Gray whipped his head around, looking for his missing teammate. "Shoot! He better not have done what I think he did…" Erza shook her head, fully aware of what his disappearance meant. He went to find his past self. "Lucy, Gray!" She shouts, gaining their attention. "We will split up to look for him! Do not interact with anybody! And most importantly, do not let Natsu talk to his younger self!" They nodded, stuffing their payments into their pockets/bag before taking off in different directions. Erza turned to Louis with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Mr. Blackwood. This will only be momentary." She said, before sprinting off into the forest.

: : :

Natsu stared at his younger self walking aimlessly around the woods. He was perched behind a bush so he wouldn't be seen, knowing all too well how fearful this day was for him. July 7, x777. He just lost Igneel that morning, so his past self was searching for him without end. The only problem was: he didn't know where to look. He was only walking in circles, calling out for his name. "Igneel! Igneel, where are you?" His voice sounded hoarse from the relentless shouting, and he was tired from going without food the whole day. Natsu smirked after thinking about that day. Even though he lost Igneel, it was also the day he found Gramps. That was the day he joined Fairy Tail. In fact, Natsu knew that at any moment now, Gramps was going to appear from his walk to the guild, and that was going to be the first time they met. He knew that he was going to have to do this now, before he loses his chance.

Natsu stands up while his past self's back was facing him, but before taking a step forward, a tug pulled him back to the ground. "Hey! What the- Lucy? What are you doing here?" Natsu hissed, a bit flustered that she stopped him from confronting his younger self.

"Shhh!" She whispered, sneaking a peek above the bushes to check if younger Natsu heard anything. He was alert, snapping his head towards the bushes that hissed. "Igneel? Is that you?"

Lucy grabbed Natsu's hand and scurried away from the bushes before he could protest, dragging him back to the mansion. Before they could get far, Natsu halted to a stop. "Lucy, you know that I need to do this! It's either now or never!"

"No, you don't!" She snapped, her eyes were filled with tears, threatening to come out. That was when Natsu froze, automatically switching his stubborn behavior into a protective one. "Lucy, why are you crying? Was it something I said?" He asked, his face immediately softening with regret. Lucy wiped away the tears while shaking her head. "No, no. It's just… while I was searching for you, I was thinking. What if I didn't make it time? What if you told your younger self the truth about Igneel? Then I realized, if that had happened, then I would have never met you." She choked out a sob. Natsu's eyes grew big, realizing what she had just said. "Think about it; if you tell your past self where Igneel is, then you would not have had the reason to search for that fire salamander you heard about in town, and then we would have never met. We would never had all of those adventures we had together, and I would've became a mindless slave to that creep who kidnapped me on his yacht. You saved me, Natsu, and that only happened because you didn't know where Igneel was." She was clinging tightly onto Natsu's scarf, her forehead resting on his chest as she bawled. Natsu was dumbstruck; unable to speak. He was in shock, staring at the blonde weeping on him, before softening into a smile. "I guess you're right," he gently spoke, "It would be selfish of me to change the future for my own benefit, right, Luce?" He delicately stroked her hair before lifting her head up to rest his forehead on hers. "Lucy, I would never want to live a life without you. You are the best thing that happened to me, well, you and Fairy Tail, of course." He chuckled, enjoying the sweet embrace of Lucy as he comforted her.

"Natsu… I wouldn't know what to do without you…" She whimpered, slowly regaining her composure.

"Lighten up, Luce! See? I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere!" Natsu gave his signature smile, his pearly white teeth and sharp canines showing, as he jammed his thumb into his chest. They meet each other's eyes, silently admiring each other's existence. Lucy blushed, averting her eyes to the ground. "We… should be heading back… now…" She insists, looking up at that starry sky. "It's getting late. We wouldn't want to keep Louis waiting." Natsu rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks turning pink from blushing. "Uh, yeah, you're right! I'll race ya back!" He shouted, bolting towards the mansion in the far distance. Lucy smiled; how can Natsu say so many romantic things without even knowing it? And why is he so darn cute when he blushes? She shook her head, batting away those thoughts. She felt her face heat up. Natsu was very special to her… was that why she felt this way? It wasn't until then when she realized something. She liked him— no, she loved him. She loved Natsu, so that's why she was afraid of losing him. She recomposed herself, standing up with pride. Natsu basically said it himself, didn't he? That he loved me too? I'll tell him… I'll tell him once we get back to the guild! Lucy's smile stretched from ear to ear; her mind was set. She looked around, but noticed that she dozed off, giving Natsu a major head start. "Wa-wait up, Natsu! Hey! That's not fair!"

: : :

Within the forest, four dark mages were resting, looking at the starry night sky. Ruby was lying on the ground next to Diesel, his eyes protectively watching her unconscious body as he sat on a rock, his elbows resting on his knees. Maxim was sitting on a log, sharpening a stick with a pocket knife, while Seph was sitting next to him, chipping off pieces of the log with his nails to throw into the fire. They all seemed to be in there early 20's, besides Maxim, who looked older due to his size. They had set camp, patiently waiting for their teammate to gain conscious before heading for the long journey home. Seph looked at his watch and grunted. "It's 8:30. The mansion was supposed to be in pieces by now. I'll kill those mages…" Diesel, not changing his gaze from Ruby, spoke. "Ruby isn't much of a fighter. Yet, ironically, she was gifted with explosive magic." He bent down to stroke her hair. "They will pay for that. For ruining our plans, for hurting Ruby…"

Maxim growled in agreement.

