Crimzon" Well, Im sooooooooo sorry this is so late. I had writers block and well I was going to update this on Tuesday, but I typed it up on my school computer and when I went to go save the draft on my email then save it on my computer when I got home, it all erased and I was rlly rlly sad so I had to retype the whole damn thing . . . whats even worse is that the first version was more awsome than this and I couldn't remember word for word so I tried my best. Sorry everyone. Anyway, all that shit aside, I'd like to thank everyone for reviewing. I'm trying to keep this as mysterious as possible so you wouldn't believe how difficult it was to word everything very carefully. Um, if any of you want to guess what kind of mage Character-X is then feel free. I wont confirm or deny it, but they'll figure it out next chapter so yeah. You'll know if you were gith or wrong next chappie. Um please keep up the reviews and enjoy. I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL!

~The Price to Remember~

~General POV~

The group along with the mysterious girl had rushed back to the guild so Wendy could take a look at Lucy's wounds. One they got there, Natsu, Erza, Gray and Happy rushed to the back where the infermary was. Wendy was already there with Charlie.

"What happened?" she asked once she saw the unconcious Celestial Mage. Natsu set her down on one of the cots.

"We were attacked by some weird monster and Lucy got these burns . . ." Natsu was having difficulty keeping his voice from shaking. Erza decided to take over once she noticed.

"Can you do anything, Wendy?" she asked.

"I will try my best!" she said, full of confidance. As she got to work on her healing magic, Charlie went and pushed everyone out of the room and back to the front of the guild. Everyone had noticed what had happened and were asking what had occurred on their mission. Natsu couldn't answer.

Out for blood, not caring who it is, Natsu storms over to the person he could blame. The one who had saved them from the monster. He noticed her over by the bar talking with Mirajane. They were laughing as she sipped a glass of milk. How can they be laughing at a time like this? Thought Natsu. Fueled with anger, he headed towards them. Erza, Gray and Happy shared a quick glance, wondering the same thing. Should we stop them? Erza, being the only one who didn't fear anything followed after Natsu in order to make sure he didn't cause any destruction. She's the only one he'd really listen to and that's only out of fear.

Natsu got to the girl and grabbed her by the neck line of her coat and shoved her up against one of the pillars. Mirajane stared at Natsu with wide eyes, wondering if he had finally snapped.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked. The girl sneered and glared down at him.

"Is this really any way to treat your new guild mate?" She lifted up her arm and on her wrist was a dark green tattoo with the guild's mark. "Now, if you would please put me down, I'll be happy to explain everything." She then smiled. Natsu wasn't planning on discussing things like adults. He really wanted to break something right now. Erza realized that Natsu wasn't going to calm down easily so she quickly walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder. He turned to look at her only to see her glare which immediately sent a chill down his spine. With a low whimper, he put down the small mage and walked over to one of the tables and sat down. Happy and Gray soon joined him.

"Sorry about him, he has a short fuse. My name is . . ." the girl interrupted her before she could finish.

"Titania, Erza Scarlet. I know all about you guys." She smiled nonchalantly and walked over to the table. First she pointed over to Gray. "You are the ice mage, Gray Fullbuster." She then pointed over to Natsu. "You're the dragon slayer, Natsu Dragoneel a.k.a. The Salamander." She then looked over to the flying blue cat and smiled. Instead of saying anything, she sat down on the bench across from Gray.

"WHAT ABOUT ME?" complained Happy. Looking annoyed, the girl turned her attention back to the cat and bluntly stated, "You're a flying blue cat, Happy."

"Well, since you already know all of our names, why not tell us yours?" asked Erza, trying to hide the impatience in her tone.

"I'm Nora."

~Nora's POV~

They looked at me with confusion and all I could think was how dense they were. If only they knew what was really going on, they probably would have killed me on the spot.

"Nora?" Erza said. I turned towards her, ignoring the steaming Salamander. "Mind explaining some things to us?" she asked. She was being extra caucious with wording what she said . . . why is that? I smiled and went into my fake personality.

"I'd be happy to. What do you want to know first?" I asked.

"Well first, what in the world was that thing in the cave?" asked Gray.

"Hmm, how should I explain? Well, why dont we start with that job you all went on." Gray shot me a glare for completely avoiding his question. I ignored him and continued, "That old women who requested it is a big liar. She intentionally sent you all to that cave just to be attacked. The monster that attacked you was her butler."

"What? How is that possible, he seemed like a normal old man?" questioned Erza.

"Key word here is 'seemed,' but in reality, he's a strong mage with the ability to change form. That creature he changed into was an ancient monster that terroized this land long ago. His magic lets him copy and become any kind of monster he wishes, but at a cost." I explained. I stopped and waited for their next question.

"Why would that old women send us to a cave just to be attacked. We dont even know her," questioned Gray. I sighed and crossed my arms.

