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"You idiot, did you or did you not remember that they're powerful Wizards?" The eldest of them snapped. "We'd be lucky to get a few feet and live."

Kecleon processed everything up to that point. Just who were they talking about? They looked rather unsettled and a little intimidated just from thinking about them. 'I don't know what, but these guys sound like they have bad table manners.'

After a few minutes, the captain came out with a man with a dark red cape following from behind. Silence fell before them and all of their attention was addressed to the person with the red cape. Kecleon took note that all of the guards were trying to avoid eye contact and they were very well in deep discomfort. Kecleon was feeling very unsettled herself.

The man with the red cape went to the podium stand and smirked down at them. Aside from the red cape, he had spiked up red hair and eyes that matched his cape. He had what was on a set of gauntlets and shin armor. He looked to be in his late twenties and he had what seemed to be a set of scars on both of is cheeks. His attire was also something somewhat similar to those guys Nic and Kecleon fought back on the outskirts of Freesia.

Kecleon was wide eyed when she made the connection.

"Hello again you pathetic lazy bunch." He spoke with confidence. "As you are aware, we're having another collection tonight."

Kecleon definitely recalled seeing and witnessing something like this back in Freesia. She saw most of the guards clench their fists.

The man wagged his finger. "Ah, ah, ah, you all remember the agreement. We pick and you don't intervene and your families will be spared. Our little project takes time, a magic bomb takes a lot of magic you know, but don't worry, it's almost done."

Kecleon was even more wide eyed than before. 'This is so not appetizing. A magic bomb sounds worse than Nic after he eats corn!'

"As for those unfortunate souls that we swept two nights ago, they probably will have their Magic depleted in a few days. The ones from earlier this past three weeks are already in feeble states. Their cells are suiting to their frail and sickly bodies, I'm surprised they're not dead. But no matter, they will be soon enough." He then rolled his eyes. "Just make sure things go smoothly tomorrow or else…you can kiss your families goodbye."

Now the stakes have been raised. Kecleon had to get back to Nic and fast. Hopefully, things won't get any worse.

With the luck so far, it probably will.

With Nic and Erza

Nic chuckled once Erza had finished telling her story. "Natsu actually thought he found a dragon egg in the woods?"

The two were sitting at a table in a small diner they found, and to their convenience it served omelets and strawberry cheesecake much to their delight.

"He was pretty excited, I'll tell ya." She said. "We were all surprised it hatched into Happy and not a dragon. There's a picture back at the guild and we could show you when we get back."

"That must have been a crazy day." Nic said. "So what exactly happened to this Lisanna girl that Natsu was with?"

He almost instantly regretted asking that once he saw Erza express a despondent look. "Forget I ever asked that."

Erza shook her head. "No, it's alright…it's just something we never want to talk about. It brings bad memories, especially for Mira, Elfman, and Natsu…"

She then recounted the events that lead to an unfortunate fate for the Strauss siblings. They were on an S-Class mission and Elfman had undergone a Full-Body Take Over. Nic was fairly shocked to hear that Elfman was shy and Mira was a kickass beast that took on Erza back in the day. Unfortunately, the end result of all of that was Lisanna's death by the beastly Elfman.

"Nothing was ever the same after that." Erza said dispirited. "Elfman and Mira took it the worst."

Before he even realized it, the Multitype Mage had placed a comforting hand on hers on the table. He gave a comforting squeeze and she returned it. He felt guilty bringing up such a painful subject.

"I wish I could've met her." Nic said. "She sounded like a great person."

"She was." Erza said, she broke out a grin, thinking about Lisanna. "She was the sweetest girl you've ever met."

A few minutes later, a waitress brought them Erza's strawberry cheesecake, forcing them to (reluctantly) take their hands apart from each other. She cut a small part of her cheesecake and held it up to Nic.

"Open up." She said. Nic raised his eyebrows in confusion. "You said you've never tried it before, so here." She explained. Nic's face heated up a bit as he opened up his mouth and she fed him a piece of her cheesecake.

