Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters.


-The Enchanter of Fairy Tail-

Chapter 74: Panic At The Party

Year: X760. 24 years till Canon begins.

Cade POV:

*BOOM!*

I was able to tackle little Layla to the ground, just as the wall behind me exploded with a ear ringing sound. Dust poured into the room due to the explosion, and I could see chunks of stone that had flew forwards and hit the floor. 'What the hell is this?! An attack!? Here!?'

All the guests began to scream and let out cries of terror as they began to run and try and make sense of what was going on. They were thankfully smart enough to realise that they should try to leave the party as soon as they could. I saw them scatter as quick as they could, with some of the servants trying to help them. A few more explosions were created around the hall, as I kept Layla pinned down.

I heard Layla give a shriek of fear as an explosion went off ahead of us. "C-Cade! What's going on!?"

"J-Just stay down! I-I don't know what's going on!" I yelled to her, as I did move off her, keeping her pinned down.

No, it was easy to tell what was going on. Someone was robbing the place to try and loot the guests or steal from the Heartfilia's. But I didn't have time to explain all this to Layla. I just had to make sure she was safe!

But it wasn't just her.

Mother.

Lilly.

They were still out there. But I couldn't save them while looking after Layla.

"Come on! I need to get you out of here!" I yelled to Layla with a hurry, as I grabbed her hand and tried to move her with the guests out of the building. We kept relatively low, as I heard screams and shouts going off. "Dammit! Why is this happening now!?" We brushed past more guests, and I thought for a moment that we were making progress towards an exit. That was until I heard another, less loud sound.

*cling cling*

I looked where I heard the sound, and saw that someone just rolled a small cylinder object into the room. It was just ahead of me. "Wait. What's-"

*BANG!*

Suddenly, the small cylinder exploded into a blinding flash of light that made me yell out as my vision was now blurred immensely. 'WHAT!? A flashbang!?' All the guests including Layla let out screams of fear as their vision became impaired. Layla grabbed tightly onto my hand. I could feel that the poor girl was shaking quite badly, terrified at at situation like this. I had experienced similar sorts of events like this before, but she certainly hadn't. 'Ngh, can't… see…!'

"C-Cade! I'm scared! I can't see!" Layla screamed with a panicked voice. "What happened?!"

'Dammit! I can't get Layla out of here if I can't see!' I grunted with anger as I tried to lead her out of the room. But my vision was still badly impaired, as we only bumped into more guests. I felt that we were both going in circles, nowhere near an exit. 'What can I do…!?'

My mind raced for a solution, when suddenly, it came to me. 'Ah! If I could find… yes, and then… right! That might work for now!' I began to pull Layla as she gave a yelp amidst her crying.

What I was doing was risky, but I was vaguely able to remember my position in the room before the flash of light went off. Moving backwards, I was able to feel the smooth walls of the room. 'Yes… here! If we keep following this wall in this direction…' We kept moving, as I was forced to ignore Layla!s cries of confusion. Eventually, I grasped what I had been looking for. I may not have been able to see, but I was able to feel the smooth surface of a table.

After the huge buffet, many of the tables had been moved to the corner of the room, so they weren't taking up space for the dance coming up. They had all been stacked upwards and some were on their side. The long tablecloths were also there, so they could be used to drap over the tables.

This made them perfect for hiding someone. Years of hide and seek when I was younger taught me that.

"Layla, hide in there!" I ordered as I ushered her under the tables, throwing a tablecloth over the tables. "J-Just stay in there! I have to see if your mother is ok or not!" I cried as I let go of her hand.

Layla grabbed onto my hand again, whimpering a little. "P-Please don't leave me Cade! I don't want to get hurt!"

I struggled with myself, before sticking with my plan earlier. "I'm sorry, but you have to hide here. I have to see if your mother is ok or not. Please, can you do that for me Layla?!" I said as calm as I could considering the conditions right now.

Lyra was still out there.

My mother was still out there.

Lilly was still out there.

