Lucy woke up in a cage. "Where am I?" She looked down to see she was wearing a white dress. "What am I wearing?" She started hyperventilating. She deduced, 'Someone touched me. I am not in my own clothes!' She freaked out, trying to figure out if someone may have done something sleazy to her. 'I think I'm still a virgin. So why do this?' She then felt around on her body. She realized her keys were missing. She whispered, "Where are my keys?"
A group of women walked toward her cage. Lucy hoped they could help. "Hello! I think there's a mistake here. I need to go home." The women all giggled at Lucy's desperate cries. Lucy was in utter disbelief. She thought, 'These women are associated with these people?' She pleaded, "Why are you laughing? This is hardly a laughing matter. You need to let me go." One of the older women mused, "Oh. You're just like the others. You cry and whine, but know this. You're getting the ultimate honor." Lucy was confused. She asked, "What honor would that be?" A younger woman in the group said, "Why, the honor to have your soul be reborn as a dragon. You'll be ideal for the ultimate ritual. You're so beautiful, and we know you're a virgin."
Lucy demanded, "And how do you know about my virginity?" A woman with gray hair said, "I'm Sal. I'm something of a midwife and female doctor. I made sure your hymen was intact." Lucy felt violated and disgusted. She yelled, "That is a gross violation of my privacy! Besides, hymens can break from stuff like horseback riding." Sal smiled. She said, "You're correct about that. A hymen can break for any number of activities. However, we also happen to have another source as well."
She pulled out a Sorcerer Monthly magazine featuring Erza, Lucy, Yukino, and Kagura on the cover. The article featured was all about peer pressure. There were other women featured in the article, discussing how to deal with peer pressure for drugs, sex, sexual harassment, and bullying. The four women on the cover told the magazine about their virginal status to show other girls that it was okay to be a virgin. Lucy remembered being proud of the article for saying it was nothing to be ashamed of. She also felt like it was a great reminder that girls and women didn't have to fall to peer pressure if they didn't want it. Now, this article she was so proud of was being used against her. She demanded, "Why do you care if I'm a virgin?" Sal sneered, "Well, our dragon slayer ritual certainly needs a virgin sacrifice doesn't it?" Lucy's face was red with rage. "Sacrifice?! What sacrifice?" she screeched.
The younger woman, Laura, said, "Well, you are to be given to the alpha. Once you give the ultimate sacrifice, you appease the dragons, so they don't come back. If the first generation slayers become the alphas and betas, your soul might allow you to be reborn into a dragon." Lucy looked at these women like they were insane. She asked, "So how am I given to this alpha?" Laura gushed, "When the tournament is finished, there will be an alpha and 2 betas. This year it's special. We'll have the first generation slayers go up against our own slayers. If they win, you'll be given to the alpha. We don't know what will happen. Some years the alpha is benevolent; most of the time, he's malevolent. Whatever happens is up to the alpha."
Lucy was looking for any way out. She saw her keys on the belt of the older woman, Doris. Lucy beckoned Doris close to her. Lucy appealed to her kindness and said, "Hey. I know you guys believe this stuff. I don't want you to think I don't respect your religion. But, I don't believe my soul will be reborn into a dragon. Please, I don't want to die. Please! Let me go! I'm begging you." The lady laughed in her face. She taunted, "Miss Lucy, you are receiving the ultimate honor. Appreciate it." Lucy slyly palmed her keys back, while saying through gritted teeth, "If you feel it's such an honor, why don't you give yourself up for this?" The woman smiled, saying, "Of course, I would have, but I'm a married woman." Lucy incredulously yelled, "So I'm being punished for being single?!" The ladies ignored her, walking off as Lucy seethed in her cage.
As soon as the women were out of the room, she pulled out her keys. She tried calling any spirit but realized there seemed to be a barrier that sucked her magical energy. She placed her hand between the bars with her keys. She thought, 'Here goes nothing.' She whispered, "Open! Gate of the Lion. Leo!" Loke came out, asking, "Lucy! What's going on?" Lucy put on a relieved face. She informed Loke, "Natsu, Sting and Rogue were kidnapped for some strange ritual. They want me for a virgin sacrifice. I'll explain later. Just get me out of here!" Loke tried using magic but it didn't work. She said, "There's a strange barrier to magic." Loke found an enormous rock and broke the cage door. "At least I have brute strength," he beamed. Lucy quietly sneaked out. She whispered, "Thanks, Loke. Come on."
