Thieves From the Shadows

A black and green portal had opened inside a large dark room, the light it produced shone through the closed curtains in front of the windows. Someone who had a hood covering their face took a step towards one of the items. It was a cutlass sword that hung on the wall. It had a platinum hilt with emeralds in it.
She outstretched a hand to touch the sword and took it off the stand. After wrapping it in black cloth, she tied it to herself. Once she finished tying the knot, she walked back into the portal, and it closed, allowing her to get away with the item undetected.
…
The portal re-opened on a hill that overlooked a huge mountainous town, Trees and mist surrounded the exterior. The same hooded person walked out of the portal and pulled the hood back, she was dark skinned with short, dark messy hair. Her eyes were colored pale yellow. She wore a black, torn, hooded open jacket with a silver shirt underneath; she wore dark baggy pants with thick matching boots.
She took a deep breath and held the wrapped-up sword in her arms. "Where are you Cole? I can sense you." She said in a calm tone, her voice was hushed, soft but surprisingly firm.
Suddenly a brown-haired person walked from out of the bushes, they style of his hair was short and was gelled upwards. He had a small beard at the end of his chin, and green eyes. He was wearing a grey shirt with pale green painted shoulder pads, his wrists were taped up and his pants were also dark but there was pale yellow bandage-like wrapping around the left leg, he also wore boots. "Took you long enough, sis," He said with a relaxed tone with his hands behind his head. "Did you get the goods?"
She gave him the wrapped-up sword. "In. Out. No casualties, no witnesses."
"Hehe, I like the way you handle your business. You let me handle the rest. I can talk the buyers to giving up a good price."
"Do you want a shortcut?"
Cole chuckled at her offer. "No thanks. Unlike you, I like the journey better than the destination."
"Then be safe."
He chuckled and winked at her. "'Careful' is my middle name."
"No, it isn't, your middle name would be 'reckless'."
"Whatever, I'll see ya at home." Cole ran out into the forest behind. Right after he left, she turned around to the forest before glaring to her right suddenly. She shook her head, outstretched her hand and generated her portal in front of her. She simply walked in and it closed soon after.
Watching this from behind a tree was Kobu. He had a thoughtful look on his face and he soon ran back through the trees. Hoping he might be able to catch up with the one who had the sword, Cole.
----It was morning at the Fairy Tail Guild Hall. While everyone was engaged in conversation, there was an absent presence in the building, not that anyone even truly noticed or honestly cared, except one... "Mira, have you seen Azula?" Erza asked approaching the bar.
The white haired beauty shook her head. "Not since last night, she claimed she was leaving for a job and hasn't come back since."
"I see…" Erza said. She looked to be deep in thought.
"She has been doing a lot of jobs by herself. Maybe she's having trouble adjusting." Mira added.
It wasn't long before the subject of their conversation would appear through the front door. The current Fire Lord sped walked to the counter, slight bags were under her eyes. She put the request on the counter. "You." She pointed at Mira. "Tell the old man I've completed this job."
"Sure." With that she made a beeline for the request board gently shoving Nab out of the way while telling to simply 'move'. "She's been going on jobs non-stop. We barely see her at Fairy Hills or the guild."
"That is a problem, she could be planning something… but even more importantly, how does she expect to better herself when she isn't taking the first step?" Erza kept it in her mind that she would talk to Azula later about the matter.
As Azula was looking for another job, she was approached by someone else looking to take on a job as well. "Good morning, Azula." The firebender looked over her shoulder to see Wendy was talking to her.
"Someone in this guild other than Erza and Mirajane is talking to me. That is a first." Azula noted.
"Oh… well, um…"
"Nervousness shows weakness!" Azula firmly told her firmly. "Just say what you have to, I have places to be." Azula firmly told her.
"Maybe we could to a job together, you me and Carla."
Azula let out a sigh while she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Windy... is it?"
"Um, Wendy…"
"What you are suggesting is not a good idea. Most of your guild doesn't trust me, and I'm not in the mood to get chi-blocked for nothing, again." Azula glanced to Mai, Ty Lee, Suki and Cana's table where Ty Lee pointed from her eyes to Azula, giving her the 'I'm watching you look.' "So yes, it would be a really bad idea. Besides, I really don't want to babysit you and the cat. I'll leave that to the Avatar and the pink haired menace."
"But, can't I give you a chance?"
"My own mother never gave me a chance…" Azula muttered to herself. Wendy only looked at her with a pitiful expression, as if she had heard what Azula said, and her Dragon Slayer hearing wasn't wrong on what she just heard. "Look, take the job I was going to go on, and this conversation never happened."
Azula handed Wendy the request and proceeded to leave the guildhall. "But, Azula…"
"Never. Happened." She repeated with a raised voice. Azula turned on her heel and walked out of the guild. Where she was going, nobody knew…
With that, Wendy walked back to her table where Chun, Hen and Carla were sitting. "We saw what happened back there. Props for trying to buddy up to the monster-in-chief herself." Hen said.
"Are you ok?" Chun worriedly asked. "She didn't say anything that hurt you did she?"
Wendy smiled at her. "Don't worry, I am fine. Thanks."
"Didn't I tell you not to go anywhere near that girl?" Carla said. "She tried to destroy the very building you're standing in right now. She's bad news Wendy, and shouldn't be trusted."
"C'mon guys let's talk about something else other than the person who shall not be named." Hen said, redirecting the conversation. "Like for instance… what's that you got there Wen?"
Knowing he was referring the job request. She put it on the table. "It was a request Azu- uh… she was going to do."
Hen took it from her. "Let's see… uh. This is from the mayor of a place from Sky Town. 'Our town has been facing a string of robberies and the criminals need to be brought to justice.'" Hen read.
"Let me see that?" Carla said. The Earthbender handed the white feline the request. "This is a big reward." She noted. "These robberies must have been going on for a long while, or the valuables must have been expensive."
"Or both," Chun said. "What do you guys think?"
"Will we be fighting the thieves?" Hen asked while punching his knuckles together.
Chun's eyes were replaced by squiggly lines. "You only have one thing on your mind, don't you?"
"Hey, Toph and Gajeel left on a job without me." He huffed and folded his arms. "So I'm short on a sparring partner…"
The firebender groaned. "Ugh… so Wendy what do you think? You got the request, so you make the choice."
Wendy's face turned serious. "Let's do it!"
"That's what I like to hear. So when do we head out?"
"Right now?" Hen asked.
"We should prepare the necessary provisions. It will be quite a trip to Sky Town." Carla said.
Hen stood up and stretched. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get out of here!" he started to rush both Wendy and Chun out the guild. "We've got to get out of here before Lucy finds out." He whispered. "Once she hears about the big reward, she'll want to come with and… I don't want to split it any more than I should."
Suddenly Lucy sneezed in the background, causing Hen to shiver. "I did I hear someone calling my name?"
"Outa here, outa here!" Hen yelled, pushing the two startled girls out the door while Carla rolled her eyes and followed him out.
----While Chun, Wendy, Hen and Carla were taking that job, Azula found herself walking through Magnolia by herself. "What was I thinking? I can't get along with these people… just thinking about fighting along-side them is making my skin crawl! Especially…" Natsu's monstrous form flashed in her head, while the flames covered his entire body and his eyes were glowing red, like some kind of demon. She shivered and shook her head to snap herself out of her stupor. "I just have to secretly find some way of getting back, maybe then I can tell Father…" she stopped walking when she thought about what her Father would say if he saw her like this.
"I understand that he is your father and you have an obligation to him, but had there ever been a moment in your life where you voiced your own opinion to him or disagreed with him? Were his wishes your command?" 
Azula shook her head and leaned against a wall and looked up to the sky. "Damn you Makarov… What the hell do I possibly have to gain from staying with these people…? Ugh I'm thinking too hard about this."
