Happy would understand him.
"It's a binding agent that turns a simple incendiary grenade into an explosive charge from hell" Levy added on with a snap of her fingers for emphasis.
Happy couldn't help but grin. The excitement was evident on his face.
"And your second question was..." Natsu asked, rolling his hand in a circle. Motioning to Happy to hurry up.
"What did Gajeel say? He said something in a different language" Happy asked, as the waiter arrived with the food. His eyes hungrily staring at the fish sandwich in front of him.
"Gladiator in arena consilium capit? It translates to the gladiator who forms his plan in the arena" Natsu explained about to take a bite out of his burger.
No sooner had the words left his mouth, his eyes widened, he dropped his burger back onto the plate and made eye contact with Levy, who had reached the same conclusion as he.
"Can he?" Levy asked in a rapid whisper, eyes peeking over the wood paneling to get a glimpse of the outside.
"Alone? Not a chance." Natsu replied
"But he's with Phantom!" Levy countered
"They're trigger happy idiots" he answered
"Are you guys ready?" She asked
"Not yet. I need a few hours to make these." He answered motioning down to the bags under the table. "And I don't know how much more time Lucy needs. Gray and Erza I'm not worried about." he added on
"The job was to be pulled off Friday, but Gajeel knows about the score. If you're too late as of right now..." Levy began
They both looked at each other before jumping to their feet, knocking their glasses over as they stood up
"Come on Happy we gotta go!" Natsu said in a loud voice throwing his hood up over his head. Levy threw a hundred dollar bill on the table and grabbed the bags from under the table
"But Natsu I just got my fish!" Happy whined in protest, about to bite into his sandwich
Without even saying a word, Natsu got out of the booth, hoisted his teenager partner over his shoulder, grabbed the kid's backpack and sprinted out of the restaurant, with Levy right behind them
2:00 PM, Wednesday, 48 hours remaining
Lucy fought every single urge to cry out in pain as her body hit the mat for the umpteenth time that day. First it was stealth with Mystogan, now it was hand to hand combat with the "She Devil", more commonly known as "Demon" Mirajane Strauss.
She was introduced to the silver haired vixen thirty minutes ago.
*30 minutes earlier*
Lucy walked through the door into a smaller ten by ten room. Alistair followed suit, and closed the metal door behind them. He unfolded a folding chair that was leaning against the wall before taking a seat. The paint in this room was also fading yet
/it seemed to be in better condition than the rest of the warehouse. There were a series of faded blue training mats on the floor. All were well worn, and some were even peeling. Whoever used them put them through hell.
Mystogan stood off to the side of the room, a clear glass tablet in his hands, engrossed in his reading. There was also a kicking pad, and a young woman stretching on the mats.
The woman was in a reverse bridge pose, and her long silver hair spilled onto the floor. Her body had very generous curves, and she was wearing a loose fitting black tank top and black yoga pants. Lucy also took note of the fingerless gloves that adorned
/her hand and black leather combat boots on her feet.
"Oh hello there. You must be Lucy the new recruit" the young woman said from her yoga position. With the grace of a dancer she did a handstand before bringing her feet down under her and standing upright.
"Yeah that's me." Lucy said with an awkward wave and smile. Lucy had always taken great pride in her voluptuous assets but this woman made even Lucy feel insecure and increasingly aware of being coated in dots of red paint from head to toe.
"I'm Mirajane Strauss, I'll be your hand to hand combat instructor for the day." The woman said with a smile, and dusting her hands off. Mirajane was taller than Lucy, with the same build as Erza, regal and commanding. Yet unlike the redhead, Mirajane's
/presence was much warmer and lighter than the serious air that surrounded the redhead. Her skin was also flawless. This woman could easily have been a model had she chosen to be.
"Is everyone in this guild, the very definition of human perfection?" Lucy thought to herself as Mirajane walked over towards her.
"Lucy Heartfilia, I can't wait to get started." Lucy returned the smile and offered out her right hand. Lucy felt good. She felt like she had finally met a normal person in this insane guild
As Lucy offered out her right hand, Mirajane offered out her left. Both going for the same side of a handshake
"Sorry about that I'm a lefty" Mirajane said with a laugh that also made Lucy jealous of this woman.
