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Chapter 2

It has been about a week since Erza and Anna began their journey to find Natsu. It wasn't an exciting week though. They stuck mostly to the main roads, and aside from the occasional bandit, who they could dispatch of easily, no one really bothered them.

Now they are off the beaten path, making their way through a dense forest. Anna leads the way with nothing but a simple backpack filled with only the essentials. A few paces behind her is Erza, who is lugging behind her a large, fully loaded, wagon. The wagon is filled with a variety of different items, from food to clothes to weapons. Anna feels that the wagon contains more items than necessary, but Erza feels otherwise and refuses to let it go.

It's not like the wagon hasn't come in handy though, while most of its contents are not essential, it is convenient to have around. Being able to eat more than whatever they can hunt or scavenge is a boon for Anna. Plus, the wagon does not appear to slow down Erza any, so it isn't like it's a hindrance.

"We should be nearing their campsite." Anna informs Erza.

Erza gives a simple "Okay," as an answer. Her mind wanders to thoughts of her mother. She loves her mother more than anything. She recalls sitting in her room eating cake with her, laughing about who knows what. Knowing that she is suffering right now, breaks Erza's heart. She can only hope that Zeref can help them.

The two women come into a large clearing. There is simple wooden cabin off to the side with a campfire in front of it. The fire isn't lit, and there appears to be no one around.

"They might be out training." Anna says.

Suddenly, a pink haired boy wearing just a pair of white pants throws open the door.

"Oh, nevermind, I guess Natsu is here."

"Hey Anna, long time no see!" Natsu walks over to the two women.

"It's good to see you again too. Natsu, this is Erza." Anna says, "Erza, this is Natsu."

Anna motions to Erza who is looking away with a massive blush on her face. Anna looks back to Natsu and can't help but chuckle to herself, earning her a look of confusion from Natsu. He certainly was a handsome boy. And walking around shirtless like that definitely got Erza's attention.

"It's uh, nice to meet you." Erza says bashfully, "My name is Erza Belserion."

"Nice to meet you!" Natsu returns excitedly, "Name's Natsu Dragneel!"

"So how have you been Natsu?" Anna asks.

"Pretty good, last time I saw Gajeel I beat him!" Natsu says with a big grin.

"And what about the work I gave you?"

Natsu's bright smile disappears and he looks away, "It's uh…coming along."

Anna rubs her temples and shakes her head, "I'm going to have my work cut out for me."

Natsu laughs nervously and scratches the back of his head.

"Anyways, Erza here has a question for you." Anna slaps Erza's back, getting her attention.

Getting back to the matter at hand, Erza speaks up saying, "Natsu, would you happen to know where your brother is?"

Natsu scratches his head and thinks for a moment before replying, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's at Mount Zonia. Igneel said he was meeting him there."

Both girl's eyes widen at the revelation. They both knew of Mount Zonia and they were aware of its location relative to their current location. It was on the other side of the country.

"Why, what do you need my bro for?"

"My mother, Queen Irene, is…sick. We were hoping your brother might be able to help her."

Natsu looks like he is about to say something, when Anna adds in, "And by sick we mean she's undergoing dragonification."

"Dragonifiwhatnow? Is it not something Grandine can heal?"

"No," Anna answers, "Dragonification is the process in which a dragon slayer…transforms into a dragon."

Anna winces a bit as she relays this information to Natsu. She fears what his reaction to this news might be, given that he is learning dragon slayer magic himself. Fortunately, her worries were unfounded.

"That sounds awesome!" Natsu says as he grabs a hold of Anna, "Does that mean I could turn into a dragon too!?"

Anna struggles against Natsu, but the teenage boy proves to be much stronger than her, "Natsu, please!"

Seeing that Anna was struggling to escape his grasp, Natsu lets her go.

"You could become a dragon, but it could be dangerous. The effect it could have on your mental state isn't known to be positive."

"So, is that why you want to talk with my bro?"

"Yes, my mother is in danger and he may be her only hope."

Natsu smiles and runs back into his house. A moment later he comes back out wearing a black vest with a gold trim.

"Then let's get going!" He cries, pumping his fist in the air.

"Hold on, where?" Erza asks.

"Mount Zonia, to meet up with my big brother."

"Natsu, that's really far away. By the time we reach that place he'll probably already be gone." Anna informs him.

"Doubt it."

"And why's that?"

"Igneel told me he was going to be gone for a while, a month or two at least. He said him and the other dragons were working on something big and needed big bro's help."

Anna and Erza look to each other in realization, they could make it to Mount Zonia in that time span.

"And how long ago did Igneel leave?" Erza asks.

"Just yesterday."

A big smile formed on Erza's lips as she jumped at Natsu and give him a big hug, "Oh thank you, Natsu!"

Natsu patted the scarlet haired girl on the back, "No problem. Anything to go on an adventure!"

"Not just so that you can get out of schoolwork?" Anna accuses Natsu.

"N-no!"

"Good, because I will be accompanying you two. Somebody has to keep an eye on you both."

Thank you for reading.

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