Chapter 17 – Charming

Fairy Tail Guild, Summer Time,

Year X792

Natsu Dragneel

We left the room where we had discussed matters with Edric, Medea and the others. I wore a mask of nonchalance, whilst the fidgety blond seemed to be more than a little anxious about the discussed plan. "You don't think this will go well, do you?" I said to him, as we began the walk back to the guild bar. Sting looked to me with unsure eyes.

"It's not that it won't go well… it's just…" he trailed off, seemingly unsure of what exact words he needed to express his mind. I gave him time to think; unlike me, Sting seemed to fixate on stuff more, and I had learned from the various experiences I had with him on jobs that giving him time to just stop and think things through would usually yield positive results. After a while, Sting looked back to me. I smiled at him reassuringly.

"I know it could be dangerous, however I don't think it would be so bad that you should worry like this" I commented, moving to pat his shoulder comfortingly. Sting looked at the contact, before stopping dead in his tracks.

"It's not the danger that worries me, it's you" he said. I frowned at him upon hearing this.

"What do ya mean 'it's me'? I'm not gonna hurt you" I stated in a mildly confused tone. Sting smirked.

"Are ya sure about that?" he stated bluntly. I was slightly taken aback by this comment, especially since it was coming from him, my boyfriend, however I allowed him to continue speaking without barking at him. "I know that you wouldn't ever mean to hurt me, at least not since we made up after the Grand Magic Games last year... however with that curse… you may not get a choice Natsu, and I don't want to have to fight you. Not now that we're together…" Sting explained, before looking up at me. As our eyes met I could see the glimmering light from within, the loving light of a Dragon.

"I know you don't…" I mumbled, "B'cause…" I didn't want to say it; neither of us had said it yet, however now felt like a time to be saying it, even though we had only spent a very short time together as boyfriends yet. Do all couples go through shit like this when they start going out? Or is it only because its fucking me that our lives are in danger only a few days after starting to date? I thought somewhat angrily.

Whilst I thought this, Sting pulled me close to him, and wrapped his arms around me, holding me warmly. "You're my boyfriend, I would rather fuck you than fight you" he laughed, in a voice that was a little hollow.

I reciprocated his embrace for a moment, before checking both ways down the corridor we were in. With the coast seemingly clear, I pulled Sting in for a quick kiss. "I would rather do that too…" I grinned as we pulled away from each other. Sting shrugged.

"We could, however-" he began, before being stopped suddenly.

"You didn't let me finish" I interjected quickly. Sting looked at me a little oddly, but listened despite being interrupted. "I was going to say, I would rather do that too, but only after the job is done" I finished a little sharply. Sting maintained his odd look for a moment, before frowning.

"How are you so confident that nothing is gonna happen to you? That curse could be used against us at any time" he said. I smiled.

"I'm confident because I know that if anything happens you will be there to stop me, dummy. You, Edric and Medea are all strong, and capable fighters, right?" I said to him, eliciting a small nod of agreement from the White Dragon Slayer. With a smile, I chuckled. "Plus, it's not like I'm gonna let them take control of me, I'll put up one damn hell of a fight" I added, which earned a slightly more enthusiastic nod, and even a smile, from the blond this time.

"Okay, I suppose that's true" Sting admitted, before he pouted, "But still…" I shook my head.

"You're not gonna let this go, are you?" I sighed. He frowned at this.

"Hey, I'm only worrying for my boyfriend's safety!" he barked, before suddenly looking around. Despite the volume of the outburst, we seemed to still be some way from any group of wizards that could hear us. After ensuring that we were still alone, Sting looked back to me. "Is it wrong for me to want to keep you safe?" he asked me. I shook my head.

"No, it's not wrong" I stated, before smiling, "However, there is a difference between wanting to keep me safe, and not having any faith in me to protect myself. Hell, you should remember how strong I am from the time we fought against each other" I added cockily. This seemed to have some pacifying effect on Sting, who eventually sighed.

"Okay, fine, I believe you're strong. Just promise me if you feel the curse taking over you'll tell me straight away" he said. I nodded.

"Of course, I will" I stated quickly, exasperated by the blonde's overprotectiveness. Sting nodded at this.

"Alright" he said, before motioning for us to continue walking down the corridor, together. As we walked I smiled to him.

"So… was that all you were worrying about?" I asked him, expecting him to nod. Sting, surprisingly, shook his head.

