72

Harry got off the train into the next town passed Clover. It is a small, peaceful town that has a calm air to it. His next client lives in this town, and if he remembers what the request said then his client is needing help in getting an item back that was stolen about a week or two ago.

He looks at the paper for the address to his client's home. Once he had it he looked at the map in the station. After he found the location of his client, he starts his trek toward the small house close to the railway.

Harry knocks on the wooden door and waits for someone to answer. When the door opens, Harry sees a tall, old man standing there.

Harry gives a smile and holds out his hand for a shake. "Good morning, sir. I'm Harry Potter from Fairy Tail. I got your request for a stolen item?" he said.

The old man took Harry's hand into his with a relieved smile. "Thank you for coming, Mr. Potter. My name is Alan Clove, former soldier for the king of Fiore," the old man said before letting go of Harry's hand. "Please come in. I'll tell you everything you need to know about the item." The man moved slowly to the right to allow room for Harry to enter the home.

Harry said a soft thank you while entering the small, stone house. Alan led him to the sitting room and motions with his hand toward one of the sofas.

"Please take a seat, and then we can get started." Harry did as the old man told him. The moment he and Alan sat down on the soft, comfy chairs, Alan starts to speak again. "Now then, the item that was taken from me is my old sword. Now normally this isn't such a big deal, but this sword is different from just any old piece of metal. This one has a blade made of crystal that can hold and use any type of elemental magic inside.

"This blade was forged under the request of the king when he was still a prince. We had found the crystal together, so he had it made for me as a gift to show his friendship with me. I was honored that the prince had saw me as his friend, as well as very happy. I promised to take great care of the sword till my dying breath, but before that time comes I will find another soldier who is worthy that will take it up in arms once again," said Alan. Harry is touched by the story, and swore to bring the weapon back to its rightful owner as soon as he can.

"Do you know who took this crystal blade?" Harry asked.

"Yes I do. They are a group that steal valuable artifacts and give them away as a prize in their races; however, to participate in the race you have to pay 10,000J." Harry's eyes expanded at the high price. He is starting to see why the reward for this job is so high. 50,000J is nothing to scuff at.

"What kind of race is it?"

"They are all different, but I think this one has something to do with controlling a robotic animal-like vehicle."

"Vehicle…?" Harry questioned softly. "I have never driven anything before besides flying a broomstick."

"No need to worry. Once you sign up, you are given your ride to practice with for a few days before the race starts."

"How much is a few days?" Harry asked.

"That depends…sometimes it is a week, some is five days. The shortest amount of days was five, so I think you have plenty of time."

Harry nodded his thanks and then asks where this race is at so he can sign up. 'As well as say goodbye to the rest of my money I have on me,' he thought.

He is given the location – which is somewhere between this town and Clover. Harry said his thanks before leaving the house.

{How much are you willing to bet that you will get an even shorter amount of days then what that old man said?}

{Shut up, Fawkes.}

"Name?" the man behind the sign up stall asked.

"Hadrian Evans," Harry replied, going with Fawkes' idea. His familiar said he shouldn't use his real name, because he might be recognized as a Fairy Tail member. He doesn't know where Fawkes got the name Evans, but it felt right to Harry, so he went with it.

"Alright, Mr. Evans. That will be 10,000J." Harry handed over the money, hoping the man didn't see his slight hesitation. "Thank you. You will find your vehicle just over there."

Harry walks over to where the man pointed. Once he rounded the corner he sees dragon-shaped robots. They were all about the same size – 2 times the size of a carriage – but that is about the only thing that is the same. They are all different shapes. Some are smooth, some are spiky, some are on two legs, some have four, others have wings, and a few do not.

Harry wonders if there is going to be any flying at all in this race. In a way he hopes so, while in another he prays not. He doesn't need a dragon that can't fly if there is a part in the race that needs that aspect.

"Are you Hadrian Evans?" a male voice asks from Harry's right. The wizard turns to face the slightly older man before giving a nod to confirm. "Follow me then. I'll show you to your dragon." Harry follows the man, who leads him to a wyvern that triggers a memory of a dragon trying to roast him for a golden egg. "Here she is. You have about three days to get use to the controls before the race begins. Will that be a problem?"

Harry is not happy about the short amount of days he is given, but he doesn't complain. He does hear Fawkes saying that he told him so, but he ignores him. He'll just have to make do with what he has. "No, there aren't any problems. Where do I practice?" he asked.

"Right over there is the practice zone. As you can see there are tents over there as well. You'll be staying in one of them until the race ends. Any more questions?" Harry shakes his head. "Alright then, we'll bring the dragon over and you can get started. Try not to crash it," the man finished rudely, but Harry ignores it.

He watches the dragon be moved over to the practice area. After that, he is shown the controls and how to get in and out of the robot. With that done and out of the way, they show Harry which tent he will be staying in, and after that he is allowed to start controlling the mechanical beast on his own.

