Fairy Tail 1. Problems

**Hello Everyone! This is my first fanfiction for Fairy Tail, though I have written other fanfiction for Yu Yu Hakusho, One Piece, DBZ, and Rise of the Guardians.**

**Hope you enjoy, and I hope my writing style does this awesome show justice. **

**Disclaimer; I do not own, nor have I ever owned the show, the characters, or any rights corresponding to the anime or the manga.**

Night had fallen, a cool breeze swept through the forest, and fireflies danced among the trees. On the outskirts of Magnolia, a small cottage occupied by two Fairy Tail mages stood within a glade, while a sign creaked as it swung back and forth on its hinges. All seemed peaceful, but a dark figure darted around the corner, their frame casting a dark shadow in the moonlight.

The figure was clad in a black cloak, but piercing silver eyes glowed under the hood while armor clad hands held an amulet necklace. The chain and amulet itself were gold, but set in the middle was a vial of green liquid that shifted and writhed within its prison.

Wriggling their fingers beneath the frame, the figure opened the window just a crack, wincing when it gave a creak that sounded horrendously loud in the silence of the forest, and quickly uncorked the vial whispering an incantation the caused the liquid to glow and change into a luminescent cloud.

The mist crept under the window and floated over to the figure currently occupying the hammock, salmon pink hair peeking out from under a blanket while soft snores were muffled by a pillow, and eventually the cloud settled on top of the sleeping boy absorbing itself into his body.

The figure smirked maliciously as their victim gave a fretful toss in their hammock, a soft pained whine slipping from their lips as the mist began to rush through his system "Soon," the intruder whispered "all my dreams will be realized, and Fiore…will be mine."

…..

Natsu woke the next morning, his body aching for some reason, and the young man gave a groan as a wave of nausea rolled through his body. He attempted to climb down from his hammock, but his usual grace was impeded by a bolt of pain as he flopped onto the floor, and gripped his stomach. The dragon slayer knelt on the wood planks, gasping for air as a thin sheen of sweat formed on his brow, and he felt the all too familiar acidic bile rising in the back of his throat as he struggled to draw deep even breaths to fight off the impending sickness.

Strangely enough though, as quickly as it came the feeling left, and Natsu sat on the floor mystified by its sudden absence "Whoa," he croaked.

"Natsu," Happy asked, one paw tentatively resting on one of the Dragon slayer's muscular biceps "are you ok?"

The young man stood up on shaking legs, and stumbled his way to the bathroom, only to rest his hands on the sink, sucking in deep breaths of air as he puzzled his way through the odd occurrence.

"What's going on?" he whispered softly to himself.

It was a well known fact that he didn't get sick, and if he did, it was extremely rare. Not even food poisoning really affected him, because after all, he _did_ eat fire so his stomach was pretty tough. The only time he was susceptible to anything similar to an illness was when he was on some form of moving vehicle and was suffering from motion sickness, but this was unprecedented, he had no idea where it came from or how it could have happened. Taking one last quavering breath, the young mage gave a sigh of relief as he felt strength flow back into his limbs, ceasing their trembling, and normalcy was once again the order of the day.

"Natsu?"

The young man turned at the sound of his faithful friend and gave his signature grin, making the exceed's tension melt away "I'm fine Happy, just felt a little off, but everything's ok now."

The blue cat merely looked at his best friend, incredulous worry wrinkling his brow, as he stared silently making the Dragon Slayer fidget nervously "Come on Happy," he whined "I'm fine, really. Now let's go get Lucy and find some breakfast!"

Happy immediately shifted at the mention of food one small paw saluting his partner "Aye, Sir!"

But as the duo ran out the door, neither could deny the gnawing unease in their stomachs that whatever had happened that morning was more than they thought or knew, and the uncertainty of that made them uncharacteristically quiet as they sprinted into the center of Magnolia, the slapping of Natsu's sandals on the cobblestone streets the only sound exchanged between the two.

…

Lucy woke up, brown eyes fluttering open to look out the window as the clouds came into focus, and her arms stretched up above her head as she sighed with contentment.

"LUCY!"

The celestial wizard smiled softly, hearing the familiar sound of her best friend and partner, and sat up to open the window so to lean out and wave "Good morning Natsu!"

"Are you just waking up?" he snorted with a grin.

"Says the guy who is always asleep in my bed," Lucy grumbled with a playful pout accompanied by a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"It's comfy," the boy shrugged his smile completely unrepentant before climbing up to sit on her windowsill "besides you're my best friend, why wouldn't I like coming over to your place?"

Lucy giggled, a grin finding its way onto her face "I guess I can't argue with your logic,"

"Not that you don't always try," Natsu muttered enjoying their banter immensely.

"Ha!" the girl barked out a laugh "Only because your logic doesn't always make sense!"

"Sure it does," Natsu shot back "it's not my fault that nobody can understand-whoa…"

Suddenly the boy rocked back on his heels, and Lucy's face fell in shock as she watched Natsu's eyes suddenly go unfocused and begin to roll back into his head. Almost in slow motion she lunged forward, wrapping him in a tight embrace just as he was about to fall backwards from her window, and tugged him onto her bed cradling his upper body in her arms.

