Hey, long time no see.. well, it has only been a day, but my days have been so hectic. Like today for example. I left my flat at 8.20 and didn't get back to it till 8.30 in the night... Yep. I was in lectures 9-12, then I went out and sorted my housing for next year, which is this really lush two bedroom house I'm getting with my friend Sam, I'm so excited! Then, I went and watched DVD's over Sam's flat. But here I am. I would like to thank all who've reviewed, read, favourited and alrerted this fic so far. I'm so glad that people seem to be enjoying it! I hope you enjoy this one just as much!


Chapter 4

"Do it, Salamander." A large, muscled man said bringing a whip down on Natsu's back.

"No. I won't do it!" Natsu argued.

"Do you want us to do that again?" the man said, laughing, knowing the fear than run its course through Natsu's body.

"He's unconscious, isn't that enough?" He cried, looking at the bloody body in front of him. He had done that, he was beaten senseless until he'd given in, but he absolutely refused to finish him.

"You were ordered to kill him, and that's what you'll do. Like a good boy. Come on Salamander, or aren't the dragons as fearful as they once were." He mocked, looking at the bleeding boys in front of him.

"I said no. I refuse to do it." The whip came down and down again repeatedly, Natsu could feel the blood dripping again, but he would not break. He would not kill the boy in front of him. He had no second thoughts that the boy in front of him would kill him. But he would not do it.

"Then you leave me no choice." He laughed. "Boys. He's here for you."

The laughing continued, Natsu knew what was coming. But he would take it to ensure that this boy lived. At least one more day anyway.

"Ho, so the Salamander still refuses to kill then?" Another man said. "Well, we have more ways of dealing with people like you."

Natsu felt pain, intense pain. But he knew this was not what they meant. He knew if was going to get worse for him. "Don't do it." He said quietly, knowing they would not listen to him.

They stepped slowly toward him as if mocking him. What would his guild mates say if they saw him now? He was pathetic.

"Please." He begged. But still they approached. The pain intensified. He screamed. "Please!"


"Natsu!" Lucy shouted, shaking the shoulders of her friend. His injuries could wait, but she couldn't let him suffer like that whilst she just watched. "You have to wake up. You're sleeping!"

Suddenly his hand grabbed her and he jolted awake. But realisation hit him, and he let go of Lucy's wrist.

"Sorry, Lucy." He said, looking away.

"How are you?" She noticed he relax, fingering the bracelet on his wrist nervously.

"Great." He replied quickly. Happy jumped up on the bed, standing next to Natsu's shoulder so he could look at his friends face.

"Natsu." He cried. Natsu instantly calmed down and lifted his hand and patted Happy on the head.

"Hey, buddy. How are you?" He asked a soft smile on his face. Lucy watched in amazement, how calm he seemed around his blue feline friend. This was the most relaxed she'd seen him since they'd found him.

"I'd be better if you were better." Happy replied.

"Don't worry, buddy. I'll be good as new in no time. This is nothing." He smiled at Happy.

"Aye." Happy replied sadly, not really believing his story.

"Gah, I'm hungry, I haven't eaten anything proper in ages. Shall we go and get something to eat?" Natsu exclaimed.

"Do you want me to go and get Mirajane to bring you something?" Lucy asked.

"I'd rather be down there with everyone. You know. I haven't seen them in how long?" Natsu replied, the true reason being not liking being on his own.

"I'll go get Gray to see if he can help you get down the stairs." Lucy commented and ran down the stairs.

"Natsu… are you really going to be okay? You scared everyone on the train when you were in pain like that." Happy said, looking his friend in the eyes.

"Yeah, I'll be fine now that I'm home. Don't worry, Happy." He comforted his friend, not wanting to upset the cat anymore than he already seemed to be.

"But Mirajane said it would take a while to get better again." Happy cried.

"Well, I'm the son of Igneel, right? I'm not going to let some cuts stop me!" He exclaimed, wishing that this was what he truly felt. But he felt better seeing Happy smile.

"Aye!" He shouted back.

Lucy returned to the door with Gray in tow.

"Mirajane says she's not happy with you wanting to come down stairs seen as though you've not let any of your injuries have healed yet." Gray commented, looking at Natsu. "But everyone else wants to see you, so she let up for now."

Gray walked up to Natsu, and helped him sit up before getting him off the bed, taking note of how stiff he felt at the contact he was receiving.

Natsu was stubborn and insisted on at least hopping his way to the stairs, using Gray as a crutch, before being allowed to be somewhat carried down the stairs to the rest of the guild, wearing nothing but his pants and bandages that covered his body.

The people of the guild felt a little more at ease, seeing their friend being placed in a chair by a table, and talk happily with the rest at the table, though they could all see the haunted look that hid behind his eyes. Something they knew they would probably get used to. Mirajane brought him his food and fire as a treat; she figured he probably wouldn't have been getting a lot of that when he was in that hellhole for a year.

Everyone noticed how he ate his food in slow mouthfuls, and that truly pained them to see. He probably never ate much when he was away, and learnt to slow down and make it last longer so he wouldn't be as hungry, or at least hungry for as long.

"Natsu." Makarov called, walking towards him at the table.

"Gramps." He replied, looking at the old man in front of him.

"How many do you think will come to get you?" He didn't want to be the one to break the sombre atmosphere in the hall, but he needed to know to be prepared, and he would have to get the information to get ready. Though he was confident that his guild could handle any person that came to harm anyone from his guild.

"I don't know. They won't send out the strong ones first. They'll feel us out first to see how strong we are." He answered quietly putting his cutlery down on the now empty plate, looking into the fire before him, feeling the power flowing into him just from looking at it.

"When you're up for it, come to my office and talk about it. I want to know everything." He said walking towards his office. Natsu flinched, but did not answer. He knew they'd want answers sooner or later, but whether he had it in him to answer would be a completely different question. There were things there that happened to him that he would never want to speak of again. It would be difficult. And some things he knew he would never speak of again in front of his friends from the guild. They would think he was pathetic for letting such a thing happen to him. They would pity him, and that was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

"So, how are you feeling, Natsu?" Erza asked, watching as he ate the fire with a flinch, one hand immediately going to grab the bracelet.

"Fine." He replied, looking up from the fire.

"What's that bracelet?" Lisanna asked. Natsu looked at her, and then looked at the bracelet.

"If you disobeyed, they would torture you with it. They control it. They can activate it even if I'm here and they're back there." He replied, running his finger along the sore skin around the bracelet. Everyone in the guild stared silently at him; he knew they were looking at him. He looked to Gray. "Can you take me back upstairs now, I want to sleep."

Gray nodded getting up to help his friend, his words playing over in his head.