"Excuse me, Lucy." Said a quiet teenaged boy, gaining the attention of the Blonde Agent who was in the office alone, cleaning her Ruger pistol. "Do you know where Natsu is?"

Lucy looked up from her spot in Natsu's chair, blinking in surprise as she didn't expect the dark-purple-haired teen to come to the office. "Romeo, you just missed him." She placed the cleaning tools away in a case then sent them to her pocket dimension as she took a boresight laser from one of the desks draws and placed it into the barrel of her pistol so she could calibrate the sights. "He's just headed down to R&D. Had a message come through about an hour ago that his new pistols are ready for testing."

Romeo sighed quietly and gazed at his feet. "When you see him, could you tell him that I'm sorry for being distant?"

"I'm sure he'd prefer if you said that to his face." Lucy smiled softly at the young man as she aimed at a target on the far wall and dialled in her sights. "You understand why, right?"

"Because I've made the effort to see him. It's why I came here, I thought he'd be in his office at this time."

"Chin up, Romeo. He would have been here if he didn't get that message." The blonde reassured the boy as she reached across the desk to pat his shoulder. "Have you talked to Erza or Gray yet?"

"Yes, I bumped into Erza an hour ago at breakfast. Gray was in the gym last night." Romeo replied as he raised his head to look the woman in the eyes. "I apologised for my actions to them then. Erza suggested to look here for Natsu, she said if he wasn't here then someone might have been here who knew where he went."

"Well, you are lucky I'm here then." Lucy smiled kindly and took the tool out of her gun and placed it into the draw again. She stood up from the chair and placed the pistol in the holster on her hip and dusted off her black short skirt. The woman grabbed her matching leather jacket from the back of the chair and slipped it on. "Let's go looking for him together." It had been close to a week since Lucy had released herself from the Med Labs and she was feeling back to her old self. She had built up a significant resistance to the fatigue that her ability leaves her with and had been able to expand her sensory range, allowing her to cover more distance in fewer jumps. "Do you want to go there the quick way or take the elevator?"

"What is the quick way?" Romeo asked curiously as he looked up at the blonde woman.

"This is…" Lucy replied as she placed her hand on Romeo's shoulder. One moment they were in the office, and a fraction of a second later they were standing in the middle of R&D's main floor. "Now, all we need to do is to find him."

"Agent Celeste." One of the technicians half-shouted in shock when the duo appeared out of nowhere in front of him. He placed a hand over his racing heart and took a few deep breaths. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yeah, do you know where Natsu is?"

"Agent Salamander is in Testing Range Bravo." The man replied as he pointed down a hall behind him. "He is currently trying out some new pistols that Eliza was building for him."

"Thanks." Lucy said cheerfully as she started to quickly walk to the hallway, Romeo following hot on her heels. She glanced back at the purple-haired teen and smiled softly as she could see the nerves written on his face. "Don't worry, he won't be mad or anything. He'd be glad that you are wanting to talk to him once again."

"I hope so…"

"Seriously. Don't worry about it." The woman came to a stop in front of the door labelled Testing Range Bravo, it had a warning light above the door that illuminated the sign 'Caution – Live Firing Testing In Progress – Caution'. "Want me to go in first?"

"Yeah…" Romeo replied quietly as he took a deep breath. He watched on as Lucy opened the door, revealing Natsu and Eliza stood by the bench with the pinkette silently sending rounds downrange. The blonde gestured for the boy to follow her as she entered the room and waltzed over to the bench.

"How's the testing going, Natsu?" Lucy asked as she sidled up next to the man with a bright smile.

"Oh. Hey Luce." Natsu glanced down at the woman and flashed a small smile as he dropped the empty mag from the pistol into his waiting hand. He closed the slide and placed the pistol down on the bench. "Very good." Natsu glanced at the beaming technician on his other side and gave her a nod. "You've done well, Eliza. I love them. How'd you suppress the sound of the slide?"

"Hi Miss Heartfilia." The excitable redhead glanced past the man at the blonde before turning her attention back to the question. "I talked to Miss McGarden about it, she recommended using a set of engraved runes designed to muffle the overall sound signature. I placed that on the inside of the slide and it permeates through the entire weapon. It even has the side effect of temporarily muffling the bullets which lasts for a few seconds after firing, more than enough time to hit what you are aiming at."

Natsu switched out the silhouette and handed one of the new custom pistols to the blonde. "Here, give it a shot." Out of the corner of his eye, Natsu spotted Romeo hanging back but watching him silently. "Hey Romeo, come over and try out the other gun."

The teen hesitated for a moment before slowly approaching the man and picking up the second pistol from the bench. He took one of the prepared mags and slipped it into the weapon as his training started taking over.

"Now be careful, these rounds pack a punch since they are the highest power loads that we have. I wanted to stress-test them." Natsu informed his partner and the boy as they both took aim at separate silhouettes. "Normally I'd have you two wearing a form of hearing protection, but these are designed to not need them. And don't worry about any failures, they had already each had a few hundred rounds put through them before I even got my hands on them."

Soon the room was filled with clicks from the pistol slides recoiling back and locking forward, only heard by Natsu himself due to how quiet they were made due to the runic suppression. The salmon-haired man turned to Eliza with a smile. "Do you have the requisition papers? I'm happy to sign for these right now. I might actually just uses these as my primary weapons instead of using two different sets."

"I have them here with me." Eliza said as she quickly flicked up the papers on her clipboard to find the right document. "Ah here it is, just put down the details. Do you have a name for the pistols?"

"Well since they are based on the Maxim 9 but in 10mm, how about the FTA Mk10 Pistol?"

"That works. I think we'll call your set the Mk10 Special, or Mk10s for short. So if people want it they can pick between the standard and special variants." She held out the clipboard for the agent to sign off on then hurried out of the room once the paperwork had been filled out so she could file it. "I'll be right back!"

"Alright." Natsu turned back to Lucy and Romeo. He noticed that the kid had become more relaxed which caused him to smile and pat him on the shoulder as he moved past him and fixed Lucy's grip since he noticed she wasn't dealing with the recoil that well. He spoke softly as he lightly corrected her. "Here, try it like this."

"Hey Natsu." Lucy leaned her head closer to the man as she quickly glanced at him before refocusing on the target. "Where is Mira? She wasn't in the office today."

"She's gone for the week. She and Lis are over in Crocus for a fashion show."

"Oh, so we have the office to ourselves for a week huh?"

"Pretty much." Natsu let the woman go back to shooting the pistol as he turned his attention back to the kid. "Romeo, you've been practising I see."

"Yeah. I've had Wakaba help me learn how to handle revolvers."