"So delicious." He reminiscent in the flavor for a bit before he turned to see her smile with content. She held up another piece to him. The two then shared the piece of dessert and talked about non-important stuff. It was nice to get to know the other more, even though they hanged out before, but that was under different circumstances. Regardless, it was still fun to know the other. It was the little details that they enjoyed, like how Nic's favorite color was violet and Erza has a like for sweet things.

Nic wasn't even aware that he was staring at her. Back at the guild, she was always so strict and uptight, not to mention demanding. She looked so relaxed. He liked hers eyes too. They looked so warm and so full of truth, he couldn't help but be drawn to them. Her hair reflected the ever burning fire that kept her strong and so full of care for her comrades. All in all she looked…

"Beautiful…" Nic murmured without even remotely thinking. He cursed at himself once he had caught up to what he had just said.

Erza, on the other hand, expertly hid her red face by pretending to look at the plants next to their table. Her heart had somehow began to race at what he said. She had been wondering why he was looking at her so intensely at that moment. Now the butterflies in her stomach were fluttering madly.

They didn't meet each other's eyes after that until Nic asked for the bill and left.

Nic cleared his throat. "Let's go and see those hot springs."

"Agreed." She said, unable to meet him directly.

The "couple" quickly headed towards their next destination.

With Kecleon

The swift creature was dashing invisibly throughout the city, looking for Nic. The red stripe was hardly noticeable since all it looked like was a blur. She couldn't help but see a woman pass by. She had recognized her from the Council, though she observed in her poke ball. What the hell was she doing here? Shouldn't she be at a Council meeting or something? Things were bad enough.

'Oh great. This potato salad has gone really bad.'

Meanwhile, Ultear was observing the townsfolk, with a rather small mischievous smile on her face. "Where are you, Nic?"

She looked all about as she went down the market area. She was set on that one person that interested her the most. Master Hades wanted a report on this young man as soon as she gets a notice of him. He could probably put a dent into their plans if left unchecked. If they weren't on opposite sides, he would've been a valuable asset. He would be a tough nut to crack since he's part of Fairy Tail; nevertheless, she could always…persuade him.

Somewhere else…

In some weirdo location, of which was also concealed, three people stood and observed the progress they were making. There were multiple contraptions that had a single person within each one and being depleted of their Magic. The individual machines were hooked up to a really large machine that looked to be a lacrima.

"Almost there, just a little more." The man who visited the police had said.

Another one nodded in agreement. He had dark purple hair that spiked to the side. His attire was almost identical to the other one if not for the brighter colors for the dark purple-haired one. "This weapon will annihilate anything within a five mile radius. Wish we could've gotten more of it though."

The third one there was actually a man, it wasn't even human. It was a hulking hybrid of some sort of wolf and a human that was almost eight feet tall. Its neck had a collar and a multitude of jagged spikes. It had long claws and red, bloodlust eyes. If it weren't for the other two, it would go on a never ending killing spree.

"You could look for another buyer, but then I would have to gut you." A new and sinister voice said. The three turned around and looked at the figure who had stepped out of the shadows. He was a large figure with a black cloak and a large hood to hide his face in darkness.

The three got to one knee and bowed at their employer and Master. "F-forgive us, our mistake." The dark purple-haired one said nervously. It was clear that you do not want to offend him. His body radiated such dark energy that made him demand such respect.

"Change of plans." The cloaked man said. "Instead of kidnapping a few civilians per night, I've found a new target in mind to speed things up. She's been spotted in the vicinity."

"But sir, we have no chance."

Unseen by them, he grinned evilly. "At ease. I'll take care of that personally. Just be ready by tonight, and catch a few more while you're at it as a precaution."

The three bowed and began with preparations.

The cloaked man turned and chuckled. 'Hades is so predictable. He thinks he's the one calling the shots in the Balam Alliance. Little does he know that he has a few of his lackeys hired by me. Heh, he's no more than a pawn.'

