*AN: Welp, this is progressing painfully slow. Rejoice, though! For this chapter is going to be long and it's going to hopefully make some things make sense!Anyway, on to the next chapter, READ ON! ~AsianNinjaChik *

Chapter 14

~Natsu~

Lisanna's lips leave mine.

"I-I-I'm sorry, Natsu." She says quietly. Without a second glance, she turns and runs out of the Guild. I catch Wendy's scent as a draft drifts past me. Before I can question what I just smelled, another familiar scent catches my attention.

Lucy? I follow it until I smell it especially strong behind a column. Realization hits me, "She must've heard that conversation..."

I don't know why, but for some reason, that really bothers me. I look up in time to see her blonde pigtails whisk out the door. My body seems to move on its own as I begin to run after her. After some time, I stand in front of her house. Being me, I jump up and land on her window sill, just in time to see her hurry in and curl up on her bed.

Before I can process it, I've opened her window, quietly closed it shut once I'm in, and have wrapped my arms around her shaking body.

She turns to look at me with tears streaming down her face. Not knowing what else to do, I pull her closer and whisper, "Please don't cry.", but I don't think she hears.

She continues to tremble until it gradually stops. When I look down, I realize that she's fallen asleep. I begin to unwrap my arms in preparation to leave, but she grabs my shirt. Startled, I look back down and see that she's still asleep.

"Don't leave." She whispers.

Knowing that she can't hear me, I say back, "I will never leave."

I swear I see a smile play across her face as I say this, but right now, I'm too confused to pay it any attention.

"Do you love her?" Lisanna asks. I frown, remembering the conversation that had happened a mere hour ago. Love? What a weird word. What is it like to love someone? During this troubling think-session, my mind flashes back to my time spent with Gemini-Lucy. Gemini had asked me if I thought Lucy was pretty or not. Thinking back, I realize that I had lied. The first time Gemini asked, I had said yes, same with the second time, but when she didn't believe me, I had said that I answered that way because that's how she wanted me to answer. But was that really true? Maybe she didn't care what I said... Maybe she just wanted meto be honest. Do I think that Lucy's pretty? I ask myself. I look at her sleeping figure, Yeah, she's pretty.

Why did I tell Gemini that I was lying? I ask, becoming slightly annoyed.

My face is inches from hers, and my stare intense as I try to figure the mess in my head out, when she groggily opens her eyes.

"GOOD MORNING!" I say, all troubling thoughts gone.

She quickly sits up, "Morning?"

I scratch the back of my head, "Nah, but it'll be sunset, soon."

She nods and sits quietly for a minute before whispering oh-so quietly, "Thank you."

I know she knows that I hear it, "For what?"

She crawls into my lap and hugs me, "For being here for me. For always being there. For helping me. For saving me all those times. For everything, really. But mostly, for being you."

I admit that I'm confused, but my pride gets the best of me, so I say, "For being me?"

"Yeah. I couldn't ask for a better partner than you."

For some reason, this causes me to feel fuzzy inside, "Really?"

She nods.

Then, "Oh she won't care. Natsu barges into her house all then time!"

"Erza!" Lucy says sitting up straight.

"See, I told you!" A very smug looking Erza says to a very apologetic looking Jellal.

Then, noticing me on her bed, Erza says, "OH! So you're both here! Excellent! Lucy, a quick word?"

Lucy gets up and walks over to Erza who drags her out into the hallway for a secret girly conversation.

"You two don't seem to have changed much." Jellal remarks.

I frown, "It's only been a month or two since you last saw us."

"I didn't mean that... I meant... Oh never mind."

"Tell me."

He shakes his head, "It's nothing, really."

I frown harder, "Tell me."

"I meant your progress with eachother."

"I dunno, I think it's coming a long fine!"

"Really? Good for you, then!" He says, clapping.

I nod, "She's almost completely mastered the whip!"

He seems to almost fall when I say this, "That's not-... That's great!"

I grin.

"So, rumor on the streets is that Dragons and Dragon Slayers only ever love once." He says while sitting down next to me.

I narrow my eyes, "Why would people on the streets be talking about Dragons and Dragon Slayers?"

He shakes his head, "It's an expression..."

"Oh... Well, yeah, it's true."

"Must be nice."

Confused, I ask, "What must be nice?"

