A stony claw darted through the darkness that had engulfed Happy. The cavern he was in echoing with the rough grating of bone against stony scale. Pinpricks of light formed at the very edges of the dark prison, as the claw gripped Happy's body and forced him out, as another claw of similar texture pried open the maw of the creature that had attempted to consume the shocked cat. Light streamed into the cavern, as Happy was yanked out of the carnivore's mouth, jagged teeth surrounding his escape, threatening to clamp down on him and drag him back into the creature's mouth, should he get caught by one. Happy shot past two massive canines, as he was plunged into bright, welcoming sunlight, the sun seeming to smile upon the fact that he was alive. Before he could fully relish the moment, the same claw that had set him free pulled him down, moving him away from the soothing light, towards the shadows. It then shook Happy, rousing him from his tranquil dreams of basking in eternal sunlight, bringing him back into reality.

"Happy? Are you alright? Happy, say something!" Happy weakly opened his eyelids, looking up at the worried face of Mirajane Strauss, black veins crackling across her face like static bolts of lightning, white hair pulled up by the knotted tip, as though by some unseen force.

"Aye...sir", Happy managed before a sharp pain shot through his left side, causing him to moan in pain.

"Happy!"

"Don't worry...about me...Natsu", he tried, before another sharp bite of agony coursed through his torso, tears pricking his eyes. He placed a hand cautiously to the side of his chest, and brought his paw to up to his face. The last thing Happy saw was a wet, ruby coating of blood that matted his blue fur, before he passed out, no longer able to tolerate the pain.

Happy awoke with a start, looking up at a white ceiling, flanked by two metal bars, from which extended the tops of bland, green curtains, suspended from the rods by white, circular rings. He sat up slowly and placed a hand to the leftmost portion of his torso, paw stopped by the soft padding of cotton and gauze.

"Happy, thank goodness, you're awake." Mira stood in an opening in the curtains, above a small wooden stool, which seated a young girl with blue twintails. Wendy reached forward and lay a gentle finger upon Happy's forehead.

"His fever's gone, and he seems to be able to move without feeling pain." She yawned, dark circles rimming her eyes, clearly exhausted by the intensive healing she had just performed upon Happy for the past two hours. "I'm glad I was able to help, Happy-san", she said with a tired smile.

The curtains on his left side were suddenly pulled back, to reveal a black cat with a scar below his eye, and an extremely attractive (in Happy's opinion) female cat with white fur. For a split second, Happy thought he saw a look of extreme concern on the face of the female cat, which delighted him to no end, before it was quickly masked by her usual irritated pout. "Carla!" Happy raised his paw in greeting, giving her a wide grin.

"It seems like you're well enough to talk again", she commented indifferently, sticking her nose in the air and looking away from Happy.

"Happy. I'm glad to see you are well." Panther Lily crossed his arms and nodded, approvingly.

"What, this?" Happy pointed to his bandaged side. "This is nothing, for a Fairy Tail wizard like me", he boasted, grinning widely, causing Mira to giggle at his bravado. "Hey, Mira, why are you laughing at me? I'm serious!"

"I know you are, Happy", Mirajane smiled at him kindly.

"Happy, you should probably get some rest now." Wendy spoke to him in a professional voice. "I'll need to clean your wounds and replace your bandages once every six hours. Remember to drink plenty of water, and eat well."

"Wait a second!" Happy exclaimed suddenly, remembering why he had flown to the guild in such a hurry in the first place. "Natsu, Lucy, Erza and Gray are all in danger!" He spoke in an urgent tone, the excitement causing him to fly into the air and frantically list all their names. "You've gotta help them!"

"Happy don't move about so much, you'll open up your wound!" Wendy warned.

"Their team is in trouble?" Mira asked concernedly, "What happened to them?" At this, Happy looked down, floating back onto the hospital bed, shifting from foot to foot nervously.