The man let out a quiet sigh as he glanced at the ceiling. "Just like your old man, huh?" A dull glow enveloped his hand as he brought out a .357 revolver. "Romeo…"

The teen made the pistol safe before placing it on the bench and turning to the salmon-haired agent. "Yes Natsu?"

"I figured you'd be wanting a revolver… I know it's not your old man's… that was put to rest with his body. However…" Natsu spun the revolver in his hand and held the gun grip-first towards the boy. It was an exact replica of Macao's custom .357, save for an engraving along the top of the body that said 'FOR MACAO'. "I had planned on using this on the man who took your father from us, but I don't think I should taint this gun with my desire for revenge. So here, it's for you."

"Thanks." The boy quietly murmured as he took the gun in his hand. "What do you plan on doing?"

"I'll do what I do best, Romeo. I'll kill the fucker who did it, I'll make him suffer." Natsu's demonic side started to rise to the surface as his eyes turned red and faint glowing markings threatened to burst onto his skin. "I'll take it nice and slow and ensure that he feels every last bit of pain that we all carry, all of our anger, all of our suffering. I'll do it for Macao, and for you."

"Thank you, Natsu." Romeo whispered quietly as he gazed down at the revolver and ran his fingers over the intricate engravings.

"Luce." The man turned to his partner with narrowed red eyes, he noticed the hairs stand up on the woman's neck as she watched at the dangerous man. "I'm going up to the gym, going to beat the shit out of some bots. Can you bring the pistols and holsters up to me when Eliza returns with the latter?"

"Yeah, sure." She smiled kindly yet a little timidly, she knew it would be bad to mask the fear that stewed in her at the sight of Natsu like this. She knew he could sense it, so there was no point denying it or trying to hide it. "Don't worry."

"It's good to spend time with you once again, Romeo, even if it was so short. You're always welcome to drop by the office, or even my house to spend time with Happy and I." Natsu gently ruffled Romeo's dark purple hair before quickly leaving. He was struggling to keep his anger in check. Unfortunately, finally catching up with Romeo did him more harm than good as it made him want to slaughter the fucker who caused it all, Phantom Lord's boss Jose Porla.

An hour and a half had passed by in a red haze as Natsu took his fury out on the robotic fighters in the main Gym. He stood in the open floor among piles of scrap metal, plastics and artificial flesh, and puddles of oils. He took a deep breath as his rolled his joints, feeling thoroughly relaxed now.

"What a mess…"

The salmon-haired man turned to the source of the voice, noticing his raven-haired friend stood against the wall near the entrance. "How long have you been watching?"

"Long enough to know that you were very pissed off." Gray pushed off the wall and navigated a path between the spare parts until he reached the man. "What happened?"

"Finally reconnected with Romeo. Went better than I expected." Natsu sighed softly and quickly sent a message off to maintenance to alert them to the massacre that just happened. "Not much was said, but I showed him the new pistols that were made for me, let him shoot one of them. Gave him that replica of Macao's gun."

"I thought you were going to use that to kill Jose?" Gray asked as he and Natsu walked over to the Men's Washroom. He leant against the tiled wall as the pinkette started up a shower.

"I was… but I thought in that moment that it would be a better idea to just give it to him right there." Natsu murmured as took his clothes off and washed the grease and oil from his body. "I told him that I would have tainted the gun with my desire for revenge if I went through with the plan."

"Honestly, man. I think you had the right idea, giving that gun to Romeo right then."

"Yeah, I reckon it was the right one too. I'd rather get the blood on my own hands than getting revenge with Macao's gun that I planned on handing to Romeo… even if it was a replica."

"Well, speaking of those new guns." Gray redirected the subject away from the precarious topic before it set the man off once again. "What are these new ones? I heard you only just recently modified your Glocks?"

"It's a set of custom-made 10mm pistols based on the Maxim 9, they've got an enchantment engraved into the slide that dampens the overall sound of the guns."

"How quiet are we talking?"

"I can barely hear them." Natsu chuckled as he threw a grin over his shoulder. "That ought to tell you everything you need to know."

"Damn, that's quiet."

"Yeah. I was impressed by them." The green-eyed man flared his magic a little as he shut off the shower. As he stepped out of the booth he requipped some casual jeans and a red Tee Shirt, sneakers, and a well-worn brown leather jacket with a fleece lining. "I signed off on them right there in the range."

"Do you have them on you?" Gray asked curiously as he and his friend left the Gym and headed for the nearest set of stairs. "Or did you blow a gasket before finishing up?"

"Blew the gasket, I had Lucy take care of everything. She should be in the office now, doing who knows what."

"Probably reading her fashion and lingerie magazines." The raven-haired man suggested with a bark of laughter. "Did you hear the deal she worked out with some of her spirits?"

"I don't think so… what did she do?"

"Well, Virgo helps in the Café up in the offices, and Cancer is set up in his own barbershop. She said that they are free to come and go and what they earn working can be used in their days off. They even get vacations days."

"Not a bad deal if you ask me, they'd probably enjoy the free will she has given them."

"They've taken to it like fish to water." Gray said as the two agents passed by Laxus and his team. "Hey guys."

"I heard there was a commotion down in the Gym…?" Laxus asked as he looked between the two men. "What happened?"

"Romeo started talking to me again, gave him the .357 I had made to be a replica of Macao's gun. The one I planned on killing Jose Fuckface with. My anger boiled over and triggered my demon side. So I took it out on the robots." Natsu quickly summed up to the Lightning Dragon Slayer. "I've calmed down though."

Laxus nodded his head in understanding as he placed a hand on the salmon-haired man's shoulder. "It's only a matter of time. Death is rapidly advancing on that damn bastard."

"Damn right! And it ain't going to be pretty." Natsu snarled, bearing his inhuman fangs. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to force himself to calm back down. "But, Romeo is talking to me once again. That's a big plus."

"Good. I'm glad he hasn't done anything stupid." The blonde agent replied as he crossed his arms. "Grief has a way of making good kids go bad."

"Laxus, we need to keep going." Freed butted in politely. "We have to give our report to your Grandfather."

"I know, I know." The man waved his hand dismissively at the green-haired agent. "We'll see you two around."

"Oh, Evergreen, before you go." Natsu quickly reached out to the retreating woman and caught her shoulder, turning her halfway. "Not sure if Elfman has told you. But they've headed off to Crocus for the week."

"Yeah, the big guy told me." The posh woman replied quickly but gave the man a quick and thankful smile. "But thanks anyway."

"No worries." The agent let the woman catch up with her team as they turned off at the next corner. "Where are we heading again?"

"I don't know. I didn't really have a direction in mind when we started walking, but I guess we should link up with Lucy."

