a/n- Hi guys, i know it's practically been a year since i last updated but at last, here is chapter six. i don't think i said this in the teaser or the Hiatus update but sorry for being a crappy updater. luv yous

bumble bee

xx

ps- if you have no desire to re-read the teaser there is a random word in bold. everything after that is new.

Chapter 6

It was in the middle of the afternoon the next day and they were still walking, it had taken them a lot longer than they had expected to complete the mission. Wendy and Gajeel had expected Aria to be dying from exhaustion. Natsu on the other hand was having a splitting headache. 'Shut up!' Natsu said in his mind. He felt as if is head were about to split into two, and at this point he would have preferred it if that happened; inside his head were some little 'Natsu's' with some not so little voices chattering about, having a heated debate, so Natsu decided that if his head were to really crack then all of the mini Natsu's and their voices would fall out. Unfortunately this was reality so it wasn't going to happen any time soon.

"But they have the same scent!"

"So what, that's the only thing they have in common!"

"Well, it's worth more evidence then one million clues and you know it!"

"W-well maybe they're related or something…"

"But-"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!"

The whole gang looked at him weirdly, "Oi, Salamander, you okay?" said Aria in a not-that-I-really-care way. Natsu shook his head returning a slightly sheepish smile. They had all gotten used to her cold demeanour by now, Natsu was beginning to think, and 'maybe, she hasn't got anything to do with Lucy after all'. Yes, maybe all these suspicions were just nonsense after all, perhaps they were all just missing Lucy so much that their Dragon-Slayer-Senses were acting up. Maybe he was just imaging it but he might have heard someone say, " And he said the Lucy me was weird!"

Sometimes Natsu hated his hyperactive dragon senses, for giving him hope then letting him down, he thought that this girl might bring him closer to his dead 'lover', instead it made him imagine things, it made seem like him some horrible nosy person, and if Lucy was as watching him from above then she wouldn't be too pleased.

"Natsu-san, are you feeling okay… Never thought anyone would say this to you but, is the heat getting to your head?" asked Wendy, breaking Natsu's train of thought. Gajeel and Lucy muffled a laugh.

"I'm okay, but I think we should take a quick break."

They found a small clearing that didn't look like it could be near some spooky cave with a monster in it. Natsu lay down and closed his eyes. Aria's scent still bugged him, as did that pet dog/unicorn –Natsu didn't know what it was- 'Plah' had the same scent as a celestial spirit, fresh water, rocks and fire. Didn't Aria say that Plah was coming too? How come he suddenly had to 'visit some friends'. Natsu didn't know any more. A loud crash killed his thoughts, he was swiped up into the air.

"NATSU! NATSU!" it was Lucy's voice!

"Natsu!" cried Lucy. No, that wasn't Lucy ,it was Aria. Natsu's eyes snapped open and he bolted upright. "Natsu wake up!" Had he fallen asleep?

"Hey, What's up? Why're you so jumpy and trying to shout my ear off?" he grinned.

A gruff voice answered. "It's Wendy… she's gone."

Natsu, quickly picked himself up, he felt so ashamed, here he was thinking about some stupid dog, while Wendy was fighting for her life, he looked up to the sky, 'don't worry I'll find her, I'm not gonna fail her like I failed you.' Yes, he was never going to fail to protect his nakama again. Gajeel and Aria were already trudging along the path, it had started raining, it was almost like the weather had changed according to the team's mood.

Natsu now desperately missed the situation he was in before, a splitting headache, and the somehow tiring sun. It all seemed better than Wendy kidnapped, there was an awkward silence and the once sandy path was like fresh cement. Natsu glanced at Aria, and thought back to his dream, he realized their voices were really similar, in fact they were identical.

"Sorry guys, this is all my fault, if I had been awake then this wouldn't have happened..." said Natsu

"Stop beating yourself up! We should be strong enough to protect our own nakama, what's past is past! We can't change anything." exclaimed Aria.

"She's right, we need to concentrate on rescuing all those innocent children from this 'Dalius' guy. He probably has Wendy as well."

"Thanks"

And so their short lived conversation was over. By now it had gotten quite misty, the white cloud swirling around their feet and surrounding them they had all come to a conclusion... 'Crap... We're lost!'

For a while, nobody said anything, all of then pretending that they knew where they were going. For some idiotic reason Gajeel was leading, followed by a rather dense Natsu who was walking blindly. Aria however was getting increasingly worried, she knew from her past life as Lucy that Gajeel had a very poor sense of direction- to put it mildly.
"Gajeel, I'm leading." she announced, not giving him a choice.

Gajeel was insulted, "Yeah, Metal-Head! You can't even tell your left to your right!" snickered Natsu

"What did you say... Flame-Brain! Bet you don't even know which ways forward and backwards!"

"Pin-head!"

"Fire Freak!"

"Repair-Boy!"

"Burnt- chicken!"

"iron- "

"Boys," Aria said in a sickeningly sweet voice, "I suggest you shut up now before I shut you up my way." They gulped, their Adam's apple bobbing nervously. "I'm leading. Does anyone have anything to say about that." She cocked her head to the side looking 'innocent'. The boys just nodded. "Good."

Thick fog surrounded them and somehow, it grew only thicker. The atmosphere was chilling; even Natsu was beginning to feel it. Around them, trees had icicles forming in gnarly shapes, getting more deformed by each step. The ground, despite its frozen surroundings, became wet and sludgy. All of a sudden, Aria stopped short. A gasp hit her, then a shriek. How could she have been so foolish? Those icicles were no natural spectacle, at a closer glance they were figures. Not just any, they matched to a T the descriptions of the missing kids. Soon, another wave of horror reached her; the last one looked like a perfectly carved ice statue of Miss Wendy Marvel. The others had noticed too.

"Oi! DALIUS! Come out so I can fight you!" shouted Natsu, but nothing happened. Only his voice echoing and their heavy breaths could be heard.

*CRACK*

"Guys, leave me. I'm fine, honestly. I love it here!" out of nowhere, Wendy's innocent voice sounded out clearly. Gajeel rushed over to Wendy's ice sculpture and shook it wildly.

"What are you saying!? Look what he turned you into!"

"Leave now!" Wendy's voice became harsher now. However, it did not come out of her ice body.

"What!? No, I can't abandon nakama! Where are you?" cried Natsu.

"Or die!" It was deep and gravely. The team was certain now, that this wasn't Wendy's voice. Suddenly, a great crash came from behind. "I did tell you to go."

Nobody noticed Wendy's icy figure melting slowly.