My fingers are itching to speak, and I don't know yet what they want to say.

Thwump

Levy's bag slammed onto the floor as she collapsed in exhaustion.

"Oh my god, we're finally here!" Droy also sank to his knee and heaved his hand on Levy's shoulder.

"I can feel myself swallowing my lungs."

Jet leaned on the counter and waved for the clerk.

"Hey, mind if we check in?" A cute brunette popped up from the corner of the room smiling. She left the man sitting at the table in a brown cloak that covered his distinguishing features.

"Sure! How many nights were you thinking?"

Levy huffed and rose to her feet again. As she did, her neck tingled and she spun around, finding the eyes of the man staring directly at her. She turned away and stared at the floorboards.

"Eh, we'll probably need to stay a couple nights."

"How many are staying? Do you want the same or separate rooms?"

"Two rooms right next to each other, please. Do they include breakfast and lunch?"

"Yes, meals come with the package and for a few extra gold…"

The conversation slowly faded from Levy's ears as her locked stare only grew tighter, just as the gaze on her back did.

Jet raised his right hand, exiting Levy's room.

"Gnight Levy. Make sure you go to sleep soon, you know we'll need your rest for tomorrow." Levy raised her hand in reply.

"I know!" Her tableside candle flickered as the door shut, and Levy's blue quill continued to flourish over her parchment. Keeping a detailed report of the day's events, their early arrival at Mava, their decision to stay at the Home Boar, their intent on finding the village head in the morning and their initial thoughts on the town's situation.

…the village seems to be prosperous, reliant on the agricultural production system as well as small business trading, it's easily understandable how this little town near the mountains could be so affected by a loss of livestock or game…

A small thud on the roof cut through the thick silence of the night and Levy jumped. She wrapped her nightgown tighter, and walked over to her window, peering up.

The only thing to greet her was the chilly hands of an evening laying to rest, but Levy had read far too many detective novels to ignore this kind of disturbance which would lead to some sort of plot device so she grabbed her magic pen and threw on a coat.

She hesitated only slightly before she left without knocking on her teammate's room, not wanting to bother them for only a slight disturbance. After all, she was a capable mage in her own right.

Luckily despite not having explored much of the inn, there was a hallway directly to the left of her room that would allow her access to the outside. Opening the door as slowly as possible, she peeked through the crack.

Nothing.

She stepped into the brisk night air and stuck to the wall of the inn. Another peek around the corner showed her the alley her room faced, and while her eyes showed nothing, her ears could hear it.

Something was eating.

Levy's heart beat faster, and she immediately thought to call for Jet and Droy. But her rational side slapped her and said they still didn't know anything about what they were facing. Information. That's what they needed.

So tiptoeing closer, Levy could hear the teeth ripping into something ever clearer. It was just around the corner.

She weaved her wrist, and the word mirror floated in the air. She grabbed the reflective letter O and took her next breath, slowly, quietly. Then, staying low to the ground, she held her mirror out.

Tearing into a drumstick Droy sat below the window to his room, gazing at the moon.

"Droy!" Droy jumped and nearly swallowed his food whole. "What are you doing! It's past midnight!"

He grinned sheepishly and looked into his room where Jet lay asleep with one knee in the air and one hand behind his head.

"I… didn't want to wake him. Please don't tell him."

The wind whipped at his scarf, and just for a second Natsu allowed himself to stop scanning the town. Not that there was much to scan, the town only numbered a thousand and a few.

Such a small place. So… delicate.

And for the bajillionth and second time, Natsu sighed.

Igneel... I miss you so much. Where the hell are you...

Images of hunting in his home forest, running up the trunk of his first tree, and one of his favourite hide and strike maneuvers with Igneel played through his mind. He chuckled, remembering that one time he'd slammed Igneel's mouth shut onto his tongue before launching another attack that ended with him being slammed and clamped to a tree by Igneel's claws.

"What's up old man! It's tax time again!"