Layla gave a murmur of fear before she answered me. "Ok… But please come back!" She cried as I felt her let go of my hand and presumably retreat under the tables.

My eyes were still a bit fuzzy here and there. At least now I could barely make out what was ahead of me instead of nothing at all. With my very, very, limited sight I moved forward to see if I could find the people I was looking for or not. As we as personally taking care of the criminals that thought it'd be a good idea to break in here while this party was happening.


No POV, Kidnapper Leader:

The leader of the kidnappers moved his shades up his nose as another flash bang went off, scaring the crowd even more. These magic shades were doing wonders at keeping his eyes safe from the blinding light.

Currently the plan was going as well as Vicini said it would - which was certainly rare if you had worked with the man long enough.

The kidnapper leader had spotted a few more of his men, as well as Lynne and Maximilian run around and snatch away the people who had those VIP badges on them. It was good that they were dressed like the servants. It made them think that they were here to help. In addition, the shades allowed them to see where the VIP badges were, even if they were concealed or in pockets.

The kidnapper leader was able to spot more and more people being thrown out the huge hole in the wall that the explosion caused, and into the wagons that would take them somewhere secret. Afterwards, Vicini would use his Contact Magic on them, making them all rich… or so he hoped. You had to actually sign away your possessions and titles for the magic to work.

Speaking of Vicini, he did say over the lacrima that anyone in the manor was allowed to take some other prized and well sought possessions - as long as they kept to the task at hand of course.

The kidnapper leader already knew that Lyra had already been knocked out, and unfortunately Layla was nowhere to be seen. That meant that he would have to settle with the head servant. He would surely know where all the riches and treasures were.

The kidnapper leader moved through the crowds of people, avoiding all the flashbangs and the scurrying guests, until he saw who was looking for. The head servant was wearing a nicer butler outfit than the others and was panicking to himself clearly. The man was cowering behind a large, ornamental vase.

Grinning, the kidnapper leader moved forward and made himself known to the man. "You're the head servant, correct? Give me the most prized and valuable possession that the Heartfilia's have." He ordered sternly.

The head servant looked appalled to hear this from the man. "Why you-! I'd never sell out the Heartfilia family's secrets! You'll have to kill me before you-"

The head servant was cut off by a blast of magic that skidded right past his face, singeing his hair. He wimped, as he immediately changed tact. "O-On the other hand, you could kill me right here." He gave an forced smiled as he nodded his head. "H-How about I take you where you wanted to go then? Right?"

The kidnapper grinned. "Smart. Now lead the way."

The head servant then began to lead the man out of the main hall. However, more and more flash bangs were going off. It was part of the plan, but it may cause issues. "Argh, I can't see a thing with this blinding light!" The head servant cried with anger.

The kidnapper rolled his eyes, before he handed the head servant a pair of light-dampening sunglasses. The head servant quickly wore them, making the travel out of the room much easier.

As they both came out of the grand hall that the chaos was happening in, the head servant led the kidnapper up the grand staircase. They traveled up several floors of the mansion, with the screams of chaos getting quieter and quieter as they moved. 'Just where are we going?' The kidnapper leader wondered as they walked up through the staircase.

A few minutes of walking and climbing later, both men came to the final floor of the mansion. The head servant then led the kidnapper leader down a corridor that was deadly quiet. There was a well-made oak wood door that was at the end of the corridor. Upon reaching the door, the head servant unlocked the door and opened it up. The room was dark, so the head servant flipped a switch which illuminated the room.

Through the door was a grand study with a rectangular shape. Across the walls of the study, there were bookshelves packed full of books. At the opposite end of the door is a massive desk, with a large armchair for whoever needed it. Behind the desk were a pair of large windows, possessing fancy double curtains. Also, a majestic chandelier hung from the ceiling.

The kidnapper took a breath of awe. "Lyra's study…" There was bound to be something good in here to take back to Vicini.

