Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from Fairy Tail, the rights to them belong to Hiro Mashima. Not me.

Spellbound voice


Stomp.

Stomp.

Stomp.

Stomp.

Lucy plodded along, her steps heavy and her spine twinging with pain.

She hadn't stopped walking ever since she left for the captor of her voices abode in the early hours of the morning. Her feet ached, her eyes felt heavy from fatigue and exhaustion from waking up early, her posture and shoulders slunk into a heavy slouch, both of her arms swung from side-to-side as she walked with them feeling like lead instead of her actual arms —in fact, the Celestial mage thought that she might as well as had noodles for arms at this point.

She felt as though she had been walking for an eternity.

Her feet were aching beyond imagination by now and her legs ached in protest with each and every single step she took and she knew that she had to find out soon because she couldn't risk it if Natsu, Happy, Erza, the master, Levy and the rest came after her and put themselves in danger because of her.

However, after she left her home and meandered off into the night, a realisation hit her full force:

How on Earthland was she going to go about looking for this guy?

The Celestial wizard had no clue as to what she was playing at when she left on this foolish mission. She swallowed nervously in an effort to loosen her tight throat but held herself steady. Her heart was heavy and her gaze hardened considerably as she knew that it was far too late to turn back now; she had made her bed and now she had to lie in it.

The trees gently swayed in the breeze, sounding like wooden wind chimes as the branches were being cradled by the wind that blew in the peacefully calm atmosphere of the edge of the forest. There was a damp thinly-veiled fog that created a dampness due to the storm oncoming storm and it made her shudder.

The air felt damp and the forest grew steadily darker as the dawn drew on to morning.

This woodland was infamous for its thickly grown rare plants and the hostile creatures that lurked within, it was known for all the terrible monsters and the darkness that plagued it; a darkness that one could hardly see through even in the daytime.

There was danger peeking around every corner and it was so mysterious.

The blonde mage shrunk into herself as she warily glanced all around her, she couldn't recall the last time that she had felt so small and insignificant nor could she remember the very last time she was in such a frightening place but something inside of her had a feeling that she was most certainly going the right way.

She kept right on walking and tried to ignore the pain in her legs and feet until she suddenly became aware of an eerie presence, it was a strong presence and it did nothing to calm her nerves as she hugged her arms both as a means of self-reassurance and to keep herself warm in spite of the chill trying to engulf her.

Lucy decided to investigate her surroundings quickly.

She looked to her left.

Nobody there.

She looked to her right.

Still nothing.

She felt as though she was a lone bunny who was being stalked by a predator, her heartbeat was quickening and her stomach churned with great unease. Her lower lip quivered and her eyes (even her still-healing black eye) glistened with moisture of fright. She tried not to give away how frightened she was but she stuffed it deep down within.

After all, Fairy tail never gave up the fight...right?

This was when a big, tall shadow stretched along the ground in front of her.

What was this?

The blonde mage swallowed hard.

She spun around with wide and terrified eyes, her heart stopping in her chest. Her knees shook as they caved in. Her arms broke out in goosebumps, the tiny hairs on the back of her neck raised like a cats hackles, her mouth dropped open and she could swear that a feeling of dread looked over her. A billion thoughts burst into her mind as a petrified yet star struck expression crossed upon her face.

She had a gut instinct tell her that there was someone standing right behind her...!

She whirled around with eyes filled with alarm.

The person was cloaked in the shadows, their identity mostly concealed thanks to the dark corridors.

Nevertheless, the Celestial mage knew exactly who it was and she felt her blood run cold in her veins as she stiffened as hard as a tombstone with every last semblance of colour draining from her face. She started to shake and quiver like a leaf as her fearful eyes locked on to the demonic eyes belonging to the tall figure towering over her. Her still-slightly-swollen black eye stung when tears started to accumulate within her reddening, bloodshot scaleras while her pupils shrank into dots.

She didn't even have time to blink.

"Ahh. Nice of you to join us, Miss. Heartfilia..."

Lucy let out a silent scream.


Sometime later...

The Fairy tail group had halted in front of the doors of their destination upon arriving.

The atmosphere was thick with so much tension that it almost seemed hard to breathe as the rain was really coming down hard now as large droplets of rain came smashing down from the black/grey skies above. A flash of light snapped through the skies, thunder boomed in a loud enough cacophony to shake the earth.

Everyone had become tense yet cold, as well as thoroughly soaked to the bone. In spite of their aching bodies, everyone had tried to stuff their discomfort deep down since they put all their thoughts with Lucy and her wellbeing.

Thunderheads loomed menacingly overhead as thunder rumbled in the distance, the promise of lightning lurked ever closer.