"Good point." Natsu replied as the duo started off once again. The man led the way down the hallway and pushed open the door to his office. Lucy wasn't on the couch on the opposite wall but he could smell her in the room. As he stepped inside he shot a glance at his desk and found the woman sat in his chair and reading an adult novel. "Careful not to drench my chair."

Lucy squeaked as her face turned red. She grumbled and shot a death stare at Gray who loudly laughed as he crossed the room and threw himself down on the couch. "Are you doing alright, Natsu?"

"I'm doing better, but I won't be alright until I make sure the fucker is dead." Natsu slapped his face and shook his head softly. "Man, I sound like a broken record…"

"It's alright." Lucy reassured the man as she freed up his chair and sat herself on the desk in front of it. "You have every right to be like that, everyone does. You were all close to him."

"Have you got my guns?" The pinkette asked as he sat down on his chair. Leaning it back as he sank into the soft material. "And the holsters?"

"Yep, I was given everything you requested by that technician when she came back." The woman replied as she requipped the gear onto the desk next to her. "I was kind of worried, you know…"

"I felt it, your fear." Natsu admitted and regarded the woman with softened eyes. "Don't feel bad about that. It's a natural reaction when faced with something like that. Yeah, you've seen my red eyes before, but my demonic side was straining against the seals."

"Maybe you should talk to Makarov about that." Gray suggested as he flipped through a lingerie magazine with a grin as he admired the models. "The whole reason for those seals was because we didn't know if you could contain the power. Hell, even your brother was unsure when he heard about what had happened."

"He sensed it happening, since I was still linked at the time." Natsu added as he turned his focus away from the leggy blonde and to his buddy. "He destroyed that link shortly after I awakened that side of me. Too much of a danger to both of us."

"That was before he worked out how to fix his little issue though, right?"

"Issue?" Lucy asked curiously as she glanced between the two men. "What kind of issue?"

"Both him and Mavis were cursed. But they cheated the system with modern technology." Natsu chuckled as he smirked at his brother's devious plan. "Basically perfectly cloned himself and Mavis and transferred their neural maps to the clones, effectively creating perfect duplicates of themselves. Then they turned their curses on each other and destroyed their bodies, yet they live on in their new ones as if they were never cursed, magic and all."

"Trust me, if you think Natsu's ideas are nuts, he's got nothing on what his brother did." Gray laughed as he looked over. "One hell of an insane plan those two came up with. But it paid off, and now they can live normal lives and be a happy, loving couple."

"That's why those two are practically inseparable." Natsu smiled as he turned back to the woman. "They went through hell just to be together."

"That's cute!" Lucy's eyes softened as she smiled at Natsu. "It's very sad, but very cute. Two lovers cursed to never love each other, use everything at their disposal to get around the curse just to be able to express their love for each other to each other."

"Trust me, they "express their love for each other" all too often. Be thankful you don't have ears like mine."

"Natsu…" The woman giggled as she hid her grin behind her hand. "I have developed an extra sense that allows me to accurately locate everything with a certain range, including people… I'd be able to effectively see them."

"Damn, I wonder what'd be worse. Hearing it all or seeing it all." Gray mused as he looked between the two agents. "I think I'm content with having neither."

"Arse." Lucy threw the insult over her shoulder at the man.

"Careful man, she can get you out of nowhere now." Natsu smirked as he quickly tilted his head to the man while giving Lucy a wink.

The blonde's fingers skimmed along the desk as a sly grin spread across her lips, she glanced at the raven-haired agent as her fingers nudged up against a stapler. It quickly vanished from the desk and appeared above Gray, plummeting down onto his stomach and startling the man who shouted in shock.

"Told ya." The salmon-haired agent laughed loudly as he patted Lucy on the knee. "She can get you when you least expect it."

"Great, now I've got to have my defences up against her…" Gray muttered as he threw the piece of stationery right at the man's head.

Natsu's hand snapped up instinctively and snatched the stapler out of the air while he kept his eyes on the blonde sat in front of him. He sighed softly as he placed it back onto the desk, his eyes shooting to the clock on the wall. "Sorry, but I need to cut this short. I just remembered I had a Parent-Teacher Interview in fifteen minutes, got to go see Happy's teachers."

"Do you mind if I tag along?" Lucy asked curiously as she hopped off the desk.

"I don't mind." The man grabbed the underarm holsters and strapped them on under his jacket. He slotted in the pistols and some spare mags then sent the other holsters away. "Sounds like you want to break the hearts of all those swooning women."

"Or make the men swoon over me." Lucy giggled as she dusted herself off and adjusted her skirt and jacket. "Do you have your car here or did you take the bike?"

"The car, though I will start taking the bike again once the roads don't have the risk of icing over."

"Yo Natsu, been to any races recently?" Gray asked as he pushed up off the couch and stretched out.

"Nah, too dangerous. I don't like racing on black ice. Too much of a risk of someone else losing traction and crashing into me."

"Fair point. I'll see you around man, Lucy." The raven-haired agent said as the trio stepped out of the office and started to part ways.

"Bye Gray." Lucy replied as she threw a smile over her shoulder. She glanced at the man next to her as they stepped into the nearest elevator. "So, where about is his school?"

"In the same district as my house, but on the other side of it." Natsu hit the button for the garage and turned to the blonde. "It's a private school, so expect snooty people."

"They don't like you?"

"Come on, Luce, just look at me." The man chuckled as he gestured to his body. "I look like some kind of rough-around-the-edges rogue. I drive a modified muscle car and a track bike converted for street use. I'm bound to have some people hate me, though I'm well-liked for the most part. Though that doesn't stop them being snooty."

"Does Happy cop much shit from people?" Lucy asked worriedly. She crossed her arms under her bust and sighed quietly. "Because he's an Exceed and not a Human."

"You know what High School is like, full of arseholes willing and ready to bring others down to make themselves feel better." Natsu deadpanned as he casually leant against the mirrored wall of the elevator. "Yeah, he has a few bullies, but understands that insults can only do so much harm."

"And for the physical threats?"

The salmon-haired man slowly smirked dangerously as flecks of red flickered in his deep dark green eyes. "Who do you think taught him to fight?"

"I fear for those dumb enough to pick fights with him." Lucy muttered flatly as she shook her head. "Has he actually gotten into any fights?"

"No. He's really good at keeping a level head. Bonus that his attackers are too dumb to know how to throw a proper punch. The kid just dodges out of the way or deflects the blows, doesn't bother hitting back or at the very least, that I have heard about." The doors dinged as the elevator came to their destination. The man led the way towards his car and unlocked it on their approach. "We'll pick up some lunch along the way."

