[Re-edited 02-19-22]

Welcome back!

A full action-packed, extra-long chapter to tie you over to Saturday. Who figured out what happened to Lucy?

~Onward!

5

-The Rescue Mission-

Haru couldn't quite believe what he was seeing as thoughts raced through his mind. 'It was Lucy's idea to take this specific mission... It was Lucy who convinced us to continue into the mountain pass without scoping it out first... And finally, Holy shit, Natsu had been right!?

'What the hell is going on with Lucy?!' he wondered, gaze snapping between Lucy on the cliff edge and Natsu whose own attention was transfixed on their blonde friend. Regardless, Haru found himself newly determined to help the fire mage get to the bottom of this. Lucy had lived with them for a couple weeks, she'd been with them more often than not, in her short time at the guild. She'd even joined their team on missions, (however minuscule they'd been). He and Natsu never teamed up with anyone, but she had felt like a natural addition in their team dynamics. Haru might not know her as well as his partner did, but he would like to think he knew her well enough to know that she was NOT capable of betraying her friends.

No one was that good an actor, right?

. . .

"Lushiiiie, why did you betray us?!" Happy wailed, pulling pathetically at the net.

"That's NOT Lucy!" Natsu roared.

Happy's eyes widened as he looked up at the blonde in confusion. Natsu noticed Haru's equally surprised look on him from his peripheral, though he kept his focus on the cliff edge. Lucy gave a hearty laugh at their expense, one that seemed to echo. 'Wait, that's no echo. There's someone else up there,' Natsu thought, his eyes narrowing.

Lucy disappeared in an all-to familiar golden shower, dropping Happy in a heap at her feet. Stepping forward to take the place that the imposter had just been occupying, was the white-haired woman from Lucy's apartment yesterday.

"YOU!" Natsu yelled, far too distraught to be smug about being right, "I told you before, if you hurt Lucy, I would barbecue you!" With his voice raising again, he added, "you shouldn't have taken that as an empty threat!"

"You know her?"

"No time!" Natsu growled, "we need to bust out of here."

"Getting out of my spell will be no easy task, you are locked in the land, oh yeah!"

"That so?" Natsu asked dangerously, exchanging a look of silent planning with his fellow dragon slayer as magic pressure increased around them.

"Fire dragon's—"

"Water dragon's—"

"ROAR!"

Aiming their attacks down at their feet, they obliterating the rock encasing their legs with ease. "Hang tight old man!" Natsu called to their stunned client, as fire licked at his ankles. Then he and Haru were both in the air, propelling themselves in a direct line for the rogue mages with bursts of their respective magics channelled to their feet. Natsu slammed a fire-coated fist into the celestial spirit mage's chin before she could even prepare to defend, her head buckled back as she was sent flying. The earth user turned with a frantic call of her name, "Angel!"

The rusty haired mage turned his angry glare on the fire mage and due to his distraction, missed Haru planting a palm on the ground in front of him as he landed a second later, "Water Dragon's geyser!" A burst of water shot up from under him, shooting him into the air submerged in a tower of water.

"Happy, you okay little buddy?" Natsu asked as he turned the net entangling his friend to ash.

"Aye," the cat replied without the usual enthusiasm, "Natsu, where is Lucy?" he asked dejectedly.

"I don't know Hap, but we'll find her."

Natsu stomped toward Angel, who swiped a key across the space in front of her nonchalantly, completely unfazed by the fire slayer's fury. "Open, gate of the scorpion: Scorpio!" A man with a large metal scorpion-like tail appeared in front of Natsu, "blast him away, Scorpio!"

"Wicked!" the spirit sang out, his tail thrust forward and unleashed a powerful sandstorm straight at him, but Natsu simply blew it apart with a Brilliant Flame attack. Without slowing, he slammed an Iron Fist into the spirit's nose, immediately forcing Scorpio's retreat to the spirit realm.

He continued to advance toward Angel, Scorpio's arrival and rapid departure not presenting the slightest pause in his stride. "Unfortunately for you, I am very familiar with your spirit tricks... they can't protect you from me," Natsu promised her.

The celestial mage responded by frantically grabbing at her keys, fear now edging her actions. She stuttered, "O-open, gate of the twins, Gemini!" Two small alien-like spirits popped into existence next and Angel pointed somewhere behind Natsu, "you know what to do Gemini!"

"Piri, Piri," the twins chanted. A puff of white cloud engulfed them and faded away to reveal his partner, right down to the golden belt buckle they both wore. Natsu finally paused in his steps, glaring at his new opponent. Haru. Well, not Haru, not really. The fake smelled just like his best friend too, except for that strange undertone he'd picked up on Lucy the last couple weeks.

"So, this is how you managed to replace Lucy..." Natsu stated with a dangerous calm. Despite his calm tone, he honestly felt like he'd taken a brutal punch to the gut, a weight settling over him under the true ramifications of this revelation. This meant Lucy wasn't just different, she wasn't Lucy at all. Which also meant, Fairy Tail's Lucy, HIS Lucy, had been missing for near two weeks. Fire flared up over his entire body, shooting into the sky, "I'll make you regret ever touching her!" he declared to Angel, ignoring the water slayer poser between them.

"Try whatever tricks you want. Fire can't beat water! It is you who will fall, and at your own best friend's hand," fake Haru said smugly. He shouted out a whirlpool attack, unleashing spirals of violent water straight for him. Without the slightest hint of concern, Natsu simply swiped a fiery arm across the impending attack, cutting through the spell and the water evaporated on contact. The fear-laced awe on they copy's face was a mirror image of the one Angel wore as well, a look that had Natsu fixing them both with a cocky expression that could promise their demise.

"Your pitiful magic has nothing on Haru."

Natsu bent his knees and shot forward, the ground he'd been standing on cracking under the force. "Fire Dragon's sword horn!" he yelled, piercing straight through Gemini-Haru in Angel's direction. Flying forward still wrapped in a blanket of fire, Natsu's Sword Horn landed right below her ribs, her body buckled in half as they both soared across the plateau. The pair crashed into the ground hard, and slid to a stop meters away with Natsu on top, pinning her down with a hand at her throat.

"Now, what did you do with Lucy?" he asked viciously, bringing his free fist up with fire swirling around his whole arm threateningly. "I won't ask nicely again."

