Chapter 14:

Dreaming

"I'm here." Lucy shouted as she enetered the guild in the middle of the night. Only the people who were chosen for this mission were left including the Master and Mirajane.

"Ahh,Lucy. Good to see you." Makarov said with a cheerful smile. Lucy waved a hand to him as she went straight to the bar where everyone else is.

"Good to see you,Lucy." Erza said. Lucy nodded and her eyes went serious.

"Alright," she began. "What's the mission?" Erza,Wendy and Lina explained to her the mission. "I see. So when do we leave?"

"We'll leave a little later before dawn." Gray answered. "That's why none of us is leaving the guild. We already packed our things."

"Well I didn't pack mine!" Lucy exclaimed.

Mirajane smiled and said, "Don't worry,Lucy. Gray went to your house earlier to get all the things you need."

"Gray?" she exclaimed. "How did you get into my house!" Gray just blushed and shyed away,only to stare directly into Juvia's wide,glaring eyes.

"How come Gray-sama comes to Lucy's house,when she's not even there? And when Juvia invites him over he refuses!" Juvia outraged. "Juvia feels sad. Juvia feels like...crying!" then she burst into tears. Everyone tried to calm her down before reaching the risk of drowning.

After that little scandal,everyone waited patiently for a train whistle to signal them to move.

"Lucy," Levy whispered. "I heard from Gray..."

"Heard what?" Lucy asked rather confused.

"I heard about your novels," she giggled. "The Dragon's Risk,Lion Romance,and even Ice Prince." Lucy froze. She blushed out of embarrassment. Then raged out in anger.

"GRAY!" she yelled,waking the ones who are half-asleep. "How dare you break into my house and read my novels! You'll pay!" Lucy said as Gray ran frantically in circles.

"It's not my fault! You were the one who left it obvious." Gray defended.

"I left it like that because I thought no one would break in!" Lucy yelled,practically breathing fire. Levy let out a sigh and sweatdropped.

"I guess I shouldn't have metioned it to her,huh?" she said innocently.

"Gee,you think?" everyone else responded. Her sweat dropped again. Lucy finally caught Gray and was about to smack him senseless when they heard the train whistle. Everyone jolted from their seats and headed for their bags. Natsu was carrying Lina's luggage,much to her protests. Gray wasn't carrying that much,since he knew he'd strip it off anyway. Lucy's pack was pretty essential,thanks to Gray. Erza had a cart-full of bags.

They said good bye to Master Makarov and Mirajane then went to the train. The seats can occupy six people in a group. So it's Erza,Lucy,Natsu,Gray and Lina on the left side; and Wendy,Gajeel,Levy and Juvia on the right. When they got seated,Lina tried to explain where they were headed. Although she struggled a bit with Natsu's sleeping weight was smothering her.

"Alright," she sighed after putting Natsu's head in her lap. "We're going back to the East. We're going back to the Forest of Fire to get to our destination."

"Where is our destination?" Lucy asked.

"The Ruins of the Dragons. Since ancient times,the people of the East believed in Dragons,possibly worshiped them. The place we are going to is the last place where they last saw the Dragons,before the said disappearance in year x777. I was too young to understand then,but that is the place where the Stone of Dragon's Soul is sealed."

"If we're going to get there,we need both courage and discipline,no exception. That's why I couldn't get there when I was young,I was scared and not physically and mentally trained."

"Are there tests given before entering the Ruins? Is it the reason you need courage and discipline?" Erza asked. Lina nodded.

"There is only one thing that will keep us off the ruins. It's called Illusion Mountain. That mountain contains powerful magic that tests Trackers and other individuals before even reaching the end of the mountain. The first test is to test your discipline. You will be shown individual visions of things you cannot stand. Those that push you to your very brink. Like a memory from the past,or haunting vision from the future. You need to believe in yourself and stay calm if you don't want to be trapped in the mountain forever."

Everyone shuddered,even Natsu who was sleeping.

"Can Natsu hear us?" Wendy asked.

"No,he's asleep. I'm telepathically informing him of everything. So by the time he wakes up,he'll know everything we've been talking about."

"Lina,continue. What is the second test?" Erza said.

"After you passed the first test,you'll be magically transported to halfway across the mountain. You run straight from there,and the mountain will test your courage. You will again be shown individual things,visions,or even persons that scare you the most. You need to accept those fears and move on,otherwise,instead of trapping you,the mountain will kill your ability to think,and you'll die insane."

"That's horrible!" Lucy exclaimed.

Lina and the others nodded in agreement. "Once you pass both trials,you will be then sent to the end of the mountain,which is the Ruins of the Dragons."

"Listen,everyone!" Erza ordered. "You need to start thinking of what you fear most now,so you can come to terms with or defeat them later."

