She put him to sleep not long after that. It became clear that Natsu wasn't going to calm down, in fact, he only got worse. The boy retreated further and further into his own mind as the ramblings went on. It was as if he were living in a different reality, completely, mentally cut off from everything around him. Porlyusica knew she couldn't let this go on. She had no idea what the consequences would be if it did, but they wouldn't be good. The old woman knew she had to end it.

A soft glow appeared at her fingertips, yellow in color. She pressed the sleep spell to Natsu's forehead and he dropped back into the pillows. His eyes fell shut and the pleading chant ceased.

The room was eerily silent now.

Porlyusica sighed heavily; she knew going into this that the job would not be simple, but she never could've anticipated the sheer strain of the task ahead. The old woman would have to use some of the most powerful magic in her arsenal to break through to the boy's mind. She might be here for quite awhile, and the thought disturbed her. She couldn't stand being among so many humans for so long, it was the whole reason she'd moved into the forest to live in solitude. She knew it was selfish to think that, especially in the current situation. But she'd spent her whole life this way, it was hard to feel bad about it now. Yet, when she looked at the boy's sleeping face - twisted with pain, scarred and so, so young - she felt . . . guilty? She wanted to help the Dragonslayer; and if she didn't, her conscience would never recover.

The boy shifted in his sleep, whining softly. Porlyusica looked down; the sheets were bunched at his waist, making all the wounds on his upper body stand out. Lucy had removed the bandages earlier to allow the old woman to inspect the damage. Secretly, she was thankful that they had already bathed the dirt off the boy's body, for she had not been eager to see the full sight that had so horrified Makarov. But even without the filth coating, Natsu's wounds were sadistically impressive: Large, red, and badly infected. It was a miracle he had lived through it all, a testament to the strong will he still possessed. Although, if these wounds persisted, he may not be alive for much longer.

Well, that would give her something to do for now. But deep down, Porlyusica knew she was just using it as a distraction. In truth she wanted to put off the difficult spell she'd have to perform for as long as possible. She'd have to have the perfect conditions as well, if it backfired, the results would be horrifying. Besides, healing Natsu's wounds would do him a world of good; and he may even become more open if all that constant pain were to disappear.

With this in mind, Porlyusica went to work.


Lucy stared off in a daze, the events of the evening playing through her mind in an endless cycle. It was pure torment. All she had done was go outside to try and clear her mind, but instead, a whole new problem decided to rear its ugly head. Her rent was due in exactly seven days from now and there was no way she could come up with 70,000 jewels in that time. Lucy let her head sink to the table in defeat.

It wasn't necessarily the fact that she couldn't do it so much as she didn't want to. She was emotionally unable, not physically. It was the unbearable thought of having to leave Natsu that made the task so impossible. It made her sick to think on it too long; so she didn't, lest she vomit in front of the ice mage who sat across from her at the table.

"Lucy?"

His voice broke through the nauseating haze of her thoughts and she raised her head, fixing him with eyes that made it all too obvious how little she'd slept last night.

"You alright?"

The stellar mage nodded slowly, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Wow it sure was easy to lie.

Gray blinked knowingly and averted his gaze to something in the distance. He seemed deep in his thoughts all of the sudden and Lucy was stung with bitterness at the scene. If Natsu were here, he would've made some sarcastic quip as to how Gray couldn't possibly think deeply. And they they would all laugh and the two mages would pretend to fight. Erza would appear and break them up, only to receive a spirited challenge from the Dragonslayer. Then Lucy would drag him away before he got too wound up and instead, they would pick a request - together.

She missed him so much.

It wasn't until her bottom lip began quivering that Lucy was aware of the tears slipping down her cheeks. Startled, her gaze flashed to the ice mage, but he was still looking off somewhere else. She tried to wipe the tears discreetly, even feigning a yawn as she rubbed at her eyes. Lucy sighed once the tears had gone and put her head back on the table.

