!QUICK REFRESHER FOR MY WONDERFUL READERS!

- rose, raiden and luke all stowed away on the crime sorciere airship

- alexis encountered lilith and jace (who's totally not acting like himself) and it didn't end as well as she would've hoped

- storm chased after quinn and to his horror, she had dark markings trailing up her arms meaning she was exposed to the dangerous hallucinogen (OHH NNO!)

- Gale came into contact with a dealer named Dragon Lord (AKA SAMMY)

- worst of all, the cute nice guy calix who was basically the first guy to actually ask nashi out on a date IS WORKING WITH LILITH (aka the evil witch who has jace in her clutches)

now that you're caught up let's get started...

"What do you think's happening in there?" Rose asked the two boys as the three of them sat alone in one of the spare rooms of the airship. 

"Who knows... but I don't like how they put us in here." Raiden said banging his head on the locked door that trapped the three preteens in the small room. 

Meredy had shoved them into the room before the others got back into the airship and before they could get better look at Macbeth's surveillance footage.

There was an uneasiness filling the young lightning dragon slayer. His gut told him something bad had happened and his gut feelings were rarely wrong. 

"If we break out, we'll be in even more trouble and we can't afford that now." Raiden looked to his best friend. "What should we do, Luke?"

Luke sat in the corner of the room, huddling his legs close to his chest while biting at his nails. "She was wearing a dress... she looked like a girl...what... how..." He murmured. 

Rose groaned. "He's still stuck on Nashi's new look." She crossed her arms, her chin pointed in the air. "You know, Nashi's always been pretty."

Luke jumped to his feet. His face was red with anger as he pointed accusingly at the girl "That's a lie and you know it!" He yelled at her. 

Rose rolled her eyes. "For a supposed genius, you are positively stupid sometimes." She declared. 

"Well, at least I'm not a sore loser, Rosey." 

"I am not a sore loser, chocolate chip boy." Rose retorted, jumping to her feet as well now. "Layla and Luna told me about the time you cried because your mom didn't put chocolate chips in your pancakes! Pathetic!" 

"Everyone knows they taste better with chocolate chips." He grumbled, twitching with anger. "You know I miss Lily. Lily's way better than Miss Strawberry Highness over here, right Raid?"

The white haired boy scratched the back of his head. "Well-"

"Raiden, if you answer that, I'll smack you!" Rose said before looking back at Luke. "Now, I've had enough of your stupid face." She pounced on the blonde ferociously. 

Raiden watched as the two wrestled on the ground - pulling at each other's hair, scratching, name calling and even some kicking was involved. Thankfully, now of them were using their magic just yet. 

With a sigh, Raiden walked and simply laid down on the lone single bed in the room and looked up at ceiling. Whatever was happening outside, he hoped everyone was alright.

___________

"When I found her, she was barely breathing." Ultear said as Hunter walked into the infirmary portion of the airship with an unconscious Alexis in his arms. "Judging by the injuries, I think it may have been-"

"Jace." Erik growled. He could smell the poison flooding Alexis' system. He suspected that may have been the reason for the girl's unconsciousness. "The both of you can leave, I'll take care of her." 

"Tell me when she wakes up." Hunter said as he gently laid the girl on the bed.

Erik nodded and then waved the both of them out. "Just go help your dad, I'll handle it." 

With no other choice, Ultear and Hunter left the room and began to make their way to the conference room where the others were at the moment. 

"If Lilith made Jace do that, it means she's got him completely under her control." Ultear said as they turned the corner. 

Finding the blonde bleeding out, gashes all over her body and smashed against the remnants of a bar filled her up with a great deal of edge. Of course, her and Alexis had their differences but that didn't mean she wanted to see her in such a bad state. 

"Lilith will always be by Jace's side which means that it'll likely be you and Nashi getting the job to take them down." Hunter said, running a hand through his hair. "As much as I don't like it, me, Gale and Storm won't be able to help you out or else there will be a big risk of us falling under the spell."

Ultear grumbled under her breath. "If he was able to do that to Alexis easily then it'll be a pain in the ass to take him down. I'm not sure if Nashi and I can do it to be honest."

"I wish I could help you." Hunter mumbled, clenching his jaw. "I couldn't help you when we travelled back in time and now I can't help you again." 

Ultear nudged him softly. "Hey... even though I may not look it at times, I can handle myself." 

"I know. I just..." He sighed. "I hate when you're in danger and I can't do anything about it."

Immediately, Ultear turned her head away from Hunter as she felt the heat rise to her cheeks. 

She cleared her throat. "I-I'll be fine, Hunter." Looking at him, the raven haired girl smiled reassuringly. "Everything will turn out just fine." 

The two finally made it to the conference room where Gale, Storm and Nashi looked to be interrogating a short spiky silver-haired guy who was tied to a chair. Jellal was there as well, playing his part in the process. 

"I'm gonna say this one last time, Sammy." Gale started patting the guy firmly on the shoulders. "Who is your boss?"