He then turned to enter the shadows. 'Nic Pularis, I've been keeping an eye on you. Your power has been causing a ruckus lately, and that's been quite a bother. It won't matter. My demon masters can't be stopped.'

He then ventured into the shadows and vanished.

With Nic and Erza

Since the pair didn't exactly have on their swimwear, they couldn't go in the hot springs, but they passed by it just to get a feel of the atmosphere. They both looked at the hot spring place entrance and could feel the warmth from where they were standing.

"Wish we could go in, unfortunately we have work to do." Erza said. "Come along Nic." Erza turned and started to walk back to the inn and saw that Nic wasn't budging. "Nic?"

Nic was fixated. He had this odd feeling rising up from within, like some radar went off.

He recognized it. 'Don't tell me…' Nic recalled the feeling of this, and it indeed happened twice. He could feel some sort of pull from his Plates and he could sense the power coming from within the hot springs.

"Nic?" Erza's voice snapped him out of his epiphany and he shifted his gaze towards her. "Let's get moving."

Nic blinked a few times and shook his head to shake off the feeling. He would have to come back later and check them out.

They got back to the inn a short while later and they managed to get hold of the manager, of whom owned the inn as well.

They walked through the lobby and knocked on his set of double doors. He yelled for them to enter and they did. When they entered his room, it was decorate with a few potted plants here and there. A large square rug covered most of the ground and lead to his work desk.

The man was very well in his early fifties and had a thin black goatee and thin black hair. He had brown eyes and had on the standard suit but was red.

"Can I help you?" He said, somewhat annoyed. They could guess that it was because of the crisis at hand.

The two proceeded forward and nodded in greetings.

"Yes, we are here for the job request that you have wanted us to take care of." Nic said. Erza then held up the job request and was somewhat startled that his request was actually acknowledged.

He examined them and scrunched his face. "Heh, you don't look like Mages." Nic and Erza then transformed into their standard attire, with Erza in her Heart Kreuz Armor and Nic in his V-neck, jeans, and long sleeveless coat. The business man almost flinched at the sight and was officially convinced. "Very well. I am Eito, the one who has send that request. I suppose that since you are here now, we shall discuss the matter at hand."

The two nodded and they proceeded with the ordeal.

Eito cleared his throat. "Now then, where to begin…ah yes. It all began about three weeks ago. Business went on as usual, a copious amount of customers and lots of money. Unfortunately, that's when trouble began. One night, we had witnesses see a large monster take off with several people. It was moving so fast that hardly anyone has seen it. This has been going on for awhile, and people are getting scared to leave their homes at night. At first, it was strays on the streets, then we had reports of the beast actually breaking into places and stealing people there."

"Are you sure that it was the work of one beast?" Nic asked. "We could believe that the beast might be taking them to where his comrades are, so it's likely to believe that he has accomplices."

Eito drooped his head. "Yes, we do believe that is possible, but our town guards can't even do a thing about it. And they sit around like slobs, not doing their job."

Erza narrowed her eyes. "Were they always like this?"

Eito shook his head. "No, they were good people who never shirked their work. Ever since this incident arose, they were acting like something was holding them back. They even mysteriously implanted these strange lacrima in all of the inns as a precaution."

Nic almost skipped a heartbeat. He knew something was odd about that light purple lacrima in their bedroom. If the guards put them there to repel these guys, then why aren't they working? Maybe…

Nic stepped forward. "Hold on. You said the guards have been held back and they implanted those lacrima in inns right?"

"Yeah, why?"

Nic paused before speaking. "Isn't it likely to believe that they are somehow linked to the beast? Think about it, if the beast is targeting the people and they couldn't do nothing about it, it would be reasonable to say that the beast has threatened them to stay out of its way. And might I add where all of these kidnappings take place?"

Eito narrowed his eyes, processing this. "Hmm…yes, they could be threatened by the beast if possible, but we would need more proof to do so. And most kidnappings take place in the inns, why?"

