A/N: And we're back. Sorry about the absence. I was having some computer issues that resulted in me not having a computer I could reliably use to write for a while. But that's now over as I've gotten myself a fancy new computer.

I don't own Fairy Tail!

I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 16: Parole

July 28th, X784

Layla stood quietly in the back streets of Jaborosa Town as she held a light pen in her hand, the hot pink haired girl furiously drawing a myriad of creatures and traps on the walls of a building. Layla was distracted though, as she kept looking over her shoulder to try and see if anyone was heading her way as she had already been chased off twice that morning by the angry owners of different buildings she had drawn on.

"I just want to help them," Layla sighed as she continued to draw on the wall, finishing up a cutesy drawing of a Fioran Goblin, "We got lucky a few days ago, but what are we going to do if someone shows up that actually wants to hurt the townspeople?" the young girl muttered to herself before she began to hear a nearby door start to open, Layla beginning to take off running as the sounds of angry shouting began behind her.

"The hell is all this graffiti!?" she could hear a man shout as she ran as fast as she could into the main street, quickly working her way into the crowd and moving a good way away from the scene before ducking into another alley.

"That was too close," Layla sighed between heavy breaths, her chest heaving as she swallowed nervously, "It's really no fun getting yelled at," the young mage muttered before she walked deeper into the alley and turned a corner before reaching to pull her light pen out again, "Wait… Where is it?" Layla questioned, panic rising in her voice as she couldn't feel it on her belt before pulling her large messenger bag around to her front, "Did I throw it in here? Please tell me it's in here," she mumbled as she began to dig through the large bag, sifting through the myriad of art supplies she kept in it.

"Looking for this?" she suddenly heard a man call out, Layla letting out a small yelp as she quickly fell to the ground, landing hard on her rear, "Easy now, I'm not gonna hurt you." Layla turned to look at the figure, a limping Rune Knight with dark blue hair, in his hand was her light pen.

"Y-yes. That's mine," Layla stammered as she stood back up, slightly backing away from the man.

"That would make you the graffiti artist that has the town up in arms then," the Rune Knight sighed.

"It's not graffiti! It's a spell meant to protect them!" Layla quickly shouted back before realizing who she had just shouted at, covering her mouth with her hands for a moment before letting them drop back to her sides, "Sorry. I didn't mean to shout at you, sir."

"It's alright, I do have to write up this incident though. Nothing major, just a misdemeanor," the Rune Knight replied.

"But… I just wanted to help them."

The Rune Knight let out another sigh as Layla began to tear up and ran a hand through his dark blue hair before limping closer to the girl before sitting down on a crate that had been left in the alley.

"Listen, kid, I deal with a lot of bad eggs in my line of work. Just about every person I deal with is either some punk kid with too much ego or just a real desperate person just trying to get by. I can tell you're not either of those, so here's what we're gonna do. You're from that new guild in town, right?"

"Y-yeah, Phantom Hearts," Layla muttered in response as she tried to dry her eyes.

"Great. I've already got business with one of the mages there, so what we're gonna do, is we're gonna go talk to your Guild Master and see if we can't work something out. But what's ultimately going to hopefully happen, is that you're going to prove to me that you're not one of the bad eggs and if you do that, I'm not going to write you up at all and you get to keep your record clean, okay? That sound fair?"

"Y-yeah. That sounds fair."

"Good. Now why don't you lead the way for me. I'm a bit slow with this bum leg. Ah, before I forget, I'm Lieutenant Trae West. What's your name, kid?" the Rune Knight asked as he stood up from the crate and held out Layla's light pen.

"I'm Layla Sparrow, sir," she responded as she took the light pen back. Trae then gestured for her to begin leading the way, Layla taking a few nervous steps past the Rune Knight before beginning to walk at a slower pace so that Trae could keep up easily.

. : + : .

"The hell do you mean you can't fix my wrist yet!?" Connor shouted up at Darling while Rena hid behind the doctor.

