16

Chapter 16 – Daybreak, Erza Returns

"With twenty complete E-Class Quests, I promote Lucy to D-Class." Makarov smiled at the blonde as he tapped the end of his staff on her pink Guild Mark. The pink Fairy Tail symbol glowed for a moment and Lucy swore she saw the letter 'D' on the insignia for a split second.

It had only taken Lucy six days at Fairy Tail to complete twenty E-Class Quests. She'd taken the advice of the Dragon Slayers to heart and did multiple short Quests around Magnolia each day. She'd done everything from her first Entertainment Quest to simple jobs like helping construction with heavy lifting and delivery quests. Taurus put any regular man to shame with his immense strength, so construction work was easy for the Bull Celestial Spirit. Though Lucy could have done without some of the ogling she'd gotten while helping out around the site.

'The curse of being beautiful.' Lucy thought to herself with a grin as she headed over to chat with Natsu, Cana, Lisanna, and Mira. Now that she was a D-Class Mage, she wanted to hear their opinions on what kind of Quests she should consider taking.

"Congrats, Lucy!" Lisanna smiled at the blonde.

"See? Didn't take long at all." Cana raised her cup to Lucy's promotion.

"Thanks!" Lucy beamed at the four that had become such good friends to her in so short a time. She was still imposing on their hospitality, but none of them seemed to mind. She almost felt like she was part of their little family already.

"So, what kind of Quest are you going to take next?" Mira asked, her cheek resting on her palm.

"I was kind of hoping you guys might have some suggestions?" Lucy looked hopefully at the four Dragon Slayers.

"You could try a Quest that's further out of the way. They usually pay fairly well for the trouble." Natsu suggested while rubbing his thumb gently over the back of Mira's hand. She gave him a soft, loving gaze while enjoying the simple affection.

"Alright, let's check the board." Lucy headed over to the Request Board and looked through the D-Class Quests she could now take. "Which one has the best reward?" Her brown eyes skimmed over the Quests, taking in their individual reward amounts. She stopped dead, her whole body flinching, when she spotted a ridiculous amount compared to the other D-Class Quests. "Two-Hundred-Thousand Jewel! No way!" She took the flier off the board and read over it.

'Steal the book Daybreak from Duke Everlue's Mansion and destroy it.' Lucy read and glanced at the reward amount again. This seemed almost too good to be true. She read over the rest of the flier. 'Please Note: Everlue is a dirty old man that's currently looking for maids with blonde hair.' "There it is…" Lucy exhaled heavily. Of course the target would be an absolute creep with a thing for blondes. This was just her luck.

"Find one?" Cana questioned as Lucy walked over to their table with a flier in her hands.

"Maybe," Lucy laid the Quest down on the table so the others could read it. "The reward is amazing, but I'm not sure I want to deal with this Everlue guy."

"Ugh." Lisanna scrunched up her nose cutely. "This guy has such a reputation that the client felt the need to put a warning on the Quest."

"Hmm, I wouldn't recommend you taking this one by yourself, Lucy." Mira shook her head. "You should take someone with you, just in case."

"Hey, Natsu," Cana had a devious little smile on her lips. "Why don't you go with Lucy and help her out for her first D-Class Quest?"

"Sure thing!" Natsu smiled brightly at Lucy. The blonde Celestial Spirit Mage returned the smile with one of her own. "We'll take the book, burn it to ashes and collect a hefty reward!"

"Aye!" Happy spoke up as he flew over to the table with a fish in his paws. "He likes blonde maids, right?" The blue cat questioned after skimming over the request. "Lucy can dress up as a maid and get in without trouble. She gets the book, burns it, and then she leaves. Seems easy enough, right?"

"Lucy would look cute as a maid." Cana grinned at the blonde.

"Cana~" Lucy playfully whined at her friend.

"Down girl," Mira shook her head and Cana laughed.

"I think she'd look cute too." Lisanna gave Lucy an encouraging smile. Lucy couldn't help but smile back. Lisanna was so kind, sweet, and encouraging! How anyone wouldn't be smiling after talking with the short-haired woman was a mystery to Lucy.

