A/N: The story of how Kael died will not be for a few more chapters, so hang tight. I tried to delay the 'official' reveal as long as possible in the last chapter, but it didn't feel right to leave it totally unspoken. There is more content to get through before Natsu rejoins, and certainly more before he tells the story of the guild's ace's demise! It is definitely NOT because I haven't thought of it yet if that's what you're thinking. Also, there will most likely be no chapter tomorrow. I fell a bit behind, so I need a day to start writing again. Next should be out on Thanksgiving for us American folk. Lastly, I'd like to just thank everyone who's read this. I don't know what viewership is normal for stories on here, seeing as I'm pretty new to this whole Fanfiction thing, but I think that almost 1300 views in a single week is incredible. I'll try to think of some sort of celebratory thing to do for it, but I don't think there is much else I can do other than try to not disappoint anyone. If you can think of anything, let me know in a review or a message, and I'll see what I can do.

Fairy Tail Guild Hall

"Oh...Mira...I'm so sorry…"

"It's-it's fine...I'll be ok…" Mira whispered, trying to compose herself. "I don't think he'll be coming back today...but...he'll be back soon…"

"Of course he will, Mira," Lisanna said. "I'll bet he's just anxious about seeing people again."

"Yeah…"

The three stayed there for a while, talking amongst themselves, and telling Lucy about guild life.

"So, Lucy," Lisanna started. "How about we take you on a tour of Magnolia?"

"Really? That would be great!"

The two of them set off, leaving Mira at the bar. They offered her to come with them, but she insisted that she had work to do and the two of them should go without her. Lisanna showed her everything, from Kardia Cathedral, the Library, Fairy Hills, and finally, they found themselves walking down a street back towards the guildhall. That street was called Strawberry Street.

"So, what do you think of the town, Lucy?"

"It's great! It's kind of neat to live in a dorm with all the other girls, but 100,000 jewels a month seems a little bit expensive…"

"Oh, you'll be fine Lucy! We all figure it out, no reason you can't either!"

"I suppose so…"

The two continued walking before something caught the corner of Lucy's eye.

"Hey, is this building owned by Fairy Tail too?" she asked.

"No," Lisanna replied, a little confused. "Why do you ask?"

"Look, it has a Fairy Tail mark on it…"

Sure enough, right below the window of one of the apartments was a Fairy Tail symbol that had been burned on.

"Oh my! I recognize that mark!" Lisanna exclaimed, grinning.

"What do you mean? I thought you said Fairy Tail didn't own this place?" Lucy questioned.

"Don't tell me you forgot about your mysterious companion already, Lucy! The only fire mage I know of who can do something like this…"

"Salamander-er-Natsu? Why would he mark a building?"

"Hmmm…" Lisanna thought. "That's a good question. Natsu has a...funny way of thinking...This has to mean something…"
"Well, that's not helpful at all!" Lucy whined.

They had been standing outside theorizing why Natsu had marked a seemingly random building when a plump lady walked out of the building and down the steps.
"Are one of the two of you Lucy?" she questioned.

"Uh, that's me. Do I know you?" Lucy answered.
"No, but a guy and his cat came in earlier today saying a blonde would come through here later…"

"Well," Lisanna chuckled. "Looks like we have our answer! What did the guy want, Mrs.-"

"Mrs. Grounds. I'm the landlady. He said blondie here would need a key, and to give it to you when you came by. Normally, I wouldn't let just any old stranger rent a place like this...However...he was quite... generous..."

"What do you mean he was quite generous?" Lucy asked, taking the key, albeit still very confused.

"He paid a years' rent upfront," Mrs. Grounds replied. "Plus a bit extra…"
"A WHOLE YEAR?!" Lucy shouted.

"Wow! Looks like he seems to be quite fond of you, Lucy!" Lisanna giggled.

"I can't-I mean that's-there's no way I can accept that!" Lucy tried to get out.

"Look girly, I don't know who he is or who you are, but he signed a contract and paid to stay for a year and told me to give the key to you. If I were you, I wouldn't think too hard about it. Now I have places to be." With that, the landlady left, leaving the two shocked mages to try to figure out what happened.

"I-what-am-" Lucy seemed to be completely unable to get a sentence out.