"Yeah, but she knows Lucy." All their eyes widened in shock. Before they could start with the many many questiones they were thinking of that could possible lead to me having a terrible migrain, I continued, "Alright, here's the thing. That old woman, Elizabeth is not an old woman, but a cunning little trickster. She purposley posted a fake request to this guild and on it, she placed a spell so that way Lucy would be the one to take it."

"But, Erza was the one who took it," commented Happy.

"Lucy still went along, didnt she? Meaning it worked. This whole thing was a ploy just to get to Lucy. That monster in the cave, her butler, was there just to attack and kill Lucy." I stopped a moment to let it all sink in.

I sighed and continued, "Lucy resembles someone that Elizabeth used to know. From what I've heard, that girl is a traitor and Elizabeth wants her dead."

"How do you know all this?" was the only thing Natsu could say through clenched teeth. I thought about it for a moment.

"I have my sources," was all I said. I could tell that Erza was about to ask another question when Natsu snapped, jumped onto the table and grabbed me by my shirt . . . again. Really, this boy is going to owe me a new shirt.

"You really piss me off," he said through clenched teeth. At this point, I was overly annoyed and got serious.

"Tell you what, Salamander. Why don't we have a little fight? I win, you drop it and accept the information I gave you."

"And if I win?"

"Then I'll tell you everything I know." He thought about it for a moment then loosened his grip. I fell back down on the bench while he jumped down from the table and made his way to the door.

"Deal, but let's take this outside."

"Quite the Hot Head, aint he?" I chuckled. Erza and Gray gave me a look then followed after Natsu. I noticed that everyone in the guild had already started making a crowed outside. Have they nothing better to do?

~General POV~

"Ne, ne, Gajeel?" Wendy came from the back and had walked over to the quite Dragon Slayer.

"Hmm?"

"Where's everyone going?" she asked.

"Outside. Natsu picked a fight with the newbie," he stated. He then looked over at the small girl, "How's blondie?" he asked. Wendy was shocked that he was actually asking how someone was. He really does care.

"She should be alright, but she needs sleep. Those burn marks were really odd," she answered, worry covered her tone.

"How so?" asked Pantherlily. The small black cat walked up after listening to the commotion between the girl called Nora and Natsu.

"Those weren't normal burns . . . I can't explain it." She said, looking puzzeled. Charlie then flew in and stood on the table next to Pantherlily.

"We've never seen anything like it. All I can say is that something is wrong."

Gajeel looked over at the entrence of the guild, watching the crowed grow as they awaited the fight. Something was wrong and he can feel it.

"That girl . . . she smells of death," he mumbled. Wendy looked at him, wondering what he could be talking about. The two exceeds caught on quickly. "We need to keep a close eye on that girl," suggested Charlie.

"Or stay the hell away from her," added Gajeel.

~Nora's POV~

Natsu's a Fire Dragon Slayer . . . this should be quite simple. The way his temper is so easily lost . . . victory is mine.

"This is your last chance to back down!" yelled Natsu from across from me. I crossed my arms and closed my eyes, letting my smile show. I shook my head no and the last thing I heard was him say, "Your loss."

That's when the fight began. I could feel it in the ground beneath my feet. He was running at me. I could smell the burning flame surrounding his raised fist.

The scent of the fire got stronger as the vibrations got closer. I didn't need to open my eyes to see that he was throwing a right jab, aiming for my jaw. I moved my head a few inches to the left then back to the right when he switched to trying to hit me with the left. I then ducked under his arm only for him to swing back his right arm, almost hitting me in the neck. I stumbled back then jumped forward and over Natsu. I landed with my back facing him and I didn't need to turn around to know he was already charging. Before his attack could hit, I crouched then used that momentum to slide my leg across the ground, attempting to trip him. He caught on quickly and grabbed hold of my leg then spun me around. Before he could toss me, I dug my nails into the dirt, keeping me still and with my free leg; I kicked him in the face, causing him to stumble back. I then jumped forward, and kicked him again, causing him to slide away on his side.

"No wonder I had to rescue both you and Lucy in that cave. You wouldn't have stood a chance against Theo," I taunted Natsu. At that moment, something seemed to just snap and his expression totally changed. Hit a nerve, did I? That's when I made a mistake; I momentarily let my guard down. Natsu came charging again, fire surrounding his fists. He threw a punch and I almost reacted too late. The flames singed some of my hair. Before I had time to recover, he threw another punch. I bent backwards and it all seemed like it happened in slow motion. (A/N: Think of the Matrix haha). His arm came swinging over me and missed, but he managed to grab my dog tags in the process. I felt the chain break as he slid away from me.

~General POV~

Natsu had missed, but he realized that he had accidentally taken her dog tags. As he slid away, he looked down at his hand and noticed that they both had the same kind of strange symbol on them. It was a heart with an outline of wings behind it. The heart seemed to be made up of two arrows. The half on the left had a curved arrow pointing down while the one on the right pointed up. The only difference about the two tags was that they had different names. One was Nora's, but the other had the name Elliot. Who is Elliot? Wondered Natsu. But he did notice one thing. Whoever it was must have been real damn important to Nora. He looked up at the girl and saw her face covered in shadow. Her fist was shaking and he could tell that he had made her angry. He didn't realize the worth of the treasure in his hand.