Nasturtium Academy, Ebony Hills, Magnolia City, 12:40 PM

"I didn't realise that Happy went to a school that supported all the years." Lucy glanced at the sign out the front of the campus then turned to look at her partner. "I thought you said it was a High School."

"He is in the High School phase of it, I didn't mean that it was a High School altogether." Natsu flashed her a small smile as he coasted the car into a parking spot outside of the school. "I'm afraid we'll have to walk up, I kinda kept getting in trouble for taking the Black Mamba all the way up there and causing a disturbance…"

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me in the slightest…" Lucy murmured playfully, knowing full well that she would have easily been heard, and promptly earning a quick jab in the arm for the remark.

"Hey now, go easy on me." Natsu laughed as he shut the car off and hopped out. In the time it took for them to have their lunch and head over to Happy's school, it had begun to rain icy water. "Behind your seat is an umbrella, so you don't catch a cold."

"Alright." The blonde reached behind her and grabbed the black umbrella before she stepped out of the car. Once she was sorted she moved to the sidewalk and gazed into the campus. The outside was devoid of students but thanks to her new sense she could practically see the students buzzing around the halls like bees in a hive. Lucy wondered if she could pinpoint Happy in the mess of noise.

"Come on, Luce." Natsu said softly as he walked behind her and gently nudged her square in the back to break her out of her concentration. "It isn't good to be late with this lot."

"Right. I know the type."

"That doesn't surprise me, Lady Heartfilia." The man smirked over his shoulder and quickly sidestepped to dodge the swing from the blonde woman. "Heh. My point is that you'd have grown up going to a place like this I'm betting?"

"Yes, I did go to a private school growing up, Sir~." Lucy leaned in with a playful grin as she drew out the word she knew annoyed him.

"Touché." Natsu shook his head and led the way into the campus, heading for the Admin building at the front of the grounds. He zipped up his jacket and slipped his hands into the pockets as he sensed Lucy quicken her pace and close the distance between them to cover him from the rain. He smiled softly and looked over at her. "You didn't have to, the rain has never bothered me. But thank you."

"It's alright." Lucy softly replied as she moved as close as she could without tripping them up. "I'm also a little cold, so your radiant heat helps keep me nice and warm."

The salmon-haired man's eyes drifted down to the blonde's seemingly never-ending legs, his keen eyes spotting tiny lumps of her skin. The cold was showing through on her skin so he turned his body temperature up a little so it would wash across her. "Hope that helps, Luce."

The woman sighed softly as she closed her eyes, revelling in the warmth. Once they reached the awning of the building she closed the umbrella and shook the water off it. "I'm guessing you are just announcing yourself here?"

"Yeah, got to sign in and then make my way over to Happy's homeroom." Natsu replied with a glance over at the woman. He pushed open the door and walked to the attendant who handed him the sign-in sheet. "Going to need you to sign this too, Luce." As Natsu stepped back from the desk a call made his phone come to life, with a quick glance at the caller he brought it up to his ear. "Hey Zeref. What's up?"

"That situation I told you about on Galuna Island, it has devolved even further. Seems the cult there has been kidnapping the demonic islanders that live there. I've had one of our low orbit spy satellites sat in geosynchronous orbit above the island, providing a live feed of what is happening there."

Lucy tapped Natsu on the arm to tell him that she was ready to move on, earning a quick nod from the man who stepped through the doors beyond the Admin area. "I take it that the situation will require direct intervention?"

"Yes. I'm gathering a small team to go in quietly, but if things turn to shit they'll need to be ready for a firefight."

"Who is going?"

"You and me for certain, I've slated Erza, Gray, and Lucy to come along too since you work best with them."

"When do we leave?" Natsu asked as he glanced about the hall, making sure no one bar Lucy was listening in.

"In two days. Infiltration will be by boat. Briefing is tomorrow, 11 AM, in the main conference room in the offices."

"Alright, I'll pass it onto Lucy since she is with me right now." He waved for the woman to follow him as he made his way down the hall. "Can you have Mavis take care of Happy for me then, I'd have Mira or Lis take care of it but the Strauss' are over in Crocus right now for a fashion show."

"She's going to spoil the poor kid but sure. I'll let her know."

"Thanks Zeref, I gotta go though, got to see Happy's teacher." The man ended the call once they had exchanged their goodbyes. He sighed softly and glanced over to his partner. "We've got work coming up in a few days. Zeref has put together a little excursion over to Galuna Island."

"So he is putting that plan into motion?"

"Yeah, we find out more tomorrow at 11, the same conference room that you met everyone in."

Lucy watched a few pre-teens sprint past them with their books. The lunch bell must have rung as they roll into the car park. "So, where is Happy's homeroom?"

Natsu stopped by a campus map which sat in a protective case on the wall. The man pointed out a spot on the second floor of the adjacent building. "Right here, there are undercover walkways between the main wing which holds the Primary years, the left wing which holds the Secondary years, and the right wing which houses the workshops like Drama, Automotive, Carpentry, Textiles and Leatherworking. The Gym and fields are in the rear section of the campus."

"Wow…" Lucy murmured softly as she pinched the man's sleeve carefully. "I didn't realise just how large this place was…"

The salmon-haired man dropped his voice considerably as a gaggle of girls walk past their backs. "No teleporting Lucy. I know you were thinking about it."

"Ok, fine. I won't take the shortcut there." The blonde complained quietly and slipped her hands back into her leather jacket's pockets.

"Sorry, Luce. While it's fine to jump about whenever you like around the office, out in public it is a different story. You can still do it but be mindful of your surroundings, especially when not on a job." Natsu placed a reassuring hand on the woman's shoulder and gave her a smile.

Lucy slowly returned the smile and moved closer to the man as they set off down the hall once more. A chill washed over Lucy's legs as the duo stepped out into the undercover walkway, the rain pounding down on the corrugated sheet metal roof was almost deafening and she realised that she'd hate to have ears like Natsu's right about now.

"You're being fawned over." Natsu chuckled quietly as he glanced over his shoulder at the gaggle of teen girls following them. "They seem to wish they were you."

Lucy giggled softly and shook her head. "If only they knew. Then they wouldn't want to be me."

"Come on, Luce." The pinkette grinned at the woman playfully. "You're a hottie, I doubt it would matter to them."

The blonde socked the man in the arm but couldn't help the happy smile or the warm feeling grow in her. She followed Natsu up a flight of stairs and down another hall as the sound of laughter and banter grew louder and louder. A door was thrown open just up ahead of them as a group of brawling boys tumbled out. "My my~, what do we have here~?"

