Chapter 30

Inside Mount Zonia

In the middle of the forest…

"Ugh." Ur groaned. "I never thought I would say this, but making a fire is much more of a hassle without the walking-talking blowtorch."

"Then we'll just have to get her back." Ash said, smiling nervously.

After a day of traveling; Ash, Ur, Carol, and Pantherlily all settled down to rest. By now, they had already laid out their sleeping bags and started a fire. Ash and Ur sat on one fallen log together, while Carol sat on another, holding Pantherlily in her arms as he sat on her lap. As they were waiting for the fish they had caught to cook, they began to talk amongst themselves.

"I still don't see why we should be doing this." Ur said. "I mean, Dad and the others are already looking for the little pinky princess, so why the heck are we out here?"

"Because Alu's our friend." Carol replied straightforward. "She's also part of our team. Besides, she would do the same if it was any one of us."

"You're right, Carol." Ash agreed. "And honestly, I wouldn't be able to call myself her friend if I just abandoned her like that."

Ur looked over at her twin brother with a mischievous grin. Ash caught his sister's expression and gave a worried frown.

"Yeah, right." Ur said, nudging her brother with her elbow. "You just want to save her because you're in love with her. Right, bro?"

Ash tensed and his heart skipped a beat. His face immediately turned red and his expression changed to startled embarrassment. Carol and Ur both snickered at his reaction while Pantherlily smirked. Getting a reaction out of Ash was so cruel, but they couldn't help it. It was so easy it was fun.

"N-N-No!" Ash stuttered. "It's not like that! Alu and I are just really good friends!"

"C'mon, Bro, admit it." Ur teased. "You've got feelings for her."

"Stop it, Sis!" Ash grimaced uncomfortably. "I just…I just like to hang out with her! And she makes for a good sparring partner!"

The two girls just laughed at the poor boy.

"Sorry, Ash." Carol giggled. "But you're really cute when you're flustered. And you have to admit, you're bad at hiding your emotions."

Ash groaned. Carol was right. He was bad at hiding his emotions, which was something he viewed as a curse.

"I just HAD to be the one to inherit that trait from Mom," he moaned.

"I don't see what the problem is, Ash." Pantherlily said calmly. "So you have feelings for Alu. What's wrong with that?"

Ash made a face.

"I think I know." Ur said, raising an eyebrow. "It's because of a certain someone she's related to, isn't it?"

The Ice Maker wizard boy shuddered and wrapped his arms around himself like he was cold. Of course, he wasn't. Ash wasn't affected by outside elements of cold. This chill came from a certain memory of someone.

"Natsu has got to be the scariest, most over-protective father on the face of this earth," he said in almost-comical fear.

"Oh." Pantherlily said slowly, finally understanding the message.

"Yeah, sucks to be you, bro." Ur shrugged sarcastically.

"You still have Natsu-phobia?" Carol asked. "Is it because of that little incident? Ash, that was like, what, four years ago. Besides, Happy was one who got the details wrong. You just fell on Alu during the middle a fight. And you got up immediately, and Alu didn't make a big deal about it."

"Try telling that to Natsu!" Ash shouted, his face went gone pale as he recalled the memory of that little "incident". "He threatened to tie me to a stake and burn me alive if I so much as went NEAR Alu after that! And he's got such demon-like eyes! I swear, I thought he was really going to kill me!"

"Just be grateful you're both in same guild." Ur pointed out. "That's the thing that keeps him from actually killing you."

"Yeah, but he can still really hurt me." Ash shivered.

"And that's why you should be glad that Dad can go toe-to-toe with him. After all, he did slug Alu's dad when he got up in your face back at the guild."

Ash groaned again and put head in his hands with exasperation. He certainly didn't want to remember that either. Any moment of Natsu's anger being directed at him gave the boy nightmares for weeks.

"Besides," Pantherlily said, "I don't think Alu would appreciate it if Natsu really did any major harm to you, Ash."

"That's true." Carol nodded. "And she if used herself as your shield, which I wouldn't put it past her to do something like that, there's no way Natsu would strike his own daughter. He cares about her too much."