The memories fled. The laughter died and his fangs growled. A small group of thugs were knocking at the clocktowers old wooden door.

"Oi! Grandpa! Don't you go hiding on us like a little bitch now, just give us this week's money and we'll still be the best of friends!"

Natsu rose from his wooden stool, grabbed his cloak from the nearby hook and dived from the steeple.

"OLD M—"

Bwoom

A wave of dust engulfed the group, and a sea of coughing ensued. There were cries of panic and demands to know what was going on, and as the dirt parted the four other men yelped as they found their leader struggling as she was held by the neck.

"Oi! Let me go! Don't you know who we work for?" Natsu's lips curled.

"No." A hint of smugness seemed to return to the struggling leader.

"We serve the head of Down Under, Sachi Fodder! So you better—" Natsu dropped her, kicking her stomach and knocking her into her lackies.

"Old man Nezu will never pay you again, I'm here to make sure of that. Now buzz off, you've already ruined my night. Make it up to me and attack, I dare you."

One of the lackies picked up the nailed club they carried, stepping forward while another went to take something from behind their back until their leader threw out her arm.

"Stop." The others listened, and the leader glared at Natsu. "We're reporting this. Let's go." They hobbled away from the courtyard in front of the clocktower, fading from view. Natsu frowned.

"How often does that happen? Did they really just listen to me?"

"I'm just as shocked as you are boy."

"Not too shocked though right old man? We wouldn't want you to have another heart attack."

"At least I know how to take care of myself. Who jumps from the top of a building?"

"A hero who came to save your butt that's who."

"A hero who also liberates purses?" Natsu grinned and threw a large sack of gold coins at an elderly man who sat at the window of the stone clocktower. He caught the money with both hands and began counting them patiently.

"There's the village's money. Who knew the leader would keep the week's earnings on them still?"

"My place is just the last stop. They hadn't dumped the money off yet. So was it during when you kicked up your little dust cloud?"

"Old man, are you really sure you're that old?"

"I'm at the pinnacle of maturity and grace, watch your mouth brat."

Natsu couldn't help but smile, and his eyes caught a blur of brown and his hands caught a sack slightly smaller than the one he'd just thrown at Old man Nezu.

"This is yours. Go spend it on a shower or something." Natsu flashed his teeth and vanished.

"Hmph. Showoff."

Natsu dashed towards the outskirts of the village heading to the local ranch. He picked the smallest of the herd killed it with a strike to the head, slid under its belly so he could carry it and threw the entire pouch of money at the bell that rested above the door to the farmhouse. None of the other cows made any noise, but the ringing of the bell awoke the residents inside.

"Mary! What's going on!"

Natsu leaped away with the beast on his back, looking forward to his next meal. Several kilometres of plainlands receded under Natsu's feet until eventually, the land turned to sand and Natsu arrived at a beach. He leapt off the small cliff onto the ground and continued running while keeping the water to his left and the elevated land on his right until he spotted the familiar half-burnt log.

He slowed as he approached, and after quickly scanning the surrounding area he slipped under the tree roots that grew out of the cliff and past the moss and stones that hid the cave, just as the sun began to yawn and begin its day.

"So you're saying, in the dead of early morning some vagabond came along and silently stole the fourth cow this month from your herd?"

"That's right! No sound no nothing! We only figured it out cause we were calling them all in to clean and milk em when we found one was gone!"

Levy's pen fluttered across the page and the farmer scratched his chin.

"And you said there were no traces of blood or a struggle?"

"Nope. As you can see." Levy looked at Jet and he shook his head.

"Nothing." Levy put away her notebook.

"Alright, sir, we'll investigate the surrounding area and report back to you after."

"You better catch him! If I lose another cow I'll be sure to send a complaint to your guild." Levy's business face didn't budge, but she could feel Jet and Droy's about to.

"Roger! See you soon!" She yelled, saluted, and then dragged her boys away before they could make a commotion.

"Levy! What are you doing! That guy is already complaining even though we just got here! We couldn't have done anything about any of his cows!"