"I've already said, it's too soon for Miss Miret to use her magic on your wrist. It could take up to five years off your life if she were to do so right now."

"Like I give a damn about that. I want my wrist back so I can get out of this sty already," Connor huffed.

"I'm afraid you'll just have to wait the full week like I instructed and you're not to bother Miss Miret about it either," Darling stated as he felt Rena grip his coat tighter.

"You're just lucky I can't hold a gun right now," Connor growled as Darling narrowed his eyes at the young man in return, though the sound of the front doors opening would interrupt them as they both turned to see Layla slinking into the guildhall, followed by a Rune Knight. "Shit," Connor cursed as he recognized the man following the pink haired girl.

"Connor McKlyne, just the man I wanted to see," Trae called out as he limped into the guildhall and up to Connor, why don't you join Layla and I in your Guild Master's office?"

"Is that an order?" Connor growled.

"As a matter of fact, it is. Now git," the Rune Knight demanded as Connor stomped off towards Nika's temporary office while Trae took a moment to look around, "That Mystogan fellow sure did a number on your building, huh?"

"Yeah, the construction company forbid us from using the upstairs at all even until they finished repairs," Layla admitted as Trae followed her towards the hall that led to the dorm rooms.

"Yeah, I could've sworn the old Guild Rep's office was on the second floor, so I guess that makes sense as to why it's on the first floor now."

"You've been here before?" Layla asked.

"Only a couple of times. I'm Connor's Parole Officer, so I had to evaluate this back when it was a branch of Phantom Lord to see if it was a suitable place for him to work," Trae explained.

"So now you're here to do it again now that it's a different guild altogether, huh?"

"Yep," Trae responded as they reached Nika's office, Layla opening the door to see that Connor was already leaning against a wall inside while a look of realization suddenly clicked inside Nika's head the moment she saw Trae.

"Lieutenant West," Nika greeted, "If you had told me you were coming, I would've sent someone to pick you up.

"No need. I found one of your mages causing a spot of trouble in town and had her bring me here," Trae replied while gesturing to Layla before taking a seat in front of Nika's desk.

"Layla…" Nika said lowly as the young girl flinched away from the Guild Master.

"Sorry!"

"We'll get to that in a minute," Trae said, waving his hand in the air dismissively, "First things first, the whole reason why I'm here to begin with."

"I thought the Magic Council already approved Connor's transfer into Phantom Hearts," Nika sighed as she turned back to face the Rune Knight.

"Well, as usual, they did until they didn't. That damn councilor, Siegrain, seems to have it out for your guild and he managed to turn the resolution on its head. In the end only old Yajima had your back," Trae explained as Nika pinched her forehead in frustration.

"Of course Siegrain is out to get us," she sighed, "He's already challenging the legitimacy of our guild. I had to send Raoul and a few other mages off on an S-Rank Mission with no pay because of him already."

"He's an odd one. Especially since he shows so much leniency towards Fairy Tail compared to most of the other councilmen. But that brings us to our business today," Trae began, "On the Council's orders, Connor here has to show how serious he is about remaining in a Mage Guild and prove that he wouldn't be better off in the Rune Knights instead. He's to do this by taking a mission provided by the Magic Council in order to evaluate him."

"That's bullshit! I can't even use my guns properly right now," Connor snapped as he lifted his wrapped-up wrist to show it off, "How can they expect me to take a mission when I can't even fight properly."

"Well, I'm sure that was Siegrain's plan all along," Trae sighed.

"Let me guess, I won't even get paid for the job even if I do manage to finish it either?" Connor scoffed.

"Actually, you got lucky on that front, Councilman Yajima insisted that you at least be paid for the job if they were going to force you to take one."

"Wow… Lucky me," Connor huffed.

"So how's this supposed to work then?" Nika asked, "You can't expect me, in good conscious, to send out Connor, by himself, with a broken wrist and expect him to be able to safely take on a job?"