That was something no one could argue with. They had all seen how many times Natsu had gone after Alu when she went off on a solo job without permission. It takes a really dedicated father who loves his daughter unconditionally to do that, no matter how many times she ran off.

"By the way, Carol." Ur spoke up. "I have to ask. Why did you decide to go after Alu?"

Carol looked up.

"Well, she's our friend for one thing," she said. "But also because I feel like I owe her."

Ash and Ur blinked.

"You guys know I was born without the ability to use Magic." Carol reminded. "Well, back then, I had considered leaving Fairy Tail because I felt like I didn't belong there. But it was Alu who gave the idea of learning to become and blacksmith for Magic weapons as well as an expert swordsman. If she hadn't done that, I probably would've left Fairy Tail. That's why I owe her one."

"I didn't know that." Pantherlily spoke up. "So that's why you wanted me to teach you the ways of the sword?"

"Yes." Carol nodded. "And that's why I'm here to bring Alu back."

Ash and Ur both nodded in understanding.

Ur then glanced away. She didn't want to admit her reason for rescuing Alu. The truth was that while Alu annoyed her to no end, and she hated that girl's guts, she didn't want see Alu hurt or even dead. If that happened, who would she have around to pick fights with? At the end of the day, Alu was fun to spar against.

As far as Ur was concerned, nobody messed with Alu but her.

"Well, the fish should be ready now." Carol announced. "Let's eat and then we'll get some sleep."

Back at Fairy Tail…

It just after sunset when Lucy, Gray, Erza, Gajeel, Wendy, Carla, and Romeo arrived back at the Fairy Tail guildhall. They were surprised to see that almost every member of the guild was assembled there. This was the first sign to them that something wasn't right. Gray and Gajeel immediately went to find Juvia and Levy. The two women were standing by the bar, and both of them had worried expressions on their faces. As Gray and Gajeel got closer, they realized something else, too.

Ash, Ur, Carol, and Pantherlily were nowhere to be seen.

"What do you mean Ash and Ur are gone?!" Gray exclaimed after his wife told him what happened.

"It's just as I said, Darling." Juvia explained. "I woke up this morning and they were both gone. Their backpacks were missing, too. I think they might have gone after Alu."

"Carol and Lily are missing, too." Levy said, talking directly to Gajeel. "I think they might have gone with Ash and Ur."

"Oh, Carol." Gajeel mumbled, trying to conceal his concern. "At least Lily's with her, I guess."

Levy frowned at that. She knew Gajeel well enough by now to know that was his way of saying, 'Now I'm worried'. But she also caught something in Gajeel's eyes. It more than the usual worried glint.

"Gajeel, what's wrong?" she asked. "Did something happen?"

There was a short pause. Then Erza stepped forward.

"Where's Master Laxus and Makarov?" she asked. "We have to tell them something important."

"Right here," a voice answered.

The crowd departed, and Laxus came walking through, pushing the wheelchair his grandfather was sitting in. As usual, the Master of Fairy Tail had a stoic look on his face. He stopped just a few yards in front of Erza and folded his arms across his chest.

"Master, Makarov, I'm afraid we got some bad news." Erza said grimly.

"What is it, Erza?" Makarov asked.

"Well, back in Onibus, we ran into Sting and Minerva. They told us that Yukino had her soul stolen."

"Yeah, Wendy and Romeo told us that already." Laxus said.

"But that's not all." Erza interrupted. "We know who did it. We encountered Rogue earlier today. He found out that Ivan is the one behind it."

A cold wave of shock went through the whole guild at the sound of that name. Both Laxus and Makarov were particularly affected by this news. The Lightning Dragon Slayer made a kind of scowl that was mixed with shock, fear, and anger. Makarov gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

"Do you know what he's up to this time?" Laxus asked, slowly.

"Sort of." Romeo answered. "From what Rogue told us, he's trying to complete some kind of Spell that would make into a kind of Dragon Slayer. A Celestial Dragon Slayer. And by the looks of it, he wants to destroy Fairy Tail, just like in the Grand Magic Games all those years ago. Only this time, he's got an army of artificial Zodiac Celestial Spirits. At least that's what Rogue told us."

"And he should know." Wendy added. "He fought with him last night. He experienced it first-hand."

