Mending a Broken Heart

First Mission Part 4

Sting's P.O.V.

I grabbed the dude's shoulders with my hands and kneed him in the stomach. I heard the air rush out of his lungs and felt his body go limp. I let him go and watched him crash into the floor. I looked back up to the crowd around me and flashed a grin.

"Who's next?" 

The crowd murmured among themselves, encouraging others to come up but none willing to do it themselves. I glanced over at Lucy and Yukino and saw them heading out the door. Guess my job's done then, I thought to myself. Before I could leave, one brave soul stepped out of the throng of people and challenged me to fight. I smiled, spread my feet apart, and lifted my fists into a fighting stance. One more fight couldn't hurt.

We stood staring at each other until my opponent grew impatient and threw himself at me. I watched the muscles in his arm ripple as he swung his fist to my face. I quickly ducked, feeling his fist graze the tips of my hair, and sent my own face punch. It slammed into his jaw, jerking his head back and drawing blood. I saw the man move slightly away from me and I took the opportunity to hook my foot across the back of his ankle, causing him to trip. He plummeted to the floor, a disoriented heap of drunkenness and stupor. I stepped back and waited for him to get up. 

He slowly stumbled to his feet and glared at me. I smirked in return. Once again, he charged at me, this time his fist aiming for my gut. I sidestepped his punch and delivered a swift kick to his back, sending his once again to the ground. 

He didn't get back up.

Satisfied, I went up to the bartender, finished a drink, and with one last glance around the bar, paid and left. As I walked out, I headed in the opposite direction of the hotel, in case anyone decided to follow me. Once I was certain that I wasn't being tailed, I quickly jogged back to the inn.

Once I got there, I immediately went to Lucy and Yukino's room, and knocked on the door. I was greeted by Yukino, who wordlessly motioned for me to come in. I stepped through and looked around. I found Rogue sitting on the couch, and Lucy resting on her bed, with a stranger beside her, which I assumed was Gemini. I sat down next to Rogue as Yukino sat next to Lucy.

"Took you long enough," Rogue grumbled. 

"I couldn't just leave without finishing my fight," I replied. I looked at Lucy. "So what have you found?" She looked up and grinned.

"We have their location, and a bunch of info on their mages, but we were waiting for you to come before we had Gemini tell us any specifics," She turned to address her spirit.  "Alright. Gemini, please tell us everything you learned." 

"Of course Ms. Lucy!" Gemini replied. They took the map of Erich and it's surrounding area and drew a dot on it with a pen. "This is where the guild is located." They handed the map to Lucy, who studied it and then passed it to  Yukino. When the map found it's way to me, I saw that their guild hall was closer to Erich than it was to Tengon, but it was still a good hour away from the town. It was hidden deep in the forest, far away from prying eyes. As I studied the map, I heard my teammates ask questions about the location, and the best way to approach. 

Once I was finished, I looked at Gemini and asked, "What does the guild look like?" Gemini motioned for paper. 

They drew out the floor plans as they answered, "The guild itself is only one level, but there is a network of basements and holding cells located underneath the guild hall."

"I bet that's where we would find the missing children." Lucy commented. I nodded my head in agreement. Gemini finished drawing and held up the paper.

"This is the floor plan of the basement and the holding cells." There were two basements, each with multiple hallways of holding cells attached to them. That would definitely be a pain.