3. Infiltrate the Everlue mansion
Lucy and I had managed to find an apartment not too far from the guildhall for only 70,00 jewel a month. Which wasn't all that bad nowadays. Sure for a while, we would be living from job-to-job, but it was worth it. Between the two of us, it should be a piece of cake. Plus, we were free from Jude Heartfilia and we were members of the greatest guild on all of Fiore. The Fairy Tail Guild was wild and destructive, but I wouldn't have them any other way.
As soon as we had gotten back to the guildhall after rescuing Macao, I had talked to Master Makarov. Asking him of Wren could join the guild too. I knew that it was possible, considering I had seen the Fairy Tail mark on Happy's back. So, with a guild mark matching my own on his little white back, Wren became the new newest member of the rambunctious guild.
My sister and I had always shared a room. Ever since Layla found me scared and alone seven years ago. So I wasn't against our new apartment being a studio. Especially for the price. I loved everything about our new place. Everything from the spacious tub to the floor space to the amazing closets that were just a little bit smaller than the walk-in closets we had back at the Heartfilia mansion. And that's not to mention the cute little retro fireplace that Wren had already started to enjoy. Moving the little bed I had gotten him as close to the fireplace as possible without burning anything.
Poor thing was still chilled to the bone after being stuck on Mount Hakobe all this time.
While Lucy went to take a nice warm bath, I got to work building the fire back up and getting breakfast ready. But I wasn't expecting Natsu and Happy to show up and completely demolish the room I had worked so hard to clean. "Our bedroom!" Lucy shouted as she stood in the doorway to our bathroom in nothing but a towel.
"I tried to stop them, Lu," I told her with a small pout, not taking my eyes off the mess our friends had made of my nice clean sitting area.
"Get the heck out of here, you jerks!" Lucy shouted, landing a harsh kick to Natsu's jaw. Trapping Happy between Natsu and the wall with her foot. The two boys had no clue how violent my sister could get when she was peeved.
When Lucy finally removed her foot, Natsu stood and held his sore cheek. "Geeze, I just came over to check out your new pad."
"Oh, yea! Well what you guys call 'checking out', I call 'barging in!'" shouted my sister as Natsu and Happy trembled in fear. And while Lucy continued to lecture the boys, I got to work cleaning up the mess they had made. I had a feeling that they were going to make a habit of this. Which meant I would more than likely be cleaning up after them.
I would just make Natsu do it, but really I just couldn't help myself. The mess bothered me and it needed to be cleaned. "Hey, quit scratching, bud!" I shouted at Happy, who was proceeding to claw at the wall. Even Wren hadn't tried to do that. Instead, my little flying kitty was content with scratching at the post I had made for him. He may have been a different cat, one who could talk and fly, but he was still a cat.
"Hey, what's all this?" Natsu asked as he picked up a stack of papers from lucy's desk. My face instantly went red and I tried to grab the papers back.
"You might want to put those down" I muttered, hoping that Lucy didn't notice. She didn't want anyone reading her novel. I haven't even been able to get a peek at it.
Unfortunately, Lucy noticed Natsu's curiosity and began to freak. "Nothing!" she shrieked, once more kicking Natsu in the face before grabbing the stack of paper away from him.
"So you just kicked me in the face over nothing?" Natsu asked blandly. Obviously not believing Lucy.
"Yea, maybe I would!" defended my sister. "Now would you please just go home?" she asked.
"Oh, but you guys' place is way more exciting."
Looking at the Fire Dragon Slayer, my eyebrow twitched. "I hate boys" whined Lucy.
Sighing, I walked over to Lucy to help her stand. Smacking Natsu on the back of the head as I went. "Come one, Lu. How about you go get dressed and I'll finish cleaning up out here" I suggested. Only for my sister to shriek and rush off to the bathroom. I looked at Natsu sternly, causing both him and Happy to audibly gulp. "I want the two of you two sit down and not say anything," I told them. Natsu gave me a huff but still did as I asked and sat back down on the chair with Happy beside them.
With a shake of my head, I walked over to the fireplace and started the water for tea. While the water heated up, I stepped around Wrens bed and started to clean up Natsu and Happy's mess. Glaring at the fire-breather when he opened his mouth to speak. As messy as the room had looked, it hadn't really been that bad, so it didn't take long to clean up. Before I knew it, the tea was steeping and Lucy was finishing up in the bathroom.
"I made the lemon one you like," I told my sister as I handed her the little pink teacup she had picked out. When she sat down opposite Natsu, I poured tea into another three cups for Wren, Happy, and Natsu. While they sipped their tea, I grabbed a packet of instant coffee from the small table we had near the stove and dumped it into a mug, filling the cup the rest of the way with boiling water, creamer, and sugar. I wasn't in the mood for tea.
"Look, we just moved in and we're not ready for guests," Lucy told the boys with an irritated huff. "So how about you two just drink your tea. Say thanks, and get out? You got that?"
"No need to be rude, Lu," I told her with a hum. Even though I was as irritated as my sister was. "Still though, guys, we really just want a few days to settle in before we start having people over," I told the boys.
Natsu looked dejected for a moment before sitting up "Hey, I know" he said. "Why don't you show me and Happy all those weird little key guys that you like to collect?" he suggested. And when he did, I all but choked on my coffee. Coughing to cover up my laugh.
"For your information" Lucy started sending me a small glare she did. "They're called Celestial Spirits."
"How many of these Celestial Spirits do you have contracts with?" Happy asked.
Instantly, my sisters' attitude changed. She loved her spirits, and she loved talking about them. "Six so far" Lucy grinned, holding up the ring she kept her keys on. She really needed to get something better for them. "Not to brag or anything, but I even have a couple different types of them" she explained. "The silver keys are the ones that you can find in the magic shops. I've got Horologium the Clock, Crux the Southern Cross and Lyra the Harp" Lucy said, pointing out each key as she went. "But the gold ones are super rare. There are twelve total and they open the gates of the Zodiac. I've got Taurus the Golden Bull, Aquarius the Water Bearer, and that last one is Cancer the Giant Crab."
