A/N: Quick note; it's been a while and I'm sorry. With Christmas around the corner maybe I'll finish this story soon... don't hold your breath.
Natsu woke with a start, his heart thumping rhythmically in his ears, his body covered in a cold sweat. It wasn't often the dragon slayer felt a chill, even Gray's magic wasn't enough to cause his burning body to cool by more than a percentage of a degree. However, at this point, Natsu was freezing, shivering. It took Natsu a while to get his breathing together, his muscles felt incredibly tight, his body exhausted, hypothermia, there could be no doubt.
Natsu shifted slowly to his side, his field of vision flickering and jumping around like fireflies in the night sky. He needed to get his bearings, that was the first order of business. He was inside, he could see that now, four walls surrounded him and although it was dark in the room he could see light flowing in from a crack in the door. A murmur snapped him from his investigation. There was some else in the room. He sniffed the air, the smell of blood was overwhelming but he could make out the smallest traces of a smell he knew. Risley, it was Risley. Feeling more comfortable he pushed himself onto his knees, fighting hard against the urge to lay back down. He could only assume that, considering the fact that he was clearly being taken care of, he was not in enemy territory. Unfortunately he couldn't really recall the events of the night before, he remembered fighting Kagura, the pirates and the leader, the black dress lady, but he couldn't remember the result, he couldn't remember having Lucy in his arms again.
The door creaked open and Natsu came face to face with his partner, the exceed looked at the dragon slayer with a mixture of worry and relief as tears rolled down his petite blue cheeks. Following the cat a dark haired Fairy Tail mage, grinning, and yet, apprehensive.
"Welcome back." Taro uttered the words seemingly without moving his lips, maybe Natsu still couldn't think straight, he felt ever so weak still afterall. "Happy, get Natsu some fire."
The blue exceed nodded quickly and dashed off in the direction of the light source, presumably in another room somewhere. Natsu opened his mouth to speak but found his mouth parched of any liquid, instead his voice came out as more of a squark. The dragon slayer noted Taro's snigger at this, and fully intended to force him to pay when he was feeling 'more fired up'. It was at this point that Natsu realised the S-Class mage was entirely, head to toe, unscathed. Not a single scratch, bruise or bump riddled the mage's complexion. It was almost as if the boy had not fought at all, the thought actually angered Natsu, had Taro really prioritised the dragon slayer's safety over the rescue? Over Lucy's?
Happy returned with a burning log which Natsu happily gobbled down, he felt the rejuvenating warmth flow through him and his feet suddenly felt stable. He grinned up at this partner exceed whom sheepishly smiled back. Natsu knew there was something up, something off.
"Natsu..." Taro began but was interrupted as Natsu swung a flaming fist at him, flames spewing from his mouth. The dragon slayer wasn't often angered by his own friends, his family, but right now he wasn't interested in words, he wanted to take out his frustration and Taro had unintentionally got on his nerves. It wasn't just that though, it was said that the best way to understand someone was through fighting, Natsu had always held that idea to heart.
It didn't help Natsu's anger when he felt his fist strike nothing but air as Taro skilfully dodged backwards a perplexed expression plastered on his face. Natsu growled in anger and rushed forward, flames spiralling around him. Once again Taro sidestepped his attack and Natsu crashed through the wall causing the cool outside air to flow in. Natsu slowly climbed to his feet again, he was standing on slightly yellowed scorched grass just outside the wall he had torn down. The early morning sun was still new in the sky and the sudden change in brightness caused Natsu to hiss uncontrollably. Natsu wasn't surprised to see where he was, all of about 500m from where he had collapsed, the very house they had spend time planning their rescue of Lucy. All it did was further provoke Natsu's fury, as far as the dragon slayer could tell everything that had happened during the night had been for naught.
"Natsu, you're dehydrated, you're far too sluggish to even get a hit in." Taro smiled, head titled to the side as he stepped through the hole in the wall cracking his knuckles. "But, if you insist, I'll put you down."
