Natsu stood in what appeared to be a field surrounded by hills. It was reminiscent of when he came across Wendy but there were no flowers this time. His body was dog tired and he just wanted to lie down under the warm sun and catch some rest but he knew that that wasn't an option. He had no idea what to expect here and if he were to fall asleep then one of them could attack him in his state of unconsciousness and he would lose all chances of rescuing Lucy.

He knew that his nakama wouldn't normally do something like that, but these people weren't the same. Yeah, they looked and smelled the same but they definitely weren't them. His nakama wouldn't lock Lucy away in some tower and prevent him from seeing her. It was either that, or someone placed a spell of some sort over everyone in the guild to make them believe these lies. But that was beginning to seem even more impossible than the former one.

He sighed before his feet began to carry him forward. Each step he took felt like he would drop at any second. His feet felt as if they weighed a ton and the muscles in his body were screaming at him to stop but he couldn't. He wouldn't. He would never give up when one of his friends was in danger. Especially Lucy. He still wasn't sure what he was planning to do with Lucy. He liked things the way they were but every time he thought of them as just friends, it would feel as if something was clawing at his chest. And he really didn't like that feeling.

It reminded him of when Igneel went missing. The pain being similar yet different in its own way. He began to pant as he made his way up the large grassy hill. His feet continued to drag themselves up as he fought hard at the desire to just lay down upon the soft grass and sleep.

Once he finally cleared the hill, a small hut began to form in the distance. At first he didn't recognize it but as he grew closer, it dawned on him that he knew exactly where he was. His steps began to quicken as a smile formed on his face. He knew that this meant that he was in Magnolia, and that he wasn't far from the guild. And once he realized that, he realized that the scenery was actually familiar to him. All the tree's, the hills and even the smells now registered in his head exactly where he was. He stood out front of the tiny hut, staring at it with a light smile on his face. Maybe all of this was just a dream.

"Natsu?"

He turned around to see the girl who's voice he would recognize anywhere. His eyes widened once they landed upon the girl with shimmering blue eyes and short white hair. "Lisanna!" He said, but this wasn't the Lisanna that he was now familiar with. He stood in his spot staring at the young girl, wondering how she was a child once more. "Lisanna, what's going on? Why are you so young again?"

She giggled at him, finding something amusing about what he said but he continued to gaze at her with surprise and confusion written upon his face. "What do you mean young again? We're the same age silly." Another giggle escaped her tiny lips before Natsu glanced down at himself. His tiny hands raised and he balled them into fists once he realized that he too was a child once more.

"What's going on Lisanna?! Why are we kids again?" He demanded. He didn't like what was going on, he actually was beginning to worry. Lisanna's smile vanished and was replaced with a frown.

"I don't understand what you're saying Natsu. Kids again? Did you have a weird dream or something?" She cocked her head to the side and normally Natsu would find it cute but his mind was far from things like that.

"I'm not supposed to be small again! And what happened to Lucy? Why am I so young ?" He was completely confused at this point and had begun to yell at the tiny version of Lisanna. He felt bad for it because he knew that it wasn't her fault but he couldn't stop the frustration from building. He hated this, being small and feeling weak. Feeling as if he couldn't protect those dear to him.

"What are you talking about Natsu?! And who is Lucy?" She questioned. He saw the flash of pain cross through her crystal blue eyes but he choose to ignore it. There were more important things to worry about at the moment. Like how was he going to rescue Lucy in this form.

"Lucy! My partner, my team mate! Where is she? And how can I save her if I'm a kid again?!" He pulled at his pink locks, desperately wanting the answers to all the questions swirling around in his head.

"But Natsu, I thought I was your partner." He could hear the pain in her voice and guilt began to tug at him. With a sigh, he approached the tiny girl and placed his hand upon her head.

"You are, but Lucy is different. I can't really explain it but just believe in me." He said with a light smile gracing his tiny features. She smiled in return, but he could see that she wasn't happy with the explanation that he gave her. Her eyes then took in the sight of him before a gasp escaped her lips.

"Natsu! What happened to you? Were you fighting with Gray again?" She gave him a stern look that held a hint of playfulness in it. He chuckled, finding this rather similar to how things were all those years ago, and quite frankly, still are. When he nodded, she clicked her tongue before dragging him inside the tiny hut. He lit his hand, allowing the flames to light up the once dark room. Lisanna was now fumbling with something as her back was turned to him before she turned around with a first aid kit in her hands.

"You really need to learn how to take care of yourself." She said as she began to dress his wounds. At this point Natsu began to wonder why he still had all these wounds from fighting Erza if he went back in time. He could feel the headache coming on from all the thinking he has had to do recently. "Hey Natsu?" He hummed in response to signal that he was listening before she continued. "Are you sure you weren't dreaming up this Lucy girl?"

Natsu's dark eyes shot to the girl currently wrapping his arm and he could see that she was avoiding eye contact. He studied her for a moment as he thought over how to answer the question. He knew that he would probably sound crazy saying this, and that she probably wont believe him but he didn't have a choice. He wasn't going to lie to his nakama.