"Well… I might be convinced to dress up." Lucy placed her hands against her cheeks and gave a coy smile.

"Let's head out then," Natsu kissed Mira's lips, the two enjoying a soft lip lock for a long moment. Cana was pulled into a kiss next, the Card Mage slipping her Mate a little tongue. Lisanna wrapped her arms around Natsu's neck as they shared a kiss too, the platinum-haired woman giving off a cute mewl when their lips separated. Lucy knew her cheeks were pink, but she couldn't help it. Seeing the love they had for each other was always so sweet.

"Shirotsume Town, huh?" Happy remarked as he stretched out and rode Natsu's shoulder until they were out of the guild hall. "That's not as bad as Hargeon. I shouldn't be too wiped out afterwards."

"Thanks for the lift, Happy." Natsu patted his buddy and gently scratched behind his ears.

"Thank you for the help, Happy. I know I'm not normally someone you'd fly to their Quest." Lucy gave a smile and a short bow to the blue cat.

"Just split the reward with me and we'll call it even!" Happy grinned as he leapt down to the ground and walked a bit further away from Lucy and Natsu. "That, or just pay me in fish!" He cheered with a paw raised. Lucy almost deadpanned at how much Happy thought with his stomach. The feline glowed with a bright golden light as he grew larger. "All aboard for Shirotsume!" The much larger Happy called out.

"Alright, let's go!" Natsu leapt up onto Happy's back. The Dragon Slayer turned and offered his hand to Lucy to help her up.

"Thank you, Natsu." Lucy gave him a bright smile as she took his hand and let him help her up. A few flaps of Happy's large wings and the trio were airborne, flying off to Shirotsume Town.

A couple hours of flying through the sky, something Lucy really enjoyed after the first time, and the trio landed on the outskirts of Shirotsume Town. Smelling the cooking food at a nearby restaurant, Natsu began to drool. It was about lunch time, after all. With a grin, he turned to face Lucy.

"Hey, let's get something to eat before we start!" Natsu pointed to the restaurant that the amazing smell was coming from.

"I'm fine, but you two go ahead and enjoy yourselves, I'll meet up with you in a bit." Lucy waved off as she headed down a different street.

"Huh, I figured we could eat as a team." Natsu tilted his head at Lucy's behavior. "Well, we'll save some good stuff for her."

"Aye, sir!" Happy agreed and the two headed into the restaurant to eat.

The two ordered several plates of food. Mostly meat dishes, and fish for Happy, but with an assortment of vegetables too. Natsu had nutrition explained to him by his Mates early on in their relationship. He wasn't keen on forgetting any of it now, lest he anger his loves. While the two were eating someone walked up to their table.

"Have you had enough food, Master, or shall I bring you some more?" Lucy asked demurely and Natsu blinked as he looked up at the blonde.

"Lu…cy…" Natsu trailed off as he beheld the sight of Lucy in a maid outfit. It was a white, short-sleeved button up shirt that was covered by a form-fitting black waist coat. A black skirt that went to mid-thigh with a small white apron over it covered her hips. Thigh-high white stockings and a pair of black, low-heeled slippers finished off the outfit.

"Hmm?" Lucy tilted her head to the side with a grin. "Don't be shy. I know I look cute in this outfit."

"Yeah," Natsu nodded his agreement, his eyes taking in the Celestial Spirit Mage. He didn't know that Lucy felt her heart thump in her chest at his looking and agreement.

"So… Should we head over to the client's house?" Lucy asked; her cheeks slightly hot.

"Might as well, we should check in to make sure everything is on the up and up." Natsu replied before quickly finishing his meal along with Happy. In just a minute the bill was paid and the trio of Natsu, Lucy, and Happy were walking toward the client's home. It was a large house but upon meeting the client, Natsu could tell a distinct difference in scent.