At that, both Natsu and Happy gasped in excitement. Even Wren looked up from his spot on my lap. "Giant crab!? Giant crab legs!" the boys exclaimed. No doubt envisioning something totally different than what Cancer actually looked like.
"Even Selina's not this obsessed with food" Lucy groaned.
"Speaking of spirits" I spoke up. "You still need to make a contract with the key you bought back in Hargeon."
"Oh wow, thanks for reminding me, Selina" Lucy grinned before standing up. "I don't suppose you fellas are interested in seeing how a Celestial Wizard makes a contract with a Celestial Spirit?" she asked.
Natsu and Happy huddled together and started whispering back and forth. However, it wasn't like we couldn't hear them whispering about grotty blood pacts and something about butts. "Guys, we can hear you," I told them, causing both Natsu and Happy stand up straight as if they had been caught doing something wrong.
"Alright, pay attention" Lucy spoke, holding up the silver key. "I call upon thee in the world of the Celestial Spirits. I beckon you to my side at once. Pass through the Gate." I loved Lucy's magic, it reminded me of my childhood. And tickled the furthest recesses of long lost memories. As if I'd had some kind of connection to the celestial spirits long before Layla and Lucy found me.
Maybe my biological parents were Celestial Wizards? Or maybe Coventina had said something about the magic when I was a little kid.
"Open, Gate of Canis Minor. Come, Nichola!" Lucy shouted. As he plunged her key downwards, the sound of a sharp 'ding-dong' wafter through the air as she drew her magic circle. I watched, excitedly as light filled the room. Waiting patiently for the spirit.
I was not expecting a snowman.
"Nice try" the boys commented.
"Shut up I meant to do that!" shouted my sister before dropping to the ground to give the snowman a hug. "Aww, you are such a cutie-patootie."
"You think so?"'
"It doesn't take much make magic power to get these little guys through the gate" Lucy explained. "So a lot of wizards actually keep them as pets."
At some point, Wren had walked over and was now huddling with Happy and Natsu. "You know, this whole pet thing doesn't sit well with me" Happy commented, too which Wren nodded his little white head.
"Not with a weird master like Loony here" Natsu whispered back. Obviously forgetting that we could hear them. Though I was slightly surprised that Wren continued to nod along.
Granted, he has spent a lot of time with Lucy. And as much as I loved my sister, she was still crazy. But really aren't we all?
"My name is Lucy and I can still hear you" grumbled the blonde. Sighing, Lucy grabbed a notepad and a pencil from her desk and sat down on the floor with the shivering snowman. "Well, let's start working on our contract."
Knowing that figuring out the spirits free days could take a bit, I grabbed a change of clothes and went into the bathroom. Hammering out the details for a contract with a Celestial Spirit tended to be boring, especially with one that couldn't talk. So I knew that I wasn't going to miss much. Sure contracts and promises were extremely important to Celestial Wizards, but the process was still really freaking boring.
One my hair was back up in my normal pigtails, I flattened out the wrinkles in my t-shirt and left the bathroom. "Coom here, Plue" I heard my sister say. Looking over to her, I saw that Lucy was crouched down on the floor. Holding out her arms for the shivery little snowman.
"Plue, huh?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I think it's like the cutest name ever" Lucy squealed, looking up at me with the spirit, Plue, in her arms. Well, I don't know about 'cutest' but it still fits well with the snowman.
"Are you sure he's cool with that?" asked Natsu.
"Why wouldn't he be?" was Lucy's response.
From his spot on the table beside Happy, Wren looked at Plue with confusion written on his little face. "So even though his sign is The Little Dog, he doesn't bark?"
"Yea that is kind of weird" Happy nodded.
"I don't hear you guys meowing over there" I chuckled, sitting in the chair Lucy had been in earlier. "Whoah, what's he doing?" I asked when Plue jumped from Lucy's arms and began to do what I think was a dance.
Natsu looked at Plue. Concentration on his face as he watched the Spirit dance. It kind of looked like Natsu was listening to him. I tried to hone my hearing to see if maybe I was missing something, but I got nothing. Must be just Natsu then.
"Oh man you're right about that, Plue!" laughed the fire dragon slayer.
Lucy simply gasped. "You can understand him!" Really I couldn't blame her for being shocked. I kinda was too. "What's your deal?" Lucy asked Natsu.
"Dude, that's kinda creepy" I commented as my fellow dragon slayer continued to stare at my sister. His dark eyes cutting towards me to give me the same intense look he had given my sister. "You're freaking me out."
Natsu stood a moment later with a large grin on his face. "Alright, then it's settled" he stated, rising to his full height. "You're both gonna be a part of our team. Plue and Wren too" Natsu added a moment later.
"Your...team?" Lucy asked.
Happy nodded and smiled. "Aye," said the cat. "Even though everyone in the guild is allied to one another, some members that get along really well get together and form teams within the guild. That way, jobs that may be too hard for one person to take can get done by a team" Happy informed us.
"Is there like a size limit or something?" I asked, wondering briefly if there was a certain number of wizards we could have on a team.
"Well..." Happy thought for a moment, putting a paw on his chin. "Not really," he said. "I think the Thunder Legion has the most members at four. But no one ever said we couldn't have more than that!"
"Well okay then, I'm in!" I told them excitedly, looking to my sister with a grin.
"Awesome, let's do this!" Lucy cheered before bumping fists with me and Natsu.
"Cool. So you're gonna work with us?" Natsu asked with a wide grin.
"Yep" I nodded.
"You have our word" Lucy agreed.
At that, Natsu had a look of pure excitement on his face. "Okay, team, then let's get to work" he cheered, holding up a slip of paper. "I've got our first job right here."