"Azula." She noticed Erza walking up to her. "Glad I found you, I came here to talk to you."
"Oh great… I've got to get out of here!" Azula turned away from Erza. "Listen, I just remembered I need to do another job."
However she felt a hard, armoured hand gently close around her left wrist. "Azula, please, this is serious."
"Last time I checked, jobs are serious…"
"When is the last time you ate?"
"That is none of your concern. Listen, I am not a child so both you and Mirajane need to stop doting on me! I am a Fire Lord and I can take care of myself!" And right on cue her stomach let out a rumble that hinted that Azula hadn't eaten in some time. "Please tell me you didn't hear that."
"I did, let me treat you. It will completely be for free."
"Half an hour, that is all I will give you!"
----Wendy, Chun, Hen and Carla were still within Magnolia. Hen had all of their supplies in one bag that hung over his shoulders. "So how are we going to get there, the train?"
"The train doesn't go there and the town is surrounded by a very thick mist." Carla said.
"Makes sense, but if it is in the mountains won't we need to climb? I know you liked walking on your first job, Wendy… but surely we have another way." Chun inquired.
"There is…" Wendy said.
...
Before they knew it, they were at Aang and Natsu's house and they all caught Appa sleeping. "Aang taught me how to ride Appa and he said I can ride him whenever we are on a job."
"T-the Avatar trusts you that much!?" Chun asked with wide eyes.
Wendy smiled in response. "Of course, we are friends after all."
They noticed that Hen was right in front of the sleeping bison. "Oh wow, this guy is much bigger up close and he so fluffy!" he said grabbing a clump of fur.
"If this is the best way of getting up to Sky Town, then I'm in favor." Chun said.
"Heeeey!" Hen yelled. "Wake up, Mr. Fluffy! We've got to go on a job!" Appa's eye shot open with a growl and there was a tremendous blast of wind that was blown from Appa's mouth and Hen was right in the way and he was blown back far and he let out a scream.
Chun giggled while Carla let out a long sigh. "Maybe that'll teach him about waking up Wild animals like that." Chun said.
"He's as brash as that Natsu." Carla said. "I just hope we can rely on him. So far I'm not impressed."
Chun shook her head. "Hey, give him a chance." She said defending him. "Sure he may be unusual, but he's a surprisingly deep person… and he's very kind." She said. Chun's sentence ended with a blush appearing on her cheeks, with her looking away.
Hen rushed back to them by launching himself with an earth pillar. He landed back in front of them. "Ah, I'm back." He looked to Appa. "Sorry for waking you!" he yelled. "So what'd I miss?"
"U-um nothing!" Chun said with a stutter, remembering what they were just talking about. "I'm going to be waiting by the bison!" she sped towards Appa and Hen was confused by her behaviour.
"Um ok…" Hen said.
Carla meanwhile had her arms folded and a large drop of sweat fell from her head. "Seriously… you need to keep your hormones under control."
"Hormones?" Hen chuckled. "Weird but ok, sooo shall we get going?"
Wendy gave a serious nod as the three approached Appa.
…
"Appa, yip-yip!" Appa roared as he soared through the air with Wendy holding the reigns while Carla, Hen and Chun sat in the back.
----In front of a café, a vanilla cake and a cup of coffee was put in front of Azula who sat at a table across from Erza. In front of Erza was a big slice of strawberry cake. Azula hovered her fork over the slice of cake. "Alright, you wanted to talk. Start talking…"
"Why do you feel you should work by yourself, you know if you could ask me or your brother to come on jobs with you."
"I don't need to rely on anyone. I am a Fire Lord after all!" she said raising her voice. "There is only one person I should rely on, and that person is me."
"Didn't you come to the guild so you wouldn't be by all yourself? Besides, you are still so young. I wouldn't be where I am without my friends."
"You give your friends too much credit." Azula stuck her desert fork into the cake. "You are so much better than many of them. Why associate with them? I've heard the stories of the mighty Titania, half the guild fears you. What will being nice to a bunch of weaklings give you?"
"Surely that can't be what you think? What about your friendship with Ty Lee, and Mai?"
"You saw Ty Lee chi block me for no reason and Mai laughed. I allied myself with them because I required their skills, and you know how they are. Besides they backstabbed me, so why should I care about them!?" Azula clenched her fists. "I don't need anyone!" she looked into her coffee cup and saw an apparition of her mother looking at her. "Oh you're back, figures…"
"Who are you talking to?" Erza asked.
Azula looked away bashfully. "Nothing." But after a slight pause, she faced Erza. "Actually… Erza, do you know what it's like to lose your mind?"
The armoured wizard gave Erza a concerned look. "Why would you ask that?"
"It's stupid… but I think I see someone. Someone who left my life a long time ago,"
"Is this person dead?"
"I don't know. Maybe she is, maybe she isn't. She didn't visit all that much after she left."
"Was she special to you? A friend maybe?"
Azula gave a snorted laugh. "Hardly, if anything she hated me. She feared me, loathed me."
"If that is the case, why do you think you are seeing her?"
"Haunting me from the grave maybe, her final act is her trying to torment me." Azula said. She raised her voice as she was clearly getting agitated. "I see her in my reflection, sometimes out in the distance… I hear her voice whispering lies to me! In my sleep, I can't avoid her. She is like a ghost that won't leave my head!" she yelled. She smirked and looked at Erza. "All of you… you Fairy Tail fools, you enjoy seeing me lose my mind don't you! I did attack your guild so I suppose it is understandable all of you would harbor hatred towards me!"
Erza grabbed Azula's hand. "Azula, calm down, you're spiraling. Can you let me help you?" When Azula looked up at Erza, her pupils shrunk in fear because she saw the very apparition that was haunting her looking back at her with a sad, concerned look. And Erza's hand was replaced with hers. "Azula, I don't want to see you hurt yourself like this!"
The Fire Lord took her hand back and held onto it as if to sooth it from burning. "I-I need to be by myself… no I have to distract myself." She stood up off of her chair. "I appreciate the kind gesture, but I'm going to need you to stay the hell away from me. You remind me too much of…" Azula didn't finish the sentence and instead she ran off, trying to put as much distance between herself and Erza.
"Wait!" Erza outstretched her hand, but Azula was already long gone. "Why… what is going on with her… Maybe Zuko, Mai and Ty Lee might know something."
----Appa continued to fly through the air, letting out occasional grunts along the way. Chun only took in the view that greeted her. It was a beautiful day with them passing the occasional cloud. The rocky mountainous view in the far distance completed the landscape.
"Whoa… I knew this place was great but- wow…" Chun whispered.
"I mean we probably could have seen this eventually." Hen said.
Chun lay down on her back. "Hen… I think… I think I don't want to leave." She said.
"Well why would we leave Fairy Tail? After the nice welcome we got?" he questioned with a chuckle.
"No not that." She sat up and faced him. "I meant this world, I want to live here. There are no wars, no hierarchies. It doesn't matter where you're from around here. I just wish I could forget my problems and just live out my life here. I mean, I can grow up with Fairy Tail, wouldn't that be great!?" she said getting excited about the idea.
Hen put her hand on Chun's and looked at her. "I know the idea of living here excites you, but we still have to go back y'know. We gotta save your brother and I have to see my mom, she probably worried sick about me…" Hen though continued to think about his mom. "Dammit… she lost dad already… what if she thinks I'm dead… what if?"
"Calm down Hen, we'll give your mother a big surprise when she sees you." Chun squeezed Hen's hand while also hiding the developing blush on her face. "I mean I know you've got your own life and I've got mine…"
"And? We'll still be friends for sure. Once we take care of our business we'll figure something out."
Chun smiled but continued to look down, specifically at her hand still gently squeezing his. "Y-yeah… we for sure will."
Carla and Wendy watched the exchange and Wendy was silently gushing to herself. "Those two are sweet, don't you think so Carla?"
