Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, nor anything else associated with Fairy Tail. I only own the plot of the following story and my OCs who help move the story along. (Of course, some of the ideas for my OCs come from research on certain things, or if I found nothing on that, I created it for the sole purpose of this fanfic.)

Author's Note: Thank you so much for your support! I've actually written the last chapter for this. I just have to get there! And there's another story that I'm working on too but I won't post that until this one is done. Is there a reason? Who knows!? Oh... I know teeheehee. Well, I wanted to post one more chapter before I begin the rest of my break, as my schedule is starting to get crazy again. I'll try and post something after the new year, but I can't promise anything soon. I'm starting to get writer's block! Ah well, I hope you enjoy this! R&R. Enjoy!~

Chapter 10

"This is a good place to rest."

Wendy, Levy, and Gray sat down leaning against a wall. They looked at their surroundings completely amazed at how much tunnel there could be in what seemed like a small mountainside. The tunnel walls stood no more than one Jura tall and a Master Makarov wide. The pale gray rocks provided little glare from the lights carried by Erza and Gajeel. Dark crevices in the walls contained creepy crawlies that had scared Wendy, Levy, and Juvia more times than they could count. The farther in they trotted, the darker the caves grew. When torchlight had finally glimmered ahead of them, Erza decided to stop.

The chamber Erza had halted the group in was circular, approximately two carts in diameter. The walls were the same color as the rest of the tunnels, but there was a slight earthy overtone to the rock, as if the chamber had been covered up with dirt before the entrance had been covered with stone. A giant dangling candle fixture hung from the ceiling. On the side opposite the entrance path, the path split into two, one to the west, and one to the south. Neither contained any promise of sunlight anytime soon.

"It's not safe to stop for more than ten minutes here." Aloin warned, knowing the group would most likely not listen.

"Nonsense." Erza replied confirming Aloin's thoughts.

"I couldn't move anymore anyway."

"Juvia agrees!"

"Hey get off me!"

"But Gray-sama..."

"Knock it off!" Erza glared at Juvia and Gray, the two slightly cowering, Juvia hugging Gray.

"Erza," Wendy looked around. "Do we have anymore provisions with us?"

Erza sat down across from Levy. "Not much, since we didn't plan on coming in here." She passed what she had brought with her to Levy.

"So," Aloin looked at them all before sitting down. His hands were tied behind his back. He had to lean against the wall to keep himself from falling onto his side. "Do you even know what's been going on here?"

Everyone shook their heads, when Happy piped up, "Natsu and Lucy haven't returned so we're finding them." Leave it to Happy to state the obvious.

"You have no idea who you're dealing with then do you?"

"We don't care who we're dealing with. We'll beat the and rescue our friends."

The group sat in silence for a bit, some feel asleep, others ate the what few provisions there were. After a short while, only Aloin, Erza, Gajeel, and Gray were up. Juvia lay against Gray, her head on his shoulder, his arm around hers. Wendy lay on the ground with Carla and happy next to each other. Levy was propped up against Gajeel's back. Lily had been pacing back and forth, until he finally conceded and slept.

"So what is this chasm?" Gajeel asked Aloin.

"This chasm… heh. Wouldn't you like to know."

"Answer the question." Erza glared at Aloin.

"I would answer her." Gray looked down at Juvia, his cheeks slightly flushed as Juvia murmured things about him.

"The chasm is essentially a control center in the heart of this mountain. That's where the path leads."

"But what does it control?"

"Magic drained from others. If your two friends were captured, they are most likely being drained of magic, leaving enough to sustain their life."

"How?" Gray asked, the other two remaining silent.

"Anklets, bracelets, necklaces… really any type of jewelry you can think of."

"But why?"

Aloin thought carefully. He wasn't revealing anything that most involved didn't already know, but… "That I don't know." He looked around him, at the chamber entrance and the two paths.

"So he doesn't even trust his men."

"He has a partner, but no one knows who he is. Some say that he's a member of one of the strongest guilds in Fiore. Some say he's the leader of Tartarus, which I highly doubt. But others have no doubt that he is in the ranks of the men serving Vesper."

"So, he only trusts his partner?"

"To my knowledge, yes. His men essentially work for him as collateral. He threatened to use loved ones with his experiment once the family had bought the jewelry, so they joined him to prevent them from coming to harm."

"That's horrible!" Fire burned in Erza's eyes. She couldn't stand for this.

"Yes it is, but it would be best for you to not get involved. Turn around now, before you yourselves are taken prisoner. Vesper has a… a slight thirst for beauties."

"We'll take our chances."

"Your death wish." Aloin shut his eyes responding no more.

After a long silence, the three agreed that one would stay awake to keep watch while letting the others rest. Of course, that didn't happen. Everyone was eventually asleep. Because of this, once Erza woke up, everyone woke up.

"Are you kidding me?! You couldn't even stay awake for five minutes!" Tyrant-Erza scorched through the chamber. "Aloin is gone and you're asleep!"

Gray cowered at the wrath of Erza. Juvia stood between the two.

"It doesn't matter now anyways. We already know what we have to search for."

Erza looked at Gajeel. "You're right." She calmed down. "There are two paths, we'll split up. Half take the left, half take the right."

"Sounds like a plan."