{NADIA'S POV}
It doesn't take me long to pack. I'm just bringing a few necessities and a change of clothes in my backpack, plus my dagger strapped to my left thigh in its sheath.

I used to carry my dagger around with me all the time, but after a few near-death experiences and a week in the hospital, Reiki and I decided it would be mutually beneficial if I kept it safely locked away until I needed it for a job, like now.

Of course I also grab my celestial spirit keys. I have contracts with three celestial spirits, all silver keys: Zoey, the huntress, who's good at silent infiltration and sniping from a great distance with her bow.

Iris, the messenger, who can create two-way messages via rainbows like a comm lacrima.

Last but certainly not least is Tina, the penguin, who can summon any type of fish and water that smells disgustingly fishy with a wave of her hand.

Happy especially likes Tina.

I go to the guild hall one final time to say my goodbyes. My family is understandably worried because I'm traveling alone.

Everyone wishes me luck, aside from Nashi. She glares at me with a look that says 'I know what you did' and refuses to speak to me. Reiki is clearly pleased that I'm wearing my barrette.

"Seriously guys, I gotta go! The train leaves soon!" I laugh, waving over my shoulder and grinning as I run. I nearly trip but catch myself.

In the distance, I can still hear the sound of my guildmates sending me off.

"Bye Nadia!"

"Good luck!"

"See you soon!"

*30 minutes after Nadia's train leaves*
{MAKAROV'S POV}
The wide double doors to the guild hall open with a bang. Standing in the entryway is a frog lady from the council, panting for breath and croaking incoherently. Oh no. What did the brats do this time?

"Master Makarov! Did one of your wizards really just accept this request?" She holds up a familiar piece of paper. I recognize it even before Mira speaks.

"That's Nadia's job!"

The frog lady begins to panic. "You must recall your wizard immediately! The one who posted the job left out critical details that raises its rank to S-class!"

Everyone starts yelling at the frog lady all at once. Luna begins to cry, and I have to bang my staff on the bar to get everyone's attention.

"Quiet! We can't help Nadia if we don't know what it is we're running into."

The magic council employee explains that the ones who posted the request failed to mention that the subjugation target is an S-class wizard and master of the dark guild Corpse Harvest.

My heart sinks farther as the frog lady keeps talking. What did we just send Nadia into?

{NADIA'S POV}
It's times like these that I'm really glad I'm not prone to motion sickness.

"Nadia?" An unexpected voice startles me. Iris has passed through the gate on her own.

"Do I have a message?" I ask.

Iris nods, her iridescent skin and hair glowing in the light of the sun coming through the big window on my left side.

"Leo the lion is telling me to tell you to return to the guild immediately. There are multiple voicemails from your mother's other spirits, but they all convey the same message."

I grind my teeth in frustration. So they don't think I can do it after all.

"Ignore them. I will complete this job."

"Leo insists. He says the situation's changed—"

"Block him. Pretend you aren't receiving them. Say your Wifi connection is bad. I don't care!" I snap, eyes watering. I thought they trusted me.

Iris nods and dissolves into rainbow light before disappearing. I will complete this job and prove to everybody that I can do it.

*1 hour later*
Finally! I hop off the train and stretch my sore, tired limbs. According to the job request paper, my target is a man named Akuhei Tanaka. He owns a warehouse on the outskirts of this town that act as a hub for a lot of evil activity.

I buy a map and ask around about the address provided on the paper. It doesn't take long to find the warehouse. It's big and gloomy, and smells like burning flesh and dirty socks.

I take a deep breath to steady my racing heart and sneak inside. There are goons everywhere, but they're easy to avoid.

The burning flesh smell is stronger inside, making me gag. Usually that scent don't bother me so much, considering how many times I've lit myself on fire, but this oder has an acrid, evil tint to it that makes me wrinkle my nose.

"No deal!" I hear a shout, followed by a scream.

Sounds sus. I run in that direction, finding myself in the doorway to a room with a two people in it.

The man on the poster, my target, has just finished burning the other man to a crisp. Pitch black flames cover his hands.

I clasp my hands over my mouth so I don't scream. But the job request said he didn't have magic! A horrifying realization settles. What was Uncle Loke trying to tell me? The situation's changed.

