Erza and Orga were sitting down by the front of their cave entrance with an unconscious Rufus in front of them. Orga complained, "That was a big pain in the ass. I'm glad he's actually on my team. Having to fight him was a nightmare." Erza nodded. She said, "This has been a big waste of time. At this point, we need to get Rufus out of here. Orga, can you take him back to the pub? Whatever those drugs were, they made it easy to manipulate him." Orga looked concerned, asking, "Should I leave you alone? I don't feel that is wise." Erza put on a serious expression. She promised, "I will go meet up with Gray, Gajeel, and Happy."
Orga had reservations, but he ran with Rufus. He stated, "I'll come back very soon." Erza said, "I know." Erza ran past the unconscious guards, down the hall. She heard a familiar female's voice lividly screaming to be let go. "Kagura?" she said.
Kagura was in a cage, wearing a white dress. Her face was red with rage. She stared down this group of women in front of her cage. Kagura demanded, "Let me go! I don't know who drugged me, but I will kill them, when I find them!"
he women seemed to be ignoring her angry pleas and threats. A guard walked in to the room. He admired Kagura's beautiful body in her cage. She cursed and yelled at the man, "Let me go! I don't know what you want with me, but there is nothing I can provide." The woman named Sal seemed to agree. She pulled out a magazine Erza recognized from 3 months ago. Sal banged on the bars and angrily yelled, "What the hell is this? I thought you said you were a virgin! This big story from 3 months ago seems to indicate as much." Kagura was offended. She sneered, "What makes you think I'm not?"
Sal pulled Kagura's hair to the side. Sal scoffed, "Well, first of all, I have a suspicion that this mark on your neck is a dragon slayer's mark. Oh, and the fact you're pregnant doesn't help things." Kagura had a face of shock, screaming, "I'm WHAT?!" Sal smirked, sneering, "Oh, you didn't know you have a high likelihood of getting pregnant the first time your dragon slayer marks you." Kagura sputtered in shock, "But Rogue used a condom every time." Sal looked at her skeptically, saying, "Well, you're certainly not a virgin. When did you lose it? Like a second after this article?" Kagura huffed, "Not that it's any of your business, but my boyfriend just recently took my virginity. It was a few weeks ago. So stop with your snide comments, lady. I'm not trying to shame you for your lack of virtues, so stop slut shaming me. Since you don't need me, just let me go."
Erza, in the shadows, was just as much in shock. This woman, who has been like a little sister to her, is sexually active. She hadn't even realized Kagura was dating Rogue. Erza lamented, 'I don't even know my little sister.' Erza saw the ladies leave. Sal grumbled, "We need to tell Quincy about this newest development. She's not a virgin, and we need a virgin sacrifice. We would have been fine with that blonde, but she escaped. BITCH!"
As soon as the women were out of the room, Erza came out of the shadows. Kagura smiled at Erza with a hopeful expression. Kagura whispered, "Erza! Get me out of here. Thank you so much!" Erza looked at Kagura with a skeptical face. She asked, "How long have you been dating Rogue?" Kagura got pissed, whispering, "What's with the interrogation? Is this really the time to be asking this?" Erza gave her an annoyed look. Kagura confessed, "Fine! 8 months." Erza was using her magic to get the door open, but the barrier kept sucking up her magic instead. Erza asked, "Why can't I open this cage?"
"I can help you with that." Erza turned around to see Yukino and the others. She saw Natsu and Lucy and immediately hugged them to her armor's breastplate. Erza said, "You scared me so much, both of you." Natsu was choking, "Erza...can't breathe." She pulled back, apologetic. She said, "I'm sorry; it's just I was actually concerned for you. These people have some sort of powder that causes you to be easily manipulated. They got to Rufus. Orga and I both had to fight him. It took so much longer than I wanted."
As soon as Yukino picked the lock, Rogue bypassed everyone and grabbed his girlfriend. He embraced her right in the cage. Kagura was really surprised to see her boyfriend there. She asked, "Rogue? What are you doing here?" He kissed her and said, "It's a long story. We have to get you out of here." Rogue saw Erza had a malevolent aura around her. Rogue asked, "Hey Erza. Can I help you? Why do you look so pissed?" Erza angrily hissed, "How could you get my little sister pregnant? You've only been dating 8 months! She's a sweet maiden, and you've defiled her."
Rogue's face was in shock. "P-pregnant? What? But I used a condom every time." Kagura looked at t he angrier face of Erza, whispering, "Uh, babe. Not the right time to mention it." Before Erza could kill Rogue, Lucy distracted her, wondering, "Where's Rufus and Orga?" As Erza explained what happened, Rogue hugged Kagura. He smiled at her. "I have a beautiful girlfriend, and she's going to have the best child in the world." He kissed her. She looked him in the eyes. She asked, "Babe? I feel like you look gaunt. Have you not been eating well?" Rogue briefly updated her on everything.
Natsu and Sting were talking about something really quietly. Sting said, "We need to tell them. We need to do that to protect them." Natsu nodded. He whispered, "You tell Yukino, and I'll tell Luce."