"N-NOW!" she cried desperately. A laser beam took Natsu straight through the shoulder, just below his collar bone and he screamed out at the shock of pain, vaguely registering Happy crying out his name and speeding toward him.

Tightening the grip he held on Angel's throat as he threw a look over his bleeding shoulder, he was met with a floating metal sphere equipped with some sort of large gun. It was charging for a second shot and Natsu ducked just in time. "Shit!" he swore out as the second beam of energy flew over his head and vaporized a boulder in front of them. He was about to fire a breath attack at it, when a thin high-pressure bullet of water shot through the middle of the weapon. It blurred out of existence, revealing Haru behind it, his arm held straight, thumb and pointer finger extended. "What the hell?! That was a spirit?" Natsu asked no one in particular, he hadn't even seen her summon it. Gritting his teeth, he pressed the palm of his free hand to the wound, cauterizing it with a controlled flash of fire.

Haru skidded to a stop in a crouch next to him, "Natsu, you okay?" he asked, already examining the wound. Blood stained his vest and the skin around the wound was an angry pink, but Natsu felt alright, he didn't bother answering his partner before throwing a flaming fist into the side of Angel's jaw in retaliation.

"Have you never heard that playing with fire is a bad idea?!" he asked, anger peaking, "Where. Is. Lucy?!"

Angel's eyes widened as she looked between Natsu and Haru, both dragon slayers looking beyond pissed off now and ready to throttle her. "W-we have her back at a-a temporary hide out—" she squeaked out, shielding her face with her arms, "—please, don't hurt me!" Her already pale skin was even more so, and her eyes were wide in fear.

"Where." Haru demanded flatly, "I won't be responsible for my partner here, roasting you alive, if you don't answer quickly."

"A c-cave, just on the outskirts of Waas F-forest," she stuttered back, "let me go, please, I won't raise my hand to your guild ever again, I p-promise!"

"Nice try. You'll be returning to Fairy Tail with us, until we can confirm your story."

"—and Mavis help you, if anything has happened to Lucy!"

It appeared that the second mage had retreated, clearly no honour among them, if he'd abandoned his comrade. Not that that came as any surprise. Natsu requipped some anti-magic cuffs and bound Angel before Happy flew her down and tossed her in the back of the merchant's carriage. As furious and worried as the boys were, they couldn't leave their client to fend for himself, Fairy Tail still had a commitment to uphold.

Magnolia

The Twin Dragons had gotten the trailer to Crocus in record time and clearly, they had caused their client more trouble than he would have faced alone. The entire incident had been due to an apparent target on their guild, for some still unknown reason; so they'd refused to accept the reward and had apologized profusely for the danger they had inadvertently dragged the merchant into. Needing to get back to the guild as quickly as possible to consult with Makarov, they'd paid for the overnight train back to Magnolia, not even severe motion sickness had distracted them from the dread that had been building.

Arriving back into town a little after midnight, the boys quickly made their way to Fairy Tail. Natsu dragged Angel behind him and Happy was slumped lazily over Haru's head. The slayers planned to contact Warren to telepathically summon everyone to the guildhall as Haru's own telepathy wouldn't be strong enough for that many simultaneous contacts. Of course, that had been assuming the guild would be deserted this late at night, but much to their surprise as they neared the building, lights shone into the street and activity was bustling inside.

"Impromptu party?" Haru wondered out loud, not putting it passed their guildmates to throw a party in the middle of the week for no real reason. The three exchanged passing glances before entering the guild. Makarov stood on the bar counter with Erza standing close by, both were gesturing wildly and shouting random commands. Macao and some others were gathering magical weapons, and Gray, Elfman, and Mira were gathered around a table with a large group of their guildmates, discussing something that was lost in the noise.

Natsu and Haru made their way over to the master, "Gramps, what is going on here?"

"Natsu! Haru! Thank goodness you're safe!" Natsu noticed that the old man did not seem surprised to find Lucy was not with them.

"The Oración Seis has Lucy," Erza announced gravely, "and we were told you two had been dealt with... It is a huge relief to see you back safe." Her gaze flickered over the captive mage at Natsu's feet.

"We were already aware Lucy had been captured, but how do you know?" Haru inquired.

"About three hours ago a magical presence blew in here and was gone before we knew what happened. Not even Jet could catch up... Whatever, or whoever it was, left a lacrima." Erza explained as the master held up the device. Haru glanced at Natsu, his muscles tense as he reached for it, but the old man withdrew it again, handing it back to Erza.

"What's on it isn't important," he told them, "what is, is that Lucy is okay for now. We will teach these insolent children a lesson for daring to mess with one of our own."

Natsu looked like he was ready to argue, but stopped short, "Why are they doing this?" he asked instead.

"They are demanding Fairy Tail cease our activities in eradicating their minor guild network. Clearly, you two, and the Thunder God Tribe, have done more damage to their operations than we even realized." Makarov theorized.

"But we will not bow to dark guild demands!" Erza shouted, pulling some sporadic cheers of support from around the guild. "Brain, their guild master, gave an ultimatum that we stop and stay out of their way, or face destruction."

"What about Lucy?!"

"This isn't JUST about Lucy!" Makarov retorted harshly to quiet them, "she is of course our priority, but this is a dark guild we are talking about, one of the three heads of the Balam Alliance. They're dangerous, and they aren't honourable. Even if we did submit to their demands, it isn't likely they'd just hand Lucy back unharmed."

"We also have to consider the ramifications on civilians and other light guilds if we leave them to their devices..." Haru put in softly. Natsu knew he was worried for their friend's wellbeing as well, but despite his worry, he was as rational as ever.

"Exactly," Erza began, "if the Oración Seis is making their move to put a halt to our activities, then there has to be a reason why. Why now? What are they planning?"

"Okay. Fine. My first priority is bringing Lucy home safe," Natsu reiterated. He lifted Angel up by the back of her feathery collar and tossed her down in the middle or their gathering, "get talking. You're going to tell us everything you know, if you want to keep that pretty face of yours."

"Natsu, who is this?"

"This is Angel, she is the one responsible for copying Lucy with a spirit." A visible shudder crawled through the dark mage as Natsu watched her with narrowed eyes. "We were ambushed by her and one of her comrades on our job, though we didn't know they were Oración Seis, until now."

