Heaving a great sigh, the blonde woman cast her bored gaze around the small shop.

It didn't hold much of interest, mostly the tacky mass-produced toys that always managed to fascinate non-mages, other than that the store was filled with mainly cosmetic or decorative magic objects, nothing that many guild mages would be interested in.

Admittedly, she hadn't been expecting much from such a small magic shop in a town like Hargeon. The port was oddly sheltered from the influence of magic. The only mages they saw were those that travelled through as there were no mage guilds in or around Hargeon as the area specialised in trading goods. A local contingent of Rune Knights was the closest that the town had to offer.

"Is there anything that you're looking for in particular, miss?"

Lucy jumped slightly, caught up in her own mind. She barely suppressed the reflexive shudder at her lapse in attention, she could almost feel the severe disappointment of her closest advisor.

"Nothing in particular, sir." She smiled politely, shaking off the lingering unsettled aura. "I was admiring your range of products, I didn't expect to find any magic shops in Hargeon." The older man smiled back, taking the opportunity to launch into a sales pitch.

"We don't get too many mages in these parts miss, but those who travel through do appreciate my shop." He pulled something out from behind his counter, "Might you be interested in this, miss? It's a colour magic box, it can change the colour of your clothes. It's very popular with the young ladies." He proceeded to demonstrate the little toy to her. Her smile became a little more strained and her eyes drifted away from the shopkeeper. Suddenly she caught sight of an open box, its inside lined with dark velvet and cradling a bright silver key. Lucy looked away.

She looked back at the older man and his changing colours idly wondering what she would ever use such a thing for. A slightly maniacal glint entered her eyes. Scratch that, she had some pretty good ideas on what that particular magic could be used for.

"You know what sir, I think I might be interested in the box."

Lucy left the small store with a distinctly malevolent gleam to her eyes, plans already made for exactly how she would make use of this magic.

"Really?! Salamander's in town?! We have to go see him!" Her plotting was disrupted by the excited squeals of two girls racing past her.

She frowned. Salamander? Wasn't that the name of some mage from Fairy Tail? She faltered in her steps. This could ruin her plans. With the scale of damage that Fairy Tail was infamous for, there was no doubt that if Salamander's mission was also in Hargeon that something was about to go terribly wrong. She had to investigate and try to keep the interference to her own mission at a minimum.

Mind made up, she followed in the footsteps of the girls that had passed her only moments ago.

Her eye twitched.

This was not Salamander.

The man – if he could even be labelled such – that stood in the centre of the square, blatantly breaking a few laws, was known as Bora the Prominence.

She could count at least three on first glance. Possession and Usage of Forbidden Magic, as well as Using Magic to Alter Minds.

Her eyes hardened. She reached out into her requip dimension, hand closing around a familiar weapon.

Then a pink haired boy burst through the crowds of 'charmed' girls.

"Igneel!" He called, a hint of desperation and hope audible even to her, who had never met the boy before. "Igneel, it's me!" Suddenly he stopped. He stared at Bora.

"Who are you?" He asked. The criminal took on an offended look.

"Who am I? I am Salamander, surely you've heard of me before." The pink haired boy was already walking away, obviously immensely disappointed that the person he was looking for wasn't there.

Lucy was speechless.

She didn't think she'd come across two people so stupid in her life.

If she wasn't mistaken, then the pink haired boy – who was currently being assaulted by the women under Bora's spell – was Natsu Dragneel, Fairy Tail's Salamander. So how on Earthland had he not realised that the sickening worm currently talking down to him was impersonating him?

And speaking of that, how had Bora not realised that the boy he was patronising was, in fact, the mage who he was pretending to be?

Lucy's eye twitched again.

A burst of sickly purple flame drew her attention to the words of the criminal she was currently glaring at.

"I'm having a soiree on my yacht tonight, and you're all invited!" He pronounced grandly, disappearing over the town on his purple fire cloud.

Lucy looked over to the Fairy Tail mage, who looked after 'Salamander' in apparent confusion.

