Back to Basics
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail
A brief interlude
Apologies for not posting last month, things have been a little chaotic. I will be posting 2 chapters today, and then try to get back to a regular posting schedule.
The Next Day
"You're absolutely sure of this lead?" Laxus asks his most trusted soldier, Freed.
"Yes sir. My sources are usually correct and would have no reason to be misleading on this information. We must tell Natsu and the others." Freed says confidently. Laxus lets out a sigh before he and Freed stalk off to the main meeting room, joining the rest of them.
"We were beginning to wonder where you were." Gajeel chuckles. They had monthly meetings and despite being out last night late, they were always sure to have their meetings. The lack of response from Laxus is the first cue to Natsu that something is up, seeing Freed there with a concerned expression on his usually stoic face is the second one.
"I sense there is something amiss." Jellal says before Natsu gets the chance.
"You would be correct." Freed replies. Laxus takes his seat and then notions for Freed to explain.
"As you know, some of the people that Jellal suspected as moles were caught and after…. extracting the information necessary from them and ultimately eliminating them, I naturally did follow up on the leads that we got from those moles." Freed says.
"Even though your phrasing is odd, I do hope you followed up on things before eliminating the problem." Wendy says. Freed smiles at the youngest member and nods before continuing.
"What I found was actually quite disturbing and horrendously true of what the moles were stating. And some of our own moles, such as Irene and Brandish, have infiltrated their ranks and have confirmed some of our more disturbing findings." Freed says. Irene was Erza's mother and a fierce woman; it was no wonder that Erza was the way she was. Brandish was just as experienced but quite a bit younger.
"What have they found?" Sting asks, trying to not be annoyed with Freed vague way of wording.
"Jose and Jiemma, and naturally Mard Geer, have been busy building their forces. Ivan has managed to find some more people to follow him, and luckily Flare managed to infiltrate them. Several groups have joined them, though the vastness of people who for some reason have joined them is not currently known, naturally we have people working on that." Freed says.
"Naturally, we have moles in those groups in order to acquire information." Jellal says, as several of his members were part of those groups. It was precarious, but ultimately, it would be fruitful.
"What the hell could be so damn motivating to join up with those morons?" Sting growls out.
"Our moles will find that out and do monthly reports. Luckily, we've managed to maintain our groups to be mole free." Freed chuckles.
"True, we've been doing a much better screening process. And most of the people that we have as our agents are never seen so they wouldn't know who to look out for." Natsu says.
"They're also all women." Jellal says. It was no secret to anyone that Jiemma and Jose looked down on women as the weaker sex. So naturally, the best choice for moles were powerful women. Jellal had hand selected the women to go in: Urtear, Meredy, Irene, Brandish and Flare. All were capable and powerful but able to pretend to be just good enough to make the cuts into the inner circles. Naturally, one of Gray's men, Lyon, was opposed to sending in his girlfriend, Meredy, but Jellal promised it would only be for a few months.
"We also know that Ivan is very heavily involved in the drug industry. I have a feeling it's somehow related to that. Not sure how." Wendy adds.
"Very true." Laxus growls in disappointment in his father. They look to Natsu and wait for him to give his thoughts.
"I'm sure the moles will come up with something, but we should also think of reasons all these groups could have for wanting to eliminate us other than the immediate obvious." Natsu says.
"Of course." The group chuckles.
"Good work, inform me of anything they find and if we need to pull anyone out. I know Meredy and Urtear will be returning to us in a five months. Unless they require more time, which I'm sure one of them will let you know Jellal." Natsu chuckles.
"Naturally. Urtear says she and Meredy have found out so much that it would take to long to tell me over the phone. They document and steal and copy what they can and are going to bring it all back as soon as they are able. I expect Irene and Brandish will get back to me when they can." Jellal says with a light chuckle. He is worried, but he has faith in them.
"I know Flare well enough that she will be ok. We're already working on an escape for her for when the time is right." Laxus chuckles.
"Good, after all, we do want them back in one piece, their information and talents are supremely valuable, and they're our family, our friends, and we make sure they're taken care of. Now, is there anything else to report?" Natsu asks. The meeting moves onto more mundane things, well, mundane for them. As everything wraps up, Natsu checks his phone and could barely contain his slight smirk at seeing the three text messages from Lucy.
"What has you grinning ear to ear?" Erik asks. Natsu simply smirks and walks passed him, not answering his question directly. Erik knows exactly what has him smiling. Wendy even smiles sweetly, knowing as well. It was no secret, especially after last night, that Natsu and Lucy had been texting each other for a while now. Sting was no better as he was typing out something with a big goofy grin on his face.
"You know, eventually they'll need to know." Wendy says quietly.
"I know, but I'll get there. Right now, we're just talking." Natsu says casually.
"Yeah, but she's the only woman you've just talked to without it being dirty." Wendy says, clicking her tongue at her leader. Natsu rolls his eyes at her and smirks.
"True, but hey that should be a good thing." Natsu chuckles.
"I'm not saying it's not; it is in fact a very good thing and I'm happy for you, but remember, she needs to know what she's getting involved in." Wendy says concerned. Even when she was a young child, Wendy was always the one looking after everyone and making sure they were all ok both physically and mentally. What they did was not what one would call easy to deal with, it did take a toll on them, and she would never want someone as nice as Lucy or her group of friends to find out in one of the most brutal ways what Natsu and crew did.
"I know Wendy. I appreciate your concern. I'm working out a way to tell her." Natsu says.
Keep your eyes peeled for the next chapter.