The woman's soft and enticing tone instantly broke the brawl apart as the boys' gaze jerked up to the leggy blonde, the blood racing to their cheeks. The lick of her lips sent them scrambling to their feet, instantly forgetting what had caused the fight in the first place.

Natsu grinned deviously as he pointed to the woman's chest with his thumb. "Those are larger than they look, they are just being confined by the leather jacket."

The boys ripped their eyes from Lucy's chest and wiped their drooling mouths as they realised just who had dropped by. One of the boys stepped forward and smiled at the pinkette. "Oh, hi Mr Dragneel. Are you looking for Happy?"

"Lucy, these are some of Happy's friends, Ricky, Jayke, and Dave." Natsu pointed to each one as he introduced them. "Boys, this is one of my work buddies, Lucy. Yeah, I came here because I've got a meeting with the coordinator with him."

"He is inside, come with us and we'll take you to him." Said the lanky redhead called Jayke as he led the group back into the room which was abuzz with students. "Sorry about the mess and noise, we're all crammed in here due to the rain."

"There are other rooms you could use, you know…" Natsu suggested as his eyes scanned the room slowly. "But I guess all the friends groups are here, and it makes it more entertaining."

"Means we don't have to go looking for someone if we need to talk to them."

Word quickly spread about the room as each student turned to look at the adults. They instantly recognised Natsu, which sent murmurs flying around the room. The students were wearing matching black and blue blazers but the boys wore black pants and the girls had black skirts.

"Hey Natsu!" Happy called out from his spot on top of a desk, he had a flat cap on his head which covered his ears but his tail moved freely behind him. The Exceed hopped down from the table and jogged over to his father. "Hey Lucy, didn't expect you see you here."

"I decided to give your dad some company since I didn't have anything to do." Lucy smiled at the teen and gave him a hug.

"Who's that, your mum?" One of the kids shouted obnoxiously at Happy.

"No, she's one of my hot co-workers, who happens to be a really close friend of mine." Natsu shot back with a grin. "Something you'll never have the pleasure of experiencing in your life."

"She's not that…" The kid tried to shout his comeback but was instantly cut off by one of the girls.

"Don't even try to say she isn't hot. She's so beautiful." Swooned a girl as she and a group of others swarmed the blonde and battered her with questions about beauty routines. "Just because you have such a shit taste in girls."

"Ouch, that's a burn worse than I can do." Natsu couldn't help but laugh at the poor woman's plight. Which quickly drew a look of ire from Lucy who just shook her head and told the girls the best way to look after themselves. "Come on, Happy, we're already running a little late since I was busy at work."

"Alright." Happy hurried out the door and started heading for the coordinator's office.

"Will you be alright here? It won't take long." Natsu asked softly as he turned to his partner.

"I'll be fine, Natsu."

The man nodded and followed his adoptive son out of the room. He shut the door behind him and quickly caught up to the blue-haired boy. "Hey, Happy, I'm going to be out of town in a few days' time, not sure for how long. Since Mira and Lis are in Crocus, are you fine with staying with Mavis?"

"Yeah, I can't wait!" Happy cheered, true to his name.

"Good. I'll try to get back as quick as I can." Natsu said as he pushed open the door to the coordinator's office.

The middle-aged woman inside looked up from her desk and narrowed her eyes over her glasses at the father and son. "Ah, Mr Dragneel, about time you showed up."

"You're the one who wanted to see me during work hours. You're lucky I was able to find time." Natsu shrugged as he strode into the room. Unfortunately, he had to deal with the bitchy coordinator it seemed. "Since I'm rather short on time, I'm a busy man after all, how about we cut to the chase."

"Ah yes, I'm sure a man like you is very busy." The teacher's mouth curled into a small sneer as she looked down her nose at the man. "Well, since you insist. Take a seat please and we'll get started."

Natsu did his best to pay attention to the woman but found that everything she said just gave him a headache. It was all bullshit about how she didn't see Happy as a good fit for the school and how he should be transferred to another school. He quickly held up a hand to interrupt the woman as he sighed softly. "There was nothing wrong with Happy's last few report cards, they all came out at an A level. And since I haven't heard anything from the other teachers or the Headmaster, I can assume he hasn't been in any trouble. If the only reason you called me here, pulling me away from my work, was to shovel this shit and waste my time then if you'd excuse me, I have better things to do." The man rose to his feet and walked over to the door.

"Excuse me, I didn't say that we're done here." The woman slammed her hands down on the desk as she shot to her feet. "If you don't like what I have to say about your son, then you can send him to another school!"

The man took a slow, deep breath and released it through his nose before turning on the teacher with all the gravitas of his professional persona. "Look mother fucker. I don't give even a fraction a fucking shit about what you think should be done with Happy. He hasn't had any issues with anyone else here except for you." Natsu placed his hands upon the desk and slowly leaned in close to the woman's face. "So you can take your little fucking preconceptions and shove them right up your fat arse. You dragged me all the way here from work, where I'm really fucking busy, just so you can feed me some bullshit about how You think he shouldn't be here." The man straightened up to his full height as his steely eyes bored into the shrinking teacher. "I suggest you pull your fucking heading in and ditch the fucking bullshit you have against Happy, and actually act like a teacher. In other words, do your damn job instead of bitching and complaining over nothing, teach the kid properly or I'll be coming back and we'll be having an even more stern discussion."

Happy just sat on the chair with an innocent smile on his face, watching the events unfold in front of him. The Exceed could tell that there wasn't going to be any more issues with the coordinator, at least he hoped that was the case.

Without waiting for any further response, Natsu turned on his heels and walked out of the room with Happy following him closely. The man glanced down at the human-looking exceed and smiled. "Hopefully she gets off your back now."

"I don't know why she was so hell-bent on getting me out of her year…"

"Probably because you aren't human, like me. But, with how you prefer to show yourself, it makes you more of a target for fucktards like that." The man replied quietly as he patted his son on the shoulder. "That's not saying don't keep using that variation of your transformation, since that's how you wish to look. A combination of both your heritages. Plus, it looks cute."

"So all the girls tell me." Happy cheered innocently as he beamed a smile up at Natsu. "They keep wanting to see my ears and feel the fur."

"As long as it's consensual, then we won't have any issues. If things start becoming forceful then let me know." Natsu turned his head away from his son and smirked out the window. Once they were back at the homeroom, Natsu quickly made sure he was in his carefree persona and followed Happy into the room where they found all the girls sat in front of Lucy who was giving them various pieces of advice such as Make-up, outfits, and hobbies among other things. "Yo Luce, it's all sorted."

"Oh." Lucy looked up in surprise as she didn't notice them enter the room. She hopped down from the desk she was sat on and hurried over to the man. "How'd it go?"