Nic mentally snapped his fingers. He finally made the link. He looked and shook his head. "We just wanted to make sure that this inn wasn't the only target."

Eito nodded. "Very well. I leave you to your work. If you succeed, your reward will be quite handsome." The two then quickly transformed back into their fake attire and turned and left.

They made way towards their room and shut and locked the door behind them. After that, they finally transformed back into their own attire once more. They both sighed and looked about.

"Nic, what you said back there, what is it that you are saying?" Erza asked, very interested and confused. Nic almost immediately made way towards the bedroom, where the light purple lacrima was kept. Nic stopped right in front of it and Erza saw that Nic had an uneasy feeling. He slowly turned his head and looked dead serious, just like the time in Phantom Lord.

"Erza, let me try and put the pieces together." He then told Erza of his possible explanation. "If questionable if the guards in this town are in cahoots with the beast, but the real problem is these lacrima." Nic then motioned and looked down at the lacrima. "He said that these lacrima were implanted by the guards, and they were placed in all of the inns."

Erza was starting to shape his idea and interpret it, but still looked somewhat hazy. "Yeah, those lacrima could have something to do with it, but what do they have to do with this ordeal?"

"He said the beast targets inns right? And these lacrima are implanted in all of the inns…meaning…" Nic was about to say more when Erza finally got the idea and almost went wide eyed.

"Those lacrima might attract the beast instead of repel." She finished. Nic nodded.

"Yes. My guess is that at night, when the beast strikes, the lacrima might give off some sort of signal in response to Magic energy, or it might give off a scent if the beast acts like a wild animal. We'll have to see when night falls…"

The two then heard something outside, coming at them. They both rushed to the living room, where they looked out at the balcony window. They kept hearing Nic's name over and over until they saw Kecleon appear in a flash coming from outside.

"NIC!" She screamed. But she was put to a halt when she slammed into the balcony and stuck there. Nic and Erza both looked on in shock as Kecleon slid down the balcony window and slid onto the floor. "Stupid invisible doors!" she muttered.

Nic awkwardly made way and opened the balcony doors, allowing Kecleon to enter. When they opened, Kecleon lifted her head up and zoomed in in a rather panicking state. She zoomed about and hopped uncontrollably.

"CHEESEBURGER! TERRIBLE MEAT! MASHED POTATOES! NO GRAVY! HUMANITY WILL EXPIRE! BOMB! EVIL! HELP!" She yelled. Nic swiftly clenched Kecleon and turned her to look at him.

"Kecleon! Easy, just relax." Nic said. He looked at Kecleon, who was huffing a bit. "Take a deep breath." He said calmly. He breathed through his nose and out of his mouth very slowly Kecleon then did the same a few times and slumped back onto the floor.

Nic then crouched down to meet his deeply horrified friend. "Now, explain it nice and slow." He said comforting Kecleon.

Kecleon took one more deep breath and spoke. "Okay…the guards of this place have been threatened to stay of the mastermind's way. He steals people and is making a bomb to destroy this place."

Nic and Erza almost stepped back in deep shock.

Erza turned to Nic. "A Magic Bomb?"

"That sounds like it needs a lot of Magic to power if it's to destroy a place as big as this." Nic guessed. It was reasonable to believe that this bomb could do more damage if activated.

"Nic…" Kecleon continued. Nic then loked at the troubled stealthy and awkward thing. He could tell that this next set of bad news was even worse. "…Tartaros…they're back."

Nic was dead frozen. He could not believe it. His gaze sharpened and he gulped. "Oh no."

Erza saw the horrified expression that Kecleon and Nic shared. She heard about them facing Tartaros and this creature called The Nightmare, but never thought that bringing them up this time around would freak him out.

"Kecleon, what is it that Tartaros is doing?" Erza asked. "It's clear that they are behind this matter, but why is it that they want innocence again?" Nic then turned to Erza.