"That's my second point," Trae replied before gesturing for Layla to step closer, "You see I found this mage of yours putting up graffiti on public property,"

"It wasn't graffiti! They're spells to protect people!" Layla interrupted.

"Layla…" Nika sighed.

"Look… We got lucky with Mystogan. He went out of his way to put all the townspeople to sleep so none of them got hurt… Next time someone attacks and we can't stop them… we might not be so lucky," Layla explained softly, her eyes downcast as she stared at the ground and her hands clenched her coat.

"Layla… I understand you're worried about the townsfolk and I'm happy that you care so much about protecting them, but you can't go around drawing on their homes and shops," Nika scolded softly.

"I… I know, Nika. I'm sorry."

"Well, either way, that brings up my point. I made a deal with this young mage here. She would prove to me that she's not a bag egg like most of the people I deal with and I wouldn't write her up and that I would keep her record clean of this incident," Trae explained.

"And how do you propose she does that?" Nika asked.

"I want her to accompany Connor on this mission."

"You've gotta be shitting me," Connor cursed as he stood up, "Just her!?"

"Yep. If you've got a problem with it, you might as well leave with me right now to join the Rune Knights and I know you don't want to do that," Trae countered as he stared down Connor, the younger man backing off to lean against the wall again.

"Um… What's all this about?" Layla asked, the poor girl looking between the two men.

"As I said, I'm Connor's parole officer," Trae began, "This young punk here used to be a bandit, ran with a crew for at least a year robbing banks and trains and such. Well his luck ran out one day and he got an ultimatum from the Magic Council since he's so young, either join a Mage Guild or enlist in the Rune Knights."

"Obviously he chose to join a guild," Nika added, "The Council chose Phantom Lord to be his guild at the time and they were supposed to have approved Phantom Hearts to be his new guild."

"It's better than fapping about with all those tight-collared brown nosers in the Rune Knights," Connor huffed.

"But anyways, what do you say, kid? Want to help your friend out for me?" Trae asked, looking up at Layla, the girl taking a moment to look at Nika and then to Connor, the young man obscuring his face with the brim of his hat.

"I'll do it, I'll help Connor."

"Attagirl," Trae said before looking back to Nika and pulling an envelope from his coat, "Now that that's settled, here's the mission the Council had in mind. It's a bit dangerous, but that shouldn't be anything new," the Rune Knight explained as Nika opened up the envelope.

"I can't help but feel this is a bit too on the nose considering what just happened between us and Fairy Tail," Nika sighed.

"What is it?" Layla asked as Nika held up the mission flyer for her and Connor to see.

"They want you to hunt down a Fire Salamander."

. : + : .

Sasha ran through the forest as the chittering of dozens of goblins could be heard behind her, the swarm of pink, furry creatures grower closer and closer to her.

"I didn't know there were going to be this many goblins!" Sasha cried out as she ran as fast as she could, "Why are there so many of you!?" she screamed, but the only response she got was the sound of goblin chittering growing evermore louder as they drew closer to her, their small bodies scrambling through the trees and across the ground as they began to grab tree branches off the ground to arm themselves with.

"I've gotta get moving! Gotta get moving!" Sasha muttered as she started to paw at her keyring, searching for a very specific key, "Here!" she exclaimed as she pulled up a silver key, "Gate of the Winged Horse! Open!" she commanded as a bright light appeared beneath her before lifting her up into the air on its back before the light faded away, revealing a dark gray, winged horse.

"I see you have need of me, Lady Sasha!" the Pegasus declared.

"Yes! I um… bit off a bit more than I could chew with just my sword," Sasha admitted as the Pegasus turned its head back to look at its summoner, seeing that she was covered from head to toe in scratches from the goblins that were pursuing her.