"No, actually" he chuckled. I pouted at him.

"What's so funny?" I asked him. He laughed.

"I was just wondering… do you have anything to wear for this little party? Only, I've seen the stuff you usually wear, and I'm thinking that this place might be a little more… high end… for sandals" he smirked. My jaw dropped at Sting's statement.

"What's wrong with my clothes?!" I questioned him loudly. Sting held up his hands, laughing at me still.

"Nothing, not for going on jobs anyway" he started, before putting a finger to his chin, "However… we're going to this place to 'sell the illusion' that Fairy Tail and Sabertooth are trying to suck up to the Zollzero's, right?" I nodded.

"Yeah, so what does this have to do about my clothes?" I asked him.

"Well… I can't think of any time where I've seen you in something that would be appropriate for this situation" Sting stated, a little bluntly. I frowned at him for a moment, before my face lit up.

"What about the stuff I wore for the big party after the Grand Magic Games?" I asked him. Sting shrugged.

"That's alright for formal situations" he started, which made me wear a cocky grin, albeit only for a moment, "But… this won't be a proper formal situation. The place we're going is still a bar, just a more… expensive one. You'd need to be wearing something more… I don't know, stylish I guess, kind of classy" Sting muttered. I sighed.

"Don't you think you're over thinking this a little?" Sting shook his head, his expression turning suddenly very serious.

"No, if we're gonna succeed here, we need to be properly prepared. That's why I think we should go on a shopping trip and buy the clothes we need" he stated, very seriously. I shuddered at the thought of going shopping for clothes; the only time I would ever enjoy shopping, would be for food, and nothing else, plus I'd spent too much time being dragged around boutiques by Lucy, Lisanna and Erza to find the experience enjoyable.

"Do we have to?" I pleaded in a whiney tone. Sting nodded adamantly, his face breaking into a smile.

"Yes, we're going shopping" he said, before grinning "And we'll be going right now, before you can escape" he declared. I almost made a run for it at those words, however Sting was quicker. With that annoying grin on his face he lunged towards me, before grabbing hold of my wrist and practically dragging me out of the guild against my will, earning a few intrigued stares from onlookers.

Shit, I could see Gray and Lucy laughing whilst we left… I'm so gonna make Sting pay for this, especially if they start making fun of me I thought as I was helplessly dragged off. Just as soon as I work out a way to escape from him first…

/

The next day, at about 7PM, Sting and I entered the guild hall once again. We had not been to Fairy Tail since our abrupt departure yesterday. I had suggested returning to the guild right after our little shopping trip ended, primarily to find out if any rumours had begun to be spread. Sting, however, said he had to go post a letter and keep Rogue up to date on their affairs, leaving me to return to my home alone with all the stuff we'd bought.

"Well well well" Edric greeted us from within the guild itself. The young Card-and-Dice Mage was alone, sitting at an unused booth, whilst the remainder of the guild quietly mumbled to themselves. Catching whispers of conversation with my superior hearing, I could hear speculation about Edric's current appearance, as well as murmurs suggesting that Sting and my meeting with him had not gone completely unnoticed. Damn Sting, leaving so soon… I knew rumours would spread I thought to myself as the White Dragon and I took seats opposite Edric.

I glanced to Sting momentarily, before looking back to Edric. From the blond boy's appearance, I realised that Sting had indeed been right to suggest our shopping trip, not that I'd admit that of course, although he had seemed to enjoy himself a little too much yesterday, when he picked out outfit after outfit for me to try on. "You two both certainly look the part" Edric commented, as he glanced between us. Sting gave me a look, quickly followed by a cocky smirk. Oh… he's gonna be sooooo annoying about this later, isn't he? I complained internally.

"We figured we should buy some clothes to suit the situation, especially given our little roles in all this" the White Dragon said plainly. I nodded in agreement with this statement. Sting and I were both wearing dressy shirts, mine in a fiery red, and Sting's in a paler blue, along with black trousers and shoes. I had the first two buttons of my shirt left undone, whilst Sting kept all but the top button closed, a fact which annoyed me since it meant I wouldn't be able to catch glimpses of any of his body for all of tonight.

