Wheels of Fire

The Army Over the Mountain

Lucy stepped out of the car and stretched her arms above her head. Fireball Natsu's car might be quicker than a train, which had to make stops in every town, but at least on a train she could get up and walk around a little.

A full day with a lack of mobility seemed even more annoying to Gray and Loke as they climbed out of the backseat and worked out stiff muscles. On the other hand, Edo-Natsu stayed right where he was with his hands still on the steering wheel. He looked reluctant to leave now that he had transportation once again.

"Fireball, we need to..."

Gray put a hand on her shoulder. She jolted and looked around. Silently, Gray shook his head. She wondered what he meant.

"People know Natsu Dragneel," Loke explained. "This isn't the crazy Salamander all of Fiore knows."

"He's right," Gray said, trying to sound sympathetic. "We're about to meet our client. They hired two wizards, you and me. Loke is here as your Celestial Spirit. Dragion ... sorry to say, but he shouldn't even be here."

Lucy bristled at that. "He has just as much right—"

Gray's voice rose. "He is not a wizard, Lucy!"

"They're right." All of them looked over to the car as Edo-Natsu muttered. "I'm not Salamander, and I'm not a wizard. I shouldn't meet up with your client. They wouldn't understand, and it would tarnish Salamander's reputation." His narrow eyes gazed up to Lucy. "If our roles were reversed, and you were in Edolas, with people expecting Lucy Ashley, her attitude, her aggressiveness, wouldn't it be too weird for them to see a gentle princess like you?"

Although hearing him call her a princess made Lucy blush, she still wanted to protest. However, she knew he was right. As soon as he stepped out of that car, Edo-Natsu would go back to cowering behind her. Such timidity would look bad for Fairy Tail in general, but especially for Natsu Dragneel whenever he returned home.

"I'll drive around town, try to find a store that sells maps," Fireball suggested. "I'd like to study the road system in this area of Fiore. If that's okay with everyone," he added. "If not, I can stick around and drive you to the hotel once you're done."

"No," Gray said before Lucy could answer. "Sticking around for us will be boring. Go have fun." He smiled in a friendly way, although Lucy looked put off. She would have liked to cruise around town with Fireball after their meeting. Instead, she would have to spend that time walking to the hotel.

As the car drove off, Gray and Loke turned to the mansion of the man who hired them. Lucy watched the car leave until Gray called for her. She hated to admit it, but Gray was right. Natsu Dragion really could not be of much help on a mission that required the ability to use magic.

They sat around drinking tea in a posh parlor as they listened to the wealthy man give them the details of the mission. Lucy thought it sounded really hard. If the mission was this challenging, why didn't they bring Erza along, or...?

Or Natsu.

She thought it for one second before her heart fell slightly. She really was missing that destructive pyromaniac.

There was a baron with an army of his own. Fiore was doing nothing against him, since he was royalty, and since his army had killed no one so far. One by one, villages and small towns fell under the thralldom of this baron, purely out of fear of his army. The man who hired them was descended from the founder of this idyllic town, and over many generations his family had acquired quite a fortune mining a magical ore in the nearby mountain. Now the baron had his sights set on the mountain and its ore. He had plans to wipe out this quaint village and turn it into a full mining operation.