"All I can say is that Hen seems reliable. And the girl is completely love struck, clearly her focus lies elsewhere rather than the task at hand…"
"C'mon Carla, I think it's sweet."
Carla walked over to the side and looked over Appa. "Regardless, we've run out of landmarks, we should land and ask for directions."
Wendy nodded. She took the reins and rubbed the top of Appa's head. "Let's go Appa." Appa grunted and soared down to the ground. They descended to a small town with many buildings made of wood. Once Appa hit the ground, they all disembarked.
"Is this the place?" Hen asked.
"No, we're just here to ask for directions." Wendy said.
"Man I hope we're not lost…" He groaned.
"Well Hen, mind if you stay by Appa?" Chun asked. "Last thing we need is anyone giving him trouble."
Hen winked and gave her a two fingered salute. "Anyone even thinks about messing with us, I'll send 'em flying."
"Eh… please don't hurt anyone too bad." Wendy nervously said.
"Hehe, no promises."
The three girls left Hen by himself to get directions to the town. "Heh, girls am I right?" he said gently elbowing Appa. Glad it's just us guys now… you're a guy right?" Appa let out a single breath and he lay down on the ground. "You didn't get mad, so I'll assume you're a guy," He lay back on his fur, and closed his eyes. "Wow you're really fluffy! Hehe I like you."
Suddenly shadows covered Hen and he opened one eye, he saw that there were two dark guild bandits standing over him. "Hey kid, mind if we check to see what's in that bag of yours." Hen, with one eye open glanced to the backpack that had all of their stuff.
"Nah, I'm good."
"I don't think you understand, so why don't you let us see the bag. Or we'll do it ourselves."
"No can do, can't let anything happen to it. Wendy will be sad and Chun will throttle me, and the white cat won't let me hear the end of it." They both approached Hen closer. "Guys…" they stopped walking as soon as Hen had both his eyes open, he was still in his relaxed stance but looked at them with a serious expression. "Consider this your last warning."
"You're just a Fairy Tail brat, you're no Salamander and he doesn't appear to be with you!"
"No I'm not Natsu… but if you want to see what I am, then I dare you to take one more step." One of the bandits took a step and Hen sighed. "Sorry, Chun… but they forced it out of me…" he stood up walked to bag, put it on his back and cracked his knuckles and neck. The bandits looked confused but they both took out knives that glistened in the sun light.
…
Several minutes later, Wendy, Chun and Carla had gotten a map that Chun was holding. "Luckily that guy was kind enough to lower his price for the map. By the way, I owe you Jewel, Carla."
"Do not worry about it, it is for Wendy's sake and for the sake of the job. We just have to hope your boyfriend didn't get into trouble."
"B-boyfriend!?" she yelled her face becoming red. "W-what are you talking about."
Wendy giggled. "You do like him though, don't you?"
"Yes of course, but not like how Carla said!" she nervously scratched the back of her head.
Carla hovered to her side. "You're still young, you have time to find someone more… dignified…"
"H-hey… sure he's very brash, but I think he's boyfriend material…" she quickly back-pedalled and raised her hands in defense. "N-not that I'd date him or anything,"
Carla folded her arms. "You are so deep in denial. I don't even know what to say."
Chun took a deep breath. "Am I that obvious…?" she asked looking down.
Wendy patted her back. "Don't worry, Chun. I'm sure Hen feels the same way, you just have to talk to him about it."
"M-maybe… l-let's just focus on the job for now."
"What is going on!?" Carla asked. There was a circle of people surrounding where Appa had landed.
Chun had pushed people out of the way for Wendy and Carla to follow behind her. The three saw quite a sight.
One bandit was lying on a short pillar and he was completely knocked out. As for the other bandit, clumps of rock covered his right hand and he looked to be punching himself while Hen yelled over and over:
"Why you hitting yourself?"
*WHAM*
"Why you hitting yourself?"
*WHAM*
"Why you hitting yourself?"
"Please… stop…" the bandit begged as his left eye was bruised and was turning dark purple.
"HEN!" Chun yelled.
He immediately stopped and he nervously put his hands behind his back. "Hehe, how did you guys go?" Suddenly she yanked his ear.
"I can't leave you for ten minutes without you causing trouble can I?" in the background the bandit groggily ran away from them and he picked up his unconscious partner. Hen saw her glare at him and her cheeks were angrily puffed.
"Alright, but they wanted to take our supplies."
"Hen, you didn't have to decimate them, we shouldn't go around looking for fights. Look at the attention we're getting." She gestured to the crowd of people that were looking at them.
"On a separate note, we should leave." Carla said, flying Wendy onto Appa.
"Right." Chun leaped up onto the back of Appa and Hen noticed the people were still looking at him.
"Um… see ya?" he used a pillar to boost him onto of Appa.
"Appa, yip-yip!" Appa flew up into the sky and roared as he flew closer to the mountains.
Once they were in the air, Chun glared at Hen. "Look, I'm going to help Wendy with directions, just… stop picking useless fights ok!" she huffed and turned away.
Hen nodded and he looked to the side and genuinely looked bad for making her mad. "Guess I really did it this time…" his face became serious. "Alright, for real this time, no more picking fights, I can't jeopardize this job any further."
----"Azula acting weird?" Mai questioned, she, Ty Lee, Suki and Bisca were sitting in the guild and Erza was still looking for Azula. "Well, for as crafty as Azula was. She never acted like how you're saying. In fact she's always prided herself on being cool and calm."
"Like, I used to think that she was perfect in every way." Ty Lee said. "I mean, apart from losing to Natsu and her being cold and mean. Why are you asking, Erza?"
"I am worried about her; she doesn't look well at all. She's been doing jobs to distract herself."
Suki kept her arms folded and Mai closed her eyes. "Well not my business of what happens to her now." Mai said. "She's on her own now. At least when she betrays us, she's not going to be able take us on, not after what Natsu did to her." She ended with a chuckle.
"But, weren't you friends in the past?"
"I tolerated Azula. Even when we were kids, she wouldn't waste an opportunity to humiliate me." Mai said.
"Though…" Ty Lee raised her hand. "To be fair… I did help her with that…"
"Because Azula told you to, trust me Erza, that girl is rotten to the core! She didn't even bat an eyelash when Zuko was exiled, if anything she enjoyed it. She thinks of no one but herself. She is completely irredeemable! You can do what you want with her, just don't involve me in it."
Erza let out a defeated sigh. "Fine, but where is Zuko?"
…
Elsewhere, close to the mountainous regions around Magnolia, Bickslow stood on his own and threw his arms forward. "Get im babies!" Bickslow screamed this and his totem 'babies' were firing numerous green blasts at their target.
Their target was Zuko, he managed to roll away, but two more headed his way. He deflected them away with his swords. But behind him, one of the totems hummed as it charged another beam.
"Fairy Machine Gun: Leprechaun!" Numerous, bright yellow energy needles had destroyed the doll before it could fire. "Did I do well, Zuko-sama?" Evergreen sweetly asked.
"We'll talk after the battle. Watch out!" they dodged a pain rune thrown from Freed after Zuko threw himself into Evergreen.
"You shouldn't get distracted, leader." Freed said.
"Try telling her that." Zuko said, lightly joking at Evergreen's expense which caused her eyes to turn white from slight shock. He ran towards Freed. "Evergreen, hold off Bickslow!" Zuko's swords clashed with Freed's rapier. Evergreen leaped up over Zuko and fired her attack, making energy bolts rain down on both Freed and Bickslow.
The momentary distraction allowed for Zuko to send a large rolling ball of fire to both Freed. Freed grew his rune wings and Bickslow rolled away, allowing the rolling fireball to explode around them.
Erza walked towards the four, Zuko saw her and he raised his arm. "Everyone, let's take a break."
"Heh." Freed chuckled. "We'll finish this, Zuko."
"We should." Zuko replied while shaking Freed's hand. The rest of Laxus' former group dispersed.
