Chapter 12
disclaimer, blah blah, you know the drill
"Well here you are folks; the address you requested", the carriage driver told the now silent fairy tail mages over his shoulder, Jet and Droy simply exited the carriage silently, Lucy smiled at the man and levy thanked and payed him
"Well this is the clients house, let's go", levy said leading the other three to the front door, they only had to wait a second after knocking before it was answers by a woman in a stripped dress who lead them to a lavish living room and a man wearing a smart suit
"Welcome, my name is Kaby Melon and this is my wife", the man said introducing himself and the woman who brought them here
"Nice to meet you mister Melon, we are the fairy tail mages who accepted your job", levy said politely, odd, that name … Melon, where have I heard that before?, Levy pondered
"Honestly I'm surprised that mages from such a renown guild like fairy tail would accept this job and your all quite young, are you one of its famous teams?", Kaby Melon asked
"Uhh, yes we are, the three of us are team show gear and this is Lucy's first proper mission so where helping her out.", Levy once again answered having been broken out of her internal musing
"Interesting. Well I think that's enough of the pleasantries", Kaby started leaning forward
"Let's get down to business, I need to you find the one and only copy of the book 'day break' that Everlu owns … And Destroy it!", He said in all seriousness
"So we don't have to steal it?", Droy asked
"Well I am asking you to destroy something in someone else's possession, so that's basically theft", Kaby explained
"This must mean a lot to you to be worth 20000 jewels", Lucy said in a subtle effort to convince the others
"20000? You mean you don't know?", Kaby asked with a surprised look
"Know what?!", Jet asked
"I raised the reward to 2 million, I just can't stand that book's continued existence", the fairy tail mages jaws dropped and any reluctance was swept away instantly. Droy shot up from his seat
"Don't worry Mr Melon that book will be destroyed by the end of the day!", He exclaimed before rushing out of the house in excitement, Jet quickly followed calling over his shoulder that there was nothing to worry about
"Sorry about that, they're just a bit excited, but rest assured we will destroy that book as soon as possible", Levy said before sedately following her teammates with Lucy
"Honey, are you sure we can trust those kids with this job? That other guild failed just last week, Everlu probably just saw it as a failed robbery and has almost definitely tightened security since", Miss Melon asked Kaby
"I know dear…", Kaby said putting his head in his hands
"I just can't abide that book's existence any longer"
"So how do we want to do this job?", Jet asked
"How about we just destroy the mansion?". Droy inquired
"No! Do you want us to go to jail!?", Lucy exclaimed
"How about we go with Mira's idea and do an infiltration? There are posters around town saying that Everlu is looking for a blond maid, so, we get Lucy a maid and…", Levy said, inviting her companions to continue
"She serves us food while we think of an idea?", Droy asked dumbly while Jet nodded in agreement
"No you idiots! I'll disguise myself as a maid and find and destroy the book without Everlu being any the wiser!", Lucy screamed in exasperation. Both Jet and Droy's mouths formed into an O then they turned to Levy
"That's genius! You're so smart Levy! That's why you're the boss!", they both exclaimed while Lucy failed to resist the urge to face palm
Lucy now outfitted in a flattering maid uniform stood in front of the Everlu estate gates looking full of her self man! I look good in anything, no one could resist me with this on!, She thought, team show gear stood a little ways of obscured by the tree line
"Excuse me.", she called in her cutest voice
"I'm here for the maid position!", She called in a slightly louder voice still laced with her 'feminine charm', after almost two minutes with no answer she dropped all pretences and banged her fists on he gate angrily
"Hey! Is there even anyone here!", She yelled
As soon as she finished her rant the ground to her right began to rumble and shake, Lucy jumped back in surprise As a large woman with pink hair exploded from the rumbling earth, the woman had pink hair and was wearing a maid outfit similar to her own, the best way to describe this woman was to say she looked like a gorilla
"A maid applicant?", the gorilla woman growled in a very masculine voice
"y-yes", Lucy squeaked out in fright reaching for her key pouch, she then jumped again as another person exploded from the earth
This time a man, he was short in stature but large around the middle, he had small beady eyes, an over pronounced nose with a odd style of moustache that seemed to be growing out of his nose and a too large grin all in all he looked remarkably like an egg in a suit with a disgusting face drawn on and a combover
"Another applicant?", the man asked the gorilla who just nodded
"Let me see…", the man said before eyeing Lucy up, this is Everlu!? Ugh he's giving me goosebumps, blegh, suck it up Lucy
"Nice to meet you", she said in the cutesie voice once again
Everlu simply turned swiftly on his heel
"Nope! Go home ugly.", He said coldly, Lucy's jaw dropped for the second time that day
"ug-", she stuttered before four more people burst from the ground
"Of course for someone as great as me only the most beautiful will do", Everlu said in a snobbish tone gesturing to the four girls who had appeared
All four were wearing maid outfits like the gorilla and I express no desire to describe them, the nicest thing that they could be called would be the freak show, they were so aesthetically displeasing to view that the hiding team shadow gear almost screamed upon seeing them.
