**I don't own Fairy Tail or the characters. Those belong to Mashima.

So... I had to change the rating to M to be safe because of some of the slaver's talk. I'll probably just start everything out as M from now on, because that gives me more freedom with things like blood, gore, sexual themes, etc.

Anyway, other than that, here's the next chapter. Read and Review as always**

"Ugh…" Mira groaned as her eyes opened slowly. The first thing she noticed was that her hands were uncomfortably pinned behind her back, the feeling of cold steel pressing against her wrists. The next thing she noticed was the warmth of another body against hers.

As her eyes opened fully, she realized she was in a large, metal cage. Bars were set just far enough apart that arms could reach through them, possibly up to the elbows for arms as slender as hers, but there was no way a person would be able to slip in or out. She quickly discovered that the person laying next to her was Erza, who was similarly cuffed. A quick test proved she was unable to use magic.

"Nnn.." Erza groaned, and as Mirajane sat up she saw the other woman going through the same mental process she had. She took the moment to look around, and saw about 4 men scattered around what appeared to be a makeshift camp. The one closest to them was a little over six feet tall, built like Jura Neekis, and wielded a spear that had to be at least 10 feet in length, with the spearhead itself measuring at least 4 feet.

"Where are we?" Mira demanded, though she knew the answer well enough already.

The man just laughed, his deep, booming voice echoing through the camp. "Where you are doesn't matter, missy. It's where you're going. And even better, the price you'll fetch us. Our clients will pay exceedingly well for a body like yours, not to mention the notoriety that goes with it."

"So you know who we are," Erza's voice came from next to her, and Mira turned to see a smirk on the knight's face. "Then you also know you're not going to get away with this. Our friends will show up, and as soon as these cuffs are off I'll make you regret every woman you've sold to those clients you're so proud of."

The large man just laughed louder in response.

"What's so funny?" Mira asked, glaring at him.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, cutie, but the only friends that managed to follow you were those two kids you had at the bar. And we just sent one of our strongest out to deal with them. It was actually a stroke of luck for us. After the kids decided not to drink their drugged juice, we thought we were gonna' miss out on another big payoff. But they were dumb enough to follow you here. I can only imagine how much our clients would pay for that girl." His lips drew into a smirk. "I bet her pussy's real tight. Wouldn't mind tryin' it out myself if that wouldn't tank her market value. She's the perfect age. Too young to be strong enough to fight back. Just old enough that you could probably fit all of it in."

"You're a fucking sick bastard," Erza spat, and Mira silently agreed with her, her face contorted in disgust.

"And that boy looks like a real fighter," the large man continued, ignoring them. "But there are lots of guys who like 'em that way. Just means more pain for him, till he learns to cooperate… And that pink hair. Damn. I can think of a couple clients who would pay a hundred thousand just for that."

"You're going to wish you'd never been born once I get out of these cuffs," Mira seethed, unable to control her rage.

"What's wrong, poster girl? Is the pink-haired shit important to you? Well why don't I tell you a little more about what'll happen to him when he's a slave." A twisted smirk appeared on his face. "If he's lucky, he'll get bought by someone looking for a body capable of hard work. Then he'll just have to worry about getting whipped when he don't listen. But he's got pink hair. And the kind of guys that will pay extra for that…" The guy paused, leaning closer to the cage as his eyes glistened with a sick fascination. "Those guys are the real sickos. And believe me, they've got money. I'll tell you exactly what they'll do. The first thing they'll do is take him down to their private little dungeon to soften him up a bit. They'll teach him everything there is to know about pain. And if he still isn't willing to submit to them, then they'll rape him. They won't chain him down completely. They like the kids that struggle, cause struggling will just make it more painful for him. They'll keep raping him, over and over, till he doesn't struggle anymore. And then they'll bring their friends."

At this point the man's sadistic smirk widened even more, and Mira noticed he was getting aroused by his description. "And when they get tired of him, they'll bring all their friends together. They'll just keep going, one after another. Torturing and raping his ass…." He paused for another moment, leaning closer with a sadistic smile on his face. "…till they rape his ass to death." His voice was barely louder than a whisper now, and Mirajane shuddered.

