In a town in an undisclosed location, seven hooded mages of varying heights read the local newspaper, which happened to include some recent events in Fiore. "They just can't seem to stay out of trouble…" Gaia, the ace of Cosmic Star said while passing the newspaper over.
"Unbelievable…" Daryan, the skeletal dragon slayer said with a sigh, glancing over the newspaper with his exceed, Hiruka. "We leave for a few months and things go to hell in Fiore, kinda…"
"I'm sure they can handle themselves!" Alex, the prototype and pseudo earth dragon slayer exclaimed.
"Psh, they couldn't have gotten through that last incident without us," Shadowlore said while waving a dismissive hand. He had a beard now as opposed to the last time he made an appearance.
"Should we go back and see what's going on?" Yakuza, the ice god slayer asked.
"Leave them be." Magnus replied. "We don't have time to be dealing in foreign affairs."
"He's right," Gaia said with a nod. "We are on our own mission now. We have to continue investigating the Pergrande Kingdom."
"Man, why did we have to get stuck with his job…" Daryan let out a groan.
"Because we're the strongest!" Hiruka shouted optimistically.
"More like they just saw us as an opportunity to not get their hands dirty." Shadowlore scoffed before standing up. "Well, we're stuck with this shit anyway, so let's make it quick. I have a kitty cat I wanna see in Fiore."
"You know she…doesn't like you…right?" Alex said while blinking a few times. 'In fact, I'm pretty sure she hates you after what you did to her in the Grand Magic Games."
"We'll just build a bridge of love and get over it~" Shadowlore cooed dreamily.
"Aye ay ay…" Gaia brought her hand to her face, dragging it down slowly after. "Snap out of it, and let's get moving. The sooner we get this done the sooner we can go visit."
.
.
Inside the infirmary in Ace's base, Cynthia and Wendy laid on beds next to each other. Cynthia's wounds were slowly starting to vanish due to the healing properties of the bed. Carla kept watch over the two girls. "…"
Lucy walked in, fully healed. She walked over to Carla, giving a slight smile. "Watching over them both?"
"Hm…?" Carla turned at the sound of Lucy's voice, but she gave a nod after. "Yes…they've been through so much all at once. They need rest."
"Heh…" Lucy's smile grew somewhat. "You know…you've really changed, Carla."
"Huh…?" Carla blinked, tilting her head in confusion. "How…?"
"I remember when Cynthia first joined the guild…" Lucy started. "You didn't trust her, let alone liked the fact she was around Wendy so much when we didn't know much about her. When did that change?"
"Ah…" Carla looked back to the two girls. "When I realized how much faith Wendy had in Cynthia, it was hard not to warm up to her…"
"That's pretty sweet…" Lucy said with a gentle smile. It was then that Ace walked in quite surprised the two were still in there. "Ace!"
"Eh? Lucy, Carla?" Ace blinked a few times. "What are you two still doing here? They need their rest."
"I'm just watching over them," Carla replied with a nod. "I can't imagine how either of them are feeling…"
"I wouldn't know anything about that, but I can give an accurate report on their conditions." Ace said with a nod.
"Really? Are they going to be okay…?" Lucy asked with a hopeful look in her eyes.
"Well, for starters…" Ace began. "Their current conditions are kind of similar. For Wendy, her physical condition is perfectly fine. It seems that Hyde did not lay a single hand on her during her time there. But…mentally…" Ace started to trail off, but the looks of Lucy and Carla made him keep going. "Her mental state is extremely fragile to practically nonexistent."
"W-What does that mean…" Carla asked quietly.
"It means she's mentally weak. Her mental frame was ripped apart when Hyde took control of her power." Ace explained. "Who knows how long it'll take her to recover, but I highly suggest she does not do any fighting of any kind for a while."
"Wendy…" Carla let out a heavy sigh before looking over to Cynthia. "What about Cynthia…?"
"Cynthia…she's similar, yet different. Her physical injuries are well…terrible to be honest, though she is recovering, serious movements shouldn't happen for her. As for her mental condition, she's…faring better than Wendy. It was the fact she managed to pull herself out of it that saved her more than anything else." Ace gave a nod, finishing his report.
"These two have been through so much…it's amazing how strong they've gotten…" Lucy said with a sweet smile while crossing her arms. "It's like…together, they can do anything they need to."
