"Intruders, huh?", the man sneered, as Kane and Fried looked at him, bewildered. Jumping to his feet, Kane got out of the way and backed up. He knew they should have been more careful while searching the house.

"Yeah. We're on a Job, and so are you, I guess.", Kane said, trying to think of something that would sound intimidating enough, before settling on the only thing that came to mind. "But you're not gonna get in our way."

"Well, I didn't plan on getting in your way, as long your way is out of my client's mansion.", the man said. Tall and bald, he wore little apart from a cloak and loose, baggy pants. His skin appeared oddly red, and he appeared to be sweating.

"We're not going anywhere without the bass."

"Bass?", the attacker said, a little confused.

"Yeah. Your 'client' stole a bass from ours, so he's got to pay."

"He might have."

"I guess you can just back off, or we can do this the hard way.", Kane said, clenching his fists. The man didn't appear to be tense in the slightest. Rather, he seemed relaxed. Kane decided to use the man's overconfidence against him as he leaped towards him. However, before he could land a blow, he felt a hot burning sensation in his eyes.

"AAAAAAAARGH! What the hell is that?", Kane cried as he buried his face into his hands.

"That, my dear boy, is heat.", the man said. "I call it Invisible Flame. A simple touch is enough to knock a grown man down. Of course, what I hit you with wasn't a mere touch."

"Goddammit, my eyes! Fried, do something!", Kane yelled, as Fried hurriedly nodded. Unsheathing his sword, he stared at the man, gingerly stepping beside Kane who was kneeling. Unsure of what to do, Fried waited for the attacker to make the first move. The man revealed a bright red flame, as Fried weighed in on his options. As his eyes turned dark, he looked at the attacker.

"Dark Ecriture: Destruction.", he said, as he unleashed his sword, as he unleashed the melee attack. The attacker took a defensive stance, as his fists began to glow red. Parrying Fried's blows with ease, he looked at the tense young boy, impressed.

"What guild are you from?", the man asked.

"Fairy Tail."

"I'm not surprised that a kid with potential like you is in there.", he said. "I guess I forgot to introduce myself. Karstis Moze. I used to be in a guild myself, then I left because security is a much better field. No idiotic guild masters, and no bullshit jobs. A steady, nice pay. But then young ones like you come up and disturb my rather easy going life."

Fried ignored Karstis's ramblings, and focused on his attack. But he could see that his attacks weren't having much effect.

"Don't worry. You'll never beat me!", Karstis laughed, as he kicked Fried away. The green haired boy landed a few feet away, right next to his comrade. He gasped, feeling a slight burn on his belly. Kane was still on the ground, groaning. Having been hit in the eyes, Fried realized that the other boy was probably injured badly, or even blinded. But right now, he didn't have the time to think about his companion.

"Dark Ecriture: Destruction!", Fried cried, repeating the same spell. Karstis continued to parry, but Fried noticed that he was beginning to sweat more profusely, as his skin glowed brighter, with a red aura. The man punched again, but this time, Fried dodged, jumping backwards. Karstis smashed the ground that Fried had just leapt away from, perhaps in a show of his destructive power.

"So, you see how much out of your league you are?", the bald man said. Fried shot a look back at Kane, who was back on his feet. Karstis saw him too, and Kane lunged again, but the blow was dodged. Kane swung his fist, but a powerful punch from the Heat Mage sent him reeling backwards.

"Irritating little bastard.", Karstis said, as he turned to Fried. Flexing his muscles, he began to glow even brighter, as he fired a beam from his hands, before yelling, "HEAT WAVE!"

"Dark Ecriture: Reflect!", Fried yelled. So far, he was yet to perfect some of the Dark Ecriture spells, and this was one of them. If used correctly, it would attack the attacker with their own spell, and Fried hoped it had worked this time. And much to his relief, it had. iIronically enough, the man could clearly not withstand too much heat, as he collapsed. Kane, recovered checked in on him.

"He's out cold."

"Good.", a relieved Fried said, as his expression changed to annoyance. "Were you just flailing around at him? If it wasn't for me, you'd be dead."

