Gajeel stepped into the building, and he saw the complete chaos.
Papers littered the ground. Each labeled with missing mages; including their own faces. Books were piled on one table to the next. The usually drinkers were missing as well.
Levy glanced from behind his forearm and gasped at the sight as well.
Finally, Nab turned around and looked at the two. His eyes filled with hope as he fell onto his knees. "You are back!" he cheered with excitement.
Levy and Gajeel looked at each other. What exactly have they missed?
The door on the second floor opened as an old man walked through it. "Whose back?!" he asked before he laid his eyes on the newcomers. "Gajeel, Levy…"
"What the hell happened, old man?" The Iron Dragon Slayer questioned as he searched the guild for the other teams. None of them were there. And their pictures were on Missing Person Posters.
Alzack appeared from behind the corner and answered for the two. "We thought you guys went missing as well." Bisca, who was usually in the guild whenever he was around, was nowhere to be seen; but his daughter was peeking out from behind his leg.
"Why would you think that?" the blue haired girl questioned.
"Do you know how long it's been since you guys left?" The dark skinned man asked the duo.
"A week…?" Gajeel uttered with his arms out in front of him.
"More like a month."
She blinked twice, "Has it really been…?" She felt like she only left the city six nights ago; not a totally month. Has she really been traveling for that long? They were only a day behind Laxus and his group, and Natsha was missing a day before them. Yet they were the ones back first.
Alzack nodded, "We heard no word from anyone..." He raised his arm into the air and rubbed his head, "We thought everyone went missing as well..."
"And the others went on their own searches," Master moaned into the palm of his hand. "A month…we had no clue what was happening or what to do. I went to the guards and had your posters on every wall...and that has been only a week ago. A search for a missing mage should not take a month. Not even some of the S-class quests are that long…"
"How long do you think it's suppose to be to find a friggin' Dragon?!" It took him fourteen years to even hear the dragon language, so finding one was a ways away.
"Natsha could not be able to lie low for that long," the old man argued. The pinky was always up and running from one quest to the next; never giving herself breaks in between.
Alzack lifted his head up, "Have you gotten any more clues then?"
"Not about Pinky."
Makarov took a step down the staircase and looked up, "Laxus?"
"He was at the volcano before we came," Levy answered. She lifted her hand and brushed back her hair behind her ear; the purple flower twitched from the movement. "He was heading south…to Midi."
"So, Mirajane and Rogue are on their trail."
"Wouldn't the other groups be returning soon then?" Nab asked. "If those two are on the right path, it means that the others are on the wrong track..."
"Maybe…Natsha could still be in any one of those places...we only know about Laxus' headings..." the Master moaned once more. "Too bad we have no way to send word to them…unless if we send someone out behind them...and that didn't work the first time..."
Lilly spoke, "They will come back."
They were Fairy Tail mages afterall.
…
The dragon soared through the skies. The tail swirled with each time the wings flipped to keep his great body afloat. A lone girl, riding on his neck, gripped onto his red scales and held her hand into the air. At first when she gotten on the dragon, she felt motion sickness, but that feeling soon left as they chased after the sky dragon.
Before them was an open field of clouds, with sea below, the sea reached the horizon and colors filled the sky. Grandneey was nowhere to be found. She took off and left no trace behind her. Igneel could only plow forward without any luck.
"She is far gone, that one. For now we shall return, cherry blossom."
Her shoulders slumped in defeat. Her interest in the sky and the clouds disappeared as she thought about Wendy. "Will she come back?"
"Only to mock and complain." Igneel's voice tired from the years of nagging and arguing, grew weary. Even though there was distance between his nose and Natsha, he could already smell the gloom that loomed over her. After a quick sign, he spoke one more. "A blasted dragon like her will return whenever she fairs. Especially when a human is near."
"She will? Really?" The girl hopped onto the idea quickly. She couldn't wait to see Wendy's face when her mother appeared, or Gajeel's disappointed gaze when his dragon was nowhere in sight.
"For now, we'll rest. The sun is setting and the moon is rising. I will teach you more tomorrow, Natsha."
…
His eyelids fluttered opened. Above his head was a curved rock that provided shade. His head rolled to the side where he seen two of his companions. They were sitting next to each other with bottles in their hands.
Water.
His chapped lips opened once he laid sight on the liquid. His throat, dried, could only rasp.
His companion turned when he heard, and looked down onto him with a fond smile. He raised the bottle into the air. "About time you've awoken."
"Sting-san!" Juvia glanced backwards at the blonde with widen eyes. She gotten low on the ground and patted his hand. "Sting-san has awakened! Finally!"
The tanned cat, Lector, moved to his side and snuggled against his forearm. Tears formed around his eyes as he stayed by his partner's side.
"Wa-Water…" Sting moaned. He was exhausted and the only thing he could think about was that. Gray went to his other side and Juvia raised his head. The lid of the bottle touched his lips and slowly the liquid started pouring down his throat. He gulped it down after another until he ended up choking.