But Gray had seen everything, and her tears were an outside reflection of what he was feeling inside. Sad and cold and alone, acting as if he had to hide his sadness. And Gray hadn't been cold in years; ice had always been a comfort to him since training with Ur, but it meant little now. He longed for heat, he wanted to feel the warmth of his guild, his family, once again.

Despite knowing Natsu since childhood, Gray felt it accurate to say that Lucy was closer to the Dragonslayer than he himself, but there was no jealousy. In fact, he couldn't envy her at all right now. He didn't know how hard it was for Lucy to be in this situation, but he could imagine. If he magnified his own feelings, maybe then he would understand what she was going through. But was the use of comparing grievances? Especially now when they were all sharing in their suffering. Everyone was feeling the pain in their own ways, everyone was trying to help in their own ways. Gray wanted to help as well, but how? These thoughts had been circling his mind like hungry vultures, preying on his last shreds of hope as they began to falter and die. So he stared hard at the guild's rear wall, trying to resist his morbid thoughts. There had to be something he could do.

Lucy looked up in time to see the light of an idea flash in those inky eyes, piquing her curiosity. "Gray? What are you thinking?"

He blinked, and in a flash, the look was gone, replaced by his usual frowning, slightly bored gaze. "Hm? Oh, nothing really." It was obviously a lie, like any statement that brushed off their grief was. These days, everyone put on a facade, acting as if everything was alright. Acting like Natsu's condition didn't tear them up inside. It was normal.

So Lucy decided to let it go, after all, she had her own problems to worry about right now.


"How's the treatment going so far?"

Happy had scarcly closed the door before Makarov started asking questions. The cat had to think for a moment before he answered; he wasn't exactly sure.

"Well, um, she did a lot of tests on him, but then . . ."

Makarov struggled to disguise the unease he felt when the Exceed trailed off, but he encouraged him to continue. "But then she made Lucy and I leave the room. I don't know why, but she promised she'd tell us later. Master?"

The old man's face was twisted with emotions : fear, worry, frustration.

Happy watched Makarov pace the room in silence. Suddenly, the old man looked up, he'd made a decision.

"Happy, do you remember the tapes?" Makarov was avoiding certain details concerning the circumstances around the devices, but the Exceed knew exactly what he was talking about. Happy nodded, suddenly finding his throat too tight to speak.

"I believe it's time we . . . learn what really happened."

Happy trembled at those words, his desire to both know and forget causing his core to falter.

"But, Master Makarov, do you even know what's on them?"

A last ditch effort to put it off.

The old man gave a heavy, almost defeated sigh, "I watched a few minutes of the first tape," at this moment, Happy was aware of the Master's fist shaking," they made it very clear what. . ."

He trailed off, the fury of what he'd seen overcoming him. This sight instilled even more apprehension in Happy. He knew that Makarov was enraged over what had happened to Natsu, they all were, but it was rare to see the Master lose control so often. Happy swallowed hard and placed his small paw on the wrinkled hand. This simple action seemed to draw Makarov back to the present and he looked at the blue cat standing beside him.

"I think it will be best if we see Porlyusica first," the old man continued, "and of course, we will talk over the tapes with the others."

Happy approved of the decision, secretly thankful that he wouldn't have to make the choice alone nor right now. It was too much pressure, what if he made the wrong decision? He had never anticipated a situation like this, not even in his nightmares. It was a relief to know that his friends would be by his side through it all, helping him make the right choice for his best friend's recovery. Happy knew without asking that 'the others' were Lucy, Erza, and Gray, maybe even Porlyusica now that she was here.

"Happy, I want you to collect those tapes and have the others in my office when I return." Makarov moved to the door, a silent cue that their conversation was over.


Porlyusica looked up as the door opened, preparing to chew out whoever was on the other side. She was under a lot of stress right now because of her recent roadblock, and she did not need distractions right now. The old woman knew the guild members were all on edge because of what had happened, but bothering her was not going to solve anything. Didn't these people know she was busy?

Her mouth opened to speak, but closed awkwardly when she saw Makarov enter. The old woman frowned and put down her roll of bandages. She hadn't expected him to disobey her so soon.

