A/N: I'm sorry that I caused some confusion about the update schedule. I'll be posting twice a week, every other week, and once a week in between. This is an "on" week, so I'm posting Monday and Friday. Next week is an "off" week, so I'll only be posting on Monday. The week after that will be an "on" week, so I'll post on Monday and Friday, then an "off" week, and so on.
I try to post around midnight (United States MST) so that the chapter is available on Monday. On these "on" weeks, I'll post on Friday as well (though I'm not as picky about the time. I'll at least try to post in the morning).
I hope that clears up any confusion. Let me know if I need to clarify further!
Chapter 31: Snakes and Kings
Most of the lights were off in the Love and Lucky guild. It was likely that the main corridor lights were kept on at night to ward away would-be thieves.
"It ain't a mage guild, so I ain't really concerned about security," Piper whispered as they snuck onto the property by climbing over the fence. "Guess they might have one wizard security guard or something,' but you's and me could take 'im easy."
Midnight said nothing, merely followed Piper like a dark shadow. They approached a side door and Piper crouched in front of the door knob. He pulled a pin out of his pocket and jabbed it into the keyhole.
"You know how to pick locks," Midnight stated simply.
"Well duh," Piper rolled his eyes. "You know how many people lock up their hard liquor?"
Midnight withheld a chuckle, but not a smirk.
After a minute or so of the grinding sound of metal in the keyhole, there was a click. "Got it." Piper swung the door open.
As expected, the building was basically deserted. Still, they crept silently, keeping to the shadows in case there were members who'd decided to stay late and do paperwork. They had decided to search for the record-keeping room, to see if they could look deeper into the shipments. It didn't take long to find a map of the building, conveniently posted on a wall next to a fire extinguisher.
"Looks like it's in the basement," Piper whispered, as he studied the layout.
It was almost too easy. They didn't run into anyone on their way down the stairs to the basement. There was one more locked door which Piper easily rendered useless. Inside, the records were kept in neat filing cabinets, conveniently dated for Piper and Midnight's easy use. They found the folder for all the shipments in the last month and divvied up the forms so they could cover more ground together.
Minutes ticked by—the only sound the occasional shuffling of papers.
"You got anyt'ing?" Piper looked up from the last paper in his hands.
"No." Midnight slid the papers to him.
"No records of slave or diamond shipments. I guess I ain't surprised. If someone's doin' this secretly in the guild, they're keepin' it under wraps. Love and Lucky probably ain't got any idea of what's happenin' under their noses."
It made sense, but it left them with no leads.
"We gotta keep lookin,'" Piper said, frustration clear in his clenched teeth.
They continued to dig for information until the door to the storage room squeaked. The sound made both of them turn on their heels to face the door, dramatically knocking folders and forms to the ground in the process.
A middle-aged man stood in the doorway, with blond hair and a mustache. He had a heavy brow and wrinkles that suggested he'd spent most of his life frowning. He was frowning now, as he surveyed the mess and the two wizards in the room.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, eyes going wide.
Piper glanced at Midnight, then back at the unexpected intruder.
This man didn't seem to radiate any kind of magical energy. He was likely just some guy who'd worked late into the night and was coming down to file his paperwork. He certainly carried the arrogant aura of someone whose life is dedicated to their work, anyway. Piper's eyes narrowed at Midnight, warning him not to hurt him.
"You can't be thieves or you would have been searching the vault… So what are you doing here?"
"Listen, bub," Piper raised his hands, slowly. "We ain't here to cause problems, alright? We're just lookin' for some information."
"What sort of information?" The man asked. His eyes scanned the room, glancing swiftly at a switch on the wall next to him. He stepped carefully to the side, fingers reaching for the switch until a dark magical energy snatched his sleeve and yanked him away from the wall.
"Don't you dare," Midnight hissed, darkly. He held the man by the sleeve, preventing him from sounding the alarm.
"Buddy, we're tryin' to stop a real bad guy—" Piper kept his hands raised to show innocence. "I swears to you, we ain't gonna cause any harm to you or your guild."