This left Zuko by himself and he walked with Erza to a much larger rock face. Once they were out of sight, they both started talking. "So what's going on?"
"It is Azula, she isn't doing well. She does jobs all by herself and she apparently is seeing and talking to someone when she no one is there. She isn't doing well at all."
"Alright, then we should find her before she hurts anyone… or herself…"
----Appa roared as he flew into a mountainous region that was surrounded by an almost seemingly endless fog. "We should be very close; the fog around here is pretty thick." Carla said.
"How will we find the place if the fog is this thick?" Chun asked.
"But the person who gave us the directions said that if the fog was thick. We'd be in the right place." Wendy said. She turned back to Hen who she noticed looked a lot less excited as he look over the edge of the bison. He sat by himself, away from the three girls. "What do you think, Hen?"
"Huh?" snapping out of his thoughts he turned to them. "Well uh, heh. Not sure what to tell ya," He said with a sheepish smile.
Suddenly Carla yelled as her tail shot straight up. "WENDY FORWARD!" she was the first to see Appa was flying close to a mountain. The Bison immediately shot upwards to avoid hitting the hard earth. Wendy and Chun tightly held onto the reigns while both Hen and Carla scrambled for something to hold onto. Unfortunately Hen wasn't so lucky as he rolled off the back of Appa and down into the foggy depths.
"Seriously!?" Carla sprouted her wings and leaped off the ascending bison down to where Hen had fallen.
While Hen was falling he looked around and saw nothing but fog and bits of the mountain that he passed as he fell. "This is how it ends?! I always thought it would be in some epic battle or during a war… but not like this!"
As he fell, he noticed a strange presence that looked like a hideout on the mountain, but he only saw it for a brief moment due to the fog. Then almost suddenly, he decent slowed as he felt a pair of paws grabbing his hand. He looked up and saw Carla trying to pull him up. "Whoa, thanks for the assist, White Cat."
"I have a name!" Carla said. "I have to get to your back."
Hen saw a rock face close by him. "Drag us over to the mountain." She did this and right when they were close, Hen made a thick rock platform for them to rest on; it was more than capable of supporting their weights. Once Carla dropped them, they both were taking deep breaths. "You ok?"
"I should be asking you that?" Carla asked.
"I'm good, but we should get back up… that last thing I want is Chun and Wendy worrying about us."
"Alright."
Carla clawed herself onto Hen's back and spread her wings as they both flew up the mountain.
…
"CARLA!"
"HEN!"
Wendy and Chun were calling out for their friends as they decided to take Appa close to the side of the mountain where they could see as they descended further. "Wendy… Carla can fly so she's likely ok. But Hen… I'm really worried about him… what if…"
"We can't give up on them? I'm sure Hen and Carla will find a way."
"R-right… but I-I just worry. If the worst happens… I can't… I don't want to imagine a world where Hen is gone. It's too much…" Chun tried to hold back the tears but she couldn't stop them. She placed her palms over her eyes and rubbed them. "I never even got the chance to tell him that I-"
"Heeeeyyy!" they saw Hen being flown by Carla just below them. "Hey um… we're still alive down here."
Carla flew them back onto Appa. "Luckily we're both ok." Carla said.
"Yeah, though some more than others…" Hen said, though he was surprised when Chun engulfed him in a hug. "Chun?"
"I was extremely worried about you!" she cried.
"W-were you crying?"
Chun released him and looked into his eyes. "Of course I was! I… I didn't know what I was going to do if I lost you, Hen."
"Well um… I'm sorry I made you worry. Should have found something to hang on to,"
"Chun, didn't you have something to say to him?" Wendy asked.
Her entire face turned red and looked away from all of them. "I-It's not really important!" she tried to regain her composure. "Let's just get to the town, we've got a job to."
…
After flying back up the mountain, the fog lifted and they saw a city that sat in a valley in the mountain. "This is a really nice place." Wendy said.
"Must be hard to get in and out of this place." Hen commented.
"As nice as this place is, we need to find the mayor's office." Carla said.
As Appa flew in closer, Chun pointed to a large palace-like building that looked much bigger than any of the buildings in comparison. "Uh, any chance it's that." She pointed out the building.
"Well that makes it easy." Hen said.
"You hear that Appa?" Wendy directed Appa to the ground, and when they got close to the ground, many people of the town had looked at him.
The Bison landed and mainly the younger people were filled with wonder as they hadn't seen a creature like Appa before. "Well we've attracted a lot of attention." Hen leaped off of him. "It's okay everyone, he's a vegetarian. So he ain't gonna hurt anyone." Wendy and Chun landed beside him. "We're here to do a job, now if you can point us to the nearest mayor that would be great."
Before long there were guards that ran to surround them, they pushed through the citizens and the bronze armored guards pointed axed spears at them. The their faces couldn't be seen through their helmets that had red feathered mowhawks on them. "Who are you? State your purpose?"
"Whoa, chill out!" Hen said, he showed his brown Fairy Tail mark on his shoulder. "We aren't here to bust you up. We're from Fairy Tail, and there was a job here to do so if you can help us."
One of the guards saw their Fairy Tail markings. And he nervously shook. "O-oh of course, please follow us, we shall take you the palace."
"Are you alright?" Wendy asked, showing concern for the shaking guard.
"No everything's fine, the mayor just… didn't expect Fairy Tail to send… others…"
"Well, I hope he will like us."
Hen folded his arms. "Hey, we're not some 'B-Team' if that what you're thinking. We'll get the job done, so lets do this already."
"R-right…"
…
The group of four were in the mayor's office – which looked much more than a royal bedroom/office rather than a traditional office. "This place gives me a Fire Nation vibe." Chun thought.
At the desk, a man was there and he was going through several documents, he was dressed in a blue suit, was fair skinned with short brown hair. He looked up with his brown eyes and saw the four Fairy Tail members walking in with his guards behind them. "Um… who are these people?"
"W-we're from Fairy Tail." Wendy said.
"We got your job request, so we took it." Hen said.
"Right." He got up off his chair. "Welcome to Sky Town!" he welcomed them by shaking each of their hands. "I thought that I'd be seeing the Salamander or the Elemental Wizard."
Hen folded his arms and looked insulted. "Look you can be disappointed later, just tell us what kind of criminals we're dealing with already."
The mayor then stood behind his desk. "Straight to the point, well a couple of weeks ago, mysterious robberies have plagued our town. To this day we have no idea who is behind the robberies, all people report seeing is a girl disappearing into the wind."
"She could be using some kind of teleportation magic." Carla figured. "That would make it easy for her to get in and out of places easily and without getting caught."
"Correct." The mayor said. "My investigator said the same thing."
"Investigator?" Chun asked.
"Yes, you see Sky Town doesn't have a Wizard's guild and so we've have to try to deal with this ourselves. Someone from out of town came by and offered his services for a fee. With his help, we have faces and their names."
"I thought you said there was just one girl?" Hen said.
"Well my investigator discovered that it is a duo. One of them steal the merchandise, the other takes it to a secret black market somewhere in the mountains."
"Might said you have their names, mind telling us who they are?" Carla asked.
The mayor nodded. "Certainly, the girl's is named Aluria Sugia, according to my investigator; she is about 16 I think. The older guy is Cole Sugia, he's 19 and possibly has connections to the black market."
"He certainly would fare better at selling stolen merchandise than the girl who's stealing them." Chun figured.
"But knowing their names isn't good enough if we can't catch them. They appear to be invisible during the day, and at night, my guards are no match for them. Even my investigator, who's got some magical abilities couldn't stop them. So that's why I called your guild."
"But why the high reward?" Chun asked.
"Because the valuables being stolen are of high price and quality. Weapons, armour, heirlooms that were passed down from Sky Town nobility have been stolen. So that's why the reward is high, we need you to find this black market, shut it down and bring back those precious items. As for right now, you'll meet with my investigator, he's been tracking the targets of these thieves and is planning an ambush, so you'll help catch those two and take down that black market. So now I ask, will you accept the job?"