"I thought I told you not to come in here, Makarov. Has your hearing gotten that bad already?"

The Master ignored the taunt and shut the door behind him. He was used to Porlyusica's crass nature and commentary, but just now, her words lacked their usual edge. The jeer was half-hearted, almost weary sounding. She spoke as if it were a chore. Only Makarov had known her long enough to detect it.

Something must be troubling her, something she was trying to hide.

The old man felt a cold mass form inside him, but he tried to ignore it. "What have you gotten done so far?" Porlyusica snorted, but it came out more like a dejected sigh. "I've healed his wounds already - the physical ones," she added cryptically.

Makarov did not like where this was going.

And on top of that, there were remnants of a strong sleep spell around Natsu, which could mean only two things: The treatment had been painful or Natsu had broken down.

The old man didn't know which he'd prefer. Truthfully, if he'd had the choice, he'd pick neither. But this situation had shown him over and over that he was not in control. Anything could go wrong, and at any time. The Master had never experienced anything like this in his long life, and he was ill-prepared. It felt as if the whole cosmos were laughing at him, watching him run in circles as he tried to save his broken child.

He sighed, a regular occurence these days, and felt as if all his years had suddenly caught up with him. He had to know what the old woman was hiding. He had to know in order to take back control and fix this.

"Porlyusica," he hesitated when she fixed him with a knowing stare. He tried to keep his voice strong, "Tell me."


The gaping wound on his leg finally scabbed over and the old woman sat back. Porlyusica had not anticipated the magical power healing these wounds would require, causing her to stop the process prematurely. She had planned to heal all of his wounds completely, but some of the infections were worse than they appeared. Particularly the vicious treatment Natsu had sustained on his left leg. The infection was finally gone and his fever lowered, but the wound itself was not completely clear. This thick scab would have to do for now.

It was not that she hadn't enough power, but rather she would need the rest of it for a particular spell. This spell was ancient and strong and dangerous. So dangerous that it was illegal in some lands. It just happened to be fortune that it wasn't forbidden here in Fiore.

"A bitter fortune indeed," Porlyusica thought dryly. The spell required much magical strength on behalf of the user, strength that the old woman had to hold back from her healing. The spell itself would allow her to look into Natsu's memories; to find out what really happened. If she knew the truth, it would be easier to make the boy confront it on his own. Using this method, he would be healing himself in a way.

Porlyusica took a deep breath. She couldn't help but feel a little guilty about invading the boy's mind like this, but she told herself this was best for him.

She told herself.

The old woman removed her gloves and dropped them in the trash, then, she flexed her fingers. Porlyusica knew she was just prolonging the inevitable.

She placed the fingertips of one hand on the boy's forehead, then closed her eyes. All the incantations flew from her lips and the symbols glowed in her mind. As the steps progressed, she felt her power reserves fuel the spell. She felt her consciousness leave her own body and drill into Natsu's, infiltrating his mind.

He stirred slightly, but this action was far outside her concern.

Porlyusica felt the warmth of the Dragonslayer's mind envelop hers as she completely left her own body. As she grew accustomed to this unfamiliar territory, shapes began to emerge. His mind itself was black, but she could almost feel the red aura pulsating around her.

His memories swam by in the form of inky clouds and although there were many, there were not nearly enough as there should be. These must be the memories he could readily access, those not effected by the torture. To find what she was looking for, Porlyusica would have to go deeper. She pushed forward with the spell and the temperature seemed to lower. Further and further from the forefront of Natsu's mind, the space began to feel heavier.

The old woman instantly knew something was wrong when she hit the Wall.

It was a massive structure that stretched as far as she could sense, blacker than anything she'd ever experienced before.

And it reeked of dark magic.

Porlyusica drew up her strength and focused her mind into pure power. Her light energy collided with the evil and she felt it resist. She slammed the Wall with everything she had in that moment, concentrating her energies into a knife point to cut through the darkness.