The man looked at him and blinked, his eyes narrowing as he scanned Piper over.
"That mark on your wrist… You're with that guild. Fairy Tail."
Piper looked down at the inside of his forearm where his black guild mark was. He cursed under his breath. Covering it up would have been wise, considering the treaty Master had with Love and Lucky. He'd been in such a rush to follow the lead on Resmond, that he hadn't even thought about it.
"Good job, fool," Midnight snapped at him.
"I… Uh, we…" Piper scrambled for an excuse, a lie, anything.
"My daughter is one of your members." The man seemed to relax. He straightened his posture and absentmindedly smoothed nonexistent wrinkles from his suit. "Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia."
Piper's eyes went wide. His hands slapped against his pants as he dropped his arms. "No way, you're kidding! Lucy's your kiddo?"
"Yes." He nodded seriously. His frown flickered into a smile at the mention of the celestial wizard. "How is she? Is she doing well? Does she need anything? Anything at all?"
Piper thought about it, then quickly shook his head as if to right his focus. "She's fine, bubs. But we ain't really here to chat about your kid."
"Right. You're looking for information." Lucy's father nodded. "Perhaps I can be of assistance."
"Wait, you'd really help us out? After we's broke into your guild?"
"Yes. If you are friends of Lucy's, then I trust you have good reason for being here." He nodded. "What is it you're looking for?"
Piper nodded at Midnight. "Let 'im go."
Midnight sighed and released the magical energy around the man's wrist. "Pity. I was hoping to kill something tonight."
"Don't listen to him Lucy's Pops. He's just an asshole." Piper walked over and offered a hand to shake. "Name's Piper.
"I'm just gonna jump right into it. Someone's been making shipment requests from your guild and we need to knows who and where the shipments are showing up. I'll say it again, we're lookin' for a real nasty guy."
"My name is Jude. What kind of shipments?" Lucy's father briskly shook his hand and headed for a filing cabinet.
"One ship was packin' diamonds and the other one… slaves." Piper leaned back on the heel of his boot as he watched him go to work.
"Slaves?" Jude Heartfilia blinked in surprise. "Love and Lucky would never be involved in slave trade! We're not some self-important dark guild with no respect for the law or human decency!"
Midnight scowled. Piper shot him another warning glance.
"Yeah, we knows that," Piper said. "But some illegal smugglers swear they gots requests from you's for those things in particular."
"Hm…" Jude looked through the same papers Piper and Midnight had searched.
"We already checked there, bub."
"If what you're saying is true, then it's likely there's someone in our guild who is participating in illegal activities unbeknownst to us. And if that is the case, then there's a possibility…" His eyes narrowed at the page and he thrust a finger at it. "Yes! That must be it!"
"Whatcha lookin' at?" Piper leaned over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes. "You seeing something I ain't?"
Jude was pointing at a shipment record labeled "Coal," dated for two weeks ago. "You see, I am aware that Love and Lucky stopped coal trade before I even joined the guild. The record of this shipment must be forged. This one is likely as well." He pointed to another line. "Both of these shipment receipts were signed by…" He shook his head. "Giseld? I know her personally and there's simply no way she knowingly forged receipts."
"I wouldn't put it past Res to blackmail someone into doin' his dirty work," Piper grumbled. He was about to ask another question when a female voice resounded in the room.
"You've got it all wrong."
A woman stepped out of the shadows, as if she'd been there the whole time. She was tall and slender, with green hair and dark eyes, dressed in the Love and Lucky guild uniform.
"Resmond didn't blackmail me," she said, her voice low and lulling. "All he had to do was ask. I'd do anything for my king…"
"Giseld?!" Jude blinked in disbelief. "I don't believe it! You're loyal to the guild. You could not possibly have committed these crimes!"
"Oh please, Mr. Heartfilia." She rolled her dark eyes and cackled, a piercing laugh. "There's only one whom I'm loyal to." Her eyes glazed over. "My holy King of Diamonds."
Piper took a defensive stance. "Watch out, Night. She's got a strong magical energy around her."