"Well that didn't go quite as planned", Levy said after the four of them regrouped, Droy was trying to console the traumatised blonde who was incoherently babbling about ugliness
"I'll say! Lucy you were useless!", Jet exclaimed, breaking her out of her stupor
"It's not my fault that he has a retarded view of beauty!", She rebuked
"well it looks like it's time for plan B", Droy said
"Plan B?", Was Lucy's question
"We break in!", Jet finished
Now on the roof of the illustrious mansion Lucy looked back at the beanstalk that Droy had grown for them to get up
"Don't you think that they might notice that?", she asked pointing at the large plant
"Hmm? Oh that", Droy said absent minded lay before snapping his fingers making the stalk instantly turn orange and decay to nothing
"Cool", Lucy breathed quietly impressed
"well let's go, there any security on the skylight Jet?", Levy asked
"Nothing conventional he probably has no idea were coming", the speed mage responded
"Solid script: Heat"
Levy whispered quickly melting the glass and allowing the four of them to enter, what they didn't know is that duke Everlu had a state of the art surveillance lacrima system set up around his estate and had witnessed their entire conversation
"More mages hmm?", Everlu said to a couple of men shrouded in shadows
"Lieutenant Ignea, we have confirmed the location of the Sabertooth guild hall and have all exits covered, our inside source tells us that their teleporter has run out of charges and they have contacted fairy tail for more, they will be stranded with no chance of reinforcements for approximately three days", a messenger told the disguised Natsu
"Thank you, dismissed", Natsu told the man with a salute before turning to the room of strategists behind him
"What do you recommend we do?", He asked the assembled thinkers who had been talking among themselves
"We would suggest that you attack fast and strong at the front, letting them believe that they could escape before springing an ambush as they try to escape"
"Alright, send the order out: I will lead battalions one and two in the LAW formation while battalions three to six will spread about the forest waiting in ambush, the scout battalions will keep eyes on the escaping guild members and coordinate the waiting battalions", Natsu said with authority to another waiting scout
"Understood sir! But if I may? Will the first two battalions be enough to lead a full frontal attack?", the scout asked
"Don't worry about it, I will probably be enough to lead the attack, at the first sign of danger those gutless cowards will flee", and with that the scout nodded and ran off to relay orders
The four mages tiptoed out of the attic room stealthily
"Jet, go find the library", Levy quietly commanded to her red headed companion who then used his super speed to zoom down the corridor, opening and closing every door before blurring off down the stairs to check the foyer, When he reappeared to Lucy it looked like simply appeared in the same position he had left in
"The library is the fourth door along from here", he whispered to them and they began to make their way slowly along
Just after they had passed the third door Lucy felt the ground beneath her rumbling only an instant before the Gorilla and the freak show squad appeared in their path
"INTRUDERS DETECTED!", the pink haired gorilla woman yelled, initiation an attack
The four ugly maids, wielding spears leapt forward screaming obscenities
"ROWAN FIST!"
Droy threw out his hand, his palm facing their attackers; a flurry of seeds flew from his hand that grew into large fists made of a hard wood stopped the pathetic attack cold, with her comrades out of commission, the Gorilla charged them
"SKYHORN KICK!"