Suddenly, an overwhelming aura of fear and hate burst outward. Porlyusica felt herself being thrown back with incredible velocity. The memories screamed by her in galeforce winds as she passed through a blast of the heat.

Porlyusica gasped as she returned to her own body, shaking with a cold sweat. Light peppered behind her eyelids as she closed them, trying to calm down. The whole experience had left her shaken and nauseous.

The old woman opened her eyes as Natsu stirred. He groaned as if he were in pain, but thankfully, he didn't wake.

She could still feel some of the darkness from Natsu's mind in the corners of her own, crawling like black spiders. The exhaustion of her failed attempt forced her to slump against the back of her chair. Porlyusica tried to breathe deeply and calm her frayed nerves, but it was a long time before she felt right again. She thought back to that impassible Wall: The sheer size and evil that permeated its incantation.

Porlyusica drew a sharp breath at this realization.

She had felt it, for a brief moment, that the thing itself was a spell. She had felt the magic when she'd been before it, but this knowledge had been overwhelmed by the sheer evil and terror experienced when the strucure repelled her. It had thrown her back so easily too.

A dread cold as ice water leaked into her chest, there was no way her spell could get through that Wall.


"But there has to be something you can do!"

Porlyusica had related her experience to Makarov, but, as she expected, he was not satisfied. Although she wasn't pleased either, she knew when she could do no more. Despite her previous life as a Fairy Tail mage, she'd long since gotten rid of that foolish perserverence.

Or she would like to think.

Makarov took a seat on the bed, watching his beloved child with tears in his eyes. Never had he felt so anguished and powerless before. He hated this feeling with every fiber of his being; he would do anything to cure Natsu of this mental sickness, but it just wasn't enough.

It was never enough!

Makarov felt the tears begin to overflow and he shut his eyes against them. "Please. . . Isn't there something you can do? Some spell you haven't tried?"

Porlyusica knew it was a rhetorical question, but she shook her head anyway. Her mind was at its limits right now and her depleted magic was making it hard to think. A headache had begun to creep in as well. This wasn't her expertise. Spells dealing with the human mind were ancient and often illegal for their possible side effects and the horrible things that could be done with them. A prime example being what Natsu was experiencing right now. An ancient dark magic had been cast on him to prevent his mental healing. His captors had not just wounded him physically, they had also attacked his mind. They wanted to crush him.

And Porlyusica didn't know the slightest thing about what they had done. She was an expert in magic that healed the physical body, not the mind. The old woman growled in frustration, she was at her wits end, and there were no indications of a hidden path she could take.

Was this it?

Was this all she would be able to do for the boy? Heal his wounds and leave? Her title as 'Fairy Tail's Medicinal Advisor' meant nothing now if she couldn't cure this one, battered soul. But she could try again. . . only to be pushed away once more by the dark magic. The spell cast by the demons who had tortured this boy. If only she knew what spell had been cast -

Her head snapped up. "That's it!"

Makarov jumped,"What's it? Have you found a way to break in?" The old man's voice was breathless with hope and Porlyusica couldn't disguise her sudden rush of emotion either.

"Yes! If I could decode the spell they used to close off his mind, I would have a chance of breaking through. I may even be able to adjust my own spell to fit." The old woman fixed Makarov with eyes blazing with determination. This was the Fairy Tail spirit she'd had so long ago.

"Master Makarov, this may be the cure."

The old mage stared at her, trying to catch his breath. Could this really be happening? Could Natsu's saving grace really, finally, be within reach?

Makarov took another breath," Do you know how to do that? Decode a spell?"

Porlyusica's heart crashed to the floor, "No, I . . . I don't . . ."

Makarov's face sank at the old woman's answer. But a little of his spirit returned as he realized something,"It doesn't have to be you - we could find someone else to do it . . !"

But where? Where would they find someone who could do this, who they could trust?

"Um, I think I know someone."

Two pairs of eyes flew to the door, which was now standing ajar to reveal Lucy. She was looking down, out of embarassment for knowingly defying Porlyusica, but the old woman didn't have the heart to scold her now. "I overheard your conversation and," she looked up, fighting spirit in her eyes, "I know someone who could do it!" Makarov was stunned into silence, but Porlyusica stood.

