chapter twenty: escape from the dragon

Natsu propelled himself toward the dragon with his flames. He had to find some way to free Rogue and Lucy from Zeref's clutches.

"Hey, Natsu, why'd you take off so fast and leave me behind?" Sting called out to him.

"I didn't, I knew you'd follow me!"

They landed together on the nose of the dragon. Even though it had wings, they didn't move. They looked inside and saw Rogue and Lucy being ushered out of a door at the back of the cockpit.

"Let's break through the windshield," Natsu said.

"I'm right there with you," Sting said.

"How about you two just use the door, instead?" Zeref asked them cooly, his red eyes ablaze. "See, I put a lot of hard work into this dragon and I don't want it to be destroyed by you."

Natsu stared down Zeref. "Whether it will be destroyed or not depends on how our friends are being treated."

"I'll lead you to them if you'd like."

Natsu looked over at Sting, who nodded. Natsu walked toward Zeref and followed him inside the celestial dragon. He looked at his surroundings and noticed Sting was doing the same.

"Where's Lucy and Rogue?" Natsu asked.

"Don't worry, they're perfectly safe," Zeref told him.

"Natsu, do you really believe what he is saying?" Sting asked.

"No. I want you to have someone to take Sting here to where they are so that he can get them," Natsu said. "Meanwhile, you and I are going to have a little chat."

Zeref called forth one of his henchmen and instructed him to show Sting to where Rogue and Lucy were being held. He stepped forward and motioned to Sting. "Follow me."

"Sure thing." Sting looked back at Natsu. "After I get Rogue and Lucy, we're going to come back for you, got it?"

"Yeah. got it."

After Sting left, Natsu glared at Zeref. "I want you to explain yourself. Right now."

"Oh, but we aren't destined to fight until much later," Zeref said.

Sting followed the man down a long, cool hallway. After a few turns, he had the feeling that he was being followed and began to look behind him every few feet. At a fork in the hallway, the man stopped and turned to look at Sting.

"You're going to join your friends down in their cells," the man said. At each entryway, a person appeared.

"Like hell, I will!" Sting yelled. "White Dragon's Claw!"

He attacked each man in turn, leaving a stigma on each of their chests. "That'll leave you guys out of my way for a while." He looked down and saw something shining at his feet; he leaned down and saw it was a key ring. "Well, well. What a nice little gift you guys left me."

He grabbed the keys and ran down the hall to his right. Just by chance, it happened to be the hallway the cells were in. Rogue and Lucy came to the front of their cells and greeted him.

"I thought that was you I heard!" Rogue said.

"Is Natsu with you?" Lucy asked

"Natsu is above with Zeref," Sting said. He fumbled with the key ring while trying to unlock Rogue's cell door. "Dammit, I can't find the damn key!"

"Let me have it!" Rogue told him. Sting handed over the key ring and Rogue easily found the correct key for his cell door. "Now how hard was that?"

"Stop being so damn smug!"

"Let's get Lucy out, now," Rogue said.

"Where's the key to her cell door?" Sting asked.

After about ten minutes of trying, they couldn't get any of the keys to open her cell door. Sting slumped against the cell in defeat. "Natsu's gonna kill me."

"I could try using one of my spirits," Lucy said sheepishly.

"You mean you had your spirits all this time and didn't use them?!" Rogue yelled. "We could've been free ages ago!"

"I know, I didn't realize I had them on me though," Lucy said. "Anyway, if I were you I'd step back." My best bet would be to use Taurus to try to cut through the cell. "Alright! Open, Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!"

"Um, where is he?" Rogue asked.

"Oh, man, this cell must block all magic," Lucy said.

"Then this calls for us!" Sting said. "Ready Rogue?"

"I'm ready, Sting."

"I'm not ready!" Lucy yelped. She retreated to a corner and covered her eyes.

"White Dragon's - "

"Shadow Dragon's - "

"Roar!"

Debris from the cell flew everywhere as the door shattered; Lucy looked and saw Sting and Rogue standing in the open doorway where the cell door once stood.

"Maybe we overdid it a bit," Sting said.

"You think?!" Lucy yelled.

"It came from this way!" a distant voice yelled.

"Oh shit, my stigma must have worn off!" Sting said.

"We need to find our way back to Natsu, and help him out!" Lucy said.

They heard a familiar voice coming toward them. They stopped and looked at each other before sighing.

"For some reason, I feel that finding Natsu won't be our biggest problem," Rogue said.

Sure enough, a few minutes later Natsu rounded a corner and waved at them. "Hi, you guys! Oh, I see you're being chased too!"

"Natsu, if you led a bunch of security guards here, I'm going to kill you," Sting said, gritting his teeth.

"There they are! Get them!" someone said.

Sting punched Natsu on top of his head. "We'll continue the fight when we're out of here."

"I'll show you the way I got in, it's a clear shot out of here!" Natsu said.

"But we have to pass the security guards," Rogue said.

"Oh, that's easy."

Natsu grabbed Lucy. "Hold on tight," he told her before running headfirst into the mob of security guards. Using his flames, he propelled them over the security guards and they landed on the other side. He put Lucy down and she looked at Sting, who had just done the same thing. Rogue was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Rogue?"

"He chose an easier way to travel."

Rogue popped up out of the shadow beside them. "I think I scared a few of them when I fell into the ground."

"The exit's up ahead!" Natsu told them. He led them to a doorway that looked out onto a wing. "This is the easiest way outside since the way we originally came is blocked off."

"How are we going to get down?" Rogue asked.

"Easy. We jump and have a little faith."

"No way! I am not jumping!" Lucy said.

"Come on, you trust me, don't you?" Natsu asked her.

"Not on this!"

"Come on Lucy. You gotta trust me on this," Natsu told her. "Sting and Rogue trust me."

"No, we don't!" they said in unison.

Lucy grit her teeth. "Fine. I'll trust you."

"Good. Climb on my back," he told her. "And hold on tight."

"You are out of your mind!" she yelled.

"Yeah, yeah."

As Natsu walked out onto the wing of the celestial dragon, Sting and Rogue had second thoughts before they followed him. The strong winds nearly blew them off, and none of them could hear what the other was saying.

Suddenly, something came up from behind them and grabbed them.

"Natsu, I told you not to do that!" Happy said.

"I'm sorry, little buddy. But we had no other way out," Natsu told him.

"Yo, Sting, it's been awhile, pal!" Lector said.

"Lector! I'm glad you're okay!" Sting said.

"Fro helped out too!" Frosch said happily.

"Frosch!" Rogue said.

"Natsu, you're... too... heavy!" Happy said.

"Shut it, cat!" Lucy said.

"Let us down on the ground here, Happy," Natsu said. "I have a feeling this isn't over yet."