"My name is Kaby Melon, thank you for taking my request." Kaby smiled at the three of them. He was a relatively tall, middle-aged man with peach skin, gray hair and a distinctive, small mustache, which was a darker gray than his hair. He had perpetually closed eyes and wore a green suit with a red tie.

"Sir, can I ask why you're offering so much just for a single book to be destroyed?" Lucy questioned curiously, the reward versus the request still seemed off to her.

"Because it means that much to me." Kaby answered, his hands clasped tightly together and a look on his face that spoke of both sadness and rage. "Two Million Jewel is nothing compared to destroying that book."

"T-Two M-Million?!" The three Mages stumbled over the number in shock.

"Oh, I thought you were aware that the reward had been increased?" Kaby looked apologetically at the three of them.

"Two Million! Hell I'll just burn the whole damn estate down for that much!" Natsu held up his index finger and a fireball snapped into existence.

"No! That's arson! We'll go to jail!" Lucy berated him, though she couldn't deny that the new reward had left her feeling light-headed.

"We'll go with your plan first, Lucy!" Natsu grinned at the brown-eyed beauty.

"Leave it to me!" Lucy gave Natsu thumbs up.

"Thank you for your efforts." Kaby bowed to them in thanks. The trio from Fairy Tail left shortly afterwards, headed for Duke Everlue's Estate.

-Duke Everlue's Estate-

"Excuse me; I heard you had an opening for a maid position? Hello?" Lucy yelled out in front of the closed front gate. 'Just have to 'wow' this old man with my looks, find the book, destroy it and collect Two Million Jewel! Piece of cake!' Lucy grinned to herself.

Natsu and Happy watched on from just behind the tree line of the forest surrounding Everlue's Estate. Natsu would make sure nothing untoward happened to Lucy. Something about this whole Quest wasn't sitting right with the Magma Dragon Slayer.

The tiles on the ground a bit away from Lucy suddenly moved. The ground heaved upwards slightly and a large something shot into the air. When the said thing crashed back into the ground with a heavy thud, it was revealed to be a gorilla-like woman. She was of an extremely tall stature and overweight with a brutish face and pink pig tails. She wore a typical maid outfit, consisting of a black under coat and a white, frilled-trim apron and white knee-length socks with black shoes.

"So you're a maid?" The large woman demanded of Lucy.

"Y-yeah." Lucy replied with a small stutter.

"Then I assume you're here because of the ad the Master placed in the paper?" The gorilla-like woman stared down at Lucy.

"Boyoyoyo! Did someone say 'Master'?" A man called out as he too launched from the ground. Duke Everlue was a short, plump man with skinny arms and legs. He was wearing a formal black suit, with his jacket fastened with a single, large gold button and his left breast pocket was adorned with a decorative red flower. Beneath his jacket he wore a white collared shirt, a blue necktie and dark navy-blue boots. He also sported a curled mustache which directly protruded from his nostrils, as well as a smattering of wavy hair atop his round head.

'More like monster!' Lucy screamed in her own mind.

"Now, let's see here…" Everlue placed his hand under his chin.

"Well, I sure hope you like what you see." Lucy forced a smile at the short, rotund man. 'Oh man, he's creeping me out.' She forced herself not to shiver as the man gave her a slow once over.

"I'll pass. Now scram ugly." Everlue waved Lucy off as he turned his back on her.

Lucy felt like an arrow had just been shot into her! She'd never been called ugly in her life! Not once!

'The fuck did he just say?!' Natsu ground his teeth as his lips twisted into a snarl.

"You heard the Master, get going ugly." The gorilla-like maid hoisted Lucy up by her waist. Lucy felt another metaphorical arrow pierce her.

"Sorry, but a man of my standing has certain standards to uphold." Everlue gave a sleazy grin as four more maids erupted from the ground. Not a single one of them would fit the commonly accepted term of the words beauty, pretty, cute, or lovely. Hell, none of them would qualify as average to most people!

"What the hell did you just call her?" Natsu demanded as he emerged from the tree line. Every step he took made the ground shake. Everlue backed up several steps in shock. The ground cracked as Natsu continued to walk towards the short, ugly, little man. "Apologize, now."