"I don't really know if they're in trouble or not, but they disappeared outside that scary lady's tree." He paused, as the worst-case scenario, in his perspective, occurred to him. "They didn't...come back to the guild without me, did they? They didn't leave on the job without me, did they?" Tears formed in his eyes once more.

"No, they haven't returned as yet, and Erza's luggage cart is still here in the guild, so I don't think they left either..." She trailed off, wondering what might've happened to them.

"Salamander's gone missing?", a gruff voice called from outside the door to the clinic, which was left ajar. Gajeel, who had happened to overhear the conversation as he passed by the clinic, to retrieve his guitar and suit from storage, walked in through the door and up to the hospital bed. "Oh, Salamander's cat, you're awake already."

Mira nodded, filling him in on the details of the disappearance, beginning with the submission of the cryptic request, and ending with Happy's description of the situation. "We don't know for sure what's happened to them, but it's strange that none of them have returned by now, especially since Happy suspects they've gone missing."

"Maybe if we go back to the forest, to the place they disappeared, we'll be able to find some clues as to what happened to them", Lily suggested.

"That's a good idea, Lily", Mirajane nodded her head in approval.

"Gi-hi", Gajeel smirked, "that's my cat. Lily! Let's go and find Salamander!" Lily smiled and nodded.

"Wait! I'm going too!" Happy called to them, as they walked toward the door.

"Happy, no. You're injured. You need to stay here and rest", Mira scolded the blue cat. Happy looked her square in the eye and spoke in a loud, brave voice.

"Natsu's my partner and my friend! If I was in trouble, he'd fight any number of enemies, no matter how beaten up he is, to save me! How can I call myself his partner if I can't do the same for him?" The steel in Happy's voice turned every head in the room. Standing with as much pride as he could muster, the tiny cat bravely faced down the stares of group gathered in front of him.

"Um, Mira-san?" Wendy spoke up in small voice, "I can go with them and make sure nothing happens to Happy, and I can apply first-aid to him if his wound opens up."

Mirajane looked at her with a concerned expression. "Are you sure you're alright to go? You've just done two hours of continuous healing magic."

Wendy nodded at her confidently. "I've recovered my strength already. I'm not as weak as I was when I first joined this guild." The determination on her face made it impossible for Mira to say know.

"Please, be careful", Mira pleaded with them. The last thing she wanted was for a guild member to get hurt, when she could've prevented it.

"With spirit like that, you have nothing to worry about", Lily crossed his arms and smiled. "Then, shall we leave?"

"Team Happy, away!" Happy raised his paw in the air, as he led the members out of the clinic: an amused Lily, a much-less amused Carla and a giggling Wendy. Only Gajeel remained in the doorway, stopping the team short, as he cleared his throat to get their attention.

"We're still missing someone who's smart enough to solve the mystery", Gajeel said, oblivious to the offence he caused to some of the members of the search party. "I know someone who can fill that gap", he finished with a "Gi-hi".

"Levy-chan! Who's better at drawing, me or Jet?" Droy brandished a sorry looking scribble of pen-marks on a piece of paper, whilst Jet held up a crumpled paper with a mass of squiggles.

Levy sighed. It was always like this with these two; for best friends, they only couldn't seem to get along when she was around. Suddenly, she felt a strong, yet somehow gentle, hand on her shoulder, as a rough voice addressed her. "Hey, shrimp. Want to go into the forest with me for a sec?" Levy froze, not dating to turn around, otherwise Gajeel might see her face turn a bright pink in colour.

"Wh-what do you want to do with me there?" She stammered, her heart pounding in her chest so loudly, that she was sure he could hear it. A million scenarios ran through Levy's racing mind, notably some involving Gajeel asking her out in one way or another. Levy shook her head and and slapped her face.

"Uh...shrimp?" She turned around to face him, thankful that the blush in her cheeks could be attributed to the embarrassment of her sudden action.

"Alright, fine. Let's go." Levy snapped, irritated by how stupid she had made herself look.

What's her problem? Gajeel wondered to himself, scratching his head, as he followed her to the doors to the guild hall, where the rest of the team waited outside.