"Well, you heard her Lucy! Don't overthink it! Clearly, Natsu is quite fond of you, but for your own sake, I wouldn't mention this to Mira or Erza…"

"I'm not sure I want to know why that is…" Lucy deadpanned.

Lisanna giggled and started pulling Lucy up the stairs. "Well? Come on! Let's check out what our missing Salamander got for you!"
Overall, the apartment was fairly small but still homey. It had a large bedroom, a bathroom with a roomy bath and a shower, and a small kitchen. It had dark pink wallpaper and hardwood flooring. There were two desks, a bed, a large rug, and a few chairs, but that was it. It kept the essentials but left plenty of room for decorating and personalization.

"Wow! He really went all out!" Lisanna exclaimed, examining the bath.

"This is...amazing...Does he do stuff like this often? I mean, we hardly even talked! Most of the time he just kept his distance and I talked to that cat!"
"Well," Lisanna started, pondering. "He's always been generous, but I can't think of a time he bought someone a place to live before, though that might be because no one's ever needed it. The only thing he really spends significant amounts of money on is fish for Happy."

"I'm still not entirely sure I should accept this...I mean a whole year? That had to cost him a fortune!"

"I'm sure it wasn't too big a deal, Lucy! Apparently, when the master first asked him to join, he wasn't ready yet so he gave 5 million jewels as some sort of placeholder for him."

"FIVE MILLION?" Lucy shouted.

"Yep! Told you! He's a little weird, but has always been very generous with money!"
"That's insane…"

They spent the rest of the evening talking about things that Lucy would put in the room, ways they could decorate it, and having tea. Overall, they enjoyed the experience, and when they parted ways, Lucy was quite satisfied with how the day turned out.

'I hope Natsu comes back to the guild soon,' Lucy thought as she headed into the bathroom to test out the bath before bed. 'He sounds like a bit of a character, but I really need to thank him for all he's done for me. I wonder what he's like…'

Earlier That Day - Mount Hakobe

Happy and Natsu had spent the day traveling over to Mount Hakobe. Master had told them that Macao did not need any assistance, but he just so happened to be traveling there anyway, and if he by pure chance should run into Macao, to make sure that he was alright.

"Any sign of him yet?" Happy asked.

"Not quite yet, lil' buddy," Natsu replied. "I should be able to pick up his scent eventually, so let's just keep looking."

So they continued to search the frigid mountain, though neither of them really minded. Cold didn't really affect Natsu, seeing as he was a fire dragon slayer, and Happy was beneath his cloak, also receiving ample warmth from the dragon slayer. It was only about an hour until-

"Human! Me no like human! Me only like woman human!" An ape-like creature had descended down the mountain and landed behind the travelers. His fur was white and he had black skin. It was a rather strange-looking creature, and it didn't seem too pleased that its territory was being traversed by humans. Although apparently, it wouldn't have minded if it was a woman.

"Well, looks like we found him," Natsu mused, eyeing up the monster.

"THAT'S MACAO?" Happy shouted, peeking out from under the cloak. "Man, he really let himself go!"
"Of course not, stupid cat," Natsu said. "That's a vulcan. They use take-over magic, similar to the Strausses. He smells just like Macao, and I'd bet anything that this is either Macao or knows where he is."
"Well I suppose that makes a bit more sense," Happy replied, still a bit confused at the monkey that was jumping around in front of them.

"Me hate human! You humans die!" The vulcan then charged Natsu and attempted to punch him. However, compared to Natsu, these creatures were essentially no stronger than very young children. He easily blocked the punch and flipped the creature over his shoulder slamming him into the ground.

"Alright, pointy-face," Natsu started. "I need some information and you're gonna tell me! Have you seen another human man around?"

"Me hate man! Me only like woman!" the vulcan shouted, trying to struggle under Natsu's oppressive grip.

"Well, let's hope my guess is right…" Natsu mused. "Otherwise, we'll be looking around for a while longer. Fire Dragon's IRON FIST!" He ignited his fist and punched the vulcan in the gut, knocking him unconscious and forming a small crater in the snowy mountainside.

"Natsu!" Happy shouted. "If that was Macao you could have killed him!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Happy," Natsu replied, releasing the vulcan. "If that punch could kill Macao, he wouldn't be in Fairy Tail."
"THAT DOES NOT MAKE ME FEEL ANY BETTER, NATSU!"