Laxus scowl deepened. It then changed a bit when he noticed something. There was a member missing from the group that had just returned to the guild. A member that was impossible to overlook.

"Where's Natsu?" he asked. "And for that matter, where's Happy? Don't tell me they went to fight Ivan on their own."

The group looked over to Lucy. It was like they were expecting her to fill the Master of Fairy Tail in on what happened. Shivering, and clasping her hands over her heart, Lucy looked up. Everyone could see the fear in her eyes, even though she was doing her best to hide it.

"Lucy, what's wrong?" Juvia asked caringly.

"Ivan tricked Natsu." Lucy explained in a weak voice. "From what Rogue told us, he encountered Alu last night and helped her fight off Ivan, along with some members of Crime Sorciére. I'm guessing that at some point, Ivan managed to snag a piece of Alu's clothing. Because he sent Natsu a note with part of her vest attached to it, saying that he had captured Alu and that he would kill her unless Natsu came alone. But it was all a trap."

The whole guild was listening intently now.

"It's true." Carla spoke up, sadly. "Shortly after Natsu left, I had a vision. It was all a trap so that Ivan could get Natsu's soul. Ivan didn't kidnap Alu. She was heading towards some kind of Valley. But she must've found out that Natsu had been captured, because I also saw her fighting Ivan. Happy went to stop her, but now that I think about it, he might be the reason she knew where to find Natsu."

"So," Laxus said, "they're probably fighting my old man now even as we speak. I hate to tell you this, Lucy, but Alu doesn't stand a chance against him. Natsu, probably. But if what you say is true, then those are as good as rats in a trap."

"Laxus!" Mirajane scolded. "Can't you see that Lucy's worried enough already!"

"Of course I can." Laxus replied. "But we have to realistic here. My deadbeat dad might be a coward, but if he wants something, he's ruthless."

"But Laxus, you were able to beat him in the Grand Magic Games." Wendy pointed out. "You also took out the entire Raven Tail guild."

"Yeah, but that was years ago." Laxus said. "And if he's has learned Curse Power, then there's a good chance that he's stronger now than he was then. Not to mention, he's leeching off the power Yukino's soul and her Magic. And if he gets a hold of Natsu's soul…"

"Don't say it!" Lucy suddenly cried.

Everyone turned to Lucy. She was struggling to not give into her fear, but it was getting harder by the minute.

"That can't happen!" Lucy said firmly. "I know Natsu! He won't let it happen so easily! I just know he, Alu, and Happy will come back!"

For a while, the whole guild was silent. They were just letting the information they had received sink in. At the same time, they were worried about the missing members of their guild. Just knowing that they were in, or potentially in grave danger, made them all fearful and helpless.

Lucy was feeling very vulnerable at this point. She just couldn't stand this waiting around. Especially since she knew that her husband and daughter were in danger.

She then felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Lisanna standing next to her. Although Lisanna had a look of concern in her eyes, she was doing her best to put on a bold face.

"Natsu will be fine," the white-haired woman said encouragingly. "You know he's strong and brave. And Alu is really tough, too. I just know they'll both be okay."

Lucy tried to smile, but the best she could give was a grimace. Regardless, she touched Lisanna's hand with her own.

"Thanks, Lisanna," she said gratefully.

It was then that Makarov raised his voice with authority.

"We'll just have to trust that Natsu, Alu, and Happy can hold out for the time being. For now, we have to focus on stopping Ivan. Three members of our family are in danger, and it's up to us to save them."

Everyone in the guild nodded.

"We'll also be getting help from Sabertooth." Erza informed. "They have their own score to settle with Ivan after what he did to Yukino. Rogue has gone to recruit them. More than likely they'll meet us here. After that, I propose that we head to Mount Zonia to rescue Natsu, Alu and Happy."

"Too bad Gildarts isn't here." Macao said. "We could use someone with his power right now."

"No kidding." Wakaba replied, letting out a puff of smoke. "I guess we're on our own for this one."

"We can't wait for Gildarts anyway." Makarov ordered. "Right now, we need to deal with the situation at hand, and that's saving the members of our family. The sooner we come up with a plan, the sooner we can get them back."

Meanwhile, inside Mount Zonia…

Natsu had never been so sick with worry his life up until now.

