It has been a week or so since their heated argument and Erza was nowhere to be found. At first they all thought that Erza was just brooding, like Natsu was, but after the fifth day many were starting to question her absence. Lucy, herself, felt very bad about what had happened between her two friends and wanted them to reconcile. She knew that Natsu didn't mean what he said to Erza and she knew how much Natsu cares about his team. He would do anything for his friends, especially Erza. On her way to Fairy Hills, Lucy spot a dark mysterious figure right in front of the building.

Who the hell could that be? Lucy thought, as she contemplated on continuing to go over to Fairy Hills. With a deep breath Lucy persuaded herself to continue on her task at hand and marched over to Fairy Hills. The dark figure steps in front of the celestial wizard and gives her a wicked like grin.

"Oh man, I knew should have turned back around," Lucy said with a slight whimper before she got clubbed over her head.

"Ow! Damn it, that hurt," Lucy grumbled as she began to wake up, holding her head, feeling a slight bump on the back.

As she fully opens her eyes she absorbs her surroundings and notice that she was trapped in what seemed to be a stone cell, the floor was cold, grimy and rugged, the walls practically identical. She panics and looks down at her body, praying that she wasn't stripped of her clothes like usual.

"Oh thank God." she said as she sees and touches every article of her clothing that are still on her body, best of all her key holder.

"Ok now, time to get out of here! Open! Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!" Lucy exclaims as she points her key to the stone bars, but her perverted man-cow was nowhere to be found. Lucy looks at her key and whines.

"Of course I can't use magic here!"

"Lucy?" a familiar voice said from across her cell, causing Lucy's pulse to escalate. She leans over to the bars, sticks her head out and sees her missing friend, doing the exact same thing. She looked worn and her hair shined from grease and sweat, practically sticking to her face.

"Erza! How did you get here? Have you've been here for long?" Lucy said, gripping the bars tighter and leaning closer towards the bars, her nose practically on the other side of the cell. The closer she was to Erza the safer she felt.

"I have been incarcerated for only a few days. Unfortunately, it is quite hard to escape when I have no use of my power."

"Don't worry Erza we'll get out of here someone is bound to notice both of us gone."

More like someone will notice you're gone dear Lucy...

A deep dark seductive like voice echoes throughout the cells. The voice was almost welcoming to Lucy, making her body move away from the bars and lean towards the echoed voice. Her skin covered in goose bumps.

"Do not pay attention to that voice Lucy, it's only trying to bring your thoughts into a negative place." Erza said

Now, now, Erza, you and I both know that all I speak is the truth...

"Erza, has this voice been talking to you a lot?" Lucy said as she spins around her cell trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. She really didn't like this voice, it was giving her some bad guy vibes that could not be shaken. Lucy knew that they needed to get out of there and quick or else things will take a turn for the worse,"We need to get out of here, Erza! Erza?!"

"Yes, I hear you. We must find a way to get out of here. But how?"

Don't you fret girls. Help will come very soon...

Luuuuuucccy! Natsu's roar echoed above the stone cells.

The ground began to shake right below the blonde's feet and she can hear it's happening to her fellow guild mate as well. She looks over towards the bars and makes eye contact with her scarlet haired friend and within that moment they both fall through the ground.

"Luuuuuuuuccccy! Where are you?" Natsu screams as he and Happy flies over a forest trying to find his missing friend.

His dragon sense of smell directed him over to beyond the Magnolia limits, causing Natsu's concern to grow. It was hard not to notice his friend was gone when he waited at her house for several hours to walk with her to the guild hall, especially since for the past week Lucy had been constantly nagging him to apologize to Erza. Yes, knowing that he hadn't seen or heard from Erza for a few days bugged him and had given him a real sense of uneasiness, but he was still brooding over the fact that Erza would accuse him of not putting either her or any of his friends first besides Lucy. He would do anything for them, but he had to admit that what he said to Erza was also not the right thing to say. Sure, she' scary and mean, but that's the best thing about her, that's what makes Erza so strong and powerful. It's the main reason as to why he looks up and admires her.

But now was not the time to think about his past mistakes at the moment, Natsu had to find Lucy and fast. Maybe after when he finds her, he could get her to help him apologize to Erza and they could all go back to same old, same old.

