Gray, Gajeel, and Happy ran with the villagers. Because of the slapdash way they were transformed, they were constantly in pain. They were having to go at a slow pace. It didn't help that they had to find places to hide when guards were going past.
Two guards walked by with two cups each. Kai, the man who had gone through the competition, had huge eyes and silently panicked. Gajeel saw the man's distress. He muttered so low that a normal person wouldn't be able to hear. He knew the man could hear him now that he had dragon attributes. "Are those the potions?" The man nodded.
Gajeel looked over to the new fire dragon, Jace. "Heat up the potions so they evaporate." Jace looked confused. "How?" Gajeel thought. "Hmm. What did he call it? Natsu uses something called Fire Dragon's Roasting Bath." Jace insecurely ordered, "Fire Dragon's Roasting Bath?" He looked astonished as his entire body went on fire. The resulting heat evaporated the water, but the flames drew the guards' attention. They ran straight towards Jace with their weapons ready.
A huge iron fist knocked out the first guy. The other was frozen stiff in a huge ice cube. The other men looked at Gajeel and Gray gratefully. "Thank you," Jace said. Gray said, "No problem. We need to get you guys out of here." Gajeel pulled them all into the shadows: "Hide! I hear people coming." All of the men and Happy hid as best as they could.
They observed a number of women walking past. Erza was unconscious and in a white dress on a cart. The tallest woman asked a middle aged woman, "Is she the real deal, Sal?" The woman, Sal, answered, "Yes. She is a virgin, just like that blonde is. I checked her myself. Too bad blondie escaped. It would have been amazing to have the Celestial maidens. Still, this one will make a perfectly adequate virgin sacrifice. She's Titania, Queen of the Fairies. All we have to do is wait until we have some dragon slayers in wild mode; then there will be a show."
Gajeel, Gray, and Happy had wide eyes when they overheard the woman say virgin sacrifice. Gray was absolutely pissed. He used his ice magic to freeze the wheels of the cart. The woman pulling the cart yelled, "What the heck is wrong with this cart? Either the wheels are stuck or this Titania should be known as Gigantia, Queen of the Fatties." She looked down at the ice on the wheels. She muttered, "Ice? Where the heck did that come from?" She looked up to see Gray attack, then everything went dark. The other women were silently knocked out, while Sal walked ahead.
She was making idle chatter at the other women. When no answer came, she turned around. The ladies were all strewn on the ground unconscious. Before she could yell, Kai grabbed her mouth. "Hello, there. We don't want to hurt you, but you need to tell us who is in charge here." He let go of her mouth, and she hissed "Quincy will kill you all. You may not go through the competition anymore, but you will die for Draco!" She saw Gajeel and smirked. She mocked, "I see we have a little visitor from 3 years ago. I knew you'd be back to fulfill your duty, iron slayer." Gajeel put his face up to hers, seething, "Believe me, lady. The only reason I'm here is ta stop yer bullshit ceremony. Yer little operation has gone on too long." She looked at him with determined eyes. She said, "I have one word to respond to that: GUARDS!" Gajeel knocked her out.
Footsteps were heard down the hall. Gray said, "Shit! We have company." Gajeel paused, ordering, "Wait a minute." He sniffed the air. He reassured them, "Actually, we're fine." Happy looked like he was about to panic, whimpering, "We need to get out of here! We'll be killed!" Gajeel smirked, answering, "Trust me. We'll be livin' another day." Happy shook fearfully, until he saw familiar pink hair. Happy yelled, "NATSU!" He flew into Natsu's arms.
Natsu, Lucy, Sting, Yukino, and Lector turned the corner. Lucy studied the guys from the cages. She tentatively asked, "Are they okay? They look really sick." Gajeel said, "They're going to be okay. They just went through a very painful transformation into a dragon slayer." She asked, "Like Laxus or Cobra?" Gray nodded. She introduced herself to the group, "My name is Lucy, from Fairy Tail. We're here to get you out of here."
Yukino and Lucy picked up Erza off the ground. "Her armor is so heavy!" exclaimed Yukino. Lucy looked over with no surprise, adding, "I know, but you'll get used to it. I've been on many missions with her. Sometimes I've had to lift her by myself. It's not fun."
