Chapter 16 - Lisanna

Ace was standing in front of the missions board, looking for a mission when Guild Master Gildarts called him over.

“What can I help you with Guild Master?” Ace asked politely.

“I just want to ask you if you are able to take an S class mission?” he asked

“I can, even though I am not officially S class yet. What is the mission?” Ace asked in return.

“Several weeks ago Mirajane left with Lisanna to the Kingdom of Bosco on a mission to get rid of a demon found in one of the caves in the mountains over there. It should have only been a Grade A mission, but they should have been back by now.” Gildarts answered.

“I would have sent Natsu’s team as it is the strongest with S-classes Natsu, Erza, Gray and Juvia as well as Lucy and Wendy, but they are away for a S class mission. The Thunder God Tribe similarly is off on a mission of their own and Elfman is part of their team now that he and Evergreen are together. Gajeel is also away doing a mission with Levy and team Shadowgear, so the only S-Class here besides myself is Cana. Unfortunately I have to attend one of those blasted Guild Master meetings, otherwise I would go have a look.

As you know, Bosco has their notorious slave trade that kidnaps people and enslaves them for sale. So I am not entirely comfortable with Cana going on her own. Would you accompany her for this mission?” he asked.

“I will be happy to Guild Master” Ace answered and nodded to Cana who was drinking sulkily.

Cana didn’t appear too pleased with Gildarts asking someone else to go with her.

“Don’t you think you are over cautious Gildarts? There’s probably nothing that happened to Mirajane and Lisanna. They might have extended their time there for some pampering at a spa or something. You know how powerful Mirajane is” she said.

“I told you to call me dad. Why must you be so stubborn?” he asked her playfully while hugging her.

She pushed him away and stared at Ace. “Come along. If you are to follow me, you better get your stuff packed” she said.

“No need. I’m always ready. Requip magic remember?” he smiled.

“Fine, then lets go. Good bye dad” she said as she finally pushed off her father.

She walked out with Ace giving Gildarts a salute and following behind her.

They sat on the train and Cana sulkily sitting on the train.

“Stupid… no alcohol on train… rules” she mumbled

“Come on Cana, cheer up” Ace said as he produced a bottle of wine and two glasses.

“Wouldn’t happen to have any beer would you?” she asked.

“Sorry, I only have wine” he smiled as he poured her a glass.

“You know, ever since you revealed your, ah… um… other selves, nobody really knows what your magic is. You don’t only still do Requip, do you?” she asked curiously.

“Haha, you’ll find out sooner or later” he teased.

She got up and sat next to him, putting her face right in front of him

“Please don’t tease me. We should get comfortable with each other’s magic to effectively work together” she said.

“Lets just say, with my magic that copies other people’s magic, I have kept the best magic for myself” he said.

“Fine, fine. Keep your secrets Mr-Secret-S-Class. Just make sure you are more useful than having glasses of wine if trouble hits” she said. He laughed

They chatted for hours until the arrived at the capital city of Bosco. It wasn’t any smaller than Crocus, the capital of Fiore, but the streets were more crowded and messier.

If anything, the atmosphere seemed more rowdy like a marketplace with things being bought and sold everywhere.

As they investigated together, they suddenly heard a commotion.

“Did you hear? They are auctioning a real harpy” said one man

“A harpy? Is it real?” asked another

“Who knows, lets go and see. There would be mages who would happily chop it up for ingredients” said the first man.

“A harpy? You don’t think…..” asked Cana

“Lisanna” answered Ace instantly nodding.

They rushed off, following the crowd to a crowded auction area. On the stage was an actual harpy, with it’s head covered in a showl, while it had a naked female human torso, wings instead of hands and birds feet instead of human legs. The bidding was about to begin.

“That.. that’s Lisanna!” gasped Cana, recognizing her body and breasts. The girls of Fairy Tail regularly bathe together in their communal bath and obviously recognized each other.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are pleased to present a real life harpy. The hunter that caught it found it unconscious and captured it. The slave collar keeps it docile. And if the owner has such desires…. It is still pure” the auction master said as he turned the body around and pried open it’s pussy, as if demonstrating that she was still a virgin.

The slave auction in Bosco was renowned for attracting all kinds of perverts. Not only did they buy women for sex slaves, some have been known to do so with other species as well.

“We’ve got to do something!” said Cana

“I’ve already rescued her. That one on stage is a fake that I replaced” Ace said

“What? When…?” she asked in surprise

“Trust me, lets get out of here now” Ace answered.

She looked back at the harpy on stage before deciding to trust Ace and follow him to a nearby inn.

“We would like your largest suite please” he smiled hugging Cana as if they were lovers

The innkeeper smiled and gave them the key. Ace pulled Cana and rushed her into the room.

“So you really rescued her already?” Cana asked, still doubting him.

With a wave of his hand, a portal appeared and he brought the “harpy” out.

Ace immediately removed the shawl, revealing Lisanna’s pretty face. She had a blank look on her face and stood there completely still.

He took out a mechanical device and removed the collar as her eyes suddenly came back to her senses.

“What…. Ace? Cana?” Lisanna said. Suddenly she realized that she was naked in front of Ace and covered herself with her feathers.

“Here, wear this” Ace said giving her a wizard robe that covered her whole body while disposing the collar. He teleported it to the auction in case it had a tracker on it.

Lisanna transformed back to her human form and started crying.

Cana hugged her, trying to comfort her.

“Lisanna… what happened to Mirajane?” she asked

“Mira… she… she was attacked by a demon horde. It wasn’t just one demon, it was a horde! The cave was actually a portal to a demon dimension! She held them back while I escaped. But after I left, one of those despicable hunters captured me as I was fleeing. Mira… she…”she started crying again

“Is.. is she still alive?” Cana asked

“I don’t know” Lisanna whimpered.

“What do we do?” asked Cana, looking at Ace

“You bring Lisanna back to the guild. I will investigate myself” Ace said

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” she asked

“You’ve seen me rescue Lisanna under their noses. Trust me. I can handle this. Most powerful magics copied, remember?” he said

Cana nodded, finally agreeing.

“Lisanna, transform into my image, and leave with Cana. Show me on this map, where the cave was” Ace ordered.

Lisanna showed him, then transformed to look identical to Ace. Ace in turn covered up in a cloak.

Ace nodded in approval, then saw them off. He walked past the action house to see a commotion as a rich person with several bodyguards was arguing with the auctioneers.

Ace had used his [Timestop] spell to stop time and [Portal] to steal Lisanna away. Then he used [Domain] to create a fake harpy that looked exactly like Lisanna. After they left, the harpy was purchased by the rich person. But as Ace left the area, the harpy disintegrated before everyone’s eyes.

Furthermore, the tracking collar appeared on the floor where all the many auction guests were standing, causing them to not even have any trace of Lisanna.

Ace laughed internally and started walking towards the cave where Mirajane was last seen.