"Thanks, I guess. You don't have to be a jerk about it.", Kane said. "I wonder what Laxus is doing right now."

Laxus, on his own was standing face to face with seven guards. Readying himself into a fighting stance, he feinted a blow towards the right, before blasting lightning from his left arm, sending two of the guards flying. The ones on his left rushed in, trying to keep him down. It was a mistake fit for amateurs, not guards responsible for safeguarding the mansion of one of the province's richest men. But then again, no one had dared to break in before.

However, despite the guard's incompetence, or perhaps because of it, Laxus got cocky. Turning his back to them again, he was stunned when one of them hit him with his staff. A cold touch indicated that this man, or perhaps the entire group dealt with Ice Magic. Backing away, he looked at the man who hit him. Dressed in a red cloak that set him apart from the rest of the guards.

"You must be here for my boss's treasure. The name's Saltis Moze.", the man said. Laxus readied himself up for the attack, as he charged himself up with his lightning. Laxus got closer to him, getting closer to the hit. But as he blasted his lightning, the man simply slowed the bolts from hitting him.

"What?", a shocked Laxus asked.

"You see, my Magic is Cold Magic. I can simply freeze the air around your lightning, making it much more difficult for the bolts to flow towards me. I guess you are completely outmatched by me here. And not only am I far above your level, my henchmen aren't to be underestimated either."

"Well, I guess you haven't faced a Fairy Tail wizard then!", Laxus replied. Thinking of a way to counter the Mage, he decided to let him take the next move. The man advanced, striking his staff against the ground, freezing it instantly. Laxus jumped to avoid it, using the lightning to destroy the layer of frost formed on the floor. Landing on his feet, he could feel that the floor still retained the frigid touch.

"Damn, this guy is strong.", Laxus muttered.

"Strong? You better believe I'm the strongest there is!", Salta replied. "Now, just get ready to roll over and freeze, boy!"

"In your dreams.", Laxus replied, as the guards rushed in. Obviously, they were unable to take on a more talented Mage, despite their leader's tall claims. Salta looked frustrated, as Laxus easily dispatched his minions.

"Damn it, years of training and this is what it results in. Magnos is going to be so mad.", he sneered. "Well, I won't be playing around anymore."

Sending a wave of cold air towards the young mage, he was frustrated to see Laxus dodging him easily. Despite his talents, it was obvious the Cold Mage lacked patience. And he had none for a boy half his age refusing to go down. And that lack of patience was exactly what Laxus was looking for. The exact moment that the man showed frustration, which led to him slowing down while thinking of a perfect spell to put Laxus down. Laxus managed to use the distraction to blast a massive beam of thunderbolts down on him, knocking him out.

"Seems like you weren't quick enough to dodge the lightning.', Laxus smirked, as he dusted the frost off his hands. "I hope Kane and Fried are alright."

The two boys were sneaking forwards, looking around for more guards. So far, the coast looked clear.

"How are you alright though, you just got burnt in the face?", Fried asked the question that had been on his mind for some time.

"I..don't know. Guess I just sort of do that.", Kane answered, before falling silent as he heard the

"Okay, so what does she do?", Kane whispered, as he looked at the woman standing a few yards away from them, as he tried to figure a plan out. She wore her sandy blonde hair in braids, and was adorned in a black gown.

"How would I know?", an irritated Fried asked, as he readied himself. "I guess I'll have to take her out, just like I took that guy out."

"Like WE took him out."

"You did nothing! Except jump around like an idiot."

"Watch your mouth. If I hadn't distracted him at the last second, he'd have beate-urgh!", Kane shouted, but was caught in the neck by the woman, who revealed two elongated whips. Grabbing the whip, as it choked him, he tried his very best to break out of it.

"You know, as fun as it was to hear you two bicker, my boss wouldn't be too pleased to see me wasting my time.", she said. Fried, shocked at the quickness of the attack thought of a counter attack, before creating another rune, this time on his own torso.