They bickered for a moment, Natsu insisting that it was only a light punch and Happy fearful that his strength might've killed Macao, assuming they were right that this vulcan was in fact Macao, when suddenly the vulcan started to glow with a yellow light.

"What'd I tell you, lil' buddy? This is Macao!" Natsu said, triumphantly.

"He better be alive, Natsu!" Happy replied, still grumpy.

Sure enough, the vulcan disappeared leaving a middle-aged man with blue hair behind in the snow. He was worse for wear, but still breathing and didn't seem to be in any real danger. He had cuts and bruises, and would definitely be sore for a few days, but it didn't seem too bad.

"Told you he'd be fine, Happy!" Natsu declared, getting out a first aid kit and beginning to bandage Macao.

"You're just lucky, Natsu. Don't do that again!"

Natsu waved him off, and just continued to bandage the old man. He didn't wake up throughout the process but did mumble a few things. Natsu caught 'Romeo' 'bullying' and 'nineteen'. He wasn't entirely sure what it meant, but it wasn't super important at the moment. When he was finished, he packed up his stuff and headed back down towards Magnolia. When they finally arrived, it was evening, and Happy spoke up.

"Natsu, don't you think we should be worried that he hasn't woken up yet? It's been a few hours…"

"Uh, no I'm sure he'll be fine!" Natsu quickly responded.

"Natsu…" Happy threatened. "You didn't happen to do something that would keep him unconscious, now would you?"

"What? Don't be ridiculous, Happy!" Natsu laughed. "Where would I even get the herbs to do something like that!"

"(sigh) You really are incorrigible, Natsu," Happy said, shaking his head. "You didn't have to do that, you know?"

Natsu said nothing. They entered the city, and dropped Macao off on a bench near his house, and took their leave. They had just turned the corner when they heard a young boy cry out…
"DAD! Dad! You're back!"

"Ugh...my head…"
"I'm so sorry! It's all my fault, Dad!" the young boy cried.

"Romeo? How did I-" Macao realized that he was now back in Magnolia. "How long have I been here?"
"What are you talking about, Dad?" Romeo asked.
"I remember beating nineteen of those nasty vulcans but the twentieth caught me off guard. I don't remember anything after that…"

"We should get you to a doctor, Dad...That doesn't sound good...This is my fault! If I hadn't made you go on a mission…"

"Romeo, it's not your fault. Next time those boys pick on you, ask them if their dad can take down nineteen monsters all by themselves!"

"You're right, Dad!"

Natsu smiled and headed back out, determined to return to his home soon.

The Next Day - Fairy Tail Guild Hall

"So, Lucy," Mira asked the blonde newcomer, who had just sat down at the bar. "Are you ready to take your first mission?"

"Sure! I'd love to get to know how things work around here!" Lucy replied. She was still excited that she was finally in her dream guild. Not only that, she had a place to live for a full year! At no cost! It was like a dream come true.

"Well, would you like to go on one with me?" Mira asked.

Lisanna, who had been serving another guild member nearby, gasped. "Mira? You're really going to go on a mission?" she asked her sister.

"Well, that's up to Lucy! I just think...Natsu sent her to us for a reason…" Mira said quietly.

"I would love to go on a mission with you, Mira!" Lucy squealed.

"Great!" Mira replied. "I found the perfect one! You said you like to read, right? Well, this here says all we have to do is steal a book! For 200,000 jewels!"

"200,000?" Lisanna questioned. "That's a lot for such a simple job!"

"That sounds great, Mira!" Lucy replied, reading the job request. "Wait a minute...Pervert? Fetish? FOR BLONDE MAIDS? MIRA!"

"Well...that's a backup plan…" Mira muttered. "Oh come on, Lucy! It'll be fine!"
Lucy grumbled but was still a little excited. It was her first mission at Fairy Tail, not to mention she would be working with her idol Mirajane Strauss!

"Well, let's get going! We should be able to get there by around lunchtime if we leave right now!"

"Alright, fine…" Lucy grumbled, following Mira out the door.

