This summer has been filled with water sports and stress over nothing. I can't wait to visit home.

~Soprana


Clay shingles flew past, chimneys whizzing by like wagons racing down a dusty farm road. The villas blew by under powered force, booted feet slamming onto rooftops with sure footing and skilled balance. The edge of the building neared quickly, the space between buildings wide and deep: at least three stories of a drop until the cobblestone streets.

Natsu was unbothered, maintaining momentum as he lunged off the edge, gloved hands reaching and clasping on the edge of the opposite buildings, merely grunting before hoisting his body up with only arm strength.

A second was spared to gain balance, and he was charging again, angling his trajectory towards the center of the common's district, dark eyes scanning the streets below. His breathing stayed measured for optimum endurance, inhaling for four seconds before exhaling the same count. After months of trial and error, he found four to be the best number to keep his muscles burning and his lungs fueled.

"Hey, get down!" A post guard called from ahead, jolting around with a musket in his hands, a bayonet fastened to the muzzle of the gun glimmering threateningly in the sunlight. The man was squinting, straining to identify Natsu just by a glimpse, and the assassin knew once he was recognized there would be trouble. So, using as much energy as he could spare, Natsu braced his shoulder and rammed the guard off the side of the rooftop, sending the Magnolia guard plummeting down to the street.

He would walk away with a few broken bones but nothing more.

The Dragon Assassin pressed on, like a steam powered plow on overdrive, slowing his race only to gracefully catwalk across cables that extended over the farther spaces between buildings.

From below, his sharp hearing caught the struggles of Erza taking on guards in the streets with much more difficulty due to her notorious status. Titania of Fairy Tail...Murderer of Duke Everlue and other nobles.

Civilians hardly cared, slowly realizing the lax control of Magnolia Council due to the weeding. The guards sworn to the Templar, however, were hardly persuaded by anything but heavy coin. Thus, Fairy Tail still had the most wanted criminals of Magnolia in one 'festering' nest.

Yet, the officials still could not figure out how the assassins managed to wander the streets without detection.

Once again, the civilians offered shelter, camouflage in the form of wandering groups, and positive stories on Fairy Tail's work.

Still, Erza having trouble made the pink haired man snicker, his hands moving to pull out a few smoke grenades of his own design. With skilled fingers, the pins were pulled and the round devices tossed to the street below.

Three seconds after striking the ground, dark plumes of smoke exploded to cover Erza's quickening attacks to mow down the opposition in her way. After all, they both were on a snitch hunt. It would be a shame if the rat got away.

Natsu never missed a step, sprinting along the street and catching the tail of the flickering blue cloak in his sight. With the foot traffic, the target slowed every now and then to dodge, untrained feet slipping for grip as the man scampered.

The predator had the aerial advantage, and Natsu marvel at how swiftly he caught up along side the target before his instincts screamed to strike. With no hesitation and full trust in his dragon like senses, he leaped off the edge, falling down directly on top of the snitch with information on what kind of company liked to frequent Sitri.

It was really a shame, a messenger of the Council stumbling in on a meeting between Erza, Mira, and Master Makarov. Perhaps he was payed to eavesdrop, but his careless behavior endangered the whole guild as well as the town of Magnolia. The man also heard plans of a reform in the Council.

They tumbled like leaves in the wind before Natsu regained his bearings quicker than any normal man ever would, anchoring the simpering man by the clothes on his body with firm boots.

"Sorry, but you really should have never listened in on a conversation that was not meant for you." He warned as the black haired man began whimpering and weakly offering anything to spare his life.

"T-The...the C-Council p-payed me to do it!" he pleaded, hands grasping at the stone in a weak effort to crawl away from fate. His eyes were hateful, however, full of spite and loathing all in one soul. Natsu did not believe his plea for a second.

"Payed you? Or just offered incentive?" The Dragon Assassin snipped back as Erza charged through the smoke, drawing her sword at the sight before her.

The trapped man saw her too, acceptance flickering across his features as he turned his head to glare spitefully up at Natsu with bared teeth and looks that could kill.

"This town is not wise enough to govern freely. All the scum of the streets, they do not know what is best for them. The Council...they know-" He hissed, trying to spit up at Natsu's face with a sneer. "-they know how to keep humanity in line."

The Dragon Assassin only felt disgust at the crazed gleam in the man's eyes, the absolute devotion to such a cause permeating his very bones. He was like a worker ant so driven by the 'queen' of the nest. Natsu almost felt pity as Erza finally paused next to them, placing her sword by the captured target's neck.

Assured that there would be no more chase, Natsu removed his weight and backed away towards one side of the street, watching the local traffic divert away from the commotion, many knowing not to get involved for preservation of their life.

Wise, for after a moment, Erza sliced the neck of the captive, letting him garble and clutch his throat as she turned her back and walked towards Natsu. Sheathing her blade, her free hand came to smack him on the back, and Natsu remained quiet to think of a proper prayer for the soul slipping from the man they left since Erza showed no interest in shepherding the lost life.