"Well, the teacher is a fucking bitch. Turned out that it was all unimportant bullshit." Natsu shrugged carelessly and casually placed his hands behind his head while his words set off a tidal wave of laughter. "Waste of a time coming in but I hope I sorted her out."

"Are we heading back to the office?" She asked curiously as she glanced around the room and the laughing kids, they had lost their minds over Natsu's blasé attitude towards the staff. "Or do you want to do something before we head back?"

Natsu glanced at the window at the rain and yawned softly as he stretched out his body. "I guess we should go and get prepared for our business trip, find out what we should bring from my brother."

"What do you think he has planned?"

Natsu gave Happy a quick smile. "We're heading out now, let me know if that woman gives you more trouble."

"Alright, see you later Natsu. Bye Lucy!" Happy cheered as he headed back to the table he was sitting on earlier.

The two adults left the room and headed back down the hall. Once they had signed out at the office, Natsu glanced over at the blonde and kept his voice reasonably quiet as he finally addressed her question. "My bet is we'll be taking a small yacht over, like a business cruise kinda thing. But we'll be deploying a RHIB under cover of night and inserting that way. That's how Zeref likes to play things, on the outside things are all normal but when the curtains close that's when the real party begins."

"So, like the mission to recover Macao? Go in at night when things are quiet?" Lucy murmured while putting up the umbrella.

"Yeah, though I wouldn't ignore the possibility of the cultists from having nightwatchmen. We don't know just how stupid they are, even if they are trying to release a Magical Weapon of Mass Destruction, that's the only thing of notoriety on that Island." Natsu replied as they walked back to the car and got into it. He started up the car and started heading back to the HQ.

Conference Room 1, FTA HQ, Magnolia, 10:50 AM

The set of double doors were pushed open as Natsu entered the Conference Room with Lucy following in right after him. It was mostly empty except for an active holographic map on the table showing Galuna Island with a stern-looking redhead reviewing it. "Hey Erza."

"Hmm?" Erza's head flicked up as she gazed across the table to the approaching duo, her features softening to a pleasant smile. "Good morning Natsu, Lucy. Looks like we'll be working together again. I can't wait to see what you can do out in the field, Lucy."

"I hope I live up to your expectations then." Lucy replied as she took the seat directly opposite the seemingly mature woman. It had come as a shock to her when she found out that Erza was only two years older than herself, the redhead carried herself with an air of kind sophistication and experience. "Where are Gray and Zeref?"

"Gray is grabbing some food, he hasn't had anything to eat just yet." Erza replied as she leant back in her chair and took in the appearance of the two agents. "As for Zeref, he should be here shortly, unless he is held up."

"Mavis probably pulled him into a supply closet somewhere." Natsu joked as he took a seat next to Erza, with Lucy dropping in on his other side. "In truth, it wouldn't surprise me."

"So, have you heard anything about the mission?" Lucy asked as she looked past Natsu at the more senior agent.

"Probably not much more than yourself."

Natsu put his boots up on the table and checked his watch. The door opened a few minutes later as Gray came in with a bag of food. "Hey Frosty, what'd you get?"

"Bacon and egg roll, hashbrown, and a muffin." Gray replied as he bit into the hashbrown. The raven-haired man walked around to the table and sat next to Erza as he fished out the roll. "Where is Zeref?"

"Natsu reckons he found a quiet place with Mavis." Erza replied as she blew up the map and made it three dimensional. "We can assume the cultists will be in the ruins inside the mountain, probably some stationed as lookouts on top of it."

"I know for a fact that Deliora will be in a large chamber underneath the temple itself." Natsu added as he dropped his feet to the ground and moved forward, marking the location on the map. "From what you've told us, Gray, Deliora is encased in Soul Ice, the results of using the Iced Shell spell."

"He's late…" Lucy murmured quietly as she checked her phone. She turned on the seat and draped her legs over the arm, she gently nudged Natsu's thigh with one of her feet. "It's already ten minutes past."

"I know, Luce." Natsu ran a hand along the underside of the woman's leg as he put his boots back up on the table. "Erza, do you know much about these cultists, aside from Deliora what are their goals?"

Before the redhead could answer, the door burst open followed by a somewhat haggard-looking black-haired man. Zeref fixed his appearance and composed himself as he approached the table, he cleared his throat as he glanced around at the gathered Agents. "Sorry I'm late, I got caught up."

"We figured as much." Natsu chuckled as he grinned at his older brother. "I swear, you two are less like a Fairy and Spriggan and more like a pair of rabbits."

"Can we get on with the meeting?" Gray asked as he threw the empty paper bag across the room and into the bin. He wiped his hands on his pants and pointed to the hologram. "We were having a bit of a chat about it before you arrived."

"Well, you all probably know roughly where the cultists are, and what their perceived plan is." Zeref began as he placed a small disk-shaped data drive on the table and brought out his documents on the mission, he copied them four times and sent them around to the other Agents. "They plan on releasing Deliora from the Soul Ice that he has been encased in. I don't know the reasons, but we can only assume. You see, Deliora is classed as a Magical Weapon of Mass Destruction. Like the Etherion Cannon, he can destroy large swaths of land instantaneously, as witnessed by a juvenile Gray." The former Black Mage gestured to the raven-haired man quickly before moving on. "At some point in time, Deliora was moved to Galuna Island. I guess having a giant frozen demon would be a bit of an eyesore for everyone."

"Why "at some point", weren't you keeping track of the demons?" Erza asked politely as she studied briefing.

"No, Erza." The man shook his head. He fished out a silver heart-shaped pendant from his chest, a gift from Mavis from before they could be together properly. "I was focused on saving Mavis and I. I dedicated my extended life to that matter, fusing science and magic to create new bodies for us without the possibility of becoming cursed again as I had with Natsu." Zeref smiled lovingly at the pendant before stuffing it back under his shirt. "Moving on. Through monitoring the Island with one of our satellites, I have constructed a heat map of their movements outside of the mountain."

An overlay appeared on the 3D map, showing guard locations and patrol routes. Gray leant forwards and pointed out a clustered near the edge of the Island with lines that run between it and the mountain. "What is going on here?"

"That is the village that belongs to the native demons of Galuna Island, the cultists are taking the civilians there into the mountain. We suspect they have been using them as sacrifices in an attempt to… I don't know, bring me back or something, that's what they all seem to want." The man's eye twitched as Zeref snarled in anger. "Bastards keep tarnishing my name. Anyway, as you can see they have tracks leading back and forth from the mountain, this shows us where they are entering the ruins." The black-haired man brought up the mugshots of four people. "We've been in contact with Lamia Scale, they've had some of their members go AWOL and we suspect they've teamed up with Gray's old friend from his days under Ur."