"It's all they want." Nic said. He then retold the story of how he went to Freesia awhile back and fought Tartaros. How he and Kecleon were in trouble and how he fought The Nightmare. After telling the tale, even Erza was slightly shaken up.

"Those poor souls." She said, thinking how Tartaros was stealing such innocent people all for the sake of Zeref and unleashing demons into the world.

"Yeah." Nic muttered. "We're going to stop them again, even if I have to put my life on the line, again."

Kecleon then remembered something. "Oh yeah! Nic." Nic then turned towards Kecleon and awaited what she said. She sounded calmer and a little more peppy this time, maybe it was good news. "That lady from the Magic Council is in town. I think she wants you."

Nic almost paled at remembering Ultear. "You've got to be kidding me." He grumbled.

Erza remembered Ultear all too well. She was the one who flirted about with Nic. She had to hold back a growl and focus.

"What is she doing here?" Erza asked, almost annoyed and demanding.

Kecleon shrugged. "Maybe or Nic's number?" She was then silenced by a glare from Erza.

"…" Nic was thinking. This matter had gotten far more complicated than it should've been. First Tartaros, and now Ultear, not to mention a Magic bomb to destroy town. "…we'll wait tonight. It's possible Ultear doesn't know we're here, so we should keep a low profile and hang here for the remaining time." Nic said, trying to regain whatever composure he could.

The two others nodded and they all hanged about as the sun was beginning to set.

Later, after Kecleon was returned, Nic laid on the king-sized bed and stared at the lacrima with deep distaste.

'A Magic bomb, Tartaros, and now Ultear. Just when things couldn't get worse, they do.' Nic was in deep thought and then the door to the bathroom opened. Nic could've sworn his face went red when he saw Erza step out, all wrapped up in a pink towel. Her long, wet, silky hair running down her back and overlapping the towel. Nic thought he was gonna pass out from exposure to such a gorgeous sight. To make himself decent, he turned away and shut his eyes.

Erza looked at him and saw he turned his back. "You okay?" She sounded as though she didn't care. It made sense, considering that she bathed with Natsu and Gray before, though Nic was always alone.

Nic turned his head, still with his eyes shut, trying to avoid seeing her. "Er…nothing."

Erza approached him and stood behind him. "Is it something I did?"

Nic groaned and had to face it. He took in a deep breath and turned to face Erza. He felt his face turn even redder with her in front of him now, but still had to say something. "No. It's just…I'm not used to seeing people without clothes, so this is all kind of awkward to me." He confessed, letting out a sigh.

Erza blinked, seeing the red on his face. She then thought as to how the butterflies were fluttering inside of her again and almost blushed herself. She smiled. "Very well. You can go and take your shower now." She then immediately turned and allowed Nic to rush into the bathroom. She kept smiling as she requiped into her pajamas and laid in bed, looking up at the ceiling. She stared into space and thought of today. The thought of Nic's act today made the butterflies flutter even more now. It even made her wonder if Nic was really acting for the most part.

As she was pondering this, she felt something odd. She got up and saw the sun had set and the lacrima was glowing. She was about to get a better examination of the lacrima, but she felt something foul go through the air.

"W-what is this…? My Magic…" She muttered. She then smelled something coming from the lacrima. It was…poisonous sort of speak. Erza quickly pieced that the lacrima poisoned her Magic and drained her will and she collapsed.

Nic immediately felt something strange happening as he was about to step into the shower and he changed back into his attire and burst out of the door. He turned his head and saw that Erza was lying, barely conscious on the floor.

"Holy freakin protozoa! Erza!" Nic rushed to her and got to her side. He saw that she was pale and he saw that she was gasping. He almost panicked, but then he smelled it to. It was foul and corrosive, and he sensed it from the glowing lacrima. He immediately got out and grabbed the lacrima. He could tell that this lacrima was poisoning her. He quickly smashed the lacrima and the smell was quickly dispelled. Still, the tainted feeling was dwelling about in Erza, and Nic was hatching a remedy.

With little time to waste, he shifted into his Toxic Plate Form and reached for one of her arms.