"Natsu!" Lucy couldn't help the bright smile that appeared on her face. Natsu was defending her honor from this fat, little gremlin of a man. Though, now that she'd gotten over her shock, she felt something. Something that was very familiar to her. It was coming from the one that was still holding her in the air.

"I will do no such thing!" Everlue blustered at the angry Dragon Slayer. "I call them like I see them you peasant!"

"Then you obviously need to get your eyes checked," Natsu growled at the man. "That or your head examined."

"Such disrespect! Come out, Vanish Brothers!" Everlue roared and the front gate opened wide to reveal two men.

"You called, sir?" The smaller of the two men asked. Despite being shorter than his companion he was still a fairly tall man; his head is mostly shaved, with noticeably long, dark hair being present only on the back, where it was tied into a braid reaching down below the man's back, there was a light ribbon circling the end, taking the form of a tuft. He had slanted dark eyes, sharp facial features, with prominent cheekbones, a dark-colored upper lip, with a slight grimace, giving him a sharp, serious look, and four distinctive tattoos of kanji adorning his face.

Unknown to Natsu, though Lucy could read them, his right cheek had the character for "Right", his left one the character for "Left", the character for "Up" was placed in the center of his forehead, and the character for "Down" was on his chin, right below his lower lip. His attire, much like his hairstyle, was Eastern in influence, consisting of a light tunic with a high collar, dark stripes on the loose cuffs and flanking the fastener crossing the chest vertically, a pair of loose dark pants, and traditional, dark shoes paired with light socks. Hanging on his left bicep, held there by a dark band passing above his right shoulder, is a dark, square cloth bearing an unknown insignia. In addition, the man carrying around an oversized frying pan, possessing a very long handle, on his back, held there by a rope passing over his right shoulder.

"Who're these little runts?" The larger man questioned. He was notably taller and more massive, standing at almost twice the height of his companion. He had long, dark and curly hair, which was arranged in a rather distinctive hairstyle, with four large, straight tufts jutting upwards on top of his head, getting smaller near their outer edges. His face was squared, with a very prominent, slightly rounded and hooked nose, and his dark eyes were shadowed by a light bandana covered in spiraling dark motifs, obscuring his forehead and keeping his hair back. His right forearm was covered by similar, sharp and dark tattoos, reaching down to his hand. His outfit, unlike that of his partner, was clearly Western influenced, consisting of a dark sweatshirt, with slightly puffy sleeves reaching below his elbows, adorned by light, wavy markings on the shoulder and sleeve areas. The jacket also had three light, diagonal stripes on each side of his torso, and simple light pants and shoes finished his outfit. He also wore a similar square cloth around his arm, bearing the same insignia as his partner.

"That mark," Happy looked at the insignia both men were wearing. "That's the Southern Wolves' insignia! They're a Mercenary Guild!"

"So, you got yourself some guards, huh?" Natsu tsked at the two men. "Fat lot of good that's going to do you."

"Ah!" The large gorilla-like maid cried out as Lucy ditched her apron and waistcoat, allowing her to escape the woman's hold.

"Vanish Brothers, kill them all!" Everlue roared while pointing at the three Mages.

"Yes sir." Both men replied in unison. In a blur both men closed the distance between Natsu and Lucy. The taller man attacked Natsu while the man with the large frying pan went for Lucy.

"Mages are always a bunch of little twigs! I'll break you in one punch!" The tall mercenary roared as he threw a punch at Natsu. The Dragon Slayer caught the larger man's fist with his left hand, stopping him cold. "What the?!"

"That might be true of some Mages, but not all of us!" Natsu slugged the mercenary across the face. The tall man's face warped under the pinkette's fist as he was lifted off his feet and sent flying.

"I highly doubt that's the case with her!" The shorter man yelled as he threw a punch at Lucy.