"So we've got a Do-Not-Kill order for Sherry Blendy, Yuka Suzuki, Toby Horhorta, and Lyon Vastia." Natsu said as he waved his hands across the pictures in front of them. "Something that came from Lamia Scale?"

"No official one, as they don't know where their operatives have gone. They seem to have dropped off the radar. But there is one thing that ties all four of these people together." Zeref tapped the holographic interface and brought up a fifth picture. "Deliora. He devastated their towns. So my guess is that they found out about the location of Deliora and have either joined or infiltrated the cultists for their own motives."

"Do we have their biometrics on file?" Erza asked curiously. "Maybe we can link them to our IFF system so we can avoid harming them."

"I should be able to organise something, not sure how to get Vastia's biometrics though." Zeref replied as he quickly typed up a message to Makarov and sent it off. "Maybe Lamia Scale will have something on him."

"I hope they do, Lyon was a good guy. A bit full of himself, but still good." Gray muttered as he stared at his childhood friend's image. "If he needs to be talked down then maybe I'll be able to do it."

"Alright, how are we getting there? Are we flying out there or are we taking a boat?" Natsu asked, shifting his attention back to the map. "If I remember right, the Island is far out to sea, right?"

"We'll be chartering a medium-sized yacht from one of our fronts, launching from either here in Magnolia and taking the long "pleasure cruise" route down the canal to the sea or we can launch from Hargeon and take the shorter route."

"I think we should take the longer route." Lucy suggested as she shifted on the seat and sat properly upon it. "It may take longer but it would be less conspicuous."

"But then we also have the matter of time sensitivity." Erza added, turning to face the blonde woman. "We could get there sooner if we launch from Hargeon."

"But we also have to factor in travel time between here and Hargeon and back once the mission is over, and also how we will get there." Natsu added, he tilted his head towards Lucy. "I think we should launch from Magnolia, it means less logistics overall and I'm sure all of us would be wanting to be in our own beds once this is over."

"I agree with the walking space heater." Gray chimed in quickly while also sneaking in a retaliatory jab from the earlier comment. "It will be better if we catch a ride from HQ to the docks and get on the yacht from there."

"Well, I'm outvoted." Erza conceded as she shook her head with a small smile. "So, I doubt we'll be pulling up to the Island on the yacht?"

"The yacht will be bringing us in a few klicks from the shore, from there we will insert via a RHIB under the cover of night. The New Moon phase will be in two nights, which will be the perfect time to make the crossing." Zeref replied as he brought up the planned route for the Magnolia to Galuna Island trip. "Once we are on the beach we will store the boat in one of our requip spaces so it won't be spotted during the daytime. We'll push into the forest and make camp away from any patrol routes."

"Since this is an infiltration, I take it we'll be going quiet?" Asked the salmon-haired agent as he tapped one of his pistols.

"Yes, all weapons must at least be suppressed. If you can do sub-sonic then that's a bonus." The older Dragneel replied with a quick nod. "I doubt these cultists will have anything in the way of body armour but we should take rifles just in case. If you can get in close without being detected then use your knife or hands." Zeref moved on once the man got a nod of confirmation from the four agents. "Natsu, I do have one stipulation for you with regards to weapons."

"What is it?"

"Since you have the best eyesight out of all of us, and have impeccable aim, I want you to take a semi-automatic sniper rifle. I suggest the FD338 with a suppressor on the end of it and a 3-20x50 scope. You can take any other weapons you like, even another rifle if you wish, but that sniper rifle will be a requirement."

"Alright, I'll take that, my pistols, and a HK416 A5 for medium range engagements."

"We have gotten our hands on a SIG MCX Spear fairly recently." Zeref mentioned with a smile, he knew that his younger brother was really interested in getting his hands on this particular weapon. "Maybe you could convince the Quartermaster to let you use it?"

"Whelp, I'm sold on that idea." Natsu chuckled as he threw his hands up. "I'll have a chat with him later."

Lucy leant forwards and pointed to the Village as she glanced up at Zeref. "Will we be contacting them, or keeping them in the dark?"

"I'm thinking it is best to keep them in the dark to begin with. I don't want them talking about us and giving us away to the enemy before we announce ourselves."

"Is there anything else we should know?" Erza asked as she gazed about at the various bits of information in front of them.

"Bring cold weather clothing, and some forest camo suitable for dense dark forests. Natsu, consider bringing a Ghillie suit or the materials to construct one onsite from natural resources." Zeref listed off as he ran over his notes. "I'll sort out gear for making a camp, so don't worry about that. That should cover it, we'll be leaving tomorrow at 0900 hours from HQ, hopefully setting sail at 1000 hours. Get yourselves ready today so we won't have any hook-ups tomorrow morning." The man grabbed the data disk from the table, closing down all the holograms as he pocketed the device. He walked to the exit but as he opened the door, he glanced over his shoulder. "I'll see you all later, I've got to follow up on some of the things we've discussed and organise our transport."

"So, Lucy?" Gray started as he rose from his chair and stretched his sleeping body out. "This is your first real combat mission, how do you feel?"

"Nervous. Really nervous…" The woman murmured as she rubbed her face. "I haven't actually killed before, though I know that when I do that it'll be different to that time on the ship. I won't freeze up."

"It doesn't get any easier." Natsu admitted as he placed a reassuring hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Yeah, you get desensitised to killing so you can do it without thinking. But it still weighs on you mentally afterwards, and firefights are no picnic either, a whole truckload of stress there but you just need to focus and stay in control."

"Just stick to your training. You are ready for this, Lucy, I'm sure of this." Erza reassured the woman, she gave her a kind smile and headed for the door. "I'm going to get my stuff ready, see you all later."

"I think I might go do the same." Gray said quickly. As he walked past Lucy, he gave her a pat on the back. "Don't worry, you'll do great."

After the two other agents had left the room, Lucy turned to Natsu, her voice quiet like a mouse. "I think I should call Mother…"

"My office has a TV with Telepresence built into it, it's a secure line so you can call your mum with that." Natsu slowly ran his hand through her hair to try and soothe the woman. "Come on."

Lucy composed herself and nodded to her partner, letting out a long breath as she calmed her nerves. "Ok, I'm good." Lucy took the man's hand from her head and placed it over her heart, holding it there with one hand as she fixed her hair with the other. "Stay by my side, I don't think I'm ready to fly solo."

"Don't worry, we'll moving as a group for the most part but if we need to split into smaller groups then I'll bring you along with me." Thanks to his demonic senses, he could tell just how uncertain the woman was. Her heart was beating quickly under his hand, so he allowed them to stay like that a little longer before pulling his hand away slowly and leading her back to his office. "Would you like a tea or coffee?"