The redhead was requipping a sword before Natsu had even finished his explanation, and pointed it at her throat now. "Well? Speak fast, my patience is thin, and you've threatened my friends," Erza said, her face shadowed under a curtain of bangs that added to her terrifying glare. By then, the commotion had drawn the attention of the rest of the guild, and most of the Fairy Tail mages had gathered to hear the explanation.

"Wait," Makarov stopped them, "Connect her Warren... I won't trust anything that comes out of dark mage's mouth."

Mira came up between the two dragon slayers as Warren followed the master's request. Pulling them both down in a half hug with an arm around each of their shoulders, Mira whispered, "I'm glad you're both okay... I was worried." Angel curled herself into a protective posture under the collective anger of Fairy Tail when Warren fixed his index fingers against her temples to monitor her subconscious while she faced their interrogation.

"We're okay Mira..." Haru promised as Warren announced that he was ready. Natsu also nodded reassuringly, and Mira released them reluctantly so they could both straighten from the awkward posture she'd dragged them into.

With no other option, Angel obediently explained Brain's plan to the crowd formed around her. Her guild had planned to imitate one of Fairy Tail's own to infiltrate the guild using Gemini. They had taken Lucy because she was new enough that Angel didn't think anyone would notice abnormal behaviour, or sporadic absences when she ran low on magic. Natsu shot a snarky look at Gray at the information and the ice mage had the grace to look a little guilty. Gemini-Lucy had relayed detailed intel on as many of Fairy Tail's mages as possible, including strengths, magical abilities, relationships and perceived weaknesses, giving an undeniable edge to the Oración Seis.

They had hoped to take either the Twin Dragons, or the Thunder God Tribe out of the picture prior to an inevitable confrontation, using their imposter to draw them into a trap. Due to Natsu's growing suspicions threatening their plans, and the Twin Dragons' close friendship with Lucy, they seemed like the easier mark. But Angel and Hoteye, the other mage accompanying her, had clearly underestimated their power and been easily overwhelmed. She assumed, Hoteye had retreated to their basecamp to report what had happened.

Angel swore she didn't know Brain's full plans, but knew it had something to do with a powerful magical weapon they were seeking. It was rumoured to be hidden somewhere in the forest where they'd set up base. She also couldn't tell them what the weapon did or what Brain planned to do with it. Warren had his eyes closed in concentration as he probed her mind for any hint of deception. Eventually, he released a breath and her temples, alerting everyone that he couldn't find any evidence that she had withheld or altered any important information.

"Okay then, what's the plan master?" Erza addressed the elderly man still seated on the bar.

The guild master pondered their options for a moment before clearing his throat, and drew everyone's attention.

"Natsu, Haru, Erza and Gray will set off to Cait Shelter, one of our allied guilds on the outskirts of the Waas Forest." The four nodded, neither Natsu nor Gray argued about being teamed up for once. "I spoke with Lamia Scale earlier, and they will also be sending a team out to provide back up. Your mission is to take down the Oración Seis, and bring Lucy home. Master Ooba has assured me she will seek clearance from the Magic Council for our proposed mission."

The master turned toward the rest of his children, his eyes running over each of them. "Mira, see if you can reach Laxus, have the Thunder God Tribe start picking off some of the minor dark guilds around Waas Forest, the less back up they can call on, the better! Levy, start digging up anything you can on potential magical weapons in the region. I want to hear about anything, even if it seems impossible or unrelated. Warren, you will act as communication between us and Natsu's field team, combining yours and Haru's telepathy magics should allow you two to communicate even with the vast distance. The rest of you, back to work fortifying our defences, we need to be ready for any potential attack. We will show the Oración Seis, that no guild is more dangerous to make an enemy of than Fairy Tail!" Makarov finished the speech with a fist thrown overhead, his thumb and index finger splayed. The whole guild cheered determinedly in response and mimicked the hand gesture, before dispersing quickly to their assigned tasks.

Cait Shelter

For the first time in weeks, Natsu felt more like himself. He would still be anxious until he had Lucy out of the dark guild's hands, but at least he knew she was alive, had a plan, and most satisfyingly... he had a target to direct his anger at.

They'd left Angel in their Guild's hands, as a possible bargaining chip that they could attempt to trade for Lucy's safe return if required. His team was currently making their way north to Cait Shelter, having ridden the train line up as far as Clover town, they were now travelling to Cait Shelter by magic mobile. Erza sat up front, pumping magic into the SE plug and the vehicle sped haphazardly over the undeveloped land under her control. As the passengers were lurched around in the back seat, Gray absent-mindedly peeled his shirt off, watching bemusedly as both dragon slayers' heads lulled against their respective windows. They looked like they'd rather be fighting for their lives than riding in this death trap... and Erza's particular driving style certainly didn't help.

The sad truth was, they likely would be, in less than a day.

"I see something up ahead," Erza announced back to her guildmates, Gray leaned out the window and noted the points of what looked like cat ears coming into view a few miles ahead.

"Cait Shelter?"

"Maybe, I've never seen their guild before, I don't know what I am looking for."

It was just a little further before Gray could make out the guild's emblem on the building and the vehicle glided to a stop as Erza cut off her magic supply. The timing couldn't be better, Gray could tell she was starting to feel the effects of the constant drain on her magic. She stumbled down the step onto the grass, and hinged forward with her hands on her knees as she caught her breath. Gray eyed her, and the pair of incapacitated slayers, "That's just great," he grumbled sarcastically.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me," Erza said as she moved to one side of the vehicle and pulled Haru out. Draping his arm over her shoulder, she made her way toward the guild. Gray repeated the action with Natsu, nudging Happy out of his sleep, and followed the redhead's lead.

"Oh my gosh! What happened?" a young girl with dark blue hair pulled into twin tails called as the Fairy Tail mages lumbered into her guildhall looking a little beat up and fatigued. "Did the Oración Seis attack on your way here?!"

Gray sweatdropped, 'If only... that would be less embarrassing than this,' he thought derisively as he dropped Natsu carelessly on the ground to the sound of a pained groan.

"No, our comrades just suffer from terrible motion sickness," Erza explained as she gently helped Haru down to the floor next to his fellow slayer.

"Oh, is that all? I can help restore their equilibrium!" the girl chirped as both Erza and Gray watched curiously. She moved in front of Natsu, a magic-infused hand on either temple and mere seconds later he was shaking his head and sitting up in wide eyed awe. He turned to observe as she moved over to Haru and repeated the spell.