"Star Arm: Cancer!" Lucy called out and her hands were enveloped in a bright golden light. The mercenary aborted his attack as he instinctively covered his eyes from the blinding light. His reaction cost him. "Ha!" Lucy lashed out with a pair of twin swords, slicing the mercenary's arms and sending blood flying into the air. The swords were red, except for the cutting edge which was the normal metallic color. They were sort of like scissor blades, except for the curve they had along the length of the blades.

"Argh!" The mercenary jumped back to make some distance between the two of them. "Requip Magic?"

"Not quite." Lucy grinned as she held her twin swords at the ready.

"Was that all?" Natsu questioned the larger man. The tall mercenary didn't speak, he twitched slightly, but it was clear he was out cold. He might also have a broken jaw. "You talk really big for someone that went down in a single punch."

"Brother!" The shorter man grabbed his massive frying pan and rushed at Natsu, murder was clear in the man's eyes.

"Virgo! Crush that ugly girl!" Everlue screamed his demand at the gorilla-like woman.

"Yes, Master!" Virgo leapt up to an impressive height and came down looking to flatten Lucy with her size.

"I knew it!" Lucy skipped back and avoided the body slam. A plume of dust was thrown up from the massive woman hitting the ground. "You're a Celestial Spirit Wizard too! That's Virgo, the Maiden!"

"Boyoyoyoyo!" Everlue let out his annoying laugh. "Indeed it is! I paid a lot of money for her Key! But when I first learned how to summon her, she was some ugly little twig like you! I told her to take on that much more beautiful appearance and stay that way!"

"You disgust me!" Lucy practically roared at the short, rotund man. "Forcing your Spirit to take on a form they don't like! Making them do things they don't want to! You're no Celestial Spirit Mage!"

"How dare you question my magical prowess, ugly?" Everlue retorted as he pulled a golden key out of his suit. "I'm a Master of Celestial Spirit Magic!" Virgo stood up from her failed body slam, but she didn't move to continue attacking Lucy.

"If you were any kind of Celestial Spirit Mage, then you'd know what these are!" Lucy spit at the gremlin of a man. "These are the Star Arms of Cancer the Crab Constellation! You can only advance your Celestial Spirit Magic to this stage by truly forming a bond with your Spirits! You use Virgo like a slave! I'll never forgive you for that!"

"Star Arms? What the hell are you talking about, ugly? Celestial Spirit Magic is all about summoning Spirits to do your bidding!"

"Shut up!" Lucy blitzed forward, her twin swords ready to strike.

"Virgo! Stop her!" Everlue crowed, only to realize his Spirit wasn't listening to his order. "Virgo! Virgo?!"

"Spirits have their own will! You've abused Virgo long enough!" Lucy roared as she slashed Everlue twice! The first slash was across his right arm, forcing him to drop Virgo's Key. The second slash split his coat, the overly large button, and bit into his flesh.

"Aaaahhhh!" Everlue screamed in pain and terror. The large man flailing as his ugly maids ran away screaming. The man's screaming was cut short as Lucy held him at sword point.

"Say the words." Lucy demanded and Everlue blubbered while holding his injuries. "Say them!" She pressed the point of her right sword against his chin.

"I negate my contract with Virgo the Maiden!" Everlue cried out loudly. The golden key on the ground shone brightly with magic for a moment before the light appeared to break. The large gorilla-like woman glowed with a golden light as she shrank down.

"Thank you very much." The much softer and kinder voice of Virgo thanked Lucy. Virgo now took the form of a petite and pretty maid. Short pink hair, kind blue eyes, fair skin, a cute maid outfit, and finished off with what looked like shackles hanging off each of her wrists.

"You're free now, Virgo." Lucy smiled as the whimpering Everlue curled into the fetal positon, or as close to it as he could with his proportions.

"Yes," Virgo nodded as she went and picked up her Key. Looking at her own Key, the Celestial Spirit smiled softly. With a look towards Lucy she held out her Key to the blonde. "But I would much prefer a new Master, my Lady."

"Huh?" Lucy breathed out as she stared wide-eyed at the Zodiac Gate Key being offered to her by Virgo herself! "You want me to hold your Key?"