"It's all happening so fast" Lucy squealed, grabbing the paper from the hands of our pink hared friend."Let us see what you got there" she said.
Looking over her shoulder, I read over the job request. It was in Shirotsume, a small town not too far away from Magnolia. Actually, if I remembered correctly, it was near Mount Hakobe. If only we had known about this job before coming back to town after rescuing Macao. But still, it offered 200,000 jewel just for recovering a book from a rich guy named Duke Everlue.
Sounded easy enough.
"Should be a piece of cake, right?" Natsu chuckled.
Lucy went to agree but suddenly stopped short. "Everlue's a dirty old man who's currently looking for maids with blond hair" she read.
"We know a blond-haired girl, don't we?" Natsu muttered to Happy with a girn.
"Aye," the cat nodded. "And I bet we can find her a maid's uniform."
"Oh, you sneaky little shit heads" I muttered, grabbing the paper from Lucy so that I could read it over once more.
"It's a good thing that Celestial Wizards never go back on their word 'cause now you're stuck with us" I heard Natsu chuckle. Teasing my sister, suggesting she 'get into character' and address Happy as 'Master'. As Lucy shouted at him, I put the paper down on the desk and grabbed one of Lucy's heavier books, and threw it full force at Natsu's thick head.
Why couldn't we have walked? Or at least have Wren and Happy fly me and Natsu as far as they can. Why did we have to be stuck inside of this moving hell?
Thankfully, I still wasn't as sick as Natsu was. But the queasiness in my stomach was considerably worse since yesterday. This sucked.
"Are you enjoying your carriage ride today, Master? Anything I can get for you? " Lucy sneered. Getting a little payback, which I could understand. I would have done the same thing.
"If your offering Lu" I gagged. "I could really use a barf bag right about now."
"Poor Lina" Wren purred beside me, patting my leg sympathetically. All I could do was give a shaky smile to the little white cat.
"Hey I'm playing the part of the master, so I should be giving the orders!" Happy shouted. My eyes were closed but I could guarantee that he was waving his arms frantically.
"Shut up, you stupid feline!" Lucy shouted back. Causing me to groan and for Wren to give an indignant scoff. Even though he knew that Lucy liked him more. "Oh, hey Natsu?"
"What's up?" groaned a pained fire dragon slayer.
"Well, I was just wondering why you picked me to join your team...I mean Selina's really strong, and uses the same kind of magic..." my sister trailed off. Causing me to scoff.
"How many times do I gotta tell ya..." I started, but honestly, if I finished my sentence then I woulda hurled. My sister was strong, even if she didn't think so. I knew that being in this guild will help her start to believe in herself. Lucy had the potential to be a really powerful Celestial Wizard. And I for one couldn't wait to see it.
"Cuz you seem like a nice person" Natsu answered queasily. "But your just so weird" he added. This guy really had no tact. But I knew that I was stuck with him. We had made a pact to find our dragons and ask them what the hell their deal was. And maybe even find a way to get my memories back. Sure I had an entire life of being Selina Heartfilia, but even if I had only been a child...who was I before that? My name, my biological parents...
For the first time ever, I was thankful for the bumps in the road that turned my stomach. The motion sickness helped me distract myself. Which was good, we had a job to do, and getting weepy wasn't going to help anything.
"Anyway, I'm totally stoked about my first real job. And I even though she's just as sick as you are right now, I know Selina is too. Right, Lina?"
"Yup, we're gonna rock it" I groaned. My hand shaking as I gave her a thumbs up.
"Really!?" said a surprised Happy. "I thought you were upset about it."
Lucy gave a simple shrug. "Yea I was upset at first," she told him. "But if this perv likes pretty girls, then I'm perfect for the job, right?" she said.
Since the add only called for blonde girls, Lucy and I had decided to call Cancer and have him make my hair blonde for this job. Thanks to his special type of magic, the effects were temporary. I loved my sister, but we looked so much alike that sometimes it was hard to tell us apart. One of the reasons why I was thankful I had black hair.
When Happy said that all of us humans looked alike to him, I was surprised that Lucy didn't hit him. But I was sure that it would happen sooner or later. So instead of lashing out at the little blue cat, she simply asked about our pay scale. "Since Selina and I are doing all the work, I think we should split the reward 40, 40, 10, and 10" she suggested.
"Wow, you guys only want ten percent each!" Happy exclaimed.
"No, we want forty each!" Lucy shouted.
This was going to be a long ride.
When our carriage finally stopped, Natsu and I all but fought each other to be first out of the carriage. With a sharp kick, I was thankfully the first to hit the solid, unmoving ground and rejoiced. Even though I still felt a little queasy, it was good to finally stop moving. I was definitely seeing if Wren could fly me most of the way home.
"That's the last time I'm riding in one of those" groaned Natsu.
"You say that every time" Happy told the fire-breather.
"Man, I'm starving" Natsu sighed, looking around for a place to eat. Now that he mentioned it, I was pretty hungry myself and I could feel my gums tingle at the prospect of water.
"Can't you just eat your own fire?" Lucy asked Natsu, causing me to groan loudly. She knew that I and Natsu had, basically, the same magic. So she should have realized that since I couldn't eat my own water, Natsu couldn't eat his own fire.
"Oh yea, that's a great idea" Natsu grumbled sarcastically. "Why don't you just eat Plue or your cow while we're at it."
"Why would I do something like that?" asked Lucy, clearly not getting the point.
"Its kind of the same thing" mumbled the pink-haired dragon slayer.
Lucy was silent for a few minutes as she thought over what Natsu was saying. "So let me get this straight" she started. "You can eat fire, but just not your own?" asked Lucy.
"Kinda like how I can't 'eat' my own water," I told her, putting air quotes around the word 'eat'.
"Oh, yea" Lucy nodded as if she suddenly just remembered. "That's still kinda lame."