Wendy stood forward and gave the mayor a serious look. "Yes, we will do our best!"
…
"I don't like that guy very much." Hen said as the four were walking through the vibrant town. "He seemed way too… I dunno… untrustworthy."
"He did expect Natsu and Aang, and let's face it; those two could level this entire place if they wanted to with how powerful they are." Carla said. "I suspect the mayor wanted that to happen to this so called "black market"."
"Well whatever the case we've accepted the job so now we've got to do what we can." Chun said.
"Right." Wendy agreed with a nod. "I hope they are treating Appa well at their stables."
"I'm sure he will be fine." Hen said, "That palace looks to have everything."
"Yeah, it's actually a bit too much." Chun said awkwardly rubbing her shoulder.
They walked to what looked like an apartment block which was where the supposed investigator was staying for the time being. Wendy looked at the address. "This looks like the place, they mayor said he was staying in apartment 6C."
"Good, let's find this person so we can get started." Carla said.
After checking in at the front desk and some stair climbing later they managed to get to the sixth floor hallway, there was a light in the middle that was dimming. A couple meters from that, they saw the door '6C'. "Well time to meet this person." Chun said as Wendy knocked on his door.
There was no response but footsteps were heard from behind the door. "Maybe he's not home." Wendy said.
Suddenly the door swung open inward and they all saw a large snake of water ready to pounce on them, but the person behind the door was extremely shocked along with two other people in the group.
"KOBU?" Chun and Hen exclaimed.
"You…" he said in a seething angry tone. "What the hell are you doing here?" he noticed the guild markings on Chun and Hen's shoulders. "Wow, you actually went and joined those… ugh people."
"Kobu, you're ok." Chun said, as if breathing a sigh of relief.
"Please, as if you didn't forget about me the second you were given those guild markings."
"Kobu… that's not-"
"And I take it you're not going back to our world either… though I'd understand, I don't exactly have anything to go back to either."
"I don't get it, why would the mayor trust… someone like you?" Hen asked.
"Just because I don't light my hands on fire, or give speeches about heavy stuff during a fight doesn't make me un-trust worthy person. Now tell me why you are here and make it quick I have errands to run."
"Um… we're actually helping to catch the thieves…" Wendy revealed.
"Ah, you got to be kidding me," He opened the door for them. "Alright come in and take a seat, I'll tell you what I know." Once they all walked in, Kobu shut and locked the door. He snaked the water back into a vase that was devoid of flowers.
They all walked in to see the apartment to be pretty empty aside from a couple of bags. They saw an evidence board of information regarding the thieves. They all sat down on the large couch aside from Carla who just stood by the sofa. "So… who are they?" Kobu asked pointing to Wendy and Carla.
"Um, why would you care?" Hen asked. "You don't even like our guild!"
"I'd like to know who I'm supposed to be working with, so names?"
Carla turned her head and snootily folded her arms. "Hmpf, why should we co-operate with you?"
"I'm Wendy Marvell." Wendy revealed while stepping forward. "S-she's my friend, Carla."
"Well at least someone among you has to have manners." Kobu said. "I'd say it's nice to meet you but at this point the least I can say that is isn't terrible to know you, Wendy."
"Thanks… I think?"
"Yep, you've met Kobu." Hen said to Wendy. "He was the cold person in our group, like seriously he is such a –"
"Um… could we just get started?" Chun asked.
Kobu stepped away from them. "So onto our thieves, I'm sure the mayor has told you all he knows about them. Aluria and Cole Sugia. Two thieves that have stolen every valuable item they can from this place."
"Hey, Mr Know-it-all. Why don't you tell us how we're going to beat them?" Hen asked.
"Or I can just point to where they are and you can just bury them in dirt!" Kobu sarcastically jabbed. "If you can catch them."
Hen stood up and smirked. "Oh yeah, I can do that, but why don't I warm up and start with you!"
Kobu sighed. "Some things never change… but as much as I want to shut you up for good. I still have a job to complete."
Carla stepped forward. "Could you tell us about their magic?"
"Actually, yes. That was going to be my next point before being rudely interrupted." He glanced towards Hen. "Cole's magic is similar to Ping's magic, in that he can make copies of himself, but they are just projections of light so they can't really to anything but distract and confuse others. And he is a proficient in hand to hand combat, so the magic is really less of a crutch for him."
"Who is Ping?" Wendy whispered to Chun.
"Um… you really don't want to know…"
"Right so the one guy is a trickster. What about the girl?" Carla asked.
"Her magic is somewhat more complicated. It's a form of teleportation magic called Rift Magic, from what I've deduced and seen. She can disappear in and out of her own pocket dimension at will. Also she can use her pocket dimension to distort time and space in such a way that she can create portals to places that she knows. That's how she manages to steal those items very easily, however we I've figured out she has a range to how far she can make her portals. Meaning if we can find out where she made her entry portal, we can ambush her when she gets out."
"Or, we follow her in and take her down."
"Well if you want go into her pocket dimension and risk getting lost in there. Be my guest. But with the other reasonable people we will be waiting to ambush her."
"But didn't you manage to try an ambush before?" Chun asked.
"Trying to find her is the issue. She's very sneaky, especially at night. When we get to her, we're usually too late, any guard that was there is usually taken out. So we have to find out where she makes her first move then ambush her when she comes back out the other side."
"Sure, any ideas on how to track her?" Hen asked.
Wendy raised her hand. "I think I can track her."
Kobu raised an eyebrow. "How?"
"I'm a Dragon Slayer, so I can use my nose to sniff her out."
Kobu did a double take after he discovered that Wendy was a Dragon Slayer. "Well, I didn't see that coming. I thought Fairy Tail only had 2 pure Dragon Slayers."
"But don't you need a scent to track her?" Chun asked.
"Oh… right." Wendy shamefully lowered her head.
Kobu shook his head. "It doesn't matter; we just have to figure out what they both plan to steal next. After that, we try to ambush her, so any ideas?"
They all looked to think and Chun looked at Kobu. "Is there a map of places where robbed? Usually thieves don't return to the same place twice."
Kobu placed a map on the table. "Ahead of you, I marked all the places that they robbed." He pointed to places that were hit and they were marked with red X's. "There are a couple of places that they didn't hit, so it's not like they are running out of places to rob."
Chun let out a sigh. "We need to figure out where they would go next, what do they usually steal?"
Kobu thought about it. "Hmm… now that I think about it, they've been taking only weapons, mostly powerful magic weapons that are owned by noble families."
"And how long have they been stealing from here?"
"Mayor tells me that they have been doing this for a couple of months, it started off with some small things and valuables then it escalated to expensive and valuable weapons that are family heirlooms."
"But if they are selling these weapons, why would they need to steal more? I'd think they would make enough Jewel from one or two of them." Chun said.
"Good point, actually." Kobu said. "I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I have a theory."
"Hey what are you two thinking?" Hen asked.
Chun shook her head. "Well, we can't say for sure. But we need to find the place that they would most likely come to."
"Maybe we can go to the mayor to figure out the place." Kobu said.
"Sounds good." Chun said before she was thinking about something. "I have to say Kobu, I'm glad you're ok. And you've been doing some good."
Kobu sighed. "I'm only doing this because the mayor offered me a lot of money, and I've been traveling by myself for days. Plus investigating this beats just doing nothing and running from the council. I couldn't care less about anyone who had their belongings stolen." He said with a cold tone. "It just happens I have to work with you, and you're also from Fairy Tail now, so I'm not happy about it."
"Kobu… I-"
"What is it?"
Chun held her tongue and just looked away. "It nothing… just forget it."