"Dark Ecriture: Wings!", he shouted, as a pair of wings was summoned on his back. Looking at the woman, he flew towards her, with his sword gripped tightly. Swinging it at her, he was apalled as the woman used her whip to strike his weapon out of his hand. Stopping dead in his tracks, he came far too close for comfort, allowing the woman to whip him away. Crashing against a wall, Fried cried out in pain.

"Well, well, well. Never send a boy to do a man's job.", she quipped, before turning around to catch Kane as he lunged. However, the dark skinned boy managed to slip away. Going for her feet, he kicked, but she dodged. However, Kane quickly continued kicking at her, before her whip caught him by the leg. He crashed down to the ground, as she stared at him, victoriously.

"You're good, but you're still too slow for me.", she said, before catching Fried, just as he sneaked in on her. The boy felt a sharp pain in his ankle, as he realized she might have broken it.

"Well, that's another one of you down.", she said. "Now I can't have you getting up again, can I?"

The woman inched closer to Fried, as she lifted up her foot, with the intention to trample his injured ankle. Looking sadistically, she brought her foot down, only to be thrown away, as Kane looked at her furiously.

"You sadistic piece of crap.", he sneered, as the woman picked herself up. Glaring at him, she readied her whips, as the two charged at each other. Kane found himself caught by the whip again, but that didn't matter. Ignoring the cut on his arm, he brought his fist down at her, sending her crashing away. Running towards Fried, he looked at the younger boy.

"Are you alright? Do you think you can walk?"

"I..I think.", Fried replied. Trying to stand up, he tried to fight the pain, but Kane stopped him.

"No. I can handle this.", he said, raising his hand.

Unfortunately, by checking up on Fried, Kane gave his opponent enough time to recover from his blows. As he walked slowly towards her, she hit him with the whip again. Gritting his teeth, Kane beared the pain, as he felt the Magic infused in the whips empowering him. Grabbing the whip with one hand, he pulled the woman towards him, as she used the other to hit him on the neck. However, he dodged it barely in time, and grabbing the rope again, he decided to use her own weapons against her. Pulling the whip, he used the woman's momentum to headbutt her, just as she kneed him in the chest. Staggering back, Kane punched her again. This time, the blow was not strong enough to knock her feet, but did push her back.

As he caught his breath, he prepared another attack, lunging again, and knocking the whip out of her left hand. As she brought out her right hand, he kicked her in the heel, sweeping her off her feet. Leaping up before she could, he kicked her in the head, finally knocking her out.

Feeling exhausted after the fight, Kane wiped the sweat off his brow. Hearing footsteps, he turned around, hoping it was Laxus. However, it turned out to be a man he had never seen before. Wearing an expensive violet suit, with his dark hair neatly combed, he looked to be in his early thirties.

"So, you're the kids who broke into my home, aren't you?", he said, as he walked down. Kane assumed a fighting stance, even as he felt fatigued. He hoped Laxus was alright, because his powers were sorely needed at the moment.

"You know, I never expected boys your age to handle my bodyguards, be it Karstis, Salta or Boyana here.", the man continued. "But it seems that you did what I once thought was impossible. Very impressive."

Kane stared at him, with anger and exhaustion in his eyes. Steadying himself, he took a deep breath, as the man looked at him confidently. Kane walked forward, deciding to attack first. Fried, looked on, still unable to stand after having sprained his ankle.

As Kane rushed in, he was hit in the head by something. Grabbing his forehead, he felt the blood trickle, before looking up to notice a chandelier about to fall on him. Jumping out of the way, he caught his breath, before being hit by a torrent of what seemed to be metal. Left smarting, he looked at what he'd just been hit with. Small blades, barely an inch long.

"So you control metal, don't you?", Kane asked, even as his face stung because of the needles.

"Exactly.", he said. "Magnos Shaw is the name, and despite the fact that you and your friend have been running around my house, turning it upside down, I'm honestly pretty impressed."

"Yeah, I'd be too.", Kane replied cockily and defiantly. Despite his injuries and exhaustion, he wasn't one to give up just yet.

