Chapter 3: Going with the flow

The sound of a chart being laid out on the table, and the smell of old paper. Lucy pointed out the little city with the name Mountaina. Natsu looked at the place she pointed at, then his gaze moved towards a little spot in the middle of the ocean, east of the village they now was in. Tenrou Island was far from the east coast.

"Hey Lucy, hurry up!"

Natsu was all fired up, he was running up the slope, while Lucy was trying her best to keep up. She tried to understand where they were going, but she gave up. Natsu had remembered the fastest way to the island. She didn't understand why he knew about some short cut, but she trusted him enough to follow him wherever he took her.

"Please slow down Natsu, I can't keep up!"

She was walking as fast as she could, sometimes running, but she was tired, sleepy and she had a huge back packet. Natsu didn't seem aware of his own back packet found lots of sheeps on both sides of the road. The scenery was beautiful, with these green hills surrounding the village. Of course you had the mountains surrounding it all. On one side there was a harmonic waterfall, falling through the green hills, and down into the woods, where it disappeared.

They paused for a second, ate some food, and then they had to walk fast again. You could see how well-trained Natsu's body was, and Lucy could feel her own strength. Natsu was maybe in better shape than her, but she was in better shape than she'd ever been.

"Natsu? Wouldn't it maybe been more efficient to take the train?"

Lucy asked him, she didn't doubt him, but she doubted his sources.

"Not really, you know that the Island is actually guarded by a magical shield, no one has entered since the shield was set up! Not even the master"

Lucy suddenly doubted herself, if the shield was that strong, why should anyone try to enter, and why should they be able to enter? When she thought that not even the master could enter, it scared her a bit. They're master was extremely strong, he had never fought a battle Lucy had joined. Even when phantom attacked, he let the members do the job. And his height made it harder to believe in his strength, but she would of course not doubt him!

Slippery stones were only a proof that they were walking over the mountains. It had started raining, and small drops of rain were hitting them. Lucy felt numb in her legs after all the walking, and it also started to get cold. The road had turned into a small path, which followed the landscape perfectly. Lucy had to watch her steps, and was in deep concentration over this mission. When she finally felt like looking up, Natsu was gone.

Where is he? Did I lose him, or rather, did he lose me? I can't start looking for him now, I won't ever know where to look. Maybe I just should follow the path to the next village, his probably just out of sight for the moment.

But when Lucy almost started running she heard him calling her name from above. She looked up, and saw him over her, she had to go back to follow the non-existing path he had taken. It was even more slippery and absolutely not made for mountain passers. But she kept walking, asking herself why she didn't call upon the spirit Horoclux and made him transport her. Which of course would have been very embarrassing, still it would've been more confortable.

"Happy! Lucy! I found the place, I found it!"

Lucy stopped, and looked around, the only thing she could she around her were rocks, nothing which told her that it was a path to anywhere.

"Where is it?"

Lucy looked at Natsu, hoping for a reasonable answer, and she got it. Natsu told her that Igneel had told him about this path once, he had made sure that Natsu could find it, of course he had went here that time Igneel disappeared, but he didn't sense him anywhere, neither did Igneel come when he called for him. Igneel had told him that this was a path to Tenrou Island, only use it when you have to. He also told Natsu about something underneath the mountain's surface which would help them. After Natsu was finished telling Lucy that he took his fist up in the air, she could see how flames started surrounding it and then he yelled.

"Fist of the firedragon! Here I go, I'm gonna smash through this mountain!"

Lucy looked terrified, and run forth to stop him. Natsu saw this movement and stopped right away afraid of hurting her.

"If there is something inside there which is important for us we shouldn't risk crushing it! I open thee the gate of the maid, Virgo!"

A gate appeared in the air and out came a girl with short pink hair, dressed in a maid outfit. Around her fist long heavy metal chains were hanging. She greeted them and asked Lucy what she wanted her to do.

The whole where Virgo had spun open was perfectly circular, and you couldn't see the bottom. You could only hear the faint sound from her chains. After a minute she came up from the whole, and placed her feet perfectly and elegant on the ground.

"I did as you told me, princess. It's a cave, with a river flowing through it, I didn't take a closer look. What will be my punishment?"

Lucy sighed and went down the hole, the only light except the little light which reached the bottom from the hole, was the flaming light from Natsu's fired fist. Lucy tried to look round in the little cave they ended up in. But the corners were too dark for her eyes.

"There is a boat over there, princess."

Virgo pointed towards one of the corners, the light from the hole they had entered got smaller and smaller, and the sound of a river which flowed through the cave higher and higher. Lucy got the feeling that in this cave no time could exist. The water would just keep on flowing through the cave.

"We're supposed to use the boat down the river! Let's go Lucy, Happy!"

Natsu were already carrying the boat towards the river, and Lucy noticed that the hole Virgo had dug for them had closed. Some kind of old runes had probably been used on the cave, so that it always would be hidden. When she turned her head she could her the small sound of growing trees. She bet there was a new boat which was being made, out of nothing. It gave her the creeps, the whole cave gave her the creeps. She wanted to leave, fast.

"Wow! You're supposed to drive it!"

Lucy had been a passenger on such a vehicle before, mostly when Erza drives. It uses your magical power to go forth.

"Let me drive! You'll only get sick anyway"

Lucy took a steady step down into the boat, she placed her hands around the steering wheel, and tried to use her magic to resist flowing downwards. But nothing happened, she tried again after telling Virgo to leave, but the boat remained the same.

"Does that mean I have to drive?"

Natsu's smile was somewhat evil, and he almost threw Lucy backwards in the boat, and sat down in the front himself. Happy had jumped down in the boat and looked out over the egde. Then Natsu released them.

The darkness around them was unbearable, they didn't know what they should expect, was there a waterfall, where would they end up? They didn't have a clue, but Lucy seemed to be the only one who led of anguish. She was feeling really panicked but kept calm, trying to find out if Natsu had made his task, but Lucy imagined that he was laying there all over the front and unable to do a thing. But suddenly she felt a hotness surrender the boat, and a faint light were starting to spread in the boat. Like surrounding the materials, and making the whole boat light up, like a lantern in pure darkness. In front of Lucy Natsu was in full concentration, and by all means, perfectly normal. Not any signs of motion sickness. Before Lucy could think about anything else the speed increased, and the only thing she could think of was all those rocks they almost hit.

As they went with the river they all felt the air press strongly towards them, but Natsu kept pushing the boat. From time to time Lucy would feel her heart in her throat. She could feel how they passed through the tunnel, she could almost feel the pressure from the walls. But the only thing she could do was to trust Natsu.