Lucy groaned as she slowly gained consciousness. Her head was throbbing and her body shivered from the cold stone she was laying on. While asleep, she had had an odd dream about Natsu.

Natsu!

Immediately she shot off the ground and took in her surroundings.

Wait... Isn't this...

"No!" Lucy screamed when she realized she was in the same room that Sting and Rogue had trapped her in. Just as she was trying to figure a way out, an uncomfortable wave of heat rushed through her body, causing Lucy to drop onto her knees.

"I've always had that effect on ladies, so don't be alarmed." Sting stated smugly as he stepped through the wall and into the small stone cell. The blonde girl wanted to tear his skin off and feed it to a hungry shark, but her body told her otherwise. "I hope you know that your precious Natsu won't be coming to save you." Her captor said, sitting on the small bed by the wall. Realization struck once again at his comment.

"You told Natsu to stay away from me so you could... How dare you!" Lucy shouted, her anger rising. "If you think that I'll just submit to you, I-" She was cut off when Sting reached out and placed his hand on her arm. This simple act sent Lucy to the ground as unbearable feelings of pain and lust spread throughout her body violently. Her arm throbbed, even after he removed his hand. Sting smirked down at the Celestial Spirit Mage as she curled into a ball and tried not to cry out in agony.

"Don't you think you're being a little harsh?" Rogue asked, sarcasm dripping from his words as he entered the room. Sting eyes his partner before looking back down at Lucy. Kneeling down, the Dragon Slayer began whispering in Lucy's ear.

"I can't wait to have my way with you... I can already see the look on Natsu's face once he realizes what I'm going to do to-" His interrogation was cut short by a hard punch to his nose. Sting stumbled backwards, blood trickling out of his nose. "You bitch!" He screamed, preparing to swiftly kick the blonde girl in the side. But his leg was caught mid-kick by the Shadow Dragon Slayer. Rogue sent Sting a warning glare before releasing his leg.

"We don't want to damage that precious body of hers, now do we?" Sting growled, looking down at Lucy once more. His expression changed dangerously as he stormed out of the room. Sighing, Rogue followed. Before he left, though, he glanced at Lucy from over his shoulder. "The Salamander is coming to get you..." With that, he left.

Lucy sat up slowly and crawled over to the bed.

What did he mean? Why would he tell me that?

"Damn her!" Sting shouted, cleaning the blood off his face. His nose had easily been broken, and the blood kept pouring out. Rogue sighed from his spot in the doorway.

"Calm down. You'll have your 'revenge' soon."

Sting glared at his partner before turning away from the mirror and trudging out of the bathroom. "Don't tell me what I already know! Why don't you be useful for once and get me a damn doctor!" The White Dragon Slayer spat, plopping onto the living room couch. Rogue glared at the boy harshly before words uncontrollably flew out of his mouth.

"You wouldn't have the girl if it weren't for me! You'd be dead by now if it weren't for me!"

Sting flew off the couch. "Are you implying that you're better than me?! Is that some sort of challenge?!" By now, the blonde's hands had managed to grab Rogue's collar. The dark haired boy shoved Sting away and stormed out of the living room, while the other resumed his position on the couch. Rogue rushed through the halls towards Lucy's cell. Upon arrival, he noticed she had made her way to the bed.

"Get up." He demanded. Lucy hesitated before following his orders.

"Why did you tell me Natsu-"

Rogue sent the girl a hard glare. "Shut up." Her mouth immediately snapped closed. Sighing, the Dragon Slayer grabbed Lucy by the wrist and pulled her towards the wall opposite of the one he came through. The shadows, created by the candles scattered throughout the room, began growing darker until it appeared the wall had a gaping hole. Lucy eyed it suspiciously and was about to ask what was going on until she was dragged into the darkness.

When the two emerged from the black hole, the scenery had changed. Lucy was too caught up in the beautiful plants and trees before her to notice Rogue's demand.

"HEY!" He shouted. The blonde's head snapped in his direction. "Summon your most knowledgeable spirit." Rogue said, handing Lucy her keys. She snatched them away, holding them close to her chest.

"Why?"

"Because... I need to know what herb I need in order to remove the Dragon toxin Sting injected in you." Lucy's eyes widened.

"Why are you helping me? And I thought this toxin couldn't be removed!"