Natsu roared, fire erupting from his mouth towards the gap in the wall and his friend. Taro didn't even try to dodge, instead he waved his hand at the beam of fire; catching it mid-air; condensing it and swirling it around his finger like a basketball. With a snap of his fingers the ball of magic disappeared leaving no sign in it's wake.
"Natsu, you may be angry but Risley is completely defenceless."
It happened faster than Natsu thought possible, a sudden pain surged through Natsu's abdomen, Taro's fist embedded deep in his flesh. The dragon slayer hadn't even seen him move, let alone had time to think about a counter move. The air from Natsu's lungs rushed out through his lips and simultaneously a cool liquid was shoved into his mouth. Taro held a small glass of water in his other hand which, despite Natsu's protest, was quickly disappearing down the dragon slayer's throat.
"Why are you fighting?" The blue exceed had tears rolling down his face. The exceed had seen Natsu in bad moods before, it happened often when the two of them were alone. Natsu would become frustrated at silly things at the guild and take it out on something in their house. There was also the Natsu anger where his family were injured or upset, the anger that boiled in Natsu when he needed to defeat the toughest of opponents. The anger that Natsu portrayed now was a new breed, anger that Happy had never witnessed his partner ooze. It terrified the exceed. Natsu was his hero and yet, Natsu was losing it.
Natsu fell to his knees, coughing as he proceeded to clear his air waves.
"I don't know Happy, I just... don't understand why Lucy isn't here."
Happy looked at the dragon slayer, if anyone understood the boy's feelings it was Happy. He missed Lucy too, she was part of the family, she was part of their team, without her their trio just wasn't complete, it wasn't the same. It wasn't only that though, Natsu and Lucy's relationship was something different, they were more than friends but less than lovers. It was a relationship that both of them relished, they adored each other, and Natsu needed her, the same way he needed air. Right now, Natsu blamed Taro for that lack of air. As hard as he tried Happy couldn't understand why, what Taro had done during the night seemed perfectly logical. He had defused a bad situation when Natsu had been bested and nursed him back to health. Ready for round two, ready for the real rescue mission.
"There was nothing I could do Natsu." Taro's voice was unusually quiet, his eyes focused on his feet. "She needs you to save her."
Natsu looked at the S-class mage, trying to find his answers. He had to admit his mind had been clouded with fury, the water had helped with that. He had assumed that Taro was a coward, that Taro wouldn't risk it all for his friends. It was the type of person that Natsu hated the most, the ones that would expend their friends for their own gain. The dragon slayer had felt betrayed but it may well have been his feelings simply getting the better of his judgement.
"You couldn't have beaten her? She was almost down."
"I... I wanted to save the girls."
Natsu looked at the S-Class mage, he could see the pain in his words.
"What?" Was all Natsu could manage.
"There was a follow up attack." Happy explained, "While you were fighting they attacked the house, they got everyone... we weren't fast enough."
"And you knew?" Natsu asked eyes flickering between the pair.
"I could sense it," Taro explained vaguely, "I'm sorry Natsu, I made a gamble and lost."
Natsu nodded, clenching his fists, white knuckles brazing.
"But now we don't know where they are, the girls and Lucy."
At this Taro smiled, "Actually we know exactly where they are... so when you're ready we can go get Lucy back."
Natsu smiled, he felt calmer now, maybe he really had just needed some water, maybe he had just needed the explanation. As if on cue a chubby girl edged her way out of the darkness behind Taro. Risley nodded at the boys indicating that she was ready. Taro rose to his feet and disappeared for a few moments before returning with a few handfuls of bread for them each to snack on. The four sat down in a comfortable silence as they filled their stomachs, preparing for the fight ahead.
"Natsu," Happy whispered, "We'll have Lucy back soon."
"I know," Natsu grinned back, patting the exceed between his ears.