"Very much so," Virgo nodded with a smile. "Cancer, Taurus, Crux, Horologium, Lyra, even Aquarius speaks well of you, Lucy Heartfilia." Lucy thought her heart might leap out of her chest at the Zodiac Spirit knowing her name already! "Will you do me the kindness of being my new Holder?"

"Yes, thank you so much for the trust! I promise, here and now, I'll never break the trust you've placed in me! I can't wait to be friends, Virgo!" Lucy beamed at the Celestial Spirit. Virgo smiled back at her new Holder before glowing golden and returning to the Celestial Spirit World. Lucy gazed happily at the Golden Zodiac Gate Key in her hand, this was her fourth! That was one third of the twelve! This was amazing!

"Looks like Lucy is done now." Natsu mentioned as he dodged another swipe of the mercenary's giant frying pan. He'd been playing cat and mouse with the second mercenary to keep his attention off Lucy. Now that she was finished with her fight, it was time to end this. Natsu leapt back, dodging another swing, before calling forth his Dragon Slayer Magic. His right fist was covered in molten rock, flames escaping from the surface of the lava.

"A Fire Mage?" The mercenary looked excited. "Perfect! My frying pan will take your flames and send them back with twice the power!"

"Too bad it isn't fire then." Natsu blitzed forward, his fist cocked back. The mercenary raised his over-sized frying pan as a shield. A loud thud rang out as the lava-coated fist met metal. "Magma Dragon's Erupting Fist!" Natsu incanted and the metal of the frying pan began to glow as lava blasted it. It turned from black, to dull red, to bright red, to orange, to yellow before it gave way. Natsu cut the magic to his fist and his bare knuckles slammed into the mercenary's face. The man went flying backwards, a tooth leaving his mouth, and slammed into the dirt.

Natsu walked over to the man and noticed he was out cold. Scratching the back of his head he sighed. For professional mercenaries, these guys weren't all that. Sure they'd probably be a match for a good number of Mages that didn't focus on physical prowess, but they were pretty weak otherwise. Each one had gone down to a single punch for crying out loud! Gray, Elfman, Macao, Wakaba, Alzack, any of them would have taken that punch and then got back up for more!

"Natsu!" Lucy ran up to the pinkette with a beaming smile! "I'm ready to go find the book now!"

"Glad to hear it, Lucy!" Natsu grinned back at the blonde. "Just one second." Natsu picked out his three targets and then placed his right hand on the ground. "Earth Lock!" He intoned and there was a slight tremor as rock emerged from the ground and encased all but the heads of the two mercenaries. The unconscious Everlue was encased and then lifted off the ground on a post of stone. "There, now they won't go anywhere."

"But Everlue can use Earth Magic. Can't he get out that way?" Lucy asked confused.

"His Magic is called Diver; it's a type of Earth Magic that deals in tunneling through the ground. He has to be touching the ground for it to work, that's why I lifted him up like that." Natsu explained with a grin. He and Erza had gone over dozens of types of Earth Magic ever since she'd become an Earth Dragon Slayer. The couple had found a few useful spells like this one during said times. Well, at least when their studying didn't become something else entirely!

"Oh, that makes sense." Lucy nodded at the explanation.

With Happy's help the trio quickly found the library of Everlue. Seeing all the books made Lucy impressed that the horrible man was a fan of literature to this extent. Searching through the tomes took a while. Natsu started on the bottom shelves while Lucy climbed the moveable ladder attached to the large bookshelves and started at the top shelves. It was almost an hour, including Lucy moving the ladder almost all the way across the massive, wall-to-wall bookcase, before Natsu stood up with a cheer!

"Found it! Daybreak!" Natsu exclaimed as he held up a yellow book in his left hand.

"That's great, Natsu!" Lucy called down from the ladder. Natsu turned to face her with a big grin, but didn't factor in their different heights, or that Lucy was wearing a skirt.

'Lacey…' Natsu thought before he quickly averted his gaze. Lucy hadn't noticed his impromptu look and Natsu was fine with keeping it that way!