Akuhei Tanaka starts laughing maniacally. The noise sends a shiver down my back. There's a mark on his left hand. It looks like a skull will a shovel stuck through it. It's a guild mark, although I've never seen one quite like it before.

"Boss!" Someone interrupts him. This new man has a scar spanning from his right eyebrow, through his milky white eye, to the right corner of his mouth. The same guild mark is on his left cheek.

"What is it, Scar?" Akuhei Tanaka's voice rings with displeasure from having been disturbed.

"Some of the scouts report that a young girl is searching around town for our base. They testify that she's a Fairy Tail wizard."

My blood runs cold. I start to back away. I have to get out of here.

Just my luck, I trip over a loose metal pipe. It clatters across the floor as I'm sent sprawling. I get up and start to run, but it's only a few seconds before a giant hand grabs my shoulder and yanks me back. I stare up at Scar's cruel sneer. He drags me back to where Akuhei Tanaka waits.

"Aren't you a pretty one?" Akuhei Tanaka chuckles, grabbing a strand of my waist-length pink hair and sniffing it. I spit at him.

Scar grunts as I struggle and kick at his shins. One well-placed knee to the jock-strap area almost makes him loose his grip, but he holds tight.

"Feisty too." Akuhei Tanaka notes, pleased.

"Let me go! If you don't, you're gonna regret it!" I cry desperately. This only makes the men laugh.

"I don't think you're in any position to be making threats, sweetheart." He says smugly.

I push on the pressure point in Scar's wrist with all my might. He yelps and releases me. I draw my dagger and slash at Akuhei Tanaka.

"Oh yeah?" I smirk.

"Yeah." He replies and blasts me with a black fireball right in the gut. I'm blasted back into a wall and white hot pain radiates through my body. My impact leaves a crater on the wall.

I groan and drop my dagger to clutch my belly. Akuhei Tanaka kicks it away, where I can't reach.

"You got me there." I pant, still clutching my belly. "But the tables have turned."

I blast Akuhei Tanaka with my own fire magic. It's his turn to be sent flying across the room, although doesn't leave an imprint in the wall.

Akuhei Tanaka roars furiously. I think I've angered him. He points at my key ring. "I thought you were a celestial wizard!"

I shrug. "I am."

I'm about to pick a spirit and prove my claims, but a dark mass bowls into me from the side. Scar rams me like a bowling ball and pins me to the ground. Akuhei Tanaka comes over and takes my key ring. He spins it on his index finger.

"Saying 'the tables have turned' implies that the tide of battle is now your favor. I assure you, it isn't. I know your tricks now." Akuhei Tanaka snarls.

With Scar still holding me down and keeping a close eye on my fire, Akuhei Tanaka firmly binds my wrists and feet with chains.

"These prevent all magic use." Akuhei Tanaka boasts as he proceeds to tie my waist-length pink hair into an untie-able knot around a metal pole.

He orders Scar and the rest of his henchmen to take everything important and leave. "We're burning this place to the ground!"

I'm left alone to die. I wriggle my hands, but Akuhei Tanaka was right. The chains completely block all magic use.

The room is begining to heat up, and there's a layer of smoke on the ceiling. The metal is getting red hot. At least I'm relatively burn resistant thanks to my fire magic and all that practice, but none of it is going to help much if the ceiling falls on me. A few radiating cracks form.

I start bashing the chains against the wall. Maybe if the heat weakens them enough... they break, freeing my arms. If I could only reach my dagger.

I use my legs to pull what's left of the chain up to my hands. Then I toss the chain like a lasso. It lands close to my dagger, but not enough. I reel it in and try again. Closer. Closer. Got it!

The chain snags on the hilt of the dagger. I begin to reel it in, and my dagger comes with it. After what feels like forever, it's close enough that I can get a grip on it with both feet. Curling my toes around it, I jump and grab the dagger. Of course, I grab the bladed end, and it slices my palm. I cry out in pain.

The heat is beginning to get unbearable, even for me. Everything is glowing, and cracks are spreading rapidly in every direction on the ceiling and floor.

I stare at my dagger. I know what I have to do. I take a deep breath, possibly my last and think to myself, dang it, but I like my long hair!

And then the warehouse explodes.