"The toxin only attacks your cells for a few days, but doesn't do much harm. That gives the illusion that the victim could die. It's true that no doctor can remove the toxin, but a Dragon Slayer can. The herb I'm looking for is only used to cure internal bleeding by repairing damaged cells and killing all escaped blood cells that leaked out of blood vessels. Doctors think that's its only use, but it can be used for this purpose." Rogue motioned towards Lucy's keys. "Now. Do it."

A small smile grew on Lucy's face as she summoned Crux. "That's the most I've heard you talk." She said.

"Don't get used to it."

"How may I help you, Mrs. Lucy?" Crux asked, pooping out of thin air. Lucy smiled at her spirit before turning to Rogue.

"We need to know where to find this," He pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket. When he unfolded the paper, there was a drawing of a strange herb with small flower buds growing off each, long, thin leaf. Crux examined the picture carefully before closing his eyes and concentrating.

About ten minutes of awkward silence passed until Rogue began growing impatient. "Is he asleep?" He asked, glaring at the old floating spirit. Lucy remained silent, continuing to watch Crux anxiously. "Lucy-"

"AHA!" Crux shouted, almost causing the Shadow Dragon Slayer to jump out of his skin. Lucy smiled and clapped.

"Well?"

"The Internum Sanatore can be found in the forest north of Magnolia. If you travel in that direction for about a day, you should arrive at the area where the herb is commonly found. BUT! Be careful," Crux handed Lucy a small piece of fabric that was a light shade of blue. "Only take the ones with this exact shade of blue. Any others are poisonous. And of course the only antidote is the genuine Internum Sanatore."

Rogue quietly groaned. "Everything is so complicated." He muttered, shaking his head slightly. Lucy thanked Crux before sending him back to the Spirit World. Everything fell silent after that. Not knowing what to do, Lucy began examining the fabric in her hands. Just then, a thought crossed her mind. "Hey, Rogue..." Said boy looked up at Lucy with a blank expression. "Why are you helping me?"

Rogue shrugged. "Because... Personally Sting's plan is not what I want. I want to be known for my own power, not someone else's." A long pause gave Lucy time to think about what was just said. "And don't think this means I'll be nice to you." Rogue added. Lucy smiled at him and nodded.

"I think we should get going." She said, handing the Shadow Dragon Slayer the blue fabric.

Sting sighed profusely as he paced through his room. "If Rogue is good at anything, it's hiding..." He mumbled. Thoughts flew through his mind, ideas of how he was going to get Lucy back. But all the plans ended the same: failure. He should've known to toxin bluff wouldn't last long. He should've known Rogue was too soft to go through with the plan. "Damnit!" Sting growled, kicking his nightstand.

Just then, Orga flew through the door as a loud boom rang through the building. The frantic look on his face made Sting shiver inwardly. Then, the man's gaze landed on the large gash across his guild mates' chest. His clothes were charred and his skin was peeling with bright red welts to top it off. Before he fell unconscious, his last word was, "Salamander."

Sting's eyes widened and his pacing halted.

"W-what?!" He immediately ran off, planning to escape before he could get to him. Sting swerved around corners and rushed down halls. The exit was in sight when the voice he'd dreaded most sounded from behind him.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Slowly, the blonde turned around, coming face to face with none other than Natsu Dragneel. Natsu looked at the boy before him with disgust. His expression twisted into one of complete malice and bloodlust. A dark smirk spread across his face. "I hope you know I plan to kill you." Sting gulped at Salamander's words, before he shakily nodded. Natsu grinned. "Good!"

Just as Sting thought he might have a chance to escape, he was thrown backwards and connected with the wall at the end of the hallway. He stumbled up off the ground. But before he could fully stand, a fist covered in flames came down on his head. The fact that he could not stand caused Sting to grow impatient. A loud growl ripped from his throat as he activated Dragon Force.

"White Dragon's roar!"

Natsu dodged just in time as the blinding white ray flew past him. When the dust settled, the two Dragon Slayers were facing each other with deadly glares.

"Where's Lucy?!" Natsu shouted, his fists igniting up into flames. Sting grinned mischievously.

"I don't know." A low growl emitted from the Fire Dragon Slayer as he charged towards his opponent.

"Don't mess with me!" He screamed as Sting's eyes widened with fear.

"I-I'm not! Rogue! H-he took her! I don't know where they are!" Before he could dodge, Sting was hit by the Fire Dragon's roar. He collided with the wall behind him, knocking him unconscious. Natsu shook with rage at the fact that his Lucy was not there.

Now to hunt down Rogue...

With one last kick to Sting's crumpled body, Natsu stormed out through the giant hole in the wall.