The blue haired girl raised him up and patted on his back, while Gray pulled the bottle away. Lector gasped at his partner, "Sting-kun!"
Sting coughed and water sprayed from his mouth onto the desert sands.
Wasted Water.
But something was off as he calmed down. His eyes gazed along the sand runes. The sand was already wet to begin with.
He glanced at the other two. He rasped, "What happened…?"
"Juvia," Gray pointed to their female attendant. With his other hand, he gave the bottle to Sting to finish. The blonde took the bottle and gulped it down slowly; not to choke on it once more.
"If I was there…I would have helped…" the cat uttered in dismay. He went scouting ahead of them and when he came back, Sting was already down. He felt like a bad partner.
The girl clasped her hands together and brimmed with happiness. Her voice, filled with cheer, sang out in a lovely tune, "Juvia-san saved Gray-sama and Sting-san~!"
Sting wiped his wet lips on his sleeves and gave the water woman a grin. Instead of her trying to kill him, which he thought she was trying to do at first, she ended up saving his life. "Thanks."
Juvia returned the smile with a tilt of her head. "Sting-san is Juvia's friend, right? It's no problem."
Gray leaned against the rock and added, "We are on a team. That's what teammates, friends, do. Simple as that."
Other than Rogue and the Exceed, he never really had other people watching his back. Even after the guild reformed, Rogue was always his right-man. "Yeah…I guess so."
…
He wiped his sleeve over his eyes and glazed around whenever he was standing. All he remembered was a voice, so soft and sweet like a mother's, and then there were lights that blinded his vision.
The blonde man stood in the middle on a rock formation. On one end was a door that covered a cave entrance, and on top of the cave was a smooth surface. He stood by the edge of the rock and below him were clouds; as well as all around him. The wind was thin from whatever height he was at, while the sun lowered behind the clouds.
Laxus stepped away from the edge and stepped around the rocks, until he stood in front of the cave entrance. His finger wrapped around the doorknob and he gently pushed it. "Hello? Anyone?" His grunt voice echoed through the barren walls inside.
Light appeared when he snapped his two fingers. The walls lit up from his element and he was able to see deeper inside. Several burn marks covered the walls and there was only a single light from the ceiling of the cave; wide enough to circulate the air. Whatever stood there only had several pieces of hay to trace it.
His light fluttered and diminished. He tried snapping his fingers again but the doors suddenly pushed opened and a huge gust of wind came barreling in. The force was enough to press him against the cave walls.
The gusts became more firmly when the ceiling crept. Silence. The doors slowly closed and Laxus was allowed to move once again. With one hand, the blonde brushed his hand backwards, away from his eyes. He took a few steps closer to the door when he heard it.
A voice.
It wasn't a plain voice you would hear from a mook, but a voice filled with hope, optimist, and roared into his ears. The headphones tugged and he rested them over his nest as he listened carefully.
"Did…she come back?" It was a female's voice, and after she said that, she sniffed the air that loomed with the scent of clouds and dust.
"A trick of hers?" The other voice caused the whole rock formation to vibrate. It was much louder than the girls' and echoed off the rocks.
Then, the two heard something different; someone breathing underneath their feet. The two shared a glance and listened. Waiting for any other noises or sounds that came from underneath.
Laxus moved forward in the dark cave. His lone footsteps echoed off the barren walls. His hand clasped around the doorknob, and he pulled it opened. The blonde took a step out onto the rock cliff and turned around to look above the cave.
To where a mighty dragon rested. Red scales glistened in the dimming sunlight. White fangs hanging over his lips as his head turned to look down onto the newcomer; his neck slithered as his head moved.
Laxus' mouth, ajar, gasped at the sight before him.
Natsha lifted her head from the ground, from where she's been listening, and gazed down below. Their eyes contacted each other and soon both of their mouths were ajar.
Remember when Gajeel and Levy were important to the story? Guess what, I finally remembered. And man…I have been on a Fem!NatsuxLaxus rampage (King's Contact [Sting and Laxus fighting over the crown and Natsha has to decide who gets it] and On Her Knees [Fem!NatsuxLaxus' smut]). Also, because of the recent Manga chapters, this story is completely AU... Why did the author, out of all timings, had to pick now to do what he did...
Danizinhachan: He may not admit he has a crush...but we all pretty much knows he does. Seeing as how I made Grandneey/Grandline (I can never spell her name...) in this story, she pretty much sent him to Igneel's place to annoy the dragon... Have you read the recent manga chapters? There was a line in there about Natsu fighting someone; who isn't Laxus. I would do more flashbacks...but I can only think of ones to prove a point or a dream; so if you have any ideas, shout them out to me and I may add them (or even do a oneshot). Thanks!
XFireDevil23: Lets just say, with flashbacks/thoughts, are my favorite thing to write. That's where I can make the most fluff...especially since Natsha and Laxus were separated since the start of the story. One half of your wish came true, he finally found her...now we could only await for the half to happen.
darkhuntressxir: That's Grandneey's thing to travel...at least from what I gotten from the manga. I always try to find the best points to leave people wanting more.