"Natsu!" both celestial mage and the blue cat cried out in fear.

"L-Lucy, Happy?" the Dragon Slayer murmured, slowly shaking his head, only to wince while one hand gripped his hair.

"Are you…alright?" the girl asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, fine," Natsu breathed closing his eyes as he felt the world around him spin "just a little dizzy."

"Natsu," Happy murmured his eyes wide with fear "are you sure?"

Natsu considered his question, before giving them his widest smile "Of course," he said with a tight chuckle "I just haven't had breakfast yet."

"Oh," Lucy replied her face dark as she considered her friend before scooting out from underneath Natsu, placing his head gently on a pillow and standing up "then I'll cook something for us."

The girl walked away after the Dragon Slayer hummed his agreement, and the young man lay there, both hands covering his eyes as he took deep breaths praying softly that the dizzy spell would pass and he would stop making his friends worry. Happy however felt the uncomfortable churning in his gut grow into full blown anxiety and he leaned down to whisper to his lifelong friend.

"Are you sure you're ok?" he repeated, bottom lip trembling softly "You didn't look so good this morning."

"I'm fine Happy," Natsu growled frustration lacing his words "I probably ate dinner too early last night, and I'm just really hungry, so stop worrying."

The blue cat sighed, knowing how much Natsu hated making people worry, and decided to drop the subject. Besides, maybe he was right, the Dragon Slayer had a metabolism that was a beast to keep up with, and if he went too long between meals he suffered from dizziness and headaches, so this wasn't too unusual…right?

Eventually Lucy returned, and she gave a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and pancakes to her friend, her brown eyes soft with worry as she watched Natsu struggle to sit up while his head wobbled from side to side in the familiar sign that he was feeling dizzy. Smiling his thanks, Natsu grabbed the plate and tucked into his meal, making the food disappear in record time.

The celestial mage sat next to the Dragon Slayer, and placed a hand on his shoulder "Natsu, are you-"

"Oh for Mavis' Sake!" Natsu spat, throwing his fork down on the plate "I'm fine, I already said I'm fine a hundred times, so I'm fine!"

Lucy flinched, her brown gaze wide "N-Natsu," she stuttered "I didn't…I was just…I…I'm sorry."

The fire mage paused, his jaw dropping as he shook his head "I'm sorry Luce," he said in almost a whisper "I don't…know what came over me."

Natsu was stunned, speechless, he had no idea where that outburst came from. I mean, sure, he was known for picking fights around the guild, especially with a particular ice mage, but he had never lost his temper like that before. His fights were always in good fun, he had never actually snapped at one of his friends with actual malice, and especially never at Lucy. What was wrong with him?

"No, i-it's fine," Lucy said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes "I understand."

Natsu shrunk down, his shoulders slumping over, and he eyes the rest of the food on his plate guiltily as his appetite suddenly fled "I really am sorry Luce,"

The celestial mage leaned over and gave her friend a hug, squeezing him extra tight to show he'd been forgiven "It's fine Natsu, I'm not angry."

Natsu sat in silence for a moment before looking over at his friend "So, you wanna go look at the request board and see if there's anything interesting?"

Lucy gave a wide grin "Definitely!"

**I know, short for a first chapter, though my chapters are usually longer, I'm probably going to keep each chapter about this length so that I don't rush through the story.**

**And for those of you questioning why the affects are happening so quickly, I'm using this rationalization. **

**I have a very similar metabolism to Natsu, to the point I can't go two hours without eating because I almost faint (the price of being skinny), and that also means that I can't take regular amounts of medication, because a full dose of anything affects me twice as bad as it would on a normal person. So I think that because of that, anything given to him would be absorbed into his system that much faster.**

**See ya next time!**


	2. trouble on the train

**AAAAND I'm BACK!**

**So yeah, last time Natsu and Lucy were heading to the Guild hall to see the request board, so let's see what happens!**

Gray sat at the bar, smiling his thanks to Mirajane as she handed him his food, and a large tankard. Juvia, as per usual, was nearby drooling over the ice mage swooning as her over imaginative brain concocted new and increasingly disturbing scenarios.

"Gray!"

The ice mage looked up to see Erza approaching him, a piece of paper in her hand and a smile on her face "Have you seen Natsu and Lucy?"

Gray shook his head "Nope, why, you got a request we can team up for?"

Erza nodded plopping down next to him and sliding the paper over for the young man to see "What do you think?"

"Hmm, looks pretty standard," Gray nodded "a group of bandits needing to be run out of town."

"Yes, but look at the fine print concerning the bandits," the requip mage smiled tapping the section of the job request she was referring to.

"Bandits are known for…" Gray read in monotone before his eyes popped out of his head "shape shifting into giant lizards almost resembling dragons?!"

"That's why we need Natsu and Lucy," Erza said with a decisive nod and slap to the wooden bar top "Natsu wouldn't forgive us if we didn't claim this request."

