"Master! I don't know how it happened, but one of the S-Class Missions is missing!" Mira said as she ran down the stairs.
Makarov immediately spat out his coffee upon hearing that, before turning to Mira.
"What?! Who could have—" Makarov exclaimed, before he immediately stopped as realization hit him like a truck.
"Come on Happy, we gotta get to Hargeon before—"
"GODDAMMIT, NATSUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"
Natsu froze in place and slowly turned towards the direction of the guild with a nervous expression.
"Well, it was nice knowing you, Natsu." Happy said with a salute to his friend.
"RUUUUUN!" Natsu shouted, while grabbing Happy and running as fast as he could.
Walking through Hargeon Town, Ruby was making her way to the harbor to secure a boat for a job she's taking. Though it wasn't one as Rose, but a regular job any freelance or guild mage could take.
After her encounter with the Tartarus mages and her subsequent recovery, Ruby figured it'd be best for Rose to go under the radar for a while, so she created a Thought Projection of Rose to fill in the role, and with her Ethernano Dragon Slayer Magic, she can keep the projection charged at all times.
"Leave me alone!"
Huh? Ruby thought as she heard a female voice cry out.
Sniffing the air, Ruby could smell the "evil" aura, showing there were Dark Mages nearby and were apparently chasing someone.
Figuring she could make a small detour, Ruby headed towards the source and prepared to summon her mask and cloak. Unfortunately, when she arrived, Ruby growled in anger at what she saw. Several mages had backed a blonde girl, a rather busty blonde girl at that, into a corner. While this would normally anger Ruby anyway, what really angered her is the guild symbol that the mages were wearing.
Phantom Lord. Ruby thought darkly.
The Phantom Lord guild was a Mages' Guild that Ruby had a special hatred for, since they were practically Dark Mages in all but name. The only reason they got to keep their status as a Legal Guild was because their Master, Jose Porla, used his status as a Wizard Saint to bend the laws and politics of the Magic Council in his favor, which was also another reason she hated the Magic Council.
In fact, Phantom Lords founder, Geoffrey, Jose's ancestor, was also the Guild Master of Blue Skull, a Dark Guild until it was destroyed. As for how she knew this, Ruby made sure to study up on all Dark Guilds, both past and present.
If there's one thing Ruby couldn't wait for, it was the day she would be able to slaughter every single Phantom Lord mage, while saving Jose for last.
Unfortunately, that day wasn't today, and while she'd love nothing more than to kill these Phantom Lord members right now, she couldn't, as they were still technically legal mages. The last thing Ruby needed was the Magic Council turning them into Martyrs against her and have other Legal Guild hunt her, if they thought she was branching out in who she killed.
Doesn't mean I can't break them. Ruby thought sadistically.
Before the mages could react, Ruby appeared behind them, grabbing two by their heads before smashing them together with some faint cracks. Next she forced a third down to his knees and grabbed his arms, pulling them out of their sockets before slamming his head into the ground. The final Phantom Lord mage shook in fear when Ruby turned to him, before she appeared in front of him and slammed her leg into his kneecaps, shattering them before punching him in the face, knocking him out.
That felt good. Ruby thought, while smirking as she looked at the unconscious mages, before turning to the blonde girl, who looked shocked at her appearance and how quickly she took care of her pursuers.
"Are you alright?" Ruby asked, snapping the girl out of her shock.
"Ye-yeah, thanks for the help. Those guys have been a serious pain in the neck." Lucy angrily said, both at the fact they were chasing her and that they were hired by her father to force her back home.
"Don't mention it, I'm always happy to brutalize assholes like them." Ruby said with a smirk, while Lucy nodded slowly at that.
"Any… way, I'm Lucy, nice to meet you." Lucy as she introduced herself with a smile, while not saying her last name, just in case her savior recognized it.
"I'm Ruby. So, what are you doing in Hargeon, Lucy?" Ruby asked as they left the area, leaving the beaten Phantom Lord mages.
"Mostly just traveling. Though I do hope to one day join a Mages' Guild one day; it's my dream to join the guild, Fairy Tail." Lucy said, having wanted to join Fairy Tail ever since she heard about them.