Sammy tilted his head away. "I will say nothing without the presence of an attorney." 

Everyone in the room groaned. 

"Oh Mavis, Flame Brain just barbecue him already." Storm remarked, throwing his hands up in defeat. 

Sammy gasped when Nashi ignited her flames into the palms of her hands. He squirmed and pulled against his restraints desperately. 

"Hey, I got rights! If that pyromanic's fire goes anywhere near me, I'm pressing charges!" He yelled as Nashi put the flames mere inches away from his nose. 

Gale rolled his eyes and pushed Nashi's palm away, much to her dismay.

"What's the big idea, Gale? I know you want me to do it." Nashi whined. 

Yes, Gale wanted her to burn Sammy to a crisp but he couldn't let that happen just yet. Not until they had some answers. 

"You know these 'charges' won't hold up since you're a known criminal." Gale said. "And Crime Sorciere is a known ally of the Magic Council so who do you think the authorities will side with?"

Sammy opened his mouth to answer but closed it when he couldn't find a word to say.

Storm shoved his way past Gale and grabbed Sammy by the collar. "How do you undo the effects of the hallucinogen?" He questioned. 

"I- I don't know man!"

"Stop lying!"

"I'm being serious." Sammy cried. "All I do is deal the product, man."

Storm groaned once again and let go of the Sammy's collar. "He's useless. I'm gonna go check on Quinn." Promptly, he walked past Ultear and Hunter and out of the room. 

"Wow, he crinkled my collar." Sammy whined looking down at his dishevelled portion of clothing. "So not cool."

"So still no progress?" Ultear whispered to Jellal. 

The man shook his head. "It's either this dealer is completely oblivious to who he works for or he's just obnoxiously good at hiding secrets." 

Jellal himself had tried to get answers from Sammy but then the silver haired guy went off on a tangent about how threatening others is a sign of past regrets and insecurities that need to come to light... and so the old blue haired man quickly let someone else take over as that was a subject he didn't want to delve into.

Sammy's master plan of repelling the questions was his ability to talk too much about nonsense.

"So threatening him won't work?" Hunter asked. 

Jellal shook his head. "It won't work for the crucial questions we need answers to."

"You know, I didn't want to drag her into this but I feel like there's no choice." Gale reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He scrolled through the contacts before finding the one he wanted and clicked it. 

"Who are you calling?" Nashi asked with a frown. 

Holding his lacrimal phone to his ear, the iron dragon slayer just shook his head. "Just wait..." He breathed out.

"Finally took you long enough..." Gale said into the phone. "I need your help... it's to save Jace...I'm not gonna say it... No I'm-... Ugh fine..." Gale narrowed his eyes at everyone at the room before turning his back swiftly. "Aoki is the best princess in the world and I, Gale Redfox, am a loser who has no where near the magical prowess she has." He grumbled monotonously into the phone. 

"Wait Aoki?!" Sammy suddenly said, eyes lit up with joy. In his restraints, he's jumped excitedly. "Let me talk to my future wife! Please please please!"

"Okay, I'm putting you on hologram and I don't care if you're doing your night time skin care routine." Gale growled. He held the phone in front of Sammy and suddenly up popped the holographic image of none other than Princess Aoki of Fiore. 

"Gale, don't you dar- Oh hi there!" She chirped with a good grin on her face. 

Princess Aoki was a slim and petite young woman with shoulder length emerald green hair. Dressed comfortably in a fluffy white robe, she had a brown chunky paste spread across her usually pale face. 

The Princess chuckled quite nervously. "Excuse me for looking like a mess." She shyly apologised. 

"You- You look beautiful." Sammy said starry eyed. 

"Well, aren't you a sweetie?" Aoki laughed. 

Sammy's cheeks were so rosy that it looked like he was about to pass out.

"Oh why didn't you tell me it was Aoki!" Nashi jumped into frame, waving hello to her friend. "It's been too long!"

Aoki's jaw dropped. "Nashi? You look so cute! Why wasn't I invited to the party?" She pouted. "Aren't you a lucky guy, Ga-"

Before she could finish, Gale coughed unnaturally loud, shaking his head rather adamantly. 

Without skipping a beat, Nashi snatched the phone and made her way to Hunter and Ultear. "Say hi to the others!"

"Oh my... Are you both back together? I knew it was just a matter of time!" Aoki questioned bouncing with enthusiasm. 

"What? N-NO!" Ultear squeaked. 

"Why would you say that?" Hunter crossed his arms and looked away, trying to hide his slightly tinted cheeks. 

Aoki's enthusiasm died down. "Oh... I just assumed since you're standing so close to each other... sorry my bad!" 

Hunter and Ultear looked between each other and noticed they were a little TOO close together and quickly distanced themselves. 

Gale snatched his phone back. "Aoki, we really need to do this fast. Jace is in danger." He said gravely. 

