Sorry everyone! I went on a vacation to visit some relatives so I couldn't write! Hopefully this update makes up for its lateness! (Also if you like my work you should check out my Wattpad, the user is still eeveegirly)

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail... which saddens me

Chapter 7: Reunited

Sunlight broke into Lucy's room way too early in the morning for the Celestial Spirit mage. Groaning Lucy tried to hid under her covers and get some more sleep. Sleeping on such a hard bed made her backache and it was hard enough to sleep knowing Natsu was out there somewhere without her. No one was really sure if he was even okay! That thought alone was enough to keep her awake all night. The dragons wouldn't hurt him, right? They had saved Cyprus after all, or at least that is what the teen had claimed, who knew if he was telling them the truth. "Lucy-san, we need to get going," Wendy's voice broke through her thoughts.

"Five more minutes," Lucy groaned pulling the covers closer around her. Really, she was just scared of what they would find when they did find Natsu. She didn't know which scared her, finding out he wasn't at the volcano or finding him at the volcano.

"It isn't like you are going to get anymore sleep as is. I doubt you even got any sleep last night. Just get up, the quicker we leave the quicker we can find Natsu and go home to help Levy," Gray told her. Lucy sighed, sadly Gray had a point. Grumbling Lucy got up and got dressed, knowing her friends were right. All fear aside, they needed to find Natsu. Afterward she walked downstairs to see Gray drinking some iced coffee and Wendy eating a bowl of cereal.

"Are we leaving soon?" Lucy asked them. Wendy frowned, Lucy sounded exhausted. Did she get any sleep, Wendy wondered worriedly.

"Yeah, I already paid for the room. It was cheap so don't worry about it. We'll leave as soon as you eat," Gray told her. Lucy groaned, she really didn't want to eat. How could she eat knowing Natsu was out there! "I don't care if you don't want to eat, you need to Lucy," Gray told her firmly. With a sigh of protest Lucy went with just a cup of hot coco.

"Before you protest you are only drinking iced coffee," Lucy pointed to his cup.

"Toche," Gray said as he drank his coffee. The trio was quiet as they all had their breakfast, no one really knowing what to expect today. Cyprus entered in the room, grinning in excitement. He was the only one excited and bursting with energy.

"You guys ready for today?" Cyprus asked excitedly.

"I think you are the only one who is super excited about this Cyprus-san," Wendy mumbled as she put up her cereal bowl. Lucy and Gray both grunted in agreement, neither really wanting to talk. It was too early for Gray to have energy and Lucy would only be happy again once she saw Natsu safe in her arms. I really do know how Gajeel felt, Lucy thought bitterly.

"We'll leave as soon as Lucy finishes her hot coco," Gray told Cyprus as he put up his cup.

"I can be done now," Lucy said getting up. Gray forced her to sit back, despite her protests.

"Finish, you need something in your stomach," Gray told her firmly. Sighing Lucy obeyed and finished her drink. Once she was done she put up her cup and walked back over to the other three who were waiting for her.

"There, happy?' Lucy asked grumpily. It was too early for Gray to be ordering her around. She only got a small nod from Gray and a slight smile. Lucy decided to take that as a yes. "Well, now what?": Lucy asked. Even though she wasn't sure if she was ready to face what she might find she knew they had to leave soon. The sooner the better.

"Now, Lucy, we go to the volcano,:" Cyprus told her grinning from ear to ear. At least someone is happy about all this, Lucy thought.

"Show us the way," Gray told him. Cyprus nodded and motioned for the Fairy Tail trio to follow. He took them to the back of the hotel where there was a small van, perfect for the four of them. Lucy smiled fondly, the van reminded her of when her and Natsu met the Edolas Natsu.

"This is our family car," Cyprus said opening the door for them. The inside was slightly crammed, but it would do. "The journey should only take about three hours or so. I know it is crammed, but it is only three hours. Will you three be okay?" Cyprus asked them.

"Yeah, we'll be fine, we get along well," Lucy told him. Cyprus nodded and got into the front seat, the other three filled the back of the van. Wendy sat between Gray and Lucy. "So it'll only take three hours? You're sure?" Lucy asked making sure.