"Yes, Jet, but he doesn't care. And we don't need to antagonize him any further, we'll deal with his problems and be done with this soon." Droy crossed his arms.

"Levy, you're too kind as always. We should have showed him exactly who he was messing—" Levy stopped, and Droy nearly tripped over his companion. She spun around, grabbing his collar.

"Droy. What is our team's, no, what's our family's law?" Droy's head drooped.

"Never bully the weak." Levy's signature smile returned and she gave Droy a hug, who accepted the embrace.

"Sorry Levy."

"Don't worry you goof. We've got each other's backs." Jet grinned.

"You said it, leader." Levy gripped Droy tighter once more, then released him.

"So, what's the plan guys? Do we have any ideas?" Droy's smile lit his face.

"Actually…"

"A trap?" Zeref coughed, resting his forehead against the cold stone walls of the cave.

"Yes Natsu, I'm worried Velvet Flare set one against you." Natsu scoffed, continuing to stir the stew.

"I'll be fine Z, you and Dad taught me, what could those meatheads do?" As Natsu brought the wooden ladle to his mouth, an iron grip clamped onto his wrist and the ladle dropped to the floor.

"Don't be arrogant Natsu. That'll be the reason you die." Natsu stared.

"Z, calm down." The hand didn't move an inch, and Natsu tried to rip his arm away but to no avail.

"Promise me you'll be safe. Promise me Natsu!" Natsu gave a final effort and his hand flew out of Zeref's grasp. But while Zeref's grip may have released him, those deep golden eyes would never let him go.

"Promise me. Please." For a moment, Natsu could not respond, until Zeref's eyes widened even further, and he succumbed to a storm of coughing and retreated further in the cave, where his suffering would be shielded from view. Wiping the ladle, Natsu filled a bowl with the beef stew and placed it on a stone for Zeref to retrieve later.

"I promise. Get better soon Z, and I promise I'll still take care of both of us till you're better."

Jet looked up.

"You were paid?" The rotund farmer nodded, rubbing the back of his crown shaped hair.

"Yes, it's quite strange, there's always some assortment of payment, usually random sacks of coins that are more than enough to pay for what's taken, sometimes in gems and stones and the like."

"Well if this person is able to pay then why still submit a request?"

"Well so far he's only taken a couple critters from various farms, but even if the money still covers the amount our animals are worth, the minute he takes too many of our livestock our livelihoods as farmers would be stolen. We need our animals to stay alright."

"I understand. Thank you for being so co-operative Mr…?"

"Janken."

"Mr. Janken. Tonight, we're going to set up around multiple farms and lie in wait. Could you make sure our work goes uninterrupted?"

"What do you mean uninterrupted?"

"Just that you won't like… work near us when we're hidden or setting off our tracking spells or accidentally giving away or positions."

"I can tell you we will try our best not to get in the way of you mages, but we still have to tend to our animals and keep our crops healthy."

"What about once the sun goes down? You farmers go to bed early right? Can we remain in the fields uninterrupted?"

"Yes, once we're finished we can promise we won't bother ye." Jet nodded.

"Good, that would be great thank you." Mr. Janken slapped his knee.

"Alrighty youngsters! You go get em now! We'll be sure to stay out of yer way."

"Don't worry sir, we might be hired hands but we got this in the bag."

Droy held his arm out and grabbed his bicep. "We'll catch 'em in no time!"

…

As the sun peeked the trees, Droy stood up, gave a heartful soul quenching stretch, gave a happy sigh, and threw his leafy camouflage hat into the dirt.

"Where the HELL IS THIS GUY." Jet was sitting with his right leg up and his hand resting on his knee. He covered his mouth from his yawn.

"Calm down man, we knew we would be here for a week. The culprit doesn't come to the farms more than once every couple of weeks." Levy flopped onto her back from her squat, her knees buzzing from hours of remaining still.