"Wow, what is that magic?" Natsu asked excitedly, speaking over the genuine gratitude Haru was attempting to offer. "You're amazing—" he continued, taking the girl by the shoulders, "uhh…?"

"Uh, Wendy, my name is Wendy, and I use Sky Dragon Slayer magic," she answered shyly, a blush colouring her cheeks under Natsu's praise.

The whole Fairy Tail team's eyes widened in surprise. The boys she had healed shared a look, making Wendy fidget under their collective attention. "That's awesome!" Natsu suddenly shouted, surprising her.

"We are dragon slayers as well," Haru supplied, pointing between Natsu and himself.

"Oh, I know all about the Twin Dragons of Fairy Tail!" Wendy gushed. A wide smile replaced her previously shy one, "you're amazing! I am not strong like that... I can only use support magic."

"Don't sell yourself short Wendy, dragon slaying magic is ancient magic, it isn't easy to learn. I bet you're stronger than you give yourself credit for," Haru encouraged, Natsu nodding along excitedly.

. . .

The rest of Cait Shelter was moving about their business, not paying too much mind to the group of Fairy Tail mages, but a short elderly man in tribal-looking clothing came up to stand beside Wendy. He introduced himself as Cait Shelter's guild master and welcomed the group, encouraging them to make themselves at home while they prepped for the mission. Cait Shelter was providing the base of operations due to their proximity to the forest, and though none of their mages volunteered to aid them, the alliance was grateful for the hospitality none the less.

The guild doors opened again, and another group of four mages wandered in, judging by the guild mark on the exposed pectoral of the silver haired mage, they belonged to Lamia Scale.

"LYON?" Gray barked, "what the hell are you doing here… and NAKED?!"

The addressed mage glanced down at his bare torso and looked back up at Gray unfazed, "Speak for yourself," he stated flatly.

"When did that happen?!" the ice mage yelped. Erza cuffed him on the back of the head and commanded that he go find his shirt, immediately.

Natsu watched Gray take off toward the death trap before looking over the mages they were teaming up with for the mission. A pink haired girl was clinging to Lyon's arm and seemed to be sizing up Erza with a suspicious look and a shorter mage with thick eye brows and blue spiked hair stood to her side. Finally, Natsu recognized Jura behind them, the tall imposing, bald man stood with his hands on his hips and a grin on his face. It was Jura who reached out to shake the hands of the Fairy Tail mages first, introducing himself and his comrades. "I Look forward to working with you, Fairy Tail," he said professionally.

Gray returned momentarily after, having found his balled-up shirt on the floor in their magic mobile. He started squabbling with Lyon again with as much vigor as he gave in his rivalry with Natsu, much to both teams' confusions. The now united Allied Forces made their way to a table to discuss their attack plan, agreeing to head out early the next morning once they'd had some rest. Natsu wasn't overly on board with that idea, the sooner they left, the sooner he could rescue Lucy... but he understood their reasoning and begrudgingly complied with the group's decision. Running around in the dead of night with a powerful dark guild lurking in the shadows, could likely get them hurt, and that wouldn't help Lucy either.

As they spoke, they failed to notice the young sky slayer listening to their conversation intently, inspired by the conviction they spoke with in regards to eliminating this huge threat.

A white cat padded up to the girl, who was tugging nervously on the hem of her dress. "Don't you even think about it."

Wendy looked down at her partner, "What do you mean Carla?" she asked innocently.

"Don't play stupid. You aren't going, it's too dangerous!"

"I could help, they're going to help a friend who was captured, she could be injured!" Wendy said balling up her fists and bending over the cat to argue back.

Natsu was pulled from his thoughts as Happy pulled on his vest, "Natsu, am I dreaming?" The fire mage raised a brow, looked at his blue friend in question as the cat pointed at something behind him. Following the paw, Natsu found Wendy behind them with a white cat in a simple dress and a pink bow adorning the end of her tail.

"Ah," Natsu said in recognition. "Hey, Wendy, come join us," he said. The girl's eyes lit up and she stumbled clumsily as she scrambled to join one of her idols. As the young sky slayer sat down on the bench to his right, Natsu introduced Lamia Scale to her, "Wendy here uses healing and support magic."

Jura's brows rose, "That's impressive. There aren't many who excel in healing magic, let alone one so young."

Wendy flushed, picking at the threads on her dress and steeled herself before she could chicken out. "Can I come?" she begged, "I know I'm not strong, I don't use attack magic—but I'm really good at support magic… and healing! I can help if anyone is injured! You're on a rescue mission, right? She might be hurt—please let me come, I really want to help!" The rush of words that came out in a single breath were hardly clear, but the team seemed to understand regardless. Wendy's face flushed further, watching her elder mages nervously as they exchanged considering glances.

Natsu just grinned widely, pointed canines glinting as he chuckled and ruffled her hair, "You're a tough kid Wendy," he said, "I'm on board, what do you guys say?"

"We would be honoured to have you along Wendy. Your magic could be invaluable to our mission, but it will be dangerous, are you sure you wish to come?" the Wizard Saint asked.

"NO! I already told her, I forbid it!" the white cat jumped up on the table, placing herself between Wendy and Jura. Happy gaped at the female cat and attempted to introduce himself, not reading the moment at all, but she stuck up her nose and ignored him anyway.

"I'm going Carla, with or without you, so you decide."

"You haven't cleared it with the Master!"

"He said anyone could volunteer, he just wasn't going to assign anyone to the mission."

Carla looked at her with annoyance, but seemed to catch the unwavering look on the girl's face. Everyone at the table could tell this was not a battle the cat was going to win. Sighing in defeat, Carla realized that as well, "Fine child. I guess I will just have to come along as well, to keep you out of trouble."

"Yeah! With the nine.. er, eleven of us," Natsu corrected, adding the cats, "we are going to save Lucy, and kick some major dark mage ass!"

"Language!" the redhead admonished, knocked him in the head.

. . .

The next morning, the Light Guild Alliance divided into teams so they could move more quickly and more stealthily than they could in their large group. They assumed that the Oración Seis would have also separated to cover more ground in their apparent search for whatever weapon it was they were seeking. So the smaller teams could track down members and engage three on one, or report to Haru for back up if they stumbled onto larger groups. Haru said he would stay in contact with each team leader as his telepathy wouldn't be strong enough to connect with all nine mages individually.