Despite the money Sting and I spent the previous day, when looking to Edric, I couldn't help but feel outdone. The teen wore a silvery shirt, and dark blue waistcoat, each of which clearly cost at least double what we had spent. He also had matching dark blue trousers of a similar shade of blue, along with various other expensive accessories. From a gold watch on his left wrist, to a gold-and-silver bracelet on his right, that appeared, from what I could see at least, to have his name engraved into it. In short, the young boy appeared to be the epitome of 'rich kid'. I also noted that he had pins in each side of his shirt collar, both of which held a tiny crystal lacrima in the centre of his family crest; I had noticed that he always seemed to be wearing these. "So, where's your sister and brother, I thought we were meeting here?" Sting asked Edric as we sat in a somewhat anxious silence. Edric chuckled.

"Medea always likes to be fashionably late, it takes her a little extra time to get ready" he winked. Sting chuckled. "And Tom went on ahead to establish a perimeter. He's using his Archive Magic protocols to do something that I guess you could call and enchantment, although nothing nearly as flashy as the stuff Freed does" Edric added. Sting nodded in understanding, before a movement caught his eyes.

From the direction of the bar, Haruki appeared, wearing something different to his usual suit. "Yo" he greeted us, as he came to lean beside where Edric sat. The fake-blond and real-blond teenagers both shared a slight look that did not go unnoticed by either Sting or me.

"You're coming?" Sting questioned him. Haruki nodded, before gesturing down to his attire. Unlike Edric, he wore something slightly less expensive, but still equally as formal; with a black waistcoat, white shirt, and, keeping with the style, black trousers and shoes.

"Yeah, that's right. Since my old man and Thomas will be a few minutes away, I'll be stationed as a bartender in order to be there in case you guys need some support" he explained. Sting and I both nodded, although I was a little less enthusiastic about hearing of Haruki's participation in this little mission; I still couldn't figure out what it was that pisses me off about this boy, but just like Laxus, Gajeel, Gray and many others, his very presence always annoyed me. Weird…

After a few more minutes of waiting, Medea finally arrived in all the splendour and glamour that one would expect of such a rich girl. "I do apologise, did I keep you waiting long sweeties?" she said as she approached us, her tone as condescending and arrogant as always. Her arrival elicited a loud murmur across the guild that appeared to originate from the direction of Maccao and Wakaba's seats. Edric shrugged at his sister.

"Well, it's not like I'd expect you to ever look at a clock, since you could never turn yourself away from a mirror long enough to check the time" the young boy stated to his elder sister, eliciting a vicious pout from the blond woman. Medea narrowed her violet eyes at her sibling, before smirking and flicking her blond locks.

"Well it's not like I would ever expect you, dear brother, to understand what true beauty is" she retorted. Edric laughed.

"I don't need to understand it; I am true beauty, my dear sister. Beauty, style, class, wit… I'm the one who inherited it all from both our Mother and Father" he mused, standing up and gesturing to himself dramatically to further his own point. Medea almost snarled at Edric's antics, however she appeared to catch herself in time, and turned the gesture into a grunt of displeasure.

"Only a child would act like that, however I will instead take the more adult role here and allow you to make your antics without choosing to give a response" she said in a very cocky manner. Edric chuckled.

"Guess that means I win then" he stated, before looking to us and ignoring the facial expression that Medea pulled, "Now that sis is here, shall we go?" he asked us. Sting looked to me for a moment. From his expression, I could tell we were both thinking the same thing; this kid, with all his childish antics, is the person who controls our debt.

With mutual smiles Sting and I nodded, before getting up and leaving with the two Zollzero children and their Bullet Mage escort.

/

We arrived at the establishment only a little while later. Besides the few mutterings of Edric and Medea, or Sting and I, each of us had remained quiet, our eyes scanning our surroundings as if we expected a sudden attack before we reached our destination. As we walked our minds each remained preoccupied by our own individual thoughts.

Upon entering the doors of the bar, Edric and Medea were ushered by the manager into a separate room, both Sting and I close behind. Only Haruki did not follow, as he had other things to prepare for as his new role as barman. I was surprised that the fake-blond teen was taking on such a role in this undercover operation, especially given his age, however Edric noticed my slight look of surprise, and confirmed for me that Haruki had already been trained in such a role due to the necessities of their families work.