"Be careful, big sis…" Lisanna said quietly, watching the two walk out the door. 'I really hope she'll be ok…'

The two were on the train to Shirotsume town, and they rode in near silence for most of the trip. Lucy was conflicted; on the one hand, she was going on her first mission in her dream guild with her idol. On the other hand, that idol chose the mission because she was blonde and could be used to infiltrate a pervert's mansion. They were close to arriving when Mira finally spoke up.

"Did...did he say anything about us?"

"Who?" Lucy asked.

"Natsu...did he...did he say anything about us?"

"Sorry, Mira," Lucy started. "But he seemed really sad about something...He just felt empty."

"Oh," Mira replied softly.

Once they got off the train, Mira was like a whole different person. Instantly lively and ready to go.

"Well, come on! The mission isn't going to complete itself!" she exclaimed, dragging Lucy along to the client's house.

'Well,' Lucy thought. 'That sure was fast...Maybe she hates trains…'

The two walked along the road eventually coming to a stop in front of a mansion. Mira knocked on the door and waited briefly before a man opened it slightly and spoke to the mages.

"Hello? Who are you and how may I help you?"
"Hi, I'm Mirajane and this is Lucy," she said, gesturing to herself and then the blonde. "We're from Fairy Tail here on request to-"

"Oh, yes!" the man interrupted. "Would you please come around back?"

Mira seemed rather perplexed by this, and after giving Lucy a quick glance, which was met with a shrug, nodded at the man, who shut the door. The two went around back and eventually were seated in front of an older looking man with gray hair and a black mustache, and his wife, who looked slightly younger and had brown hair.

"Thank you so much for coming," the man started. "You must be rather famous already considering how young you are."

"Well, I don't know about that," Mira chuckled. "My name's Mira and this is Lucy!"

"Ah! Mirajane Strauss! I'm quite a fan of yours!" the man said, smiling. His wife swatted him lightly and he chuckled. "My name's Kaby Melon, and this is my wife."

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Melon," Lucy said.

"Nice to meet you too, young lady," he replied. "Now then, the request. The book in question is owned by a man named Everlue. He's a sick, rotten old man that lives in the largest mansion on the far side of town. You can't miss it. The book is called Daybreak. I want you to destroy it. Burn it, rip it to shreds, throw it in a lake, I don't care how. I just want that book destroyed."

"Destroyed?" Lucy asked. "I thought we were supposed to be stealing it?"

"Well, it is stealing in a way," the man explained. "I'm asking you to basically destroy someone else's property without their permission, so it's rather similar."

"Well, for 200,000 jewels, this shouldn't be a problem!" Mira exclaimed.

"Oh, you must not have heard," the man said, confusing the two mages. "The reward was actually raised to two million jewels."

"T-TWO?" Lucy started.

"MILLION?!" Mira finished.

"Yes! Now please! Under no circumstances can that book be allowed to still exist!"

Both mages had a mixture of shock and confusion on their faces before Mira finally broke their spell.

"O-of course, Mr. Melon. You can always count on Fairy Tail! I'm all fired up now!"

The man smiled at the mages as he watched the two of them leave.
"Are you sure they'll be up to this? Everlue has tight security, the last group you sent didn't manage to get it…"

"I have faith in the two of them," Kaby smiled. "I don't think-"

He was interrupted by a sudden knocking on the door the mages had walked out of a few moments prior.

He walked over to the door and opened it, "Did you forget- who are you?"

Outside Everlue's Mansion

"Are you sure about this, Mira?" Lucy whined as she started approaching the gate.

"Yes! You look great! Now hurry up!" Lucy was dressed head to toe in a maid's outfit. Their plan was to get Lucy hired by Everlue, steal the book, and get out. The plan was simple enough, and if anything were to go wrong, Mira was hiding right outside.

Lucy approached the gate, still mentally grumbling to herself, and rang the doorbell.

"Hello? I'm here to apply for the maid position?" she called. The ground next to her rumbled momentarily before a gigantic figure came out. Her face was shadowed from how she towered over the young blonde mage, but she had pink hair and wore a maid outfit.

"You're here for the maid position?" she grumbled, questioningly. "Master! We have a new applicant!"

Moments later, one of the most bizarre-looking men Lucy had ever seen popped out of the ground in another hole next to the one the first creature had made. He looked a bit like an egg, with a short stocky body, and a fat oval head. He had a mustache, well it looked like a mustache but it was actually just really thick nose hair, and what was most likely some sort of toupee on his head.