As a Wizard Saint, and therefore their senior mage, Jura took responsibility for the alliance. He broke them into small groups of three: Natsu, Haru and Wendy on the rescue team, would head west to the mountains. Provided Lucy was still being held on the outskirts, if they got within range, they should be able to catch her scent and Wendy would be with them to heal any injuries she had sustained. Erza, Gray and Lyon would form the first scouting team and head south into the forest, and Jura would form the last team with Sherry and Yuka and head north.

It was a smart choice, this put an S Class mage in each group as a team leader and utlized each mage's strengths for their assigned tasks. The reasoning amused Natsu somewhat, despite being the S Class of his team, and technically their senior contact, he would likely still defer to Haru as the more tactical mind.

"Okay everyone, stay on alert, we don't know what the Oración Seis are planning, and we don't know where they are at the moment." Jura fell silent a moment, scanning the allied mages spread out before him. "If any team runs into a group of more than two of the Seis, let Haru know immediately and only engage if absolutely necessary. The rest of us will regroup to provide back up as soon as possible. We represent some of the best our guilds have to offer, so let us show this dark guild what official guilds can do!" Jura's speech received a final chorus of cheers from the gathered mages.

Then the teams split three ways and the dragon slayer trio disappeared into the forest at a run with the cats flying above them.

The Outskirts

Lucy's eyes felt heavy as she forced them open, sunlight from outside cast the cave in a dull glow and gave her an impression of the time. Her head throbbed from a concussive blow she vaguely remembered receiving a few days ago in retaliation to her most recent failed escape attempt. She had received various beatings in attempt to 'put her in her place,' every time she fought back, and at this moment, she was hyperaware of all of them. Her body ached everywhere.

She grimaced, craning her neck back to get a look at her new restraints. Her wrists were now secured with cuffs that had been fixed to the cave wall with a thick metal rod above her head. Her shoulder muscles burned, and a prickling sensation worked down through her hands and forearms as she wiggled her fingers, trying to return sensation to them. With a laboured exhale, she let her head drop forward again, taking in more gulps of air.

Her captors must have forgone the ropes after she'd manage to fray and break her last bindings on a rock, subsequently taking out a few guards before nearly escaping. The purple haired Seis member had appeared though, as he always seemed to. Lucy just couldn't seem to figure out his uncanny ability to show up and dismantle every plan she made.

Whatever happened between her last escape attempt, and now, was a total blur.

The blonde squinted her eyes again to clear her vision and glanced around the cave, assessing whatever obstacles she'd have to take into account this time. She didn't see any of the Oración Seis, but a pair of grunts lounged a few meters ahead on the ground near the entrance, seemingly asleep. Testing her restraints, Lucy experimentally pulled forward and felt the metal shift, though it didn't budge at all. Her shoulders screamed in protest to her effort, stopping her momentarily.

She panted for breath as pain bubbled through her again, but she refused to give up so easily. She had seen Gemini adopt her form after she'd been captured and could only speculate what havoc the spirit was setting Fairy Tail up for... She wouldn't allow the dark guild to use her to hurt her new family without doing everything in her power to thwart their plans.

Lucy returned her attention to the rod securing her again, determination igniting at her core. With her toes just touching the ground, she used the wall to kick her legs up and her core strength to bring her legs over her head. She cringed as her muscles stretched painfully under the contorted position she forced her body into. Ignoring it, she began driving her feet into the wall, shifting her weight side to side, gradually easing the rod from the rock.

This was not going to be a graceful escape.

As the metal eased further and further out of the cave wall, Lucy mentally braced herself for the impact of the impending fall. With one last inhale, she pulled hard on her cuffs and felt a sickening pop. She cried out as she fell hard on her back knocking the wind from her lungs. One of her guards was on his feet in an instant, kicking the other in the side before running at her. Reflexively, Lucy pulled one knee in toward her chest and drove it up as hard as she could into the man's stomach as soon as he loomed over her. He flew back him back and she quickly rolled to her side, struggling to her feet before he could recover.

Tears pricked at her eyes as pain racked her body. Her left arm hung limp at her side. Deducing that the last pull had dislocated her shoulder, Lucy swallowed a wave of nausea and used her good arm to hold the other tight against her chest. The other guard lumbered toward her and she spun on her heel to answer his threat. Jumping straight at him, she slammed her knee into the guard's chin when he bent to grab her.

It was incredibly lucky they'd only left grunts to guard her this time. Lucy was certain there would be nothing she could do in the face of more powerful mages, without the use of her arms, and her keys missing. Desperately trying to pull in the air her lungs demanded, she fought her body's will to give into unconsciousness again. She swayed on her feet and slumped against the rough wall, taking the briefest moment of recovery. Then when the world stopped spinning uncontrollably around her, she slowly began inching toward the cave entrance, using the wall to support her.

"I can hear you," a sadistic voice echoed in the dark.

Despair ripped through her body in waves as a silhouette appeared at the front of the cave. Not again... HOW?!

The blinding light from outside obscured the man's figure, but she knew full well who he was. This guy— Cobra, she recalled hearing, had been taking great pleasure in torturing her since her initial capture. He seemed determined to force her into breaking the contracts she held with her spirits so Angel could officially take possession of them.

Her spirits were not possessions, they were friends!

Lucy had made Cobra the ultimate subject of her hatred, offering vehement refusals accompanied by colourful language and insults she wouldn't normally use... The pain he inflicted on her increased the more she refused, but he couldn't break her so long as she had to protect her friends. Never. Of course, he just seemed to find her defiance to be a minor nuisance, amusing perhaps... He'd told her that killing her would be easier, but someone called Brain had forbidden that. She was the key to the Seis' control over Fairy Tail, if they were pushed to that.

Fairy Tail, Lucy knew from just the short time she'd spent with them, could not be controlled. Fairy Tail, her new family... they would come and they would not be happy when they discovered what the dark guild had done to her. Lucy was certain the Seis would be facing a certain pink-haired mage's rage in the form of a storm of fire, soon enough.

Cobra moved further into the cave, the shadows enveloped him as he approached her slowly.

