Chapter One-

It was just an ordinary mission. Team Natsu was to capture a bandit who was terrorized the citizens mentally. What surprised them was to find no one other than Sabertooth's Rufus Lore as the bandit.

They were in the East Forest trying to find clues on who they were dealing with, when Rufus sprung a surprise attack.

"What the hell are you doing here Rufus?" Erza asked re-quipping in her battle armor.

"Well, after the little Grand Games misfortune I had with Gray, I was kicked out of Sabortooth. So I thought, since I'm on my own, why don't I have a little fun with it while I can?" He said with a smirk, starting to put his fingers to his forehead.

"Why would they kick you out?!" Gray asked/shouted, as he started to take off his shirt.

"Since they knew I could just trick their minds, I guess they thought excommunicating me would be better. Not that I have a problem. We lost, so I don't need to be part of a week guild." He stated, looking directly at Happy.

'But you were one of the caused of them to get second place' Lucy and Natsu thought, sweat dropping.

"No I wasn't! It was Gray's fault! We would've won!" Rufus screamed the two.

"Heh forgot he could read minds" Lucy stated, as she started to grab her keys and whip.

"Well since you're here, why don't we have a little fun?" The memory mage asked, getting in a battle stance.

"What are you doing to the townspeople?!" Erza shouted, as she lunged herself onto Rufus with her swords all striking at once.

"Well I would never damage someone physically because wounds heal, so why bother? I find things much more interesting once their broken from the inside out." He stated, as he started sending memory waves at the red headed mage.

She blocked the attack, but was hit against a nearby tree, sliding down the trunk, falling asleep.

"Falling asleep? I was hoping for death, but I guess it would do," He said, a little disappointed.

Lunging at Gray, he was ready to deliver his blow that would knock him into another dimension, when Natsu counterattacked and shot his fire at the mage.

Caught off guard, Rufus was now in mid-air at least 10 feet in the air, when the Ice Mage shot his attack freezing him still in the air, with ice traveling to the ground.

"You need to stop these attacks! You're damaging far to many people!" Lucy shouted, hoping he could hear her, when she opened one of her gate keys.

"Open gate: Aries!"

With a big poof, Aries appeared in front of her, looking unconfident in what she was doing.

"Sorry to disturb you! What can I do for you? I'm sorry!"

Lucy was giving her an I-don't-really-care look and told her to lift her to Rufus' height.

The whole team, minus Erza, was now in the air surrounding the defeated mage. Natsu was on the ice block where Rufus was frozen from the shoulders down, Gray on his separate platform of ice, Lucy on a pink cloud with Aries, who was cowering in front of her, hoping to be 'protecting her', and Happy in the air looking at Rufus with a scared look, because the frozen mage was staring at him and has been staring at him during the entire battle.

An idea popped into the memory bending mage's head.

"Now, I wonder what a team is without an exceed? Or even better, a broken exceed!" The mage asked, with his smirk getting wider.

He mentally sent waves at Happy who was trapped in the mage's mental grasp.

"HAPPY!" Natsu yelled, and jumped off the his ground and shielded the flying blue cat from whatever attack was about to hit him. He grabbed onto Happy as he was hit by the mysterious mental force, and went falling down ten feet.

He landed with a big thud! On the ground.

"Natsu! Are you okay?! I'm so sorry! I couldn't do anything! He froze my body!" Happy cried, trying to get the fallen comrade laying the ground.

"Ah it's okay Happy! It wasn't your fault! I don't even think the attack worked. I don't feeling any different!" Natsu said, trying to assure Happy he was alright, while he was getting up from the dented ground he landed in. He was just tired from being hit from ten feet of falling.

"Plus, I can't let anything happen to you! You, me, and Lucy are partners! We can't let anything happen to each other!" He said with a big grin.

"Natsu! Thank god your okay!" Lucy yelled, coming down from her pink cloud and now running to him.

"Lucy! What about Rufus!?" Natsu asked, as he was getting ready to fight again.

"Don't worry you baka, that blast you took knocked the power right out of him. Must've taken all his energy. Speaking of which, WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING I UNDERSTAND YOU WERE PROTECTING HAPPY BUT YOU COULD'VE DIED!" She scolded, and smacked him on the head lightly.

"It's okay Luce, I'm okay. Jeez. Just a little tired. I don't think his attack was very effective," He said, trying to reassure her too, gosh, for a light smack to the head, Lucy has a different definition of 'light'.

"Well, we should head home and get the reward tomorrow. I'm tired. I don't know what you and Happy were doing down there, but Erza woke up a while ago and left to take Rufus to jail and drugged him hard. He shouldn't be waking up for the next week, but when he does, his magic will be gone for quite a while." Lucy said, trying to help Natsu up.

"Oi Flame-brain! Are you okay? You took a big hit back there!" Gray asked, trying not to sound worried.

"Yeah I guess I'm fine. Thanks for the concern." Natsu said, and pasted out in Lucy's lap, looking for rest. That hit really made him tired, not to mention he has several scratched where the magic hit him on his forehead.

'Hmm, that's weird, he didn't insult Gray, he must be too tired to try.' Lucy thought, as she and Gray carried him back to his house.

End of Chapter One.