"Hmmm…" the man droned, investigating the extremely uncomfortable celestial spirit mage from all angles. "Pass! Go home, ugly!"

"What?" Lucy asked after a moment, catching up to reality.

"I only accept real beauties to work as my maids," the bizarre man told her. Behind him popped out several more maids, each more grotesque looking than the last. Some of the women had more facial hair than he did, others had hair that made a broomstick look like a model, and others still had teeth reminiscent of moldy bread. They all swooned over the man, all blushing at the flattery he gave them.

"You heard him," the pink-haired figure added, grabbing her. "Go home, ugly." The giant figure then hurled Lucy into the bushes and followed her proclaimed 'master' back underground.

Lucy, who was just thrown through the air, collided with Mirajane and the two flew back into a tree behind them.

"Ughh…" the two groaned.

They sat there, holding their heads for a moment before what just happened finally registered to the blonde.

"He...he called me ugly!" she whispered.

"You should take that as a compliment," Mira told her, patting her on the shoulder. "Considering what he finds beautiful, I'm not sure if I'd want to be part of that group…"

Lucy's eyes widened, and she shivered slightly. "Y-yeah...you're probably right about that…"

"Now, come on, Lucy! We're not giving up that easily!"

"Yeah!"

While the two were discussing possible plans, Everlue was inside his mansion, twirling his 'mustache' with his fingers. Behind him on either side stood two shadowy figures.

"Well, the blonde was dumb enough not to cover up her guild mark...I wonder what I'll do with these mages, hehehe…" he chuckled to himself.

Everlue's Roof - Moments Later

"Come on, Lucy! Hurry up!" Mira whispered, trying to pull the blond through the window.

"I'm trying! How did you even get the window open, anyway?" she asked, finally slipping through the window, and landing rather ungracefully.

"That's not important right now! Let's go, and be quiet!" Mira whispered again, helping to stabilize the blonde.

The two had managed to sneak onto the roof and inside Everlue's mansion, and were now quietly examining the mansion looking for any sign of where the book could be held.

"Do you think he has a library or something?" Mira asked softly.

"I doubt it! He has no class at all!" Lucy muttered.

Another slight rumbling noise was heard in front of them, and suddenly the maids who had previously rejected Lucy popped out of the floor.

"I thought I told you to go home, ugly!" the giant one said.

"I'm NOT ugly!" Lucy shouted, reaching for a celestial spirit key. "Open! Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!"

A bright golden light shone in the room before an extremely muscled cow appeared in front of Lucy. He wore a belt and a dark pair of what looked reminiscent to be swim briefs and black boots.

"Moooooo, how are you doooooing today, Miss Luuuuucy! My, your body is as mooooving as ever!" the bull exclaimed, eyeing Lucy hungrily.

"Taurus!" the blonde squealed, covering herself with her arms, while Mira just started to chuckle. "Not right now! I need you to take them out for me! They called me ugly!"

"Right away, Miss Luuuuucy. These maids definitely need a good punishment if they can't see your beauuuuuuty." The bull lifted his axe and charged the group of maids, and moments later had managed to defeat them all. For some reason, somehow going unnoticed by the group, the large pink-haired one disappeared after Taurus had defeated it. Perhaps it was because of what Taurus said after completing his assigned task.

"There you go, Miss Luuuuucy! For defending your beauuuuuty, could I get a smooooooch?"

"KYAA! TAURUS, YOU PERVERT!" Lucy shouted. "Close! Gate of the golden bull!"

Taurus began to disappear in another shine of golden light before Mira interrupted their newfound silence by laughing.

"Aww, Lucy," she said trying to hold in her chuckles. "Why didn't you give him a smooch?"

"KYAA! MIRA!" Lucy shouted.

"Oh, hush! I was just teasing," Mira said, pouting slightly. "Anyway, I think your cow friend may have helped in more ways than one."

"What does that mean?" Lucy asked.

Mira pointed towards a door that had been blown off during the fighting. "Tell me, Lucy, what does that look like to you?"
"It's a library!" Lucy exclaimed, finally looking inside the room Mira was pointing to.

The two entered the small library and started rapidly sifting through books.

"If he actually reads all these, I might actually have a tiny bit of respect for him…" Lucy mused.