We walked a while more, Natsu and I keeping our noses focused on a place to eat. As I did, I chatted with Wren, telling him bits and pieces about my magic. At the sudden scent of stew, my stomach gave a loud grumble. "Hey guys, check it out" I commented, pointing towards the restaurant ahead.
"Whoah, let's stop and get a bite" Natsu suggested.
Lucy simply shook her head and kept walking. "Nah, I'm alright," she said with a wave. "But you guys enjoy," my sister told us with a smile. "Selina, order me something?" she asked me. "I'll meet back up with you guys in a bit."
"Yea, no problem" I nodded, making mental note to order Lucy's favorite.
As we walked into the restaurant, Natsu and Happy commented on Lucy not eating with us. Stating that teammates should really eat together. Though they still shrugged it off in the end as we proceeded to order as much food as possible. I also made a point to tell our waiter to pack up some of the sushi in a to-go package for my sister.
I knew that if I were to leave it up to the boys, then my poor sister would be left with the fatty bits of the meat they had ordered. "From the looks of her, that's what she likes the most" Happy commented with a mouthful of fish.
"Hold it right there, cat" came my sisters' voice from behind me. Turning around my jaw dropped. So that's what she had disappeared to go do. Lucy was standing there in a cute little maid costume, complete with girlish pigtails and bag under her arm. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?" she asked, cocking her hip to the side when she saw Natsu's eyes widen. "Come on" she grinned. "Don't be shy, boys. I know I look super cute in this uniform. And Selina, you're gonna be just as cute as soon as you put this on" Lucy added, handing the bag to me. Just as I thought, she had gotten me a matching uniform. Had to look the part I suppose. Not that I was complaining, of course, I knew that Lucy and I were going to rock those uniforms.
It only took me a second to change into the uniform. Lucy and I looking more identical than we ever had. Our only differences being our eyes and our guild marks. "Have you had enough food, Master?" I asked shyly. Thankful for my acting skills. "Or should we bring you some more? Your wish is our command" This time Lucy and I spoke in unison. Playing off the 'sexy twins' role perfectly.
On the other side of the table, I could hear Natsu and Happy whispering to themselves. Wren being smart enough to stay out of the conversation. When Happy mentioned us needing a costume being joke, my gaze dropped down into a glare, and the water in Natsu's cup boiled over and exploded.
"We can hear you" I grumbled.
"If it means anything, I think you guys look great!" Wren commented, swallowing a piece of sushi happily.
"Aww, thanks bud" I giggled, patting the little white cat on the head.
We finished eating in relative peace. Though Lucy spent a lot of it glaring at Natsu and Happy. The two of us had stayed in our maid costumes. Might as well stick with the act after spending good money on the outfits.
From the restaurant, we made our way towards the lavish mansion of Mister Kaby Melon. The man who had hired us. It was weird though. The house didn't smell like the older man or his wife. In fact, it smelled like other people completely. Weird. If Natsu caught on the different scents in the house, then he didn't say anything.
In fact, he was more excited over the guys 'tasty-sounding' last name. "Quit being rude guys," Lucy told Natsu and happy who began drooling at the word 'Melon'.
"Don't worry, I get that a lot" Mr. Melon chuckled. Beside me, Lucy had a look of concentration in her eyes. I'd have to ask her about that later. "Well, first things first" Kaby spoke. "Allow me to tell you about the job."
"Go on" I prompted as the others sat up straight.
"It's pretty straight forward, really," the man said. "Duke Everlue has a book called 'Daybreak' in his possession" he explained. "I would like you to burn it for me."
"No prob," Natsu said instantly. "I'll burn the whole place down if you want" he offered with a flame on his fingertip.
"He likes fire" Happy commented with a giggle.
"I'm not going to jail for arson because of the two of you," Lucy told the boys.
Worried, Wren looked up at me with wide blue eyes. "We're not gonna go to jail are we Lina?" he asked me, his paws fiddling with the tail of his light blue scarf.
"No, buddy" I chuckled, picking him up and putting him on my lap. "May I ask why you want us to burn the book, sir?" I asked Mr. Melon.
"For 200,00 jewel, who the heck cares?" Natsu scoffed.
It was then that Kaby spoke up. "The reward has been raised to 2 million," he told us. Causing all of us to look at him in shock. Two million jewel just to burn some book? There had to be something he wasn't telling us. "I'm sorry, I thought you were aware the amount had changed."
"Two million split three ways?" gasped Natsu before grabbing onto his head. "Wow! I stink at math, but that's a lot!"
After that, it was clear that Natsu and Happy weren't going to be the ones who handled our teams' rewards. Especially since Happy tried cutting me, Lucy and Wren out of the reward money. The little jerk. I made a mental note to kick the two of them later.
"Why'd you raise the reward?" Lucy asked, trying her best to ignore the boys.
At my sisters' question, Mr. Melon clenched his hands together. Sadness and pure emotion rolling off of him in waves. "Well, because it means that much to me" he answered. "That book must be destroyed no matter the cost."
I was not expecting Natsu to spontaneously combust. "What the hell man!" I shrieked before sending a blob of water at his head so that he didn't burn down this really nice house that we couldn't afford to repair.
Not bothering to comment, Natsu grabbed me and Lucy by the hand and dragged us out of the house. "I am fired up now! Let's do this, guys!" she shouted.
"Wait a sec!" Lucy screeched.
Still, Natsu didn't stop pulling us until he realized that we had no clue where Duke Everlue's place was. When he finally let go of my arm, I had to give my shoulder a quick rub. Natsu had all but pulled it out of my socket. The jerk.
Duke Everlue's mansion was larger than I thought it was going to be. And I was honestly freaking out a little. How the hell were we supposed to find Daybreak in there? It would probably take a while. This job was gonna suck, I just knew it.