Once we were all seated in a room above the main bar, we decided to discuss things one last time. "Right, so we all know the plan?" Edric started the impromptu meeting, "Medea and I will move about the bar, attempting to locate anyone who may be connected to the group that have been antagonising us. Natsu and Sting," he nodded slightly in our direction, "You will be on standby at the bar, or anywhere in the vicinity. Appearance is important here, so it would certainly appear odd for you to only stay at the bar all night, meaning you will have to mingle and move about somewhat as well" Sting and I both nodded in receipt of this information.

"Right, we just have to act natural" I voiced my understanding. Medea smiled.

"Correct. Once Edric or I have found a target, we will have to either trick them outside, or subdue them very quietly. We've also arranged for this room to be used to hide any… er… unconscious bodies" she stated. Once more Sting and I nodded.

"What about Thomas and Kenji? And Haruki?" Sting then asked the pair. Edric smiled.

"Haru will be behind the bar. He's been trained for that job, like I told you earlier, however we should stress now that you are not to accept any drinks from anybody but Haruki. On top of being an extra pair of hands should we need 'em, Haruki is also going to be your contact. So long as you only accept drinks from him, you can be guaranteed that nothing untoward has been slipped into the cocktail, understand?" Sting and I looked to each other, before nodding.

"Yeah…" I said a little unsurely. Although I had expected some degree of danger when accepting a mission from people such as these Zollzero family members, I had not expected there to be risk even in the very drinks we were being given.

"One more thing," a voice interjected suddenly, as an Archive screen appeared in mid-air. Everyone turned to face the screen, which only displayed a wavy line that moved as the voice played out. "Kenji and I are stationed in a hotel further down the street. We are within range of my Archive Magic, however only just. I can make out signatures of people, and tag them for information, however I cannot tell specific individuals apart. I also will have to avoid using telepathy in case it gives us away. For this reason, I would prefer it if you isolate suspects so I can mark them with my magic from afar, and then bring them here where I can communicate my findings to you without worry" Thomas' voice played out. Edric smiled.

"Couldn't get any closer to the action, huh bro?" Edric stated. Thomas' voice played out an audible sigh.

"No. Due to the strength of my power, it would be likely any skilled Mage would be able to detect my psychic invasion the moment I attempted to do so from a close range, hence I chose this location. Kenji is downstairs in the lobby of the hotel, so if I give him word he can be there in three minutes" Thomas explained. Edric nodded to the empty screen.

"Alright then, that makes sense. If that's all, then I guess we should get ready and go downstairs" Edric stated. Thomas' screen vanished.

As I stood up, assuming Sting would follow, I noticed the other Dragon Slayer remain seated. Looking back behind me, I saw Sting's head face to Edric. "I've just got one question" he interjected, causing Edric to raise an eyebrow, "How are you a child gonna be able to mingle in this place, where children are not supposed to be allowed?" Sting asked Edric. I frowned in thought for a moment, before I realised that I had not yet even thought about Edric's physical age.

Edric on the other hand smiled. "I believe I've shown you this trick before, but perhaps I should refresh your memory" Edric chuckled cockily, before snapping his fingers. With a puff of magical smoke, the teenage figure before us suddenly became an adult of about twenty years of age, with the same blond hair and glittering green eyes. "See?" Edric smirked.

Sting smiled. "Oh right, I forgot you could use Transformation Magic" he stated. I nodded.

"You did the same sorta thing back at the theme park" I added on, "Except then you were going to look younger not older" I smiled. Edric laughed.

"Never underestimate a Zollzero… although I can only do minor physical changes with the Transformation Magic I know" he said. Medea laughed loudly.

"Similarly," she stated, as she stepped forward "I'll be doing the same trick" she smirked wickedly. Sting and I both took a moment to process that the woman beside us was Medea Zollzero; she looked completely different. Unlike Edric, who was recognisable, albeit obviously a little older, Medea had changed everything from her hair colour, which was now a dark ebony, to her build and even her height. The only thing that was consistent was the dress she wore. "Well how do I look boys?" she asked. Sting and I looked to each other. She smiled. "Oh sorry, I forgot I was asking the wrong audience" she added, which made me and Sting both narrow our eyes on her for a moment.

"Would you please stop saying stuff like that? People'll get the wrong idea about us" Sting asked her. Medea shrugged.

"Maybe if you weren't so cute, I would" she stated, before gesturing to the door. "However, I think the time for idle chatter has passed, now it's time to get to work" she added with a slightly more serious tone.