"Where do you think you're off to? We aren't done having fun," he said with malicious glee as a grin split his face. Lucy met his gaze defiantly, hugging her dislocated arm to her body tighter. When he shot forward with a punch, she quickly ducked under, twirling to the side around him and made for the exit at a sprint. Or it would have been a sprint, had she not been so disoriented and weak. She felt his grip in her hair, wrenching her back and sprawling her flat on the floor at his feet. She cried out as his boot found her ribs, her body instinctually curling in on itself in attempt to find protection.

"Why do you insist on being SO damn difficult?" he demanded as he drew his foot back again and kicked her hard in the back.

Lucy screamed.

West Forest

Natsu's team had been surrounded by a mid-tier guild under the Oración Seis flag, Eisenwald, the wind user had vowed, would be their end.

Carla had Wendy in the air, as the boys spun around one another on the ground, launching a barrage of well timed attacks at the dark mages who were countering with various attacks of their own. Natsu's Iron Fist connected hard with a shadow wielder's face, sending him flying back into a tree. At the same time Haru shot off multiple water bullets, knocking back a number of mages before connecting an uppercut into the jaw of someone dumb enough to attempt to ambush him. Most of Eisenwald's members were laying strewn around the clearing within minutes and Wendy watched on, eyes sparkling in amazement.

"Don't get cocky Fairy Flies," Erigor called down to them from his spot above them, hovering in a thick layer of wind magic.

Natsu froze, eyes widening as a distant scream distracted him, his eyes quickly met Haru's who seemed to have heard it as well. "Lucy," he breathed out, looking briefly terrified before rage overtook his expression, embers flaring up over his body.

Haru matched that fury as they both turned their attention to the reaper who had wrapped himself in his Storm Mail to fend off Natsu's fire. Unfazed, the fire slayer sprung forward, with both arms to the left of his body and whipped them across to his right, "Fire Dragon's raging vortex!" he yelled. The spell he'd adapted from Haru's Raging Whirlpool, manifested in a wall of fire that leapt from his arms and swallowed the flow of Erigor's wind. The flames consumed the wind quickly, turning it into a fiery tornado which effectively heated everything inside, including the wind mage who shouted in panic. Erigor was forced to dispel his wind barrier to escape the flaming prison, leaving himself to the mercy of the dragon slayers.

Using their foe's panic to his advantage, Haru released his own spell, "Water Dragon's tidal wave!" The wave connected with the unextinguished fire to expel a curtain of mist into the air as flames were doused and water evaporated. The mist obscured Erigor, hiding him entirely from Natsu's view, but that also meant the wind mage would be blinded as well.

Natsu, crouched low, shooting off the ground and used his nose to guide him directly into the dark mage's gut with his Sword Horn attack. Erigor fell to the ground below in a boneless heap.

Clicking his tongue at the defeated dark guild master, Natsu faced his fellow dragon slayer and Haru read his nonverbal plea. "Go, I will restrain these assholes, and catch up as soon as I can."

Nodding gratefully, Natsu quickly requipped a length of rope for the water mage before spinning on his heel. "Wendy, with me," he called before sprinting off. Happy and Carla, still carrying Wendy, quickly caught up, flanking him in their flight.

. . .

As the group tore through the forest toward the origin of Lucy's scream, occasional stragglers of Seis-bannered guilds would inevitably attempt to slow their progress. But working on pure rage and adrenaline, Natsu would simply whip his arms apart, sending bursts of fire outward in arcs around him, roasting anyone dumb enough to interfere.

He skidded to a stop in front of a cave opening not long after... He could smell Lucy inside, and gestured for the cats to follow him inside, cautiously. They crept forward carefully and found Lucy bound with rope on her side at the cave's center. She was bleeding from her mouth and a gash on her head, her left arm was folded behind her in an unnatural direction. Natsu dropped to his knees beside her, incinerating the ropes restraining her and carefully brought her dislocated arm to lay beside her.

He held her head in his lap, combing messy golden hair from her face as tears stung the corners of his eyes. "Wendy," he pleaded, looking up at the young girl as she moved to crouch beside the pair, Happy was gripping Lucy's shirt and bawling uncontrollably. "Can you help her?" Natsu asked in a broken voice.

Wendy was pale, Natsu knew she'd likely never seen such brutality, her life in Cait Shelter had been pretty sheltered, for lack of a better word. But in this moment, she only looked at him in determination.

"Leave it to me," she said confidently. Blue-green magic already enveloping her hands as she kneeled and glided them over the blonde's body, beginning to work on internal injuries first. Natsu struggled for words, his gratitude for Wendy volunteering to join them swelled inside him. He watched her work, gripping Lucy's hand and focused on her breathing to reassure himself that she was still alive.

In a flash, Natsu was on his feet, forearms X-braced in front of him, absorbing the impact of a brutal kick that Cobra had thrown unexpectedly upon noticing Lucy's reinforcements. The purple-haired man looked genuinely stunned that Natsu had not only sensed, but had also succeeded in intercepting his sneak attack. Behind him, Wendy had paused in her work, gasping when Natsu had halted the blindside attack on them.

"Stay focused child," the white cat encouraged. She nodded nervously as Natsu vowed to protect them. Then he ignited his whole body on fire, launching forward to grab the Seis member and propelled them both outside to a clearing a considerable distance from the cave. Natsu released the other man as they both dug their boots into the ground, grinding to a stop in steady battle stances, already sizing each other up for the fight.

"What the hell... why can't I hear you?" his opponent asked him. Natsu threw him a confused scowl, having no idea what the purple-haired man was referring to. "Is it possible you fight on pure instinct due to that rage?" Cobra theorized to himself. Natsu narrowed his eyes, the fuck was with this weirdo? Hearing him? He hadn't even said anything yet! But he was certainly going to give this jackass a mouthful... and then another with his fists.

"I take it you're the one responsible for hurting Lucy," he growled, itching to introduce the man to his fire. "I am going to make you feel every pain you inflicted on her, tenfold!"

Both mages shot forward at his declaration, meeting in the middle of the clearing with barrage of strikes and blocks, fire and red-purple miasma colliding and exploding in bursts. Natsu ducked a right hook, nailing a flame elbow into Cobra's unguarded ribs and the Seis mage lurching to the side before retaliating with a jab to the fire mage's left temple.

A dull ache spread through Natsu's head. Gritting his teeth at the strange sensation, he ground out "What the hell kind of magic is that?!" His face felt almost numb from the impact and Cobra merely smirked back.

