19 September X774
Laxus stared at both Fried and Kane. Fried stared back, with some haughtiness. Kane had fallen asleep, but he didn't look very comfortable. Laxus knew the two would have come to blows if it wasn't for him intervening. But things seemed to be fine now, although they hadn't spoken a word since getting on the train.
"So, how long have you been here, Fried?", Laxus asked.
"A few days."
"Huh, I never got to meet you. What Magic do you do?"
"My Magic is called Dark Ecriture. It's a form of Letter Magic.", the green haired boy explained. Letter Magic was used by Mages to inscribe runes that had various applications in battle, and other fields. If Fried was any good, this mission would be over in a cinch.
Laxus read the flyer again. The Job was simple, if a bit vague. It was advertised as a hunt fot missing objects, but nothing else, apart from the reward of 30 thousand Jewels was printed on it. Maybe this just meant it was an easy task. Maybe it meant the clients were hiding something. But Laxus preferred to look at the bright side of things. Soon enough, the boys heard the train whistle and halt. They had reached their destination.
"We should wake him up now.", Fried said, motioning towards Kane, who was still snoring. Laxus shook the blue haired boy, who woke up with a start.
"Wuh-What happened, we there?", Kane exclaimed, as he opened his reddened eyes. He didn't look like he'd taken a nap, instead it was quite the opposite. Kane appeared to have not slept for days.
"Holy- Are you alright?"
"Yeah.", the rookie Mage said, stumbling out of his seat. Laxus looked concerned, while Fried simply rolled his eyes. "This is gonna go just great."
"I heard that!", Kane fired back, before falling out of the train. "Shit."
"Hey, hey, dude. Just catch your breath for a moment.", Laxus said.
"I'm fine, I'm fine.", Kane said, as he stood up. "Where was the place again?"
"Couple miles away.", Laxus said. Kane dusted off his clothes as he followed the two.
As they left the station, they saw the town. A coastal area, Cedar had a cool September breeze flowing through it, which probably helped Kane with his fatigue and he was back to normal soon enough.
The town was filled with two storey buildings that doubled as both houses and shops. Despite being a fairly important business center, the buildings were modestly decorated. Except for one.
"That's where we're supposed to meet the client.", Laxus said, pointing towards it. Both Kane and Fried were surprised by how garish the structure was, especially in comparison to the simpler surroundings.
The boys knocked on the door, but received no reply. Shrugging his shoulders, Kane pushed the door open, as he saw nothing inside but darkness.
"Hello? Anybody there?", he called out, before looking back at Laxus and Fried.
"Come in.", a voice called out, as the lights switched on. The boys saw the source of the voice, as a man dressed in what looked like a military uniform. He walked with an arrogant strut, looking at the Fairy Tail Mages with what seemed to be contempt. As he came closer, the boys saw that the man was surprisingly short, and Laxus towered over him. Although Laxus was extremely tall for his thirteen years, standing at five feet and six inches.
"Uh, hello. We're from Fairy Tail, and-", Laxus began, but was immediately interrupted.
"Fairy Tail, huh? Clearly, it doesn't seem like they sent their best."
"What does that mean?"
"What does that mean? My boy, this task is of utmost importance. I don't want some pesky brats, I need Mages wgo can get the job done! I need men like Gildarts Clive!", the man exclaimed
"Okay, so what job would need someone on Gildarts's level?"
"You see, I, Jean-Paul Bonaparte, was once the Master of the only Guild of this town, called Gold Bass. It was well on its way to becoming the strongest Guild in all of Fiore, until.."
"Until what?", Kane asked, not impressed.
"Until my mages traitorously abandoned me! They were too lazy, too weak to carry out my ambition! If only I had capable subordinates, I would be among the Ten Wizard Saints. Not unlike that wretch Jose Porla, or that imp Maka-"
"That's my Gramps, so you better watch what you're gonna say.", Laxus said, raising an eyebrow. The man made a face, but resumed his tirade.
"Anyway, your Job, if you believe yourselves capable of accepting it, is to find a possession I treasure greatly."
"What is it?", Kane asked.
"It is something that I have carried on me as a symbol of pride for many, many years. It was in many ways, an emblem of my Guild."
"Okay, you made your point. What is it?"
"Don't interrupt. What I'm talking about is-"
"WE GET IT!", an exhausted Kane yelled. "What is so precious to you?"
"It's a bass.", Bonaparte said, stunned.
"A bass?", Laxus asked. "So, like the mu-"
"Yes. The musical instrument."
"Twenty thousand Jewels for a bass?", Kane whispered, but was elbowed by Freed. He looked angrily at the younger boy, who shrugged.
"What the hell was that for?", he frowned.
"That's our client.", Fried said.
"Snarky little jerk.", Kane murmured. Unfortunately, Bonaparte noticed them.
"See, this is why I needed professionals, not bickering children."
"Don't worry, we'll get the job done.", Laxus said. "Do you have any idea who took it?"
"Well, yes.", the former Guild Master said. "There is a former student of mine, who forcefully took the bass away from me. I will provide you his location too."
"Okay.", Laxus said. Soon enough, they were on their way to the suspect's address. When they reached, the three boys were left nearly breathless by the grandeur. A massive mansion on the outskirts of the city, it was evident that this Job was not going to be an easy one.