"No, I wasn't dreaming. If anything I'm not sure if I am dreaming right now. Lucy is my partner and teammate. I am the one who brought her to the guild a few years back when I met her while I was looking for Igneel." As Natsu continued to explain about Lucy, he could feel his eyes growing heavier by the minute. His magic was drained and his body exhausted beyond belief. Since he was with Lisanna, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to take a nap. At least he knew that he would be alright.

"So, how can you be so certain that you weren't dreaming then? Maybe all of that was nothing but a crazy dream you had and that this is reality." He looked down at her again and noticed that she had stopped in the middle of wrapping his arm. Her hands clenched tightly to the gauze roll and they shook just slightly. Natsu narrowed his eyes at her, more questions beginning to form in his head but still he felt the exhaustion steadily growing and his eyes were now half lidded.

"It's just a...feeling, I guess." He yawned before he laid back, using a small lump of hay as a pillow before his eyes closed and sleep lured him into his dreams once more.

Natsu awoke to a strange smell filling his senses. His dark eyes popped open as he covered his nose with his hands and glanced around the tiny hut. Confusion was visible upon his face, it seemed like he was forgetting something. Something important. He called out, hoping that his close friend was still nearby to find out exactly what this crazy smell was.

He walked out of the hut and took a deep breath of the fresh air outside of the hut before glancing around in search for Lisanna. When he didn't see the spot of white, he called out once more. A rustle in the bush nearby had him standing at the ready for a surprise attack that wouldn't be much of a surprise. With narrowed eyes, he watched as a figure stepped out from the bushes. Natsu sighed when he realized that it was just Lisanna carrying a basket full of fruit with her.

"Morning Natsu, how did you sleep?" She greeted. She was still the younger version, but Natsu didn't seem to mind anymore as he talked with her just as they always had.

"Good I guess, except for the really weird smell that was in the hut. Do you smell it?" He asked her. The smell had burned his nose and had left him feeling rather queasy. He wasn't sure what it was having never smelt something like that before. She responded by raising one of her pale brows and slowly shaking her head at him. Natsu shrugged, before thinking over what he wanted to do. The feeling rose in him once more that there was something he was forgetting but he just couldn't figure it out.

"Something wrong Natsu?" Lisanna asked as she watched him tapping his finger to his chin.

"I don't think so, but I keep getting this feeling like I'm forgetting something. Something really important." Lisanna's eye widened just the slightest but it went unnoticed by the dragon slayer who continued to try and recall what he was forgetting.

"It was probably nothing. Maybe you're still sleepy. Do you need to take another nap?" She questioned. At this point, a feeling began to rise within the tiny dragon slayers gut, but he just couldn't place it. What was it that he was forgetting? "Or maybe you're hungry? Would you like something to eat?" She held the basket up, filled with fruit as Natsu's dark eyes gazed down at it, his mouth watering slightly. Come to think of it, he was starving!

"Ah, thanks Lisanna!" A small hand reached inside, grabbing out a large, ruby red apple from the pile before sinking his teeth into it. As he chewed, he shot Lisanna a quick smile, one of reassurance if anything since she seemed so worried about. This apple had to be the best he'd ever had before, there was definitely something about it that made it much sweeter than normal.

The day went by in almost the blink of an eye. Him and Lisanna enjoyed their time together, playing and laughing as if this was completely normal. As if no time had passed at all. His gut never stopped telling him that something was wrong, but he began to ignore it. He couldn't understand how there could be anything bad happening when it was just him and Lisanna here, and they were having so much fun! And that important thing that Natsu couldn't figure out earlier seemed to have completely left his mind.

Day slowly became night, even if it didn't seem slow to them. They had so much fun that they didn't even realize just what time it was. Making their way back towards the hut, the sun had completely faded at this point. Him and Lisanna continued chatting about random things, pretty much anything that came to mind. Their smiles never left their faces as they spent the entire day together. Just a few feet away from the hut, the feeling rose once more. The feeling of having forgotten something. Pausing in his step, he glanced back at the way they came from, his brow furrowed in confusion.

Charcoal eyes turned to the sky, glancing up at the stars as they gleamed in contrast to the black of the night. The longer he glanced at the stars, the worse the feeling became. He wasn't just forgetting something, but someone. "Is everything okay, Natsu?" Lisanna asked from behind him. He didn't turn to face her, just continued gazing at the stars while concentrating his hardest on trying to remember. It was something about those stars that really got to him. The way they shined like gold. A growl of irritation rumbled in his throat when he realized that the weird scent was back once again, but he didn't let that distract him.

Stars, stars, stars... Gold... Golden stars... Golden stars...LUCY! Natsu's eyes widened as he whipped around to face the small version of his white haired friend only to be overwhelmed by the strength of that strange smell. It had grown so strong, so quickly that he wondered how he didn't notice. But at this point, he was suddenly growing tired. His widened eyes now became half lidded as they landed upon his long time friend who wore a look upon her face as if something was upsetting her. But that was the last thing he saw before everything went black.