"Show me."


"Decode a spell?" Levy's eyes glowed with intensity, "Yes, I'll do it."

Lucy enveloped her friend in a strong embrace, "Thank you."

"There's no need to thank me. If this will help Natsu get better, I'll do it a thousand times over!"

Lucy choked back her tears, she'd just now told Levy about the strange markings she'd found on Natsu's cell, but the script mage wasn't the least bit put off. Her fierce determination glowed and even Porlyusica's gaze was swimming with emotion. There was a certain high about the recent occurrences. A path had finally shown itself to them and the whole guild could feel that there was hope in it.

The two young mages took their leave to get packed, for Levy wished to bring every tool in her arsenal. She would need all her skills for this job, every fragment of knowledge she'd ever collected might come in handy. It may test everything she knew, but the task did not intimidate her in the slightest. If there was any chance that this would help in Natsu's recovery, she was willing to go to the ends of Earthland to get it. She knew the rest of her guild felt the same way, and it was time they acted on it.

When the supplies had been gathered, the girls returned to the front of the guild hall. Porlyusica was standing by the door, along with another.

"Gajeel? What are you doing here?"

"He doesn't want you to go alone," Porlyusica answered,"and I agree with him."

Levy realized with a start that she had completely forgotten about how dangerous the situation surrounding her task really was. She'd been so caught up in the excitement and determination, that she'd forgotten where she was going. That Dark Guild was a horrifying place imbued with dark magic. There could very well be members still lurking there. . . it was for the best if someone came along with her. Levy swallowed hard, then she nodded. "The two of us will go, and we will succeed - I promise!"

Gajeel followed Levy out the guild's front door. He couldn't let her go alone, not after seeing what those monsters had done to Natsu. He couldn't imagine what kind of horrors his fellow Dragonslayer had been through to make him

. . . the way he was now. Gajeel knew he could never let the same thing happen to Levy.

Never.


Makarov sank into his office chair, feeling his age catching up with him after such a long day. But it wasn't over yet, he remarked, taking in the five serious faces before him. Just as he'd asked, Happy had assembled the other members of Fairy Tail's strongest team in his office. The Surveillance Lacrima were also spread across the desk.

Makarov took a long, deep breath, already feeling the stress of the meeting's subject weigh on him.

"I've already told all of you the story of how I'd found these, but I haven't told you what they're about." He paused for a long moment, so long in fact, that Erza had to remind him to keep going.

Makarov apologized,"The Lacrima are an account of . . . Of the torture they inflicted on Natsu."

Gray bristled while the other mages blanched in horror.

"What kind of sick freak does that?"

Makarov trembled with his own rage, but was unable to provide Gray with an answer. The ice mage forced himself to relax and allow the Master to continue.

"You've probably figured out by now that I believe the guild needs to see these; in order to fully understand everything that's happened to Natsu."

Makarov shut his eyes tightly, having spoken with some difficulty. He, along with the others in the room, knew how uncomfortable this whole situation was. They all had an admittedly morbid desire to know what happened, but they were also afraid of seeing all the horrors that would inevitably be on those Lacrima. No one had to voice these thoughts and in the end, the group decided that the rest of the guild had a right to see these images if they wanted to, so a vote from every member would be taken first thing in the morning.

They were in this together after all.


Makarov stood on the second floor balcony as he addressed the whole of Fairy Tail before him.

"While examining the Dark Guild, I found these." The old man held up a few Lacrima, before continuing over the murmurs. "These are a record of what Natsu went through during his absence, recorded by those who tortured him."

Makarov's voice trailed off in quiet fury as the guild roiled beneath him like a sea of emotion. Some voices expressed fear and grief, but the overwhelming majority was outrage.

The old man raised his voice above the waves, "It's up to you, as his friends, to decide whether or not you want understand what he went through! We are going to take a vote, but I will not force you to watch. Now, show me your decision!"

Every hand rose.