"Not having to worry about something like that. Being able to live your life knowing that there is only one person meant for you."

"Just because that's the only person for you, doesn't mean that you're the only one for them."

"I suppose that's true." He say sighing, "So does that mean you've met yours, and she's rejected you?"

"Huh? No. Well, I dunno. I might have already met her, and I might not have. It's hard to say."

He looks at me curiously, "You mean... you don't know?"

I shrug, "I don't really know how it works. I guess it's kinda like the thing where everyone knows that you two are together, even though it's not a real thing. A Dragon or Dragon Slayer's mate has to be claimed. So, until she's claimed, she isn't my mate, and the only person that I can claim is her. It's really complicated, so I kind of ignore it."

"Ignore it?"

"Yeah, it's kinda like this weird tug telling me to check every single girl I see to decide if she's my mate or not."

"That's some scary imagery." He mutters.

"Eh?"

"N-nothing. So what do you do once you've figured out who it is?" He asks, seeming genuinely.

I frown, "Not really sure. I kinda tuned out at this part when Igneel was telling me about it."

"Not surprising."

"I do remember him saying something about it having to do with my instincts and claiming her."

"That's an important lesson, why would you tune out?"

"I don't really care about that kinda stuff."

"Is that so?"

I nod, when a sudden flash of brilliance hits me, "It's kinda like your relationship with Erza! If you were a Dragon, everyone would know that you've claimed her and that she is yours alone."

This causes him to turn red, "Wh-what?"

"Mhmm!"

"Well, in that case, you've clearly 'claimed' Lucy." He says.

"Nah! We're just partners!" I say grinning.

But a little voice tugs at me, Nope nope nope. You've definitely claimed her, you little sly one, you.

I shake it off and laugh at Jellal who looks at me like I've grown wings or something.

It's just then that a laughing Erza walks in with a red Lucy, "Alright, get ready to head out!"

"Eh?" I ask, confused.

"We came to ask you two for help." Jellal explains.

"We need you two for a mission." Erza finishes.

Lucy shakes her head, "Nuh-uh. Natsu and I are going on a job. Ask someone else."

"What job?" Erza says, "Maybe we can do your before ours."

Lucy takes a piece of paper out her the small bag she always has with her and hands it to Erza.

" 'Save my Bird'." She reads aloud. Then squinting, she points at a picture, "Do you know what that is?"

"It's a bird?"

"Not just any bird. It's a Parabis." She explains.

"A Parabis?" Lucy asks.

"Aren't they some kind of deadly bird or something?" I ask.

"Yeah." Erza nods.

Lucy walks over to her bookshelf and pulls out a book titled: Everything About Birds.

She reads aloud: "A Parabis is an extremely rare bird. They were hunted hundreds of years ago, not for their feathers, but because they were flying rampant and destroying villages. The feathers of a Parabis are thinly coated in a toxin that can kill anything, or anyone that touches it. Not, only that, but a Parabis has small tooth-like ridges on its beak that's used for crunching small mammals. Its claws are deathly sharp, and strong enough to puncture the strongest of steel. It has the ability to mimic any sound or voice it hears, which is how it lures it prey or enemies. This also means that they make for good ways of remembering things or recording messages."

Her face goes pale, "Why would someone want us to save a bird like this?"

Erza looks at Jellal, "Sound familiar?"

He nods, "You see, we're looking for a Rogue Transformation Wizard. His magic, though, affects others instead of himself. For whatever reason, though, women and children are immune to his magic. The only lead that I've gotten on him in the weeks of hunting him down was that he has a Parabis."

"What does this have to do with anything?" I ask in confusion.

Lucy's face lightens as she connects the puzzle pieces that I can't see, "They can record messages... He wants us to bring it to our Guild..."

It suddenly hits me, "HE WANTS TO BE PART OF OUR GUILD!"

They all stop and look at me, "No, Natsu." Erza says, "He wants to spy on our Guild."

"The best thing we can do is go with it. It's the best lead we have, after all." Jellal says.

Lucy frowns, "I feel like there's something so much bigger going on."

"I do, too." Erza says.

"Why don't we get more people to help? I have a feeling that Lucy is right. What if we get Laxus, Elfman, Mirajane, and Evergreen, along with these two and Romeo and Wendy?"

