I do not own Fairy Tail. I'm too poor for that. Thanks for the support to continue, guys. It was really sweet. So here's the new chapter for you all, enjoy!

Natsu groaned and leaned his head against the stiff leather of the train seat. Bile burned the back of his throat, threatening to spill out. A sickly green color decorated his typically tan face. Sweat dampened his forehead, pink locks sticking to the repulsive fluid. His stomach heaved along with the rolling motion of the metal train wheels below him.

At the moment he couldn't bother with such silly things as his motion sickness. The station was coming up and once he was off the iron horse he would have to face a much bigger challenge than a steam engine. He wiped his clammy hands on the white cloth of his trousers. His nerves were hyperactive and his heart hammered in his ears like an execution drum.

With a final squeal the wheels scrapped against the tracks and movement ceased. He took a moment to regain his composure and got to his feet. Lucy and Happy gave him an encouraging smile, silently wishing him the best of luck. Erza reached out and placed an armor clad hand on his shoulder. Natsu's charcoal eyes gazed into her intent brown ones. An understanding passed between the two of them that only lifelong friends could possess.

Natsu placed his hand over hers, giving it a warm squeeze before letting go. He gave all three of them a bright smile, turned away, and strode of the train.

He brushed past busy town residents and carefully avoided crowded avenues. The cobblestone streets couldn't fade into the grimy dirt path leading from town fast enough. Loose gravel ground under his sandals, dust rising into the air when his feet disturbed the brown particles of the road. His hand rested on the inside of his pocket, securely holding the precious cargo in his care.

He let out a low breath when the ice mage's dwelling came into sight. He had walk through that front door a hundred times already but not once had it ever felt so intimidating. His tanned palm settled on the worn out metal of the doorknob. He took a brief minute to calm the anxiety clearly seen on his features, replacing it with a guise of determination and control. He twisted the metal in his hand.

"Gray, I'm back."

An eerie silence met him in reply. The fire mage closed the door behind him and stepped farther into the home. "Gray?" He called out, assuming the ice mage hadn't heard him the first time. A hush seeped over the residence. Natsu couldn't help thinking how odd it was. The sun wasn't high enough in the sky yet for it to be noon yet, so he strongly doubted the ice mage had already headed to the guild for the day.

Concluding perchance the raven was catching up on a few hours of much needed sleep he head to the stairway. His foot rested on the bottom step when he caught a whiff of an overwhelming smell. He stiffened on reflex, a vile impression attacking his mind. He went on edge and followed the scent to its source.

He walked past the living room, his teeth grinding together at seeing overturned furniture scattered about. Motionless puddles of water sat on the wooden floor; a few still had the thinnest of ice cubes floating on top that must have been massive creations hours ago. The drywall had cracks running up to the ceiling to back down to the floor, a notion that someone had been slammed there. Natsu forced himself to move past the wreckage and follow the familiar scent.

The back windows were smashed, glass littering the hardwood. He caught the smell of one- no, two intruders there. He compelled himself to keep walking. The not so desired aroma was assaulting his senses, leading him towards the very back of the house.

He froze when he rounded a corner at the end of a hallway. Gray's sword necklace was tossed on the floor, the chain snapped in two. Natsu's hand shook when he picked it up. The pendant wasn't cold like it constantly was from touching Gray's icy skin. It was closer to room temperature. The dragon slayer gripped the piece of jewelry tightly and continued onward.

Natsu wanted to lash out at his next findings. A crimson pool covered the floorboards. He could have lied to himself, but he couldn't lie to his instincts. The sticky patch reeked of the ice mage. The liquid streaked away, leading to the backdoor. Natsu pushed himself forward, moving out the door. Specks of blood covered the fresh green grass, painting the yard a repulsive collage of color.

Gray's scent wasn't as strong anymore. It ended without warning, along with the smell of the interlopers. They must have left on something harder to track than foot.

An intense heat engulfed him in fury. Flames flickered across his skin, the core of the blaze held in his clenched fists. He was going make them burn. No one touched Gray, his Gray. Anyone who did would be lucky to end up a pile of ash when he was done with them.