"Excuse me, we heard you had an opening for a maid position. Hello?!" she called out.
All we had to do was wow this pervy duke with our looks and burn some stupid book. I just hoped finding that book would be easy. We really use that two million jewel. As we stood by the gate, waiting for an answer from the Duke, I started to grow worried. Anxiety tickling at my tummy, and my magic bubbling underneath the surface. As if the water of my body was reacting to an attack of some kind.
I brushed the thought from my mind. Deeming it an impossibility that me and Lucy would be attacked here of all places. Oh, how wrong I was. Because the next thing I knew, the ground opened up behind us and out popped a large... Well, to be honest, it looked like a large gorilla wearing an ill-fitting maids uniform. And she smelled...really familiar. Like Loke did back at the guildhall.
Weird.
"So you two are maids?" asked the gorilla woman.
"Yea" Lucy nodded nervously.
"I'm assuming you're here 'cause you say the ad that the Master placed in the paper" the large, pink-haired woman stated. "And if that is true, then you know that the Master did not ask for twins." Which was something I had thought about. While the ad didn't explicitly state that Duke Everlue was looking for twins, it also didn't say he wasn't. But since it was known that Everlue was a bit of a perv, Lucy and I took the chance and went with the tried and true 'sexy twins' act.
It was risky, of course, but the jewel was worth it.
"Boyoyoyo" echoed a voice. "Did I hear someone say 'Master'?" Suddenly, a short fat man with a handle-bar mustache popped out of the ground the same way that the gorilla woman did. "Let's see here" continued the tiny little man as he looked the two of us over.
"Well we sure hope you like what you see" Lucy and I giggled in unison.
Everlue all but glared as he looked the two of us over. Before a disgusted look washed over his face. "I'll pass," he said. "I asked for one beautiful maid, not two ugly ones. Now scram!" he sneered.
D-did he just call us...ugly? I knew I wasn't the hottest chick around but I'm sure I wasn't that bad off.
At her Masters' words, the large woman picked both Lucy and me by the waist. "You heard the man. Get going...uglies" said Gorilla Woman.
"Sorry. But as a man of my standing has certain standards to uphold" Everlue told us. "That's why I only hire the fairest of the fair" he added. The second he spoke, four other maids popped up behind them. All of them posing as if they were centerfolds for Sorcerer Weekly. Though none of them looked the part.
I almost gagged as I watched the maids all cooing over Everlue. Telling him that he was the best Master and stroking his ego. The sight made me more nauseous than any motion sickness ever did. With one more insult sent our way, Lucy and I sulked off back into the woods where Natsu, Wren, and Happy were waiting for us.
"Just couldn't do it, huh?" Natsu sighed, while Lucy sobbed beside a tree. I was still merely in shock. That man's vision of 'beautiful' was obviously skewed.
"We tried," I told him with a pout. Though the pout disappeared when Wren came and gave me a hug. "Thanks, bud" I smiled.
"Yea, but that idiot wouldn't know beauty if it bit him in the behind!" Lucy shouted with tears rolling down her cheeks. Happy gave her a sly 'uh-huh', causing Lucy to start sobbing all over again. "This stinks!" she sobbed.
"Okay," Natsu said, slamming his fist into his hand. "I guess we'll have to resort to old Plan T" he continued.
His words thankfully rousing Lucy's more aggressive side. "Yea, that big fat jerks gonna pay for this!" she shouted. "Right Selina!"
"Hell yea," I told her with a nod. "I Just got one question" I added, looking back at Natsu. "What's plan T?" I asked.
"Take 'em by storm!" Happy cheered excitedly.
Sharing a look with Wren, I grinned. Oh, that sounded like fun.
While Lucy and I changed out of our made costumes, Cancer fixed my hair. Changing the color of my hair back to its usual black. Once I looked more like me, we were ready to go. Sneaking around the outskirts of the Everlue property so find a safe place to break in. Natsu and I using our noses to help find our perfect entryway.
After talking Natsu out of kicking down the mansions' front door.
Once we found a spot, Happy and Wren flew me, Natsu and Lucy up to the roof. Natsu heating up his hand to burn away the wall of a room on the topmost level. We couldn't bee seen from the road and we didn't smell anyone nearby.
"Thanks a lot, you guys" I smiled at the two cats. "I owe the two of you some fish once we're done with this mission."
"Aye" the cats said in unison.
"This isn't really taking 'em by storm, you know," Natsu told us grumpily. "I think we should have just busted right through the front door" he added.
"What did we tell you before?" Lucy asked. "We're not going to jail 'cause of you."
"Yea but I thought you two were out to get revenge on this guy" Natsu pointed out.
"Oh, we'll get our revenge" I smirked.
"Not only are we gonna burn this book but I'm gonna use his toothbrush to clean the toilet" Lucy chuckled evilly.
"That's gross, Lu," I said with a wrinkle in my nose.
"Yea, really gross" Wren agreed with a nod and a giggle.
We entered the mansion as quiet as we could. Searching through the first room in near silence. There wasn't much in the room. Some knick-knacks and books that were not Daybreak. So we moved on the next. Which was some kind of storeroom. A place that creeps Everlue kept his weird objects.
And naturally Happy found the creepiest piece, the face of a human skull, and held it against his own face. Growling spookily to freak out my sister.
Which worked, of course, as Lucy slumped against the wall in fright.
"You're looking fierce, Happy" Natsu chuckled at the cat.
The rest of the rooms were much of the same. Nothing but barely touched furniture and curios. And more books that weren't Daybreak. There was, however, a bathroom that was made almost completely of gold. With Everlue face molded onto the front of the all-gold toilet bowl.
Though Lucy couldn't get her revenge, as there wasn't a toothbrush in the room.
"Are we gonna have to search every room in this whole stinking place?" Natsu asked as we shuffled down the hall. Happy still wearing the skull on his head.
"Looks like it" I nodded.