Fortunately they were saved from any further interaction with the creep by a huge explosion in the forest nearby. The large man straightened up, looking toward the source of the sound as a pillar of fire shot up so it was easily visible above the treetops nearby. "What the fuck was that?!" He asked loudly, as the others also jumped up, on the alert.

"That," Mirajane said, managing a grin as she tried to shake off her horror and disgust, "was our friends. The two most powerful children in Fiore, if not all earthland," she added for effect, watching the man's face.

"You're lying," he said with a sneer. "There's no way a kid would have the magic power to cause an explosion like that."

"You'll see soon enough," Erza said, a smirk on her face now.

Just then another man came running in, wearing a long, dark brown cloak with a hood. "Everyone get ready. Those kids are coming this way, and they're monsters!"

"Monsters? That's not very nice," Mavis's voice floated across the clearing, and Mira's smirk widened. "We're just a couple kids who stumbled across some trash in the woods. And like good children we decided to clean it up, right Na-kun?"

"What she said," Natsu said with his signature grin. "I'm all fired up!"

"Insolent whelp!" The man with the spear yelled. "I may have to teach you a lesson right now! I don't care if it brings down your market value. We've got plenty who'll still pay a pretty price for that hair of yours!"

"Big words," Natsu said, the grin never leaving his face. "But can you back them up?"

With a roar the man charged Natsu, lightning crackling around the spear. "You don't stand a chance against the spear of the gods. Taste the wrath of Heimsval!"

Natsu easily side-stepped the spear, but the large man just smirked, plunging the tip into the ground. "Sacred Spear Secret Technique: Thunder God's Wrath!"

The ground exploded around Natsu as electric bolts leapt up from below, even as more came crashing down from above the dragon slayer. For several moments all that could be seen where Natsu was just standing was a brilliant column of yellow-white lightning, reaching up to the heavens as the chunks of rock fell into the crater that was just created by the attack.

"Natsu!" Mira yelled, desperately trying to free herself from her restraints.

When the lightning and smoke cleared, the dragon slayer was still standing there, his shirt shredded to reveal his body that was too toned and perfect for a 12 year old, but otherwise hardly even scratched. He had a wide grin on his face. "Alright! You could be more fun than that last guy I fought!"

"N-no way…" The man backed off, spear still in hand. "Get him!" He yelled at the others. The four charged Natsu, who looked at them with a bored expression on his face.

"You guys are in the way," he said as he moved to intercept them. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" The cone of flame enveloped all four of them at once, sending them flying back and knocking them unconscious in an instant.

"Don't come any closer!" Mira suddenly felt the cool tip of a spear against her neck. "I'll kill them!"

Before Mira could voice her demand that the two not worry about their safety, the weapon was suddenly pushed up and away from her by an unseen force. She looked to see Mavis, focusing intently on the other mages.

"You know, I thought I would have a little fun and see how long this fight could be drawn out," Natsu said. "But then you had to go and threaten my friends…. Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

The large man raised his spear in an attempt to block, but as Mira watched, Natsu's attack shattered the spear. He then followed it up with a Fire Dragon's Talon, slamming the large man hard into the ground, where he lay panting and wheezing.

"Natsu," Mira heard Erza beside her. "Uncuff me. I'm going to finish this one."

Natsu's eyes narrowed. "You're not getting any extra reward money if I do…"

Erza sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'm not interested in reward money. I'm doing this for myself."

"Ok then," Natsu shrugged and, after breaking open their cage, he found the key and unlocked Erza's anti-magic cuffs. Erza quickly requipped her sharpest sword.

"Ok-ok, I surrender!" The big man said, waving his hands in the air. Apparently without his spear he was pretty much worthless.

"Good," Erza said with a smirk. "That'll make this that much easier." Her sword descended rapidly, and the guy howled in pain, clutching at his crotch area.

"Cauterize the wound for me Natsu," Erza instructed Natsu, turning away from the man quickly. Mira smirked as Mavis and Natsu stared on in shock. Then Natsu did as he was instructed and used fire to cauterize the bloody wound that was where the slaver's manhood used to be. He then left him rolling on the ground screaming, and the group started heading out.