Jet rushed forward as a blur and kicked the pink haired maid clear under the chin, sending her flying over the banister and crashing into the ground floor
The four of them then quickly rushed into the library, shut and locked the door
"Wow this place is huge! How are we supposed to find one book in all of this?!", Lucy exclaimed, she had only ever seen one library bigger than this and it had been nearly impossible to find anything in there
"Easy. It's a library so it will sorted by either title or author", Levy said
"Well I hope it's by title, the client didn't tell us who wrote It.", Droy pointed out
"Oh yea… Whelp! Let's just get looking", Levy said walking towards the nearest bookshelf
The attack had gone smoothly for the most part, Natsu with his most trusted men had stormed the gates, the surprised Sabertooth members barely knew what hit them, the smashed through the front gates, immediately capturing the members closest leaving them to flail in nets, they then spread out capturing and knocking out members
The members of the first and second battalions chased the dark mages out into the forests where they were promptly captured while Ignea himself used searched the hall for hiding members, using his nose he found a hidden court yard housing what appeared to be the important members of the guild
Rage built up in Natsu, these cowards hid here while their comrades distracted my force getting captured, even possibly killed! They don't even care!, He pulled the Dragon's Fang off of his back
Brandishing the staff in one hand he pointed it silently at the assembled guild members in a challenge, in response the men and women cowered in fear until three children stepped forward
The oldest was a girl that looked to be about fifteen with black hair and a harsh face, the other two were young boys of about eleven or twelve, they had short spiky blond hair and long straight black hair respectively
As they stepped forward he noticed their weapons, the girl was wielding a pair of battle gauntlets Natsu recognised to have been stolen in the attack on the training camp, while being angered further at being reminded of that incident he was impressed, those gauntlets were as selective as his staff
The blond boy wielded a rare light sword and the raven haired boy wielded a pair of sai that appeared to be cloaked in darkness
"Are you really so low as to let children fight me?", Natsu asked the five or so cowering men
"DON'T LOOK DOWN ON US!", the sai holder screamed in defiant rage
"We are stronger than we look", the blond said quietly
"We will defeat you fair and square so we can go back to being a guild again", the girl said defiantly
"Minerva don't", a thin sickly bald man Natsu knew to be Jiemma the guild's master squeaked out
"Let Sting and Rouge fight, we need to get out of here…", He stopped shrinking away from the glares of both Natsu and his daughter
"No father! I will fight and we will win, this is a matter of honour!", she said loudly
"You heard the lady", the boy named Sting whispered
"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE US!", the raven haired boy called Rouge yelled
Natsu smiled even though you could only see it in his eyes thanks to the cowl
"No. I don't think I will.", He said before sinking into a stance, the children's eyes shone with the promise of a challenge as they did they did the same
After about the minutes of searching Jet called out that he had found it
"Pass it here and I'll burn it", Levy said, as Jet passed the book the the little bluenette Lucy spied something on the cover
"Wait. What does that say?", she asked pointing at the book, levy with confused face pulled up the book to look at its cover
"Daybreak, by Kemu Zaelon! Holy crap! I've never heard of this it must be unpublished!"
"What?", Jet and Droy asked in complete unison
"What do you mean what!?", Lucy exclaimed
"Kemu Zaelon is one the greatest authors to ever live!", She continued
"So? Let's destroy it…", Jet said reaching again for the book
"Noooooo", both girls screeched jumping away
"It would be a crime against literature to only let that disgusting duke ever read this book", Levy exclaimed passionately
"Yea! Let's just tell Kaby we destroyed the book but instead keep it!", Lucy proposed
"Because… That really would be stealing, from two people…", Droy said as if he was talking to a small child
"Fine but at least let me and Levy read it first", Lucy argued and Levy simply nodded before squatting down and began to read. Again they briefly felt the ground rumble as duke Everlu burst from the ground
"Oh ho ho, so that's what all these thieves have been looking for, I'm glad I let you four run loose", the man said in a snobbish tone
The four in question simply looked at the man in confusion he planned this?, they all thought, well all but Levy who had at this point become totally engrossed in the book
"Although I don't know why you would want it, it's not very good", the duke continued
"Does that mean we can have it?!", Lucy asked hopefully
"No! Of course not! It's my possession and anything in my possession is naturally worth more that all of you worthless fools put together!", He yelled indignantly
"Well I think I've discussed enough with you riffraff…", the man said with his snobbish tone returning
On cue a pair of bookcases to the mage's left began to split and open inwards, the revealed unlit corridor was blocked by a pair of men, both larger than the fairy tail wizards although one much more than the other
The shorter of the two was a mostly bald his only hair being a long black braided ponytail tied in a white bow, he had a serious look with red tattoos at the four points of the compass on his face, he was wearing a white cloak with dark green detailing and straight black trousers, he also carried on his back what appeared to be a very large frying pan
The second man was almost three heads taller than the first and his height was only accented by his wild black hair which pointed outwards in four directions, the massive man's face betrayed little intelligence and his clothes were relatively simple, he wore a dark blue jacket with yellow accenting and light blue jeans, his hair was also held away from his face by a orange bandanna
The two of them also had armbands on which detailed a stylised wolf head with an S running through it
"They're from the southern wolves!", Droy exclaimed soon seeing the armbands
"Indeed. We are the vanish brothers, the esteemed mage hunters of the bounty hunter guild southern wolves", the shorter one introduced in a clam collected voice
"Stop with the chitchat! Kill them and get me my book back!", Everlu demanded angrily
"There's something about this book that doesn't add up…", levy mumbled
"Jet! Droy! Distract them while I finish reading, I think this book has a secret to tell!", She called to her teammates as she ran out of the room
"Lucy! Go with her! Protect her, she can handle herself but with her nose in a book, she's vulnerable!", Droy called over his shoulder as he and Jet stared the vanish brothers down, Lucy simply nodded with a determined look and pursued her blue haired friend
"A secret?", Everlu said absentmindedly
"Could that godforsaken author have hidden something from me!? The great duke Everlu!? But what could it be? Perhaps it's the location of his great fortune!", Everlu convinced himself with dollar signs in his eyes
"Vanish brothers! Deal with these two, I'll handle the uglies!", the duke called before diving back into the floor in pursuit of the girls