"I think we should take a hostage and force them to tell us where the book is" Natsu suggested.
"Aye," Happy agreed, while Wren shook his head vigorously beside him.
Lucy rolled her eyes are the Fire Wizard. "Kind of the whole idea here is not to be seen, you dummy. You gotta be stealthy."
"Yea, like a ninja" I added, looking around to make sure that no one was coming.
Natsu seemed like he was in a daze after that. "Like a real ninja," he said, a stupid look on his face while he daydreamed. He's so weird.
"What goes on inside that head of yours?" Lucy asked him.
Suddenly the Maid Brigade jumped up from the floorboards. "Intruder alert, Virgo!" they shouted, each one brandishing a long push broom.
"Let's crush 'em, girls" announced the large gorilla woman as she rose up from the floor as well.
"We're toast" Lucy and I gulped while Happy and Wren screamed in fright.
The maids also screaming in terror when they caught sight of the skull that Happy still hadn't taken off. "Its a monster!" they yelled.
Suddenly, Natus lit a fist on fire and swung at the maids. "Ninja power!" Natsu shouted as his fist connected. Sending them all flying across the large hall area we were standing in.
"Flying Virgo Attack!" shouted the gorilla maid as she jumped into the air and powerbombed Natsu into the ground.
"Oh no!" gasped the four of us.
Looking towards Happy, Wren tapped the blue cat's shoulder. "Hey you can take that spooky mask off now, Happy," said the little white cat.
Thanks to my superior sense of smell, I knew that Natsu wasn't a goner. Before he started to rise, I could hear him straining against the weight of the large, pink-haired maid. And the second he threw the large maid, who seemed to be named Virgo, off of him, Natsu drew a magic circle beneath his feet. Throwing her away with a fiery kick. "We mustn't let ourselves be discovered," he said from behind his scarf. "We are ninja."
"Ninja" Happy repeated from Natsu's shoulder.
"You guys are literally the opposite of ninja's" I deadpanned. These two were ridiculous, but at least Happy finally took off his little 'mask'.
"Ninja's are supposed to be quiet, guys" Lucy reminded them with a groan.
The next room we checked, we finally hit the jackpot. Duke Everlues massive library. If Daybreak wasn't in here, then there was absolutely no way that we were going to find it. Natsu looked like his head was going to explode just by being around his many books.
"Who would've thought that Everlues a major book worm" Lucy commented.
Without saying anything to the others, I walked around the room. Wren perched on my shoulder as I looked over the bindings of each book. But so far, all I saw were books on how to become rich and how to rule. There were even books about certain deformities. This was going to take forever.
"Check out this one" Natsu called our, pulling a book from the shelf. "It's sparkly!"
Annoyed, Lucy turned to face the pink-haired dragon slayer. "Hey, would you get serious and start looking for the book we need?"
Looking at the book Natsu held in his hand, I gasped. "Lu, that's it!"
"It's Daybreak!" Wren cheered.
"Have we been here that long?" Happy asked. And without even looking, I knew that Wren had slapped his paw against his forehead. My fluffy white friend obviously having enough of Happy for the moment.
"You found it!" Lucy gasped as well.
Natsu seemed to be as surprised as the rest of us. "I did?" he commented.
"Two million jewel here we come!" Lucy squealed.
"Let's spark it up!" Natsu grinned, lighting his hand on fire.
"That was so easy" Happy giggled.
"Hold on a second" Lucy gasped in excitement. Nearly taking Natsu's hand off when she snagged the book from him.
"What's up Lu?"
"I didn't realize this was written by Kemu Zaleon," she said. I gave her a blank look in return. Lucy was a major book nerd. At first, she was okay with burning the book, because for all she knew it was written by some nobody. But know we knew that Daybreak was actually written by one of my sisters' favorite authors. She's read literally every single book Kemu Zaleon had ever written.
Except, apparently, this one.
Natsu, unsurprisingly, seemed confused. "Zale...what?" he asked.
"Zaleon was a great wizard" I explained. I had heard about him enough from Lucy.
"And an amazing novelist" Lucy gushed. "I'm such a big fan. I was totally positive that I'd read every single sentence he'd ever written. But this must be an unpublished novel."
"Oh, yea, who cares?" Natsu asked, igniting his fingertip. "It all burns the same to me."
Instantly, Lucy went on the defensive. "Don't you dare touch it" she hissed at the boy. "This is a great work of literature. You better stay away from it, Pyro!"
"But what about our mission?" Wren asked.
"Just forget about the stupid mission!" Lucy snapped, Wren's blue eyes widening. Lucy hadn't ever really yelled at him before. Though he seemed to understand why my sister had yelled.
"Failure is not an option," Happy told her.
"They're right, Lu" I nodded. "We were hired for a job. And it's our first real one with Fairy Tail. I really don't want to screw it up because of your book fetish" I told her. Sure I liked to read as much as Lucy did, but I wasn't prepared to throw away almost two million jewel because of a book we were hired to destroy.
"Come on you guys" Lucy pleaded with tears in her eyes. "Let's just say we burned it. I'll keep it a secret, I swear!"
"I'm not a liar," Natsu told her. Happy giving a firm 'Aye'.
"We can't lie, Lucy" I shook my head.
There was a slight standoff between us. None of us budging from our standpoints. Though really it was me and Natsu trying to convince my sister to let go of the book so that we could actually do our job. While all my sister wanted to do was read the stupid book. I guess I couldn't blame her, really. It was a rare find from her favorite author.
Suddenly, our standoff was interrupted by a slimy sounding voice. "Well, well, what do you have here?" The next thing we knew, Everlue was springing up from the floor once again. "So you thieves are looking to pilfer 'Daybreak' from me, are you?" the tiny man asked rhetorically.
"See, slowpoke, this is all your fault," Natsu said to my sister, pointing towards the creepy little Duke.