With that, the group of five decided to make their way back to the mayor's office to gather more information. Hen didn't look like he was in a positive mood. Wendy noticed as she walked past him. "Hen is something wrong?"
He shook his head. "It's nothing Wendy." Though he continued to glare behind Kobu's back.
----Azula was sitting on an apartment rooftop; she briefly looked at the sun that was starting to set. She had bags under her eyes. She wasn't even sure of what she should do, and it wasn't helping that she was being haunted.
She tried not to look in any reflections just to prevent her from hearing her. "Why am I here? I should just leave this place and find a way back home. I can't stay with these people." Azula then looked to her left. "You know why!" she said to particularly no one. "I hate those people and if I do anything they don't like. I'll get pummelled by a monster or sliced with a cleaver. By the way – yes, there is a bigger monster than me, I know unbelievable right. His name is Natsu, he's a Dragon Slayer and given how powerful he is, I can believe that. Oh just be quiet, can't you leave me alone!?"
"Azula?" she heard Erza's voice and turned around. "Oh great, you're here." She saw Zuko beside her. "And you brought Zuzu. Does Mai happen to know you're cheating on her?" she asked with a smirk.
"She seems normal to me." Zuko said gesturing his hand to her.
"Azula, who were you talking to just now?" Erza asked.
"You should know, all of you are being told by her to torment me."
Zuko sighed. "Azula, would you just talk to us? Believe it or not, not everyone is out to get you. Why else would Makarov invite you to our home?"
The Fire lord scoffed at him. "Tch, maybe I thought…" she smirked, turned around and walked to the edge of the roof, turned around, had her back to the edge and looked at both Zuko and Erza, still with a smirk on her face. "Maybe this is what she wants. You hear that! You're going to get your wish!"
Erza and Zuko's eyes grew. "AZULA NO!" Erza yelled as she and Zuko ran to stop Azula. She outstretched her arms to the side and let her swaying weight push herself off the apartment roof.
They both looked over with horror and saw nothing. An evil giggle was heard. "SHE'LL NEVER GET THE SATISFACTION!" they saw blue flames flying her through the city.
"I can see why you're worried. She's lost it."
"We need to go after her." Erza said, she requiped into her Heaven's Wheel Armour.
"Noted." Zuko said. "I just hope she doesn't hurt anyone."
…
After a long day Lucy was resting in her apartment, Katara was spending time with Toph, so she had the place to herself. She decided to take a long bubble bath. "Ah it's just nice to relax just for a while." She thought after resting inside the tub. "I still have to find out who broke the window, at least it's being fixed tomorrow."
Suddenly the door knob to the bathroom door was moving, she got up as the bolt that kept the door closed, unlocked, and let in the person. "Katara is that you?" but to Lucy's horror she was staring right at the Fire Lord who got a look at her naked, bubble covered body.
"Well then…" Azula said lowering her eyebrows.
"KYYYAAAAA!" she squealed. Lucy stood up revealing more of herself, making Azula turn away with a blush.
"Can you at least make yourself decent!" Azula sternly said.
"WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING HERE!?" she screamed.
"If you must know, I need to get away from my brother and your red haired friend. They have decided to dote on me like I'm a child."
"And you come to my place, why?" she said in a low tone as she found a towel to cover herself.
"It was the only place I could hide in short notice, plus the broken window provides easy access. By the way, I don't owe you for that do I?"
"THAT WAS YOU?!"
"Oh wait… I suppose you didn't know, oh well." She turned away from the bathroom and opened the door. "Now be a good guest and make me something to eat."
"You're no guest! You're an intruder! And I'm gonna call Natsu!"
Azula flinched and she turned to Lucy with a dark smile. "Lucy… have you ever wondered how wet hair can conduct electricity." Lucy then froze in fear, but Azula looked to have slightly regretted making that threat. "No… forget it… I'll leave; can I just have a light snack? Then I'll be on my way." she asked in a lower tone.
Lucy was confused at the quick change of her tone. "Um… Azula?"
"I'll reimburse you for the window… just tell no one that I was here." She walked out of the bathroom.
Lucy sighed. "Why meeee…" she whined.
"OH AGNI!" Lucy shrieked and ran out into her living room to find Azula, Erza and Zuko standing in the room. "Erza, what part of 'stay the hell away from me' did you not understand?"
"Azula, that stunt you pulled off back there was dangerous and reckless. If you can't talk to anyone, then you can talk to me, or Mira." Erza and Zuko noticed Lucy walking into the living room.
Zuko was the first to note his confusion. "Wait, Azula were you in there while Lucy was-"
"Why are you people in my house?!" the blonde mage cried.
Azula took a bun from Lucy's fridge. "Don't worry, we were just leaving." She leaped out of the broken window.
"Hey!" Zuko and Erza yelled. Erza followed her through the window.
Zuko only let out a sigh. "I'll use the door." He walked out through the front door and Lucy let out a tired sigh.
"I think I need to change my locks…"
----Chun, Hen and Carla were inside the Mayor's office/master bedroom. Waiting outside was Wendy, and Hen. He didn't feel like contributing plus he said 'The three brainiacs had it covered'. So he decided to wait outside. Wendy didn't want him to be all by himself, so she waited with him.
The Earthbender had leaned on the wall with his arms folded, he didn't look too happy and let out a huff of frustration. Wendy decided to talk to him. "Hen, are you alright?"
Hen turned away from her. "I'm not going to lie to you. I'm not feeling very good right now."
"Why?"
"It's Kobu... Chun and I just can't be separated from that jerk. And to top it all off, Chun is nice to him when he doesn't deserve it. All he's done is hate her because she's a Firebender. He'd kill anyone that stands in the way of his goals, that's how cold he is."
"But he's helping us; couldn't you at least give him a chance?"
"He can't be trusted, Wendy? Yeah, he's only helping us because he can't do this on his own. We happened to show up, and we're his best chance at helping him finish the job."
"But Chun is being nice to him."
"Only because she pities him, she tries to get on his good side, and he's not worth it." He took a long breath. "But still he could be a big help for this job, but I'm not going to like it." He put on a sheepish smile. "Sorry for dragging you into my issues."
"It's ok." Wendy replied with a sweet smile.
"In all honesty, I just don't want to let her down. Chun I mean, she's already had to go through so much, and it's the first time I've seen her really enjoy herself since joining Fairy Tail. I don't want her to lose that."
Wendy smiled and closed her eyes. "I think Chun is going to be fine, because she has you."
A blush was seen on Hen's face. "Hehe aw shucks Wendy. I'm not that great. But thanks." They heard the door open, Kobu, Chun and Carla walked out of the office. "So?"
"We… have an idea of where they will strike next." Kobu said as he walked forward. "They aren't just gatherin any old valuable weapons, they hold significant importance."
"Mind telling us? Wendy and I weren't exactly in that room."
"The mayor told us those weapons that have recently been stolen were actually the same ones that were used by the first settlers of Sky Town. They were used to ward off demons and a bunch of other monsters that lived here before. Those weapons were forged by a magical blacksmith, and so they were used to kill the ferocious beasts… or so the rumors say. Either way, those weapons would fetch a hefty price is someone was willing to pay for it."
"And so the weapon is…?"
"A shield, pretty heavy in fact from what we were told."
"Right, so lets go prepare an ambush!" Hen excitedly said.
"Bad idea, we don't want to swarm the place with guards or the thieves will abandon their plan."
"Then what do you suppose we do, genius?"
Kobu looked at them with a serious tone. "We wait... There is a cave not too far from the mansion. The house is near the outskirts in a grassy area. The yard is quite spacious so we can take them down if it comes down to it." he looked at Hen. "Try not to completely level the yard with your rocks and lava, we're not trying to cause destruction here. The mayor wants this done with as little damage as possible."
"Geez... why don't you just tell me to only fight with my fists then."
"Actually that's a good idea, unless there are rocks in view, NO Earthbending."