'I can't believe I'm about to do this.' Nic thought. He sighed and he softly bit into her arm. She winced in pain, but then she relaxed as Nic was sucking up not her blood, but the poison instead. Since he was in his Toxic Plate Form, he could take in any and all substances related to poison. After a good minute or so, the color was coming back to her face. Nic had managed to sap up the poison and she looked better. Erza moaned as she opened her eyes. She saw that she was lying on the floor, but she could hardly move.

"Thank god you're alright." Nic said, he sighed and took in a heap of breath.

Erza looked and saw the worried expression and then recalled what happened. She turned her head and saw Nic smashed the lacrima. She then turned towards him and let out a small smile.

"Thank you Nic." She said. Nic nodded and Erza continued. "That lacrima, it unleashed a powerful poison that poisoned my Magic."

Nic was startled. "So your Magic was being poisoned, but not your body?"

Erza took a few breaths before entering. "Yes, the poisoned Magic then circulates at a rapid pace. It felt horrible and I couldn't move. Why weren't you…?"

"Remember, I don't use Magic, I use the Plates." Nic answered. That explained it, since the lacrima only poisoned Magic, Nic was as clean as you could get.

Erza then tried getting up, but she was still fairly weakened. She winced as she tried to get up. Nic helped her onto the bed and had her lay down. Her Magic was a little low now thanks to the lacrima, but it should replenish in no time.

"Erza, are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah…I just need…to rest." She then closed her eyes and started drifting off. The tainted Magic in her system had to filter out, but it won't filter out in time for her to be safe from the beast. Then it hit Nic.

Nic had then realized something: The beast is attracted to tainted Magic. It made sense, considering Nic's assumption from earlier. This made Erza a target now. He had to do whatever it takes to keep her from harm's way.

"It's okay Erza, you rest up." Nic said quietly. "I'll take it from here."

An hour later…

Considering that Nic doesn't sleep on beds, he was on the floor and Erza was on the bed and was sleeping soundly, recovering. It was dark out and Nic should be expecting something to happen soon. When that happens, he'll swoop in and thrash him in the name of Erza.

He awaited in the shadows, still in his Toxic Plate Form, hopefully get the beast to follow him rather than her. If it were likely, the monster should be attracted to the poison, of which Nic's Toxic Plate Form had endless amounts of.

Nic was quiet and he heard something from the balcony. The wind stopped outside and everything all about was dead silent. Nic tensed up and bared his teeth as he felt the presence come closer.

He heard the door open that lead to the living room and the beast was about to enter the bedroom.

Nic clenched the floor and peeked over the bed and saw the door open. Nic almost shuddered when he saw a monstrous humanoid wolf appear. He lowered his head and watched as the heinous beast sniffed the air. It slowly proceeded and saw Erza, still unable to do much of anything with her senses weakened from the tainted lacrima.

The beast growled and snarled as it bared its long claws that had enough strength to slash through rock. He was about to reach for Erza to kidnap her.

'Okay.' Nic thought. 'It's show time!'

Okay, sorry if this chapter didn't feel quite right, but making an Original Arc takes some effort. I do think that I got a fair grasp on Erza's personality, and some development with Nic's, so that was something to be proud of, especially since I got them to bond a bit.

Their fake personas might make it look confusing, but then again, you don't know what to expect from Erza or Nic.

This will probably go for two more chapters, one if I decide to make it insanely long again. I'm on Spring Break now, but do not expect updates to quicken, because I have a few plans over Spring Break and so I'll work on this stuff at night mostly.

Just a side note: I've been playing Pokémon Alpha Sapphire a whole lot, and now I have some ideas shaping from that, but I still need time. I know I said I won't include much of anything from ORAS, but I'm making some exceptions in regards to a few undisclosed ideas in future chapters; for now, I'm proceeding as planned.

Please Favorite, Follow, & Review if you like this story and/or chapter up to this point.

Next Time: Stone Cold Brawl