Not only did he have to get Alu, Happy and Violet out of Mount Zonia so that they could get his daughter some help; but he also had deranged Celestial Spirits to worry about.

Fortunately, by this time, his body managed to fight off Neo Ophiuchus's poison, and he was able to summon his Dragon Slayer Magic if he had to. However, with Alu in the condition that she was in, he knew he couldn't afford to get caught up in a fight.

He just had to get her out and fast.

By this time, Alu had become so despondent that she couldn't even walk. Natsu had to carry her on his back. Even then, she found it hard to just hang on.

Happy and Violet, being the smallest of the group, served as scouts. They would poke around corners and let Natsu know when it was clear to move. Of course, along with Neo Leo, there were Neo versions of Sagittarius, Gemini, Cancer, Capricorn, and Scorpio walking around. Each of them were intent on finding Natsu and apprehending him like their master ordered.

Alu was disgusted by these twisted versions of the Zodiac Spirits. They were just ugly imitations of the real Zodiac Spirits.

Of course, Alu didn't express any of this out loud. She didn't have the strength to even do that. She just gave a sad and repulsed expression.

The sooner they got out of Mount Zonia, the better.

Well, for the most part. With each step, Alu just knew that her time as a Dragon Slayer was winding down. Once they got out of Mount Zonia, they would go back to Fairy Tail. Once they got back to Fairy Tail, Alu would have the Dragon Seed taken out of her to stop her Dragonification.

At this point, Alu didn't care if they got out of Mount Zonia or not.

After a while, Violet came upon and small opening that lead to some stairs leading downward.

"If my sense of direction is right," she said in a whisper, "then this should lead us into the heart of the mountain."

"Well, let's get going." Natsu ordered. "It's not safe for us to stay in one place for too long. One of those Spirits might catch us."

As they group traveled down the stairs, they began to realize that the sense of evil they had been feeling was getting stronger. At one point, they almost decided to turn back and find another way, but they immediately changed their minds when they hear the sound of Neo Cancer passing the top of the stairs.

"Oh, this is so not cool! How hard could it be to find a rambunctious pink-haired freak?!"

"Okay," Natsu said in a low voice, "I think I take my chances with this cave."

After about five minutes, the group reached the bottom of the stairs. They walked out of a low arched doorway and into a large cavern. It was so enormous that Natsu thought that the whole Kardia Cathedral could fit inside it. Bright luminescent crystals were lined up all along the walls, so that the place was lit up in bright green and white lights.

"Wow." Natsu breathed, his voice echoing all around the room. "This place is huge."

"I had no idea that Mount Zonia was hollow." Happy said, staring in wonder.

"Neither did I." Violet said. "I mean, I've lived around Mount Zonia my whole life, but I've never gone inside it."

As Natsu walked forward, the sound of metal being stepped on caught his attention. He looked down and saw that his foot had landed on something that looked like a shiny yellow rock. However, as he stared at it, he realized that it was actually some kind of large chain that appeared to be made of gold. As he looked at it, he saw that it was leading somewhere. His gaze followed along the trail of chain and found that it was attached to a large cuff just a few yards away.

He then looked around the room and found that there were five other cuffs and chains that were exactly identical.

"What's are these?" he asked.

"They look like a bunch of oversized handcuffs." Happy said.

"I know that, but what are they doing here? They don't look like any normal cuffs."

"Dad," Alu suddenly spoke up, her voice sounding weak, but also surprise, "these cuffs have Celestial Magic in them."

"Are you sure, Alu?" Natsu asked, glancing back at his daughter.

"Yeah." Alu nodded. "I'd recognize this power signature anywhere. But it's strange. I don't know how to explain it, but this Celestial Magic feels ancient. Like it's hundreds of years old."

"But what would chains imbued with Celestial Magic be doing in a place like this?" Happy asked.

At that moment, Violet saw something.

"Guys, look over there."

The whole group looked at Violet for a moment and saw that she was pointing to a wall across the room. They turned their eyes to see what it was. From where they were standing, they could see that there was some kind of drawing. They made their way across the cavern to get a better look, and soon found themselves staring up at a mural.