It started out slow and not very good, but Harry hardly stopped his handling of the dragon due to his lack of time. Three days later, Harry feels very confident in his ability to control his dragon through walking, running, flying, and shooting fire. He also read the rule book as best he could. Luckily there aren't many. The only rules there are, are to not go off the track, not to kill anyone who is competing in the race, and he is only allowed to use the magic that comes with the dragon. Other than that, he is allowed to do whatever it takes to win.

Harry walks his dragon to the starting line of the race, following the person who is guiding him to his place. Once at the ready, Harry waits for the race to kick off.

{Do you see the sword, Fawkes?} Harry asked while he waits.

{Yeah,} Fawkes replies.

{Keep an eye on it while I finish this race.}

{You got it!} Harry saw a mental phoenix wink at him in less than a second before disappearing again.

"ARE YOU ALL READY TO RACE?!" the announcer questioned loudly. The crowd and some of the robotic dragons roared while the rest remained silent. "THAT IS GREAT! NOW THEN, THE PRIZE FOR THIS RACE IS THIS SWORD THAT HAS A BLADE MADE OF ELEMENTAL CRYSTAL. IT WAS ONCE USED BY A SOLDIER FOR THE KING YEARS AGO, BUT IT WAS GIVEN AWAY FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO WIELD THIS MAGNIFICENT WEAPON!"

Harry could almost not believe the audacity of this announcer's claim. Key word: almost. He knew it was coming, but he was surprised with how true his words sounded.

{It is possible that he's just a great actor, or he wasn't told that the sword is stolen,} said Fawkes.

"NOW, THERE ARE TWO PARTS TO THIS RACE, BUT I WILL NOT TELL ANY OF YOU WHAT THAT IS. THE RACERS WILL HAVE TO FIND OUT ON THEIR OWN! RIGHT THEN! ON YOUR MARK!" Harry sets his focus on the dragon's control and got it ready to make a mad dash pass the starting line. "GET SET…! GOOOO!"

Harry and the other racers took off from the starting line, but Harry is already not getting off to a great start. It seems his luck just keeps getting the best of him wherever he goes – which is dead last. Well that's fine; he can just take out as many of the competitors on his way to the front and not have to truly worry about them later.

Harry had aimed his dragon's head, which still feels weird since that is where the control panel is, and shoot a fire ball at the feet of the dragon closest to him. The four-legged, wingless dragon trips and falls, with the racer not realizing that one of the legs came off. Harry's dragon jumps right over the fallen dragon and keeps going, taking his place in 7th.

Harry has caught up to the guy in 6th place easily, but he was far too close to blast fire at the robot without risking getting himself too. This dragon, unlike the last one, has wings, but is also four-legged. Harry tried bashing into the side of it, but small, hidden doors open up on the sides of its shoulders, and two arms come out. It grabs Harry and tosses him into the air. Harry pulls the two side levers to have the dragon flap its wings, and then the pulled on a joystick by his feet that controls the tail. Harry used the tail to catch the arm growing dragon by the neck and toss it back to the flightless dragon in 8th place knocking them both back onto the ground.

Harry roughly sets his dragon back onto the ground, and run to catch back up to the dragon in 5th place. He was about to shoot another blast of fire at the dragon on two legs and no wings, but he noticed that his fire meter is still charging. This means he's just going to have to catch up the old fashioned way, which is going to take some time.

About an hour into the race, Harry was able to get close to the 5th placed dragon. He can blast the thing now, but he feels he might need it later. Just as he is a hundred feet away from the flightless, two-legged dragon, the 5th racer shoots a stream of fire at him. Harry flaps the wings of his dragon to dodge the attack and then land on top his attacker, making them both come to a stop. He sees that the cockpit is in the same place as his own; in the head. So he has his robot bit down on the neck, slicing through the metal and cutting the connection between the controls and the body. With that done, he takes off to catch up with the dragon in 4th place, but right now that dragon is nowhere in sight.

Within another hour, he caught up with the 4th. This dragon also has wings, but no legs. So this whole time this one has been flying to stay in the race. Harry knows just how to take it out. He flies up into the air and above this legless dragon. With one talon-like foot, he grabs the neck, and use the other foot to smash one of the wings off. Without both wings, the dragon can no longer fly, so Harry lets go and lets the dragon fall.

Harry lands the dragon again, and spotted his next target. He sees the top three dragons up ahead, but just as he was about to shoot fire at one of the two flightless dragons, he notices a cliff in their path.

'Of course there is a flying part in the race. This must be the second half,' Harry thought.

When Harry could see the water passed the cliff face he takes flight. Shortly afterward, the dragon in second place also takes to the sky. They leave to two flightless dragons behind, which are roaring in rage at not being able to finish the race due to having bad luck on getting dragon with no wings.

Harry caught up with the dragon in front of him and shoots a powerful stream of fire; however, the first racer flaps his wings to dodge the attack, and then dive toward him and fires a blast of his own. Harry spins to the left, dodging the attack by a foot. He noticed that the racer is moving on ahead of him to stay in first place. So Harry has no choice but to go after him and hope he can out fly him.