Aoki's face turned serious and she nodded. "Of course. Sorry. " 

Gale walked her back to Sammy who smiled at the princess almost as if he was hypnotised. 

"Ok, honey... if you help out my friends here and answer every single they ask honestly, I'll personally pardon you for any crimes you've committed and also you can come to the Crocus and have dinner with me!" She smiled sweetly as she delivered the news. She even giggled at Sammy's burst of joy on his face. 

"So are you gonna help us now?" Gale questioned.

This time Sammy didn't argue. 

___________

Later at the Titan Soul hideout... 

"How long do you intend to keep this pet of yours, Lilith?" Calix questioned with frustration, punching the bench he was standing at. "As long as he's here, we'll have Crime Sorciere on our tails and that's the last thing we need right now."

Lilith leaned onto Jace's shoulder, as they lounged on a velvet couch together. "I intend to keep him as long as possible." She said, toying with the buttons of his shirt. "He's a valuable asset... in more ways than you could be able to comprehend." Cheekily, she grinned back at Calix.

He glared at her in return. "You drew a lot of attention with that stunt you pulled in Morningstar."

Lilith shrugged as she leaned away from Jace for a moment. "It was necessary." She stated simply. "Although, I expected the blonde to put up a fight... you know she didn't attack once? It's strange how someone will willingly get beaten." She sighed at the memory. "She tried to take away my asset so I taught her a lesson on why that never happens."

A knock came out the door. When it opened, a big bulky man in a ripped back suit fell to the ground, his face slapped against the hardness of the floor. It was Big Tony, only now with a blackened eye and his torso leaking red. A man behind him kicked his head into the ground. 

"Oh, Icarus, just in time." Lilith said. "Did you get the information I asked for?"

Icarus was a tall lanky black haired man with pale skin, dressed in black leather from head to toe. His lips were slathered in black lips and eyes, buried under a great deal of eyeliner. 

"I did. There seems to one of our 'afflicted' are on board the enemy ship." He said, with a sick sadistic smirk. "Speaking of the enemy ship, it's fast approaching." 

Calix poured himself a shot of tequila. "That's bloody fantastic."

"Looks like we'll have to deal with them on our grounds" Lilith announced. She got to her feet and surely enough, Jace stumbled to his feet after her. She took his hand and began to lead him to the exit. "Everyone will pick a position and hold it." 

Icarus breathed in deeply. "Finally, some fun." 

"You know I don't like-"

"I'm not giving you a choice." Lilith snapped, silencing Calix. "Now, Icarus... tell June to give the order and take that ship down now."

___________

Meanwhile back at the Crime Sorciere airship... 

"So you didn't take any drugs or anything?" Storm asked. 

Quinn groaned. "How many times do I have to tell you? I didn't do anything. I mean I'm a little tipsy but not stupid enough to put that sort of poison in me." She defended herself, clearly offended that Storm would accuse her of doing such a heinous act. 

Storm gently took her arm in his grasp, scanning the dark veins meticulously. "Then how in, Mavis' name, did you get this on your arm?"

Quinn's cheeks went a slight tint of pink as she watched him a glide his fingers ever so softly over the veins. "I don't know but the sooner we get rid of it, the better." She subtly pulled her arm away from the ice make mage. "My dad thinks I'm with Kira visiting her mom's guild while Kira thinks I stayed home with a sore stomach. If either of them found out I was out at Morningstar by myself, I'll be-"

"Dead." Storm finished, with a smirk on his lips. He let out a hearty laugh to which Quinn glared at him for. "Don't worry, Quinny..."

"You know I hate when you call me that."

"I'll make sure you're safe... from this stupid hallucinogen's effects and from your dad and Kira." Storm declared as he smiled at her.

Quinn frowned as her unwanted feelings crept back up on her. 

Five minutes until we arrive at the location. Jellal's voice had said over the speakers. 

Due to Aoki's persuasion, Sammy had blurted on the location of Titan's soul which they were headed to right now. It wasn't far from Morningstar, only a mere 10 minute flight at the airship's top speed.

"You're staying in the ship while we go save Jace's ass okay?" Storm said raising a brow. "Okay?" 

Quinn was silent, her head hung low so that he couldn't see her face anymore.

Reaching for her, he shook her arm. "Quinn?"

Quinn's body shot up causing Storm to jerk backwards. She looked at him again, only this time the dark veins had travelled to the corners of her eyes. Her hands were glowing brighter and brighter.

Storm's eyes widened. "What the hell are you doing?"

 "White Dragon secret art! Holy Nova!"

__________

FUN FACT - Princess Aoki has known the teens since she was a child. She is particularly close to Gale (as you could probably tell) in a completely PLATONIC way

__________

cliffhangers are so fun

I know its been a while and I apologise 

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 2K VOTES!!!!

I love you all so much for supporting this story even tho I suck at updating

ok so its nearly 2AM and Im tired so bye

hope y'all enjoyed

#unedited

ok not gonna lie sting is so hot like i've never appreciated him before but now I do LOL