The kidnapper moved forward to the main desk and examined it. There was nothing on the desk itself, and a quick check of the drawers revealed they were empty.

"Hmph, is this a dead end you've brought me to?" The kidnapper threatened the head servant with a beam of magic that was fired close to his feet. "I asked to be shown whatever riches the Heartfilia's possess! Not an empty desk!"

"Gah! N-No! Of course not!" The head servant cried as he made his way over to the bookshelf on the right. The head servant skimmed the books, before he pulled one of them downwards, with a clicking sound being heard. "The real treasure is through here!"

The clicking sound caused part of the bookshelf to open up, revealing a secret passageway behind it. "Oh? Now this is getting interesting. Do continue." The kidnapper smirked at the sudden reveal.

The secret passageway revealed a small room with a very fancy painting hanging on the opposite wall. It showed a women who had flowing blonde hair in a ponytail. Two bangs of hair came down past her ears. She had brown eyes, and her face was that of a kind one, as the lady was smiling. She was dressed in elegant red and white robes with a high-collared cloak and wore a keyhole blouse and a long dress.

There was a title of the painting, shown on a small wooden card below the image of the women.

A, Heartfilia

The kidnapper pondered for a moment as to who this lady is meant to be exactly. But he didn't get that much time to think more on it, as the head servant had gently lifted the photo off the wall and placed it on the floor.

This revealed a hard-locked safe, that was seemingly made out of magninum.

The kidnapper gave a low chuckle. "Magninum?"

"Y-Yes… this is a well protected treasure." The head servant made way to undo the lock on the safe by turning the dial a few times to the left, and then a few times to the right. After a few minutes of this, the safe opened and the kidnapper moved forward and pushed the head servant aside. "Agh!"

The kidnapper reached into the safe and felt his hand brush something thick and hard. Grinning, he grabbed onto whatever it was that he grabbed and pulled it out.

It was when he saw what he pulled out, that he was left a bit confused, admittedly.

He had just pulled out a book. It was a basic book at that. A smooth, leather front case, with a solid spine and decently thick pages from what he could see at a first glance. But it was the title that confused the man.

The book was titled, "To Offspring" which was probably the weirdest title you could have for a book ever.

"This is meant to be the most prized possession that the Heartfilias's have?" The man questioned with doubt at the books importance. "A book with a lazy title?"

"Yes, yes, it is!" The head servant pleaded with fear at the man before him. "Every Heartfilia has been made aware of this book when it comes time for them to inherit the land and ownership. I'm the only other person that knows about it!"

The kidnapper raised an eyebrow. "Really? Well I suppose it must be important if it was locked away in that safe for so long. Heh, aright, I'll believe you." He smirked as he bid the head servant farewell with a wave, and went to rejoin the others in his group.

As he left, the head servant gave a sigh to himself as he removed the sunglasses.

"I'm so getting fired for this…"


Rejoining the rest of his group outside the mansion, near where the first explosion went off earlier, the head kidnapper found many more of his men loading dazed or unconscious guests into more carriages. He approached Vicini who was ready to move off on one of the carriages that was filled with rich guests. The guests had their hands and legs bound with rope so that they couldn't escape.

"Hey Vicini? Got something you might like. Call it a bonus." The head kidnapper said as he tossed up the book he got in the mansion to Vicini.

Vicini barely caught the book with his hands. "What's this supposed to be?" He blurted with skepticism.

"It's apparently the Heartfilia family's greatest and most prized possession. It was locked in a safe, so I doubt the guy that led me to it was lying." The kidnapper explained folding his arms.

"Really? A book?" Vicini took another look at the book. "Well whatever. If it's important then Lyra will surely react when I show her it." He said as he tossed the book down to his feet.

"I'm heading off now. I've got Lyra as well as other richer families in this carridge. There's the Oldburns, the Erregs, the Barrows and who else… Ah yes, the Philipe's!" Vicini declared as he began to get his carriage ready. "We just got them and their daughter!"