Gray snickered, knowing that statement to be true "Plus I'm interested in finding out if there are other forms of Dragon magic," the ice mage finished "if it's available to learn, maybe I might find something to power up my ice make skills."

Erza nodded and opened her mouth to reply but stopped when she heard the guild hall door open, spinning around the fairy mage waved Lucy down beckoning her to come over "Lucy, we have a request from the board!"

Lucy let out a laugh, looking over her shoulder to cast an impish grin on Natsu "Hear that Natsu, we already got a job!"

The Dragon slayer gave his friend a large grin, and folded his hands behind his head "Awesome!"

"So, let me see!" Lucy said bouncing excitedly over to Erza's side "What's the job?"

"Taking out a group of bandits that apparently have shape shifting abilities," Gray smirked.

"Aww," Natsu deflated, his cheeks puffing out in disappointment "but we've done hundreds of jobs like that."

"Not like this," Erza spoke leaning in close, her eye gleaming with excitement "these bandits shape shift into dragon like lizard creatures."

"Whoa, wait," Lucy's mouth dropped open "they turn into dragons?!"

"Seriously?!" Natsu chimed in, his face equally shocked.

"Well, dragon _like_ creatures," Erza shrugged "for all we know they could be more lizard than dragon, but it could be a new form of Dragon magic born in the past seven years while we've been gone."

"YEAH!" Natsu screamed lifting his fists up to the ceiling "I'm all FIRED UP!"

The team laughed as they departed, promising to meet at the train station in the next hour, and then left so to pack for the journey.

…

Natsu ambled his way through the streets, his breath coming in short gasps, and one shaking hand rose to wipe sweat off his now clammy brow "Thi-This sucks," he sighed.

"Na-" Happy cut himself off, remembering how the teen had blown up at them this morning for asking the question he was just about to utter.

The Dragon Slayer just huffed out a small groan before giving his best friend a guilty look of apology "Happy, I'm not gonna get mad at you."

The exceed smiled softly before continuing "Are you sure you're ok? This morning you looked really sick, and today you almost fell out of Lucy's window. I'm…worried."

Natsu paused, walking over to a nearby fountain and almost collapsing on the stone side as he sat down and cradled his head in both hands "I don't understand what's going on," he whispered "I don't even understand how it began, all I know is that I woke up feeling horrible, and now I am swinging between feeling fine and feeling worse."

Happy settled down next to his partner and leaned against his leg "What does it feel like?"

The young man paused, sharp teeth biting his bottom lip before answering softly "I have a headache, and my stomach is wringing itself out like I'm riding on a train, plus I keep getting these weird flashes of hot and cold and I'm constantly feeling dizzy."

Happy felt his brow furrow with concern "Are you sure you should go on the job request?"

"I want to," Natsu growled, mostly to himself "besides I can't let my friends down, they're counting on me to be there backing them up."

"But Natsu," the blue cat sighed "what if you can't fight, and get hurt?"

"Aw come on, Happy," the Dragon slayer sniffed "I'm not so wimpy that I can't handle feeling a little sick in a fight, I'll be fine!"

However the little blue cat was unsatisfied with his friend's answer and shook the salmon haired young man's arm gently "I'm not saying you're weak, but you've been acting weird all day, getting sick, and getting mad at Lucy, I'm worried about you!"

Natsu opened his mouth to reply, but found that he couldn't.

In truth he had no explanation for what had happened. It was odd, but he had this strange surge of frustration at how everyone would not believe what he was telling them, and to make it worse he was angry with himself for looking so weak. When Lucy was asking him if he was ok, Natsu couldn't explain why, but an irrational fury burned through his veins making him snap at Lucy, and scaring Happy. Not to mention scaring himself.

He didn't know where it had come from, and he had never experienced that level of anger to come into his heart and force its way through his mouth. It was, at the very least, an immense shock to the Dragon slayer because he had never showed such animosity to the people he called friends, even when he picked fights with Gray.

"Are you _sure_ that you want to try to handle a job request?" the cat repeated.

Finally Natsu just sighed and pasted the most believable smile on his face that he could manage "I promise Happy, I'll be careful, besides I got you and everyone else at my back, I'm pretty sure I'm covered."

Happy gave an unhappy growl, then finally nodded "Fine, but we're not done talking about this."

Natsu laughed out loud then shook his head.

Few people saw this side of Happy. He was a goofball, but much like the Dragon slayer, the blue cat had a serious side which was usually directed at Natsu for not taking better care of himself. The young man had no qualms about this however, and he appreciated the care that Happy took in ensuring he was well, but sometimes even he had to admit that the cat was somewhat of a mother hen when it came to the wellbeing of his friends.

"Come on Happy," Natsu grinned as he stood up with a barely suppressed groan "we've got a train to catch, and bandits to beat up!"

"Aye, Sir!"

…..

Erza and Gray looked over at Natsu uncomfortably, unease in every facet of their gaze.