Yet another thing Igneel taught him that paled in the new Assassin Order of this time.

The uncharacteristic silence drew the redhead's attention, her eyes regarding him carefully as she dipped fingers into her pouch for coin. Once they neared the crowds, she tipped a few into each hand of a nearby group of escorts dressed in thin lace and revealing brassieres.

The group of giggling women then surrounded them, shielding them from prying eyes as they all walked through the streets of Magnolia, unbothered by curious eyes or nosy guards.

"Your training as proven sufficient. Both the Master and I are very proud." The assassin woman finally remarked, a trail of something deeper in her tone that had Natsu's hairs bristling at the back of his neck. Her hazel eyes scanned him, skinning his behavior down to the bare core with expert skill. Dissecting him like one of her interrogation pawns.

He gave her nothing to work with. His dark eyes scanned the corners of the path they walked, knowing there could be yet another test just to hinder his training. He had been training twice as long, twice as hard, and yet he was still not free to roam as he pleased from the guild.

Gray and Loke could. Assignments flooded to them, overfilling their time in a single day. Yet, he remained under Erza's thumb. The pink haired man was a little steamed at the insulting treatment. He was the proud son of Igneel. Being an assassin was beaten into him at a young age. It was all he ever knew: Igneel and training.

Tongue traced the front of her top teeth with a pop as Erza regarded him a moment longer before sighing. "How long has it been?" She mused softly, gaze knowing and irritatingly smug.

Natsu bared his teeth, but the far away look towards the horizon gave everything away like a poker hand dropped on the table. Over the noise of footsteps, the escorts giggles, and catcalls from vagrants that tried to purchase time from the escorts, Natsu sighed. "Seven months."

The number alone pained him.

Seven months since he said farewell to Lucy and sent her away to his father's. Seven months of grueling pruning of the Templar Order in Magnolia, and only letters shared between them. Seven months of trying to make Magnolia a safe place for her to return to.

And they were still not done.

In her written words, Lucy gave away nothing to growing impatience, only describing how well the family was treating her and how lovely the sights were. She gushed about Cedar Town and the markets it held, the long rides through the vineyards she would indulge in when homesick, and the plenty of food she was finally allowed to have without her father annoying her about her figure.

That, and some quite thorough scoldings about withholding the knowledge about Igneel and Happy.

She apparently did not favor surprises. Poor Luce.

Erza hummed at his reply, turning her stare away to focus on the trek back to the guild, dismissing the escorts far before arrival as to keep the location secret.

It would be a shame for more unfortunate souls to stumble across Fairy Tail in one day. All the while, Titania remained quiet but beaming in excitement in her own way, keeping a tight lid on any unnecessary emotion that would give her away.

It grew to be unnerving as they finally entered Sitri and made a quick path to the Fairy Tail guild, the woman drifting back to remain behind him as they neared the iron door.

Despite her odd behavior, Natsu's senses were alert and sharpened in his careful training. Hardly anything surprised him when he was aware.

The Dragon Assassin was hyper aware of the thumps and shouts from beyond the doors. The scrapping of chairs and the crashing of glass. The startled yelp of Kinana.

Energy coiled in his muscles as everything became hyper aware, his hands ready to draw weapons as Natsu kicked down the door and bolted in with a snarl on his lips. His eyes darted over the scene before him, taking in the demolished chairs and the amused Mira from behind the bar.

The pink haired man heard the whiz of a pint glass flying at his head, ducking easily as if it were nothing, feeling it brush past the back of his head and shatter on the wall.

Everything burned, his body preparing for a fight. His mouth dried, toes digging into the soles of his boots to prepare for any speedy maneuver that he may have to perform.

The sight of a man with bare, studded arms, and bushy black hair had him pause to reevaluate the threat. Blinking and cataloging everything, he noted the pointed canines, the insufferable smug smirk, and the pierced facial features.

"Gihi. Yo, Salamander."

Jaw dropping, Natsu stared with bulging eyes at his cousin, Gajeel Redfox. His body itched to charge and clobber the newcomer, beating the crap out of his friend in welcome. Maybe a little friendly slam of a bottle on his thick skull.

"You piece of shit." The younger Dragon Assassin growled with a laugh, releasing the hilts of his weapons with a swaggering shift of stance. "I wondered what that horrible smell was."

With an exaggerated wrinkle of his nose, Gajeel snorted and moved to launch into a brawl with the pink haired man, only halting when the familiar wooden cane of Makarov flashed across the path. "There will be no room for that." He spoke with no nonsense, waggling a sealed envelope up at the black haired man's face. "Both letters must be delivered by hand, boys. I would prefer those hands be unbroken, yeah?"