"You know, I used to be a Mage in a Guild too, then I found that the life wasn't one I was interested in leading.", Shaw continued. "Crazy guild master, ranting for hours at the end about pride and ambition. I guess I agreed with him, which is why I got into business, and built all of this. I'll have you know I own most of Cedar."

"Sounds cool, but I'm not interested.", Kane replied. "Tell me where-"

"You think I'm just gonna let some brat take what I've collected over the years?", Shaw interrupted. "Now, I don't like to hurt anyone more than is needed, so I'll let you and the other kid run along."

Kane glared at him. Though he did not show it, he could feel a cramp in his legs. The sensation was similar to when Laxus was trying to teach him Lightning Magic, and it had been followed by a horrible injury. Kane knew he had to stop, in case the same thing happened all over again.

"Don't test my patience, kid."

"So what if I do?", Kane smirked, as he ran towards the man, dodging the needles and metal thrown towards him, and rammed himself at Shaw, sending him backwards. Standing tall, Kane never saw the fallen chandelier pulled towards him, hitting him in the back. Falling face first, he groaned in pain.

Fried, horrified by what he was seeing, grabbed his sword, using it to write runes, and released the spell.

"Dark Ecriture: Pain!", he cried, as the runes flew towards Shaw, hitting him. The businessman was sent reeling backwards, as Fried limped to his feet. Struggling to stay on his feet, he hopped, trying to check in on his comrade. However, Shaw saw the boy, and utilizing his magnetic abilities, using Fried's own sword against him. Coiling around the boy's arm, as Fried desperately tried to stop it. However, Kane leapt at him, saving Fried's arm. He groaned again, as the burning sensation increased.

"You're quite persistent, boys, I'll give you that. But I did give you a chance to run, and you refused.", Shaw said, rising to his feet. "So now, you face the consequences. It's not personal, it's just the business of Magic."

Shaw looked at Kane again, who was in too much pain to fight him. Kicking the boy in the ribs, he refocused his efforts on Fried, as he began using the sword on him again.

"Aaargh! Kane, help me!", Fried cried, as the blade pricked his skin, just about to pierce through.

Kane knew he couldn't help Fried, despite how much he was trying to force his body to. Crawling on his feet, he wheezed as the burning sensation increased. Shaw turned around, looking disgusted. He prepared to take the blue haired boy out.

And then, he was hit by the lightning.

An unconscious guard was thrown off a staircase, as Laxus arrived. Looking furiously at Shaw, Laxus readied another blast of lightning, as the man tottered around. As the thunderbolts were released, the businessman went flying again. Shaw tried to throw a knife at Laxus, but the boy saw it coming.

"Lightning Body!", Laxus shouted, as he turned to Lightning again, re-materializing behind the man. Shaw turned around, but was immediately kicked in the face, and hit by lightning. Shaw realized that it was in his best interests not to fight anymore. Raising his hands in surrender, he looked at Laxus.

"Okay, fine. I give up. What do you want?", the man said, with a nervous smile. "Money? Art? Whatever it is, I can give you."

"The bass.", Laxus said.

"Bass? What bass?"

"The golden bass. The one you stole from your former Master."

"Oh. That piece of crap? My master pawned that to me. It wasn't long before I realized it was worthless."

"What do you mean?"

"The way that crazy old fuck treated it, we thought it was a powerful artifact. So anyone in my position would consider it a worthwhile investment. So when he gambled himself into debts he couldn't pay back, he gave it to me. I soon found out that it was just like any old bass, just painted golden. I threw it out just this morning. It's probably in the junkyard a few miles from here.

Laxus looked at him, shocked. He couldn't believe that he and his friends fought through an entire platoon of bodyguards, just to find that their target was in a junkyard. Turning towards his friends, he saw Fried as dismayed, while Kane looked to be in too much pain and exhaustion to care.

"You've got to be kidding me.", he said in a small voice. "I think we should leave, guys."