"Um...sorry about that" Lucy gulped.
"You know" I commented, looking at the grotesque man. "I'm pretty sure it'd be way easier to come in through the door," I said, glancing down at the large hole Everlue had made in the ornate floor of his library.
Everlue simply sneered and ignored my comment. "I knew all you lowlife wizard types were coming around here to take something of mine. I never would have guessed it was that stupid book."
We were all quiet for a moment. Before Lucy hugged Daybreak to her chest with a hopeful grin. "This works out great," she said happily. "If it's so stupid, I guess it's fine if I keep it" my sister suggested.
"It's mine!" Everlue raged. Throwing a tantrum to rival a three-year-olds. "You can't have it! So get your grubby hands off!"
"Greedy fuck" I mumbled, though Everlue still heard me.
"Shut your trap, ugly!" he returned. I couldn't stop the affronted gasp that sprung from my lips.
"Rude" I huffed.
Annoyed, Natsu lit a flame in the palm of his hand. "Would you hand over that book and let me get this over with?" hed asked my sister.
"No way I'm not giving it to you!" whined Lucy. If she held that book any closer, it would fuse to her anatomy.
"Lucy, this is our job!" reminded the pink-haired dragon slayer.
All of us gaped at my sister when she dropped to the floor and cracked out the book. "Well, at least let me read it first."
"I've had enough," Everlue growled once the shock wore off. "How dare you put your filthy hands on my possessions. Now, come forth, Vanish Brothers!" he called out.
At his beckoning, the bookcase slid open to reveal two men. The smaller of the two had a mostly shaved head. Though still had a fairly long black braid running down his back. His facial features were sharp with slanted eyes and a dark-colored upper lip. The most noticeable of his features, however, was the distinctive kanji tattoo on his face, though I couldn't quite make out what the words were.
Behind him stood a much taller man. Standing at almost twice the height and bulging with muscles. His hair was long, dark, and curly though arranged in a distinct style consisting of four large tufts jutting upwards in all directions. Unlike the shorter man, the taller's face was more squared with a prominent, slightly hooked nose and dark eyes peeking out from underneath a yellow bandanna.
"You called upon us, sir?" spoke the shorter.
"Can you believe that these little punks are from the Fairy Tail guild?" the taller man asked rhetorically. "Talk about a bunch of runts."
Looking at the symbols on the clothes I gasped. "That sign means that they're from the Southern Wolves Guild," I said quietly to the others. "They're mercenaries."
"So you got bodyguards, do you?" Natsu smirked with a crack of his knuckles.
"Boyoyoyo" snickered Everlue. "The Southern Wolves are always hungry for fresh game. Say your prayers, thieves" he told us.
"Hey" Lucy whispered to us, standing the book clutched to her chest once more. "Can you guys try and hold them off for a while?" she asked.
"What up, Lu?" I asked her, though my eyes stayed on Everlue and his Southern Wolves.
"I'm not sure," she told me. "But I think this book holds some kind of secret."
"Right" Natsu nodded. And with that, my sister ran from the room. I hope she knew what she was doing.
Suddenly, the floor beneath Everlue's feet began to shake as he used his own magic to sink. I think that was called Diver Magic. "I'm going after that girl," he told the two mercenaries. "Make sure pink hair and the ugly trollop don't leave here in one piece."
"Rude!" I shouted as the two Southern Wolves gave Everlue their word.
"Happy, go on and help Lucy," Natsu told the little blue cat.
"You go on with him, Wren. I don't want you getting hurt" I said to my own cat companion.
"Are you sure you don't need us here?" Happy asked.
"No" Natsu responded confidently. "Thanks, but I think Selina and I will be just fine."
"Woah, you sure are talking big for such a little guy," said the taller of the two mercenaries. "Can that little girl even fight?"
"Perhaps we should put him in his place" suggested the shorter man. "So you're a fire wizard" the shorter man commented.
"Yea" Natsu confirmed. "But how'd you know that?"
"We saw the fire around your legs when you were fighting Virgo," the big one told him. "So it's obvious that you're an ability-type fire wizard. And I'm just gonna assume that the girl is just your little cheerleader."
At the jab, I glared at the larger man. I could feel my magic bubbling below the surface, waiting to lash out at the men. It would serve them right for misjudging my power. But instead, I waited for Natsu's lead, he was more experienced when it came to this stuff. Other than the fight with the fire wizard Bora and the Vulcan that had possessed Macao, I hadn't really had much experience fighting.
"So I guess you know what happened when you play with fire," Natsu told them, raising his arms as he called forth his dragon flames. "You get burned!"
Just as Natsu tried to land a fiery punch on the smaller of the two mercenaries, the man blocked it with the large frying pan he had strapped to his back. "I'm sorry to break it to you, kid, but fighting fire wizards is something we do well, " he said, before swinging the frying pan, sending Natsu flying backward. "Very well."
"Oh, yea?" I smirked. "What about water wizards?" With that, I pooled my magic around my legs and readied my Rapids Kick spell. Using the water to block the larger man when he went to attack Natsu. Giving my friend the opportunity to roll out of the way. Only for the shorter of the Southern Wolves to swing his frying pan and once again sent Natsu flying.
I should have been paying more attention to the man I had kicked, because the next thing I knew, he was gripping me by the head. Dragging me out of the library through the now broken door, before throwing me over the railing. Sending my flying into Natsu, who had been standing on the tongue of one of Everlue's statues. "You okay?" my friend asked.
I simply nodded, my glare never leaving the two mercenaries. "Yea, I'm good."
"Fairy Tail may be a big-time guild and all but you pathetic wizards are no match for trained mercenaries like us" the taller man told us.
"If that's your best then you're dead wrong" Natsu scoffed as he glanced my way. All of my instincts told me to attack these mercenaries, but I knew that Natsu and I needed to be smart about this. So, since he had been doing this much longer than me, I waited once more for Natsu's cue.