"I don't have any fears!" Gajeel barked. Levy pouted at him,and he calmed down.

"You don't know that for sure,Gajeel." Erza warned.

"Juvia is afraid of losing Gray-sama." she said as she cuddled near Gray. Gray just looked away,afraid that if he reacted badly,she might drown everyone in the train.

A little later,everyone fell asleep because they didn't get any sleep earlier. Lina fell asleep without realizing that she's letting Natsu into her thoughts.

:Dream:

Natsu woke up on a green field and wind blowing through.

"Where am I?" he said as he rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms. He noticed something moving across the field. He squinted and saw Lina,running,as if she's after someone.

"Hey Lina!" he called. But no response. He looked behind him to see who she was running to,since she's running from no one,and saw him. Another Natsu. A dream Natsu. He was stunned. He was shocked by this.

"Natsu!" He looked around to see Lina,crying and almost tripping. The Dream Natsu was just there,looking at her.

"Lina,wait." Natsu said. He was about to grab her hand when it went right through him. He then realized that everything was a dream.

"Natsu," Lina cried. "Don't leave,please!" The Dream Natsu shoved her away and continued walking. "Natsu,please. Stay!"

"No,Lina." the Dream Natsu said unemotionally. "I have no need to stay anymore. Everyone... Everyone is dead,now." Natsu couldn't believe his ears. Everyone,his nakama was dead.

"Natsu,please!" Lina pleaded. "They are not dead and you know it. They just turned to stone,but we can fix them! Why are you so anxious to leave?"

The Dream Natsu pulled his arm away from her and glared at her,with anger in his eyes.

"I could never do that..." Natsu thought to himself.

"Fine! You wanna know why I want to leave so bad?" The Dream Natsu said. "It's because... I don't love you anymore!"

Lina froze,her hands dropped and her stance stiffened. She was still crying,but couldn't blink. Then she regained from the shock and cried even more.

"What did I do for you to leave me? To leave us?" she cried out.

"You were one of the reasons they turned to stone,right?" The Dream Natsu said coldly. "You risked using your powers,and it cost them their lives..."

"That's not true!" she defended. "You were with me that time,so you know it's not true!"

"It is! And it's because of you that everyone turned to stone. It's because of your stupid powers!"

"Natsu,please..." Lina pleaded. "I can't live without you anymore. I need you. Please." The Dream Natsu stood still,and let the wind pass. Afterwards his other hand smacked Lina on the face,hard. Lina flew over to a short distance. The Real Natsu's eyes widened,and tears started to form.

"Wha...What is this?" he asked himself. "I could never do that to her." Then he saw the Dream Natsu leaving.

"If you can't live without me," the Dream Natsu questioned. "Here." He threw a knife near Lina. "I don't ever want to see or hear from you again. Understand? I'll find a way to turn them back to normal,without you..."

"Good bye..." After that,light covered him and he disappeared. Lina was kneeling from where she laid. Natsu saw her grab the knife.

"Lina..." he said weakly. He saw her putting it above her chest,and suddenly,everything became dark and slow. Only the two of them with light.

"No! Don't do it! Please! Don't do it!" he yelled and he yelled,still he was too slow to stop her. He saw her stabbing herself and blood scattered everywhere.

:End of Dream:

Natsu woke up,panting hard,sweaty,and crying. Everyone else was still asleep. Then he looked up to him and saw Lina's face,flushed and was crying as well. He caressed her cheek and quickly rose up to kiss her. He was still panting,but he managed to wake Lina up.

"Natsu..." she said as she woke up. She realized she had tears running down her face. She was shocked and tried to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Natsu I..." she said as she was wiping her tears. He caressed her cheek again and made her look at him.

"Lina..." he whispered. "Were you dreaming... about me... leaving you?" Realizing he saw everything,Lina's eyes widened even more and she started crying again. She hugged Natsu and cried even more.

"Natsu..." she sobbed. "I'm sorry! I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have thought of something like that. I'm sorry..." She felt his hand lightly pat on her head.

"You know," Natsu said. "that was most scared I ever felt." She felt him crying as well. "You really know how to scare someone. Don't ever doubt about us again." he said as he kissed her again. They both tasted their salty tears that ran down their faces. They still cried,even after seeing each other smile.

"What if..." Lina hesitantly said. "What if the mountain makes us see that vision again in the test of courage?"

"Then we know what to do..." he smiled. "No one can make me leave you,remember? They have to pry you open from my cold,dead hands."

Lina hugged him and leaned on his chest. They switched this time,so Natsu was the one in the chair,and she was being carried. They both went back to sleep in each other's arms,smiling and happily dreaming.

I had a dream similar to this. I made it an inspiration... XD

I edited the extras... Please review so I can decide to postpone this or continue it! T_T