"Tea, please. I brought in some teabags from my house, in the cupboard next to your little bar fridge."

"Alright." Natsu walked over to the little kitchenette that he and Mira had set up in their office and heated up the kettle. "Just put your mother's number into that and it'll connect to her."

Lucy tapped on the screen to activate it then typed in her mother's details. A moment passed before she realised that she still had her Ruger holstered at her hip but she couldn't care to remove it, Natsu would be seen with his twin pistols anyway.

"Oh, hello Lucy!" Layla exclaimed happily, beaming at her little girl through the video call. "How have you been?"

"I've been good, Mother. My friends have been looking after me." Lucy smiled slowly, her tension leaving her body at the sight of Layla's loving smile. "I'm actually calling from work."

"I was wondering why it was an unusual number." The mature woman lightly tapped her cheek as she gazed away. "One moment, I'm going to transfer the call to the screen in here." The TV went black for a moment before lighting back up with a view of the entire upper-class room that Layla Heartfilia was staying in at Heliotrope Estate. "There we go. My my Lucy, you are looking really good."

"Thank you, Mother." The blonde smiled as she looked down at herself. "I've been working on my fitness for work."

"It's doing you wonders, you've got a well-defined figure."

"I feel healthier too, thanks to the frequent exercise." Lucy glanced over as the clinking of cups and spoons caught her attention. "Just two sugars, please."

"Oh? Who's this outside my view?" Layla asked as she playfully leant to the side like she was trying to see further past the edge of the screen. "Don't be shy~."

"He's my mentor, Natsu. We share this office with his boss."

"She's not my boss." Natsu called out over his shoulder as he shook his head. He took the mug over to the blonde and handed it to her. "Here you go. Hello Lady Heartfilia."

"My my~ aren't you quite the handsome man. Please call me Layla." Layla cooed as she eyed the salmon-haired agent. "So, you must be the infamous Agent Salamander of Fairy Tail?"

"Ma'am?"

"Don't worry, I only know you due to what my spirits have told me. They like to gossip you see." The woman smiled impishly as she held up a Golden Key. "I may have handed my keys back out again but I kept Leo by my side."

"You know, Layla, I prefer Loke..." Said the lion spirit as he stepped into frame. "Good morning, Princess."

"Good Morning, Loke." Lucy smiled and sipped her tea. "But yes, this is Agent Natsu "Salamander" Dragneel. My codename is Celeste."

"A name relating to your magic?" Layla asked as she glanced to Natsu for answers.

"It was the name given to her file when we were scouting her as a possible candidate. We took action when we found out that she had been captured by a known Slave Trader, capturing the Slaver and leaving him for the Police while we extracted Lucy and brought her back to safety."

"And jump me into the back of a helicopter moving really fast while on a bike that was also going fast, and to top it all off, while being shot at..." Lucy muttered under her breath as she shot a glare out of the corner of her eye at the man.

"Why did you want my little girl?"

"Her expertise." Natsu replied without hesitation. "Due to her lineage as a Heartfilia Celestial Mage, her knowledge of Celestial Magic and spirits would be a great addition. Since the start of her training, she has proven to be a very competent fighter and promising agent."

"Yes, Virgo has told me about how Lucy came to rescue her from that godawful ugly bastard."

Natsu brought his hand up to his mouth as he bit back a chuckle. He composed himself quickly and placed his hands behind his back once again, standing at ease. "Sorry Ma'am. Your daughter had the same opinion of the Duke as you do."

"Natsu please, really, just call me Layla." The mature blonde smiled kindly at the professional agent before turning to her daughter. "How about you come by Heliotrope, Lucy, I'm currently staying here on a business trip."

"Sorry Mother, I can't do that." Lucy's shoulders slumped as she sighed sadly. "Natsu and I had planned on having this chat in person, maybe spend some time together. We had heard that you were in town from one of the staff at the Estate."

"Both of you?" Layla's impish smile returned as she cupped her cheek coyly. "My my~, Lucy, is he your boyfriend?"

"No, it's not like that…" Lucy stammered as she started to blush.

"Oh, so he is your fiancé~?" Layla continued, her smile growing into a wide grin. "Should he start calling me Mother too~?"

"MOTHER!" The blonde complained loudly as the salmon-haired man's composure broke fully and he broke down into a fit of laughter. "NATSU!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Natsu quickly replied as he wrangled himself and stopped laughing. He wiped a tear from his eye and grinned at the shorter agent. "Your mum is hilarious."

"Shush you…" The woman murmured quietly as she shot him another quick glare, she let out a huff and addressed her mother. "No, he is my partner in the sense that we will be working together on jobs. Which actually brings me back to the reason why I can't come and visit… Natsu and I, along with three other Agents will be heading out tomorrow morning on a mission."

"I'm sorry, but we can't give you any more information beyond that." Natsu cut in, adding his two cents quickly. "Classified information, you'll understand I'm sure."

"Just be sure to come back in one piece, Lucy." Layla asked softly, her eyes full of worry. "You better take care of her, Natsu."

"Don't worry, Ma'am. She's in good hands."

"I bet she is…" The mature woman replied as her foxy smile returned. "Those hands better be used very thoroughly."

"Mother!" Lucy narrowed her eyes at her mum, growling with irritation as the corner of her eye twitched. "Stop it…"

"Oh, sorry Lucy, I gotta go. Love you so much, my little princess!" Layla hurriedly reached for the screen. She was almost bursting with laughter but she was glowing with happiness all the same.

"Lo…" The screen went black on the blonde agent. Lucy sighed softly and smiled at it, she turned to the man next to her and rested against his chest. "Love you, Mother, be well."

"She's quite the character." Natsu chuckled softly as he placed a hand on the woman's shoulder. "Has she always been like that?"

"Yes, I wouldn't trade her for the world."

"I feel the same way about Igneel. He's also a lot like that." The man smiled and picked up Lucy. He carried her to his desk and sat down with her placed on his lap. "I need to go over the files on those four people we are supposed to look out for, probably a good idea if you pay attention too."

"Alright." Lucy turned so she sat with her back against the man's chest and started to become very aware of the warmth of the man soaking into her body, especially her bare legs and under her skirt. She watched attentively as Natsu brought up the files on his monitors and started going over the details.

Another bites the dust, we're rolling into the next mission which is the Assault of Galuna Island. I was planning on having more time at Happy's school but it wasn't going to flow that well so I had to scrap the extended scene. I hope you liked this chapter, if you haven't already then feel free to follow and/or favourite to keep up to date with future chapters. See you all next time.