Midnight didn't seem concerned in the slightest. He faced the woman with his hand on his hip, smirking ever-so-slightly.
"Hey, old man. You's might wanna step back," Piper stepped in front of Lucy's father, protectively.
"You…" Giseld cocked her head, causing loose green curls to fall in front of her shoulder. "The King told me I might run into you two. Blue hair and a stupid expression. And the ex-member of the Oracion Seis." She narrowed her eyes them both. "You disgust me!" Without warning, a cluster of green snakes shot from her sleeve, fangs exposed. Piper jumped to the side and Midnight used his magic to curve the path of the living weapons around him.
Jude gripped the wall behind him, eyes wide as he watched what an exchange looked like between powerful wizards. "This is the type of thing my Lucy does?"
Giseld took a step forward, her face shrouded in an evil glare. She bared her teeth, showing fangs that grew and sharpened. "You think the two of you can step into her life and play 'daddy?' It's sick!" The snakes that she'd released had crawled back while the two men were facing her, and now slithered around their ankles. Midnight made a face of disgust and easily discarded them. Piper, on the other hand, struggled to kick the dozens of scaly creatures away from him.
"The King is her only father! And his little princess belongs back in her castle!"
Piper's face twisted in fear and he gave a girly scream as a snake slithered higher up his body. "It had to be snakes, dammit! I mean what are the chances?!"
Midnight waved a hand and the snakes on Piper were cast away like nothing more than worms. "Tell me, pest of a woman… What delusional dream does your king think he's going to make a reality?"
"My King…" She clutched her hands to her bosom and sighed in pleasure. "My sweet King is going to claim the kingdom he rightfully deserves. And he'll make me his queen! And we'll raise our little princess to inherit the kingdom one day!"
"Who you callin' your little princess, doll?" Piper snapped. "You's better not be talking about Syllest, because she belongs to nobody's 'cept Dreamy!"
"Don't you dare mention that wench in my presence!" The woman screeched, her eyes turning into snake-like slits.
"Ah, shit…" Piper looked around the storage room… And started to run. "Come on, old man! Hey, bastard! You comin?'" He dragged Jude by the wrist out the door and called back to Midnight.
Midnight followed with a disinterested yawn. "Are you that afraid, Piper?" His tone was mocking.
"Hell yeah, I am! I'm afraid of Master getting' pissed at us for destroyin' Love and Lucky! If we're gonna battle, let's take it to the streets!"
They ran and skidded to a halt on the outskirts of town. "Get out of here, old man!" Piper shoved Lucy's father toward the path. "Last thing we's need is a hostage situation!"
Jude nodded. "Please, tell Lucy I am thinking of her." He ran in the direction Piper had pointed.
In hardly any time, the ground shook and Giseld rose from the soil on the head of an oversized green reptile. Her Love and Lucky uniform had been discarded in favor of a sparkling black dress that hugged her curves tightly, down to black stilettos. Her nails grew into claws, painted a twinkling green. The snake she stood on gave a long hiss, its forked tongue flicking out between dripping fangs.
Piper's face drained of color.
"Snakes… Had to be snakes." He fumbled in his pocket for his dice.
The grass crunched as Midnight strolled casually into the clearing behind the snake-woman. His hands rested in his pockets, but his eyes shone with bloodlust. "Piper." His voice was a command. "Stay out of this. You'll only get in my way." He lifted his hand and dark magical energy surrounded the snake, which hissed in pain and threw Giseld off of it. She landed nimbly on her feet and faced him, baring her own set of fangs.
"No way in hell!" Piper shot back. "And let you's take all the glory? You's gotta be kiddin,' bubs!"
Midnight smirked. "As you wish. But don't complain if you get hurt. I don't care whose blood I shed, as long as I get to hear a lullaby of screams tonight." His grin widened. "It's been too long." A tremble of excitement actually went through his outstretched hands.
"Don't kill her befores we get some info out of her, got it?" Piper snapped. "But as far as beating the doll senseless to get your sadistic kicks… Be my guest!"