Natsu, Wendy and Gajeel cautiously led the Fairy tail pack up front with slight trepidation in their footsteps the closer the Fairy tail group had come to the poacher of sound's abode. Since the Dragon slayers were the ones who had the best sense of hearing and sense of smell (that and they were the ones tracking their lost friends), they took the lead.

Erza stepped up first as she silently scrutinised the door of this damp and depressing-looking place for a moment before whisking a narrowed-eyed frown over to the three Dragon slayers.

The red-haired warrioress eyed the tower with great caution, skepticism and suspicion.

"Are you guys sure that this is the place?" She asked.

"We're sure." Wendy replied confidently.

"This is where her scent is strongest." Gajeel added.

Everyone glanced up at this tower.

It was huge with black bricks, tall structure that had terraces lining said structure and triangular rooftops that reached to the skies and could have easily touched the storm clouds above. This dark, dank, dreary castle made several tremors quake down each and every single one of their spines and since the tower was so high it caused everyone to obtain a crick in the back of their necks due to the strain of looking up. The deep dark castle stood proud and tall, the structure of dark gray stone basked in the shade where the storm clouds rolled in and the raindrops pummelled down.

This was where Lucy was?

Judging by how that Poacher of sound lived by committing crimes,

Natsu was unnaturally quiet as he stewed in his own thoughts.

This wasn't the first time Lucy had been abducted and locked in a tower and, considering what he'd heard from his friend's woeful tale from her childhood, she was probably used to being locked up and isolated. The mere thought of Lucy being locked up and hurt made the fire in Natsu's belly churn and then blaze violently within him, not even realising that this caused his hands to burst into flames.

Why had she done this...?

Why had Lucy run off...?

Did she know she could get seriously hurt...or worse?

He didn't want to take his infuriation out on her but he was still a mess of emotions right now as he didn't know how to take that confession she had made in her letter. All he wanted to do was rescue her at all costs and ask her if what she was talking about was true?

Did she really love-love him, more than a friend?

He huffed through his nostrils while he extinguished the flames formed around each of his fists.

Makarov noticed the pink-haired wizard's tense and proceeded to speak up whilst addressing everyone, especially Natsu.

"No matter what, everyone, we have to stick together. Who knows if we could get ambushed or-"

The old man was interrupted.

A bright light flashed all of a sudden, alighting the area for a split second. Everyone blinked a multitude of times to try and rid themselves of the dizziness that caused them to be disoriented for a split couple of seconds until they looked around to regain their bearings. They swivelled their heads all around them repeatedly before their gazes settled on one another.

But they all felt a serious dread settle into the pit of their stomachs.

That light wasn't lighting, they knew this because of the lack of thunder.

But what was that...?

Dread had swept over the lot of them as they knew something was the matter.

And it had something to do with Lucy.

That light was magical and it felt familiar...

"N-Natsu?" Erza started, a tremble of unease present in her voice as she turned to him with wide eyes and a suddenly pale complexion. "...I-In that letter, how long did Lucy say her voice lasted until it faded?"

Natsu felt dread overcome him, his onyx eyes flashing a bright jade green colour.

That poacher of sound...he wouldn't...!

Natsu's eyes popped wide open as a gasp slipped from the deepest chasms of his stomach and out of his mouth. His ears perked and his stomach constricted in knots as he realised that Lucy was most likely in severe danger.

He dashed forwards and inside the tower without wasting another second.

He didn't even seem to acknowledge it when he heard everyone behind calling out for him in a panicked fashion, leaving them behind as he vanished into the darkness of the inside of this slovenly, grim tower. The shouts of his guild mates soon faded into nothingness as he kept on running through blind darkness. He knew that there wasn't time to plan any rescue and he knew that this was the singular opportunity where his fight-first-think-about-things-later attitude would come in handy.

A choir of shouts accumulated.

"NATSU!"

"SALAMANDER, COME BACK HERE!"

"NATSU DRAGNEEL! COME BACK THIS INSTANT!"

But Natsu was far from hearing range by now, even as a Dragon slayer.

Everyone stared in shocked bewilderment as they watched the pink-haired fire wizard vanish into the dark corridors inside of the building, their mouths agape. They all tried to process what had just happened. What was Natsu thinking!? Did he not hear the master when he said that thing about sticking together!? They didn't even try to hide their stunned shock anymore.

A very long few moments of silence passed them by.

Then Gray spoke up as he shrugged simply.

"Well, look on the bright side, at least we won't have to listen to his complaining..."


A/N: Heres a new chapter, guys.

Will Natsu be able to be Lucy's knight in armor?

Will he be able to save her before something bad happens?

Stay tuned and find out.

-Chloemcg