"Yep! Just three hours till we get there. Trust me, I've been there plenty of times," Cyprus assured Lucy. Lucy just nodded and started to stare out the window.

"Three hours in a car? Good thing Natsu isn't here," Gray said laughing jokingly. The reminder that Natsu wasn't here made Lucy suddenly get very sad.

"Gray-san," Wendy hissed angrily. At first Gray was confused as to why Wendy got so mad, till he saw Lucy pained face. Oh… Whoops, Gray thought as he saw Lucy looking out the window trying not to cry. He could only imagine how she felt.

"I didn't mean-" Gray started but Lucy cut him off.

"It's fine Gray, really. Everything will be fine. We will find him today and then he will come home with me and everything will be fine. I know you didn't mean anything by your comment," Lucy told him with a small sad comment. Even though she knew Gray hadn't meant anything by his comment, it still stung a little. Just the small reminder the Natsu was not in arms reach of her, that he could be anywhere or even dead and she would never know. That was the hardest part of all this, the not knowing, the fact that he could easily be dead and they would have no idea.

"Excuse me, I don't mean to intrude, but who is this Natsu? Is he your boyfriend Lucy? I can guess he is the reason we are going to the dragons, but why would you think he was taken by dragons in the first place? It doesn't make a whole lot of sense," Cyprus spoke up.

"N-Natsu is not my boyfriend," Lucy said getting flustered at the mention of that. Both Gray and Wendy laughed at how red Lucy was getting.

"No, Natsu-san and Lucy-san are not dating, but they do like each other," Wendy giggled. Lucy was as red as a firetruck which was cracking the other two mages up. "Natsu-san is the Salamander of Fairy Tail, he uses dragon slayer magic. He was raised by the fire dragon Igneel-san. He is rather loud and destroys a lot of stuff, but he is one of our strongest wizards at Fairy Tail," Wendy tried to explain.

"The reason we think Natsu was taken by dragons is a long story though," Gray told Cyprus. Why should we tell him more about what is going on? We don't know if we can even trust him yet, Gray thought to himself. No need to say this out loud though.

"We have three hours stuck in the car together, I think that is more than enough time for you three to explain yourself," Cyprus stated bluntly. When no one was talking, they were actually all avoiding any eye contact with him, Cyprus stopped the car.

"Hey! Why did you stop the car?! We need to get there fast!" Lucy demanded.

"You all need to tell me what is going on now. I need to know what I am getting myself into. I am driving you three all the way to that volano and I am not doing that without knowing why you are getting this Natsu guy, why he is so important, and why you all think dragons, of all things, took him," Cyprus demanded from them. The three Fairy tail mages all looked at one another unsure if they should tell Cyprus the truth.

"Fine, we'll tell you, but you have to be driving when we do. No way are we losing anymore time when we could be finding Natsu," Lucy told him firmly.

"Fair enough," Cyprus said before starting the car again and driving. Lucy took a deep breath, she should probably start.

"Natsu is the man of my dreams, I am in love with him. Sadly, I don't think the feeling is mutual. I have no way of proving if it is or isn't, I just know he was taken. Back where we are from there is a war about to happen between the magic council who is doing horrible things and the resistance that wants change. Natsu got put in the middle of this when one of our best friends went missing. He was hurt badly in a battle and was taken to our guild's infirmary. When I came back from a mission to check on him he was gone, which is impossible since he was knocked out. Which means he was taken," Lucy explained to Cyprus. It was hard to explain everything without breaking down and crying, but she somehow managed. Maybe it was because soon she would be able to hold Natsu in her arms again, after all they were so close. Only three hours between her and where Natsu was probably being held.

"Okay, that all makes sense, except for one thing. Why would you think dragons took him? Sure he was raised by dragons, but why would they take him? That makes no sense. Shouldn't you guys be looking for the council people? It seems more likely that the council would take him rather than dragons," Cyprus stated flatly. Was he seriously driving all the way down to this volcano on some wild and crazy hunch? Lucy looked over at Wendy for her to do the explaining.