…

A low moan escaped Gray's slightly parted lips. His brain pulsed against his throbbing skull, sharp pains traveled mercilessly along his body. His neck was sore from where his necklace was yanked off in a tussle; a thin bruise was no doubt snaking across his throat from it. He tried forcing his eyes open. His lids felt like lead, he struggled to just keep them open. A sticky liquid fell into his left eye, coating his vision from that half a gruesome red.

The faint orange glow of flames gave the barest illumination to the dank room. Tapers were sitting in clumps on tall concrete pedestals, the candles giving off just enough to see. He glanced down at the bruises cluttering his body. Unnatural colors danced across his chest, the burst blood vessels painting his skin from blackish purple to a faint yellow. He gingerly ran a finger over the slice cut above his eye. He winced at the pain; the wound was deeper than he initially thought. He bit his lip to keep from crying out when he accidently moved his left arm. A gash was carved into his forearm, still smearing the rosy substance. He carefully placed his hand over the larger of the two lacerations. The air around his arm turned chilly and he felt his ice make magic flow through his veins.

A wave of gagging overcame him and he toppled over. He dropped his hand from the wound, unable to finish the spell. He wrapped his arms around his middle, trying to control the nausea that rapidly struck him. He doubled over and forced himself not to retch.

Eventually the sickness subsided and he could move again. A clanking sounded and he looked towards the source. Heavy shackles meandered to his ankles, fixing him in place. Hesitantly, he waved his hand over the metal experimentally. His magic vibrated from his palm to the restraint. Queasiness immediately affected him and he had to stop. He leaned back in biliousness, his bare back rested on the bumpy surface of a cinder block wall.

He tried to remember how he got here. His memory was fuzzy, most likely the result of his pounding headache. He could recall trying to defend himself…in opposition to what he couldn't say.

"You got the wrong one!"

Gray snapped to the straightest position his battered form allowed him. A second voice joined the conversation. It wasn't clear, more of a muffled sound, almost inaudible. He searched in every direction, trying to find the source of the voices in panic. His eyes founded the outline of a door. He tried scooting closer to it.

"I said the dragon slayer! Why the hell did you bring him!?"

Natsu? What did they want with Natsu?

"You said the mage that lived there. We went to the pickup spot. He was the only guy there." Gray could make out the second voice now. It wasn't as angry as the first man, more irritated. Younger too, but gruff to the point he sent shivers down the raven's spine.

"The plans call for a fire mage capable of charging it. We needed that damn dragon slayer. You brought me a damn ice mage." Gray's interest was at an all-time high. His heart beat in anticipation, making it hard to hear the talking over his vessel.

"I'm sure we can still get him! We just need to str-"

"Of course we can't!" The first cut him off. "He knows to watch his step now. He'll be too cautious for our taking."

"Listen to me!" There was the second voice again. "Will still have plenty of time until it's finished, I know how to fix this."

"…"

Gray leaned as far as he could to the entrance. He could make out murmurs and a low growl coming from one of the two, nothing more. Silence followed the muttering. The only sounds the raven could hear were the continuous dripping of water from a leak in his cell. He slinked back to his earlier seating, giving up on the discussion.

"Will it actually work?"

Quick as lightening the ice mage was leaning far forward, trying to press his ear against the door.

"Of course it will. We can't risk heading back and snatching the fire mage, but the fire mage can come here himself. I'm sure a guild full of wizards can somehow figure out our location without us dropping a hint."

"Very well, if that's the case I suppose the ice mage must stay as inducement… I'll have him looked at regardless. If we can't find any use for him other than bait I've been itching for a little pastime. It's been a while since I've last done it."

Gray pushed himself back when the door swung open. He had just enough time to register the man's face as one of the men who attacked him. A leather boot was hovering above his head and the thick heel slammed into the side of his head. A cry of pain left him when his skull slammed against the stone floor beneath. A warm liquid trickled from his crown and a sheet of black overtook his vision.