They walked through a passageway quietly, trying to keep out of sight. She whispered, "Loke, we have to find Natsu, as soon as we can." As they went further in, they saw 8 men in cages, some moaning in pain. She was horrified by the cruel treatment these poor men were given. She asked, "Why are they hurting them?" Loke looked over at them, and whispered, "Lucy, I think they're making dragon slayers like Laxus." She wondered, "Those horrible women mentioned a tournament. Do you think these men are in it?" Loke shrugged his shoulders. Lucy whispered, "We should let these guys out."
Before they could open a cage, Loke grabbed Lucy and hid in the shadows. Four men in robes entered the room and went to 2 cages. Lucy and Loke watched as the men in the cages were given a drink. Lucy's eyes widened as the men's eyes became reptilian and their fangs got longer over the course of 10 minutes. Then they were given a second drink. Loke and Lucy were astonished as they observed the men acting violent, wild, and aggressive. Loke's expression indicated to Lucy it was too dangerous to free those men yet. They watched as the guards brought the two men's cages into another room. Loke whispered, "Come on. Let's see what they're doing."
Lucy and Loke hid in an alcove above a caged arena where the violent artificial slayers' cages were brought. They watched as a whole crowd of people in cloaks chanted, "Alpha! Alpha!" Lucy looked at Loke, confused. They watched as a man in a white cloak walked out. He pulled off his hood. He held his hand up, "Silence! I promised this year was special. This year, we have 8 second generation dragon slayers and 3 first generation dragon slayers to commemorate our 10th anniversary of the ritual. This year's festivities will be different. We will conduct the normal competition, but we will have a small competition to see who among the first generation is their alpha. Then we will have the alpha and his betas fight against our alpha and his beta. We even caught a magical virgin this year. We're still trying to collect the other two virgins. But it will be soon. Have I ever let my people be disappointed?" The crowd cheered and chanted, "Quincy! Quincy!" He put his hand up to silence the crowd again. He proclaimed, "Now, let's start the first competition!"
Quincy walked out of the ring and locked it behind him. The two cages' doors were opened from above. The snarling, violent men trudged out of their cages. Loke and Lucy watched the men attack one another in a particularly cruel battle. A wave of concern rushed over Lucy. She thought, 'Are they going to do this to Natsu, Sting, and Rogue?' She couldn't help but be horrified as these men bit, scratched, kicked, punched, and choked each other with their entire being. As the battle became more terrifying, she put her face in Loke's shirt. She could still hear every bone crunch, every splatter of blood, every crack and howl. Loke whispered, "Don't look up yet," in her ear. He looked on to see a sickening display of cruelty below them, all with a cheering audience. One slayer ripped the other man's heart from his chest. Loke held Lucy's face to his chest to prevent her from looking up. He whispered, "Just don't look, Lucy." He shuddered, as he watched the winner rip into the heart. The audience cheered "Haegl Draca!" Quincy yelled from above, "We have a winner! We shall adjourn for 2 hours, while we set up the next competition!" The crowd cheered, "Alpha! Alpha!"
Lucy and Loke ran out of that area as fast as they could. Lucy was visibly sick, whispering, "They're going to do that to those men? They plan on doing that to Natsu and the dragon slayer twins? These people are so sick. I can't even handle this. I don't even want to think about what they were planning to do with me." Loke was next to her, thinking hard about something. He realized, "Lucy, I don't want to freak you out, but I've seen stuff like that before. There have been some pretty extreme religions, but this is pretty out there. This appears to be a variant of an extreme sect that existed 100 years ago called Draco's Sons. They were a cult that thought providing a sacrifice of dragon slayers would appease the dragons to leave their villages alone." Lucy whispered, "And the virgin girl?" He answered, "There seems to be an obsession with virgin girls, huh? I guess that was to sweeten the pot." Lucy scowled. Loke whispered, "Either way, we need to find those guys as soon as possible. We also have to try to break those other guys out of their cages too." Lucy looked worried. She looked at him and said, "I hope we save them in time. I want my friends to be alive."
Suddenly, an announcement was made, "The virgin girl has escaped!" Loke looked at Lucy. "That's our cue to hide." Lucy looked at him with fear in her eyes: "Let's get out of here. We need to find those guys now."