One of the villagers, Ben, nudged his friend, George. He whispered, "Those two new chicks are pretty hot, huh?" George muttered, "I wouldn't mind having some of that." Natsu and Sting giving them an intense look and raged, "MINE!". George stammered, "Uh, sorry. We didn't know they had boyfriends." Natsu's eyes had fire in them, as he angrily whispered, "You touch either woman, you will die! Those women are our mates. You understand, right?" George and Ben nodded. Lucy looked behind them. She asked, "Are those guys doing okay, Natsu? We need them to hurry a little." Natsu grinned at her as he put his arm around Ben's shoulders. He cheerfully said, "No problem, Luce. We were just talking about strategy. Right, buddy?" Ben nervously nodded. Lucy tersely said, "That's nice and all, Natsu, but we need to hurry." Natsu said, "No problem, babe."
Gray looked at Natsu with a confused expression. He whispered to Gajeel, "Does Natsu seem to be overly possessive of Lucy? I can tell you he cares about his friends, but that seemed excessive." Gajeel peered in the dim light to observe Lucy's neck. Erza arm was moved and Lucy's hair went to the side. Gajeel put his hand on his face. He muttered, "You've gotta be kiddin' me! When did he have time ta do that?" Gray looked confused. He uttered, "I feel like I'm missing something." Gajeel exhaled, answering, "Let's just say Natsu and Lucy are together now." Gray deadpanned, "As guild partners?" Gajeel insisted, "Romantically." Gray skeptically said, "Yeah. I'll believe it when I see it. Flame Brain has never ever been interested in a woman, ever. Friends, yes. Girlfriend, no." Gajeel pulled Gray closer, pointing out, "Look at Bunny Girl up there. See that red dragon on her neck? That's a dragon's mark. Means she's his forever." Gray huffed, "Yeah, whatever. That insinuates that white dragon on Yukino means she's Sting's. Admit it; they're just wearing some kind of temporary tattoos." Gajeel had wide eyes, as he looked at Yukino. He mumbled, "Holy shit! Those guys have been really productive. Those girls did not have those marks when we left. I'm positive of that. I didn't even notice Sabertooth chick's mark!" He looked over to see Sting and Natsu give him their most conceited smiles. Gray looked skeptical as he said, "I'll believe it when I see it. For now, I know Fire Breath's romance is with a sandwich."
As soon as they got the men out of the caves, Gray, Gajeel, Sting, and Natsu announced they were going to make hell for the dragon worshipers. Natsu kissed Lucy and said, "Go get these guys to Peace Town." She hugged him back. She ordered, "Go give them a taste of Fairy Tail's destruction." Then they started to make out. Gray's mouth dropped to the ground in disbelief. He sputtered, "What the hell?" Gajeel just said, "I told ya so."
Right before they got to the entrance, Rufus and Orga showed up. Gajeel smirked, "Nice of ya to finally show up. Want ta join us in giving these assholes hell?" Rufus was absolutely resolved to make the worshipers lives' miserable. He snarled, "Those ruffians drugged me. I'm ready to ensure they go through absolute despair." Orga nodded. He said, "Let's go! I'm sure I wouldn't mind a little revenge for hurting our friends." He looked at Natsu and Sting. "I'm glad you guys are okay." Sting grabbed Yukino and announced, "Yukino here saved us. She broke us out of our cages and trapped the guards in a huge bubble of water. She's a badass!" Orga looked surprised, asking, "You and the exceeds saved them?" After she nodded, Orga hugged her so tight and yelled, "Thank you!" Sting jealously pulled them apart and then proceeded to kiss Yukino very publicly. She had a bright blush on her face as they separated. Sting proudly said, "Who wouldn't be proud of their wonderful mate?" Orga looked confused, "Mate?" Gray just looked uncomfortable, adding, "Yeah, I'm just as confused as you are, but no time!" They ran in to the cave entrance.
Lucy and Yukino picked up Erza. "Let's go to Peace Village as soon as possible!" They both went back to town as fast as their legs could carry them. Happy and Lector lifted any of the villagers that was too weak to travel.