"Fairy Tail? You're a mage?" Ruby asked upon hearing the name of her sister's guild, having looked up the guild after seeing Erza was a member, though she only really looked up information on Erza.
Ruby was happy and proud to learn her sister is an S-Class mage and nicknamed "Titania, Queen of the Fairies".
"Yeah, I'm a Celestial Spirit Mage, see." Lucy said, while motioning to the keyring strapped to her waist.
"A Celestial Spirit Mage, with three Zodiac Keys." Ruby said, actually impressed that Lucy had three Zodiac Keys, given how rare they are to find.
Though it also reminded her of something, as she reached into her Requip space.
"Here." Ruby said, while holding out another Zodiac Key, much to Lucy's shock.
"What, where'd you manage to find a Golden Key?!" Lucy asked, given that she had only gotten three, since they were owned by her mother.
"An annoying midget." Stated Ruby in a completely serious tone.
She had gotten the key off of that midget Everlue, after he tried getting her to do his dirty work for him. At first, she planned to simply walk away, that is until the asshole called her ugly, and while Ruby doesn't really care for how people see her, the fact that he did so after praising how "beautiful" his maids were just put the final nail in his coffin. She didn't kill the maids, since their only crime was being ugly, but she did take the Maiden Key off of him once she was done.
"Here, it's the Gate of the Maiden Key, you'll get more use out of it then me." Ruby said, since she preferred to stick to her Dragon Slayer Magic.
Though, that doesn't mean she didn't learn any other forms of Magic, in case she ended up in a situation like the one she's currently in. But even then, Celestial Spirit Magic just didn't fit her style. After all, given how destructive her attacks can be, a Celestial Spirit would just get in the way.
"Re-really?" A stunned Lucy asked as she took the key that Ruby was handing her, while also being thankful at having another Zodiac Key.
"Yeah, I only summoned Virgo once to tell her I'll find someone who can actually use her key. I can tell you're someone who respects and cares about the Celestial Spirits, so yeah, it's yours." Ruby said.
She could sense Lucy's aura and there wasn't even a speck of darkness in it. Though, the part of her that took after Acnologia was actually sickened at just how bright and cheerful her aura was.
"Thank you so much! I'll summon her to create a contract." Lucy said in excitement at having another Golden Key.
"Right, though there's something you should know, Virgo's a—"
"Open Gate of the Maiden, Virgo!" Lucy said, summoning Virgo, who had the form of a cute pink-haired girl wearing a maid outfit and shackles on her wrist.
"Ruby-hime, is it time for punishment?" Virgo asked with a bow, while Lucy was stunned at the question.
"Virgo is a masochist." Ruby finished, with Lucy's mouth opening and closing a few times, not sure how to respond to that.
"Virgo, this is Lucy, your new summoner." Said Ruby, with Virgo looking at Lucy, before bowing.
"Greetings Lucy-hime, I am yours to summon whenever you need me." Virgo said.
"Ri-right." Lucy said with a nod, before they went over the contract and when Lucy could summon Virgo.
Once it was finished, Lucy sent Virgo back to the Celestial Spirit World and added her key with the others.
"Also, if you want, since you want to join Fairy Tail, I can take you there." Ruby offered, while also seeing this as a chance to see her sister again.
Even if they left things on bad terms during their last meeting, Ruby will always care about Erza and would like the chance to reconnect with her after so many years.
"Really?! Are you a member of Fairy Tail?!" Lucy asked eagerly, while feeling excited at the idea that she just met a member of Fairy Tail.
"No, I just thought I'd offer to take you there, since I know where it is. But before we do, I have a job to complete." Ruby said, with the revelation that she isn't from Fairy Tail lowering Lucy's excitement a little.
"A job?" Lucy asked.
"An S-Class job, one of the hardest jobs a mage can take, and only for the strongest ones. You can join, if you want." Ruby replied, causing Lucy to pale at the thought of doing such a job.
"I think part of the reward is a Golden Celestial Spirit Key, as well." Ruby added as an afterthought.
"Another Golden Key?! What's the job?!" Lucy asked in excitement at the thought of having a fifth Golden Key, nearly half the total amount.
Before Ruby could respond, she stopped and sniffed the air before silently letting out a growl when she caught a familiar scent.
Etherious. Ruby thought.