"Normally that's called chemistry, but that's its basic term. The real term is called Biorhythm. It's basically a person's internal rhythm which determines how well they work with someone else. That's why some people make a great team, a decent team, or a terrible team." Ace explained. "For these two, it seems just being around each other strengthens them. But, that's not important in the long run right now. On a more important note, I've notified all the other guilds in Fiore about Dealer."
"They listened to you?" Lucy asked with a curious glance. "I mean…you're an Ex-member of Dealer…"
"It went surprisingly smooth," Ace said with a slight grin. "They all listened, and are all willing to help in case Dealer decides to perform a large-scale attack, or something like that."
"Speaking of Dealer…" Carla said while turning to Ace with a brow raised. "What was the deal with you and Queen Tia?"
"It sounded like you really wanted to help her…" Lucy said as her tone dropped a little bit. "You two were both acting strange during your fight. What happened to you two in the past?"
"Ah…" Ace rubbed the back of his head, figuring this would come out sooner or later. "Tia and I…hah…well, back when I was in Dealer…Tia I were…together."
"YOU TWO WERE DATING?! WHAT!?" Lucy entered a comedic state of shock, an exclamation point and question mark appeared over her head.
[Flashback]
A bolt of lightning struck a nearby house. The loud cracking sound caught Ace's attention, and he could see the inferno erupting from the building the instant it made contact. "Shit..." Behind Ace were a number of downed wizards, but the house in front of him was a cause for concern.
"...Ho ho ho. Ace, what is the matter?" King walked beside Ace, glancing at the house on fire. "Oh, it's that house."
"King. I have to save them." Ace said while looking back at King, who gave a nonchalant shrug.
"Do as you will. I was actually just about to command you to save them." King said. This was strange, since King was more than willing to leave the people Ace took down to rot.
"Really?" Ace looked surprised as well, but with the green light, he donned his Acid Armor and shot into the house. Luckily he was fast, so he was able to grab the two people inside. One was a young woman, electricity sparking around her body. The other was a younger boy, who was barely conscious. "Are you two alright!?"
"Sis..." The boy grunted. "She...took that bolt of lightning for me...help her..."
"Sis...?" Ace blinked, looking at the woman. The boy and girl were a pair of siblings? She was beautiful...but she was in danger as well. "Right, okay! We'll help you!"
"Making promises out of your power once again, are we?" King approached the pair, arms behind his back. "Luckily for you, Ace. I'm feeling...extremely generous today. A terrible fate has befallen these two, and I wish to take them under my wing. Much like I did you. Come now, let us return to base. We can fix them up there."
"Right..." Ace nodded, taking both the woman and her sibling back to the current base of operations.
.
"Ngh..." The woman woke up some time later in an unfamiliar place, wincing as she did. "Jack!?" She shot awake, wincing once again as she frantically looked around.
"Whoa, hey..." Ace was sitting beside her bed. "You're safe. Jack is your brother, yeah? He's fine, see?" Ace gestured to the bed to her left. Jack was there, unconscious, but fine. "You two were caught in a fire...but luckily my boss and I saved you in time."
"You saved us..." The woman's orange eyes were cast down. "I thought I was going to lose my brother...my only family. Thank you..."
"No problem." Ace gave the woman a small smile. "...What's your name? They call me Ace here."
"My name is...Tia." Tia responded while looking at Ace. She wasn't smiling, but there was some gratitude in her eyes. "It's nice to meet you, Ace. Um...when I'm feeling a little better...I'd like to make something for you, as thanks for saving my brother and I. I hope that's okay."
"You cook?" Ace blinked. "I haven't had a decently cooked meal in a while. I just fill up on snacks..." He pulled out a snack bar as an exmaple, and took a bite. He was munching on it obnoxiously loud, and Tia did not seem to appreciate this. But she dealt with it since he did just save her.
"That's not healthy for you." Tia chided Ace.
[End Flashback]
"That's how you two met?" Lucy was intrigued. Tia sounded so sweet back then. "Tia sounds so nice..."
"I did just save her at the time, so that was natural." Ace admitted. "But even after that, when she joined Dealer with Jack...she was still sweet to me. She was always a bit guarded, and I understood that. But we had moments alone together, it felt like she could drop her guard around me. And then...I up and left her."
"I see..." Lucy thought back to her first experience with Tia. "She did seem very angry and lashed out a lot when we first saw the real her."
