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Here is the next chapter. Please enjoy!

Chapter 7. Natsu's team arrives

"Who is with Erza?" wondered Makarov. He was oppressed with anxiety.Different suppositions kept running in his head. "Who is this man? Maybe he is a member of another guild? But who…? And what can be his goal? Oh, I hope that Mystogan will arrive there in time! Goodness! As if the concern about Laxus is not enough for me… And who knows where Gajeel is… And now this impostor… whoever he is… makes things still worse!"

-ooo-

Meanwhile…

"Collect your faculties, Natsu!" said Lucy. She stroked back her wet hair. "It was you who insisted to go after Erza, after all! Don't forget that!"

The blonde girl and Gray were supporting the pink-haired Dragon Slayer who couldn't stand firm on his feet. He was extremely tortured by the journey. His motion sickness was worse than ever.

"Y-Yes, that's right… We must hurry up… We must find Erza… Just a minute…" answered Natsu unconsciously. "Everything is s-spinning… Oh…" he moaned. His head dropped forward.

"Oh, you are beyond all hope," muttered Gray through clenched teeth. Natsu had rested his weight against Gray's shoulder and the ice mage felt a sharp pain in his muscles. "Why am I not surprised…?"

"It is impossible for me to fly… This wind is awful!" complained Happy.

Indeed the storm was at its height. The rain lashed against them. The air was saturated with electricity. The wind dispersed their hairs. Not only flying but also walking was very difficult.

Levy looked extremely worried. It wasn't typical for her to disobey the guild master. If he was to learn that she was with Natsu's team at the moment… The blue-haired girl didn't dare even thinking about it. And what would say her team mates Jet and Droy if they could see her now? And there was one more thing… She wasn't absolutely sure about the dark runic magic. What if Laxus was involved indeed? She was so afraid of him… The blue-haired girl cast a glance at the lightning bolts that were cutting through the sky and shivered with fear. She hadn't forgotten how Laxus had shot a lightning bolt at her. Luckily for her, Gajeel had been there to save her… But now the Iron Dragon Slayer wasn't there. Who knows where he was at the moment… Levy sighed. She feared but she knew that there was no turning back… She had promised to help her friends.

"The storm is getting stronger… We must be close already," noticed she.

"You are right. We must be on our guard," agreed Lucy. "Strangely, it seems that there are no people in this city!"

"Who will be outside when the weather is so awful?" asked Gray. "It isn't strange at all. Let's hurry!"

-ooo-

"A trap?" repeated Erza. "So Laxus has nothing to do with this?" She knew that master Makarov would be happy to hear that. But at the next moment another thought crossed her mind. "And the story about the curse is true?" asked she.

"It is true; there is no doubt about it," answered Mystogan (1). "It seems that the dark magic has been activated by his arrival here." The masked man pointed at Gajeel. "Obviously he hadn't known about the danger… just like us. Look at him. His magical power is almost completely taken away. I'm afraid that the same thing is going to happen with us... unless we find some way to get out of this circle."

Erza bit her lips. How could they get out? It was impossible for them to use their magic…

"What should we do?" the girl said to herself.

She had never felt herself so helpless. An unexpected thought came to her mind. "Maybe Jellal has the same feeling right now… He is locked within the prison and it is impossible for him to get out of it…" She was astonished at herself. "What are these strange thoughts of mine now? I must think only about the mission!"

At the same moment a piercing shriek broke the silence.

"Gajeel!" screamed a female voice.

Both S-class mages cast a glance at the door. A blue-haired girl was standing there. She stared at the body of the Iron Dragon Slayer. Her eyes were widened in shock and her expression was terrified. It seemed that she was trying to take breathe but she couldn't.

"Who is it? Levy?" whispered Erza. "No, it can't be… She shouldn't be here." Then she saw three other figures behind her.

"Natsu? Gray? Lucy? What are they doing here?" wondered the red-haired mage.

Without losing any time, Levy rushed forward. She had forgotten her fears. Her only thought was to help Gajeel. Natsu's team followed her.

"Don't get closer!" yelled both S-class mages at the same time.

Startled by the yell, the newcomers stopped. Only Levy didn't pay attention to the yell and continued running forward. Natsu and Gray grabbed her hands and held her back.

"Wait, Levy!" whispered Gray in her ear.

"Be careful!" added Erza. "There is a runic circle here! It is impossible for us to get out of it! And as it seems, it takes the human's magical power away!"

"So the literature sources were right!" exclaimed Levy. "And it means… it means that Laxus isn't here, thank goodness!" she thought and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Can you destroy the runic magic, Levy?" asked Happy.

"I will try but I need some time…" Her words were interrupted by the appearance of a dozen monsters resembling giant bats.

"They are so many! Why?" asked Erza looking at Mystogan. "When we came here there were only two of them!"

"The magic is stronger now because it consumes not only Gajeel's magical power but also ours," explained the masked man.

Levy and Lucy unconsciously took a step back but Natsu didn't look troubled. On the contrary, a large smile formed on his lips.

"Set to work, Levy. We will gain some time for you." His fire aura enveloped his body. "I'm all fired up!"

-ooo-

(1) I still call the impostor "Mystogan" but you know that it is not him.

As you see, there is a bit of Levy x Gajeel in this story. I hope that you like it!

What do you think about this chapter? Review please, please, please!