Author's Note: Well how about that for a super fast update?! Why do I have a feeling I won't be getting anything done this weekend? Oh well! The girls have completed their first mission. Yay them! Now I just gotta come up with an idea for the next one. Wish me luck. I hope you enjoy the chapter and please review. Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I own nothing from Fairy Tail. All rights belong to the writer and creator of the manga and anime show. I also borrowed the idea for the girls' magic from Avatar: The Last Airbender. I own nothing from that show either.


While Erza used the Mayor's communication lacrima to inform the town's knights that they'd captured the person behind the thefts and pub murders the rest of the group took care of the mayor and patched up their own wounds. Kailani was busy fussing over Haleigha who'd definitely been landed the worst hit. "Will you stop fussing over me?" Hel grumbled as Lani triple checked the bandage she'd dressed her burns with.

"I just want to make sure you're wounds are completely covered," Lani replied sighing. "Unlike you, I'm not used to working with bandages. By the way you're a horrible patient."

"Yeah, yeah," Hel muttered. Aurelia was standing with Gray, Natsu, Happy, and Lucy around Mayor Stull. Except for the small cut on his neck he was relatively unhurt, just shaken. She and Lucy had helped him to a chair so he could come down. Bones was sitting on his lap looking smugly content as the Mayor absentmindedly petted him.

"Are you ready to tell us what happened here?" Lucy asked gently.

Mayor Stull sighed. "I was finishing up work in my office when Norton and his band of ruffians burst through the door," he told them. "Norton had one of his men use some sort of magic to prevent me from being able to escape. He prattled on and on about how much he hated me and how glad he was that he'd no longer be working for me as his men ransacked my office taking important files, and financial information I keep locked in a safe in there. Then he told his men to leave while he took care of me." The Mayor sighed and closed his eyes. "Maybe I had it coming."

"Mayor Stull, I'm sure that's not true," Aurelia replied comfortingly.

The Mayor just shook his head. "No, it is," he said. "I was never cruel or unfair to Norton like he said, but I did treat him indifferently. To be honest I never really liked the fellow. He's always reminded me of a snake. I never really trusted him. Things of value have gone missing around this house before, and each time I suspected it was him who did it."

"So why did it take you so long before you decided to replace him?" Natsu asked.

"I believe in second chances," Mayor Stull answered. "I like to believe people can change. Still, I should have replaced him long ago. If I had perhaps none of this mess would have happened."

"You mustn't blame yourself," Erza said suddenly walking into the room. "None of what has happened is because of you. Norton is just a greedy, selfish man. Even if you had let him go when you wanted to, he just would have committed these underhanded acts somewhere else to other innocent people."

"She's right," Gray agreed. "People like Norton are just out for themselves. They don't care about anyone else."

"Maybe," Mayor Stull replied. "But as the Mayor of this town I feel responsible for the actions of my former employee. If the people of this town call for my removal from office I will humbly step down."

"That's noble of you, but I don't think anyone in this town is going to hold this incident against you," Erza stated. "Now before the knights get here I do need to ask a question."

"Of course," Mayor Stull said.

"Do you know where Norton's men ran off to?" Erza questioned.

"To the port in the next town over," Mayor Stull replied. "When the knights arrive you should order them to head out after them. The ships are all docked now so they'll be stuck there for the night."

"Well that's a stroke of luck," Haleigha commented.

"Yes, it seems things are finally turning around, and all because of you young mages from Fairy Tail," the Mayor replied, finally smiling. He set Bones gently down on the floor. "I believe I owe you 800,000 jewels for your work. And I'll throw in a bag of treats for Bones." Bones barked excitedly and wagged his tail.

"That's not fair," Happy whined. "How come the dumb dog gets a whole bag of treats and I don't even get one fish?"

"I guess he's just not a cat person. Sorry," Aurelia replied giving the blue exceed a sympathetic pat on his head. Happy just sighed, and glared daggers at Bones.

Later that day after saying farewell to Mayor Stull and checking out of their hotel, they made their way back to the train station. Everyone else was chatting happily, elated over the success of the mission, but Kailani couldn't help but feel a little down. Her inconsistency with using her magic was frustrating her. She couldn't figure out why her magic didn't always work. It made no sense to her, and the more she thought about it the more aggravated she became. She felt incompetent for the first time in her life, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling.

"Hey, are you alright?" Her head snapped up and she found herself staring into Gray's midnight blue eyes.

She smiled slightly. "Yeah, I just keep thinking about what happened back at the Mayor's house when we were fighting Norton."

