N/N: Ummmm…..hi. Remember when I said June? Ehehe…I meant almost November.

*Disclaimer: neither duodragoon nor I own/have any affiliation with Fairy Tail; all rights go to Hiro Mashima. Seriously, we just do this for fun*


The New Fairy Tail

Guild Alliance Arc

Chapter 21: Maids and Trades in Spades


*It is mid-day as we peer into a lavish hotel room. We see Akiko staring out the window at the town while Aria is on the bed messing with her bow holder*

"This place is weird. How is this place so big and successful yet I've never heard of it? What do you think: is that weird or am I crazy?" Akiko asks. She turns and waits for Aria to respond; Aria looks at her disinterestedly and shrugs. Akiko continues, "We should ask around town and see what's up. Oh, and find the guys while we're out there. You ready?" She turns back and sees Aria waiting at the door for her. Akiko quickly gets dressed in a simple outfit: a yellow tank top, blue jeans, and brown cowboy boots (she has come to find they are the best in both style and comfort). They nod at each other and head out.

In the hallway, they are greeted by a long line of girls in maid outfits. When the maids see the girls, all of them smile and say, "Good morning mistresses!" They walk down the hallway and each girl bows as they pass. Once they get to the end, Aria nudges Akiko; she nods then turns to the nearest girl and asks, "Um, excuse me? What happened to the girl that brought us here yesterday?" The girl stands straight, "The young miss? After dinner, she was escorted to her room. I imagine she's still there." Akiko and Aria look at each other and nod, "Thank you, we will be back later we have some work in town to do." The girl bows, "A clean room will be awaiting your return." They head downstairs, and the foyer is full of people waiting. The room next to it is a dining room filled with people eating food, there is a chorus of girls singing delightful melodies (Akiko feels relaxed listening to them sing almost as if she is home with her family), and the food is being served by more girls in maid uniforms. Akiko is watching this scene admiring the singing, food, and girls so much Aria has to pull her away.

*The view is being blurred by a raging sandstorm. Even so, we see some figures moving*

Jasper leads the group, pushing through with his goggles on, "Well guys, this is a pretty bad storm don't you think?" He turns back to only see Jarvan. Concerned Jasper asks, "What happened to the rest?" Jarvan points behind him. Jasper peers around him and sees a rope he's pulling; on the other side is a tent on wheels. Jasper peaks in and sees Jania and Tia relaxing. Jania is doing her nails while Tia is relaxing still looking disinterested by all things. Jasper is stunned, "Don't you guys think this is a little...I don't know, lazy!?" Jania responds, genuinely shocked, "You expect a delicate flower like moi to hike in such harsh conditions? I think not." Jasper turns to Tia, "And you?" She looks at him, "Dude seriously take a chill pill; the big guy ain't complaining, so why are you?" Jasper is about to respond when he realizes someone is missing, "Where's the major?" Both Jania and Tia point outside. Jasper looks around, suddenly seeing the major being dragged around the storm by his dog. Jasper sighs, "Why me?"

*It's late evening and we see Akiko and Aria walking down the street*

Akiko sighs, "We spent all day searching for something, anything that can help us. And we couldn't even find our teammates!" Each street light turns on as they pass by, she continues, "And it seems like no one is really thrown off by this new place! It's weird." Aria grabs Akiko by the sleeve, stopping Akiko and forcing her to look at the building now in front of them. The building is their hotel, and it looks like a five-layer cake with flashing lights as the candles. On the roof is a neon maid sign that flashes from standing to an idol pose. Akiko stares, "This can't be real."