"You wouldn't be saying that if you saw what was on this half of the room…" Mira deadpanned, though her face was covered by a fierce blush.

It took them about five minutes before Lucy finally exclaimed, "I found it! It's here! Daybreak!"

"Good work, Lucy! What'd I tell you? Now we just have to destroy it, and we can get paid!"

"Hold on, Mira…" Lucy started. "Kemu Zaleon? THE KEMU ZALEON? I thought I'd read everything he'd ever written! This must be, like, the only copy! I have to read it!"

"Lucy! Our job is to destroy it! Give it here!"

"Oh, come on, Mira! Let's just say that we destroyed it! I won't say a word!"
"Lucy," Mira scolded. "We can't do that! Lying to a client is in bad form and could bring a bad reputation to the guild!"
Another rumbling sounded, and the egg-shaped man from earlier popped out of the floor.

"Ah, so that's what you were after! That worthless book!"

"Worthless?" Lucy asked. "So I can keep it?"
"Of course not! It's mine!" the man snapped.

"Everlue…" Mira growled.

"Well, let me just read it really quick!"

Lucy quickly squatted down and began to read through the book.

"RIGHT NOW?" the man revealed to be Everlue and Mirajane said at the same time.

"Well, now, I can't just have two intruders break into my home and get away with it, now can I?" Everlue drawled. "VANISH BROTHERS! TAKE CARE OF THE VERMIN! AND TAKE BACK MY BOOK!"

Two men entered the room from behind Everlue, someone from Everlue's entourage actually using a doorway for once. One of the men was tall and muscular, with long black hair that somehow formed a large X shape behind his head. The other was still muscular, but a bit shorter and less bulky, with a shaved head except for a braid of black hair at the back. Strangely, the shorter one was also carrying what appeared to be a massive frying pan.

"Mama would be mad if we got paid and didn't do any work, big bro," the taller one said.
"I agree...I think we should kill the blonde one first," the taller one decided.

"Mira!" Lucy exclaimed, quickly standing up. "This book has some kind of secret in it! Buy me some time so I can find out what it is!" She then ran through the second door in the room, attempting to find somewhere to finish her reading.

'A secret? I've read that trash cover to cover? What secret could she be talking about? I must find out!' Everlue thought. "Change of plans, you two! I'll go after the blonde! You deal with this one!" he declared, disappearing back into the floor, seemingly to chase after Lucy.

"Very well…" the shorter of the two replied, facing Mira with a menacing glare. "Do you know what the ultimate weakness of a mage is?"

"Enlighten me…" Mira growled, getting into a fighting stance.
"They spend all their time working on improving their mind, giving them a weak body!" he declared, and the two rapidly approached Mira. They alternated their strikes well, however, Mira was easily able to block or dodge each of them.
"Then why can't you touch me?" Mira asked sweetly. "You don't look that strong to me."

"Watch your mouth, lady!" the shorter one snapped.

"Hey, combo attack big bro?" the taller one asked.

"Indeed…" the shorter one held out the large frying pan for the taller one to jump on. "No one has ever survived the ultimate combo attack of the Vanish Brothers. Heaven and Earth Extinct Slaying Attack!"

The taller of the two brothers jumped into the sky from the frying pan and called out, "Look towards the heavens…"

The shorter one had run up to Mira as she watched his brother, seemingly quite bored. "And get struck from the earth!" he called, attempting to strike her with a kick to the head.
"Look towards the earth?" Mira asked sweetly.

"And get struck from the heavens!" the taller one shouted, also attempting to kick Mira.

When the dust settled, both brothers knew that something was definitely wrong. Mira was holding each of their legs, and giving them a sickening smile.

"Oh, dear! Looks like it's my turn! Take Over: Satan Soul!" she said, her voice getting much deeper as she entered into her demon form. Her clothes and body changed, giving her red thigh high stockings and a red outfit that was open along the center of her stomach and chest. She had developed scales on her forearms which protruded, appearing as if she was wearing a mighty golden gauntlet. A scar reminiscent of a lightning bolt appeared over her right eye, and her hair was raised.

She threw the two men onto the ground and started to hover in the air with her large black wings, before pressing her two hands together and gathering magic. "EVIL EXPLOSION!" she called, firing a sphere of dark-colored magic at the two grounded 'mages'.