As per usual, the young man was incapacitated on the train, the agony of motion sickness painted across his features, but today there was something different. There was a hitch in the Dragon slayer's breath and a deep furrow in his brow where you could see evidence of his intense concentration on not passing out, plus his fists were clenching and unclenching as each wave of pain rolled through the fire mage.

His frame trembled, and a ragged cough rocked his shoulders every few minutes, while a sheen of sweat from what they only could assume was a nasty fever glistened on his skin.

"Oi, Natsu," Gray murmured "you ok man?"

Natsu raised a suspicious eyebrow, before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath "It's just the usual," he growled before a hacking cough stole his oxygen "yo-you've never ca-cared before when I wa-was motion sick."

"Yeah, but this doesn't look like your usual motion sickness," Gray snapped.

The Dragon slayer attempted a snarky grin, though it was ruined by the sharp wince of agony that flashed across his features "Wha-What Ice ret-tard," he croaked in between gasps "yo-you worried a-about me?"

"Yeah," Gray snorted incredulously "I'm worried about the fact that I'll have to cover for your butt more than usual."

"Heh," Natsu laughed softly "Or m-maybe you're j-just going soft-AUUGH!"

Suddenly the salmon haired young man doubled over, clutching his stomach as his sharp teeth clenched in a tight grimace, and a pained whine slipped between his lips that were drawn back in a macabre snarl.

"NATSU!" the group yelled as one drawing around the young Dragon slayer, Gray directly in front.

"Come on, man," the ice mage cried his eyes narrow and urgent "breathe, deep even breaths, you can do it!"

Erza pursed her lips in careful thought before tugging off a glove and placing her hand on Natsu's forehead only to jerk back with a hiss "He's burning with fever."

Gray opened his, but his eyes brightened as he was struck by an idea, covering his hands with a thin layer of ice, he pressed the flats of his palms across the Dragon slayer's forehead and neck, making the teen tremble from the drastic change in temperature. However any relief they might have had was forestalled when Natsu jerked forward and begin to give painful hacks that resonated in his chest and caused his body to convulse from their sheer force.

Lucy and Erza looked on, their faces as serious as they were filled with concern "Natsu," Lucy murmured, her mind flashing back to that morning.

Natsu continued to cough, the hacking becoming increasingly wet and ragged, until thin lines of blood began to fleck his lips and chin, while others dotted the floor of the train.

"Oh my God," Gray murmured his eyes widening with shock before suddenly shoving his friend up into a sitting position and angling his face towards the open window.

"Wha-What are you doing?!" Lucy asked in a frightened rush, brown eyes large.

"I'm trying to make sure his airways are open," Gray bit back "if blood is coming up there's a good chance that a clot could block it entirely and he could go into cardiac arrest."

The entire team looked at Gray in frozen shock, making the Ice mage to seethe with fury "Look, I'm not an idiot ok?!"

"L-Le-Lea…"

The weak gasp brought all the attention back to the suffering Dragon slayer, his head swung exhaustedly around to look at his team, his breath coming in erratic labored gasps "What's wrong Natsu?" Erza asked gently one armored hand resting on his shoulder.

Onyx eyes rested on his team before something happened that caused them all to gasp in horror, the normally dark eyes brightened to a burning yellow and the pupils flattened and lengthened into feral reptilian slits, and his voice was no longer Natsu's but a deep rumbling snarl full of malice.

"_**Leave me alone**_**!**"

**So what do you think? Let me know!**

**Review!**


	3. Stress and fights

**So we're back. Last time Natsu was undergoing a very painful train ride, so let's see what happens next.**

**Disclaimer: I own nada…the end.**

"_**Leave me ALONE!"**_

Gray jerked back looking much like he had been slapped "What did you say?"

"_**I said, leave me alone,"**_ Natsu snarled, his reptilian gaze pulsing as his teeth began to grow and sharpen to serpentine points _**"hands off me…pathetic human!"**_

The ice mage's eyes narrowed with cold fury, and before he even finished processing his rival's words, he had already swung his fist into Natsu's jaw, slamming the dragon slayer back into his seat. The salmon haired head hit the wooden back rest of the seat with a resounding bang, and his eyes fluttered closed as his breathing returned to normal, and the young man slumped with fatigue as darkness overtook his senses and dumped him into the folds of sleep.

"GRAY?!" Lucy shrieked angrily slapping the ice mage upside the head "What did you do that for?!"

"Aw come on," the dark haired young man spluttered "he was being a jerk…and creepy on top of that!"

Erza glared fire at the young ice mage before giving him a healthy slap as well "at any rate, I have to agree that Natsu's behavior has shocked me as well, we should probably keep an eye on him for the rest of the job until we get him back to Magnolia."

Lucy suddenly felt a burst of unease as she watched the Dragon slayer's sleeping face, taking note of every twitch, every wince, every groan "Are you sure…" she murmured softly one shaking hand covering her mouth "are you sure we should finish the job with him?"

Erza paused, she and Gray exchanging looks of hesitant discomfort as they considered Lucy's request "I think we'll be fine," Erza replied slowly "it might just be his usual motion sickness combined with not eating much breakfast, besides, he looked fine this morning."

