Football practice was rough for Natsu. He and the others practiced til dark and he was exhausted. He was ready to go home, chow down on some meat, and go straight to bed. But those plans were changed when he saw a police car parked in front of his house. He quickly went inside where he found his mother sobbing and his father talking to a police officer.
"Mr. and Mrs. Dragneel you said that she was adopted." The policeman said to Igneel. "Is it possible that she could be with her birth parents?"
"No they died in a car accident ten years ago." Grandeeney wept.
"Mom, Dad, what's going on?" He asked. "Why are the police here?"
"Your sister is missing." Igneel said.
"What? What do you mean she's missing?"
"I mean when your mother and I came home she wasn't here. We've called the school but they haven't seen her. Do you know where she is?"
"No...Oh God I shouldn't have left her alone."
"Young man do you know something?" The police officer asked.
"Earlier today before I went to football practice I saw her getting bullied real bad. I chased them away but they...They had already done something really bad."
"What did they do son?" Igneel asked.
"They broke that music box she had. The one that she got from her birth parents. She was really upset."
"Mr. and Mrs. Dragneel has your daughter had any history of bullying or trouble like this before." The police officer asked.
"No. Not at all." Igneel said.
"That's not true." Natsu said.
"What do you mean Natsu?" Grandeeney asked.
"Juvia's been bullied by Mary Hughes and her gang since middle school, they're brutal toward her."
"Why didn't you tell us?"
"She begged me not to. She said that she didn't want you to worry, she said that she could handle it. I thought she could."
"It seems to me that these bullies pushed your daughter so far that she couldn't take it anymore so she ran away." The officer theorized.
"You have to find her." Grandeeney said wiping her tears away. "She could get hurt or worse."
"Don't worry ma'am we'll have the whole force looking for her."
Natsu felt unbelievable guilt. He had convinced himself that if only he had told his parents about Juvia getting bullied then this wouldn't have happened. His parents didn't blame him but he blamed himself.
"Mom, Dad I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you." He said apologetically.
"It's alright dear." Grandeeney said. "It's really my fault, I should've paid more attention. I should've noticed that something was wrong."
"No honey." Igneel said hugging his wife. "No one is to blame. She couldn't have gone far, I'm going to look for her."
"I'm coming with you." Grandeeney said.
"Me too." Natsu added.
"No son you stay here in case she calls or comes back." Igneel said.
Igneel and Grandeeney go into their car and drove off to search for Juvia. While they were gone Natsu went into Juvia's room and searched for any clue that might indicate where she could have gone. He didn't find anything but the usual. No he found something out of the ordinary. That book she received from Mr. and Mrs. Fullbuster was lying on the floor.
He didn't know why but he had the strangest feeling that book had something to do with his sister's disappearance. He picked it up off the floor and started reading it. At first it just seemed like any other typical fairy story until he read one page that really caught his interest.
Then she appeared, a maiden who's beauty was so great that every creature who saw her could not help but marvel at her shinning face. Even the goblin king, who despised humans with every fiber of his being could not resist gazing at the lovely woman with hair blue like summer rain and skin white like winter snow.
Natsu looked at the illustration on the page. It showed a bunch of goblins and the goblin king looking at a young woman who looked exactly like Juvia. She was even wearing the same clothes that Natsu had seen her wearing earlier today.
"What the hell?"
He immediately went over to the neighbor's house and banged on the door. It was answered by Silver.
"May I help you?" He asked.
"Where is she?!" He demanded while barging in.
"Who?"
"My sister! Where's my sister?!"
"Excuse me but how dare you enter this house without my permission."
"Silver what's going on?" Mika asked coming down stairs.
"Alright lady what did you do with my sister?!" Natsu demanded toward her.
"I beg your pardon."
"You heard me! What did you do with my sister you freak?!"
"Don't you talk to my wife that way!" Silver said pulling the salmon haired teenager away from her.
"Natsu please we don't understand." Mika said. "Why are you so angry? What's wrong?"
"My sister is gone! Nobody can find her anywhere!"
"Well we don't know where she is." Mika said. "We haven't seen her all day."
"Then explain this!"
Natsu held up the book, showing them the illustration of the young woman who was the spitting image of Juvia. Suddenly Silver and Mika's confusion became sheer terror. As if someone had just released a lion from it's cage.