They walk inside and just like when they left earlier the foyer is still somehow filled with just as many people. They rustle through and head upstairs, only to see a long line of girls (different ones from earlier in the day). Once they get to the room, the closest girl says, "We'll be closing soon, and shortly after that dinner will be ready for us." She bows then heads down the hall. After the girl is out of sight, Akiko whispers, "Maybe we can get some answers from the source." They then walk into their room and close the door

*It is night time and the storm has subsided. The moonlight gives the desert a blue glow. We see our group heading to a town*

Jasper collapses as soon as they enter town. Jarvan stands next to him and drops the rope, the major's dog is on his shoulder. The girls get out and look around the town; even though it is nighttime, the city is still very active. The main street is full of vendors and small-time salespeople, selling everything from bottled water to jewelry. Jasper tries to stand up but is pushed down by the major stepping on him while looking around, "Ah yes, I've heard about this town. They call it 'The Jewel Hidden in the Sand.' We should find shelter for tonight and see if we can find out anything about the pyramid tomorrow." The major looks around at the group who is completely ignoring him, "Where in the world is that boy?! Jasper, where did you go?" The group points to the major's feet; he looks down and sees Jasper struggling in a push up stance with the major on his back. Confused, he asks, "Jasper, what are you doing down there? Get up." Struggling, Jasper answers, "Well you stepped on me while I was trying to get up. So, could you please get off me." The major takes a moment before realizing Jasper is right, "Mm, well then I guess I should." He gets off and Jasper stands up and dusts himself off, "Well then, shall we find a place to stay?"

They head into several fancy looking buildings, but every one of the clerks look at their appearance and denies them a room. Finally, they go into a shabby looking building: most of the lights are out, and the ones that are working are blinking vigorously and out of rhythm. At the front desk is an average height slender guy; he doesn't look like the kind of guy you want to leave your wallet around. He turns to the group and says in a raspy voice, "Ah yes come in come in. What can I do for you...lovely people." Jania turns to walk out, but Jarvan grabs her as Jasper steps up, "Yes sir, we would love to stay in your...lovely establishment." The guy looks at the group then says, "Ah, but of course. A fine group such as yourself would certainly have trouble find you in this city. Not too many straight and narrow people with...such amazing looking gear come through here." Jasper is about to reply when Tia pulls him by the hair and forces him back, she then slams her hand on the table and leans over the desk, "Rooms. Now!" The guy notices the rage behind Tia's eyes and is terrified. He reaches in the drawer and pulls out two keys. Tia snatches one, then grabs Jania and drags her up the stairs. Jasper, Jarvan, and the major are all surprised by this outburst. The major comments, "I say, that's the most emotion she's shown all trip." The other two nod before the trio head upstairs.

*We see now the foyer is empty, but the dining room is now filled by the staff instead. At the head table is Akiko and Aria, along with an older red headed woman and the girl they saved in the alley way. Food is quickly being passed out*

Akiko looks around in amazement at all the girls in maid outfits and how fashionable they look. Once they are handed the food, Akiko's mouth begins to water; plates holding the juiciest, most succulent, and thickkest looking steaks with fries on the side lie in front of everyone. Halfway through dinner, Aria nudges Akiko which almost makes her swallow her fork. She whispers to Aria, "You know you can talk too, nothing's stopping you…is there something stopping you?" Aria rolls her eyes then Akiko turns to the other two at the table, "Thank you ma'am for your hospitality, me and my friend here have most enjoyed your kindness." The woman stops eating and smiles, "Oh the pleasure is all mine, it's the least I can do for someone who saved my precious little girl," she reaches over and hugs the girl, "I don't know what I would have done without her!" Akiko notices that the girl is uncomfortable but used to it, reminding her of her and her mother and making her a little jealous.

Akiko quickly gets over this then asks, "So what exactly is this place and how did you get all of these girls here?" The woman stops hugging her daughter and replies, "Why, this is a safe haven for these girls. Many of them came from the streets, some from broken homes, but I rescued them and gave them work and now they couldn't be happier." They look around and see all the girls laughing and joyful; seeing this warms Akiko's heart, "This is amazing, and you do this for free?" The woman's smile fades, "Well no, there are fees that they take care of by working and there are certain rules they must follow. So, no it isn't free, but reasonable especially with what I'm giving them. How about you two try it out tomorrow? See how great the work is?" Akiko and Aria look at each other and nod, "Sounds like an experience too good to pass up." The woman nods and snickers, "Oh, I have no doubt that it will be a life changing experience for you." The girls are so wrapped up in eating they miss the woman's eyes glow emerald green.

