It had taken about an hour to reach Wendy's team, as much in part to Natsu nearly falling out of the carriage twice, as it was to Wendy and her group continuing on their path instead of waiting for them to catch up. Lucy didn't blame her, Carla hadn't come back to tell her right away, so it was no surprise that they followed their best lead.

An hour, and the sky was already darkening ominously. Rain was sure to start any time, and the now merged group was well on their way toward the scent that both dragon slayers had picked up. Wendy urged them to move as fast as they could, in fear of the rain washing away the already weak scent.

"If we don't hurry we'll be stranded out here in the rain." She said.

"At least we know the direction to go." Erza said, her voice serious.

"That's true." Lucy glanced up at the sky, "But I think I'd prefer to get where we need to be while it's still clear."

The rest nodded in agreement at that, Elfman especially enthusiastic about the idea of getting to their destination before the rain.

It took another half hour before a large building came into view, and a half hour later the first bits of rain came down in a mist, covering the vast field the six traveled across. Lucy looked back at how far they had walked since leaving the road behind. The group had opted to walk the rest of the way instead of using the magical vehicle in concern that it could take up magic they'd need for the upcoming fight.

None of them knew what to expect, and that worried them. Even Natsu, acted more cautiously than usual. In most fights with major villains or guilds there weren't hostages to worry about. But this time was different, there was a member of their family in danger, and they had to be ready for anything. That knowledge alone had all on edge, ready to spring into action at the tiniest sign of danger.

Happy and Carla had returned soon after the rain had begun, and joined in the almost dead silence of the group. The scent had lead them to the building they saw in the distance, and now it loomed dangerously before them. It resembled a castle, large and made almost entirely of stone. What was likely beautiful stained glass windows were closed tight and slicked with rain, the parapets held large cages on each corner, they glowed from an unknown source, and the group was very sure it was magical in nature.

"What kind of person lives in a castle out in the middle of nowhere?" Gray asked, slightly annoyed. His damp hair clung to his face, the bangs nearly poking him the eyes as he shifted his weight. He whipped at his face, attempting to push the stands back with his hand and try to remove a sleeve of a shirt he had already long since stripped. The awkward movement cause a few quiet laughs from his friends as he realized what he was doing.

"Hopefully the person we're looking for." Lucy answered as she watched the display.

The group had walked up the path leading to the castle, and stood before the large wooden doors.

"What do we do now?" Wendy asked, "Should we knock?"

"Forget that," Natsu's hand burst into flame. The rain muted it slightly, but even with the dampness the fire burned as strong as ever, "We'll just bust the door down. This has to be the place, the scent is weak, but Laxus has been here recently."

"We can't just-" Erza began, but as she started to speak the doors creaked and slowly slid open, revealing a large open foyer that had a staircase on either side of the room leading up the a walkway. "It appears that we've been invited in."

"So it seems." Lucy glanced around as the group entered. The room had no other doors and, aside from the staircases, there appeared to be no other way to continue through the castle. "This doesn't seem to be suspicious at all."

"There's that sarcasm again." Gray grinned, "But yeah, it looks like this might be a trap. Should we leave?" He turned to look back at the entrance to see the door had already closed behind them.

"That's not creepy, it just closed without a sound." Elfman said as he went up to the door and attempted to push it open. After a few attempts he finally abandoned his attempts and returned to his friends with a look of failure.

"It appears to have been locked as well." Erza said, inspecting the door as the others tried to come up with a way out. "What do you guys think we should…" She asked, turning her attention back to the group.

She stared in silence as she realized that they were all gone. No sound, breath, or heel click to announce their departure. Just gone. Erza was all alone, and that didn't bode well. She was certain that their enemy had done this, separated them to strike at each of them separately. Sighing, the redhead proceeded up the staircase on the left and went to find her increasing number of missing friends.

(To be continued...)

Most of these updates will be shorter than most of the earlier bits. only a few more parts left, like 9 maybe. Nothing too bad, since they're only about a page and a half long (in word) in most cases. Enjoy!

Only Crystal is my character, All other named characters are property of Hiro Mashima from his series, Fairy Tail.

This is meant to be a fan fiction, written by a fan (Shey), for entertainment purposes only.