"This place is definitely heavily guarded.", Laxus said.
"So we have to go in there?", Fried said, somewhat intimidated.
"No. We have to break in.", Kane remarked.
"Wait, what?"
"I mean, think about it. If that bass is as valuable as the man is saying, you think we're gonna get it easily?"
"That seems dangerous."
"Of course it does to you, You're six." the blue haired boy remarked condescendingly.
"I'm ten!", Fried protested.
"Okay, yelling at each other isn't gonna help. We need to figure something out quickly.", Laxus said. "Make sure no one sees you two, and I'll see if there's somewhere we can enter."
"Got that.", Kane replied, as Laxus used Lightning Body to turn himself into bolts of electricity, and sneak around the complex. Fried and Kane waited for him to return.
"Hey! What are you boys doing here?", a man dressed in a guard's uniform yelled.
"Uh, nothing.", Kane replied. "We, uh, lost our way."
"Well, get home then.", the man replied.
"Okay.", Kane said. Fried opened his mouth to say something, but Kane grabbed him and led him away.
"Listen to me, kid. We're both in much deeper water than we thought, so don't do something that's gonna alert the guards."
"I wasn't gonna!", Fried replied. "Don't treat me like a kid."
"Don't act too big for your britches then.", Kane said. "There's Laxus." The Lightning Mage returned, having surveyed the building.
"Did anyone spot you?", Kane asked.
"No. You two?"
"A guard did.", Fried said.
"Don't worry about that now, I found an entryway.", Laxus said. "We need to get there now, follow me."
The boys sneaked towards the backdoor, as they saw the guards. Laxus alerted his friends to stay silent, as he scoped the view. Having gone on missions since the last few years, he was much more experienced than the other boys who were on their first mission. And while he had never been on a heist like this, he knew the importance of stealth.
There was just one guard on the door, and taking him out was a piece of cake. He was out cold after being hit by Laxus's lightning, and the boys walked towards the door, as they discovered it was locked.
"Let me just break this through.", Kane offered, but Laxus shook his head.
"We need to be discreet about this. Breaking it open might alert more guards.", the blond said. "Check if this guy has any keys."
"Nope.", Kane said, worried. "What do we do now?"
"I know a bit of Jutsu Shiki.", Fried replied. "Maybe I can figure something out, if this door is magically sealed."
"You're a Letter Mage?", Laxus replied. "Well, that's lucky. You got a-", but was interrupted when the green haired boy revealed a sword.
"Why do you have a sword? Is this for-", Kane asked, his eyes widening.
"Yeah, it's what I use to write runes.", Fried said. "And as I suspected, this is sealed with Magic."
"Okay, so this means we're up against Mages.", Laxus said. "Can you open this seal, Fried?"
"Opened.", Fried replied.
"That was quick.", Kane said, relieved.
"Quicker than you could think.", the younger boy quipped. Kane looked at him, miffed, but chose not to say anything.
"Let's go."
"So, you guys know where the bass is kept?", Fried asked.
"Yeah, the guy's not exactly hiding the thing. It's out for everyone to see in the center of his house.", Laxus said.
"Why would he do such a thing?"
"Maybe he's a showboat. Maybe he likes collecting his prizes.", Laxus said. "But that doesn't really matter. What matters is that our job is much easier thanks to that."
"So we just have to figure out where that would happen to be, right?", Kane said.
"And not get caught, hopefully."
The two boys nodded, as Laxus led the way. He cursed his luck about not having a map of the mansion, but it was what it was. Looking around for guards, they walked slowly and carefully, trying not to make any noise. Laxus peeked inside, as he noticed that the mansion was even bigger than he thought.
"It's..huge.", Kane said what the others were thinking. "How are we gonna find that thing?"
"Don't worry about that.", Laxus said. "We'll figure a way out. Just stay quiet for now."
"You got that.", Kane said, as he took a look outside. "No guards here. But there are two doorways. Which one do you think is the right one?"
"I think we should split up. You two go on the right, I'll go on the left."
"I can handle myself fine, Laxus.", Fried said. "And I don't need a babysitter."
"Trust me. You two need to back each other up. You both are on your first mission, and if you don't want to screw this up, you have to trust each other."
"Okay, fine."
They split, as Laxus went alone, leaving the younger boys by themselves. Fried walked ahead, having sheathed his sword, as Kane followed, watching their backs. So far, everything seemed good. Kane relaxed, thinking they had taken the safer route.
"Well, looks like the coast is clear for now.", Kane said.
"Can't be too careful. If we get reckless now, we may end up messing this whole thing up.", Fried replied. "We can't stumble around like you did when you got off the train, heh."
"I was half-asleep, anyone would do that."
"Yeah, sure."
"Try one more smart ass comment and see what happens."
"Someone has to be smart, given you aren't."
"Now listen here, you little sh-",Kane said, only to trip and fall, and when he looked to see who he had run into, it was a tall man, who sneered at him.
"Intruders?"
Well, that's it for Chapter Eight. A big thank you to everyone who has read this, and been with me so far. Do tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, and what you didn't get in the reviews!