"I agree with Jet but Droy I'm so with you. My knees are killing me! Uuuuugh." Jet gave glanced at the two hiding spots his teammates were positioned and spoke into the communication lacrima.

"You guy's didn't actually think that he would show up the very next day for another cow, did you? Nobody can eat that much that fast." Droy smirked.

"Nobody but me." Jet rolled his eyes.

"You talk a lot Droy, and I think that's just more of it." Droy bristled and was about to reply when Levy cut in.

"Alright, that's enough boys. Keep focused and no more chatter."

"Yes, ma'am." They echoed. And that was the only sound they heard for the rest of the night. And the next. And the next. And the next.

Levy's foot slammed into the ground and the town became a barren wasteland and the only thing left to survive was her and the thief, and she was ready to tear him apart. She lunged at him, ignoring his protests and clamping down on his throat, sending him into the dirt—

"Levy?" Droy's voice cut through her fervour.

"What?" She snapped. "I was just in the middle of strangling—"

"Uh, there's some sort of commotion in the middle of the town. I can hear yelling and punches." Levy hopped to her feet, immediately feeling days worth of silent squatting shoot up her leg but she happily ignored it.

"Oh my gosh finally! Let's go get this guy!" And she sped into the town. Jet caught up with Droy with his speed magic and Droy shrugged.

"Good thing Levy isn't all that fast, we don't even know if that's our guy." Jet smiled and bumped fists with his friend.

"I'm just glad we get to be moving. C'mon, let's not let our leader wait."

A male scream pierced the air, and Natsu spat on the ground.

"I've felt twelve-year old's punch harder than you." Natsu's attacker lay on the floor clutching his broken arm.

"F-fuck you, you—" Natsu planted his foot onto his face and sent him hurtling.

"I even gave you a free hit to the face. That's all the mercy you get from me." Some of the other goons rushed over to help, but the rest remained, angered, bitter, and…

'Still idiots…'

"Looks like the mutts think they can bite when you pity them," He slammed his chest and gave a roar. "Come on then!"

A moment of hesitation, until three of the thugs readied their blunt weapons and charged.

The first swung his bludgeon in a giant arc from above his head but Natsu kicked the wooden weapon away before it even came past the forehead. He spun around and with the same foot knocked the thug away. The second and third saw this and switched from a frontal assault to a pincer movement.

Or at least, that had been the plan. Where Natsu had been standing were two small footprints in the ground. Natsu's palm slammed into the left thug and he brought him to the ground.

Natsu's form vanished again, and the last thing the third attacker saw was his target leap into the air, coming down fist first.

The harsh clashing of a ruckus echoed in the streets of night, and Jet was speeding ahead with his magic, Levy and Droy close behind.

As soon as he could spot the town square, he leapt onto the roof of the huts and crouched behind a chimney.

"Uh oh…"

A man with pink hair was stepping on someone, with eyes that were almost wild. And around the clearing, dozens of people lay in states of bleeding or injury. A quick glance of their attire and weaponry told him they were someone other than townsfolk.

"I better tell the others." He turned, and hopped onto the cobblestone streets, peeking over his shoulder as he descended. And he shivered. As the roof broke his line of sight, Jet swore he could see the man looking directly at him.

As Levy and Droy approached, Jet strode forward, a finger on his lips. Levy immediately quieted while Droy hissed various questions.

"What do you mean hush? What did you see? Can we take him?" Jet dragged them to the nearest corner to hide behind.

"This guy's no joke. There's a whole clearing of trashed thugs up there. We need a solid plan, or we need to be the stealthiest thieves in the world as we follow him and gather more info. He—" Droy yelped.

"A whole clearing!" Jet immediately slapped his hand over his friend's mouth.

"Yes! Shut up!" Levy's hand was on her chin.

"A whole clearing huh… Is this our best chance to get him while he's worn out?"

"I mean I wasn't close enough to see if he'd broken a sweat, but he didn't look like he was all that worn out Lev." Levy's brow furrowed.

