Smuggling Ring

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[X774, 2 years later]

— Dannis Martell —

My life in Fairy Tail continued on, a few years had passed and now I'm the ripe old age of 12.

Laxus and I had gone on plenty of missions throughout the years; bandit hunts, monster exterminations, a few minor ones like finding a lost item or helping out in the local restaurant. 

Not a lot of people paid attention to what we did yet since we were still kids, but we were slowly but surely making our name known throughout all of Fiore and we started to make a name for ourselves as a duo.

I had also made friends with Cana, but she was also a little bit on the shy part of the spectrum so our conversations were limited to small conversations and talks about magic.

There was also that one time where a recently added member called Gray stripped naked in the middle of the guild. I found it pretty funny but I also felt pretty bad for Cana since she was traumatized by the event. 

In the end though, the person I spend time the most with is Laxus. Sure I talk to Cana and Gray here and there, but they were always brief. Laxus and I train together and we also go on missions together, so it's not that surprising when he became the person I regard as a best friend.

I also had just come to realize and appreciate my new life now in Fairy Tail. Just a few short years ago, my life turned for the absolute worst. But thanks to the kindness and gracious nature of Master Makarov and the guild, I now have a roof over my head, a steady well paying job, and friends that I could count on.

It wasn't the life I had imagined all those years ago plowing the fields and helping my farmer parents, but it's a life I can appreciate all the same.

As Fairy Tail devolved back into a brawl, I deftly avoided everything to find Laxus so we could go on our mission.

"There you are, ready to go?"

"Yep, let's go." I responded to Laxus's question and we quickly left through the doors to pursue our next adventure.

The job we picked today wasn't like our original ones. and the stakes are a little bit higher than we're used to.

We're going to bust a smuggling ring. 

Usually, the kind of jobs Laxus and I go with are ones that involve dissolving bandit groups and hunting down magical beasts. There was this one time where we wanted to try exterminating dark guilds but the Master said that we were still too young and those kinds of missions were still much too dangerous for us.

So Laxus scoured the entire mission board and found this one where we were asked to help bust down a smuggling ring that became prevalent in this quaint little town called Maplerock. 

Apparently there had been plenty of kidnappings, and the local investigators reported that the people responsible were slavers from Bosco that wanted to smuggle citizens of Fiore back to their country. 

The investigators also mentioned that the slavers had mages in their employ. So the request was sent to Fairy Tail, and after a heavy attempt of coercion and persuasion from our part, the master agreed to send us.

So we swiftly packed up our bags and were on our way. Maplerock was southwest of Magnolia, and there weren't trains that could take us there directly. So our plan was to get the train to the nearest town to the location and walk the rest of the way.

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— Laxus Dreyar —

"I've decided!" Laxus suddenly proclaimed and stopped walking forward, prompting Dannis to stop in his tracks as well. 

The both of them were on their way to the town. Their plan was to learn more about the details of the job before eventually going to find the smugglers themselves. Laxus then turned to face the sky with a determined gleam in his eyes and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"I'm going to be the next master of Fairy Tail!"

Laxus steadied his nervous breathing as he took a peek in Dannis's direction. He really hoped that he wouldn't laugh at him for having such a childish dream. 

To his surprise and relief. Dannis merely looked at Laxus with a small smirk on his face as he patted Laxus on the back. 

"That's a great dream to have Laxus. I hope it becomes true one day. I'm sure you have what it takes to inherit the position from the Master."

Laxus couldn't keep the smile off his face even if he tried. His best friend had acknowledged his dream!

"Really?"

"I mean it." Dan commented as he took out a map to make sure they were on the right track to the village.

Laxus smiled even wider.

"It's a promise then!" He pointed a finger to Dannis. "I will be the guild master! And when I do, you're gonna takeover Gildarts and be my Ace!"

Dannis smirk turned into an amused smile. "Hmm, I don't know…"

"What?! You don't expect me to run the guild by myself did you?! You have to help me!" Laxus exclaimed as he put his hands on his hips and scowled at Dan. 

His best friend merely snorted and continued to walk forward as he put away the map and folded his arms behind his head. "But being the Ace of the guild sounds so troublesome. Too many responsibilities. I won't have time to read my books anymore."

"Oh please, with your obsession of reading three books a day, you'd finish reading every book in the world by the time I become master." Laxus scoffed. "How you managed to even do that, I still have no idea."