Giseld held out her hands and drew them upward, summoning more snakes from the ground, upturning the soil, filling the air with a din of hissing. They slithered at her feet by the hundreds. Piper instinctively jumped another three feet back.
"My darlings are going to squeeze the life out of your bodies and devour you whole," Giseld shrieked. "My King will be so proud of me…" Derision was reflected in her eyes, as they dilated and returned to slits. She ran her long nails up her torso and sighed in pleasure. "He'll craft me a black diamond ring and make his bride at last!" Her laugh echoed in the clearing, maniacal—insane.
"I'm going to kill you, in the name of my King!"
A/N: There's your extra chapter for the week!
Cheezy, you want a chapter with just Midnight tormenting Piper? xD Lucky for you, I have just that. It's a filler that I won't release until later though, but if you like the relationship between Midnight and Piper, you'll love it.
howlingwolvesonfire, I wouldn't be too worried about Piper's fragile heart if I were you. ;) He has a couple of other romance interests besides Dreamy. One of which I have already hinted at in a previous chapter.
Simana, I will tell you that Zero/Brain will not be making an appearance in this part of the story. But I left that avenue open in case you readers demand a sequel in the future. ;)
Okay, now for a development section. I had a request for Syllest/Resmond, or Jezran. I think I'll go with Jezran so I can give you guys a full understanding of Team Derelict Heart.
The Development of (Pops) Jezran
I already told you that I used Team Shadow Gear as a reference for creating Derelict Heart. Thus, I wanted to create two male characters who are completely loyal to protecting Dreamer. That's where I started with Jezran. After creating Piper, I thought about who the other man would be. Since Piper was the archetype bad-boy, I decided to make the exact opposite of him. What's the opposite of a young punk? A respectable old man, of course! xD That was the easy part. While I was developing his character, I decided early on to use the "dear me" tic. It seemed like a very butler-y thing to say, and I love when there are a few characters in an anime with a vocal tic like that. Plus, the Fairy Tail universe seems to be fraught with them!
That was the ONLY easy part of Jezran's creation. He's been an incredibly difficult character to break out of his archetype mold, but I believe I've been successful. Deciding on his magic was incredibly difficult. I didn't even have a hint of what it was until I wrote the Rose Garden arc and he used his pocketwatch to track Syllestra. That was when I decided he would have some sort of tracking abilities. It seemed to suit him because of his attention to detail which borders on Sherlock Holmes-ish. I refined it into tracking that specifically targets magic, refined even to the point that Jezran knows all the channels of magical energy in a human body (which follow the accupressure system), and he can manipulate those channels. (Think Neji from Naruto and the palm techniques). You guys won't see his magic in full action until later though.
Originally, Jezran was supposed to literally be Dreamer's grandfather. That's actually how I wrote him before I went back and edited those details out. I had included memories that Dreamer had of family events with Jezran involved even. But I decided to change this so I could stay true to Dreamer's story. As Piper said in the last chapter, she's got a savior complex. She takes losers and reforms them into good people. I want this to be a clear theme in her life, showing how her sister's murder had a profound effect on her life. So, I decided to make Jezran one of those people whom she reformed.
That opened a world of opportunity to me. I had to decide what kind of life Jezran lived, and how a respectable old man could ever have had a "before" where he was anything other than a cool butler who slathers mustard on bread for Dreamer. I developed a pretty extensive backstory for him, which unfortunately I can't talk too much about because spoilers, but Syllestra already hinted on part of it. If you'll recall, she mentioned that he was "an evil spy for Pergrande who [might have] killed people." This statement is not too far off from the truth.
He also has ties to Porlyusica, Makarov, and perhaps some other characters. He's also clearly very wealthy, or at least has access to massive fortunes, which should have occurred to you as strange, because why would a rich old guy be in a wizarding guild in the first place? ;)
He's a very deep character, though much of his depth doesn't reveal itself until later chapters. In the meantime, you can appreciate him as the kind old man who makes everyone drink tea with him in the morning, serves mustard sandwiches, and says "dear me."