Hen chuckled slightly. "Hah and what makes you think I'd listen to you!"
Chun walked closer to him. "Hen, please. Kobu's been chasing them longer than we have... I think we should follow his lead on this one..."
He then turned around and folded his arms. "Of course she'd take his side." he leaned against the wall. "Alright, sure while you're at it, I'm sure he'll appreciate it if I just give him my cut of the job money."
"Hen... what's gotten into you?" Chun asked. "Where is this coming from?"
He looked at Chun concerned face before he walked forward. "No it's nothing. Let's go over the plan already."
...
Night fell and the group were all in a cave. They had the mayor's guards listening out for the thieves to alert them when they should make their move. Chun and Wendy sat around a fire while Kobu was on his feet explaining the plan. Hen only leaned against the wall with his arms folded, hearing the plan as he stood.
"So once she exits with the shield, we then come out of hiding. She'll have no idea how to use it, and it will be pretty heavy, so that will be the most opportune time to strike." Kobu said. He turned to Wendy. "Wendy, as soon as you see her come out, we need a lot of air to keep her off balance, think you can do that."
"Yes, I'll do my best!"
"Great, then Chun and I will take her down from the side. And Hen watch out for her partner. He normally isn't too far, so it's important he doesn't interfere when we're fighting her."
"So look out duty... fine." Hen walked to the front of the cave and looked outward while keeping his arms folded.
"What's gotten into him?" Carla asked. "He's not as excited and annoying as usual."
Chun stood up. "This isn't like him... Maybe I should-"
They heard sounds of male screaming and grunting in the distance. "And that's our cue." Kobu said. "Come!"
...
Inside what looked like the trophy room of the mansion, there was a maroon coloured shield with a red edge and a ruby square-cut gemstone right in the center of it. There were downed guards in the trophy room and there was only one on his feet. He shivered while he held his axe.
He was the last defense for the glass barrier which housed the shield. "I-I I'm warning you!" he scarily said.
"I don't want to hurt you, please step aside." the girl said.
"I-I can't do that..."
The girl sighed. "Fine. I'll make it hurt as little as possible." she leaped and he was too late to anticipate a chop to his neck. He fell to the side. She walked over his unconscious body and made a portal in front of the glass. She stretched her hands inside and a portal opened inside the glass. Her hands grabbed the shield and she pulled it through both of her portals. When she held it, it was pretty weighty. She was just able to keep it from touching the ground. "Cole better be outside to help me with this thing." She created a portal and she walked inside it, unaware of the ambush waiting on the other side.
...
The portal opened on the other side and when she stepped out she was surprised to see a little girl with a white cat standing by the mansion gate behind her.
"Now Wendy!" Carla yelled, pointing towards the girl.
"Sky Dragon's Roar!" Wendy took a deep breath and blew a blast of sparkling wind towards the girl through a sky blue magical seal. The girl's hood was blown back by the wind revealing her face. She was blown back before she could retaliate, and as she rolled back. She quickly got up but felt a presence closing in on her, rather 2 presences.
After sensing both Chun and Kobu rushing to her sides with both fire and water blasts, she closed her eyes and disappeared with a burst of green energy. The three were shocked while Kobu remained in his battle stance. "Stay focused, she'll come back out somewhere. She can't stay in her rifts fore-" they heard another burst of energy and they saw her holding the shield in front of her, she was a much farther distance ahead of them, but she knew she couldn't escape while holding the shield.
"It's over Aluria, you can't escape, not with that shield. And it takes time for you to make a portal from here to another location, so you're cornered." Kobu said.
"I don't want to hurt any of you. But I must to this, and I won't let you stand in my way."
"Pretty rich since you knocked out a few guards on your way to these items. I'm sure they were hurt by what you did."
Aluria blinked and dropped the shield and balled her fists. "You asked for it, she simply said." a green seal appeared under her and she disappeared into thin air.
"Crap!" Kobu said. "Watch out, she's going to-" she appeared in front of Kobu and threw a punch that hit him in his face, he slid back on the grass and growled at her. "Damn, you!" he made water snake around him and tried to whip her but he was missing as she was narrowly avoiding his strikes.
"Whoa, she's that fast?" Chun generated purple flames above her hands and flung them to her. Aluria was able to leap and vertically and spin above the flames, she sped to Chun who quickly flung off her flats and shot flames from her feet to shoot flames from them and make her airborne. She was in the air for several seconds and saw Kobu flinging an ice spear to her, but she bent underneath it and it passed just over her chin, she could see the ice glinting in the moonlight.
As the fighting was going on, Hen looked over a grassy hill with a bored expression on his face. "Guess I'm too destructive for the both of them." He thoughtlessly said to himself as he picked up several blades of grass with his hand and when he released his grip, he watched the blades blow away into the distance.
"Hey kid." He looked behind him to see a brown haired person in his very late teens with a shaved beard on his face. His hair was gelled upwards, something Hen found strange. "What are you doing here, you're not supposed to be here this late at night."
"Why don't you worry about yourself, I can handle myself. So what are you doing out here?" Hen noticed his clothing, dark grey clothing, bandages on his hands, shoulder pads and slightly torn pants. "You're certainly not dressed for a night out on the town."
He chuckled in response. "You're right. I'm out looking for my sis. About yey high, only talks in short sentences and gets straight to the point. Name is Aluria?"
Hen started to tap his chin. "Why does that name sound familiar?"
"She's a thief."
Suddenly it clicked in Hen's mind. "THEN YOU'RE-" he took an uppercut and he flew back and bounced on the ground.
"Ding-ding. And the winner by knockout – Me: Cole Sugia. But please no applause, thank you."
Hen rubbed his jaw and sat up. "You definitely got me good funny man, but you don't know who you're dealing with."
"Oh I do, Earth magic user, having girl troubles with that girl in red down there."
Hen suddenly blushed. "How did you-" he saw Cole running away from the mansion. Luckily he noticed a rock close by. "It will have to do! Hey Cole! Eat granite!" he threw his fist and the rock sped to him but it actually didn't hit him, but rather it went through him and he suddenly disappeared. "What the hell was-"
"Haha!" he saw Cole running towards the mansion.
"Dammit, get back here!" he chased after Cole as he slid on the grass.
Back at the mansion, Chun was a distance from both Kobu and Aluria who he was trying to whip with his water. Chun was trying to fire potshots at her with bursts of fire. Chun got frustrated that she kept missing; she growled and fired a large blast of fire to her.
Aluria disappeared and Kobu was in the firing line. "Oh no!" Chun screamed.
Kobu used all of his water to block the fireball and his slid back. "Will you watch it you idiot!" he exclaimed.
"Sorry, Chun apologized."
"I'm sorry…" 
"What…?" Chun heard this voice echo around her and she heard Aluria appearing out of her portal but couldn't see her, by the time she noticed she was behind her, she was chopped in the neck, her legs became wobbly and her whole body fell asleep as she fell in a heap.
"Chun!" Wendy yelled. She ran over to her but suddenly she was elbowed in the stomach by Aluria, instantly knocking her out too. Wendy's eyes grew wide as she started to lose consciousness.
"Wendy!" Carla yelled.
"Don't interfere…" Aluria said to Carla, turning her back to her as she gently placed the sleeping Wendy on the grass.
Kobu growled as he watched this. "I don't understand… all of us and we still can't beat her… of course… us benders can't light a candle to these magic users… all of this is just so… so…"
"Pointless…" Kobu said.
Suddenly a figure had grabbed the shield. "Yoink!" Kobu looked behind him and saw Cole waving at him. "Oh it's you again, boy you sure don't give up do you!"
"HEY!" Hen yelled as he got closer to them and he leaped towards Cole.
"Oh hey kid." He swung the shield at Hen and it hit him hard as he hit the ground and he had a bloody nose.
"OW, that hurt you son of a-"
"Hey sis, you made a shortcut yet?"