"Do you remember how we said dragons raised Natsu-san and taught him dragon slayer magic?" Wendy asked Cyprus. Slowly Cyprus nodded. "Well, me and another dragon slayer, Gajeel-san, know the same magic and were raised by dragons as well. We went into the infirmary to use our sense of smell to track who took him. The smell that booth of us sensed was not human, in fact it was dragon. We have no doubt that Natsu-san was taken by dragons, for we both know the smell of dragons very well. As for the reason why he was taken by dragons, we don't know that yet," Wendy told Cyprus.

"Interesting," Cyprus said to himself.

"So now that you know why we are going, you should tell us why you want to go to the volcano and see the dragons. Last time I check, which was just a little while ago, everyone here is terrified of the dragons but you," Gray said. It was only fair for Cyprus to share his side of the story.

"Well, about a month ago there was a huge storm that hit here. It came out of nowhere and I was lost in the forest because I was out getting firewood for mama. The storm was so bad that if I stayed out in it I would have died. I tried to find shelter, but I couldn't find any and the storm was only getting worse. Finally a giant creature swooped down and puts it wings around me. For the entire length of the storm, which was probably several hours, the creature didn't' move and kept me safe under it's wings. When the storm stopped it flew off, but not before I got a good glimpse of it. From what I could tell it was a red dragon that saved my life. So far, I haven't been able to say thank you and I know I should," Cyprus told the trio of wizards. After a few more moments the four finally reached the volcano. "Well, here we are!" Cyprus announced as he got out of the car, the others following him.

"It's huge!" Wendy said looking up at the towering volcano in front of her. Suddenly she felt even smaller than she normally did.

"How are we going to find Natsu?" Lucy groaned. The volcano was much bigger than they had expected, which meant finding Natsu would be a lot harder than they expected. Why does it feel like the universe is against us finding Natsu, Lucy wondered heart broken.

"Hey, don't give up so easily. If it was easy then it wouldn't really be Natsu's style, now would it? Come on, we have a volcano to search," Gray said trying to cheer the two girls up. Gray's right, we can't give up yet! We have to find Natsu and bring him back! Not only for the guild sake, but for Levy's rebellion's as well, Lucy thought determinedly as she nodded in agreeance.

"I almost wish I would have brought Carla along, it would have been easier to look at least," Wendy muttered sadly as she began to search. At least I know she is safe this way, Wendy thought sadly.

Three hours after their search began Lucy found what looked to be a cave. Sure, the others had found smaller caves, but those had been empty inside. This one looked to be slightly bigger. Quickly Lucy opened up the maps Levy had given her, hadn't she said Queen had marked where the cave probably was that they were looking for? Looking over the maps it seemed that the cave in front of her was the cave Queen had predicted that the dragons would be holding Natsu in. FINALLY, Lucy thought barely able to contain her excitement. Everything at lead up to this moment.

"Guys! I found the cave Queen was talking about!" Lucy yelled to the others. After a few moments the others came.

"Really? Finally I can tell the thank you!" Cyprus said excitedly.

"And I can punch Natsu for being such a pain," Gray said with a smirk. He wouldn't admit it, but he really missed having Natsu being around. Yes, Natsu was a pain, but he was their pain and it didn't feel the same without him.

"Let's go in and get Natsu-sama before they notice we are here. I would rather not fight dragons, even if I could," Wendy commented as she started before the cave. Before Wendy could even set foot in the cave her fear was realized. From the shadows emerged none other than the shadow dragon Skiadrum.

"Who dares try to enter the Dragon's Nest?!" hissed Skiadrum. Wendy paled and tried to back away, only to find she would fall off if she backed away. "No one enters the Dragon's Nest on my watch!" Skiadrum roared before swinging his tail in an attempt to throw Wendy off the edge.

"Oh no you don't! Open gate of the twins, Gemini," Lucy called out as she summoned forth Gemini. The spirit emerged before Lucy, ready to help. "Grab Wendy!" Lucy commanded. The two nodded and grabbed the sky dragon mage. "Help Wendy fight that dragon. Wendy, you can use those two like you use Carla," Lucy told Wendy.