*It is late at night in the desert. In one room, we see Jania and Tia sleeping. Tia's bed seems average while Jania's bed is a huge queen size bed with jewels on the posts. In the others we see Jarvan and the major in beds while Jasper is snuggled in a sleeping bag on the floor*

Under the major's covers, a weird figure moves about. Once it gets to the top, a sleepy dog head wiggles out. It scurries over to the door and begins pawing at it. This wakes up Jasper, who squirms over to the door and opens it to let him out. The dog rushes outside. The dog uses the services of a nearby bush when a shadow of someone creeps over him.

*The next morning, we see the group standing in front of their hotel*

"Alright, now that we're all ready let's-" Jasper begins, before he is interrupted by the major yelling, "Professor Ruufles!? Professor Ruufles!?" The major runs around the corner, "Quickly, have you guys seen Professor Ruufles? I haven't seen him all morning." The group all gets questioning looks on their faces. Jasper has a sudden realization and begins to sweat, "Well, he must be around here somewhere. Let's go find him!" He then rushes off down the street. The group looks at each other then follow Jasper. From the shadows, the hotel manager rubs his hands together diabolically.

*Meanwhile in Akiko and Aria's room, we get an upward panning shot of Akiko in a full body mirror. She has on low top dark blue shoes, thigh high white socks, and a dark blue maid outfit. Her hair is in two long, high pigtails*

She twirls to check herself out. She winks in the mirror, "Lookin' good there, missy." She then starts making provocative faces at herself; she doesn't notice a figure walk in. Akiko turns and jumps when she notices. We see Aria standing there in a gray maid outfit, similar to Akiko's, and she now styled her hair so that her bangs cover her left eye. Akiko sighs, "You really scared me. Don't sneak up on someone like that, you'll give them a heart attack." Aria rolls her eyes making it obvious she's heard that before. Akiko walks around Aria looking her over, "Gotta say, not bad. Obviously not as cute as me, but a solid nine-out-of-ten." Akiko then turns to the door and begins to walk, "Alright, now let's get a behind the scenes look at what really goes on around here."

Instead of the large row of girls that greeted them the previous morning, there is one short girl holding a clipboard and has a head set on. A little disappointed, Akiko walks forward. As Akiko gets closer, she can hear her talking into the head set, "Make sure Jody knows she's on kitchen duty from five to seven tonight, she's been ducking doing dishes...I don't care how easily she prunes, it's her turn. Also, Merry needs to service the VIPs early today; the boss says she wants to have a meal with them today." The girl looks up from her clip board, "Ah yes, the newbies, come with me." She turns and walks down the hallway with Akiko and Aria in tow. The girl continues, "Alright you have a full schedule. You'll start with tidying up living quarters, then we'll bring you downstairs for welcoming and serving, and finally clean up." She turns to the girls, "Any questions...well, you girls will have moderators watching and helping you so direct any questions to them." Akiko is about to say something, but the girl puts her finger up and starts listening in the head set, "What did you say... Linsey did WHAT!? I'll be right there!" The girl then rushes off. Akiko just stares for a second then questions, "Does my forehead have a sign that says, 'Please ignore me, I say nothing important'?" Akiko looks at Aria who is blankly staring back at her. Akiko angrily sighs, "Ughh, let's just get to work." [N/N: Cue montage!]

Akiko and Aria work their way through their tasks: cleaning rooms, welcoming guests, taking and serving orders, and cleaning after hours. Although Akiko is doing her best, she still struggles in doing the chores perfectly; with Aria doing her work so spectacularly, Akiko's effort did not look as strong. Now mopping the kitchen, Akiko lets out an exhausted sigh, "Wow, that was a lot of work. I see why so many girls work here." Aria nods in agreement. Akiko puts down her mop, "Well we've searched all over the place and nothing seems out of order. Maybe I was wrong, maybe-" Aria puts her finger up to her mouth then starts walking around the room. She puts her hand on a wall and begins feeling it out. Her hand slides on a certain area and a symbol appears; it is the same symbol the council showed them. A passage way appears in front of them, Akiko walks over amazed, "Incredible. How did you find this?" Aria shrugs. Akiko nods, "Of course. Let's see what's behind door number one."