"Get everyone else as ready as soon as you can. I'll be heading to our disclosed location. Behind me will be Lynne and Maximilian." Vicini said as he and the others whipped their horses. He and two other large carriages that were filled with guests started to move off, Vicini being the one to lead the way.

As they began to pull away with the more 'expensive' and 'valued guests', the leader of the kidnappers was interrupted by a man to his right. "We've almost gotten everyone boss. We just need to finish up with loading the last few guests on these cartridges then we can move off."

"That's a relief. Hm, with how well things are going here, we might actually pull this off." The kidnapper smirked. "That book I pilfered may make a nice bonus."

"Oh, I agree with the bonus part. Especially since I was able to find these." The man who was talking to his boss revealed a simple keychain with four golden keys on them.

"Oh ho, are these what I think they are?" The kidnapper said with interest. "Four Celestial Zodiac Keys… Ha!"

"They are indeed. Lyra must have dropped them when we kidnapped her. She or her daughter won't be summoning her Spirits to help her." The man answered.

The boss took them from the man who presented them to him. "Good. Try to find Layla if you can. If you can't find her and we have everyone else ready to go, then just leave her. We have Lyra, that's all that matters." The boss said as he looked back into the mansion through the giant hole that was made.

Screams could still be made out, with sights of people bumbling around, them still being unable to see. People were being led out and thrown into various carriages, before the men that brought them out went back into grab more guests.

The boss smirked. "I do pity the people looking for others in there. They'll never see them again."


Cade POV:

I was really beginning to dread the fact that I couldn't find mother or Lilly. I had been searching for… well what felt like 15 whole minutes by this point, yet I couldn't find either of them.

I was beginning to get very pissed off at the constant flashbangs that were going off every few minutes. It was making this whole job of mine much more frustrating to go through. 'How many of these things do they have!?' What else was I supposed to do? Attack blindly and hope I hit whoever was causing these explosions and flashbangs? What if I hit Lyra, or any of the guests? Or mother or Lilly?

It was an option I immediately denied. Still, what I found even stranger, was that when I first started moving through the blindness, I was constantly bumping into guests all the time, as none of us could see. However, now I seemed to be bumping into way less more people than I was before.

Perhaps they had managed to get out of the mansion after all? Well… I shuddered at the other option, but I had seen no limp bodies. Assuming the guests got out, I hope that they called the Rune Knights. These robbers are probably trying to get into the treasury in this mansion.

I had stumbled out of the main hall a few times, but I found that mother and Lilly were not out here at all. Fear would grip me as I was forced to trudge through the blindness time after time. I would not stop until I found them.

At least I knew that Layla should be safe. I doubt she would be moving out from the tables. She was petrified at what was going on.

*BANG!* There was suddenly a huge flash of light, causing everyone to scream some more.

'Dammit! How many of these things do they have?' I snarled as I was forced to endure the harsh blindness that overcame me. But this chaos of flashbangs had created a pattern that I recognised.

I had noticed this while this chaos was going on. When this assault on the mansion first happened, the flash bangs were going off a couple dozen seconds at a time, but now they were going off every few minutes, right when we were beginning to get back our vision.

'They're running out.' I thought as I bumped into a guest, while covering my eyes with my hand. 'They can't have many more on them.'

I planned that they would eventually run out. After that, I would make sure that Lilly and mother would be safe and ok. Then I'd personally deal with the criminals here. I'd make sure that they'd pay.

'Argh, please tell me that you guys found somewhere safe to hide…!' I prayed, as I searched under what felt like a single table that I stumbled across. There was no one under there, causing me to both scowl, and feel a sense of disappointment wash over me. 'Where are they!? They must still be here! They must!'

It was infuriating that I was unable to cast a spell to help people here. I had no idea where anyone was, so there was too big of a risk that I would be injuring many helpless and temporarily blind people. Perhaps if they were wizards I could risk something like that, but not civilians.

Moving through the crowd, I was able to just barely make out a man who was helplessly stumbling around looking for someone.