Lucy opened her mouth to tell them about his dizzy spell and strange angry outburst from earlier that day, but cut herself off from saying anything _'Maybe they're right,'_ she thought to herself as she took her seat _'maybe it's just him not eating plus his motion sickness?'_

But as Lucy sat down next to Natsu, she couldn't help but feel unease over the young man's welfare begin twisting her stomach into knots, so she gently pull his head into her lap, her slim fingers playing with the curls at the base of his neck as she hummed a lullaby that she hoped was soothing.

…

"Milady, the Dragon Slayer is drawing near to the town."

"Good,"

A young woman clad in a dark cloak with purple feathers around the collar stood on a cliff edge, her only company that of a man who also wore a black hooded cloak.

The woman had white hair and lavender eyes, while a purple choke collar adorned her neck and a miniature black top hat adorned her head atop the elaborately styled hair "It seems everything is going exactly as planned," she purred.

The man, dark tanned skin topped by red hair, gave a frown "Indeed," he growled softly "but I worry, how are we going to go about taking the Dragon slayer prisoner?"

The woman smirked before giving the man a condescending pat on the cheek with a purple gloved hand "Let me worry about the things that require the use of a brain," she sneered turning her gaze back to the train tracks that their quarry would soon be puffing down "I will direct you as needed, for now all you should to focus on is the next stage of our plan."

The man sighed, his face twitching with irritation at the woman's blatant arrogance "Yes, milady,"

"Very good," she smiled looking much like a cat that's cornered its prey "now, let's prepare for the next act, we need to make sure that it's convincing enough to ensure our target is isolated away from his team and fit for capture."

"Everything has been prepared according to your specifications," The man muttered already wishing the conversation over.

"Excellent," the woman nodded before curling her lip in disgust "see to it that nothing goes wrong, our master wouldn't be pleased if we failed at so crucial a point in the game."

Turning around the man gave a sneer of his own "No," he snarled "no he wouldn't,"

…..

Natsu's eyes slowly fluttered open, and an onyx gaze slowly came back into focus as he glanced around at his surroundings "Luce?" he said in a half whisper half croak.

"Natsu!" Lucy said as she settled next to the young man's side.

"Wha-What happened?" he murmured, his eyes still slightly unfocused.

"You mean, you don't remember?" the celestial mage's brown eyes softened with worry.

"I remember being on the train, and starting to cough," Natsu replied in a hoarse whisper "but after that, not a thing."

"Well," Lucy scrambled for words to explain what had happened "you were coughing pretty hard, and you started coughing up…blood,"

"I, what?" Natsu opened wide eyes to look at his best friend.

"You were coughing up blood," Lucy repeated in a small voice.

"I…don't remember that," the Dragon slayer said softly.

"Nothing," the celestial mage prodded "at all? Not even us bringing you to the hotel?"

Natsu sat up with a jerk, one hand flying to his stomach when it gave a lurch as his head began to swim from the sudden movement, only to see that he was indeed lying on a bed in a hotel room with Happy and Lucy sitting on the foot of the bed looking at him with worried expectant eyes. The Dragon slayer took a deep breath, willing his stomach to calm before giving what he hoped was a comforting smile to his two best friends.

"Don't worry Luce, I'm fine,"

Lucy exchanged a frown with Happy before turning back to the suffering teen "Natsu, there's something we need to talk about. On the train you were-"

"Natsu!"

The female voice caused the duo looked up to see Erza and Gray walking into the room, both wearing smiles of relief though both still thinly lined with veils of concern "How are you feeling?" Erza asked seriously.

"What, you worried about me?" Natsu joked with a wicked grin.

Gray frowned, his gaze flickered with an untold emotion, and he looked at Erza before cutting in "Maybe, especially after your little performance on the train."

Natsu gave a derisive snort "Why is coughing such a bad thing?"

"I'm not talking about you coughing," the Ice mage sneered.

Lucy jumped up clutching Gray's sleeve and whispered urgently "He doesn't remember anything from the train,"

"He doesn't?" Erza asked in a surprised tone.

"Yeah right, he doesn't," gray snarled "he went all creepy dragon eyed on us, and called me a pathetic human!"

Natsu jerked back, looking much like Gray had slugged him in the gut "I…said that?"

"Yeah, you did!" the ice mage hissed as he stomped up to Natsu and planted a finger on the fire mage's chest "Look, I know we're rivals and all that, but just because you're a Dragon Slayer and have _ancient_ forgotten magic, it _doesn't_ mean that you're better than me, you got it?!"

Natsu's jaw was still hanging his onyx gaze wide with hurt and disbelief "I-I'm..I'm sorry Gray…" he stammered "I don't remember much about the train, but I wouldn't say that, I promise."

Gray huffed out a frustrated breath before straightening up and rolling his eyes with a pout "Fine, whatever,"

The Dragon slayer's eyes never lost the haunted look of guilt before he stood and walked out of the hotel room to the balcony, and Lucy cast a look of indignant fury to the Ice mage "Thanks a lot, Gray," she huffed.