"Na-kun," Mavis said, a pout in her voice as they started to head back toward town. "You haven't shown me any of your super powerful attacks yet."

"Sorry Mavis," Natsu said, rubbing the back of his head. "I'll tell you what… I 'll do my Fire Dragon King's Roar. Just tell me which direction."

"Hmmm…" Mavis thought for a minute and then pointed. "That way Na-kun!"

Mira blinked. She knew that she was disoriented from having been drugged and pulled out to the forest, but shouldn't the town be somewhere in that direction? But before she could stop him Natsu transitioned to Fire Dragon King mode.

"Fire Dragon King's Roar!" A huge, enormously hot cone of fire shot through the forest as far as the eye could see in the direction Mavis pointed. Natsu grinned and turned back to Mavis. "How was that Mavis-chan?"

"That was great, Na-kun! Let's go see how far it went!"

Mira shared a suspicious glance with Erza before they followed the pair down the desolation of scorched trees and earth. They kept going for several minutes with no end in site until they saw the outskirts of town. There on the outskirts was the base of a large, stone building. The rest of the stone was destroyed, either crumbled with the force of the fiery blast or melted from the intensity of its heat.

The mayor was coming out to meet them. Mira gulped, as she and Erza stood before him.

"We rounded up the slavers, sir." She said, bowing a little respectfully.

"And what?!" The mayor said, sounding pissed. "Are you just going to pretend this didn't happen?! That building you just blew up will cost us 800,000 jewel to repair! 800,000 Jewel!" He yelled again for emphasis.

Before Mira could answer, Mavis responded sweetly. "We're really sorry about that, sir. But could you, please, please not mention this to the council?" She was giving him her best impression of a puppy. "We'll even give you 1 million jewels from our reward to cover the cost of repairs," she added.

The mayor was still glaring, but as he looked at the 12 year old in front of him his lips began to slip out of a glare. By the time he opened his mouth to speak, he was actually smiling again. "Ahhh… I couldn't say no to a cute face like that." His voice was still gruff. "Give us a million from your reward as you promised and we'll make sure the council doesn't hear about this."

"Thanks so much sir!" Mavis said with a bright smile. "We'll get our reward from the rune knights and then bring your share back!" She grabbed Natsu's hand and headed toward the rune knight outpost on the other side of town.

Mira and Erza were starting to follow them when the Mayor grabbed Mira's shoulder. "Those are really cute kids you two have there," he said. "I don't know if they're your siblings or children, but either way the two of you better take care of them."

Mira sweat-dropped, wondering what the mayor would think if he knew how carefully Mavis had directed Natsu to aim his powerful attack. But she merely nodded. "We will sir, we know they're very special children."

She heard Erza snort and elbowed her hard as the two took off, following Natsu and Mavis to collect the reward.

As soon as Mavis had the money, she started dividing it up. First she put a million aside for the repairs. Then she set aside 500,000 for Mirajane and 500,000 for Erza. Then she split the rest evenly between her and Natsu.

"You're only giving us 500,000?" Erza asked with a frown.

"Well of course," Mavis said with a smile. "That's what we agreed to, after all."

"But our agreement was that we were to be spectators," Erza argued. "Not get drugged and thrown in a cage."

"It's not our fault you were drinking in a shady town without watching your drinks," Mavis said.

"We… umm… we did that on purpose!" Erza declared. Mira face-palmed as the other girl's face turned beet red. A sure-fire sign she was lying. "We were the adults, so we had to take responsibility for helping you find the bandits and complete the request quickly."

Mavis stroked her chin. "Hmm…. I guess I can see your point if you were just being responsible for helping the mission as you said. Well, there's nothing for it. You two can have 1 million each now."

"Great!" Erza beamed while Mira wondered how someone as sharp as the first master fell for such an obvious lie. However, when several minutes passed and Mavis was packing away the mayor's money in a small bag to give to him, and her own split into her bag, Erza frowned. "So…."

