(Sorry it's taken a few days to add this. I wrote this after working 12 hour shifts so, hopefully the tone and quality hasn't dipped. Please let me know if you see any issues. Thanks!)
Abyss: Chapter 9
Levy ducked behind a thick tree trunk, panting quietly as her hazel eyes connected with Jet and Droy, who were crouched behind some bushes a few paces behind her. She nodded her head, signaling them it was safe to advance.
They had closed in on the bounty hunters makeshift camp in the forest north east of Hargeon.
It was days ago that they had initially met up with the antique collector who had placed the job. He revealed to them that the bounty hunter had gained access into the private collection by pretending to be an appraiser that he had hired to look at his latest addition. Apparently the thief was a wizard, having used Transformation magic to steal the guise of the appraiser and made off quite easily with the antique once he slipped a sleep potion into the glass of champagne that the private collector had been drinking.
People under his employ had remembered seeing the thief bolt towards the estate's gardens, the huge expanse of which reached back towards the forest on the north east side of town.
Before rushing head first into the trees, Levy decided, much to the chagrin of the man who hired them, that it would be best to try to find out as much information as she could regarding the mage who had stolen the item.
Audrick Bastion was his name. An ex member of Phantom Lord gone rogue thief and bounty hunter. The Magic Council already had a reward out for his capture due to the numerous crimes he'd since committed.
Levy figured it was probably difficult to track him down due to his ability to take on the form of anyone he wished to. That was why she was suspicious it was so relatively easy to find his camp. She had ordered the three of them to constantly stay in each other's sights. Having the mage transform into one of them would end up being devastating to their mission. Just to be safe, Levy had made up a password that they would all know just in case they were separated and reunited. They would all know immediately if one of them was a fake.
They all came to rest, huddled behind the girth of the tree trunk, silently nodding to each other to continue as planned.
Levy rolled out from behind the tree then, quickly writing a solid script in the air for "gale" and sent it sailing towards the tent. Immediately the small campfire was blown out from the force of the wind cloaking them all in darkness. The tent was torn from its holdings and blasted up to tangle in the pine boughs above. They all squinted and shifted on high alert as they struggled to see into the clearing scantily lit by the moonlight.
Droy unleashed his attack in the space suddenly revealed by the tent being ripped away.
"Knuckle Plant!" he shouted after throwing a handful of his seeds into the area. Immediately the seeds grew to vines that shot fists in every direction into the empty space, hoping to connect with the mage that they suspected was caught unawares.
After a long period of silence, Levy wrote a script for "aluminate" and lifted it up towards the canopy above, suddenly bathing the ground beneath in a soft glow. Moments later they were huddled together, back to back, investigating the area.
"No one is here," Levy whispered to her team mates. She bit her bottom lip nervously, not liking the predicament that they were in. She suddenly felt very vulnerable.
Then the sickening sound of a fist slamming against Droy's head filled Levy's ears and she turned to see her black haired team mate falling face first to the ground, knocked out cold. Jet stood there towering over her, a sinister smirk spread across his lips before his unfamiliar glowing eyes raised to fix on Levy. Her blood ran cold.
"You're a clever one, Script Mage, but not clever enough to trick me!"
Without hesitation, Levy wrote out the word "ink" in the air and threw it towards Jet's eyes, moving to sprint away without watching whether her spell struck or not.
Levy ran as fast as she could; ducking between trees and branches as best as she could in the darkness. An irritated roar sounded close behind her, then the sound of Droy screaming her name, which gave her pause. She stopped to look over her shoulder only to see a fist streak towards her face from the shadows. The hard knuckles connected with her temple, sending starts shooting into her line of vision. She fell to her knees and she felt her hair being torn backwards as her assailant grabbed a fist full of her blue locks, torqueing her neck back so he could glare down at her.
"Nice try, girly," Audrick Bastion seethed before throwing her down onto the cold damp earth. Her last thought before the toe of his boot connected with the side of her head was of a certain crimson eyed Dragon Slayer. The heat of his last gaze upon her filled her with warmth as she lost consciousness.
Gajeel…