I looked to Sting and grinned. "Guess it means it's time for us to have some fun" I chuckled.

/

Zollzero Bar, Summer Time

Year X792

Sting Eucliffe

We re-entered the bar to find it full of people. In the short time that we were upstairs, the place had really filled up, so much so that Natsu and I had to practically force our way to the bar. Once we showed our faces, Haruki appeared, two cocktails in his hands ready for us. "You two took your time" he smirked. We shrugged.

"Didn't know this place'd get so full, was it like this when you guys, you know, busted it up?" I asked Natsu. Unlike the Fairy Tail guild, we of Sabertooth had decided to do our end of the joint mission a little more discretely, meaning we avoided any damage to the Zollzero bar in our town. Unfortunately, unlike here in Magnolia, where the dealers were acting on their own, all of the members of the bar we investigated were in on the trade and didn't take too lightly to us beating up one of their main suppliers; that was when things got violent and stuff got smashed. Natsu shook his head with regards to my inquiry.

"It wasn't like this then, however this place was practically unheard of when we attacked. It must be because of all the stuff that happened here that people know about it, and because of that more people have come" Natsu reasoned. Haruki shook his head.

"It's more likely that the rumours we spread about Edric and Medea coming here made more people come because there will be many who want to try to befriend them. You know, so they can get in with the Zollzero family name" Haruki stated observationally. I shrugged.

"That seems reasonable" I said, before Haruki looked away. Another bar staff member appeared to have just received a large order of drinks from a customer, and needed some assistance to get through the order at speed. With a nod to each of us, Haruki quickly came to his assistance. Whilst he went away, Natsu and I took our drinks and found somewhere discrete to linger.

"Wow, this is actually pretty good" Natsu commented, as he took a drink out of the thing Haruki had handed him.

I gave him an odd look, before taking a sip of my own; sure enough, it tasted amazing. "Hm… didn't realise Haruki had these hidden talents" I mused. Natsu smiled, before he gestured over to another area. I followed his outstretched arm to see Edric chatting to some guy at the other end of the bar.

"Talk about quick. He's only been here five minutes" Natsu said. I laughed.

"What, are you jealous of him or something?" I asked, raising my eyebrows accusingly. Natsu pouted.

"You know it's not like that, I just mean for a guy his age to be so… good… at this. Makes me wonder what his life's been like, you know" I nodded.

"All of them have some pretty dangerous skills. Medea was strong enough to even beat me in a fight, and Thomas… to be honest, he seemed to be holding back a little when I saw him fight you" Natsu almost growled at that statement.

"I could take him" he defended. I shrugged.

"Maybe if you went all out… but I don't know. I don't think I could beat him if he went all out, and I think Edric's probably just as bad if he was properly serious, not that he ever seems to be serious about anything. Medea, well… we know she's powerful, and Arthur managed to beat Erza, so he must be skilled too" I said. Natsu frowned.

"Don't overthink it too much, besides we're not gonna have to fight 'em if we pay off the debt, right?" the pinkette asked me. I smiled at his uncharacteristic show of reason.

"Right. Anyways, let's forget about that for tonight, and just focus on having 'fun'. Come on, I wanna dance with you" I said, before grabbing Natsu's hand and pulling him in the direction of the music. The pinkette grinned, before accepting my invitation.

"Alright, but don't expect me to go easy on you, I'm the best dancer in the guild" he said challengingly. I smirked playfully back at him.

"So, you want to play it like that then?" Natsu nodded, making me smile even broader, "Then how about we make it more fun; whoever dance's better gets to do whatever they want to the loser, deal?" I didn't even need to hear Natsu agree, the grin on his face, and the flickering flames within his eyes were more than enough confirmation.

"You're on" he beamed.

/

We returned to the bar a little while later. It was still busy, however Haruki appeared not to be doing much. Leaning against the top, Natsu and I couldn't stop ourselves from giggling like children. After a little while dancing we found we both couldn't agree on a winner, so instead we came to the compromise of getting to each do whatever we wanted to the other later on, after we completed this mission.

"What can I get ya?" Haruki smiled at us, as he approached. Sting and I grinned.

"Same as before, they were great" we both said in unison. Haruki smiled.

"Thought you might like those little concoctions" he mused, before moving off to get the necessary drinks to mix together. Whilst we waited, Natsu and I looked about the bar. We had been trying to keep a track of both Edric and Medea, however at some point we lost sight of the elder Zollzero sibling.

