Chapter 9:

Abi woke up feeling drowsy. She got back in from the castle in the wee small hours of the morning after stealing the blueprints, and promptly passed out when she got to her room. She awoke to the sound of excited chatter underneath her window, but the room was dark, and colors stretched across the sky. Damn, she must've slept the entire day away. The blonde scratched her hair and sat up, stretching her arms up overhead and rolling her neck. Her stomach rumbled, and she grimaced.

First things first: dinner. Then she could plot just how in the hell she would get into the Grand Magic Games. She had to cover all her bases, unfortunately.

A cool breeze floated through the open window, so Abi pulled on a pair of (ugh) high rise jeans that tapered to her knee and flared out, and a cropped black turtleneck. Then, she gathered her thick blonde hair into a ponytail and slid on her charm ring. The inn keeper knew her as 'Hannah', and Abi used her regular appearance when she checked in. She would have to wait to shift her appearance, but that was fine with her.

The thief grabbed her leather bag, slid on her boots, and strolled out of the little inn. Now to find a place to eat. Abi turned the corner and melted into the crowds of Crocus. Maybe she didn't need to shift her appearance tonight after all. Abi strolled toward the restaurants around the corner and imagined dinner. With her mind full of steaks and fries and chicken, she was so at ease that she didn't notice a man walking in the opposite direction had stopped and stared at her. At least, not until she bumped into him.

"Sorry, I wasn't-," The words died in her throat. Oh shit. Black lips stretched into a smile, and dark, slitted eyes met hers.

"Now this is a surprise," The man said and licked his lips. His voice was acidic, every word sounded like a hiss. Abi took a step back, clenching her fists. Before her stood Black Snake, a vicious son of a bitch who she hoped to never see again. He was built thin and agile, like a long distance runner crossed with a ballerina. You looked at him and knew he was fast, the tight black shirt didn't hide the definition of his muscles, like ropes beneath the fabric. He a pair of loose fitting green and yellow pants that allowed him to kick high and disguised his legs in case he fought someone with a blade. His black hair had grown longer since they last met, over a year ago.

Abi narrowed her eyes and glanced around, surveying her surroundings. There were tons of people in the street, and of course, guards. She couldn't cause a scene without serious consequences.

"If it isn't Angelic Abigail," He hissed with a smile, and his forked tongue darted out into the air. "And here I thought you died in the Garden of Hesperides." Not only did he use the idiotic name a thieving guild gave her, but it came from his mouth. Abi glared at him and imagined poking his slitted pupils out with a spoon. They went on a job to steal a Golden Apple from the Garden of Hesperides. He left her to fight the tree's vicious guardian, Ladon the Serpent. She still bore scars from that job, all thanks to him.

"What are you doing here, Kurohebi?"

"I'm part of Raven Tail now. Didn't you watch the games today, Abi?" He stepped closer, and Abi straightened. She refused to give him the satisfaction of her backing down. Kurohebi used mimic magic, an incredibly rare and difficult form of magic to master. In order to copy magic, it was necessary to see the person's magic and recognize what it is. In the Garden of Hesperides, he saw her ability to gather and focus magic energy in a concentrated beam, but he couldn't mimic it because he couldn't identify what type of actual magic it was. Abi was sure it must've driven him crazy.

She sneered at him, "Well look at you, walking the straight and narrow. Now if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do with my time than talk to you."

The blonde woman turned around and started to head back the way she came, but she heard him take a step forward. As he darted to grab her, Abi twisted and slapped his hand away. She pivoted and grabbed him by the throat, her hand only touching the fabric on his neck. Don't absorb, don't absorb, don't absorb. Magic charged her muscles and she turned and walked him against a wall, out of the slow flow of people. He hit the bricks with a hiss; a few bystanders tossed them an odd look but continued with their night.

The Black Snake was completely relaxed and looked down at her with an amused look on his face. Abi grit her teeth. All she wanted to do was give him a taste of her magic, to drain him of all power and crush him with his own magic energy. All the blonde woman needed was to touch his skin and draw in his power. But that could reveal her magic to him, and it could warrant an official investigation from his guild, or worse. She couldn't afford that.

Abi leaned forward and squeezed his throat. "You don't know how badly I want to kill you."

Kurohebi laughed and hissed, his forked tongue flicking out between his teeth. "Mmm… take your best shot, Angel." His eyes widened, the dark irises seeming to shrink as he stared at her. "You know, Abi, you should consider joining a guild. Under Ivan's guidance, my magic's gotten exponentially stronger."

He raised his arm and rolled open hand. A small ball of glowing light floated above his palm. Terror coiled in Abi's gut. Did he know about her? Or did he simply grow strong enough to mimic without having to understand the type of magic?