Natsu watched with no small amount of irritation as Gajeel took the envelope and slipped it in his vest. "You got it, old man." He said slowly, shooting the pink haired assassin a simpering look.

Before Natsu could even think of a cold insult, a flash of parchment sealed with red wax flashed across his vision, startling him to turn his head towards Erza. She only smiled, offering the second letter to him with a cunning shine to her eyes.

When he showed no signs of taking it, she shook it at him once more. "We need two highly skilled assassins to deliver these documents to the Draconian Family. There really is no others we can trust but protege of that very house." Was her explanation.

Makarov waited as Natsu's trembling hands grasped the letter and ever so gently slipped it into the inner breast pocket of his cloak before speaking. "I want both of you stationed there until we send for you. This is not a vacation, however. Do not let your skills get rusty."

At last, Natsu thought with a quiver of excitement that raced up and down his legs, he was an assassin. Recognized by the Order as an assassin and now free to take on his own assignments.

That, and he could see Lucy.

Just when he began to believe the day could no longer get any better, Erza cleared her throat and patted the younger Dragon Assassin on the back. "Oh, and Gray is going with you." She informed lightly, souring the mood tremendously.

It was way to good to be true for very long, and with a scathing exchange of glances between Natsu and Gray, they all quietly accepted the fact that there was no escape from rivals.


"Lisanna!" A raspy voice cried, echoing among the screams and howls of the burning city. In the center of a demolished building that was once Blue Pegasus, a hulking man curled over a still body, both heads of ash white hair like a beacon in the destruction. He rocked the body back and forth, sobbing as slender fingers came to touch his face.

"I am...o-okay. Do not... w-worry, Elf." The woman tried, eyes dazed as her clothes stained with the blood of her defeated enemies. But, her wounds were no less severe, ankles broken and twisted within her leather boots.

"I tried. I...I tried-" Elfman whispered, brushing sooty hair from her eyes with mangled fingers. He sported a broken hand, every finger twisted in horrible ways made for torture. "I am so sorry. I tried-"

"What the hell happened here?!" A familiar voice shouted, drawing Elfman into defense mode as his massive body tucked his sister behind and his teeth bared at the intruder. Only Lisanna's cry of a name drew him from such a violent state: "Laxus!"

The blond Dragon Assassin slid down the mountains of mortar and brick, staggering towards them with Evergreen, Freed, and Bixslow at his back. His face was no less dirty, body free of harm from the battle that took place here. He had arrived far too late.

"We never got your report, and then Freed saw the smoke. What happened?" Evergreen pressed, carefully nearing Elfman with caution at his injuries. Her stomach churned at the sight of the sibling's wounds, knowing the infliction was most likely for torture purposes.

It was the youngest Strauss that spoke up, despite the agonizing grinding of her bones in her ankles. "Tartaros...and a man named Acnologia. They...just destroyed this town and moved on. Not even a care about who died or how many lives would be ruined." Tears pooled in her eyes as she turned her gaze to Laxus.

"Laxus...they are heading towards Magnolia." She whispered with fear in her heart, knowing the same fear flickered across the older man's expression with no restraint.

It was impossible to warn the city in time.


The flicker of the candle in the wind made deciphering the words on the pages difficult. The blonde huffed in irritation, standing to once again close that pesky window that blew open with the slightest of breezes. Really, Igneel or Metalicana should fix it before all the books in their library were ruined by some force of nature.

Lucy humphed as she latched the window shut, turning away to reclaim her seat at one of the many oak wood desks.

Midnight studies were the only thing that really had her frustrated, the inability to sleep taunting and the lure of endless knowledge irresistible. But, the only book that interested her was one of her own, brought with her from Magnolia and forgotten under the lumps of chores and training.

The book her mother left her.

Lucy knew her mother was fond of codes, but the blonde really wished her mother had not written the whole novel in code. Parchments filled with notes scattered around her, ink pots both empty and new speckling around the field of paper. The quill scratched away at the dry fabric, words once again becoming clear.

Beware. Keys. Celestial. Fate. World. Life. Death. END. One. Begin. Lost. Magic. Divine. Otherworldly. Bonds. Sacrifice. Zeref.

The quill fell from her aching fingers as Lucy scowled at the words. She obviously mistranslated the code again, but at least she had words instead of coordinates this time. Her mother obviously had been trying to tell her a story, the sentences lost in silence.

One thing was for certain, however. The code spoke of the keys she now possessed and with them, a great task. Something having to do with the balance of life and death. Something divine.

Lucy at least knew that END was a thing, and Zeref was a person by the way her mother described it. Only, it left more questions fluttering inside her mind.

"Who is Zeref?" She murmured softly, flinching as the wind howled outside and blew the blasted window open again with a bang, the breeze snuffing out the single candlelight and leaving her in darkness.


Thank you for the reviews! I know some of ya'll were surprised at Human!Happy but really, I could not leave him out of this!