*Late afternoon in the desert, our group is walking down the street looking tired and defeated*

Jarvan yells out, "Aww man, what's up with this town!? Everyone is acting like they scared of J-dog or something. We ain't find our dog or anything about that pyramid." Jasper sighs from the front, "Let's regroup in our hotel, maybe we can figure…" He stops and one by one they bump into him. "Yo, what's the ho-" Jarvan says as he looks past the group and sees the building that they had been staying and keeping their equipment at is now gone. A few moments of silence pass before we hear the wind whistles and a tumbleweed rolls past. Down the street, the manager whistles while walking with a large stack of money in hand. He looks up some distance away from the group and, in seeing them, turns down a side street and picks up his pace. He looks back at his money, so he doesn't notice the large stone golem rise in front of him. "Ouch there wasn't a wall here last week," he grumbles and looks up, right at the golem. Before he can do anything, the golem grabs him and carries him over to the group.

The golem stops in front of Jasper and holds the manager up, Jasper looks at him with irritation etched on his face, "Listen buddy, we've had a long day with very little success and we expected to come to your establishment and decompress. So, imagine our dismay when your place is gone, with all our stuff nonetheless. How about you tell us where our stuff is, and we will be on our way." The guy turns his nose up to Jasper, who responds by putting him in a head lock, "Listen I'm trying to be nice, but you're making this difficult. If you don't work with me here, I'm going to have to let my more vicious friends get it out of you." He looks over and sees Jarvan picking at his ear and the major crying over a picture of his dog. He looks back at Jasper quizzically, who responds, "Not them," Jasper flicks his head to the other side, "them." The manager looks that direction and sees Tia and Jania standing there with pillars of pure hatred flowing from them and glares that could even make Councilwoman Erza uneasy. Sweating, the manager whispers in Jaspers ear, who then releases the head lock, "Good news: I know where our stuff is." The golem drops him and a dust cloud plumes up.

*30 minutes later, the group is standing in front of the biggest building the town*

Jasper speaks, "Well this is the place let's-" Jania pushes him to the side, "My stuff is in there. We've done things your way, now we do them my way." She stomps in with four golems following her. The group stares for a moment then follows her. The inside has glorious architecture and artwork all around (the type of stuff you would see in the Roman palace). Several shops are scattered around with gambling hotspots in between. There are people all around going from place to place. The people part a path as Jania and her entourage storm through. She stops at a desk with a snazzy dress girl, who seems even less interested than Tia. "How may I help you ma'am?" The desk lady says with a monotonous tone. Jania angrily answers, "I would like to speak to the owner of this establishment!" The woman then asks, "Reason?" Jania responds, "Well some two-timing thief stole our stuff, then sold it here and we would like it back!" The woman sighs, "Here at Azar's Bazaar there is a strict no return or take-back policy maybe you should have taken better care of it." Jania snaps and lunges across the desk; however, she doesn't make it to the girl as both Jasper and Jarvan grab her.

They pull her back a safeish distance (with much difficulty); the major then walks up to the desk and begins speaking an unfamiliar language. The girl responds in what seems like the same language. They go back and forth for a few moments, while Jania is still wrestling with Jasper and Jarvan in the background with Tia and the golems just watch. The desk lady still has an emotionless face but begins to blush as she picks up the phone. She mumbles into the phone, she then puts the phone down, "My boss will see you now." The whole group stops (including the golems) and stares at the major, who is standing in front of them with a proud look on his face, baffled, "What? You think I've lived this long and don't know how to sweet talk a lady? That's absurd!" The woman then stands up and says, "Follow me."