"Hey, hey, hey!" I frantically said as I was able to grab onto the man. "You! Are you ok? I'm-"

"No, stop! What do you want with us?!" He protested at me. "Get away from me!"

"No wait! I'm trying to help!" I shouted over the constant screams of fear.

"They all said that! They took my wife, and you lowlifes tried to take me as well! Well you won't get me!" The man yelled as broke away from me and ran off.

"No, wait!" I cried as the man ran off.

My eyes were beginning to recover just enough for me to see the man run off. 'What did they mean…? They took his wife…? Is this a-?' My mind stood still, as a quick realisation of what was happening occured to me. But it was quickly drowned out by another realisation.

Because my eyes were beginning to recover from the flashbang. That meant only one thing.

Thinking quickly, I shut my eyes and covered them with my hands. Almost less than a second after, I then heard another flashbang go off again. Thankfully, as I had covered my eyes right before it happened, I was able to more or less open my eyes up without much issue. It seemed like there was still a white blur around some of the large hall.

Despite that, I now had a much clearer sight as to what was actually going on.

Just as I thought, there was way less people in the grand hall now. I was just about able to count maybe, a few dozen compared to the hundred or so people that were all here before. 'There are so many people gone!'

My eyes frantically scanned the room to try and spot Lilly or my mother. I was afraid at the fact that I couldn't neither of them. Also Lyra seemed to have disappeared as well. 'This is monumentally bad. Did they all get out of the mansion ok?'

In fact, now that I was thinking about it… is it really safe outside the mansion? The criminals came from outside, hence the explosion in the wall.

No, no; it was terrible for them to be outside right now! The best case for them if they weren't still in this room, was if they were somewhere that they could hide. Like in one of the other many rooms! Maybe a servant led them there?

I was able to spot some people with butler suits and shades running across the room ahead of me.

'Finally, someone with shades here!' I thought with relief, rushing over to them.

"Hey! You two!" I yelled to the two butlers, waving my hand.

They both stopped and turned to see me with a surprised look on their faces. They then ran over to me, as we met each other midway.

"Hey, do you know where all the guests have gone!? They all seem to have disappeared from the hall here." I spoke quickly to them. "Also, can I have some spare shades?!"

"Sir, do you happen to be a VIP?" One of the men questioned, ignoring my question.

"What!? How does that matter right now!?" I growled at them. "Where is everyone!?"

Both men turned to each other and gave the other a quick nod. They then grabbed me by the shoulders. "You'll be coming with us I'm afraid." One of them said with a rather sinister smile.

I narrowed my eyes. "Not happening." I growled with a dry voice as I blasted them back with magic. Both men went flying backwards and hit the opposing wall and fell unconscious.

'I see… So they weren't trying to rob the household, they were trying to kidnap guests from the party. I guess they were using the flash bangs as a method of trying to get the people here to trust them.' I concluded in my head, my fists clenched.

Then, a startling thought crossed my head.

'Mother. Lilly. Were they-?'

I was cut off by this thought by being pushed a little by a woman who had bumped into me. As she did that and kept running, I noticed something: There was almost nobody left in the main hall. I counted only a dozen or so guests left. Had everyone else been kidnapped? Now that I thought more about that, I could see hardly any men with shades and butler outfits running around, they were all gone!

'What the hell?! Where did everyone go?!' My mind scrambled for answers, as my gaze turned to the huge hole in the wall that the explosion caused earlier.

Moving quickly, I ran over and saw that there was no one outside the mansion on the other side of the wall.

'No! Did they… take everyone?!' I thought with fear. 'They can't have! Not everyone else! Surely not!'

I turned back around inside the mansion and saw that many remaining guests were now beginning to come to. They began to panic once again when they realised that many of their loved ones were missing.

"Everyone please calm down!" I shouted as they were panicking among themselves wondering what to do. My words had no effect, so I was forced to raise my voice.

"EVERYONE! Please try to calm down!" I yelled to them. Once again, they didn't hear me. I took a deep breath before speaking up again.