"Right!" Wendy said nodding before turning her attention to the dragon in front of her. Skiadrum did not look happy that Wendy had managed to survive. He snarled and prepared for another attack. "Sky Dragon Roar!" Wendy said before hitting the shocked shadow dragon. How did the Dragon Slayers find us, Skiadrum wondered as he snarled. Igneel was going to get an earful about picking a better hiding spot next time when he was done with these pests.

"Ice Make: Lance!" Gray said attacking the dragon. He can't attack both of us, Gray thought as he attacked again.

"Sky Dragon Roar!" Wendy said attacking the dragon as well. She had caught onto what Gray had planned. Maybe, just maybe, they could take out the dragon. Before Skiadrum could attack Wendy or Gray another dragon came from within the Dragon's Nest.

"That's enough Skiadrum. You wouldn't want to hurt Natsu's friends, now would you?" the dragon asked. Wendy's eyes went wide as she smelled the air. That voice, this smell, could it be? Wendy wondered amazed.

"Gemini, put me down in front of the cave," Wendy ordered them. The two nodded as they set Wendy down. They floated back over to Lucy.

"You guys can go," Lucy told them still dazed from the situation. The way the new dragon said that it made Natsu sound like some sort of honored guest rather than a prisoner. What exactly was going on here?

"Who are you guys?" Gray finally asked the two dragons.

"I am the shadow dragon Skiadrum," the dragon Gray and Wendy were fighting stated proudly.

"Skiadrum, Rouge's dragon?" Wendy asked shocked. Though it was hard to tell who was more shocked, Wendy that Rouge's dragon was actually alive, or Skiadrum that the young dragon slayer he had been fighting knew his Rouge.

"How do you know Rouge?' Skiadrum asked her.

"He is a friend of ours," Gray told the shadow dragon. Before more could be said on the matter the dragon who had stopped Skiadrum from attacking stepped out into the light so they all could see them. Wendy's eyes began to water as she gasped. There was no doubt about it. The blue eyes, the white scales, the voice, even the smell. It HAS to be! It's Grandeeney! Wendy thought excitedly. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that she would actually see Grandeeney again. Just when I had given up, Wendy thought as tears streamed down.

"Wendy!" Lucy said worriedly going over to her comrade. Lucy hugged the smaller girl, unsure what exactly was going on.

"Could it be?" Wendy asked through the tears. She wanted to believe it as Grandeeney, but she couldn't bring herself to really believe it till she was sure. Till she heard Grandeeney say it was truly her.

"Yes little one, it is me, Grandeeney," Grandeeney finally said with a smile. Wendy ran over to the sky dragon and hugged her tightly, crying into the dragon's scales.

"I thought I lost you!" Wendy sobbed. Grandeeney wrapped one wings around the small girl.

"Shhhh, it is all okay now. I am guessing by the guild mark you all are here for Natsu," Grandeeney said. The trio of wizards nodded.

"Oh really? These three I understand coming, but what about this one?" Skiadrum asked pointing out Cyprus.

"He is a friend of ours. He says a dragon rescued him a little while back," Gray explained to the dragons. The two dragons nodded.

"Sounds like something Igneel would do. Come, I will take you four to Natsu and Igneel. From there the two can decide what they want to do with you all," Grandeeney said picking up Wendy and putting her on her back.

"Do with us?" Lucy asked confused. Why would they decide what to do with them? Why would Natsu have anything to do with dragons decisions anyway.

"Yes, those two will decide whether or not you guys are worthy of entering in the Dragon's Nest. They are on the top of the volcano, I will take you there. It is a bit of a hike, but Igneel gets mad if we fly short distances. It causes unneeded stress to the locals. Skaidrum, continue to guard, we will be back later," Grandeeney said before starting to walk. Cyprus, Gray, and Lucy were too stunned by the entire thing to move. "Well come on, before Skiadrum attacks again. That got them moving, quickly the three followed Grandeeney and Wendy to the top of the volcano.

Will the Fairy Tail trio finally figure out what is going on? Will Lucy finally be able to see and save Natsu? Does Natsu even really need saved in the first place? Find out all that and more in Chapter 8: The Dragon Prince

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