…

Heavy pants sputtered from his mouth as he ran full speed to the grey slab building. Cheerful laughter could be heard even from the distance he was hasty in closing. He wished he was laughing along with them. Currently he couldn't- wouldn't let himself engage in such asinine conduct.

"Gray's gone!" He shouted, bursting through the doors of the Fairy Tail guild.

Muteness established less than a moment later. Dozens of surprised faces turned to gawk at him. Lips that normally formed delighted grins were now grim or gaping. His heart clenched at the response. He yearned that Gray would be sitting at the bar saying "I'm right here, Flame Brain." Alternatively he received shock stares that made him want to scream in frustration.

Erza was the first to recover. She placed a shaky hand on the wooden bench and thrust herself into standing. Jingling of her protective armor was the only sound made as she tentatively approached him. For the second time today, for a much different reason, she firmly placed her hand on his shoulder. "Natsu…are you sure?"

The dragon slayer could only manage a weak nod. He raised a wobbling hand, releasing his tight grip on the object in his possession. Erza let out a gasp at seeing the fragmented chain that was frequently seen dangling from the ice mage's neck.

"I'm sure."

Uproar began as soon as the words left his lips. Aimless questions were being yelled out, claims of outrageousness being called. Erza lead the confound dragon slayer to the bench she been sitting at and sat him down. Natsu was clamping his hands tightly together once more, his knuckles turning white from the pressure. His jawline was firm grit, his abnormally sharp canines bared.

Lucy's warm brown eyes were full of concern. She wanted to reassure her friend that they would find the missing mage. But the look Natsu was giving to no one in precise…she was afraid he would snap and thrash out. Even go on a rampage and destroy the guild hall before they could repress him.

"Tell us exactly what you found." The scarlet knight ordered. Guild mages were watching the fire mage raptly. The upheaval had died down, all wanting to hear the dragon slayer's words.

Natsu dug his fingernails into his calloused palms at the memory of his findings. "That wind was blowing in the opposite direction, that's why I didn't catch the scent for so long." Curses came to his mind at thinking of his blunder. "The house was a mess, that's the second thing I noticed after the smell." Impatient eyes soundlessly willed him to continue. "There are two of them. At least that I know of. Their scent was all over the windowsill. That's when I found this." He opened his hand up once more to signal what he meant.

"Then there was just…blood. Gray's blood. It was smeared across the floor. They must have dragged him afterwards." Natsu's eyes turned murderous at the thought. They didn't spare the ice mage any pain. "Then outside, when I tried to trail them, the scent just…stopped."

"How much blood."

Every head turned to who had spoken. Master Makarov was standing in his office doorway, a dismal look on his aged face. He pushed himself through the gathered crowd, looking directly into the face of the flame mage.

"How much blood, Natsu."

A silence enveloped the guildhall. Guild wizards backed away, letting the two mages see each other clearly. The dragon slayer stared into the angered eyes of the elderly man. Makarov's regularly joyful black eyes were livid. His winkled face dark, far from smiling.

"It wasn't a little…" Natsu whispered. "Nor was it enough to…" The dragon slayer choked up, not able to finish. He didn't need to. The thought was one wanted to be heard. "But Gramps…it was bad. With that amount of blood lose...I don't think he'll be able to fight like he always does. He can't defend…"

The fire mage hung his head, unable to keep talking. The senior rubbed comforting circles on the dragon slayer's back, his fruitless attempt to bolster the fire mage's spirits.

Makarov spun to face his children. "You heard him, Gray needs our help. Get your lazy asses in gear, damn brats."

Guild members dispersed without a second order. Only Master and the remnants of the team stayed behind. Erza studied the foreboding expression on the old man's face. "Master, what is it?"

Makarov let out a sigh. "There were two of them, correct? It wasn't a spontaneous attack then. They did this when neither Natsu nor anybody else was present." He paused, letting his words sink in. "What I don't understand is why they did it."

"Power, maybe?" Erza suggested.

"Perhaps…" Makarov mumbled.

