Chaos & Salamander

Chapter 10 - Collaboration Job

Lucy's POV

The day after we returned to the guild, Gramps summoned the five of us to his office. I hoped he hasn't found out about us destroying a few buildings during the fight with the Bloody Sphinx dark guild. To be honest I was the one who destroyed the most buildings but it was an accident. I was in a hurry to find Natsu and Happy.

As soon as we walked into Gramps' office, he had an angry expression on his face and I knew we were in trouble. "What have you knuckleheads been up to?! The Magic Council are mad at me for all the trouble you caused in Rapier! Now I have more paperwork to fill out!" he said angrily. "We are sorry Master. We will try to be more careful next time" Erza spoke up. "I highly doubt that" I heard him mumble under his breath.

"Anyway, I have another reason for summoning you to my office" he said as he pulled out a piece of paper from his desk drawer. "The Magic Council have asked me to choose a few members of our guild to join a collaboration job with the other guilds and I think you five are up to the task," Gramps explained. "Which of the other guilds will we be collaborating with?" I asked. "Blue Pegasus, Sabertooth and Lamia Scale" he replied and I heard Gray growl at the mention of 'Lamia Scale'. I wonder what these guilds are like? I've only read about them in Sorcery Weekly.

"What kind of job is it Gramps?" Gray asked with his arms crossed. "You all will be taking down a dark guild by the name of Hydra Heads. As the name may suggest, there are nine very powerful members within this dark guild and the Magic Council suspect they are planning something against the royal family," Gramps replied.

"Do you have any information on the members, Gramps?" I asked. "You will be brief when you arrive at the meeting place" he replied. "Speaking of which, where will we be meeting the other guilds?" Erza asked. "The Blue Pegasus Event Hall in two days" he replied. I remember reading about it in Sorcerer Weekly. Blue Pegasus likes to host all sorts of events like balls, conventions, fashion shows, etc. "Make sure you all get enough rest before you leave," he lightly warned us, ending the conversation. He took a piece of paper from a pile on his desk and started to read it.

Natsu was the first to exit the office followed by Happy, Gray and Erza. I stayed behind since there was something I needed to talk to Gramps about. "Is there something wrong Lucy?" Gramps asked as he looked up from his paperwork. "Nothing's wrong. I just need to talk to you about something" I replied. "What is it my child?" he asked, giving me his full attention. "I wanted to let you know two of my friends and an exceed are planning to join our guild" I replied.

"Alright, what are their names and what magic do they possess?" he asked. "First is Gajeel and he's an Iron Dragon Slayer" I started and Gramps' eyes widened. I guessed he's surprised that he's going to have four Dragon Slayers in his guild. "He's got an exceed called Panther Lily and from what he told me Panther Lily can transform into a cat warrior. My other friend is Juvia and she is a Water wizard" I finished. "Interesting, I'll let Mira know to give Gajeel, Panther Lily and Juvia their insignias as soon as they arrive" he said with a kind smile. "Thanks Gramps" I replied and a bright smile before leaving his office.

I walked back to the main hall and to the table where Gray and Erza were sitting. "What took you so long?" Gray asked as I sat down. "I needed to talk to Gramps" I replied and then he asked "about what?" "On the walk back from that job in Rapier, we bumped into a friend of mine" I said. "Yeah, Lucy and him were fighting like enemies and then acted like the best of friends. It surprised me and Natsu" Happy said, joining our conversation. "I was asking Gramps if Gajeel, Juvia and Gajeel's exceed Panther Lily could join" I continued.

"What magic do they have?" Erza asked. "Gajeel is an Iron Dragon Slayer and Juvia is a Water wizard" I replied. "Wait so we are going to have four Dragon Slayers?" Gray asked. "Yep" I replied, "is he like you and Chaos who were raised by dragons or like Laxus who had a Dragon Slayer lacrima implanted inside him?" Erza asked. 'I didn't know you could get Dragon Slayer lacrimas. Where would you even get one anyway?' I thought. "Gajeel was raised by the Iron Dragon called Metalicana" I replied.

"I should challenge him to a fight when he gets here. It'll be fun to test my strength against a Dragon Slayer who wasn't raised by Acnologia" Gray said. "Oh, how about you and me spar then?" I suggested. "Nah it wouldn't feel right to beat up a girl" he replied and I became irritated. I stood up and punched him out of his seat. How dare he think I'm too weak to beat him.

"Ow! What was that for?!" he shouted from the floor as he held his cheek. "Watch what you say Ice Stripper or you'll get my flaming fist shoved down your throat" I said while cracking my knuckles. He stood up ready for a fight. "If you want a fight Flame Brain then I'll give you one" he replied. "Bring it on" I said and then we both prepared to fight.

"Enough!" Erza's voice boomed throughout the guild. Gray and I both became frightened of Erza's wrath that I jumped into Gray's arm, bridal style. "No more fighting you two" she said in a firm voice. "Y-Yes ma'am" Gray said and then I stuttered "a-aye." "Hey that's my line!" Happy exclaimed.

When Erza left to the bar to get some strawberry cake, Gray and I realised the position that we were in. He purposely dropped me on the floor which hurt my butt. I glared up at him and he glared back. "Payback for the punch" he said quietly but loud enough for me to hear before walking away. I growled and then stood up. I noticed it was getting late in the afternoon and knew it was time to start heading home. "I'm going home. See you tomorrow Happy" I said before walking towards the guild doors. "Bye Lucy!" he said and then bit into the fish he was holding.

I arrived home a little after nightfall and was welcomed by a dark apartment. As I was about to switch the light on, a dark figure quickly slipped through my window and pinned me to the wall violently. "Tell me about Gajeel and Metaliwana" the dark figure demanded which I recognised the voice belonged to Natsu.