"I see. Okay, gathering info it is. Jet, check what he's doing now, Droy and I will creep around to the other side of the clearing so we can get ready to follow him if he goes either way."

"Alright. Be careful, I got a bad vibe."

"I'm always careful."

"Yeah, but you're not always smart either Lev. Seriously. Watch out."

"Alright, alright."

The other two crept away, sticking close to walls. Jet climbed slowly onto the roof, careful to keep his body as flat as possible. When he peeked at the clearing again, he could see the pink haired guy staring at the moon. He stood close to the clocktower building and his mouth was moving.

"Hey, old man. They're taken care of, every single one of em."

"Yes, every single one that came tonight. But the whole group will come as soon as they realize their guys aren't coming back."

"You don't have to worry about that. They won't have the time to either. I'ma finish things tonight. Properly this time."

"You know I don't blame you for them coming back like this. They were coming anyway."

Natsu was silent.

"…I'm the one who beat up their little messenger boys. I… I didn't think more would come. I'm sorry."

"Boy, you're just a kid. An infant! I jes told ya, we don't blame you. Not every mage is like 'em, don't blame yourself."

"…Sure, old man." A few sacks of varying size pouches hit the wooden boarded window. "Here's your money back. Careful not to be so easy to rob next time."

"Ahhh, shuttup."

Natsu glanced over his shoulder but didn't spot that black-haired guy again. He sprinted down the alley under the light of the moon.

"Stay safe kid."

"He's on the move! Heading north-west!" Jet touched his communication lacrima quickly.

"Roger. Heading your way, I'll catch up soon."

"Roger."

With the click of his tongue, Jet increased the mana he was pumping into his magic sigils. His sigils burned an ever brighter green and he was soon out of town and spotting his friends a ways ahead.

As he approached, Droy handed him a pouch and Jet winked at his best friend.

"See you guys soon." Droy huffed.

"Don't start anything without us tiny foot."

"Wouldn't dream of it munchy."

And Jet was gone. His magical speed allowed him to keep slightly ahead in pace of the pink haired man, but jet made sure to keep his distance behind. As he crossed past the fields and groupings of crop trees, every so often he would investigate the most accessible and safe paths.

Once located, he would toss a small seed hidden by some form of foliage. By the time one drew ten breaths the seed would sprout to become a young glowing daffodil.

Jet sped around, circling ahead and falling behind of the perpetrator, always keeping him in sight. Two hours of this scouting and planting, and his magic was running on low and the pink-haired bastard showed no signs of stopping.

"Where the hell is this guy going?" Jet took the last swig he had from his canteen and wiped his lips. "There's nothing here but rivers, marshes and more water!"

He fell to one knee, waiting for his breath to catch up, and let his sights fall on the water that lay in puddles beneath him. He spun around, then spun back.

"What the…" He looked behind him, but nothing was there. But as he looked back in the water, a huge building loomed above him.

Jet's lacrima crackled, and Jet almost slammed his hand on it.

"What?"

"One of my seeds was destroyed!" Jet almost swore.

"Did he find out where they are?"

"Well, he's only gotten one."

"Do you know which?"

"Well, it's by water and a small dirt hill…"

"That could be any of them."

"I know! I don't know!"

"Droy I swear—"

Fwoosh

Jet's eyes snapped up and saw a huge flame rise above the trees in the area.

"… I guess that's which one he destroyed, but w—"

The air before him flickered, and the huge mansion that which had been tucked away from the world fazed into view.

"Oh."

God does good music make my life go round. Today's Musical Mentions: Shawn Wasabi and Forrest everyone! Show them some love for me.

Shawn: Marble Soda

Forrest: Grandpa's Uke

Okay so again, my plot has escaped me, and I don't know how long I'll be going down this road. Hopefully everything ends real nicely.

Apologies again for my delay in uploading. Am'a tryin' ma best.

Happy New Year everyone! Enjoy it to the fullest.

Welcome to my world my anime brothers and sisters!

Justin