"Don't worry about it" Lucy replied as she withdrew her right hand to offer out her left. Yet as soon as her right hand moved she felt hands go around the back of her neck. With inhuman strength and speed, Lucy's head was yanked downward, to meet the
/rising force that was Mirajane's knee.
Lucy felt her cheek slam into this woman's knee and was instantly amazed that she hadn't lost consciousness right then and there. As she felt her head reel back from the force of the collision, Mirajane spun in a circle before lashing out with her right
/leg, catching Lucy in the stomach. Lucy felt all the air be pushed out of her lungs as she felt her feet leave the ground. She flew through the air before thankfully crashing down on the worn mats that had been set up. It didn't stop the immense pain
/she felt in her stomach, head and back though
This woman kicked with the force of a freight train and moved with speed that rivaled Erza's. This woman was a monster
"Lucy Heartfilia, meet Mirajane Strauss. Also known as the She-Devil to law enforcement, Demon if you're ever working with her on a job" Mystogan said, without even looking up from his tablet.
"And just how did she earn that nickname? Lucy asked yet immediately wished she hadn't. She could barely breathe as it was, and talking didn't help.
"Because she took down an entire SWAT team with nothing but her hands. Most ended up in the hospital for six months after she was done with them" Alistair chimed in, resting his hand and his chin on the golden hilt of his cane.
Lucy brought herself to a knee as she forced air back into her lungs. These people were sending her down the gauntlet today, talk about a brutal initiation. .
And that was when Lucy noticed a change in Mirajane. The once kind young woman had a look of evil in her eyes. A sadistic grin that would give Natsu chills was on her face. Yet what scared Lucy the most was the scar that now stretched down the right side
/of Mirajane's face. It originated from her forehead, traveled down and over the center of her eye, before branching off and spreading halfway across her lower cheek. It looked like a jagged crack in the woman's once flawless porcelain skin. Suddenly
/the name Demon fit this woman all too well...
*Present*
Lucy was amazed she was still conscious. This woman did not play around and yet Lucy still had the sense Mirajane was holding way back. But if this is what she had to go through to be considered a member of Fairy Tail she would do it ten times over.
"I didn't know we started accepting weaklings into the guild." Mirajane taunted from her position. "What's your story Lucy? Daddy's little girl didn't like being pampered? Well I hate to break it to you, but you'll never be a member of Fairy Tail of you
/can't land a single hit on me" She finished with a laugh.
Lucy could take the physical punishment. But she was getting angry. She was going to knock that smirk right off of Mirajane's flawless face. Gritting her teeth with newfound resolve, she stood to her feet, shakily at first but regaining her balance. She
/raised both of her hands up so they were resting underneath her chin. Her hands lightly curled. All she had to do was land a solid hit.
"How hard can one hit be?" She thought to herself as she walked forward before bringing her right arm back and throwing it as hard as she could at Mirajane's face. Mirajane simply forced her hand to the left with her left hand before burying her right
/hand into Lucy's gut. Lucy fought to keep the air inside her this time, yet was still stunned by the sheer power behind her strikes. Mirajane quickly spun in a circle before delivering her left elbow right into Lucy's nose. Lucy could feel her nose
/squish underneath the impact before feeling the blood flow freely out of it. Mirajane followed up with a straight front kick, again to Lucy's stomach, sending the poor girl flying through the air and crashing into the wall.
She slid slowly to the ground, clutching at her abused abdomen. She landed right next to where Alistair was sitting as well.
"You're forgetting the three rules of fighting Lucy." Alistair whispered to her. "I know you learned them when you arrived at the guild hall. What were they?" He asked her, nervously eyeing Mirajane
Lucy looked up at him, her cheek was swollen from Mirajane's earliest assault, her nose was almost definitely broken, and she was covered in paint, bruises and cuts from the earlier assaults of both Mystogan and Mirajane. She could only imagine how she
/looked.
"What was step one?" He asked her, more urgency in his voice now.
"Get inside your opponents head" she said quietly, as she brought herself back into a sitting position."
"Correct. That's just what Mirajane did. She got under your skin. Made you think irrationally. You got angry, and then you got sloppy. Don't get sloppy. If you're sloppy you're predictable." He lectured her
"Step two you mean." Lucy added on, slowly realizing where he was going with this.
"Correct again. And the beating you just took was step three. Making sure they stay down." He added. This entire time he's been training her, not once did he show any visible emotion. Yet for the first time that day he seemed actually interested in how
/she did
"All right but how do you even get inside Mirajane's head? That woman isn't human" Lucy asked, forcing herself back onto her feet despite the pain. She leaned her back against the wall for support.