"You mean about your powers not working?" Gray asked.

"Yeah, that," she sighed. "I don't get it. Aurelia and Haleigha don't have this problem."

"Yeah, but they're working with completely different elements than you are," Gray pointed out. "They don't need the same level of concentration as you do. Trust me, as an ice-make wizard I know. Water and ice just take more practice and skill to master."

"I don't think that's all there is to it," Aurelia said suddenly butting in on their conversation.

"Of course you don't," Kailani sighed, a tinge of annoyance in her voice.

"Hey, I didn't mean that in a bad way," Aurelia rushed to fix her mistake. "I just meant I think there's more to it than your element just requiring more skill."

"Well what else could be the problem?" Lani asked.

"I think you need your element to be physically present," Aurelia replied.

"What?" Kailani questioned.

"Well, think about," Aurelia insisted. "Every time you've been able to use your magic there's been a source of water present. Like the first time you managed it you were next to a pool. Other times, including our first fight on this mission you were by a sink. You got the water from the pipes. But at the Mayor's house there was no water source available. I'd bet anything that's why you couldn't use your magic."

"That…actually makes sense," Lucy exclaimed surprised.

Aurelia sighed. "You know this whole everyone acts shocked when I say something intelligent is getting kind of insulting," she snapped.

"Sorry," Lucy replied. "You just kind of come across as…"

"Maybe you shouldn't finish that statement," Gray said cutting her off.

Aurelia just groaned. "Whatever, I know you don't mean anything by it," she replied. Just then the whistle blew for them to board the train. "Thank God. This has been fun, but I can't wait to get home."

"The best part of the mission is always returning home," Erza agreed sighing. This time their tickets were booked for two seat compartments so the group could spread out a little more. Erza, Gray, Kailani, and Hel sat on one side while Lucy, Happy, Bones, Natsu, and Aurelia sat on the other. Aurelia and Natsu sat opposite the other three in their compartment. Already, Natsu looked a little green.

"You know the train isn't even moving yet," Lucy snapped exasperatedly. Aurelia just laughed and leaned back against the seat, preparing to snooze her way through the trip. She was just about to drift off when the sound of a bone snapping apart jerked her back into attention. Her eyes landed on Bones who was chewing on one of the treats Mayor Stull had given him. The wily Jack Russell Terrier just wagged his tail as everyone in their compartment turned to look at him.

"He did that on purpose!" Happy cried angrily.

"Yeah, I think he did," Aurelia replied laughing at the bold dog's antics.

"That jerk! He just wants to rub it in my face that he got a treat and I didn't," Happy whined.

Aurelia rolled her eyes. "I'll buy you a fish when we get back to Magnolia," she told the blue cat just as the train rolled to life. "Which shouldn't be too long from now." Beside her Natsu groaned loudly. She turned her attention to him. "Do you really feel that sick?" He only nodded his head slightly. She smiled gently at him.

"Come here," she ordered and maneuvered him so that his head was lying in her lap. She began to massage his scalp before running her hand up and down his back in a soothing way. "Does this help at all?"

"A little," Natsu replied leaning his head back into her hand. She continued to stroke through the pink hair as she glanced over to the other's compartment. Kailani was staring back at her, eyebrows raised and a teasing smile etched across her face. Aurelia just rolled her eyes and turned back towards Lucy. The two chatted about things they could do when they got back to Fairy Tail.

The girls had been home for three hours now and Aurelia was feeling nice and refreshed after taking a relaxing, hot bath. She threw on some clean clothes and toweled out her hair before wondering out to the kitchen in search of her friends. "Hey guys, do you want to head down to the…" she broke off her question when she saw Haleigha back at her usual spot at the kitchen counter staring intently at her laptop. Aurelia sighed, knowing she'd never be able to convince her to leave for the guildhall with her. She began to search the rest of the house for Lani. She was about to give up when she saw the garage door opened a crack.

"Lani, are you in here?" she asked pushing the door open. She frowned when she saw her friend standing in the middle of the room with a bowl of water beside her. Kailani was wearing a determined expression as she began practicing her magic. She was so focused on what she was doing she didn't even notice her friend was standing in the room with her. Aurelia sighed and stepped back into the house, closing the door behind her.

She glanced down at her feet and saw Bones, her ever faithful companion. "Wanna go to the guild, boy?" she asked with now false enthusiasm. Bones, however, didn't seem to notice and barked enthusiastically. Aurelia found herself smiling. "Alright, let's go." She and Bones slipped quietly out the front door to go meet up with their new friends.