"Edric looks like he's having fun, despite everything" Natsu commented. I nodded.

"Yeah, he's surprisingly good at talking to people. That makes the seventh guy I've seen him approach tonight. And I think I've seen him approach… about eight girls" I added with a smirk.

"Fourteenth guy" Haruki corrected, as he reappeared with our drinks, "And he's approached six girls. Although, there was that group of women who approached him" Haruki added. The bar was less busy now, as most people had ordered their main drinks, however there were still several people returning to get another cocktail or other drink. I pulled a mildly surprised expression at Haruki.

"You've been able to keep tabs on us, even during all of your work?" I asked him. The fake-blond teen smirked.

"What did you think I was doing? I am here for a reason you know, plus it wouldn't be very good for a marksman such as myself not to manage to keep track of four simple targets, even in a busy room like this" he stated. I shrugged in agreement with this.

"I suppose that's true. Speaking of keeping track, do you know where Medea is, we've lost sight of her?" I asked him. Haruki nodded, however his eyes trailed off to another arrival at the bar further to my left.

"She's in one of the private rooms with… a… er… person" Haruki said, before moving to deal with the other customer, leaving Natsu and my orders on the bar in front of us. The pinkette picked his glass up and raised it to his lips, I quickly followed suit. With grins on our faces we downed the mixtures, before placing the empty glasses back down on the bar. As I did this, I felt someone tap my shoulder. Looking to my right, I was met with the broad grin of Edric.

"Well, are you two having fun?" he asked us pleasantly. His older features were so much like his real face that it was kind of creepy to think he was only fifteen, however his attitude was still the same, regardless of his apparent physical age.

"Yes, we are. This place is actually kind of nice" I commented. Natsu nodded beside me.

"Yeah, it is" he agreed. Edric beamed.

"Cool. I'm having a little fun too, I guess… unfortunately I haven't met anyone really interesting" he winked at us. I smiled.

"I don't know, you seemed to be having a good conversation with that guy over there" I nodded my head in the rough direction that Natsu and I had last seen him. Edric smirked.

"I thought he might have been the guy we've been looking for, since I got a strong magical presence from him, however after a little chat I found out he's just a travelling Mage. He could use some interesting Light Magic though, making little bubbles of light that danced around is hands" Edric mused, as Haruki returned. "Hey Haru, how's the working life?" Edric greeted the other teen.

Haruki smirked. "It's alright, what can I get you?" he asked Edric.

The blond 'man' laughed. "You know what I like? Get one for each of these too" he stated, gesturing to me and Natsu in turn with one sweeping gesture. Natsu smiled brightly.

"What are you getting us?" he asked Edric.

"Just a little something I call my special. Haruki's the only person I know beside myself that can make it just right" he explained vaguely. As Haruki nodded in receipt of Edric's order, another man moved to the bar behind Edric.

"So how do you get these guys to talk to you, anyways. Have you been trained or… is it just experience…?" I trailed off as I was unsure of exactly what I was allowed to ask Edric regarding his past. The Zollzero boy just shrugged.

"It's just my winning, charming personality" he grinned. I pouted at him.

"Is that so?" I said dryly, earning a little head shake from Edric.

"No, really it's just this" Edric said, before he then reached into his waistcoat, to a sealed pocket within. As he withdrew his hand he produced a card, before handing it to me to look at. I observed it for a moment, before I passed to Natsu to look at.

"Charm?" Natsu voice aloud, reading the single word written on the front of the expertly designed card. Beside that word there was a large intricate flowing pattern that acted as a border, along with a massive pink heart that glowed faintly. I handed the card back to Edric, who replaced it in his waistcoat.

"It's my CHARM Card. It acts to make people well… friendlier. It's not really like some of those other charms, the falling in love ones… it's more like a mild attraction that makes it easier for people to come out of their shell around me. That's what makes me seem so approachable to these people I've been investigating" Edric explained, "It also makes them much looser lipped" he added with a smirk, just as Haruki came over with our three drinks.

"Here you go" he said, placing them before us. Edric smiled happily.

"Thanks Haruki" he beamed, patting Haruki on the shoulder friendlily. Haruki accepted the gesture, before turning to the customer beside Edric, taking his order. As Haruki moved off to fulfil the request, Edric looked to us for a moment.