"No way! This was written by Kemu Zaleon!" Lucy cheered as she took the book from Natsu.

"Who?" Both Natsu and Happy tilted their heads in confusion. Neither of them were very big readers.

"Zaleon was a great Mage, and an amazing Novelist!" Lucy nearly squealed as she held the book. "I'm such a huge fan! I thought I'd read every sentence he'd ever written! This must be an unpublished novel!"

"Well, it'll burn just like any other, so let's get to it." Natsu engulfed his hand in fire.

"Don't you dare! This is a great work of literature!" Lucy cradled the book to her buxom chest.

"Umm, but what about the Quest?" Happy asked the blonde flatly.

"Can't we just say we burned it? I'll keep it a secret, I swear!" Lucy shook her head vehemently.

"No can do, Lucy." Natsu shook his head. "It's part of the magic woven into the contract of accepting Quests. Unless you truly fulfill the client's Quest, the flier won't change. You can't lie to your Magic, Lucy. Kaby will know we didn't destroy the book."

"At least let me read it first!" Lucy plopped down in one of the comfy chairs and pulled out a pair of glasses. Natsu recognized them as Gale Force Reading Glasses. Levy had a pair she used when she was reading at the Guild. Lucy put the glasses on and opened the novel.

"I think we've already lost her…" Happy remarked as Lucy began to flip pages every couple of seconds.

"Well, we can at least call in the Rune Knights." Natsu shrugged to his feline friend. "Everlue is a Mage, and that means he falls under the Council's jurisdiction."

"You think he's done something illegal?" Happy questioned the pinkette.

"Something hasn't sat right with me during this whole Quest, buddy. I'm pretty sure there's more going on than what we've seen." Natsu wrinkled his nose in disgust at the fact that Everlue, as the Duke of the territory that Shirotsume Town inhabited, had free reign over the people. "I'd bet money that guy was up to something."

"I'll go find a Communication Lacrima!" Happy flew off while Natsu sat down across from Lucy and watched her read through the Daybreak novel at a blistering pace. Happy had returned with a Communication Lacrima about five minutes later and Natsu put in the call to the Rune Knights. As soon as the words Duke, Mage, and Illegal had passed his lips, the Rune Knight taking his call had considered it an emergency and said they were sending an Airship!

About thirty minutes later Lucy finished the book and shook her head in amazement. This book was no ordinary novel at all. It was Kemu Zaleon's greatest work by far! The great Mage had poured his heart, soul, and magic into this last book. Kaby needed to hold this, and then he'd know everything about what had happened.

"Natsu," Lucy looked into Natsu's amber eyes. "We have to take this book to Kaby, he needs to hold it and read it." She stated with such determination that Natsu couldn't break her gaze. He felt a rumble within himself and his slit-pupils focused on the blonde intently.

"Alright, Lucy, if you say so." Natsu nodded to her after a long moment. Lucy beamed at him and Natsu couldn't help but return the smile.

The next hour was a blur for Natsu, Lucy, and Happy. The Rune Knight airship had landed on the sole path between Everlue's Estate and Shirotsume Town. Rune Knights had surrounded the Estate and sealed it off with Barrier Magic. The Captain leading them had brought two very special Knights. Known as Inquisitors, they knew a restricted form of magic called Truth Seeker. When this particular Magic was used, it placed a great strain on the person it was used on. But while under its effects, the person could not lie or refuse to answer. Neither Lucy nor Natsu would ever feel good about some of the things they'd overheard Everlue admit to under the effects of that magic. Murder was only one of the horrible things he'd done in his time as Duke of the region.

"You're free to go, stay out of trouble." The Rune Knight Captain stated, sending a sharp look at Natsu specifically. The trio left and headed back to Kaby's house.

-Kaby's House-

"Why is this here?" Kaby demanded as he stared at Daybreak angrily. "I told you to burn it!"