"I mean, seriously, that kick was weak" I taunted, referencing the large man's leg drop that I had blocked. It was actually fairly powerful, but the Rapids Kick was stronger by far.
"Whoa these kids really think they can beat us" the taller man seemed surprised.
"Do you happen to know a wizard's greatest weakness?" asked the man with writing on his face.
"You talking about motion sickness?!" Natsu gasped, causing me to groan.
"I think that's just us, Natsu" I sighed, rubbing my forehead. Trying to calm the magic power that urged to lash out at our opponents.
Ignoring his companions' comment, the tattooed man readied for attack. "Their weakness is their bodies," he said, jumping into action. Natsu and I jumping out of the way in time, just as the mercenary hit the statue's tongue with his large frying pan. "Since wizards have to focus so intensely on honing their mental abilities..." he trailed.
Allowing for his friend to come in and try to hit Natsu with a powerful punch. One that Natsu was almost unable to dodge. "They neglect to train their bodies," the man said, "Which leaves them physically weak."
In my case, this was almost true. I had some physical training from my foster mother, but after I had been adopted by Layla I had all but stopped that training. I could still hold my own in a low-level fight, but I still needed a lot more work.
Even so, I was able to block the kick that the large mercenary sent at me. It was as if he was trying to get back at me for the crack I had made about his weak kicks. And without using any magic power, I locked my legs around his. Turning the block into a reversal as I used what core strength I had to whip the man across the room. Though it wasn't enough to knock him out of the fight, that was for sure. Still, it bought Natsu and I some time.
"On the other hand" Tattoo Face started as his friend came to stand beside him. "We focus on our physical abilities."
"So we have more power and speed than you."
"Oh, I am so scared" Natsu sassed. These men didn't know the strength that Natsu had. They didn't know that he wasn't just any fire wizard, he was the Fire Dragon Slayer with magic strong enough to take out an actual dragon.
They had no idea.
"I'm quaking in my designer boots" I scoffed, playing it off like I wasn't in way over my head. I knew that I could hold my own magic wise, but I did need a lot of help with the hand-to-hand combat side of things.
"No how about you stop your blabbing and let's dance" Natsu taunted.
The two mercenaries shared a look. "Hey, bro', combo attack?" suggested the taller.
"Sounds good" smirked Tattoo Face as he swung his large frying pan out in front of him. Allowing for the taller Southern Wolf to stand inside of it. "Heaven and Earth Annihilation!" they spoke at the same time.
When Natsu goaded them once more, I took a few steps back before readying for an attack. Since I still needed more combat training, I would need to take on a defensive role. And only attack when necessary.
I gasped when the mercenaries leaped into action. Barely registering the larger of the two Southern Wolves being launched into the air, while Natsu couldn't take his eyes off of him. "Look towards heaven and I strike from the earth" Tattoo Man told us. Swinging his frying pan and sending Natsu flying. My friend barely catching himself before sending a glare at the tattooed Vanish Brother.
I noticed the spikey-haired one then, falling down from the ceiling to attack Natsu. "Look towards earth and we strike down from heaven" the mercenary spoke. I tried to run towards Natsu, and try to deflect the man's attack, but wasn't quick enough as Natsu was pounded into the wooden floor.
"Natsu!" I called out. Running over to the pink-haired fire wizard as he got to his feet, though the Vanish Brothers didn't seem to notice through the dust cloud they had kicked up. "You okay?" I asked.
"Yea" he nodded. "I've taken worse hits back at the guildhall."
"You have witnessed the true power of the Vanish Brothers" spoke Tattoo Face. "The Heaven and Earth annihilation technique."
"It's a force that very few are able to survive" Spikey Hair added.
"Guess I'm one of the few" Natsu smirked as the dust settled. "Sorry, guys" he shrugged. The Vanish Brothers were shocked. Obviously not used to seeing someone walk away from their technique. "Are you with me, Selina?" Natsu asked with a smirk. With a nod, I let my magic bubble to the surface as Natsu and I drew our magic circled of fiery red and sparkling blue. "Fire Dragon: Roar!"
However, before I could sound of a Roar of my own, the shorter of the two brothers simply held out his frying pan with a confident smirk. "Flame cooking!" he cast and the frying pan absorbed Natsu's fire attack. "You see my frying pan absorbs your flames and doubles their strength..." at his words, I prepared myself. Ready to raise a protective barrier in an instant. I knew what was going to happen next, and I knew that Natsu would be fine.
But I wanted to be covered Just incase Natsu couldn't eat all of the flames. "Water Dragon: Water Sphere!" I cast, a bubble of water surrounding me just as a blast of fire was sent our way. Beside me, I could hear Natsu slurping up the flames, though all I could see was a bright red light.
And when the flames cleared, the Vanished brothers let out twin screams of horror. "Oh, yea. Now I got some fire in my belly" Natsu smirked. "Together?" he asked me. Grinning, I did nothing but nod as my gaze was stuck on the already frightened mercenaries. "Let us show you something."
Though normally I would have waited for Natsu to strike first, I wanted to get back at the men for their earlier comments about me simply being Natsu's cheerleader. So I hit my fists together, drawing my magic circle before crossing my arms. "Water Dragon: Wing Attack!" I cast, swinging my arms out and sending scythe-like blades of water at our opponents. The blast of my attack was enough to topple the Vanish brothers, but they could still fight.
Until Natsu drew a magic circle of his own. "Fire Dragon: Wing Attack!" he called. Cross streams of fire powerful enough to blow up the room we were in. Leaving the Vanish Brothers char-broiled on the ground."Uh-Oh," Natsu winced. "Did I overdo it again?"
"Maybe just a little bit" I winced as I looked at the destruction that surrounded us. "But I think they learned their lesson. C'mon, let's go make sure Lucy and the cats are okay."