"Just keep quiet" he muttered lowly to us, with his smile still in place. Natsu and I looked to each other for a moment, before we nodded. Despite his smiley appearance, Edric's tone had been surprisingly dark, and we both quickly realised that Edric must have sensed some kind of danger. As Natsu and I each wondered what Edric had noticed, the disguised teen turned to the man behind him. "Well hi there" he greeted the male. The man turned to Edric.

"Hello. What are you here for? Just fun?" he asked Edric, who shrugged.

"A bit of fun, nothing more. Just some… harmless fun" Edric smiled pleasantly. The man frowned at Edric and narrowed his eyes.

"If that's true why do I sense a charm spell, are you trying to get me to do something I might not want to do?" the man replied with a knowing tone. Edric pouted at him.

"Aw… so you noticed my little trick" he said in an almost playful tone of voice. The man nodded.

"Of course, I did, only an idiot would not notice he was being charmed" the man replied, "Now if that's all, I'll be taking my drink and leaving" he said, just as Haruki returned with the man's order. Edric shrugged.

"Oh well, it's your loss" he said, before the guy left.

Edric turned back to me and Natsu. "Well… that was more anticlimactic than I was expecting" he said. Both Natsu and I looked to him incredulously.

"I thought charm spells would only be broken if the person knew they were being affected?" I said to Edric confusedly. The teen mage shrugged.

"Well… that's true for some charms. This one is so weak it's likely that it only affects one in three people at most… if they're in a relaxed state" he said. Natsu then pouted.

"And if that guy was not dangerous, why did you suddenly get so serious?" he asked. I nodded in agreement with his query, equally as intrigued by the blonde's sudden change in behaviour. Edric rubbed the back of his head for a moment.

"Well… you see…" he began, before suddenly a figure interrupted us; the same guy from just before.

"What did you do to that drink?" he questioned Edric fiercely. Edric smirked back at him.

"So, you noticed. Not to worry, it's only a little spell I had my friend slip into that drink" he said, before looking to Haruki, who produced a card and handed it back to Edric. "Should make you feel sleepy in three…" Edric didn't continue counting, as not a moment later the man began falling forward; Edric caught him mid-fall. "Right, let's get him to that room" he stated, looking to me and Natsu. We once more looked to him incredulously.

"I thought he wasn't dangerous" I stated a little confusedly. Edric shook his head.

"He's got a small cut on his palm. It's fresh, and it's unlikely he's just been in a knife-fight from the look of him, so that only leaves one possibility" Edric explained. We both nodded in understanding, before Haruki butted in.

"Er, Edric" he began, earning Edric attention, just as he was about to move off with the male slung over his shoulder. "Medea went into that room over half an hour ago, it's unlikely it's taken her that long to get information from the poor guy she had with her. Something must be off" he said. Edric nodded.

"Agreed. In that case, I'll take sleepy here upstairs, Natsu and Sting you go and check on my sister. Haruki should know where she is, right?" he looked to the bartending teen for a moment, who nodded.

With that nod, Natsu and I left our drinks at the bar, and began following Haruki towards the back. As we neared the room we heard a shout for help and with that, and one quickly exchanged glance, we all rushed off to find Medea.

/

We entered the room where Medea was supposed to be, only to find a quite surprising scene. Instead of the expected struggle between the ebony-haired temptress and her target, we instead found a desperate battle for survival between a large, jet-black snake, and the whimpering man it was constricting. The man looked to us as we entered, his eyes dull but his hands flailing and desperate, a moment later he collapsed, not dead, but unconscious, the serpent slithering off of his body and away to an emptier corner. There, following a puff of magical smoke, Medea stood with an almost serpentine smile playing with her lips.

"Well he proved stronger than I thought, he was able to last a whole two minutes" she mused to herself "Unfortunately, beside that cut, he didn't seem willing to give up any information" Haruki smiled at her.

"I see you were able to deal with this person yourself, as expected Lady Zollzero" he stated. Medea nodded.

"Yes, although it was unfortunate that they did not give me any juicy information. After a quick… inspection, I found a cut on his leg, small and discrete, but definitely fresh. It had the stench of a curse to it too, so I figured this must be a servant of our target. How is Edric doing?" she stated, as she brushed herself off. Natsu and I remained silent, the show of strength, and the use of the same tactic on this man as she had done in my battle with her reminded both of us how much of a formidable foe this woman was.