When the dust settled, both were unconscious, and Mira promptly returned to her original form.

"Oh, my! Looks like I went a little overboard!" she said, giggling at the state of the library, which was, needless to say, near completely destroyed. "In the meantime, I'd better find Lucy! I hope she's ok…"

The white-haired demoness then walked out of the room in search of the blonde.

Meanwhile - In the basement

Lucy had on her Gale Force Reading Glasses, which rapidly increased her reading speed, allowing her to absorb the information from the book like a sponge.

"So that's it!" she exclaimed to herself, closing the book and putting away her glasses. "There's no way I can destroy this now! I have to get it to Kaby!"

Another rumble started behind her, and before she could react, Everlue had appeared out of the wall behind her and twisted her arm behind her back, causing her to drop the book.

"OWWW!" Lucy cried as he continued to bend her arm at a painful angle.

"Tell me the secret, you rotten girl! Or I'll break your arm here and now!"

"A rotten pig like you doesn't deserve to know! You are an ENEMY OF LITERATURE!"

"Oh ho ho, an enemy of literature, am I?"

"Yes! No wonder this book is so terrible! You're the main character!"

"You're right," Everlue snarled. "The book is terrible! I had to force Kemu to write it for me! He was a disgrace to refuse my offer! Imagine not wanting to get such an honor as to write a book with me in it! I mean-OOF!"

During his ramble, Lucy managed to use his distraction to shift her body around and punch him hard in the nose, causing him to drop her arm. She grabbed the book, and ran away slightly, before stopping after getting some distance between the two.

"You forced him to write it! You locked him away alone for THREE YEARS!"

"Of course I did! He had the audacity to decline such an offer! But persuasion is quite easy for me, I might say...WAIT! HOW DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?" Everlue demanded, furiously.

"It's all right here!" Lucy replied, holding out the book.

"Nonsense! I've read that book all the way through, and it never once mentions anything about it!"

"Well, clearly you didn't know that Kemu Zaleon used to be a mage! He put a spell on it!"

Everlue's eyes widened. 'Impossible! What if he wrote about any of my illegal business dealings...If the council were to find out about how I made my fortune...NO! I can't let that happen!' he thought. "Well then, I'll just have to kill you and take back that book myself!"

"Not a chance! OPEN! Gate of the Giant Crab! Cancer!"

A man with dark skin appeared in front of Lucy. He had black hair with red cornrows, wore a blue button-up shirt with vertical black stripes, a gold chain necklace, and held a red pair of scissors in each hand, reminiscent of a crab.

"How do you want your hair done today, baby?" the crab-esque man asked.

"Not now, Cancer!" Lucy cried. "I need you to take him down!"

"No problem, baby," the crab replied, turning to face Everlue.

"Not so fast there, you rotten child!" Everlue exclaimed, and he pulled out a gold key of his own.

"No way! He's a-" Lucy started.

"Open! Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!" Everlue called, summoning the gigantic pink-headed maid from earlier.

"SHE'S A CELESTIAL SPIRIT?" Lucy exclaimed. "NO WAY!"

"EVIL EXPLOSION!" A purple orb shot past her head and hit the giant maid in the chest launching her into the wall, knocking her unconscious.

"Mira!" Lucy cried, turning to face the white-haired barmaid.

"Hey, Lucy! Good to see you're alright!" Mira replied. "Who's your friend?"

"Let's do this, baby," Cancer said, dashing past Everlue. A moment passed, and then Everlue fell to the ground, his clothing cut up, the little hair he had gone, and a few shallow cuts along his arm and torso bleeding slightly.

Mira giggled. "He's good! Isn't he, baby?"

"Kyaaaa...Not you too!" Lucy wailed.

"I'm just teasing, Lucy! Relax! Did you get the book?"

"Of course!" she replied, holding up Daybreak. "Cancer, you're free to go."

"See ya' later, baby…" Cancer said, disappearing into a golden light.

"We can't destroy it though, you'll have to trust me. Kaby needs to see this!"

"Alright…" Mira muttered. "I guess if he wants it destroyed he can always do it himself…"
"Well, let's go!"

"Hold on a moment!" a smaller voice called out.