"What is this?" Natsu asked as they all stared at it.

"You got me." Happy said. "But I think it's some kind of cave painting."

"It looks pretty old." Violet pointed out.

The group looked over the pictures. From what they could see, it seemed to be telling a story. There were two large Dragons, and both were as black as the night sky. However, one of the Dragons had blue patterns that twisted around its body, while the other looked like it had a bright circular shape on its forehead and stars all along its body.

There were also images of the Zodiac Spirits, but they looked a little different than the ones that Natsu, Alu, Happy, and Violet knew. They looked like they were decked out in glittering armor and charging in as if to fight something. There was also the image of a young woman with long blond hair and was dressed in a blue and white outfit.

There was also another human in the picture. This one had emerald green hair, bright eyes, and was dressed in warrior garments. In one of the pictures it showed this human surrounded in a golden orb of light, and the dark dragon with the blue swirls was being chained up with golden cuffs.

"Hey," Violet suddenly said, "there's some writing here."

Natsu and Happy moved closer to where Violet was indicating to. Alu shifted her position so that she could get a better view over her father's shoulder. Violet was right. There was some writing just below the mural. Unfortunately for the two Exceeds, it was written in a language that they couldn't understand.

However, it was a different story for Natsu. This kind of writing looked vaguely familiar to him.

"I think I might be able to read this," he said. "This looks like the kind of writing Igneel and Anna taught me."

"You mean before you guys came through the Eclipse Gate?" Happy asked.

"Huh?" Violet blinked.

"It's a long story." Alu quickly said to the little Exceed before turning back to her father. "Well, what does it say?"

"Just give me a minute." Natsu said as he looked over the engraving.

Natsu studied the words for a moment. While reading wasn't exactly his strongest trait, he had a feeling that the message these words were trying to say were important. He had to pull all the memories of his language lessons with Igneel and Anna to figure out what this was trying to say.

At last, he took a deep breath.

"Okay, I think this is what it says: 'The Apocalypse has been sealed, and the Spell has been cast. A soul divided, the Spirit Dragon gone. This great power will be found when Magic converges. The Celestial Dragon will reawaken when the soul of a Celestial Wizard and Dragon Slayer becomes one and whole'. Man, talk about cryptic."

"What do you think it means?" Happy asked.

"How should I know?" Natsu shrugged.

"You know," Violet said, "it sounds like some kind of Prophecy. Maybe this mural is a clue to it."

Natsu looked back up at the cave painting. His attention was drawn to the black Dragon with the blue tattoos. Something about it seemed familiar. As he stared at that Dragon, his eyes suddenly widened. He realized that he knew that Dragon. He stepped back.

"Acnologia!" he exclaimed in fearful whisper.

"Where?!" Happy jumped at the sound of that name.

"That's Acnologia in that picture!" Natsu explained. "I know it!"

"But what's he doing on this mural?"

"I don't know." Natsu shook his head. "But this has certainly got my attention. And that person in the light. Something about them feels…familiar."

"How so?"

It was at that moment that Natsu felt a firm grip in his shoulders. Natsu turned to look back at his daughter with an expression of surprise.

"Alu, what is it?" he asked.

It was then that Natsu saw something. Alu's face was painted with wide-eyed shock. She had gone very pale, and she was starting to tremble. Her eyes stared straight up towards the roof of the cave with an unmistakable shine of horror in them.

She looked like she was in a trance.

"Alu, what's wrong?"

"Agnar…" Alu's voice was shaky.

"Who?" Happy blinked.

"Agnar." Alu repeated. "This place…I was here."

"Alu, what are you talking about?" Natsu asked, becoming very worried.

Alu reached a hand up towards the ceiling.

"I…I fell. I fell into darkness."

"Alu?!"

At that moment, something from inside Alu's key pouch began to glow. Alu felt a power shoot into her hip and head straight up towards her heart. When it reached its location, it quickly spread throughout the rest of her.

Alu's consciousness left her.

/

Alu was surrounded by darkness. Everywhere she looked, there was nothing but darkness.

It was cold. It was as cold as ice. It was so cold that it made Alu shiver.

But even that feeling was fading. Alu was fading. She felt so weak, like all of her energy was gone.