"Oh my God." Mika trembled. "Where did you get that book?"
"From Juvia's room. She said that you gave it to her."
"You mean she chose that book? Oh no!"
"Mika what did you do?" Silver asked.
"I wanted to reward Juvia for helping me so much lately. She loves books so I told her she could have one of ours but I...I didn't know she would pick that one."
"I thought you had that book hidden."
"I did! I don't know how she found it!" Mika took the book from Natsu and looked at the page he had marked. "Oh dear lord she must've read the chant out loud. Silver I told you we should've put a warning on that book!"
"Why didn't you ask Juvia to show you what book she had?"
"I didn't think she would find it."
"What the hell are you two talking about?!" Natsu said. "If you know anything about what happened to my sister-"
"We...We know where she is." Mika said. "But we don't think you'll believe us."
"What do you mean?"
"Juvia is...In here."
Mika pointed to the illustration.
"She's in the book?"
"Not exactly." Silver said. "She's in the labyrinth."
"The what?"
"This is no ordinary book." Mika explained. "It acts as a window to another world, a dimension if you will. Reading it allows you to see what goes on in it but there's a special chant written in this book and if it's read out loud then the reader is sent to the labyrinth."
"Is this some kind of joke?"
"It's the truth." Silver said. "I know it sounds crazy but this book... It's magic and this place does exist and it's where Juvia is. She must've read the chant out loud and was transported into the world of the labyrinth."
"I was right, you people are insane."
"Okay if you don't believe us read the book and see if you can come up with a more rational theory."
Natsu did as the man suggested and when he turned the page at first all he saw was a blank page then writing magically appeared along with an illustration of Juvia sitting in a bedroom.
As the maiden called Juvia Lockser sat in her new room, she couldn't help but think of her family and how they would worry for her. She thought of her adopted father, mother, and brother Natsu.
"Now do you believe us?" Silver asked.
"Considering that this book magically knows both my name and my sister's I think I'm starting to. What is this?"
"We already told you. It's a window to the labyrinth."
"Where did you get this thing?"
"It's complicated and we can't talk about it."
"Why not?"
"We just can't."
"Well if what you're telling me is true, how do I get her out of there? Is there a chant that can bring her back?"
"No." Mika said. "Only magic in the labyrinth can send her back."
"Should I go to the police with this?"
"They won't believe you. They'll think you're crazy and lock you up."
"Not if I show them the book."
"No!" The couple cried in horror.
"If too many people learn the book's secret it'll disappear from this world and so far that's our only connection to the labyrinth." Silver said.
"So what am I supposed to do?" Natsu asked. "I can't just leave my sister in some alternate universe. And if this book is so dangerous why not get rid of it?"
"That too is a complicated matter and we can't talk about it."
"Oh man. Well do you have any suggestions?"
"Hmmm..." Silver thought for a moment. "You could go into the labyrinth, find her, and convince someone there to send you both back."
"Why do I have to go? Why can't you two go?"
"We can't. We're forbidden too."
"Why?"
"Again complicated matter, we can't talk about it, you get the drill. Listen kid we want to help but there's not much we can do."
"So let me get this straight if I want to find my sister I have to go into a fantasy world?"
"Pretty much."
"But how do I get out?"
"From what we've read." Mika said. "Only the goblin king and the owl priest know but we don't know if either one will help you."
"But it's worth a shot right?"
"I suppose. I guess it's your only chance of finding Juvia."
Natsu thought long and hard about what to do. He knew how insane this all was but he had to find Juvia or at least try to. The next day Natsu instead of going to school Natsu went straight to the neighbor's house but not before packing a bag of some stuff and leaving behind a note telling his parents that he had gone to look for Juvia.
"According to the book." Silver told him. "Juvia is at the castle in the center of the goblin city. Go there, find her, and then look for the goblin king."
"Okay." Natsu said.
"Natsu." Mika said. "Listen when you find the goblin king give him this."
She handed him a small toy rattle.
"What is it?"
"Just give it to him. Okay?"
"Okay."
He stuck the rattle in his back pack then started reading the chant out loud.
"Creatures of the Labyrinth wherever you may be,
Into your kingdom I wish for you to send me."
Like before the book started to shake, the pages started to flip on their own, and a bright light rose up from the book which expanded into a hole that Natsu was pulled into. Then he was gone.