Abi dropped her grip around his throat like his skin as if he burned her and backed up. Kurohebi rubbed his throat and stared at the ball of magic energy in his hand, transfixed. "Thanks for reminding me about this one, I'll be sure to use it." He tilted his hand, so the palm faced Abi.

The ball of light jetted forward and slammed her in the stomach. It burned a bit, but it wasn't bad. Her body absorbed the magic energy easily. But Abi stumbled backwards and clutched her stomach theatrically, letting out a moan of pain to sell it.

When she looked up, Black Snake had slunk away into the shadows.

She straightened and muttered a curse under her breath. A few people had stopped and stared at her interaction with Kurohebi, but a quick glare from Abi caused them to shuffle forward. Great. Add Black Snake to my list of problems. She needed to know how much he knew about her. Her stomach rumbled and reminded her of its hunger. Abi sighed and twisted her ring. Her hair turned black and her skin turned pale. Fuck dinner. After that, she would need a drink. Lots of drinks.

Abi found a little dive bar and tavern not far from her inn. She felt much better after a burger and some alcohol. She was still pissed about Kurohebi, but she figured that problem could wait for tomorrow. So instead, she sat at the bar, contentedly sipping on some whiskey and taking in the ambiance of the dive bar known as Bar Sun.

Abi thought about the files she saw on the advisor's desk. She knew something strange was going on here, she could feel it. What was the royal family up to? A conversation Abi had with Ximus when she originally agreed to work for him flashed through her mind.

"Why are you interested in the lacrimas?" She asked. Ximus shrugged, "The Royal Advisor, Lord Darton commissioned his Royal houses to gather them. The Morphos Lacrimas are fascinating, you know. They tie to an ancient order of magic users known as the Praesidio."

"Yeah, no shit," she mumbled to herself and drained her glass. Whiskey burned her throat and gave her a buzz; it was one of the only liquors that actually had a stronger effect on her. It took a lot of alcohol for Abi to get drunk; her blood heightened her body's metabolism and burned through most booze like it was nothing.

Her thoughts wandered languidly from possibility to possibility as to why she felt that strange magic pressure in Crocus. The bar was increasing in noise, and disrupting her train of thought. Abi looked around behind her and realized that there was a lot more people the bar. A blue mark on a man's naked chest made Abi pale.

Fairy Tail.

Fairy Tail occupied most of the bar now, and only a few local patrons remained. Even though no one had any chance of recognizing her, and they were wrapped up in boozing and brawling, she knew it was time to leave. Abi slapped some jewel on the bar and stood up.

She began to head to the door when a tall, dark, distinctive man walked in with a short, blue haired girl. His long black hair fell back in choppy waves, and his red eyes were focused on the girl scolding him about something. The man's pale skin had metal piercings all over, particularly on his face and forearms. His rough voice sent a shiver down Abi's spine because Black Steel Gajeel was not supposed to be in Crocus.

And if the Iron Dragon Slayer was in the Games, that meant…

A powerfully built blond man behind Gajeel paused in the doorway and sniffed the air. Oh no. Abi's eyes met dark, storming grey. This was not good. Not good at all.

The man continued to scan the room, and she exhaled. The thief could kiss her charm ring right now. Maybe it would be enough to get her past him. Abi continued to head for the door, eyes fixed on the dark street. The brute stood in the doorway, and his long, flowing dark coat took up enough space that she would have to squeeze past him to get out. Her heart rate sped up. Three steps away. Two. One. The Adonis didn't move, and he stared down at Abi as she was forced to brush past him. His nostrils flared.

Abi glanced up at him as she stepped onto the street. He had twisted his head to stare at her, gold sparks igniting in his eyes. His thick eyebrows were knit in confusion. The charm was still working, but the lightning wizard almost looked as if he could smell her. Could he? Time to go.

The thief stuck her hands in her jean pockets and walked quickly down the street.

"You." His didn't raise his voice, it was calm, and controlled. The muscles in his neck and shoulders were tense, drawn tight like a coiled spring.

"Shit." Abi started to run, but it was too late. Laxus flashed in front of her with a burst of electricity, and she collided the very firm wall that was his chest.

"What'chya doing here, Klepto?"

The blonde girl looked up and flashed the guild wizard what she hoped was her most innocent smile. He didn't fall to his knees and apologize, so she must've been losing her touch. Damn it.

"Do I know you?" She asked in a sickeningly sweet voice, eyes flashing nervously to the lightning shaped scar on his face. It moved whenever Laxus narrowed his eyes. His skin sparked, sending painful volts of electricity into Abi's hands on his chest. It singed her palms and she took an abrupt step back, cursing under her breath. Only then did a smirk appear on his lips. "I'm a pretty hard person to forget."