"EVERYONE!" I bellowed in anger as loud as I could. Everyone that was left in the hall turned to me in shock as I said that. All the noise in the hall had been extinguished completely. I cleared my throat before speaking up.

"Everyone… I know that you are distressed and afraid after what just happened there. I am an S-Class wizard at a guild, and I have a… plan to save the people that were kidnapped from you. I will go out and recover them, but I need you all to find somewhere to remain safe and hidden until someone here can contact the Rune Knights. Does anyone have any ideas of a place to hide?" I questioned carefully, trying to calm down.

"I know! The lounge on the first floor! It's a super secure room if you know what you're doing! You can lock the door and put some sofas at the door to stop people from getting in!" Piped a voice from below me.

I looked down and saw that Layla had came out of her hiding spot.

'Layla! She's still here!' I thought with relief. That brought some relief to my mind, as I relaxed a little.

Not hearing a better option, I moved forwards with Layla's plan. I suppose she knew this house better than anyone else here. "Ok everyone, you heard her! Move it, move it!" I yelled at everyone.

"It's out that doorway, and down the left!" Layla cried as she pointed at where the guests had to go for safety.

Nodding with fear at being caught, the guests quickly made moves to exit the doorway that Layla pointed to as they moved out and headed towards the lounge. "Remember! Contact the Rune Knights! Do it as soon as you can!" I yelled as they left.

When the last person left, they closed the door behind them leaving me and Layla in the room alone. I looked down at Layla after this happened. "Well done for the suggestion." I praised her, though she didn't smile. Layla was looking a bit upset. "Layla?"

"Um… Cade…? Is my mother and everyone else…?" She said as she looked down to the floor, her eyes tearing up a little.

"Oh, no, no! They're still alive! I'm going to get them back!" I assured her as I lifted her head up by putting a finger under her chin. "It's ok Layla. I WILL save them."

"Thank you Cade… But where have they gone to?" Layla questioned with confusion, her still sad by the sudden events in the last 30 minutes.

"I… I don't know…" I admitted as I looked around the large hall with a grimace. "Though… I might have a lead."

Layla looked confused. I pointed and showed her that one of the two men that I knocked away earlier was now beginning to regain consciousness. He was beginning to sit up straight.

I marched up to the man as he was rubbing his head. "Argh… what the… what happened?" He muttered as then looked up and saw me. "Oh… it's you…"

"I'll give you one chance to answer. Where have you taken the guests?" I demanded sternly as I glared down at the man.

"Ha… Vicini's probably got a hold of them now. Hey… now that I get a better look at you, I think I recognise you. Aren't you that Philipe kid that was on the VIP list?"

My eyes widened a little. "What?"

"Weird though, I thought that we already got both of the Philipe's." The man chucked as he scratched his chin. "We got the older woman that I think was the mother, and that girl that was with her. She was a pretty one her. It's a shame that – URP!"

The criminal didn't get to finish that sentence as I grabbed him by the neck quite firmly. I didn't know it yet, but I was using a single hand to lift him up off the ground.

"Where are they!?" I yelled with anger. "WHERE HAVE YOU TAKEN MY MOTHER AND GIRLFRIEND!?"

The man's eyes were wide as he tried to spluter out a response. "Gah…! They… Vicini took them… out across the hills… carriages, carriages! Look for carriage tracks…! He won't have hurt them… not yet at least…" The man began to struggle to breathe. "Ah… you're-!"

"Who is Vicini?! What the hell do you mean he won't hurt them yet!?" I snarled as I tightened my hood around his neck. The man struggled to respond. "ANSWER ME! I DEMAND THAT YOU TELL ME WHERE THEY ARE!"

I was cut off from my yelling, as I felt a tug on my free arm. I looked down and saw that Layla was tugging my arm quite fiercely. "Stop!"

"Stop? They kidnapped my mother, YOUR mother! As well as everyone else here!" I snarled as I looked back up at the man.