"When we see her you can give her this." Happy handed Natsu a small golden pendant, the very pendant they had found on the ship earlier. Natsu looked at the exceed and beamed, he was sure Lucy would love it.
Natsu rubbed the gold star in his pocket, allowing it's smooth finish to be embedded into his memory. He generally wasn't the type to be sentimental but the little gold star was perfect for Lucy, it already reminded him of her, he was almost certain she was meant to have it.
Natsu was crouched at the top of a tree over looking a small army camp. Taro had led them through the woods in the direction of, what he assumed to be, the main base of operations of the pirates. As they had neared the area Natsu had smelled them, his heightened sense of smell proving to, as always, be a fantastic asset.
The three-man rescue group consisting of Natsu, Taro and Happy had, for better or for worse, decided that for the first time in Natsu's life, some subtly would be useful. It was a similar situation to the one that they had been in when scouting out the house only this time, Natsu was happy to be patient, afterall he had witnessed first hand the strength of the enemy's leader. Natsu wasn't as foolhardy as many people believed, he didn't always rush head first into battle without thinking, he always had a plan, a strategy to win, but with this new opponent he wasn't sure entirely what her strength was, that meant he was blind. He was however sure that with a certain blond by his side he would have the power to emerge victorious, he had afterall, never been defeated in her presence.
They had chosen to hide out in the trees for many reasons. The most prominent of which was of course the ability to see exactly how the area was laid out. From where he was perched Natsu had a good idea of the camp's layout. There was a large, long building with barred windows. It was immediately obvious, even without his sense of smell, that Lucy must be within that compound. There were a few garages to the right of the building though what they contained was a mystery. Further from his vantage point a large, well build house which, even from here, looked the most well taken care of. He turned to his comrade, making sure that the S-Class mage had all the information he needed. They were both prepared for the fight, both prepared to stake their lives for the sake of their friend, at least, Natsu hoped that was the case. If Lucy wasn't coming home with them, Natsu wasn't coming back either.
"Why didn't you let Risley come?" Happy's voice was barely audible over the rustling of the leaves. It was a question that Natsu had pondered too, assumingly the s-class mage had viewed her as a dead weight, something Natsu knew Risley was not. He himself had lost to her in the grand magic games, albeit in a race.
"Someone has to stay behind, just in case." Taro sighed heavily while titling his head to the side, "And I figured she might want to look after her guildmate."
Natsu frowned and looked at the boy. Had Kagura been in the house too? Wasn't she an enemy? Natsu could clearly remember having to incapacitate the Mermaid Heel ace, it had been a hard fought victory but he had put her down. He had assumed that would be the end of it though he did suppose he owed it to Erza to make sure she was unharmed. Even then, when he was at the house he hadn't been able to smell her, he should have been able to smell her.
"She was at the house." Natsu statement was blunt and hollow, showing no emotion. Taro slowly nodded.
"I kept her away from you in another room, just in case, but she's fine now. She attacked you because of Lorelei's magic."
"Wait you know what her magic is?" Natsu had replied without thinking but it was information that he desperately desired. He wanted to question the mage on so much, like how isolation of Kagura had somehow effected his smell perception but he would settle for that useful titbit.
"Her name's Lorelei, she uses possession magic. You can think of it like a parasite, if she can inject just a small amount of her magic into your system, under the right circumstances, she can make you obey her every whim. However she can only control one person at a time, and only while their will is broken can she worm her way in."
"How the heck do you..."
Natsu was about to question the mage further when the door to what Natsu assumed was the prison block flew open. He hadn't noticed the two men enter but he sure as hell saw them leave dragging a small cat-woman behind them. Natsu felt his blood boil, Millianna may not be part of his family but she was still a friend, Natsu Dragneel did not let his friends get hurt without paying back the perpetrators a hundred fold. He turned to his feline friend and nodded, sharing a quick glance with his colleague. He was pleased to see the anger evident in the face of the usually cold mage. No words were needed.
It was time to move.