"This book isn't what you think it is, Kaby Melon, son of Kemu Zaleon, or should I say Zekua Melon?" Lucy sighed as Kaby went still at her knowledge of his father. "This is your father's last and greatest work. But only once you hold it will the spell be undone."

"Spell?" Kaby blinked as he shakily reached out for the book. As soon as both of his hands touched it, Daybreak lit up in a rainbow of colors! The book flipped open and letters flowed out of it in streams, rearranging themselves all the while. It was a brilliant show of magic and Natsu and Happy smiled widely at the colorful letters flying through the air. The letters fully rearranged themselves and then zipped back into the book. The book snapped shut and the title Daybreak rearranged into the words Dear Kaby.

"That book is everything your father wanted to say to you over the three years that Everlue kept him imprisoned. He never once stopped thinking about you and his family. You were the only thing that kept him going." Lucy smiled softly as Kaby opened the book and saw a message from his father. Tears filled the man's eyes as he realized what his father had tried to tell him all those years ago.

"Thank you… Thank you… I never thought…" Kaby couldn't stop his tears, even as his wife consoled him.

"We didn't complete the Quest," Natsu sighed making Kaby, his wife, and Lucy look at the Dragon Slayer curiously. "Then again, you can't afford to pay the reward anyway, can you?"

"N-no… I can't…" Kaby admitted with his head down.

"Then just retract your Quest." Natsu shook his head. "I won't tell the Master that you falsified a Quest either. There's a harsh fine for doing it and it only gets higher the more danger you placed the Guild Mages in with your lies. I know you can't afford a One-Hundred-Thousand Jewel fine either. So don't do this ever again, alright?" He stared down the poor man after tearing apart his ruse.

"Yes, yes of course, I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused you." Kaby bowed low to both of them. "I'll retract the Quest immediately."

"Good, then we're done here. Enjoy your new book, Kaby!" Natsu grinned as he stood up with Happy and headed for the door.

"Huh, hey, wait for me!" Lucy called out as she stood up and chased after Natsu.

On the flight back to Magnolia, Lucy couldn't contain her curiosity any longer.

"How did you know Kaby couldn't pay? He lived in that big house and everything." Lucy asked and Natsu chuckled as he turned to face her.

"His scent was completely different than the house." Natsu tapped his nose. "He was borrowing that house to appear rich. The suit he was wearing wasn't his either."

"You can smell that much?!" Lucy looked shocked.

"All Dragon Slayers can do that much, Lucy." Natsu grinned at the Celestial Spirit Mage. "We have very good senses!"

"You don't say…" Lucy trailed off, her mind wrapping around more new information about her Dragon Slayer friends.

Neither of them noticed that they were sitting closer together on the flight back to Fairy Tail than they had been on the flight out to Shirotsume Town. It was completely unconscious on both their parts. No higher thinking went into it at all. But both of them wore smiles the whole way back, the lost riches already forgotten as they simply enjoyed each other's company.

-Fairy Tail ~ The Next Morning-

"Guys! She's back! Clean up everything! Quick!" Loke yelled as he charged into the Guild Hall. Lucy blinked as the entire Guild, bar the Dragon Slayers and the Master, went nuts and started bustling around trying to clean things, fix broken furniture, and hide any trace of the brawl that had just finished.

"Uh, is this normal? Who's back?" Lucy questioned as she watched the chaos.

"You said you wanted to meet her." Mira smiled at Lucy, one of her delicate eyebrows raised slightly.

"This happens every time she comes back from a longer Quest." Cana waved off with a smile on her face too.

"She can be a bit strict at times. Her methods are a bit harsh too." Lisanna giggled already watching the open doors of the Guild Hall.

"Erza's back, Lucy!" Natsu practically cheered. There was a bright smile on his face, even while the rest of the Guild became more and more desperate to clean and hide any evidence of rambunctious behavior.

"Erza…" Lucy breathed out the name as she saw a silhouette of a person coming closer to the Guild through the open doors. Said person also appeared to be carrying something massive over their head, with one arm!

Erza Scarlet had returned to Fairy Tail