"Hey, what'd I do?" the darker haired boy sniffed.

"You hurt Natsu's feelings!" the blonde shot back.

"Well, it's not like I'm the one who's acting all weird," Gray muttered before giving Lucy his own look of disdain and raising his voice "besides, last time I checked, Natsu doesn't really have feelings. He's a brainless goofball who only cares about his next meal."

"How dare you," Lucy gaped her jaw dropping in shock "he cares about his friends, the people who he views as family, and you have seen him more times than we can count put his life on the line for us, we should be trying to help him right now, not making him feel worse! Besides, you're not acting like yourself either, because you of all people know that Natsu's emotions run deep, and you have no right to make such a cruel accusation that he doesn't have feelings."

"Don't be condescending to me, you little-!"

"GRAY!"

The two stopped their fighting long enough to see the armored mage giving them a fierce glare before they both sat down, agreeing to a silent truce.

"Lucy is right," Erza eventually said "Natsu isn't acting like himself, and that is putting all of us on edge. Why else would we be fighting like we are? Bickering is one thing, but this? This isn't normal for any of us, and it all stems from our worry over Natsu."

Gray opened his mouth to shout again but immediately deflated "Yeah, I guess you're right," he murmured "Natsu isn't the type to get hurt or feel pain and today on the train was weird…on several different levels."

Erza nodded "I too am uncomfortable with the strange change that overtook Natsu, the look in his eyes wasn't him, it was…evil."

"Natsu wouldn't say those things," Lucy quavered feeling tears prick her eyes at the memory of the malicious voice and serpentine eyes "Natsu wouldn't be cruel to his friends or act superior to humans, that's not who he is."

"I agree," Erza nodded "for now, let's finish the job and watch out for Natsu in case anything strange happens again."

The trio nodded and eventually separated ways, with Lucy walking out to the balcony, unsurprised to find Natsu sitting on the stone railing "Natsu?"

The Dragon slayer gave a startled jump, whirling around to see the celestial mage before relaxing "Hey Luce,"

The blonde girl paused, biting her bottom lip in indecision "I was just wondering…if…you were, you know…"

Natsu smiled softly, appreciating how she was trying not to annoy him by asking the all too familiar question "Yeah, Luce, I'm fi-"

"Don't say it!" Lucy suddenly cut in before blushing several shades of red and stammering "I-I mean, I just…I'm kind of tired hearing you say that you're fine, when you're…not."

The Dragon slayer huffed out a laugh, realizing that she was just as frustrated as him over certain words being repeated "Sorry Luce," he finally spoke in a hoarse whisper "I think, I'm just…scared."

Lucy nodded, sitting down on the railing next to Natsu and leaning against him, her head on his shoulder "I don't blame you," she replied softly.

"To be honest," Natsu continued in the same tone "ever since I woke up this morning, I've been feeling horrible, and these weird things keep happening…I…Lucy, what's happening to me?"

The celestial mage felt her heart give a crack at his pleading tone, and wrapped her arms around his neck "I don't know Natsu," she said in a choked sob "but whatever is happening, we'll be here to help, I promise."

A muscular hand came up to grip one of Lucy's arms, and a smile graced the Dragon slayer's face.

"Thanks Luce,"

**Yup, I'm a softie for fluff… Deal with it!**

**Review!**


	4. And it begins

**So we left Lucy and Natsu having a fluffy moment.**

**Let's get back to the story!**

"They have been terrorizing our village for weeks, and we are at the end of our rope on how to deal with them!"

Erza sighed, her mind beginning to wander to her throbbing feet, and now stiff joints all due to standing in one place for far too long while listening to the inane ramblings of yet another mayor as they screech on and on about their newest trouble.

"Yes sir," the armored mage finally said quickly pasting on a tight impatient smile "we understand your situation is quite dire, allow us to be on our way and we'll settle it for you."

The mayor paused in his endless rhetoric, blinking twice, before settling back into his chair with a smile "But of course my dear, whatever you wish, we will gladly leave you to your work."

"Thank you sir," Erza replied with a respectful bow before straightening and swiftly walking out the door.

"So, how'd it go?" Gray asked from where he was leaning against the wall out in the hallway.

"We're finally done with the formalities, that's how," Erza smiled, just a hint of bloodlust in her features "now let's go and find those bandits, I have some tension I need to vent on their sorry carcasses."

"Sounds like a plan to me,"

…

"Uh huh, right, meet you there then."

Lucy placed the phone back on its cradle before turning a beaming smile to Natsu "We're good to go, Erza told us to meet her on the edge of town near the large clock tower."

"Great," the Dragon slayer grinned before heaving himself off the bed, and patting his legs down.

Lucy's features adopted a contemplative gaze, her lips pouting slightly as she considered her friend's current condition "Natsu," she said softly.

"Yeah?" the salmon haired boy was busy stretching, prepping himself for battle.

"Are you sure you're up to fighting?"