He catches up to the dragon in first place quickly, but the flier starts to move faster. The two are neck and neck for the last two hours of the race. They tried to knock the other out of the sky by slamming into each other or biting the opponent; alas, neither of them were able to take a chunk out of the other. The two also tried to hit their opponent with their recharged fire, but Harry was the only one who was able to clip the back of the other dragon.

The finish line is now in sight. Harry and the last of the racers decide to ignore the other in favor of trying to cross that line before their enemy. They keep passing between first and second place, making them nervous as to who will pass the finish line first. With one more powerful flap from both robotic dragons, they have crossed the finish line with no clear answer as to who won since they passed it way too close to each other.

Harry is worried that he may be is second place, so he turns his eyes to the lacrima screen which shows the two competitors heading for the finish line frame by frame.

"IT WAS A CLOSE ONE LADIES AND GENTALMEN, BUT HADRIAN EVANS WON THIS RACE BY AN INCH!" the announcer declares, followed by roars of cheers and boos from the crowd.

Harry sighs in relief that he won. Now he can get the sword and leave this place for good. He gets out of the dragon he used for the race so he can meet up with the person holding his prize. He knows he's going to miss the robotic dragon, but it is much heavier, bigger, and harder to control than a broomstick, so he won't miss it too much.

He meets up with who he is going to guess is one of the thieves, who hands him the sword. Harry says his thanks and was about to turn around to leave, but Fawkes' voice sounds in his head.

{Harry, turn back! That sword is a fake!} Harry turns but the thief and announcer are both gone.

Harry grits his teeth together in anger for being tricked and allowing himself to be tricked. {Can you track them?}

{Sure thing! Follow me!} Harry hops back into the dragon, deciding to use their own weapon against them, and chases after his familiar.

The thieves didn't get very far. They went to their tent where both the real sword and their boss are. Harry blocks the only obvious way out, but this didn't stop the thieves from escaping – or at least try to. They crawl under the flap in the back of the tent with the sword, making Harry roll his eyes. Next thing he hears are screams from the thieves, a squawk from Fawkes, and a small explosion. He uses the dragon to move the tent itself out of the way and look at the scene in front of him.

All the thieves and announcer are all passed out on the ground with Fawkes on top of the one that was holding the sword. Harry gets out of the dragon again, casts a binding spell on them, and then sends a message with Fawkes to the rune knights. Fawkes flashes away for a span of ten minutes before coming back with five rune knights – one of them being Lahar.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter. We have been trying to track these guys down for a while now," said Lahar.

"Really? I know they are thieves and all, but I didn't think they were bad enough to get your attention. I thought that since they stole this sword that it would, but not before it," Harry said in surprise.

"They have been at this for a few years now. They would steal rare or powerful items and use them as prizes in their races, only to give fakes to the winners. Speaking of…why are you here?" Lahar asked.

Harry passes over his job request while answering, "There was a request from the owner of that sword." Harry points to the sleeping man on the ground with a hand over the crystal blade's grip. "I'm here to retrieve it for him."

Lahar looks over the job request before handing it back to him, as well as allow him to take the sword. "You mind if I come with you? My men have these guys covered," he questioned.

Harry shook his head. "Not at all."

{You might want one of those guys to have a look at these papers here.} Harry turns to Fawkes to see him on the table that was in the thieves' hide out. The wizard returns his green eyes back to Lahar.

"Fawkes says that one of your men should take a look at those papers. There might be something important in them," Harry said.

"Your bird might be right about that." Lahar calls to one of his men and tells him to take the papers. After that, the wizard and captain leave to return the sword back to its rightful owner.

Harry is on the train to his next job the morning after he finished his last job. He got his 50,000J reward and his freedom from Lahar last night. What was with that guy? He was acting like Harry was going to steal the sword for himself or he was hiding some dark secret. He knows that the Magic Council doesn't like Fairy Tail, but that doesn't mean they have to treat them like they are the next coming dark guild.

{That would be your luck, Harry.}

{Shut up, Fawkes.}

TBC

We just have one more job to do, and then we're on to Tenrou Island! I have that arc mostly planned out so hopefully it goes well. I don't know if I'll show any fight scenes with the other Fairy Tail members besides Harry, but if I do, then I will. We'll see where the story takes me when Grimoire Heart gets there.

Natsu: So this one was your idea?

Enj/Dark: Yeah, I didn't really get any suggestion that weren't something that could turn into a long term job. I might do so in the future, however, but not right now.

Harry: I keep forgetting that the Fairy Tail universe has robots and TVs that are powered by magic.

Enj/Dark: I do too sometimes. :/

Voldy: Yeah, and it is disgusting.

Zeref: You will forever hate anything that is connected to…what are they called again?

Harry: Muggles.

Enj/Dark: I prefer the term mundane.

Voldy: Whatever, but Zeff is right.

Harry: No surprise there. -_-;

Zeref: I believe I was last.

Natsu: So that means it is Harry's turn.

Harry: Please review! :)