"Hmmm?" Mavis looked up.

"Where's our other 500,000 each?" Erza asked, sounding a little flustered. "Don't tell me you forgot already."

"Oh no! I didn't forget," Mavis grinned. "It's right here!" She held up the bag that was designated for the mayor.

"But-but that's to pay for damages you two caused!" Erza spluttered. "You can't take that out of our cuts."

"And why not?" Mavis asked innocently.

"Because Natsu was the one who destroyed the building, right after you asked him to shoot his most powerful distance attack in that specific direction!" Erza responded, her voice beginning to gain volume.

"Well, as the responsible adult who was here to see that the mission went well, you should've stepped in and stopped him." Mavis answered with a small smirk. "Since you two are our chaperons, it's up to you to make sure Na-kun doesn't cause too much damage."

"Gah!" Mira could tell Erza was at a loss for words, and she wasn't about to argue with the first master. Besides, 500,000 wasn't really that shabby for just running along and being used as bait.

"Let it go Erza," she said with a smile. "Let's go pay the mayor and get out of here."

And so the group all went back to Magnolia with good shares of reward money.

~~~~~~The Next Day at Fairy Tail~~~~~~

"Hey Mira, can you come here for a minute?" Mavis waved from the second floor.

Mira looked nervously around the bar. There didn't seem to be any customers at the moment, but Kinana wasn't there to day, and she didn't want to leave it unattended. "What do you want Mavis?" She asked.

"I need help deciding which request to pick," Mavis said with a sigh. "There aren't any that look interesting enough for Na-kun and me."

"Why don't you just have Natsu help you? I'm sure he'll pick one right away." Mira scoffed. Wasn't the first supposed to be the smart one here?

"Na-kun is busy right now, and I want to show him I can decide on my own," Mavis pouted.

Mira looked around, sighing. Nobody was at the bar, but Erza was due back today and she needed to get started on her strawberry cake. But still, a few minutes couldn't hurt anything. And it wasn't every day that the famous Fairy Tactician asked for your help, after all. Making her decision, she made her way up to the second floor, perusing the board with Mavis.

"Natsu would like this one," she said, quickly taking down a quest to eliminate a dark guild.

"That's what I thought," Mavis said, "but then I did some research and found out this guild is really weak. The only reason the bounty's so high is because they kidnapped some rich guy's daughter *coughwho'ssupposedtobereallyattractiveandNatsu'sagecough*. Na-kun would think it was boring…"

"Hmm… Ok…." Mira sweat-dropped as she finally realized what the young First Master said between coughs. "Well, how about this one? All you have to do is kill a monster that's been attacking a village."

"And if you look at the job request it says they also sent it to Sabertooth, Mermaid Heel, and Lamia Scale, all of which are closer to the request site than Fairy Tail," Mavis pouted. "One of those guilds is sure to have sent a team out there."

Mira sighed. She was beginning to understand Mavis's problem. "Are you sure you don't just want to let Natsu pick?"

"NO!" She stuck out her lip stubbornly. "I have to show him I can pick out fun requests!"

Mira scanned the board again. "Well… How about this one?" She finally said, taking down yet another request. This one was to track down a mage that was holding an entire village hostage in his castle dungeons. The only problem was that to reach him, they would have to find their way through an illusory village he created that could change anywhere and at any time. And he supposedly had power that rivaled some of the lower-ranked wizard saints.

"Oh, that looks like it could be fun. Thanks Mira!" Mavis grinned.

"Don't mention it," Mira said, running back down and looking at the time. She needed to get that strawberry cake in if it was going to be ready by the time Erza got back. She quickly got the ingredients out. When she saw the sugar she frowned. That's odd, she thought. I could've sworn I had more sugar stocked up here.

Fortunately, it measured out to exactly what she needed for the cake. Whistling cheerfully, she shoved the strawberry cake in the oven and headed down to the basement to restock her sugar supply.

About 40 minutes later Erza came into the guild and headed straight up to the bar. "Hey Erza," Mira said with a smile. "How'd your request go?"

"Great," Erza responded. "Turned out to be really easy for an S-class job, so it wasn't hard to keep all the reward money."