*2 minutes later, our group (without the golems) is standing in a huge office with a whole bunch of expensive looking art and furniture*

Jasper asks the woman who is still standing with them, "So where is-" Before he finishes, we hear a flushing sound come from the next room; there is silence for a second, then the door creeps open. A man of average height with long slicked-back black hair, dark brown skin, and a scar across the bridge of his nose emerges. He fixes his tie, then nods to his assistant; on the way out, she slips the major a piece of paper. He looks at it then quickly tucks it in his pocket. The guy clears his throat and puts on a shark smile, "Well well, I hear you guys have an issue that you believe I can solve." Jasper steps forward, "Yes. You see, some of our things were stolen and sold here. We were hoping you could help us get them back." The smile fades off the man's face and he leans back, "I know my assistant told you guys the rules here, so for her to budge means you guys must have done some real smooth talk…tell you what, if you guys can impress me enough then I'll help you with whatever you need." Jasper asks, "And if we don't live up to your expectations?" The man smirks again, "The desert can be hard on those who don't know how to maneuver it. If you wanna make it to the pyramid, I'd suggest you don't disappoint."

Everyone except Tia looks shocked. Tia looks at them, "What did you guys expect? We went around town only asking about a dog and a pyramid, it's not that hard to figure out." The man nods, "Oh yeah and this." He opens a drawer and pulls out Professor Ruufles, and the major instantly tears up, "MY BOY!" He then scurries over and grabs the dog. The man answers, "One of my guys found him wondering the streets; that's no place for such an adorable little guy. Take him back as a show of good faith. So, what will you do to impress me?" The group looks at each other, then Jarvan cracks his knuckles, "Yo, J- dog got this! I'll rock his world with my sweet voice!" Jasper then grabs his arm, "I don't know if he's...ready for your rocking tunes bro. Maybe someone else?" They stand there looking at each other for a few seconds; Tia sighs, grabs Jania, and walks to the desk, "You guys have a stage, right?" The guy nods, confused, and Tia nods back, "Show us."

*Our group is now in a huge auditorium with a large stage and closed velvet curtains. In the front row we see the guy impatiently looking at a very fancy looking watch, and the major petting his sleeping dog. Jarvan still seems offended that he was not chosen, and Jasper is just awkwardly sitting there*

The lights dim, and music begins to play as the curtains open. From behind the curtain, Tia appears in a purple belly dancer outfit that has gold trim, and her hair and make-up are done in a way that makes her look like a gorgeous goddess. She begins dancing, her movements are fluid and beautiful. The guys watch intently, mesmerized by the beauty of her performance. The performance lasts for a few minutes. Once she finishes, she bows and receives a round of applause. She stands straight, "Well did I impress you?" The guy smiles, "Yes, indeed you did. Let's make a deal: your group gets your supplies and an escort to the pyramid, if I get you." The group turns to him and Jasper responds, "Out of the question! There's no wa-" Tia then jumps off the stage and is face to face with the man, "I can't be yours. I'm part of Lamia Scale, but how about a part time deal."

"Once a month, I come here and perform. That way you can charge extra to sell out." The guy is surprised, but smiles, "I like the way you think beautiful, you got yourself a deal. I'll have my guys bring your stuff and an escort to you within the hour." He then walks off. Jania comes from behind the curtain and stands with the group, "Good job girl who knew someone who acts like you could be so lively on stage." Tia shakes her head and her hair changes to her regular ombre style, then she gives Jania an annoyed glance, "Not all of us are superficial and need to look like a fashion model all the time." Jarvan then says, "But seriously dawg, you got some wicked moves. You gotta teach me some time." Jasper chuckles, "Now that's a sight I'd definitely pay big bucks for." The group begins to laugh, Tia even giggles a little, as Jarvan twirls on his toes.


N/N: *sweats* Okay, I am really sorry about being so late on this…but life is strange man. It has no balance or uniformity to it. However, I think we are good to go with pretty consistent updates on this story for a while. Fingers crossed. Hope you enjoyed!

Until next time FanFiction, this is

duodragoon & SkyFlameDragon

Signing off