"Trade secret." Dannis's trademark smirk widened before it turned into a curious frown. "But still, running a guild is gonna be hard if it's just the two of us."

Laxus caught up to Dan as he scrunched up his face in thought. An idea sparked in his mind and Laxus slammed his fist into an opened palm. 

"Then let's form a team! It'll be easier to run the guild if we have a team to help us! We can recruit more members later on! Then we can aim to be the strongest team in the guild!"

"Hmm, that's an idea." Dannis admitted with a tilt of his head. "It'll be nice training and experience for you to be the next guild master too. If you prove yourself capable of leading a team, I'm sure the Master will take it into consideration when he chooses his successor."

"So, how about it? Will you be my Ace?" Laxus asked eagerly.

Dannis smiled back as he held up a fist that Laxus reciprocated. 

"Of course I will, Master Laxus."

Laxus grinned as he laughed uproariously. They continued to talk idly regarding plans for when they become master and ace of Fairy Tail along with who they ask to join their team.

It didn't take long for them to finally reach Maplerock itself, the town being a standard port town with local fisherman and trading ships regularly making stops at the harbor. 

But it's the abundance of ships itself that would later prove troublesome for them, since the slavers could be hiding in any one of the ships disguising themselves as simple traders. 

"Let's just talk with the client first. Maybe there were details that they found in the investigation that they didn't mention in the mission details." Dannis said as they both walked down the path of the town.

"Sure thing."

They then reached the mayor's building, which was a tall three story apartment-like house, with a brick exterior and plenty of windows dotting the outside of it. They entered the building and after introducing themselves to the receptionist, they were immediately sat down in the mayor's office. 

"I thank you mages for accepting our request, these vile acts have gone on long enough! Many of my people have gone missing and I hope that you're able to arrest these hooligans for their crimes!" The mayor explained.

Laxus sighed in relief as this guy apparently had no issue with their young ages. It was a valid concern since plenty of missions before this, a lot of people doubted their abilities because they were pretty young. 

'It seems that me and Danny finally have the look of reliable mages if he accepted that easily.'

Dannis thought differently however. 'This guy must be pretty desperate, oh well better for us.'

"Is there anything else you can tell us about these people that could help?"

"Well, we know from investigations that these slavers are originally from Bosco. To think that country still allows the barbaric tradition to be legal. Bah! It's no wonder that refugees come to our town all the time." The mayor spat in disgust. "Knowing this, I made sure to do regular checks on all ships coming into the harbor. Credentials and cargo checks on everything. But so far, we found nothing."

'They found nothing?' Dannis pondered as he adopted what Laxus deemed as Dannis's classic thinking pose. Eyes narrowed, his nose scrunched, while a finger tapped his chin in a rhythmic manner. 'Could it be that they never came from the sea in the first place? Caravans come in all the time to the town for trade and visits. Perhaps they took the land route instead?'

"I see, thanks for the info, old man. We'll be sure to kick those slavers' butts for you!" Laxus said with a grin as he stood up from the chair. Dannis followed suit, his mind still whirling in possibilities and theories.

"Of course, young mage." The mayor responded, not at all bothered by the 'old man' comment. "I bid you good luck. If you have any more questions, feel free to visit me at any time."

Laxus and Dannis then left the building into the streets of Maplerock. Since it was still noon, the streets were still filled with people littering about and going with their business. But it was obvious that there was a bit of tenseness in the air.

Everyone constantly looking behind them as they walked to make sure they weren't followed. People avoiding deserted places and alleyways.

"Man, those slavers sure got these people spooked, huh?" Laxus commented on his observations.

"It's only natural. According to the mission details, around 20 people have already been kidnapped by these smugglers. I guess it's normal for them to be afraid." Dannis replied from beside him.

"Well then, they don't have to be afraid any longer!" Laxus said as he punched his fist onto an open palm. "Let's bust these guys and get the missing people back to their homes!"

Dannis simply smirked as he cracked his neck. The both of them then walked forward, the sun silhouetting their forms as the people who heard the declaration couldn't help but feel hope reigniting inside them.

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AN: Laxus and Dannis embark on a new mission. One that's pretty important all things considered. Stay tuned!

Which is the best slayer magic? Dragon Slayer, Devil Slayer, or God Slayer?

Gimme stones pls, I'll thrown in a double chapter on the next update if we manage to hit the goal.