Ruby's eyes squinted, reaching her hand to her head. "She's awake!" Diesel yelped, earning a curious look from Seph and Maxim. Seph stood up, kicking the fire with dirt. "Well, break time's over. Let's go." Diesel carefully helped Ruby into a sitting position, his eyes laced with concern. "Take it easy, okay? How are you feeling?"

"M'kay," She responded. "My head just hurts."

Seph slung a bag of riches over his shoulder and Maxim picked up two in each hand as they began walking. "Sorry, Ruby, but we need to head out. It's best for us to head out at night."

Ruby nodded, getting onto her feet with the help of Diesel. "Let's just get out of here." She mumbled, wrapping her arm around Diesel's shoulders for support.

Diesel caught a glance of Ruby's face, scrunched up in pain. He lit up in hatred, causing the metal pocket knife strapped on Maxim's arm to shrivel. "Those mages will regret stopping us, just wait till we find them…" Ruby looked over to Diesel, an eyebrow raised. "Didn't you see their emblems?" Seph and Diesel stopped their steps, turning their heads to Ruby in surprise. "You saw their emblems?" Seph asked, a bit embarrassed that he didn't think about catching it before.

"Yeah." She said, straightening up. "And you wouldn't believe what guild they're from."

Seph did a courteous bow in a playful manner. "To whom do I owe my pleasure to?"

"Fairy Tail, the number one guild in Fiore." Ruby responded, grabbing the hem of her dress to return a respectful curtsy.

"Ah, Fairy Tail…" Diesel said, his smile stretching into a malevolent one. "They've made enemies with the wrong guild…"

They continued their journey down the woods of Magnolia, keeping an eye out for other night thieves who would want to steal their already-stolen wealth. The moonlight spilled over the forest, causing the leaves to reflect a silver tint as it and it's star companions lit up the night sky. The walk was rather silent, but it was more so as an attempt to not draw attention to themselves. It had been over 20 minutes, and by then, Ruby adapted walking on her own. She stopped, however, swinging her head around, searching her surroundings. Diesel slowed down, watching Ruby's actions. "Is there anything wrong, Ruby dear?" He asked, slowing down to a halt.

Ruby turned to Diesel and placed a finger over her mouth. "Shhh… did you hear that?"

Diesel strained to listen, and Seph soon did the same.

"Igneel! Please! Don't leave me here alone!"

Seph cocked an eyebrow. "You hear that? A damsel in distress."

Diesel was already out of sight, racing towards the noise. "A little nighttime fun wouldn't hurt anyone, now would it?"

Ruby shook her head before chasing him down with Seph and Maxim following in pursuit. "He always had a knack for mischief, doesn't he?"

"You can say that again." Seph mumbled, clearly annoyed of the distraction that caused them to get off track. "Now can we hurry? I would like to get back before morning…" His voice trailed off once he reached the scene. It wasn't a damsel in distress, it was a kid. He seemed to be lost in the middle of the forest, at night. Diesel was the first to get there, frozen as he held eye contact with him. Seph, Maxim, and Ruby all arrived a moment afterwards, replicating the same confused face that Diesel held. This kid looked just like the pink-haired mage.

Seph's face broke into a widened, crazed smile as he stepped forward, causing the pink-haired kid to cautiously back away, fear evident in his eyes. "Ahh... no wonder you two look so much alike… You must be that mage's brother…"

"St-stay away from me!" He yelped, tripping over a twig and falling onto the ground. He used all fours to scurry backwards.

"So tell me, Diesel, if we rip this kid to shreds, wouldn't that count as revenge to those mages? Just wait till' they see him in the morning! That'll teach them to mess with us!" Seph crackled a maniac laugh, sliding out a pocket knife strapped to his leg.

Diesel turned around to meet Seph with a calm smirk. "Don't worry, Seph. Wouldn't it be a better idea to just take him in? Imagine how that might spook his big brother, raising him up to be the scariest dark mage in Fiore."

Ruby chirped in, her own devious smile plastered on her face. "And didn't you see the strength of his big bro? Just wait till this one grows up with strong magic of his own!"

Seph rubbed his chin, analyzing the boy. "I suppose your right… He could become a great asset to the team…"

Diesel stepped forward, crouching in front of the boy. His calming nature radiated off of him, but that wasn't enough to ease the boy's fright. "Get away from me, you freaks! Pi-pick on someone your own size!"

Diesel looked back at his crew, interest igniting his eyes. "The kid's got spunk. Just like his brother." The boy held a confused look. "You all have the wrong guy! You see-"

Seph crouched near Diesel, pointing the sharp end of the knife to the boy. "Now listen, don't back talk the adults." He leaned in closer, getting a good look at him. "What's your name?"

"N-Natsu. Natsu Dragneel." He sputtered, eyeing down the knife that was pointed towards him.

Seph retracted the weapon, resting his hand on his knee. "Cute name." He stood up, turning around. "Come with us, if you want to live, of course." Natsu gulped, thinking if disobeying would be a good idea. He looked behind the two men in front of him, finding a young woman and a muscular guy. The man seemed to tower over everyone, holding an axe that easily competed with the size of himself. The man rotated the weapon with his wrist, daring Natsu to even think about escaping.

Natsu hesitantly stood up. Diesel rubbed a hand on his head, messing it up his hair. "Good boy. I have a feeling that we'll become great friends."

The woods were quiet, and Makarov was making his way home from a meeting with Porlyusica. He came across a small clearing, and stopped, noticing a snapped twig on the ground. That's odd… I had a feeling that I was going to meet someone here…