~~~Chapter 4: Missing Friends~~~

(AN: Gah, Lucy is so frustrating! ;D Here comes the ending of Flip Flop! ~Dragon)

The next day at the guild, Natsu seemed to be the same as usual for the most part. At least, he was brawling with the other guys. Whenever he wasn't, he was zoning out sitting at that abandoned table or drinking at the bar. Though Natsu's behavior really confused me, I was also concerned with the fact that Gray and Juvia still hadn't returned from their mission from a week ago. It's been five days and the mission should have taken three at the max.

"Erza? You think we should go and check on Gray and Juvia? Shouldn't they have returned by now?" I asked the redhead.

She nodded and agreed, "Yes, I was wondering the same. I think we should at least investigate with their client."

To my surprise, Natsu was quick to join in to come and help. Wendy, Carla, and Happy grouped up with us and after asking Mira for the address, we set off to find our missing friends. Though, to be honest, I was a bit distracted.

We found out at the client's place that the man missing was returned, but Gray and Juvia never returned with him. With that, we set off towards the cabin they went to so we could check it out. We were warned that the man came back a little strange and wouldn't talk about what happened, so the same could be with our friends. It was nearing dusk by the time we made it to the cabin to start looking.

"Gray! Juvia!" Natsu called, sniffing around the yard. "They were here, but that was a long time ago. Their scents are fading pretty bad. I don't know if I can track 'em like this."

"You think they went out back? Maybe you can pick up a trail back there," Erza suggested.

So we went around back and I noticed a part in the wall that was broken down. There was a trail leading from it going out into the fields so we began walking down it since there seemed to be no other trail that they could have taken. It wasn't long before we came across a crashed magicmobile. It wasn't Gray's nor Juvia's as far as we were aware, but it was still concerning.

"Gray?! Juvia?!" Natsu called again. A breeze came over the hills and Natsu shot up the fields, the rest of us running behind. "Gray! Juvia!"

Then I saw them. Gray and Juvia sat exhausted over a boulder in the middle of the meadows. Erza and Happy bolted alongside Natsu, though Wendy, Carla, and I remained at the same pace. They both seemed okay, and I was glad. I didn't want anything to happen to them.

Gray asked, "What are you guys doing here?"

I answered panting, "Looking for you, duh. You've been gone for a week."

"What happened to ya?" Natsu questioned, seeming the most normal he's been for the past week.

"You had to have run into troubles since you took so long to complete your mission. Would you care to explain?" Erza inquired.

Gray replied hesitant, "Hold up, geeze. We were a bit… Tied up… But we're back now. And we didn't complete the mission."

Erza explained, "But the man you went out to find came back two days ago. When you both never returned after the man returned, we came out looking for you."

Juvia peeped, "He is? Juvia's glad."

"You didn't know?" I asked.

"No, like I said: we were a bit tied up there for a while," Gray replied.

"Tied up in what?" Natsu questioned.

I saw the duo's hesitance and waved off, "It doesn't matter now."

Erza said, "That's fine. We know that you are safe now. That's what counts. Come on, let's return to the guild."

After that, we did as such. It was a bit late, but everyone was still there as it wasn't that late yet. The entire way back was a bit awkward as Gray and Juvia sat side by side spacing out, Natsu grumbled at the motion sickness, and Erza wanted to say something but never did. The silence stopped when we got off the train, but the awkwardness remained. Gray and Natsu barely even bickered at each other.

Even at the guildhall, Gray and Juvia just walked off to Gajeel's table as if they had been doing that for the past year. Sure, Juvia usually did, but Gray? Elfman and Bixlow were brawling for some reason and neither Gray nor Natsu even gave it a second thought. So not only was Natsu acting weird, but now Gray too?

Elfman bumped into Natsu as he approached Gray and the fire dragon punched the brute out of the way to ask, "What's this whole, trapped thing anyway?"

Gray sighed as he saw that Erza, Happy, and I joined into the conversation. He said, "We're gonna have to explain, aren't we?"

"What, ya gonna tell Metal-Face but not us?" Natsu questioned.

"I hate you, you know that?" Gray returned.

"Well?" Erza inquired for their explanation.

Juvia hesitated as she played with her hands, looking down. Gray watched her for a second and sighed in defeat. Just like the guy they went out to find, they didn't want to tell us what happened. What could have happened to them?

Gray answered, "Fine, we were sent to the future."

The future?! I didn't think that time travel, not like Tenrou, was possible! Questions formed into my head at the possibilities. They saw the future, so they could tell us what happened to us! That would be great! Maybe they could even tell what's up with Natsu!

I excitedly asked, "Really?! What was it like?! Am I, like, a super famous author with, like, billions of fans around the world?!"

"Relax, we're not telling," Gray stated raising his hands up in defense. "Just think about it. If we told you what happens, then it might never happen."

"You have a good point," Erza sighed. "But that doesn't make us any less curious about your adventures there. How were you sent? You can at least answer us that."

"A ghost. Her name was Evol. She lived in that creepy, burnt down house," Gray answered.

Come to think of it, there was a burnt down house a few hills up from where we found Gray and Juvia. So they went there and this ghost took them to the future? Why were they sent there? Could that ghost have known what she was doing or was it just because they came around?

Master Makarov came in and inquired curiously, "Who was the master? I assume you found the guild there."

Gray hesitated before revealing reluctantly, "A redhead."

Master beamed, "Gildarts or Erza?!"

"I ain't tellin' ya that!" Gray replied frustrated.

"What was I like?! Did we brawl and every time I'd win like always?!" Natsu demanded.

"Yeah right!" Gajeel huffed.

The duo deadpanned at the outburst and Gray said, "You're definitely quieter in the future… And thankfully smarter too. Kinda wanna go back now so I don't have to listen to your stupid voice."

Natsu growled, "Hey! You wanna go?!"

I blinked surprised that Natsu seemed completely back to normal. It was as if the whole commotion around Gray and Juvia just snapped Natsu out of whatever he was going through. At any chance, he wanted to fight Gray. If any questions would be answered, Natsu didn't let Gray to even think about saying a word. Though, Gray seemed normal towards Natsu's constant bickering and brawling.

It was as if seeing the both of them normal set me at ease as well as I could actually pay attention. Gray refused to answer anything after he talked about Future Natsu and Juvia remained silent and hesitant. He wouldn't tell anyone anything. I asked about the guildhall and he didn't even answer that! By midnight, the guild broke up as Gray and Juvia parted for the night so the excitement of the day had ended.

I still had so many questions that I wanted to know about as I settled into bed. I wanted to know if they knew anything about why Natsu was so weird lately. About what I'd be doing. How strong everyone would be. If I ever found my prince…

(AN: Thanks to the following people: TomoeDonno, Kiraka69, Rex the wolf.)