"Natsu do you smell her?" Happy said, bringing the fire dragon slayer back to the task at hand.

He sniffs the air and detected a slight twinge of Lucy's lilac and jasmine shampoo, he could recognize that smell easily because he has used it as body wash from time to time. He chuckles at the thought, Lucy never understood how she would run out of her shampoo so quickly.

"Down there!" Natsu said as he looked down to see a tall cliff looming above the trees of the forest.

"Aye sir!" Happy said as he swoops down to land Natsu safely to the top of the cliff.

The moment Natsu's sandals touched the ground , Lucy's shampoo's scent practically punches him in the face, but there was another scent in the air that seemed familiar to him that was masked with a different kind of scent, confusing me immensely.

"What the hell is going on here?" he said to himself as he started to look around the cliff.

Congratulations Natsu, you made it just in time... a dark voice enters his mind unexpectedly.

"Whose there!"

I'm no one important my dear dragon slayer, but I am the one who has someone who's important to you...

The cliff starts to rumble, both Natsu and Happy fall from the lack of anticipation and almost instantly Natsu's stomach begins to churn. He puts a hand over his mouth as he tries to focus on what was happening right in front of him. Two holes were opening up on practically the edges of the cliff, one hole on each side of the cliff, distances apart from each other, but close enough for Natsu to have direct vision of them. He closes his eyes in hopes of the cliff stopping, he's ready to blow chunks.

"Natsu!" Two voices yelled out as the cliff stopped rumbling.

Natsu's nausea vanishes, he opens his eyes and the nausea comes back for a whole different reason. In front of him was both Lucy and Erza magically tied up on a vertical giant metal table, their hands over their heads and their feet tied the bottom of the table, all wired up to the table. Both looking quite scared.

"What did you do to my friends?" Natsu said as he takes a step closer to them.

All of a sudden, Lucy and Erza scream in pain as the tables electrocute them. Natsu stops his tracks.

Not so fast dragon slayer, first you need to play a little game with me...

Natsu grinds his teeth, "I'm not here to play any games with you I'm here to bring my friends home!"

Oh and you will I promise, only you play this game with me...

"Natsu I think you should just do what he says or else he'll turn Lucy and Erza into practically fried fish!" Happy said as he clutches on to Natsu's baggy pants.

"Ok fine! What's the game?"

The dark voice hums out a spine chilling chuckle in Natsu's mind.

The game is simple, I have two of your friends hostage, the only problem is, one is here in front of you and the other is safe from harm in a cell somewhere close from here. So as you can see you see both of your friends stand before you, but one of them is a projection of mine. I am going to push them both off the edge of the cliff at the same time and all you have to do is save the friend who is really here...

"And what if I chose wrong?" Natsu did not like this idea at all, just thinking about the situation was actually giving him almost a cold sweat. He could not tell just by his nose which one was the real Lucy or Erza, their scent were too close to each other and from where he was standing they both looked real to him.

Your friend who is in the cell will be free and your friend who is front of you will also be free from the magical ropes and is able to get off of the table, but that will mostly be because she smashed on the ground very hard...

He really didn't like this game. How is he gonna find out?

"Natsu!" Erza yelled, "Listen to me! Lucy is the safe in a cell somewhere! I need you to trust me on this and save me!"

"No! Natsu, please don't listen to her!" Lucy yelled, "She's just trying to trick you! I'm the real Lucy I swear!"

Tick Toc Natsu your time is almost up...

"Natsu! I'm the real Lucy! You just have to believe me please!" Her voice sounded scared and fragile.

"She's the projection Natsu! I'm the real Erza! I'm begging you Natsu!"

The two girls get electrocuted one more time and Natsu winces at the sound of their pained shrills.

Times up Natsu...

The two girls fell backwards over the cliff and without a single thought Natsu ran.

"Lucy!" He screamed as he runs over to his friend, jumping over the cliff in pursuit.

He lands on the table and instantly starts to tear the table up as he hears Lucy's voice filled with joy saying, "You came for me!"

In a few second Natsu got Lucy out of the table and into his arms, both smiling at each other.

The dark voice begins to laugh inside Natsu's mind loud and proudly.

You chose wrong...