"Who was-who are you?" Lucy asked. The person in question was a maid who had pink hair and blue eyes. She was dressed in a maid outfit; black clothing with a white apron, and had chain shackles around each wrist.

"Because my old master has been defeated and will undoubtedly be arrested," the maid started. "Our contract is terminated. So, if you permit me, Mistress, I'd like to serve you instead!"

"YOU'RE VIRGO?!" Lucy shouted. "You're like a totally different person! What happened to you?"
"I'm a very loyal celestial spirit, and I take whatever form is most pleasing to my master." Virgo reformed to her previous size. "If you'd like I can stay like this instead."

"NO! Please, I like the other one better!" Lucy cried, and Virgo returned to her smaller form.

"Of course, Mistress," the spirit stated.

"Could you...not call me Mistress? It brings back some rather...unpleasant memories…"

"How about Your Highness?"

"I think that's worse…" Lucy deadpanned.

"Princess?"

"Oh, yeah that could work…" Lucy said, tapping her chin.

"Very well then, Princess," Virgo said, handing a shiny golden key to Lucy. "Feel free to call whenever you require assistance. Goodbye!" With that, the maiden disappeared in a flash of golden light.

"Well, Princess," Mira teased. "Congratulations! How many keys do you have now?"

"That's four golden keys! I have Taurus the Golden Bull, Cancer the Giant Crab, Aquarius the Water Bearer, and now Virgo the Maiden!" Lucy exclaimed, hooking her new friend's key onto her key ring. "I can't believe I already found another! There are only eight more left in the world! Well, come on! Let's go!"

"Well, someone's excited!" Mira giggled, chasing after Lucy who had started to run out of Everlue's house.

The two returned to Kaby's home and met up with him in the same room they had received the request from.

"You brought the book back?" Kaby questioned. "Why on earth-land would you do that? I asked you to destroy it! I never wanted to look at that-that-that thing!"

"Hold on, Mr. Melon," Lucy started. "I think you should take a look at it. I mean...it's the last work you'll ever get to see... from your father…"

The three others in the room gasped.

"How did you…"

"Zekua Melon...Kemu Zaleon's real name…"

The old man glanced at his wife and sighed, before telling his story. "You're quite perceptive, young lady. Thirty-one years ago, my father came home after being missing for three years. He looked terrible, exhausted, and in baggy, dirty clothes. He didn't say a word. I shouted at him, yelling at him for being missing without a word for so long. For not saying anything to us. He just ignored me, before grabbing a robe and tying it around his arm. He declared that he was done being a writer, before cutting off his own hand. Later on, I was talking to him while he was lying down trying to recover...I...I told him I hated him. Because he took that stupid request only for the money. For ignoring his family for three years. I told him he was a failure as a writer and a father. He had told me that the book was terrible, so I just didn't know what to do. When I left...he took his own life...I hated him even more after that, for leaving us again...But after a while, I started to regret the words I said to him that day...Maybe if I hadn't spoken as I did he would still be here...So to protect his legacy, I vowed to destroy the greatest disgrace to his name and the worst book he'd ever written."

"Wait!" Lucy called, stopping him before he could tear the book in two. "Look!"

The book started to glow, and the letters on the cover started to shuffle around. Letters came pouring out covering the room and rearranging themselves before returning to the book. The cover remained the same visually, but now said 'Dear Kaby by Zekua Melon' instead…

"What...what is this?" Kaby said quietly.

"He didn't quit being a writer because he wrote the worst book he'd ever written," Lucy explained, glancing at the shocked Mira. "He quit because he wrote the best book he'd ever written. He finished his legacy. A series of letters addressed to the light in his life, his son, Kaby."

"I-I don't know what to say…" Kaby whispered, a single tear falling down his face. 'I remember...he said that to me…'

"I thought about you every single day…" his father told him on his deathbed.

"Thank you...I could never...possibly repay you…"

"Of course...I was a big fan of your father, and I'm glad you get to finally see his last message to you," Lucy said with a smile.

Kaby continuously thanked them and the two received their payment. Two million jewels. A few minutes after they had left, Kaby turned to his wife.

"I still can't believe it...after all this time…"

"I know, dear. First, that stranger comes in and insists on paying for the mission, and now this? What a day…" his wife replied.

"Indeed…"