Without receiving an answer, Natsu flipped back dodging another punch. His hands found the ground and he rounded, kicking both feet straight up into Cobra's chin causing the dark mage's body to fly upward from the force. Wasting no time, Natsu whipped around, getting behind the airborne mage and slammed a knee into his lumbar spine, sending Cobra flying again. The dark mage landed hard, skidding along the ground before managing to use the momentum to spin himself around. Digging his fingers in, to grind to a stop in a crouch, Cobra caught his eye just as Natsu met him with a full power breath attack point blank. Cobra was blown back with brutal force again, crashing into a tree behind him. He fell forward, catching himself on one knee.

Cobra's appraising look raked over him and a wild grin split his face as a half-deranged laugh spilled from his lips. Natsu cocked his head to one side, unable to decide what could possibly be so funny about having your ass handed to you.

"Looks like I might need to take you more seriously," Cobra called, straightening to his full height once more. "No more playing around, Salamander."

His alias threw him for a second, unsure of how his foe would know his identity. But he responded by bending into his knees just the same, bringing his hands up in front of him to prepare for whatever his enemy had planned. Cobra's magic spiked exponentially, a purple aura flaring around him as his skin was replaced with deep red-purple scales, Natsu's eyes widened, a Drive State? Then Cobra was in front of him, a magic infused kick taking him in the side before he knew what had happened, his enemy's speed had easily doubled.

Natsu choked out a mouthful of spit and blood, certain he'd felt a rib or two fracture on impact and that same bizarre pain radiated through his side. Before he was able to recover, Cobra was on him again, a punch speeding toward him that Natsu leaned back to dodge just in time. The punch grazed his nose and he quickly snapped his head forward, smashing his forehead into Cobra's nose hard enough to break it.

Cobra jumped backwards, his hand coming up to catch the blood pouring from his nose, "What kind of ridiculous fighting tactics—" he cut himself off, eyeing the manic look the fire dragon slayer gave him. "There is seriously no rhyme or reason to you, is there? I can't decide if you're brilliant…" Natsu's eyebrow lifted at the random compliment, "or an idiot," he finished. Indignantly, Natsu yelled his retorts as the flames licking over the length of his arm swelled in response to his anger again. Apparently, Cobra had never faced an opponent he couldn't read like an open book before. Natsu still didn't know what the hell he meant by that, but this guy was cruising for a beat down... extra crispy style.

They dashed forward again, their kicks connecting at the shin and the impact sent a shock wave of magic power reverberating outward. Cobra spun a round house kick toward the fire slayer, who got a forearm up just in time to block his head. Searing pain bubbled through his forearm, leaving a deep purple marring his skin. Natsu frowned, the pain in his side, where his vest had been shredded, was also continuing to spread. Veins of purple crawled across his skin, and the more they spread, the more sluggish his movements felt as well.

Natsu tried to shake off the sensation, stepping in to answer a punch Cobra was throwing. Tilting his head to the side to just miss the attack, he responded with an Iron Fist to the jaw, before spinning and kicking back at the dark mage. Cobra caught his foot single handed and used the momentum of his own attack to toss Natsu behind him. He followed Natsu's trajectory, chest puffing up in a deep inhale, "Poison Dragon's…" still in midair, Natsu's face paled considerably at the incantation, "ROAR!" A stream of purple and red poison engulfed him fully, as he crashed through the trees behind him.

Cracking open his eyes with some difficulty, Natsu found his vision blacking out at the edges and his head felt like it was under water, dulling all of his senses. A throbbing peeled through his head as he struggled to his feet, gasping for air that wouldn't seem to come. He lifted his head with considerable effort, trying to spot the apparent poison slayer through the downed and wilting trees. Cobra stood a few meters back wearing a victorious grin.

Stumbling forward on shaky steps, Natsu dropped his hands to his knees, choking air into poison riddled lungs. "Feel that?" Cobra asked, "that's my poison, coursing through your veins. Honestly, I don't know how you're not dead yet... but you will be, soon."

Natsu coughed up some more blood, before increasing laughter bubbled from his throat. Now it was Cobra's turn to stare in shock, he was looking at him like he was delirious from the poison, sure there could be no other answer. Natsu would be happy to prove him wrong.

"Is that right?" he rasped.

Cobra jumped back a few feet as a pillar of fire shot into the sky around Natsu. His flames, normally red-orange in colour shifted to a brilliant golden yellow, the onyx colour of his irises also flecked by gold as crimson scales crawled over his cheek bones, outer arms and torso. "Fire Drive."

Natsu disappeared in a flash of flames, only to reappear above Cobra. He delivered a devastating kick downward at blinding speeds, right between his shoulder blades, driving him straight into the ground on his stomach.

"How—" Cobra coughed, "—is my poison not affecting you?"

"My gold flames burn so hot they metabolize any toxins in my body," Natsu replied flatly as Cobra pushed himself up to his hands and knees before fumbling to his feet again. The fire mage sucked in a deep breath preparing for a roar, but his breath attack never landed its mark. A large flying snake glided in, knocking Cobra out of the way just in time. The poison slayer slung his arm around the snake's body and swung himself up, crouching just between its wings.

Natsu gaped openly, this shit just kept getting weirder! The snake flew up higher, putting a good amount of distance between them and then opened its jaw to spew out a cloud of poison air. Natsu could only watch in horror as the dark mage consumed the miasma surrounding him.

"SHIT!" Natsu yelled in exacerbation, "come ON, that isn't fair Man!"

Cobra gave a satisfied burp and turned a smug look on the fire mage. Natsu knew his own magic was depleting fast, but it wasn't like fire would suddenly manifest itself for a quick meal. He also noted his telepathic connection with Haru had been broken at some point, so he had no idea where his partner was at either. To top off his increasingly dismal situation, he was about to be facing a newly pumped up dragon slayer and his freak show snake.

Snake and slayer both roared a burst of poison at him, and Natsu released his Purifying Flames to burn up the poison. "Get down here and fight me face to face, you sorry excuse for a dragon slayer!" Natsu fumed.

He jumped to the side as the pair dove at him as the snake rolled in the air and thrusted its tail down, kicking up a cloud of dirt where he'd just been standing. Natsu lunged for Cobra, but the snake's tail caught him in the side and he had to tuck and roll to absorb the damage, digging his outside foot into the ground. From his crouched position he clicked his tongue in anger, keeping the flying beast in his sights as he considered his options.