"Give them back . . ." she mumbled. Natsu took a step back and decided to use this to his advantage.

"Come and get 'em" he grinned as he started running away from the girl. She chased after him, all joking was thrown aside as she started to get serious. She jumped and appeared in front of the Dragon Slayer. Before he ran into her, he stoped, slid a bit then turned the other way. Nora was done with this foolish game.

"Give them back!" she yelled this time. Natsu stopped and turned back. He could feel the magical power seep from her. Her fist was starting to glow a vibrant green and it all just gave him a weird chill . . . as if something about her magic was just not right. She raised her fist in the air and for a moment, he thought she was going to charge for him, but instead she punched the ground. For a moment, nothing happened, but then the ground beneath them started to ripple like when you skip a stone across water. Everyone in the area started to stumble around and fall. Even Erza wasn't able to stand her ground. Natsu then fell back, dropping the dog tags. Nora then jumped and grabbed them before she had a chance to lose them again.

~Nora's POV~

How stupid of me to let him get a hold of these! Alright, I'm tired of them. I think it's time I stop fooling around.

"You know, I think it's time I end this foolish game." I said. Natsu got back to his feet, fists consumed in flames. He then ran my way, trying to finish this as quickly as he can. I had been looking down at the tags in my hand. He probably assumed that I was too engrossed in my thoughts to pay any attention to him. He's wrong. I could see him charging from the corner of my eye. I closed my eyes and raised my hand out in front of me.

"The Earth is my domain," I murmured mostly to myself. Natsu was running at full speed and wouldn't be able to stop. Just when he was about five feet away from me, I closed my hand into a fist and, catching Natsu mid-jump, were a dozen thick roots. They pierced through the ground, wrapping themselves around the struggling dragon slayer. "Struggle all you want, your efforts are in vain."

"What the hell are these?" he yelled. I decided to answer that sarcastically.

"Well gee, my friend. They look like roots," I laughed as I put the dog tags back around my neck. "Those roots nullify all magical power so I suggest you stop trying to escape them." I explained when I saw him still fidgeting. After a few more seconds of trying to free himself and attempting for a Dragon Roar with only a puff of smoke as a result, he stopped resisting. "You done?" I asked. He didn't respond so I took that as an 'I surrender.' I could hear the gasps all around as the other mages witnessed their strongest fire mage get defeated by a complete stranger. Erza and Gray had run over and while Gray pulled on Natsu's leg, trying to get him lose from the roots, Erza stood in front of me.

"What kind of mage are you?" she asked. I crossed my arms and thought about it for a moment.

"Hmm, that's for me to know and for you to find out." Was all I said as I turned to walk away. Before I left I turned and snapped my fingers. The roots began glowing a vibrant green and disappeared into the ground, letting Natsu fall and land on top of Gray. "By the way, I suggest you look after Lucy because someone's after her and she's no longer safe." Was the last thing I said before leaving.

~Later that Night, in a random motel~

I sat there next to the window, staring up at the stars. I continued to look down at the dog tags, letting my memories run wild in my head. Numerous images flashed, leading up to the one person I miss the most and the one person I'm on this mission for. Elliot.

"This is all for you, Elliot . . ." I couldn't help the tears as they slipped passed and fell onto the tag with his name. It was only then that I found myself no longer alone in the room.

"Hmm, how long has it been since I last saw The Great Nora cry?" I glared over at the darkest shadow in the corner of the room. The one lamp dimmed and shut off, leaving me in complete darkness.

"What the hell do you want?" I snapped.

"Nothing, just checking in." I couldn't see worth a damn, but I knew full well who was here. I felt a cold chill skip over my shoulder, across my back then down my arm. I could tell that he was standing right behind me.

"Go screw yourself. I don't need a babysitter for this mission. I'm here aren't I? I even joined their guild just to stay close to her," I snapped again, raising my arm in the air so he could see the guild's mark. I heard him chuckled a bit.

"You never did respect your elders . . . even those who could kill you with only one snap of their fingers."

"Is that all? I'm tired."

"Right, I just needed to be sure that I can trust you. Eliza doesn't seem to trust you at all."

"Eliza doesn't even trust you. Only person she really trusts is Griffin and that's not saying much," I added. He chuckled once more.

"Well then, I'll be taking my leave . . . remember your mission, Nora." For a moment, I thought he'd leave then, but he had one more thing to say. "By the way, that boy sends his regards." I felt everything within me twitch in anger. With that last thing said and another chill running across my back, he was gone and the lamp flickered on. I was alone again and it took me a while to realize that I was clutching the tags so hard that my hand had started bleeding.

Crimzon: I really like what I did with that last part and the part with Gajeel and Wendy haha. Well review and I'll try to update later this week.