There was a loud burst of energy and there was a swirling green portal close to her. "Hurry…"
"You read my mind."
"Stop!" Kobu manipulated his water and he made a thick water whip to snag and trip up Cole. He fell the ground but kept grip of the shield.
"Dirty Trick." He said trying to get back up but Kobu made restraints that held him down.
"You're not getting back up! Hen, secure the shield!"
Hen wobbly got to his feet. "Sure." But when he got up, Aluria appeared in front of him in a green flash and threw a knee to his chest which floored the Earthbender. She forced Kobu to let go of Cole and focus all his attention of her. Kobu used all the water he could generate and he flung eight, sharp pointed water tentacles to Aluria. She managed to dodge them but one slashed her right arm and she yelped in pain as she held it.
"Enough!" she firmly said in her quiet voice. She disappeared from Kobu's view but a second later she appeared much closer in front of him and threw the hardest right hand she could to his face and Kobu was immediately floored and knocked out.
"Sheesh," Cole whistled as he got up. "Remind me to never make you mad."
"Too much destruction… completely unessesary" she muttered as she referred to their opponents they defeated. She looked at Carla who was the last one standing, and also to Hen who wasn't unconscious, but still nursing the injury to his nose. "Take care of them." She said before she took Cole's hand while his other hand held the shield. "We leave… now!"
"Right, haha. Later haters!" Cole said as they both disappeared into the portal that Aluria made.
"Damn!" Hen yelled. "We didn't just lose, we were embarrassed." He looked at Carla who stood by Wendy. "Let's get back to the cave; we have to figure out our next move."
----Azula had managed to find herself in the forests of Magnolia. She looked forward and walked towards a river. A half-moon reflected in the river, she looked up at the sky and saw the twinkling stars. She looked down to the flowing river, cupped her hands and took a sip from the river. She looked back down and of course she saw the image of her. "Why... just leave me alone, it's bad enough I am stuck here! Now you want to make fun of me as well!? You sent Natsu to beat me, and he did... in an embarrassing fashion. Hell I..." she looked at her gold Fairy Tail stamp on the top of her right hand. "I even joined that guild... why? I don't even know anymore."
"Azula... you joined because you believed that there was another path for you other than at Ozai's side."
"Shut up! That's not true!" Azula screamed. "I was always better than Zuko, he may be older but I am better than him in every conceivable way, he's weak. I was raised to be strong, powerful, unforgiving... It is my destiny to lead the Fire Nation!" she yelled. "But then... it all fell apart... because of you! You and Natsu! And when I get the chance, I will destroy you both!"
"There is a better path for you here, Erza and Zuko care about you." 
"As if, Zuko only wants to keep an eye on me so I don't hurt his precious friends, and Erza... I don't know what is with her. But you got your wish, didn't you?" Azula said, looking at the apparition with a sick grin. "I have nothing. No royalty, no allies, no one to command. Instead I am stuck here with a bunch of peasants that are just waiting for me to snap before they kick me out, or worse, sick Natsu on me."
"What do you want, Azula?"
She instantly got mad and gave a fierce glare at the river. "I want... YOU TO GO AWAY!" she quickly charged her lightning and shot a bolt of electricity towards the river which made a loud explosion, which shot a huge amount of water in the air.
They fell back as raindrops and Azula looked extremely tired and frustrated.
"Azula!" she looked back to see Erza and Zuko standing a distance behind her.
"Oh, look who it is." she said with an evil smirk. "Well you two can leave now, while you two were looking for me around the city, I stopped at the guild to pick up another job." she showed them the request and both Zuko and Erza's pupils shrank when they realized what job Azula had accepted.
"Azula, that's an S-Class request!" Azula said.
"Is that supposed to mean anything?"
"It should!" Zuko sternly said. "S-Class requests are only for high class wizards. One tiny mistake could result in death, Azula!"
"All this thing says it to kill a large bird, how hard can that be? I've lived on a knife edge before, how is this different?"
"The only S-Class wizards I know of are Erza and Mira, not even Natsu is at that level."
Azula suddenly perked up at this. "Really? You just further convinced me to go further ahead with this! And when I finish this, I'll rub it in that imbecile's face."
"Azula, this is serious!" Erza said in her stern voice. "Hand it over!"
"If you're trying to intimidate me, it's not going to work. Un-like Natsu and his circle of idiots, I don't fear you. If you want to stop me, you've going to have to make me!" she made electricity dance in between her fingers. "And like it or not, I'm completing this job – alone." She shot a burst of lightning to the two which exploded in between them. They shielded their eyes from the amount of dust that was kicked up.
When it cleared, Azula was gone. Along with the request.
"She's gone and done it this time." Zuko said. "We need to stop her."
"No." Erza said. "We can't stop her from doing this, she won't willingly hand over the request, she rather have us fight for it... and I'd rather not fight her."
"So what do we do? We can't let her go out there alone."
"We won't." Erza said. "I got a glimpse of the request so I know where she is going, I need you to go get Mira. It might be better to have two S-Class wizards on this than just me. Then the three of us will follow her, and keep her from getting hurt. I will be waiting by the train station."
Zuko nodded and rushed back to the guild. While Erza stood and looked at the river. "Who were you talking to, Azula?"
----Water was splashed on Kobu's unconscious face and he coughed out lots of water as he looked up to see Hen, Chun, Wendy and Carla looking down at him. "What the hell?"
"I'm glad you're alright." Wendy said.
"Wendy healed our wounds while we were asleep." Chun said.
Hen glanced to Carla. "Carla insisted we wake up Wendy first. You love her don't you, you adorable kitten you." Hen said in a baby voice.
"Listen, you-"
"Ahem." Kobu stood up and brushed himself off. "And the thieves and the shield? Hen you and Carla were still awake, what happened?"
"They got away, though I would like to point out... if I was allowed to use my Earthbending, then maybe we would have captured them!" Hen yelled getting in Kobu's face.
Kobu glared back, clenched his fists before he let out an angered huff. "You're right..." he said in a low, snarly tone. "Perhaps the yard would have been destroyed and we would have paid for it... literally, but perhaps it would have been the better course of action."
"But we can just catch them next time, right?" Wendy asked.
"I'm afraid there might not be a next time... at least for Sky Town." The others were confused as to what Kobu was talking about, but they knew it wasn't good. So, he was going to reveal it. "I fear they are doing more than just selling those weapons."
----Somewhere on the mountains outside of Sky Town. Aluria and Cole had rappelled down to a platform that was lit with a line of fire torches. Meeting then down the path was a tall man who was dark skinned, wore brown colored pants with the same colored shoes. He had a vest with armor metal plates that were untidily tied to the armor. There was a silver headband tied to his dark red, cornrowed hair.
He held a spear with a gold tip. "Your arrival is timely as usual." he said.
"Yeah, yeah... enough with the pleasantries." Cole said as he walked forward. "One Fortress Shield. No I believe you all owe us our payment."
The man bowed and he handed two bags to them, both of them were approximately the size of their heads. "You provide service to the Shadow, the Shadow provides." he said in a deep voice.
"Alright, haha!" Cole said getting excited about his money. "What are you going to spend with your portion sis." Aluria remained silent and turned around. "Right, so yeah. That was the last one right?"
"Yes, and since the Shadow owes you a debt, take this." he handed them a third bag of Jewel.
Cole took the bag hastily. "Oh cool, well tell your Shadow guy that he is awesome!"
"...Noted..." he replied. "Thanks to you, the Shadow will finally extend its reach back into Sky Town, and we will take back what is ours."
A portal was opened and Aluria had grabbed Cole by his jacket, dragging him along. "Ah, well clearly she thinks something is important, so we'll see you later shadow guys." the portal disappeared.
The man took the shield and he walked down the line of fire torches, as he walked, he looked up at the mountain walls that separated him from the city. "Soon, the shadow will rise once again."