Sting walked up to Yukino. "Hey Yukino, can I talk with you about something?" She answered, "Sure, it's fine. What's up?" He said, "Do you remember that one conversation we had on the train a month ago? About dragon slayers?" She said, "The one where you were talking about a mark?" He nodded. "I think Natsu and I have figured out a way to protect you and Lucy from those monsters, but only if you'll agree." She looked at him, surprised. She asked, "Isn't it too early? I mean, we've only been dating for 4 months." Sting kissed her, saying "I've been wanting you for a long time. It's not too early for me. What about you? Will you agree?" She kissed him back, saying, "Okay." He smiled, saying, "Are you sure? I know this isn't the most romantic of settings." She replied, "But I know you are doing this because you love me. That's romantic enough." He said, "Guys, I need a few minutes with Yukino, here. Strategy talk." They walked into a hidden section of the cave. As soon as they out of sight, he lovingly kissed her.
Natsu said, "Hey Erza, I need to talk to Luce for a minute, okay?" He led Lucy to a quiet section of the cave. She asked, "What's up Natsu?" He looked embarrassed before confessing, "Luce, I love you." She was a bit surprised, but she blurted out, "I love you, too, Natsu." Natsu shook his head. He clarified, "I mean I love you, not just as a friend. I love you, like a man loves a woman." Lucy blushed. She shyly answered, "Same here." His eyes brightened: "Really, Luce?" She said, "Yeah. I know this isn't the ideal location to say that. When Happy came back, he told us what you went through. I was really worried about you. When I realized you might not come back, I was so terrified. I thought I had lost the man I love." He kissed her intensely.
He whispered, "Luce, there's something I need to talk to you about. Do you see that black dragon on Kagura's neck?" She peered in the dim light to study Kagura's neck. She murmured, "Whoa. That does look like a cute black dragon." Natsu nodded. He continued, "Well, that's a dragon's mark. If a dragon slayer falls in love, we can mark them forever. It guarantees the person the dragon slayer loves is absolutely taken care of. If those people make us go through that sick potion stuff, I know I won't be able to hurt you, since dragon slayer mating magic is the strongest magic there is." Lucy faced him, and asked, "What's involved in the process?" He said, "Well, I have to...bite you. And I also have to mate with you." Her eyes got large.
She nervously responded, "Um, Natsu, I don't know. This is so sudden, and I'm a virgin." Natsu smiled and kissed her. He admitted, "Luce, you're the only woman I've ever felt I've wanted to be with. You know how I almost kissed you the day before I left?" She nodded silently. He said, "The reason I went on that private mission, was I was hoping to deal with my feelings for you." She quietly said, "And your feelings now?" He kissed her again. He remarked, "I think that should answer your question. So will you let me do this? I know this is the worst place to have a first time, but I want nothing terrible to happen to you, Luce. I really do love you." She thought for a minute. She pecked him on the lips and answered, "Yes." They went to a different part of the cave in the shadows.
A few minutes later, Sting and Yukino came from that hidden area. He had a smug look on his face, and Yukino had a bright blush on her face. She shyly walked back to the others. Erza looked at her neck saying, "Hey Yukino, you might want to get that bite checked. Whatever did it looks huge. Did you run into a lot of trouble in your cave entrance?" She faced Erza, mentioning, "I don't know about the bite, but I can tell you that back entrance was the worst. You can even ask Lector and Frosch about it." Erza walked up to Lector and Frosch. She asked, "Was that cave that bad?" Lector then went into a lengthy explanation. Sting walked up to Yukino and whispered, "I guess you did a good job of deflecting questions about my little bite." She murmured, "Little? If Erza can see it, it must be large." He proudly rubbed the bite, joking, "It's just large enough." And then he kissed her.
Erza and the others were planning their next steps in that room. She surmised, "It's been a while since those people have gone out of the room. We need to leave this area. Where are Natsu and Lucy? They've been gone for 20 minutes." Natsu tapped Erza's shoulder. He had a big grin on his face, saying, "Present. Luce is over here too." Erza saw a blushing Lucy. Erza inquired, "Oh Lucy, are you feeling sick? You look all flushed, like you've been running." A bead of sweat went down Lucy's temple. She said, "Um, no, Erza. I guess I'm just fired up to go fight these bastards." Erza saw something on Lucy's neck, muttering, "Geez, whatever is biting you guys, you need to watch out. I'll see if I have any sort of disinfectant for that bite. Poor Yukino had a similar bite around her neck, too. You two need to be more careful."
Natsu looked very happy. He teased, "Yeah, Luce. I wouldn't want you to be in danger of any monster." Lucy huffed, "The only monster I'm dealing with right now is a smug dragon slayer." His smile brightened. He whispered, "I can be your monster whenever you want, Luce. Hehe. How's my beautiful mate feeling?" She whispered back, "I'm a bit sore. You could have been gentler." He glanced over to see if anyone could see them, and then kissed her when nobody was looking. He whispered, "I'm sorry Luce. I guess I was a bit excited."
Erza pulled out the map of the caves Ethan gave them. She pointed at the map, "We're here. You guys said you came from above there. We need to get to this location. It's closest to where Gray, Gajeel, and Happy entered the cavern. Natsu smiled, asking, "Happy? He's here? I thought you guys left him behind at the guild." Erza said, "No. He insisted on coming here. In fact, he's the reason we even found the correct cave entrance to go rescue Lucy. There are so many caves, we could have been spending weeks on a wild goose chase." Lucy added, "He's been as worried as I am about you. I had to push him to eat something. The little guy hadn't eaten in two days, but he was so worried about you, he didn't want to eat. He just wanted to find you." Natsu's eyes filled with tears, gushing, "I feel so loved." Lucy hugged him, answering, "Yes, you are." The group ran towards the cave where Gajeel, Gray, and Happy were. Natsu thought, 'Hold on, little buddy. We'll see you soon.'