Was she…dying?

Then there was sound of a voice chanting. They were muffled and distant, so Alu couldn't understand what it was saying. It sounded like a woman's voice, but who was it?

"Who's there?!" Alu cried. "What's going on?!"

Suddenly, Alu's whole body lit up in a white light, and she felt a horrible pain from inside. She screamed in agony as if felt like something inside her was struggling to break apart. It tore at her from a place that she couldn't reach. It was the most painful thing Alu had ever felt in her life. The moment dragged on for what seemed like an eternity.

At last, with one final scream, something inside Alu split apart.

Through a blurry vision, Alu saw three orbs of light hovering above her. One was pure light, one was gorgeous blue, and the other was radiant red.

Alu let out a screamed and jerked up in an unnatural manner. She moved so unexpectedly that Natsu lost his grip on her, and she started to fall backwards.

"ALU!"

Luckily, Happy and Violet were quick to respond. They flew over to Alu and caught her by her arms before she hit the ground. By the time they had set her down, Natsu had turned around and was on his knees.

He immediately grabbed hold of Alu and held her close. Alu trembled struggled to breathe. For a minute, she couldn't find her voice. She couldn't speak.

Happy and Violet both stared with concerned. As Alu turned her face to try and get more air, Happy gave a shriek.

"Alu, you're face!"

Natsu looked up at his Exceed partner for a second, and then back at Alu. He pushed her way just enough to examine her.

When he saw what had startled Happy so badly, he began to feel that sickening feeling again. He brought his hand up and touched the area around Alu's left eye. Alu shut her eye out of reaction and brought a hand up to shove her father's away.

That's when she felt something.

As Natsu removed his hand, Alu felt along the side of her eye. Her blood ran cold and she caught her breath when she realized that what she felt wasn't skin.

"She's got scales now!" Happy exclaimed.

Violet gasped in alarm when she saw Alu, and she covered her mouth with her paws.

Around Alu's left eye was a patch of white scales. They were identical to the scales on her arm.

Alu trembled and she wrapped her arms around herself. Did this mean that her Dragonification was speeding up?

"Dad," she whimpered, "I'm scared. I'm scared."

Natsu did the only thing he knew how to do in a situation like this. He just pulled Alu in close and wrapped his arms around her. She shivered like she had just been pulled out of icy cold water, and she clung to her father with what little strength she could muster.

"It's going to be okay, Alu." Natsu whispered, trying to be comforting. "It's going to be okay. You're going to be fine, I promise."

Alu couldn't respond. She just nestled closer to her father, as if she was hoping that his warmth would unfreeze her fear-stricken heart.

Just then, Violet jolted with a realization.

"Guys, I just thought of something," she said quickly. "Ivan must've found out about this Prophecy because of this mural. And if that's true, then that means that Ivan knows about this chamber. We need to get out of here."

"Oh, it's too late for that, little kitty," a sinister voice said from across the room.

Alu flinched in fearful shock as she recognized that voice.

Natsu, Alu, Happy and Violet all turned towards the entrance they had taken. Ivan was there, with the Celestial Spirits had summoned before standing in front of him. Every single one of them was looking at the small group with wicked looks of accomplishment for finding their prey.

At the sight of that horrible man, Natsu scowled defensively pulled Alu in closer to himself. He remembered what Ivan had done to Alu before, and he wasn't going to let it happen again. He held onto Alu like she was some precious treasure that he would never let go of no matter what. Now that he wasn't chained up, and Neo Ophiuchus's injection had worn off, he was going to protect her with all the strength he had.

Alu felt her stomach freeze when she looked at Ivan. Whether it was because he had almost killed her before, or if it was because of that evil look of triumph on his face, or for some unknown reason, Alu suddenly found herself deathly afraid of him. She tightened her grip around her father's jacket and began to whine loudly. She just wanted to know Natsu was here. She had to know he was here.

This only made Natsu even more protective. He held Alu closer, his arms trembling from the force of it. He scowled at Ivan and began to shiver. He knew that this fear he was feeling wasn't for himself, it was for his daughter.

"What's the matter?" Ivan sneered. "You scared? Well, you should be. Because this is the end of the line for all of you. You can't escape me now."