"Think Lucy you know the answer. You clearly see how good Mirajane is. That woman is a freak of nature. Yet Erza is the one with the title of Titania, Queen of the Fairies. Erza is one of the Regent Trinity. Erza is the number one woman in the
/guild. How would you feel if you were constantly overshadowed by someone who you were just as good as? Always being second place?" Alistair asked
Lucy found herself grinning of all things. She knew how to beat Mirajane. With great effort she pushed herself off the wall and stumbled back over to the mats where Mirajane waited. A look of absolute boredom on her face. After this entire time, Mirajane
/hadn't even broken a sweat.
"I'm surprised you're able to stand Lucy. Not many people would keep asking for more pain" Mirajane said, examining her nails, not even looking at the bloodied and battered blonde.
"It's fine. You're not Titania. I don't even want to think of what Erza would do to me" Lucy said through ragged breaths. She even threw in a chuckle for good measure.
At the mention of the redhead, Mirajane lowered her hand and slowly turned to face Lucy. The scar became much more prominent. "What did you just say?" She asked in a low voice, a full octave deeper than the cheerful one she used when she met Lucy.
"I meant nothing by it. It's just Erza is a living legend. She's perfect in everything she does. She's both amazing and terrifying at the same exact time" Lucy finished
"You want to see terrifying I'll show you terrifying" Mirajane said in a voice that made Lucy's blood run cold. Mirajane slowly started crossing the short distance towards Lucy
"Step one complete" Lucy thought to herself, her mind racing in an attempt to get the upper hand on the She-Devil. "I clearly made her mad. Mirajane likes using her legs more than her arms. She favors her right side. And she's mad. So she's going to for
/a straight front kick to send me back into the wall!" Lucy readied herself for the assault. And braced herself for the pain if she was wrong
Yet true to Lucy's prediction Mirajane went for a full force front kick, that Lucy was able to sidestep to the left, albeit barely. The speed at which the kick came was faster than Lucy expected. Yet she would not let this moment pass her up.
"Time for step three bitch" she said in a louder voice than she intended. With all of her might Lucy lashed out with her right palm, catching Mirajane in her chest. Yet Lucy was not done. She stuck her right leg out, behind Mirajane's left foot that was
/planted on the ground. She pushed her arm with all her might, while sweeping her right leg back, sweeping the She-Devil off of her feet, and crashing her down into the mat.
Capitalizing on her advantage, Lucy quickly straddled Mirajane before landing blow after blow to the woman's face. She was unleashing all the anger and frustration she had felt that day into Mirajane's face. And Lucy was loving every single blow that
/she landed.
"Ok Lucy you made your point" she heard a voice call out. But she didn't care. She was going to make Mirajane. Stayed. Down. And continued her assault.
"Lucy! That's enough!" Another voice called out to her. But she couldn't tell who it was
As she pulled back her right arm for another punch, she felt a strong grip encircle her forearm, stopping her. She wildly looked to the right and saw it was Natsu of all people holding her arm. The touch was warm yet it was also incredibly firm. There
/was not a chance that he would let her arm escape.
"I think you did enough Lucy" he said in a low voice that was both laced with concern and worry. "She's down. You won." He motioned her to look down at Mirajane, who was barely conscious.
Lucy didn't even know how many times she had punched Mirajane. She could clearly see the bruises on her forehead and cheek start to form, and there was trickle of blood coming from the cut on her lip. Mirajane's physical resilience was astounding to say
/the least.
And that was when Lucy looked around her and saw the expressions of the people around her. Levy and Happy had arrived as well, standing by the door and were looking at her with genuine shock and...fear on their faces. Alistair was still seated in his
/chair yet Alistair's face for the first time that day had a look of pure surprise on his face, his mouth was hanging open. And when she turned towards Mystogan, she felt her blood freeze when she realized he was standing two feet from her. A loaded
/9mm pistol in his hand, aimed straight at her head. And she knew that, with his aim, even at a hundred feet, he would not miss.
"What did I do?" she asked in a low voice, turning towards Natsu. "What's happening to me?" She asked tears, forming in her eyes
Natsu pulled her into a hug as she cried into his scarf. "Call Erza and Gray we have a problem"