Unfortunately, she thought to herself and grit her teeth. She took a few more steps back and considered making a run for it again, but Laxus closed the distance and grabbed her by the arms. "I promised myself I'd kill you if I saw you again, but lucky for you, I have some self-restraint." He leaned in close, close enough that she could feel his breath on her face, and her teal eyes looked into his storming ones. "You're going to tell me why you are here. Right now. Or I'll let some of that restraint go."

Oh jesus. She really did it this time. Few men intimidated Abi. None quite as much as Laxus Dreyer in this moment. What did she do when she felt intimidated? Abi sneered at him and curled her lip. "You really wanna be this close to me, Fabio?"

She could feel his magic beneath his skin- volatile and powerful, ready to burst at any moment. It sparked just touching him. The tan woman lowered her eyebrows and allowed her magic to pull his in and submerged it into her blood. Her heart rate accelerated, muscles tensed with adrenaline, and the world became sharper. She could feel his pulse against her skin now and picked up his scent of faded aftershave and hotel soap and him. Absorbing magic always heightened her senses, made her more sensitive to pain, but it made her physically stronger. Abi twisted her forearms, so she gripped Laxus on the back of the arms, and squeezed. Hard.

Suddenly, the energy sinking through her skin spiked, and Abi's mouth turned downward in distaste. He was seeing if he could overwhelm her power reserves. She dug her nails into his bare arms. Laxus pulled her closer, sending more electric energy into her. Had her teeth not been clenching in concentration, they would've been chattering from electric shock.

The lightning mage bared his fangs in a feral grin, "Think you can keep up, blondie?"

Little fucker. "The question is-,"

"Laxus Bodyguard Core Assemble!"

They looked over to see three people approaching. A tall man in stripped armor, with a metal visor that obscuring his eyes, it looked like the eye guard of a knight's helmet. A shit eating grin was spread across his face as he pursued a red faced, green haired mage brandishing a finely crafted saber. Not far behind was a beautiful, bespectacled brown-haired woman in a tight green dress that left little to the imagination. She shuffled forward in heels, but seemed equally determined to come to the aid of their ringleader. They each bore a Fairy Tale emblem. Abi's jaw dropped. "'Laxus Bodyguard Core'?"

Laxus scowled. "I didn't choose the name."

"Well it's clear someone thinks highly of themselves." He growled under his breath and focused his power on Abi again. Their little standoff resumed.

"Freed, you moron- they're just cuddlin' up! Give the guy some space!" The purple mage shouted as they neared. The three wizards stopped a few feet away from him in a triangle formation, ready to fight nonetheless. The masked mage made a noise of disgust. "A weird way to come onto a girl. Laxus, you alright buddy?"

"Fine!" She and Laxus bellowed at the same time and broke away from each other, looked away, then glared back at each other. The green haired mage known as Freed brandished his saber and studied Abi suspiciously. He was what some might call a beautiful man. His face had a sculpted face, with high cheekbones and a defined, almost delicate jawline, but somehow put all together retained a masculine beauty. His dark green eyes had long lashes, a beauty mark rested below his left eye, and dark green hair cascaded down his back. His eyes regarded Abi coldly, and she found herself returning the look.

The blade dipped to point at her ring, and Abi folded her arms, trying to conceal her hands.

"Laxus, that woman wears a charm disguising her appearance. She is not who you think she is."

Great. Now the spell wouldn't work for any of these goons. The other man and woman gasped in surprise as the charm broke for them. Laxus gave the three a bone chilling smile and shook his head, "No, I know exactly who she is."

Abi froze at his statement. Did he know-?

"She's a lowlife I met on a job a month back." His friends didn't look put at east at Laxus's explanation, but Abi exhaled in relief. Then her eyebrow's lowered. "Who you calling 'lowlife', asshole?"

Abi pivoted and punched him. It was a solid punch, straight for the solar plexus. It hurt like hell- like hitting a steel wall. He didn't move, but she heard him exhale lightly. "Asshole." She repeated and shook her hand. So, this is what Laxus was like at full power. Abi much preferred the half-drained model. The blond man looked down at her with irritation and then turned back to talk to his… bodyguards? Friends? Groupies? Whatever they were to him, they were a distraction. "Obviously I can handle her by myself."

The man dressed like a knight put his hand on Freed's shoulder. The green haired man lowered his saber, but he didn't look happy about it. They asked Laxus about wrapping it up and he responded with a shrug. A small conversation ensued.

That was good enough for Abi. She turned to leave. When she took a step, his hand snapped onto her wrist.

"Stick around, Klepto," He said and tossed a smile to his friends, before turning to look down at the tense woman. She gritted her teeth and let her magic bite into his. Laxus's electricity bit right back, and he said with a murderous gleam in his eye, "I'm gonna grab a drink with Abi. We've got so much catching up to do."


Dun dun duhnnnnnn.