Erza nods, "That's not a bad idea... But, I think that too many people will draw too much attention. If anything, they could do some undercover work."

Finally, all in agreement, we leave Lucy's house with more than just troubling thoughts on our mind. We take a pitstop by the market to pick up some food before leaving to find Romeo and Wendy, as well as the house mentioned on the job flyer. On our way out, we bump into two people on their way in.

"Mirajane! Laxus." Erza greets.

I notice her tone change when she greets Laxus and I can't help but snicker. Luckily, no one notices.

"I have something to ask of you." She says.

"What is it?" Mirajane asks.

"We're looking for a Rogue Transformation Wizard." He explains, "We finally have a good lead on him, but could you keep your eyes and ears open?"

"Will do!" Mirajane says.

Laxus holds a finger up, "Isn't Cana at Sabertooth? We should ask her to keep an eye out, too."

"That's a good idea!" Mirajane says, reaching into her pack to retrieve a calling card that Cana gave to everyone.

"Hold on. Why is Cana at Sabertooth?" Jellal asks.

Mirajane and Lucy exchange a knowing glance. At first, Erza seems confused, but suddenly, she joins them. Jellal looks at me and Laxus with a blank look that we both return.

"Never mind that," Erza says, "Let's just call her."

We three guys simply shrug and watch as Mirajane holds out the card.

It rings for a moment before, "Mira?! Is that you?"

"Yeah." She says.

"So, I may have gotten myself into some trouble..." She starts.

"More like a lot of trouble." A masculine voice says.

"Shut up, Sting. At least I was sober." She snaps.

"In any case, we're trapped." Another masculine voice says.

"Rogue, it's rude to listen in on other people's conversations!" A sweet voice scolds.

"Whatever, lovebirds." Cana says, "But yeah. We're trapped."

"Can't you get yourself out?" Laxus asks.

I can see Cana roll her eyes on the receiving end of the card, "We have two Dragon Slayers, me, and Yukino. If we could get ourselves out, we would've already done it."

"What are you doing with Sabertooth?" I ask.

"Natsu?" Sting asks.

"Yeah."

"There's some kind of magic protecting the cage. We can't touch it." Yukino explains.

"Cage?" Lucy asks.

"Lucy?" Cana asks, "Looks like the whole gang is here! Anyway, yeah. The four of us are trapped in a cage. But we're not the only ones, either. There are other people trapped in other cages here."

"How many other people?" Erza asks with a frown.

Cana doesn't seem surprised to hear Erza as she says, "It's hard to say. We've talked to the people here. Some have been here as long as we have, and some have been down here longer. But they all say that no one stays longer than two days."

"Could this have something to do with the Rogue Wizard?" Lucy asks.

"It's possible, but unlikely." Jellal says.

"Oh, Jellal is there, too?" Cana asks, "Say, Jellal, during your travels, have you encountered a very pink tavern run by a pudgy little rude man?"

His eyes widen, "Run by a what?"

"A pudgy little rude man." She says.

"What did he look like?" Jellal asks frantically.

"He's kinda plump... and he has purple hair that looks like an ice-cream cone, kinda." She says.

"No, more like a tree." Sting says from the background.

"Ice-cream cone, tree, whatever." She snaps.

"What's the tavern called?" Jellal asks.

We all look at eachother in confusion.

"It's the 'Tavern of Love.'" Yukino answers.

Jellal mouths 'Tavern of Love' a few times before saying, "Did you get the man's name?"

"No..." Cana says.

Jellal looks at Erza, "He's the one we're looking for... I'm sure of it."

"Is there anything else you can tell us about where you are?" Lucy asks.

This time it's Rogue who answers, "We're in the town outside of Sabertooth. There's a pink tavern, but my guess is that we were transported somewhere. There are torches everywhere so that we can see, and it's quite clear that we're underground. If anything, there are huge matching locks on all of the cages. It'd take one hell of a key to open them."

"Is there anything else?" I ask.

There's a pause, and then Yukino says, "I think I can hear water."

"And footsteps!" Cana adds, "We have to go." And the connection is cut off.

Erza and Laxus make eye contact and nod, "Laxus, Mirajane, I need you two to gather some people and go look for this tavern. We're going to go look after another lead we have."

With a nod, the discussion is broken up and a dark cloud seems to hang over us as we look for Romeo and Wendy.