"Natsuuu!" a voice called. Natsu's head whipped in the cave's direction to spy Happy approaching at top speed. He snagged Natsu by the vest and lifted him into the sky, evening the playing field once more.

"Good timing little buddy! –How are Lucy and Wendy?" he inquired without diverting his attention from their opponents.

"Lucy is stable now, and Wendy is exhausted but okay."

"Good." Now in the air, Natsu slammed a fist into his open palm, fire licking at his fist, "I'm all fired up, let's do this Happy!"

"Aye sir!"

Happy dove, trying to get Natsu in close for some strikes but suddenly, Cobra was easily blocking and countering every punch and kick the fire mage threw. Confusion rattled his focus. He'd been able to match this guy blow for blow before, even when he'd been poisoned. Something like that would normally suggest his power advantage over the other... So how was Cobra suddenly able to predict his attacks so easily?! Happy ducked under the swinging tail of the snake, but Cobra had used the tail as a springboard and was above them in a flash. Flipping in the air, he brought a sharp hammer kick down on Natsu's shoulder, likely breaking the joint at the clavicle.

Natsu cried out as sharp pain shot down his arm and the unpredicted jolt sent Happy into a tail spin as well. Spreading his wings wide, Happy managed to pull up at the last minute to avoid colliding with the trees. But just as the world stopped spinning, they were hit with a cloud of poison gas and crashed into the ground this time.

Groaning, Natsu pressed himself up, looking around wildly for his partner. A short distance away, Happy whimpered his name, "Natsu…" the little guy gasped, "I can't feel my body."

"Happy!" Natsu appeared over the cat and immediately noticed the telltale purple rings under his eyes and his laboured breathing, with dread. "Happy, hang on, just don't move, the poison will spread faster!" he pleaded.

Cobra burst out laughing, "I couldn't hear your thoughts at all, but your little friend's there… Well, I could read his every move as if it were my own."

A vein popped on Natsu's forehead, his pupils narrowing in rage, and his magic responded with a column of fire exploding into the sky. The dragon slayer vanished in a burst of fire, reappearing over Cobra's head and spun in the air to connect two fiery kicks to the snake's body in quick succession. Before Cobra had had time to process the new danger, he and Cubelios were on the ground, Natsu already stood over them with his boot on the snakes' neck.

Any previous excitement the poison slayer had felt over a tough battle, was gone instantaneously. Natsu mercilessly swept his fire around him into a cyclone that quickly encompassed the snake. Cobra's eyes widened as Natsu emerged from the flames surrounding and trapping his partner.

"Fire Dragon's secret art," Natsu started under his breath as fire rippled over his body, swelling in power around him, "crimson lotus, exploding flame blade!"

Natsu charged forward, raining a series of brutal strikes all over Cobra's body in a blur of deadly precision. His last blow catching the dark mage right between the eyes as flames exploded around them both on impact. The resulting heat burned up the vegetation within a wide spreading radius and Cobra's body soared back, bowling down the trees with considerable force. He crashed into the side of the cave, leaving a sizeable crater in the rock around the impact point. Natsu observed from his spot in the clearing, one fist still held ready in his offensive stance. Cobra's body and his fire had cleared a line straight through the tree line framing the defeated poison slayer on either side. The scorched path trailed him all the way to the cave where he'd collapsed to his stomach and now remained unmoving.

With a relieved exhale, the adrenaline coursing through him plummeted and his crimson scales faded from his skin. Natsu wobbled on his feet and dropped heavily to his hands and knees a few feet from Happy. He reached a hand toward the cat uselessly, physical and magical exhaustion preventing him from moving from the spot he'd collapsed, "Hap-py... please, hang on..." he breathed. Drawn from the cave at the sound of the explosion, Wendy emerged with Carla following close behind, carrying Lucy. The young dragon slayer tumbled to a stop in front of Natsu, concern etched on her face and hands already glowing with sky magic.

"Don't- I'm fine. Go help Happy, please," Natsu implored, "he was poisoned trying to help me..."

"No, absolutely not!" the white cat chided, "this poor girl has already expended far too much magic, she is exhausted!"

Natsu turned to Carla, an abnormally serious look on his face. "Happy will die without her help, Lucy would have died without her help!" he yelled, gaining a slightly guilty look from the overprotective cat. Natsu softened his tone, "I know you are just looking out for her... but can't you see her determination?"

"You can't stop me Carla, I will help my friends!" the sky slayer vowed from her position at Happy's side, already working to purify the poison working its way though the cat's small body.

A subtle smile pulled at the Carla's mouth; the pride she felt for the young dragon slayer was obvious to Natsu. With her paws on her hips, she let out a defeated sigh and muttered, "Whatever am I going to do with you Wendy? You can be so stubborn!"

"It's a dragon slayer thing," Natsu declared as he carelessly allowed his head to drop limply back onto the ground with a wince. Every muscle ached, he was certain he couldn't even lift a finger.

In his peripheral he noticed the glow of Wendy's magic fading, and the blue cat stirred a bit, sitting up gingerly. Happy blinked at teen in front of him, and began blubbering loud words of appreciation. Wendy gave him a weak smile, slumping forward as she finally allowed herself to feel the significant drain on her magic stores. Carla patted her knee with a paw and suggested she take a break now that everyone was in the clear and there was no imminent danger.

The two dragon slayers, Lucy and Happy lay sprawled around the clearing, too drained or injured to move and Carla stood with eyes scanning over them. Her musings about ridiculous, reckless behaviour and bad influences, reached Natsu's ears but he noted she was smiling none the less. A sound moving toward them quickly, had her ears twitching, and she gasped turning in Natsu's direction.

He just smiled, letting his eyes drift closed and didn't bother attempting to move an inch in response. "Don't worry, that noise," he sighed, totally relieved, "is friendly."

A/N. That was a big one! Almost 10000 words, definitely don't expect that to become the norm, it just didn't feel like there were any good spots to break this chapter earlier.

So now you guys know Natsu is S class and has some minor requip abilities, it'll be addressed down the road.

I started the next arc last night and have the outlines for the next couple done as well. I'm excited to share it with you all.
Consider dropping a quick review, even if it Is just a couple words, your reviews and support make my day!

'Till Saturday!

R&R

xx Loka Muse