"Edric has dealt with his own target, and is stashing them away in the intended room" Haruki relayed. Medea nodded.

"Alright then" she said, before looking to us, "We'd best get to the room, and then Thomas can use Edric's captive to try to track the real perpetrator. Haruki, I trust you can seal this room with a spell to keep this man contained here?" she asked the teen. Haruki nodded.

"Yes, m'lady" he replied, "I'll do that and then instruct the manager of this place not to allow anyone in here. After that I will return to my post and keep watch. You can signal me if you require my assistance, correct?" Medea nodded.

"Good, aren't you just a sweetie. I can see why Edric is always so interested in you, bar skills, marksmanship and magical talents, you're the full package. We'll call you if we need you" she said, before motioning to us. "Let's go" she said a moment later. Natsu and I nodded, currently it seemed that we had very little to do with this operation, however if everything panned out as expected, we knew we'd have to fulfil our roles soon enough.

Especially if this guy is nearby I thought as we moved through the back of the bar to the other room, in time to find Edric sitting beside the same man from earlier, this time tied to a chair. "I see sis was okay then" he mused. Medea nodded.

"Yes, has Thomas made contact?" she asked.

"No" a voice rang out, before an Archive screen suddenly manifested in the air. Once more Thomas was not visible, however that wavy line appeared as he spoke. "I've just noticed your presences in that room, I assume we have a guest?" he asked.

Edric smiled. "Punctual as always Thomas, and yes, he's here with us. I've tagged him with one of my cards, so you should be able to identify him" he stated.

"Yes, I am already accessing his mind. He appears to be unconscious, correct?" he asked. Edric nodded.

"Yeah, I put him to sleep before I brought him here" he confirmed. A muttering sound came from Thomas' screen.

"Incorrect. According to the gap in his memories, he's been asleep for at least two hours" he said. Edric frowned, and looked to me and Natsu.

"He was definitely awake at the bar" I said in a confused tone. Natsu nodded beside me. Medea gave an equally muddled expression, before suddenly her expression changed to one of revelation.

"Thomas… it's possible that there is another behind this, correct? Other than the known target?" she asked. Once more a muttering sound was heard, before Thomas spoke out.

"Yes. That would be the powers of one of the other three targets, beside the known threat" he stated. I looked to Edric upon hearing this.

"Other targets?" I questioned him. Edric nodded.

"Yes, remember. I said there were four Mages that were part of this group, plus two leaders. If it is not the power of the man you met, then it is likely the powers of one of the other three. Neither of the leaders have powers like this, so it mustn't be one of them" Edric explained. I nodded, the memory of what Edric and Medea telling us back at the guild filling my mind. Just how many enemies do they have that would dare to threaten them, not to mention a famous wizard guild like Fairy Tail?

"I've traced this guy's memories. It seems like… yes, I can read a magic signature outside, in a side street three buildings down from you. Shall I send Kenji?" Thomas stated, his voice going deadly serious. Edric looked to Medea and then to me and Natsu.

"Well, shall we go meet them? Or should we just tag them and observe?" he questioned us. Natsu moved restlessly beside me. There's no way he's gonna sit by quietly I thought to myself.

"Yeah, finally we get to do something fun. Let's go meet 'em and then beat them senseless for making threats against Fairy Tail" he beamed. I laughed, before nodding at Edric. I thought so…

"It seems we should go find them, otherwise we're gonna have to put Natsu on a leash just to stop him running off" I stated in an amused tone. The pinkette pouted at me upon hearing this.

"Like I'd let you put a leash on me" he retorted confidently. I continued looking to Edric.

"See" I said to him; thankfully Natsu knew when to help me make my point, even if he wasn't always aware he was doing it. Edric nodded in agreement with me.

"I get it, are you coming Medea?" he asked his sister, who had transformed back into her original form. The woman nodded viciously, before flicking her once more blond hair to the side.

"Of course. I need to pay our dear rival back for making me take on that unsightly serpent form" she stated, her tone heavily laden with the promise of vengeance and violence. I smiled wickedly as I looked around our group; whoever this person was they were definitely gonna regret picking on this group of people.

Although… I still couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen.

End of Chapter 17

Chapter Hint; A Real Nightmare