"Good," Mira said. Then added, "So can I get you anything?"

"You already know the answer to that," Erza replied with a grin.

"Of course," Mira said, hearing the timer go off in the kitchen. "It'll be right out." She quickly ran back and got the cake, put it on a plate, and rushed it out to the bar for Erza. "Here you go!" She grinned. "Fresh out of the oven!"

She watched with a smile as Erza's eyes lit up and she dug into her favorite delicacy. But she didn't expect what happened next. The knight's face screwed up in a picture of disgust as she spat the food back out on the plate.

"What the hell Mira?!" She practically yelled at the white-haired girl. "I can't eat this!"

"What's wrong with it?" Mira asked, frowning. She'd used the exact same recipe she always did, and Erza loved her strawberry cakes.

"You tell me," Erza scowled, shoving a bite into her mouth. Mira could barely bite down before she spat the piece out of her mouth. Erza was right. It tasted terrible! It had a really salty flavor as though someone had dumped a whole cup of salt or two in there or something.

She was freaking out now. "I don't know what happened Erza! I made it just like I always do I swear!" She thought back. "I had to restock the sugar, but there was just enough for the cake so I waited till after it was in the oven to do that…" She was nearly in tears, wondering how this could've happened.

Suddenly her words and the events of the day hit her, and her gaze turned slowly to a table near the back where Mavis sat next to Natsu, watching the bar and giggling. She came back down from the second floor and found just enough sugar to make the cake. In fact, the amount couldn't have been more precise if somebody had measured out two cups of sugar just for that purpose. Or maybe something that looked like sugar if she wasn't fully paying attention.

Erza's eyes followed her gaze, and a dark expression came over her face. She started toward the table, sword in her hand and murder in her eyes. "You. Ruined. My. Cake." She ground out.

As much as Mira wanted to let her destroy the pair, she knew she would have to intervene. So she stepped between the angry knight and the two children, who were alternately snickering and looking fearfully at the approaching wrath of Erza. She held out her hands in a placating gesture. "I'll make you another cake, Erza. It's alright!"

"No it's not alright!" Erza growled. "They just ruined a perfectly good strawberry cake, and now those strawberries will go to waste."

Mira stood her ground. "Erza, you can't deal with them right now. You're angry."

"Get out of my way Mira," Erza said in an even, terrifying voice. "I don't know why you're protecting those hooligans."

Mira continued to stand there, not willing to back off. "Erza, go sit down and I'll make you another strawberry cake. But if you don't stop this now I'll… I'll cut you off for a week!" She said desperately.

That made Erza pause. "A-a week?" She stammered, a look of uncertainty and shock coming over her face. "You wouldn't!"

"If you don't stop this and go back to the bar I will," she replied evenly. "So come on. You'll get another cake in 45 minutes."

Erza stood there for another whole minute, her body twitching. Just as Mira was afraid the threat wasn't going to be enough, the knight slowly sheathed her sword and walked back to the bar.

As soon as Mira had the cake in the oven she went back out and grabbed Natsu by the ear, dragging him to a side room. "Look, we had a deal. I let you drink, you and Mavis never pull pranks on me again."

"We didn't prank you," Natsu sounded honestly surprised. "We pranked Erza."

"You did…" Mira sighed as she realized he was technically correct they'd just made her an unwitting accomplice to their prank. "Alright. But I'm expanding the deal now. No more pranks that involve me unless I know about it beforehand, or your drinking priveleges are cut off. Do you understand?"

"Aye ma'am," Natsu said soberly.

"Good," Mira said. "Now go back out there and find something else to do before your little girlfriend starts getting jealous."

"She's not my girlfriend," Natsu retorted before heading back out into the common area to sit next to Mavis. Mira just sighed and made her way back up to the bar. She just hoped this pranking thing would wear itself out by the time they got through adolescence…

Otherwise, god help them...

**So there it is. Don't forget to drop a review, and I would welcome your input on my poll about the next story I should start writing. Thanks a bunch!**