"I broke her heart really bad." Ace said with a regretful tone. "I wasn't strong enough to take her and Jack with me. And because of that, my weakness allowed anger to fester in her heart. I still wasn't strong enough to save her."
"Don't say that." Lucy shook her head. "What you did...was really hard. You had to fight someone your heart still cares deeply for. You pulled her away from Dealer by defeating her. She may not be by your side right now, but if you want to save her, I think that was the first step. I know you want to save Jack too. You don't have to do this alone, you know?"
Ace looked at Lucy for a second, and then smiled a bit. "Thanks, Lucy." He then stood up and started to walk off, allowing her to rest along with Cynthia and Wendy. "...Doing things alone is all I know how to do, though. I have to be stronger. I can't let King or Joker win again..."
.
.
In Fairy Tail, most of the guild was rejoicing at Lisanna's return. Elfman brought his younger sister into his arms and hugged her tightly. "Lisanna! I promise to be there and protect you next time! The next time I see that Joker, I'm going to show him what happens when you mess with a Man's family!"
"E-Elfnii-chan…" Lisanna started, unable to help but smile from being in her brother's arms once again.
"That Ace hasn't been making any moves on you, has he!?" Elfman shouted while asking. "If he has I'll smash his face in!"
"O-Oi…!" Lisanna shook her head rapidly, flailing her arms in a comical fashion. "N-No! We've just been helping each other!"
"That's all it better be!" Elfman shouted with a huff. "Hitting on a Man's younger sister is NOT manly."
"Glad to see the idiot is back to normal…" Evergreen said in a slightly sarcastic tone while fanning herself.
"But he's your idiot, right?" Bickslow asked with a teasing grin while nudging his fellow partner. (Your idiot! Your idiot!) Bickslow babies repeated in their childish tone.
"W-What!? No!" Evergreen said while her face began to turn red, using her fan to cover up her face.
"No use hiding it, Ever," Freed said with a tiny smirk.
"I-Idiots! Both of you!" Evergreen huffed out in frustration.
"Everything's back to normal now…ain't that nice?" Gildarts asked Makarov, who seemed to be thinking about something. "Oi."
"Hm…?" Makarov turned his head after Gildarts gained his attention. "Oh, my apologies. I was thinking about what Ace told us."
"About Dealer?" Gildarts asked while taking a sip from his beer mug.
"Yes…I don't understand what it is they want…" Makarov said while looking to his children interacting in the regular fashion, largely due to Lisanna's return.
"Well…" Gildarts started, but he was quickly interrupted by Natsu who happened to be listening in on the conversation.
"Doesn't matter what they're after!" Natsu exclaimed, pounding his fist into his palm with a smirk. "We'll crush 'em like we've done everyone else!"
"Heh…" A slight smirk appeared on Makarov's lips from hearing Natsu's words. "You're right about that, Natsu. I have faith we'll crush Dealer before anything happens."
"Exactly!" Natsu nodded, crossing his arms with a smug grin after.
"Oh, and Natsu, one more thing." Makarov said while taking a sip of his own beer.
"What's th-" Natsu started, but before he could finish, Makarov instantly put his free arm into Titan mode, slamming Natsu into the floor.
"DON'T INTERUPT WHEN PEOPLE ARE TALKING." Makarov exclaimed in a comical manner.
"A-Aye…" Natsu replied, his left foot twitching with tears building up in the corner of his eyes.
.
.
"So…Queen Tia was captured by the branch of the Magic Council in Fiore…?" King asked once again with his back facing the rest of Dealer.
"That is correct. But her attack confirmed our suspicions…" Heartless said with a respectful nod. "Ace is on the move."
"Who cares about Ace?!" Jack shouted in an extremely irritated fashion. He was literally being held back by Diamond, Spade, and Strong. "Let me go, you idiots! When are we going to go rescue her?! It's been DAYS! Who knows what they've been doing to her in prison!"
"She's the fourth strongest one here, she'll be fine…!" Spade said while losing his grip on Jack.
Daigo watched the scene, not intervening with the attempted restraint of Jack. "You should calm down, Jack. Do you think this is what your sister would have wanted?"
"Jaaaack!" Diamond struggled to keep a solid grip on the trashing Jack Corvus. "Stop moving…!"
"And be more respectful to King…!" Strong said, even having trouble himself keeping Jack still despite his immense physical strength. "C'mon, kid! You can't lash out!" Tia knew this would happen...so Strong was really trying his best to make sure Jack didn't get himself hurt.