"Yes, that many goblins would be troubling for most mages. By my estimates, there are about fifty-one of them," the Pegasus stated as he continued to gallop away from the goblins, "But fear not! I shall take care of them quite handily." Upon that declaration, Pegasus began to turn around, galloping fast as the goblin horde came to a standstill to watch and prepare for the oncoming charge as the spirit began to beat its wings, lifting itself slightly off of the ground, "Jetstream!" the Pegasus roared with a beat of its winds, stirring up a powerful gust of wind and shooting forward through the crowd of goblins and sending several of them flying, several of them impacting against the many trees around them, "You see, Lady Sasha! They scatter before my mighty hooves!"

"Yeah! You're amazing as always, Pegasus!" Sasha cheered as she looked down at the remaining crowd of goblins as she and Pegasus circled around them, "That had to be at least a dozen of them."

"Pah! Rookie numbers I dare say! Watch as I take out no less than two dozen more with this next attack!" the Pegasus boasted before soaring just up to the bottom of the forest canopy above them and began to hover in place before repeatedly beat his wings, "Storm Shred!" the spirit announced as several blades of wind shot out from his wings, raining down on the goblins below and sending them flying as the blades impacted against the ground, causing explosions of dirt and foliage as goblins flew through the air, those at the center of the impact zones in much worse condition than the rest.

"I almost feel bad for them," Sasha mused as she looked down at what looked to be a tiny, goblin warzone, several goblins running to and fro carrying their injured comrades away from the battle as others were left where they laid.

"Worry not for the pests. There will always be more goblins to cause chaos and mischief for the good people of Fiore," the Pegasus spat as they watched the rest of the goblins scatter and disappear into the forest.

"Either way, I think the job's done, huh," Sasha muttered as she looked down at the tiny goblin carnage below.

"I would say so. Shall I carry you back into town?" Pegasus offered as he began to fly back to Jaborosa Town.

"It's a short trip since we're just right outside the town, so you don't have to."

"Nonsense. I may as well stretch my wings while I'm here, even if it is but for a short moment."

"Thanks, Pegasus," Sasha said as the two fell into silence for a few minutes until Sasha broke it, "Pegasus."

"Hmm?"

"Should a Celestial Spirit Mage be strong enough to fight on their own?"

"I don't think it would hurt if one was strong enough to do that, no. But we forged a contract to help and support you, so you shouldn't feel guilty to rely on us if that is why you're asking," Pegasus answered as they broke out and up above the forest through a small clearing, allowing Jaborosa Town to come into view.

"That's not why," Sasha responded as she tightly gripped Pegasus' sides, "It's just, there's another Celestial Spirit Mage and he's the same age as me, but he just always seemed so much stronger."

"Naturally there will always be someone stronger than you, except in my case of course. No one's stronger than me," Pegasus boasted, a haughty look on his face as he waggled his head back and forth, "But that is why you humans frequently live in pursuit of strength and power, so that none may stand against you. A sort of life few have ever successfully lived I believe."

"Do you think I could live like that?" Sasha asked as Pegasus took a moment to respond.

"That is up to you and your own sense of determination," the spirit replied before coming in for a landing in the middle of Jaborosa Town, "I will take my leave of you here though. You ought to go turn in your mission and receive your reward. Farewell!" Pegasus declared before vanishing in a brilliant light, leaving Sasha and few onlookers staring at where the spirit had been, before going back to their business, Sasha heading out to go and turn in her mission.

Credits:

Trae West – Joshua1277

Pegasus – wjolix98

Once again, sorry for the absence. Computer issues are never fun, but all that's behind me now that I've got a new computer. Anyways, another fun chapter to write since we got to delve a little bit into Connor's past with his parole officer. Also, the idea of Layla putting up a bunch of drawings all over town before being caught by a Rune Knight came from Grimnack, so credit to where credit is due.

Anyways, I'd like to thank bulk Locke the the grim head, Benthino, Grimnack, MyDearWatson and StormRider2.0 for the reviews!

That's all from me for now.

Your host,

Dreadburner94.