For a brief moment she allowed the urge to rub at her temples. Then she turned and walked away,

A blue communications lacrima gleamed as she pulled it out of one of her inner pockets.

"Captain Lahar." She announced, infusing the lacrima with a trickle of her magic energy. In only moments the lacrima began to glow.

"Lieutenant Heartillia." The Captain of the 4th Custody Enforcement Unit greeted her. "I did not expect to hear from you so soon." He adjusted his glasses. "Has there been a problem?"

"Yes sir, the target has taken on the identity of Fairy Tail's Salamander." His eyebrow raised and she continued. "However Natsu Dragneel, known as Salamander, has arrived in Hargeon. There has already been one altercation and I believe that more will follow." The captain sighed.

"I see. That is troubling. Do you think you can control damages without breaking cover?"

The blonde mage hesitated.

"I should be able to however I would like to request for some reinforcements tonight, Bora the Prominence has invited much of Hargeon's female population to an event that shall be hosted on his yacht tonight. I intend to infiltrate but I would greatly appreciate some assistance with making sure that he doesn't escape." The captain nodded.

"I shall send word for a squad to prepare at the Hargeon Docks and another to prepare a barrier around the harbour. I am counting on you Lieutenant, make sure that he doesn't escape again."

Her eyes blazed as she replied.

"Of course sir, I will not let you down." With no further ado the Captain shut down the link and Lucy replaced the lacrima into a pocket of her coat.

Now to find a dress.

Nursing the beginnings of yet another headache, Lucy stared at the wine suspiciously. With acquaintances like hers, Lucy had been forced to become accustomed to only the finest wines, which this clearly wasn't. A subtle sniff revealed that there was something odd about this wine. Something very off.

On the surface the party seemed normal enough for some sort of rich playboy's party, there were a few tables spread out over the deck of the 'Salamander's rather large yacht. There was plenty of wine and drinks, all the women well under the repulsive criminal's Charm magic seemed to be enjoying the party. Guzzling down wine and crowding on the designated dancefloor, supposedly in the hopes of snagging the 'famous' mage as their partner. Their 'esteemed' host wove through the party, much reminiscent of a slug leaving a disgusting slimy trail behind him as he oozed false charm. Her eye twitched. She didn't think she could handle much more of that disgusting creature.

If her hunch was correct and Bora did indeed intend to take all these women into his slave trading operation, he was likely to have henchmen lurking somewhere. It was rather obvious to her, un-charmed as she was, that the waiters, standing between tables with ever more trays loaded with the wine, were all part of Bora's operation. He was likely to have more, however, as this was the largest snatch that he had attempted so far, presumably they were waiting below deck until Bora gave them some sort of signal.

Her eyes flickered to a table across from hers, a short slight woman sat there accompanied by a pair of empty wine glasses. Her head was slumped against the back of the chair as she slept soundly.

Lucy's eyes widened minimally, catching the unnatural drowsiness of the other partygoers, not even noticing that anything was amiss under the influence of Bora's Charm magic. They slowly sank into an induced slumber, unaware of the fate that rapidly approached with each moment that they spent unconscious. As they fell into sleep one by one, Lucy looked to a specific point of the harbour. For a moment a blue light shone. Then it flicked off. Once more it lit up a dim patch then fell back into the darkness. A dangerous twist entered Lucy's frown. That meant that the blockade was up now. There was nowhere that Bora could run.

Ignorant of his own fate, Bora stood amongst the unconscious women, a slimy smile plastered across his face. From the lower levels of the ship, more criminals began to emerge.

"Everything went exactly to plan, we'll be in Bosco before the Magic Council even realises that anyone is missing!" He announced, smirk wide with his success. His cronies laughed with him as he lorded over his 'victory'.

Lucy sighed. She placed her glass down on the table.

"That's where you'd be wrong, Bora the Prominence."

AN

Fair warning to all readers, this is not only my first story but it also extremely self-indulgent, so there might be a few (and by that I mean many) plot holes.

Please enjoy and leave your thoughts in the reviews.