"When I woke up, I couldn't find them. I panicked! I tried getting here as fast as possible. What if they hurt him?" Happy sobbed. Erza, Gray, and Lucy were rattled by what they heard. Lucy had never seen Happy so distressed before.
From the corner of the guild, Gajeel overheard Happy's conversation. He chose to speak up, asking, "Happy, did you say they chanted 'Haegl draca'?" Happy looked over, wiping his tears. He sniffed, "Yes. Why? Do you know where Natsu is? Why would they want dragon slayers?" Gajeel grimaced, adding, "I have an idea. Those pricks are dragon worshipers. I have ta say I went up against'em once. They are a sick cult. I know they have some sort of powder that overwhelms a dragon slayer's senses when blown in their face. I'm not sure what's in it. They put it in my face once. It feels like you are chokin' ta death." Lucy looked over at Gajeel, begging, "Do you know where they might have gone? Why would they target dragon slayers?"
Gajeel paused. He then walked over to the group. He wanted this quiet. He whispered, "Listen, Bunny Girl, I don't like talking about this. You see Laxus up there? He has a lacrima put him to give him dragon powers. Well, some of their members would put the lacrimas in them. Once they got their powers, they would drink this liquid which made them feral. They would pit their feral members against each other to see who be alpha. Then...they would give a kidnapped virgin girl to the alpha to see what he would do. Sometimes, the betas would join." Lucy was sickened. She whispered, "How do you know this?" He admitted, "They captured me once. I saw...things...I never want to see. I saw them go through rounds of this. They think the girl is some sort of 'sacrifice to the dragon' or somethin'. Luckily, they screwed up later on when they went to put me up. I realized the chains they were putting me on a wall were iron. I ate it and got outta there. I even told the Magic Counsel about these assholes. Don't know if anything really got done."
Lucy balked, "I've never heard about any of this before." Erza said, "How come the Magic Counsel hasn't put up a job request? I'm shocked this wasn't dealt with seriously." Gray asked, "How long ago was this?" Gajeel stated, "Three years." Erza deduced, "You were still in Phantom Lord. Since your guild was causing trouble, they may not have taken you as seriously." Gajeel growled, "So yer sayin' 'cause I was in a shitty guild, they didn't take it seriously? That's no excuse to ignore a major problem like that. People died!" Gray said, "Regardless, we need to rescue Natsu and the others."
Erza declared, "First, let's tell Master and Sabertooth about Natsu, Sting, and Rogue's disappearances. Then, we better inform the Counsel." Gajeel added angrily, "Yeah, maybe the Magic Counsel will take this shit seriously this time." She quickly ran upstairs to the Master. Lucy went over to a communication lacrima. After a couple rings, Yukino answered, "Lucy? To what do I owe the pleasure?" Lucy's face showed concern. She reported, "Unfortunately, this isn't going to be pleasurable news. Natsu was captured by this weird dragon worshiping cult. Happy told us Rogue and Sting were also captured." Yukino gasped in horror, "What?"
Behind Yukino, the doors opened, with a screaming Frosch and Lector yelling about their owners being kidnapped. Yukino told Lucy to hold for a minute and grabbed the exceeds. Yukino studied the exceeds with an astonished face. Not only were they crying from grief, but it appeared someone hurt them. Frosch had a black eye, and Lector had a haphazard bandage across his arm. Yukino hugged them to comfort them. She asked Lector, "Where was the last place you saw them?" Lector calmed down enough to say, "We were near Peace Village. I swear, we weren't more than 2 days from home. They blew this stuff in Rogue's and Sting's faces. We tried to save them, but...they beat us up and left us to die by the side of the road." Lucy pondered this. She suggested, "Hey Yukino, we're going to set up a rescue team for Natsu. How about Sabertooth works with us?" Yukino looked worried, affirming, "Sure. I'll for sure go along. I'll call you on the lacrima once we've gotten a team together. Talk to you soon."
Master Makarov walked to the top of the stairs and announced, "Listen up, brats! Natsu has been kidnapped! We need a group of volunteers to go collect him." Erza, Lucy, and Gray immediately volunteered. Happy obviously wanted to be there for his friend. Surprisingly, Gajeel volunteered as well. With a big smirk on his face, he said, "You won't be the only ones to destroy these bastards. I owe them an ass-whoopin'. Gihi."
Makarov nodded to the group. He said, "All right! Lucy, I believe you talked with Sabertooth. What did they say?" Lucy reported, "Yukino said they're preparing a team to join us on our search for the dragon slayers. She'll be calling me in a few minutes." Makarov looked on grimly, ordering, "Then I suggest all of those on the rescue team prepare. You'll leave tonight as soon as you're ready. I need to go communicate with the Magic Counsel immediately." With that, the team quickly went to their homes to make preparations.