Natsu paused in his stretching, his smile disappearing only to be replaced by a serious frown "Luce," he replied quietly "I'm not going to sit this out just because I felt a little off this morning, besides, I haven't felt dizzy or uncomfortable for the past two hours, I'll be fine."

The celestial mage opened her mouth to challenge his claim, but swiftly closed it again, her shoulders deflating as she remembered that it was impossible to argue with the young man once he had put his mind to something "Ok, Natsu, whatever you say."

"Come on Luce, I'm getting all fired up!"

…

The duo ran outside of the town, Lucy giving a bright wave to her friends when Gray and Erza came into view. Natsu merely grinned at them, trying in some small way to dispel the horrible tension that had afflicted his team since the train ride into town.

"All ready to go?" Lucy asked eagerly.

"Indeed," Erza returned with an excited grin "the bandits we're looking for should be on the other side of this ridge."

"Awesome!" Natsu cheered.

Gray merely looked at his friend and rival, a look of hesitant worry underlying his usual cold gaze, however any comments he may have made concerning Natsu's health were forestalled merely because they had been over it with the Dragon slayer tens of times in just the past few hours and the teen still insisted that he was well enough to fight, and if there was one thing Gray knew it was that Natsu was nothing if not stubborn when it came to proving his strength.

And so without another word, the group set off towards the abandoned section of town where only ruins lay in silent repose.

"It's creepy here," Lucy muttered with a shiver as a breeze whistled through the crumbling buildings "let's just find them and get this over with."

"No need to look," Gray smirked "they found us."

Suddenly a large swarm of humanoid creatures with long reptilian tails, scaled skin, and serpentine eyes gathered on the roofs of the ghost town, each looking on their foes with an apathetic gaze. Golden flames licked along their spindly frames, and forked tongues flicked in and out, tasting the air while the tails lashed the air back and forth.

Natsu gave a frustrated huff as he folded muscular arms and pouted "The closest they come to dragons is the flames, and they aren't even eating it…weirdo's."

Lucy rolled her eyes giving her partner a fond smile "It isn't always about food Natsu," she sighed.

"It is when it comes to Dragon slayers," Gray muttered with a wry smirk.

"HEY!" Natsu retorted with an indignant squawk "I care about a lot of stuff more than food!"

"HA!" Gray barked "Prove it!"

Natsu pouted at his rival before giving his head a healthy shake "But it's not just that," he growled "there's something weird about them…they don't smell right."

"Well, there's something weird about you too," Gray muttered with a snarky grin "and you don't smell like a flower yourself,"

"Like you're rosy?" The Dragon slayer sneered "Because trust me when I say that your scent isn't one I enjoy."

Gray bared his teeth in a snarl "Why don't we just settle this with a healthy spar?"

Natsu sent his friend and rival a sneer dripping with disdain before slamming a fist into his open palm "Sounds like a plan," he grinned maliciously turning back to the bandits "after we beat up these jerks."

The ice mage merely returned the smile before popping his neck and rolling his shoulders "Well then, let's get this over with so I can have another excuse to beat you to a bloody pulp."

"Please," Natsu snorted as he ignited his fists into twin balls of flame "like you've ever been able to beat me."

"Oh, for heaven's sake," Lucy groaned unraveling her whip and giving it a flick "when will you two ever stop fighting?"

"Heh," Erza laughed "let them be Lucy, their rage will aid them in the battle ahead."

"Like they need it," the celestial mage sweat dropped "they're both monsters, and you're no exception…"

"GET 'EM!" Erza screamed as she surged forward followed by the boys leaving Lucy in their dust.

"HEY!" the blonde shrieked indignantly as she chased after them "don't just leave me here!"

Gray jumped between two lizard things, his legs flying as he jumped backwards doing a split kick while simultaneously turning the ground to ice with his fingertips, sending the lizards slipping and sliding to the floor.

Landing lightly on his toes, the ice mage smirked as he brought a fist up to his face before slamming his fist into an open palm and yelling "Ice make, arrow barrage!"

Arrows literally grew from the frozen ground like crystal flowers before shooting themselves at the humanoid reptilian creatures, bringing down over a dozen, but Gray frowned when the bodies suddenly disappeared, leaving nothing but scorch marks in the form of the circular magic inscriptions. The Ice mage growled in frustration, turning to address his team.

"I hate to say it," he yelled "but I think Natsu's right, there's something weird about these guys!"

"I told you!" Natsu snarled as he took a deep breath and sucked in some of the fire burning around their enemies and swallowing it whole before blanching "Their fire tastes gross, like it's not even alive, YUCK!"

"What are these guys?!" Lucy screamed as her whip slashed through three at once "they aren't that hard to fight, but there's too many of them!"

Erza's sword flashed in the late afternoon sun, slicing another twenty to ribbons "I think they're golems, living dolls, which means that this is a distraction!"

"Very good, Titania!"

The whole team whirled around to face the mysterious new voice, only to see a man in a black cloak appear at the top of a crumbling building "Who are you?" Erza barked.