"The question you should be asking is who did it." The group looked up at the owner of the voice. Gajeel was sauntering up to them. "No trial to follow. That gets me. Whoever did this obvious knew we had mages that could have tracked them down. They've planned this, investigated the background. The question is who out there is smart enough to fool a dragon's nose."

"A dragon's nose…" Lucy muttered. "But then, they would have needed someone with a sense of smell just as strong, as in another dragon slayer. So they wouldn't have done this for power."

"Then none of this adds up." Erza finished for her. "Another possibility is that they did it to use him as leverage against the guild. Natsu, how long ago did you get the feeling this happened. A few hours?" The fire mage gave a weak nod. "So it can't be that either. Surely we would have heard something by now if this was for ransom."

"So we have no suspects, no motive, and no lead." Makarov grumbled. "It's a complete shot in the dark on everything we do." He rubbed his temples in aggravation. He let his experienced mind wonder, trying to conclude a plan for them to follow. "If a dragon's nose can't pick it up…is there something else that will?"

"What do you mean?" Natsu probed.

"Not once in my eighty-eight years have I come across a magic that was foolproof. If we can figure out why we can't track them we can figure out how we can track them. Sort of reverse engineering magic."

"Can we really do that?!" Natsu jumped up at the idea.

"It will take time, time we don't have. But it's the only idea we've got." Makarov stated. "Levy!" The blue haired bookworm looked over at them. "Head down into the archives, look on anything about concealment magic." The petite girl gave a small nod before running off.

"I'll help her," Lucy announced. "It'll go faster with two people."

The elderly man nodded. "I'll send more people down later." The blonde cast Natsu a supportive, bright smile before rushing off to help.

"What else?!" Natsu practically shouted.

Makarov twiddled his moustache in thought. "There's a side effect." He burbled. "Magic always leaves some trace. Like how your fire leaves a scorch mark or how Erza is surrounded by a glow when she requips. If we draw out the side effect that what narrow down what the girls have to look for."

"I'll find it!" Natsu claimed, heading to the wooden guild doors at the front of the building.

"Hold it!" Makarov ordered. "You are to go nowhere near the scene. If anything your magic will only succeed in destroying the evidence. Wendy!" The youngest dragon slayer looked up in surprise. "You go, your healing magic should be able to draw magic the way it draws poison from a body. You'll best for this job."

"Hai! I'll do my best!"

"Erza you go with her. For now on no one is to go out alone until we get this matter settled." The knight gave a shot bow before leaving to escort the blue haired dragon slayer.

Natsu gritted his teeth in irritation. Wasn't he the one who was supposed to be doing most of the work? It wasn't right, letting everyone else take control as sat back and watched. "Gramps, tell there's something I can do. Anything."

"Wait."

Natsu stiffened. "You've got to be kidding."

"I wish I were…" Makarov revealed. "Stay here, if any ideas of news arrive I want you to be the one I send to follow up on it."

"Until then I'm sitting duck?!"

"Yes," He replied, too calmly for Natsu's taste. Makarov turned towards one of the guild's back rooms. "I'm going to make a few calls from the communication lacrima. Maybe one of the other guild masters has heard of something along these lines. Natsu," Makarov made sure the other was looking him in the eye before he continued. "I know this is hard for you, but do not under any circumstances go charging into this before we know what's going on. The last thing we need is two unaccounted for mages."

Natsu watched the short elder's back retreat. He sat back down at the bench, defeat sinking in. His eyes traveled over the jewelry still in his hand. He didn't know why but the pendant tugged his heartstrings. Gray had never told him how he came across the piece, but he constantly wore it, even when he wore nothing else.

He lifted up the two ends of the chain and pressed them together. A faint flame came too life on his fingertips. The metal ends turned a dark red and lost their shape. Both metal tips slowly fused together, become a whole piece again. The heated glow faded away, leaving warm metal behind. It wasn't a perfect fix, but it did its job.

Natsu dropped it around his neck, tucking it under his scarf. It was safest from being lost with him. He'll give it back to the ice mage when he found him.

At least the necklace wasn't as broken as he felt.