Shaw, too beat up to face off against the boys, slumped to the ground. His security detail wouldn't be of much use either. He would probably cripple Bonaparte the next time he saw him, though.

"Is Kane going to be alright?", Fried asked, concerned, as Laxus helped him up."He doesn't look alright to me."

"I'm good.", the blue haired boy said, despite the cuts on his face and arm indicating the opposite. The pain in his body had subsided for now, leaving only minor bruising, so maybe he was in the clear. Walking with some difficulty, he caught up with his friends, as they walked out of the mansion.

It would take the boys an hour to dress their wounds, and another three to find the Bass. Both Kane and Laxus looked at it amazed, but Fried had his doubts.

"That's a guitar, not a bass.", the boy said.

"It's a bass guitar. Have you seriously never heard of those?", Kane said.

"I mean, the client's not the kind of guy to well, you know, own a guitar."

"Okay, if you care so much about the client, why don't you look for his precious instrument yourself? Huh?", the boy said crabbily. "I'm done here."

"Yeah, Kane's right. This probably is it.", Laxus said. "Let's go."

"I just think that it would be the proper thing to do.", Fried protested.

"I'm tired, I kicked multiple asses, I don't care.", Kane replied, as he grabbed the bass.

"I mean, I kicked more..butt than you did.", Fried replied.

"Butt?", Kane chortled. "What are you, ten? Oh, wait." The boy said, before bursting into mocking laughter.

"Very funny. Just because you're older and bigger than me gives you the right to pick on me.", Fried frowned.

"No, saving your ASS gives me the right to pick on you.", the older boy said. "If it wasn't for me, that woman would leave you in a wheelchair."

"Guys, let's go.", Laxus said, tired of hearing them bicker. "We're all tired, and yelling at each other isn't going to make things better."

"I'm not the one yelling!", Fried exclaimed, before Kane slapped him on the back.

"You heard the man, Friedie boy, let's go."

When they reached the Gold Bass building, they found Bonaparte waiting for them, impatiently. When he saw them, the old man looked almost furious at their audacity for being late.

"Where have you three been? I've been waiting here for 15 hours!", he shouted, as Kane rolled his eyes. "If I had known that you would take so much time, I would have-"

"Here's your bass.", Laxus said, handing the instrument to it. "Can we get our payment, please?"

"No.", the man said, after looking at the bass for a second.

"What do you mean 'no'?", a stunned Laxus said. "We went all the way there, and.. oh man, is this the wrong bass?"

"No, you stupid boy. This is the correct bass. However, it is severely damaged."

"What do you mean? It looks fine to me!"

"You see this?", he said, pointing at the fretboard. "I had my initials embossed on the instrument's body. And clearly, they have been chipped off."

"Are you kidding me? This thing is still functional. Hell, you can still have them embossed again!", Kane said.

"You think I can afford such vanities in this economy?", the man exclaimed. "I have only 15 thousand jewels with me!"

"Wait. This job is for 20 thousand jewels.", Fried said. "You don't have enough money to pay us back?"

The man's face fell, as he tried to think of a reasonable explanation.

"Um, well, you see...I'd send you the money, eventually.", he said sheepishly. Kane looked at him, outraged.

"Shut up.", he said. "Me and my friends here just fought an entire security detail, and we're not about to leave empty handed!"

"But see, I don't really have the money, and I have to pay some more people first..", the man blabbered, but shut up as Kane grabbed his shoulder in a vise like grip.

A few hours later

"That guy totally ripped us off!", Kane fumed, in the train, as tired as he was. "Why did you agree to his offer? 10 thousand. Really, Laxus? 10 thousand?"

"Come on, we couldn't bankrupt the guy.", Laxus said, with a smile. "He had more people to pay, after all."

"That's not our problem!"

"Well, you did take his bass for yourself."

"Damn right I did.", Kane said with a wily smile.

Well, that was the end of this arc, and looks like the proto-Thunder God Tribe is already three members strong.

Thanks for reading this chapter, and I hope you enjoyed it! Do tell me what you liked in the reviews!