"You're scaring him…!" Layla shouted with sorrow.

"So?"

"You're scaring me!"

I blinked.

'I'm… what?'

I looked down and saw that Layla had some tears in her eyes. Her face was that of a scared, near broken child.

'I… scared her?'

I looked ahead of me and saw that there was a broken mirror that was able to show my reflection. There I saw a face of a young man with wide eyes and a look of anger on his face. He was holding up the man in front of his with a single hand.

My eyes relaxed, and my face shifted back into a normal one. 'Wh-What was I doing!?' I thought as I immediately dropped the man I was holding. 'I can't believe I just did that! I've never done something like that before!'

Upon dropping to the floor, the man immediately began to cough for fresh air. "Thank… you." He breathed as he gave a small smile.

I grunted as I knocked him out again with a chop to the neck.

I saw that Layla was upset at what I did, but I quickly reassured her. "R-Relax, he's just knocked out." I then pulled some thick rope from my Requip storage, and began to tie up the two men, so that they were tied up back-to-back.

Once I did this, I stood up straight and relaxed myself a little.

'It's ok… they're all still alive. Mother is alive, Lilly is alive, Lyra is still alive.' I took a few deep breaths to assure myself.

'It's ok… I can still get them back! I can rescue them! I won't lose them'

I looked down and saw that Layla was still quite nervous. I bent down to comfort her. "Hey… Layla? Look, I'm… sorry for how I acted just there. I didn't mean to act like that… Are you ok?" I asked as calmly as I could.

"Um… I'm ok." Layla said quietly, still looking away.

'She doesn't exactly look ok… but what else can I do?! I have to get moving now!' I thought with determination.

I let out deep breath as I spoke to Layla again. "Ok Layla. I'm going to need you to stay here and go wait with the others in the lounge. Can you do that? I'll be right back after I get everybody. I promise!"

"No way! I'm coming with you!"

I nearly chocked on thin air after hearing that. "What!? N-No you can't come with me!"

"Why not!" Layla cried with a huff. "I want to help! I was the one that wanted such a huge party, so this is technically my fault!"

'What on earth is she saying?!' I was blown away at what Layla was suggesting here.

"This isn't some game! You don't have your Celestial Spirit Keys, right? Well then there is nothing that you can do to help me. No wait! You can help me by going and waiting in the lounge." I argued, crossing my arms.

"No I won't!" Layla moaned. "Please! I want to help rescue my mother! I won't be a problem to you. I-I know the Heartfilia grounds better than anyone!"

'Admittedly that's true…' I thought suddenly, before snapping myself back to reality. 'Argh, what am I thinking!? It's dangerous for a girl like her!'

"Please Layla. Just wait with the others in the lounge. You aren't even missing that much. I'll probably be ten minutes. And the Rune Knights might want to see you and make sure that you are ok." I insisted. "So stay in the lounge and-"

"Nooooo!" Layla rebutted. "I won't stay here. Please Cade!"

'She's certainly something. I suppose I can't help but respect her moxie.' I admitted internally. 'Then again… I was the same at her age once. I ran off to save Porlyusica once when I had no magic on me. In a way, this is no different.'

I gave a small smirk. "Ok then Layla. I'll let you come with me if you can do something for me."

Layla gave a huge smile of hope. "Really? What is it!? Don't say that I have to go and wait in the lounge!"

"Here's what you have to do: If you can land a single hit on me, no matter how weak it may be, then you can come with me." I grinned as I suggested this. There was no way that Layla could win this.

'Well this will at least show her that she is far out of her league. Agh, it may be a bit cruel, but it's the right thing to do!' I thought as I took a few steps back and relaxed my body.

Layla looked very surprised to hear that. She did seem to show signs of doubt before she raised her hands. "Ok fine! Give me a minute, I'll throw everything I've got at you!" She declared, rolling up a sleeve in her dress.

I shrugged. "Take ten minutes for all I care. You'll never be able to land a hit on me."