"Shut up!" Jack exclaimed.
"We aren't going to rescue her quite yet…" King said, but that wasn't what Jack wanted to hear.
"RAH!" Jack freed himself from the grip of the three underlings, immediately changing into his Corvus armor in attempt to fly towards King, but Joker appeared in his way, arm extended. Jack literally ran into Joker's fist, exiting his requip and hit the ground unconscious.
"That should calm him down for a few weeks." Joker said while dusting his hands off.
"That's one way to take care of him…" Diamond mumbled, dusting herself off.
"..." Strong grimaced at that impact from Joker.
"It's so close…" King said while turning around slowly. "Your magic collection is coming along smoothly, Heartless. It's really been helping the operation."
"Thank you, Mr. King…" Heartless said with a slight smile and respectful bow. "By the way…" Heartless started, looking over her shoulder to Jack. "What should we do about Jack…? He hasn't been behaving like himself…to put it lightly."
"Ho ho ho!" King laughed. "He isn't, is he? Get rid of him. He and Tia were just pawns from the start."
"King…!" Diamond gasped at King's words, unable to believe what she just heard, but she immediately hushed from feeling Joker's glare at her.
"W-Wait..." Strong tried to object as well, but Joker's glare shut him up as well. He clenched his hand into a fist, unsure what to do. He wanted to speak up about it. Tia asked him to look out for Jack, but when the moment called for it...he felt weak, and he couldn't do anything but listen. He glanced over at Spade, who just stared hard at something ahead...
"When you lose someone, you grow numb and careless." King stated in a matter of fact voice. "As for Jack…he isn't capable of much without Tia within three or so feet of him…He won't be of use…yet…" King then paused for a moment. "…Yet."
"King…?" Heartless raised a brow.
"Some parent feelings still linger within myself." King said while shuffling a deck of cards. "Let him stay and do as he places once he awakens. Ho ho ho…"
"Yes, sir…" Heartless replied.
"Dismissed." King demanded, and everyone left the meeting room, while Heartless took Jack into the infirmary.
"Just pawns…" Diamond thought while clenching her fist. "What does that make us lackeys then…?"
.
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In the guild known as Shaman's Heaven, Roy, the explosive mage, was talking with the master of the guild, Satoshi Kazeyama. Satoshi was a tall male, standing at a height of 6'4, had long black hair tied in a ponytail, and wore a blue kimono. "So, what did you need to talk about?" Satoshi asked while pouring himself a cup of tea.
"You see…" Roy began while pacing forward. He seemed to be slightly on edge, which was a rare sight. "I've recently received word that a few of my old…colleges are going to be in Fiore…"
"Colleges?" Satoshi raised a brow while taking a sip of his tea. "What do ya mean?"
Roy held up a letter, waving it around slightly. "Old friends, from before I actually got into the thieving business."
"I can tell ya seem nervous about it," Satoshi said while pointing out Roy's slightly on edge attitude.
"Just a little, admittedly." Roy replied. "You see…these friends of mine…are bounty hunters."
"Bounty Hunters…?" Satoshi raised a brow, looking at Roy rather curiously.
"That's right. Bounty Hunters, and they are very good at what they do." Roy explained, calming down just a little to explain. There are quite a few of them, but no larger than 10 altogether. They all also wield some sort of dispelling magic, and will do any job no matter how…dirty."
"I see…" Satoshi gave an understanding nod.
"I want to make sure everyone is safe, and I don't want them taking any missions as long as they're lurking in the area. They said they wouldn't harm anyone in Shaman's Heaven as long as I stayed out of their business, but they aren't 100% trustworthy."
"I understand," Satoshi nodded. "Thanks for letting me know, I'll be sure to let the other's know as well."
.
.
"I heard Celestial Spirit Mages sell for quite a bit on the black market…I think the employer is going to be quite happy about this find." A tall blonde male said while taking a few steps towards Yukino, the celestial spirit mage of Sabertooth, the shadows of the warehouse walls around keeping his face hidden.
Yukino took a step back, her hands immediately shielding her keys. "Who are you..?"
"I'm the one who requested the job of course…and you took it." The male said with a slight grin.
"Is this a trap?" Yukino asked.
"Obviously…" The male replied. "And you fell right for it, oh how things work out well…Wizard Hunters, we have our first catch!"