Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, nor anything else associated with Fairy Tail. I only own the plot of the following story and my OCs who help move the story along. (Of course, some of the ideas for my OCs come from research on certain things, or if I found nothing on that, I created it for the sole purpose of this fanfic.)
Author's Note: Thank you for the comments. I love the support. And I've realized that you guys aren't going to like me eventually. Hmm... well, maybe. Who knows! Anyway, I realize that I've been slacking a bit on developing the setting. So, I'll go ahead and explain that now. The mission takes place in a more or less remote area of Fiore. Town doesn't require a name, not that important. There's a "mountain" close to the town where a dark guild, to the townspeople's knowledge, is running some kind of operation. A forest covers the lower half of the mountain and the surrounding land. There are caves throughout the place also. I will do my best to not slack on descriptions of setting, people, and objects! -bows in apology- Moving Forward, semester starts Monday so I will not be able to post as often. I cannot promise on how long it will be between posts either. But I do have the start of another story, but there's a catch to that one. You'll see later on. Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter! R&R! :3 ~
Chapter 11
Gray walked briskly down the corridor attempting to leave Juvia. Carla flew a little ahead of Wendy and Happy. Neither of the two had any luck. Juvia ran after Gray, saying loudly "Gray-sama, wait for Juvia." Happy flew after Carla, "Carla!" Wendy just sighed at the two.
The lights had grown far and few between, providing enough light until the next one appeared. Now, the lights began to grow closer to each other. With the lights, the group could now see a double door at the end.
Wendy halted for a moment. "I smell something…" She looked around in front and behind.
"Hmmm?"
Gray turned around, causing Juvia to run straight into him. She melted to the ground on the impact. "Oh Gray-sama!"
"Juvia," Gray said, looking at her intently. "Now isn't the time." He looked back at Wendy who was continuously attempting to pick up the faint scent.
Wendy stood still for a moment. "I knew it!" She began running towards the doors. With her hands on the door, she turned around with an excited look on her face. "Natsu-san's in here!"
"Really?" Happy flew over excitedly. He attempted to push the doors open but couldn't.
"They're reinforced iron doors. I can't push them open myself…" Wendy nodded, waiting for Gray and Juvia to catch up to them.
Once they arrived, all of them pushed the door open, toppling over each other. Everyone looked up staring at the room before them.
Erza, Gajeel, Levy, and Pantherlily walked quietly down the left corridor. Gajeel had picked up Aloin's scent only a few minutes after entering the cave. They had been following the path forever, according the Levy. In all actuality, they had only been walking for approximately fifteen minutes. The walls stretched before them, gray with shadows from the lights, yet these lights were always a constant distance apart.
Soon, they came to a second chamber. Much like the first one, this chamber presented itself as circular and had two paths leading on from it. However, it was significantly smaller and contained a table sitting the middle with what appeared to be a water cooler on top of it. Erza walked over to this. Gajeel walked to the other side of the table, staring at the two paths with contempt as Levy and Lily waited at the entrance.
"Look at this." Erza motioned towards a piece of paper laying folded next to the water cooler. On top of it sat four cups. She moved the cups over, picking up the paper.
Levy walked over to Erza. "It's written in an ancient language," she noticed quickly, taking the piece of paper to study for a few minutes.
Gajeel looked frustrated when he turned around. "I can't find the damn scent!" He stalked over to the table. "It's as if he went both ways at once, yet completely disappeared. I can't quite comprehend this…. Hey squirt. You okay?"
Levy looked up at Gajeel. "It's orders," she frowned. "For us."
"Well, what does it say?" Lily flew over, landing on the table.
Levy stuck her nose into the paper once more, letting silence conquer the room until she spoke, "The water is for your benefit, for after this you will no longer drink fresh water again. Titania, go to your right. Only you may pass. The others may follow the path to the left. If you do not comply, the mighty Salamander will burn no longer."
"How did this person know we would split up like this?" Erza looked at the ground, thinking out loud. "Could he have been watching us the whole time?"
"The entrance to both paths was dark initially," Pantherlily noted. "Aloin could have easily been standing in the darkness listening to us."
"But wouldn't we have seen him once we hit the light?" Levy questioned.
"I caught his scent, but it had already been a bit old. This cave does carry echoes." Gajeel nodded. "I can hear faintly from the other path that they have found Natsu."
Erza nodded. "We should still follow the note. We don't want to cause the others problems."
The other three nodded in agreement as they reached for a cup, thirst catching hold of them. They filled their cups, drank, then separated in their respective groups.
Before they left, Erza looked at them. "Let's show these people who Fairy Tail is, eh?"
"Aye!"
Erza walked down her respective path to the right, while the other three walked to the left.
Shadows flickered from the one light in the room. Chains hung from the ceiling and rested on the floor a little bit away from the wall. Not a soul was bounded by them at first glance. Once one walked into the room, more lights flickered on causing the shadows to recede. A body hung in the air, its limbs chained. The salmon colored hair hung in the man's face.
Wendy gasped at the sight of Natsu suspended in midair, her body frozen. Juvia stared wide-eyed. Gray shook his head in disbelief. Carla had sat next to Wendy.
"N-N-Natsu…" Happy flew towards his best friend.
Natsu remained unconscious, his head dropping. His breathing was raspy as the anklet glowed bright red against his skin. Cuts and bruises could be found covering his entire body. His white shorts contained rips and blood stains. The bottom of his vest was shredded to bits. Only his scarf remained unscathed.
Happy's eyes widened with tears when he realized his friend wouldn't respond. He let himself float to the ground underneath Natsu.
Gray took a long look at Natsu. The sight completely pissed him off. "Hey, Flamebrain! Just what do you think you're doing hanging up there?" He walked over to the figure, glaring. "Can't you get yourself out? Huh?" He taunted the dragon slayer.
Wendy stood up slowly. "Can't you see he can't hear you Gray?" She walked over to Natsu. "I need to heal his wounds…" Wendy put her hands up towards him, attempting to heal him. Her magic sealed the minor cuts, but would not begin to heal the bruises, nor heal the larger cuts on his legs, torso, and arms. She attempted to heal his wounds completely again to no avail. "Why won't it work?!" She looked from the anklet to the chains.
Carla looked over at Wendy. "I believe that the chains and the anklet prevent any more magic to work."
Gray, who had been attempting to shatter the chains, looked over at the two. "Carla's right. The chains are magic proof."
"Natsu…" Happy's ears sulked towards the ground.
"Juvia couldn't get the chains or anklet of Natsu either…" She looked away from Gray, disappointed she hadn't been able to impress him.
"Heh, heh. Of course you wouldn't be able to get him out of those chains. I designed them myself." A dark figure appeared in the entrance. He was wrapped in a black cloak, a hood over his head. "Soon, you'll be up there with him. So will your other friends" A smile could be seen, a sly grin.
She slowly opened her eyes. "Natsu," she mumbled, as a blurry figure moved around her.
"He's not here…" Loke looked away from Lucy.
"Loke?" Lucy bolted up. "Where's Natsu? And.." She looked from the bed she had been laying in to around the entire room. "Where am I?"