Immediately after I said that Layla leapt at me. She threw punch after punch and done her absolute best to hit me. I was easily able to dodge to the side and avoid the blows.

Layla threw tiny punch after tiny punch at me, but I was dodging with little effort. It was almost like she was attacking me in slow motion, as I dodged effortlessly.

'Well she is doing her best. If she had her Keys, I might have let her come.' I thought as I ducked under a punch.

"Times running out Layla. Only ten seconds left." I remarked as I dodged a punch.

"No! I won't give up! Not while my friends are in trouble like that!" She cried with a huff.

Despite her brave words there, time was almost out. 'Only a few seconds left. There's nothing she can do. I've won.' I thought, accepting the outcome.

"Laylaaaaa Kick!" Layla cried as she raised her foot and gave me a kick where I least expected it. The place where it hurts the most for guys.

She kicked me right in the family jewels.

"OOOOH!" I let out a huge cry of pain as she landed that kick on me. I fell to my knees as I held my sore spot. "Agh…!"

"I did it! I landed a hit on you!" Layla cried as she ran around me, jumping with joy. "Now let me come with you!"

"Ahhhhh…" I gave a small wince, as I was at least able to let go of where she hit me. "Not bad…" I commented with a grunt.

"So, will I be coming with you?!" Layla questioned with eagerness. Not out of possible enjoyment, but rather for the possibility for seeing her mother again.

I struggled to my feet. "Argh… I didn't think you would pull a move like that." I confessed. "I guess you technically won…"

'Thought I guess you are an 11-year-old child. Should have expected such a move.' I sighed internally.

I gave a grunt. "You REALLY want to come with me?"

Layla gave a roll of her eyes. "Yes, yes! How many times to I have to tell you!" She said with annoyance.

I let out a tsk as I looked away. "…Fine."

"So let me – what?" Layla said with shock.

"You can come." I had given in. Layla did truly have a sense of courage. Honestly, she would have probably followed me if I left her here. I did a similar sort of thing years ago myself.

Layla was ecstatic to hear that from me. But I quickly stopped her from speaking up. "Listen here Layla. There are two things that I have to make sure you hear before we go out through that wall there and track down everyone." I said sternly.

Layla gulped. "What are they?"

"The first is this: Whatever I say outside these walls goes. If I say run, then you run. If I say hide, then you hide. Understand?" I warned her.

Layla quickly nodded. "Good. This is the next thing."

"Get that dress off and change into something easily to move around in. You have five minutes." I said as I crossed my arms and looked away.

"Huh?" Layla was a bit confused.

"Five minutes. Beginning now!" I said as Layla began to run towards a small side door.

"I'll get this big dress off! I have some clothes underneath it! You better not leave without me!" She cried as she entered through the door and closed it behind her.

I gave a small chuckle as she did that. 'Some girl. I wonder if her mother would be proud?'

I then looked down at my hand with a frown. 'Am I doing the right thing here? Letting Layla come along like this? Am I doing it because I think she can help…'

'Or because I'm nervous that I'll act how I did earlier with that criminal?'


One more chapter finished and uploaded! Feel free to leave a review of your thoughts!

So… happy Christmas Eve everyone! I can't get an upload for tomorrow, on Christmas Day sadly. Oh well. A shame that Cade has to go through a rather miserable time while we laugh and celebrate. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

Just like her daughter in the future, the true strongest move that the Heartfilia's have is not their Celestial Spirits, but rather their own signature kick attack. Layla was able to win Cade over and convince him to take her with him on the mission to rescue everyone.

Vicini has made off with all the guests in the party, including June and Lilly. Perhaps more important is the book that so casually tossed to the floor – Vicini not realising the enormity and importance of that book. Yes, he stole THAT book!

Anyway, will the duo of Cade and Lyra be able to rescue everyone and stop Vicini from stealing everything? Find out as the mini arc continues…

Now then, I shall see you all in the next chapter, hopefully before the New Year! I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter!