34 Chapter 34 - Not the Plan

"This was… unexpected." Locki said as he looked around their small carriage. The windows were tastefully decorated with cold, iron bars that were embellished with rune inscriptions from a Dark Ecriture master. A large metal loop was bolted to the wooden floor with three loops of chains threaded through that tied him along with his unwilling companions.

"No, really?" Daki jeered from his side, shifting uncomfortably on her wooden seat. Her chains clanged as she pulled them taunt against the ring in the middle of the small room. "I thought you said something about getting arrested being part of your grand plan to those idiot knights."

"It serves him right. An unthinking idiot who thinks he is the smartest person in the room." Ultear sneered as she crossed her arms underneath her chest. And if there was anything more surprising than his imprisonment, it was the reveal that Ultear was only in her teens, and that she had constantly used some sort of illusion ring and her own Time magic to trick everyone into thinking she was older than she actually was.

Now, Ultear barely reached his chest in her diminutive height. Everything about her seemed to shrink down with her height, and Locki found himself shivering as he marveled over her strength at her age. He found himself lucky that he decided to disable her when he had Laxus and Gildarts on his side or else there was a good chance she could have gotten away.

Daki huffed, failing to hide her small chuckle from Ultear's comment. Daki had gotten her cloak removed when they were arrested, but Locki had spun a tale about her skin condition and the demon was allowed to wrap her body in thick strips of white fabric. Despite her covered body, Locki still caught the rise of her chest that signaled a laugh.

"He still outsmarted you." The demon shot back in his defense.

"Shut up!" Ultear growled at the demon. Her chains rattled as she pointed over at him angrily. "He was the one who hid so much shit! Teleportation Lacrimas are expensive and rare, and anything that can stop one is considered a damn national treasure. No one could have guessed that a small-time Magic Guild in the middle of Fiore's crime city could have gotten one!"

Locki shrugged, palms up as if to prove he had nothing to hide. His [Dimension Formation: Shambhala] jingles from his waist as if to rub his victory in her face. "I admit it was a bit sudden, but really, did your magic affect your brain? You're much more… like a teenager."

"I am not!"

"I find her more amusing this way." Daki commented.

"Arrgh!"

Locki chuckled as Ultear tried to get up and strangle the demon, leaning his back against the hardwood of their carriage. Ultear's change was both drastic and sudden, but he could deal with it. He didn't really have much information to go off of Time magics, so he just had theories on how she skewed her development with her magic and it was only the magic inhibitors within the Rune Knight's cuffs that forcefully brought her back. Said occurrence no doubt flooded her brain with all sorts of chemicals that a growing teenager definitely couldn't handle.

Of course, Locki didn't really know her specifics, and her situation was not really that important overall. It was merely something to distract himself with. Both he and Daki had plenty of ways to escape their confinement, but that would be the opposite of what he wanted. In fact, their imprisonment was, while not part of his plan, something that helped expedite the process of meeting with the main Fiore Magic Council branch.

Locki snapped his head to the door as a knock rang out. Daki turned as well and Locki caught a few strips of cloth rise off her forearms before he waved her off. Ultear watched the display with wide eyes as a voice filtered in through the thick, wooden door to their carriage.

"Sir Wyn, its me, Kaleb." A familiar voice spoke from the other side. It was the Rune Knight who had seemed to believe Locki when he said he would take responsibility for Rebecca and Stein's escape.

Of course, when Locki said he would, he didn't really expect to be arrested. He supposed it was partially that the Rune Knights told their superiors about his made up story about "infiltrating" Rebecca's little gang, and then those superiors, all of whom Locki was sure were corrupt, arrested him on the assumption of colluding with a Dark Mage and a Dark Guild. It was… flabbergasting.

Rebecca wasn't a Dark Mage; much less an actual mage. Her little gang certainly wasn't anything like what they labeled it. Locki knew that, and he was sure the higher ups in Hargeon knew that, but that didn't stop them from immediately shipping him out of the city to be tried in Fiore's capital for his supposed crimes.

It was one of the reasons why he felt that they were corrupt. They simply went through all their procedures so quickly, and they took advantage of the fact that registered guild mages needed to be tried in Fiore's Magic Council branch for such major crimes like what they accused him of.

"I apologize again, Sir Wyn, I never expected you to be charged so unjustly." Kaleb whispered angrily from outside. "They just stood by and accused you of horrible crimes without a second thought… the people I respected didn't even hesitate. Don't worry though, I will make sure to get someone from Crocus' Knight squadron to vouch for you! I may not look like it, but I grew up in the capital and know someone affiliated with the Cherry Blossom Holy Knight Order."

"That's a stupidly grandiose name." Daki mumbled.

"Right!" Ultear whispered back.

Locki ignored the two. How they could be so in sync was beyond him; Daki had been part of the group to capture the girl and Ultear had obviously gone for the kill.

"Did you check on Kagura?" Locki asked.

There was a pause on the other side that made Locki tense in his seat, but he eased up as Kaleb continued, "Sorry, someone passed by. And yes, your guildmate is in a better carriage and is being attended to by a couple physicians. They currently don't have any idea on how to wake her, but she seems to be mumbling something in her sleep."

"Mumbling?"

"Something about a gay bog and someone named Scathach. One of the people suggested she might be hallucinating if it weren't for the fact that she uhm, that a dangerous-looking red spear keeps poking out of her shadow."

Locki pursed his lips as he listened. It seemed there were complications to Validator's evolution like he expected, and he felt there was a good chance that Kagura needed to get the approval from the [Gae Bolg – Noble Phantasm] before things could actually happen. Scathach had been the one to create the spear, so the blonde mage felt it wasn't that weird if she delivered her own test to the girl through the weapon like Validator had done before.

Still, it was an item given to him by the mysterious Ghost, and while he had a couple theories on Ghost's identity, they weren't as important as Kagura's life. He didn't think Ghost would harm him or Kagura, but Locki felt he needed to verify things as well as add a little protection to his charge.

"Max." Locki commanded. The Haunter rose from his shadow after a second, laughing as it filled the room in a purple mist. Ultear flinched in the corner of his eye, but Locki ignored it. "Follow Kaleb and help protect Kagura. If things take a turn during our upcoming trial, I need you to help Kagura escape."

"Haunt!" Max snarled, glaring at him fiercely.

Locki didn't really understand Max just yet, but he had gotten better at reading the Pokemon. "I know we haven't been close since your mission, but Kagura and Validator are in a sensitive period, and they could be the key to ending this whole thing. Watch over her, please."

"...Haunt." Max's disembodied hands slumped in defeat as the Pokemon sunk back into the shadows. A darker shadow in the room seemed to stretch across the floor and under the door.

Locki nodded as he saw Max listen to him. "Kaleb, can I trust you to continue to check on Kagura? I don't like leaving her alone now, but I need to clear my name first."

"Of course, Sir Wyn! You can count on me!"

The three listened as the knight's footsteps echoed till they disappeared from earshot. Locki's mood swung between worried and anxious as he fell into silence, and Daki seemed to ease up too from Kaleb's information. He supposed that the demon might have had a soft spot for the girl as well.

"You guys know that when I break out of here, it doesn't matter what happens. All of you are going down." Ultear said with a vicious grin.

Locki raised an eyebrow and hid his worry behind a smile. "Who? Grimoire Heart? I doubt Hades would move for you alone."

Ultear's face froze as it lost all color. Locki grinned as he saw her reaction as he knew he got her. It was one of the secondary plans he had in place for neutralizing the threat of Ultear.

Locki was no stranger to how Dark Guilds operated; they were rather similar to how gangs in Evermont operated with the only exception being how all the members in said guilds were Dark Mages. Despite that, the Dark Guilds tended to not tolerate failure in any measure, and Locki basically revealed he knew what Dark Guild she was a part of as well as the guildmaster. Sure, he knew the name Hades was some kind of alias, but that didn't erase the fact that Locki could reveal what he knew and Ultear's place in her guild would be on the line.

From her description, Locki also knew the one fact that drove her. She wanted to be loved. To find a place she belonged. If he extrapolated the other facts in her description about a "lost daughter" and an "escaped experiment," Locki would bet on the fact that Hades served as a sort of father or grandfather figure to the girl as she grew up, saving her or picking her up when she escaped or lost her mother. To fail hard enough that Locki had figured out which Dark Guild she worked for and who their guildmaster is, was something that might destroy that relationship between her and Hades.

"Y- you– how?" Ultear stammered, wide eyed.

"Oh?" Locki pressed, smiling smugly. "Its not quite funny when it happens to you, isn't it? You were by my side all the time, so why is it weird that I also was spying on a spy?"

Ultear's face lost even more of its color as she seemed to push her body against the opposite side of the carriage, trying to get as far from Locki as possible. Locki bit his lip as he saw her exaggerated reaction. He knew his information could harm her, but her reaction reminded him too much of Kagura's desperate pleas for help.

The young guildmaster clicked his tongue, feeling an inordinate amount of distaste for himself. He shook his head. "Don't worry, I won't spread this information. You are still part of my guild, after all."

"W– what?" Ultear blinked, looking at him incredulously.

Locki chuckled, holding out the hand with Scarlet Hand's insignia on it. He pointed to Ultear's left one where she still had his insignia. "I made a dumb promise with Max where I wouldn't [abandon my guild when they needed it]. Not those exact words, but well… the little fart cloud grew on me. That's besides the point. You plotted against me, and I plotted against you. As much as it would ease my mind to simply lock you up or reveal your origins, I doubt I can do so without drawing Grimoire Heart's ire. At the same time, you certainly don't want to be associated with failure."

"So you want a compromise?" Ultear's pale face still eyed him warily, but her emotions seemed to have calmed down and her previous personality seemed to shine through.

"More like an agreement."

Ultear scoffed, looking at him like an idiot. "I already know that your magic seems to be some form of verbal agreement. It needs the two parties to agree for it to work."

"Please, I am in the Rune Knight's magic inhibiting cuffs." Locki spread his hands as he crossed his legs. The chains around his wrists rattled with his movement. "Besides, even if I wasn't, can you refuse such an offer?"

Ultear narrowed her eyes, and Locki found it rather intriguing that his Curse still worked despite his chains. He knew she felt embarrassed to fail so horribly in her mission, but the fact that she gave away information at the same time was something that Ultear desperately wanted to hide. The former would result in heavy punishment while the later could really spell her death.

"...fine. What do you want?"

Locki grinned. "Nothing much. I will help you break out when I need you, but I just need you for insurance. All I ask is that, [when the time comes, we won't stab each other in the back]."

The second Locki felt his magic work, he tried to not let it show on his face. Beyond anything, he was baffled. His magic and Curse somehow worked around the Rune Knight's vaunted cuffs; the same items that seemed to have been made to capture S-rank mages. It would be one thing that his Curse worked, but his magic should have been stopped as well.

Carefully, without a change of expression, Locki filed this piece of information away. He would look it over again when things weren't currently so volatile. If the Magic Council had even the slightest inclination that his magic could work through their cuffs and could be deployed so stealthily, Locki wouldn't even be given a chance to speak. He'd be classified as too dangerous to have a trial where he could speak.

Ultear nodded her head carefully as Locki's thoughts ran a mile a minute. Daki watched their exchange with an interested gaze, but she quickly lost interest as the two grew silent.

Carefully thinking over all the problems in his life, Locki noticed his demon companion perk up as she stared at the door. A couple seconds later, there was a slight knock. It was different from Kaleb's knock, and Locki had a fairly good idea who it would be.

"I am going to toss the Communications Lacrima through the bars, please catch it." Drumlowe's Rune Knight plant said, giving a seconds warning before a small, white orb sailed between the bars of one of their carriage's windows. Daki reached out for it faster than Locki could blink and presented it to the blonde.

"Thanks, Daki." Locki said, taking the Lacrima.

"He's leaving quickly." Daki commented.

Locki nodded to the demon's observation. The Lacrima buzzed in his hands before he tossed it to Ultear, getting an unimpressed glare from the now teenager. He chuckled, waving his hand before she tapped it for him.

"Guildmaster Locki," Drumlowe started, voice between amused and annoyed. "We will have to keep this conversation short since you will no doubt be using up the Lacrima's own magic stores. I take it you are currently in captivity."

"Yeah, apparently Hargeon is more corrupt than I thought, so my made up story freaked them out." Locki added, feeling exasperated as he thought about it. Sure, it was kinda what he wanted, but he didn't like the idea of being in chains.

"An interesting piece of information. We can discuss that when there are not such pressing matters at hand." Drumlowe segued quickly, causing Locki to raise an eye.

The blonde had given that information as a sort of test. Drumlowe liked to expand his power, and the old man liked it when Locki made a deal with the Rose Tyrants, so the fact that the old mage would disregard Hargeon's corruption and potential ways to take advantage of said fact were something that put Locki on edge. If it wasn't already apparent, Drumlowe really didn't want the ban of Charms magic to pass.

"In any case, I will need you to act when you reach Crocus. Whether you need to break out of jail, kill all of the Magic Council members, or burn the capital to the ground, you cannot let the law against Charm magics pass." Drumlowe spoke slowly, enunciating every dangerous word as if to burn it into Locki's memory. "Of course, there is no need to go to those lengths, but I am willing to shield and hide you and yours if you need to do such actions."

Locki held back a derisive scoff. Drumlowe would be the first to sell him out if he went through with any of those dangerous plans.

"What information do you have on the law?" Locki asked, trying to figure out a less… murderous way to solve his problems. "Who's advocating for? Where did it come from and what are the main avenues that are being cited as a reason for this law?"

Drumlowe chuckled darkly. "The order came down from the headquarters in Era, and the Chairman himself along with a few other Main Council Members are going around the different kingdom's branches to discuss changes or implementation. One of my informants in Fiore's main branch said that Crawford Seam came personally to discuss the law."

Locki clicked his tongue involuntarily. Drumlowe had both answered his questions as well as sidestepped them. Based on his information, Locki had to butt heads with the Magic Council Chairman of all of Ishtar, Crawford Seam. It didn't matter where it started, who it was made for, nor what events led to its creation. So long as the Chairman of Ishtar's Magic Council said so, the law would pass.

The blonde's jaw clenched as he knew this mission was beyond his ability.

[Urgent! Guild Quest "Rank", "Description" and "Rewards" have been updated]

Locki took that as a sign that he was right on the money. He took a deep breath as he looked over at the Communications Lacrima in Ultear's hands.

"Okay, understood. I will need to get in touch with your plan– err, your informant." Locki said, trying to wrack his brain on everything he could need. "I will also need funds. Enough to sway even Ishtar's council members."

"Done. The man goes by the name Ignatius Vrain. He will give you a black card with enough Jewels on it." Drumlowe agreed easily, and Locki could hear a slight acknowledgement in his tone. "Anything else?"

Locki chewed his lip. He had taken Daki, got Ultear –a possible S-rank– and had the promise of Kagura's strength when she woke up. Not to mention his own space manipulation teigu. Despite the clear level of power he could field, Locki was not too confident. Then again, he was going there for a trial instead of a fight. All he needed to do was convince them.

"I will also need any information you have on everyone involved in the Anti-Charms magic laws as well as any information your informant anc give about the defenses of the place." Locki held up his fingers as he asked for each.

Drumlowe seemed to laugh. "Of course, Ignatius will give all of them to you when you get there. Another thing before you go, though. If you fail to accomplish this task, feel free to not come back to Evermont."

Locki grinded his teeth, knowing the threat would be there. Drumlowe had sheltered him, given him gifts to grow, and had given him missions so that he could build up rapport for Scarlet Hand. All of that was there so Locki would have to do the man's bidding whenever Drumlowe asked. He supposed there were worse missions Drumlowe could have given him an ultimatum for.

"Got it." Locki accepted. Seconds later, the Communications Lacrima sputtered out and dimmed to a very polished rock.

"Wow, looks like you are in some shit." Ultear laughed, tossing the empty Lacrima in the air like a ball. She carefully tucked it within her clothes, reminding Locki of the ball she used to bore holes into the twins. He shuddered and tried to keep that image out of his head.

"So, what's the plan?" Daki asked.

Locki regarded his guildmate before he leaned back, resting his eyes. "We go in there and hope that they are more corrupt than Gildarts wants. Then, we convince them that the law they are pushing is something that is dumb."

"And how are you gonna do that?" Ultear cheekily asked, getting a weak glare from Locki.

"I… will figure that out later."

...

The trip to Fiore's Magic Council Branch was thankfully uneventful. If there was something that happened every step of the way, Locki would be more inclined to the murderous options even if they were the worst ways. Be that as it may, Locki along with Daki and Ultear arrived at Crocus with only a few days of travel. If anything the trip went better than anything Locki could have thought up.

Without any warning, the door to their carriage swung open as a Rune Knight looked impatiently at them. He went into the carriage and tapped something against the ring in the middle of the carriage, and the loop split in the middle and disappeared into the floor, freeing them. Without a word, he jerked his head, indicating they needed to leave.

Locki inclined his head but silently went along with it. There were places he could argue his innocence and ideas at, and he didn't really think a low ranking Rune Knight could give him much.

Light spilled into the blonde's eyes and he heard a hiss of pain behind him as Daki tightened her cloth wraps around herself. Locki felt a bit of uncharacteristic worry settle in his gut as he looked over their surroundings and trusted Daki to keep herself safe.

They were situated in the middle of a narrow gorge between a series of huge rocky hills. There was some vegetation that broke up the surroundings of boulders, but Locki's gaze quickly found exactly what he was looking for.

Fiore's Magic Council Branch was hard to miss. Like Daki would say, it was stupidly grandiose like what humans are want to do. Normally, Locki would ignore her when she got like that, but he couldn't really fault her when he looked at the building in front of them.

The building started off normally. A massive hexagonal building that could double as a castle with large, three story, rectangular windows on each face of the building. A set of double doors were visible from their place in the gorge as a thin, marble-staired path snaked up the rocky hills to the ornately designed doors.

Set atop that massive hexagonal building was an even larger inverted dome. Locki would describe it as a bowl in shape. That is if that bowl could be used for giants or a colosseum for hundreds of thousands. Darkly colored geometric designs decorated the sides of the gigantic bowl, leading to a series of wavy triangles that lined its upper edge.

Further above the edge of the bowl were huge, curved panels that twinkled with magical might. Locki couldn't see them from here, but he could make out some magic circles as they sparkled over the surface of the panels as they circled around the top of the massive bowl's edge. However, from this distance, all Locki could see were what looked like nine different segments carved into each panel.

The final segment of the branch Locki had to crane his head up to see. A palace that floated above the huge structure. Locki couldn't really make out any designs as the light of the sun cast the palace in a silhouette, but that didn't stop the young guildmaster from licking his lips in worry and awe.

"Get moving." The Rune Knight startled Locki from his admiration.

The blonde shot the man an annoyed glance but followed without complaint. He looked around and found Kagura as she was cradled in Kaleb's arms, heaving a sigh of relief as the girl looked like she was asleep. There didn't seem to be any marks on her, and Kaleb had bought Locki's act enough that Locki could trust him with smaller tasks. Which let the guildmaster focus on the serious situation in front of him.

For the most part, the group walked in strained silence as the echo of armor rang on the empty stone hills. Each step up the marble staircase felt heavy as the Rune Knights conversed around them in low tones.

Locki had kept an eye on everyone around them. His Curse locked on the nearest Rune Knights, and while he didn't have much information on them, he only needed an opportunity if they decided to simply get rid of them. Of course, he used his Curse to check if they were going to execute them without a trial, and even with said knowledge, he could only be satisfied when he got to the actual courtroom.

They reached the ornate double doors of the building, and Locki gazed up at the doors with a raised eyebrow. The doors themselves were at least two stories tall with reliefs carved into each of them that depicted different faces of people. Locki recognized two of them to be previous Chairmen of the Magic Council, so he supposed they were all the previous successors where a new face was added atop each previous one.

At the bottom of the doors, Locki paused as he found something that confused him. The face at the bottom of the doors, who he suspected was the first Chairman, seemed oddly familiar. It was covered in wrinkles, old, wizened, and someone he hadn't met before. Yet, the fact that they used red to paint on the eyes seemed to scream something at him.

Before he could ponder the issue further, the massive double doors opened.

"Thank you for coming to talk with us, Minister Darton." The voice of an old man reached Locki's ears first before he saw the speaker. "And I must thank your royal family's advisor for his input as well. Would your…lordship be present for tomorrow's discussion tomorrow? And now that I think about it I apologize, I have forgotten your name."

Locki puckered his lips as he listened to the overly polite tone. It reminded him too much of Drumlowe's amicable facade.

"Happens, I introduce myself differently every time. I don't like to give my name, you know. There are some magics that can use that." Locki's gaze narrowed at the door, knowing that voice. He would never forget it.

"Is there really? I must say, your knowledge on Charm Magics is quite possibly the greatest boon of this trip."

A familiar chuckle sent a shiver down Locki's spine in response to the clear praise.

"No fucking way…" Locki whispered, earning him a glare from a nearby Rune Knight. However, the teen could barely care for the reactions around him. His gaze was locked on the figures who walked out from the building.

The first was a short, older man. He had wrinkled, tanned skin and a set of dull, brown eyes set in a perpetual frown. His clothes consisted of a lightly colored robe and dark cap that barely concealed his oddly shaped eyebrows. Locki immediately knew the man was Minister Darton from the previous conversation.

The next person was a large, heavyset man. His shoulders were broad and hunched as they seemed to be in line with the top of his head. Lazy, beady black eyes were set in the thin skin of his face, and a huge, white beard covered his mouth and hung off his chin. He looked around the area with an expression that Locki couldn't quite place, but from his time in Evermont, Locki didn't really like the look in the old man's eyes.

However, his face and body were instantly recognizable to the blonde. Crawford Seam. The current Chairman of Ishtar's Magic Council.

Still, Locki paid him no mind. The young guildmaster only shot the Chairman a brief glance before he focused on the last man. He was younger than the others, still seeming to be in his late twenties or thirties. It seemed unlikely that he was anything but a knight or something, but their previous talks pointed him as the Fiore family's royal advisor.

The man had short, messy blonde hair. He had a deep set of crows feet that clung to the corners of his eyes. Dark bags hovered under his eyes, but that didn't distract from the gleaming red that shone from within his skull. Locki almost felt like he was consumed when he stared at those eyes. They shone with so many different things that the young guildmaster didn't even understand who he was looking at at first.

That confusion didn't last as the man blinked and locked eyes with Locki for a second. A smirk. A familiar smirk spread across the man's face as he finally answered the Chairman's previous question.

"I know its a little annoying, but you can call me L."

Locki bit his lips as he stared at the man. Ghost's identity had been in the back of his head since he learned the man was watching him. Future sight was Locki's first thought, and well, Locki didn't really stray from that line of thought. There were plenty of cases of similar magic existing.

Yet, Ghost had constantly seemed to know when Locki would look at things, how Locki would react to things, and other miscellaneous details that seemed to point away from Future sight of some kind. At the same time, Ghost seemed to trust Locki implicitly to do things a certain way.

All that added together to put an unrealistic idea in Locki's head. It was something he hadn't considered until he saw a bit more of Ultear's Time magic. If… If what he thought was possible, then the blonde man who stood in front of him could only be one person.

Himself.

"I look forward to working with you, Chairman Seam." The older Locki spoke with the same fake smile Locki saw in the mirror every day.