"My name is Declan," the man replied throwing back his hood to reveal red hair and tanned skin "I'm a special kind of fire mage that can control fire by shaping it into living dolls."

"You don't control fire," Natsu spat "you change it, and makes it lose its most important quality, it's life! All you have is a watered down version of fire!"

Declan merely smiled and nodded his head "True, I strip fire of all its will and tame it to the point of almost being weak, however it's more than enough to fulfill my goals at the present."

"Which are?" Gray sighed, boredom evident in his tone.

The black cloaked mage merely grinned and put a finger to his lips "It's…a…sec-ret!" he said in a sing song voice.

"That jerk," Natsu growled, lowering his stance and fists bursting into flame.

"At least it is right now," Declan continued with a careless shrug before turning around and yelling over his shoulder "but if you want to find out my secret you'll have to catch me!"

Without another word the man sped off into the woods, leaving the team behind, but Natsu felt inherent rage boil in his heart at the misuse of the fire in the man's hands "Get back here!"

"NATSU!" Lucy cried watching the Dragon slayer race after the new enemy, but neither she nor the others were able to follow him because a veritable flood of lizard golems surrounded them "What, more?!"

"Just beat 'em, and move on," Gray shouted "I don't feel comfortable letting Natsu chase after that guy on his own!"

The team nodded in agreement, and as one attempted to power through the creatures, but to no avail, because for every one that was defeated, two sprang up in its place. The team fought for what felt like ages, seeing no end to the fiery golems, as they fought to rejoin their comrade. Eventually the blue cat had had enough, and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"We have to get to Natsu!"

"Agreed!" Erza nodded giving a staunch battle cry and cutting down over fifty golems, but let out a frustrated growl when they were replaced by double the amount.

"How are we going to defeat these things?!" Gray asked in an exasperated shout.

"A joint attack," Lucy panted, "destroy them all at once and run once the way is clear!"

"GOT IT!" Erza and Gray shouted unanimously.

"Gate of the Lion, I open thee!"

"Ice make, cannon!"

"Heavenly Wheel!"

Suddenly an explosion of massive proportions shook the abandoned town, blinding the mages, and rocking the hillside. Clumps of dirt, and bits of debris rained from the sky, and Lucy cracked open one eye only to release a cry of victory while one hand pumped the air.

"We did it!"

Erza smiled and gave a happy nod to her friend before turning back to Lucy "Now, let's go find Natsu!"

But just as those words were spoken, a shrill scream sounded from the woods, making a flock of birds fly into the sky in panic. Lucy stilled, her heart skipping a beat, and her brown eyes widening with fear as she realized a chilling fact, she recognized that scream.

"Natsu…?" she gasped.

Erza, her eyes equally full of fear turned to her teammates, urgency evident in her barking command "GO!"

"Right!"

The mages shot off into the forest, each worrying about the state they would find their Dragon slayer in, and just what plans a man who could control fire had that concerned their team. And as Lucy ran, she felt her heart thunder in her ears as she began to get a terrible sinking feeling that this was only the beginning.

**Oooh!**

**Ok, so I'm REALLY trying hard not to rush this story, but if I am, let me know.**

**At any rate, please review, and recommend this story to friends. Would love to read more ideas and reviews from others.**

**I appreciate the faithful reviewers who are already commenting, I love you guys! If you have any suggestions, please feel free to post them.**

**See ya!**


	5. The first move made

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

"Get back here you jerk!"

Natsu barreled through the forest, narrowly avoiding the trees as he chased Declan in a dogged single minded pursuit, while the man ran just ahead always out of reach, his black cloak flying behind him in way that was almost mocking to the Dragon Slayer.

The salmon haired youth grit his teeth, giving a growl of frustration as he put on an extra burst of speed, and jumped off a large rock using it as a springboard in order to launch himself from tree to tree as an extra effort to catch the man. Declan merely looked over his shoulder to give Natsu a grin full of satisfied smugness, before he also sped up, eliciting another enraged snarl from the Fire mage.

"Stop running, and fight me!" Natsu shrieked as he leapt high in the air and drew a deep breath "Fire Dragon's ROAR!"

Fire shot out in a powerful blast towards the fleeing man, but Declan turned around skidding while he clapped his hands to create a red shield that absorbed the flames "Sorry, but I don't think that will work for you on me." He smirked as he returned to running.

Natsu's eyes went wide at the fact that the man had made it out without even a singed hair before they narrowed with fury and he dove forward, once again intent on catching the mysterious man "If you don't stop messing with me…!"

"You'll what?" Declan cackled as he dodged a fireball from Natsu "Hit me with another roar? I think we saw how well that turned out!"

"Why you-AUUGH!"

Suddenly the Dragon slayer fell to the ground, giving a pained grunt as he hit the dirt, his arms automatically wrapping themselves around his stomach as he curled into the fetal position and a tortured grimace contorted his features.

Declan stopped in his running, and turned around so to approach the young mage, his own face sporting a large grin of triumph "Right on time," he rumbled.

"Wha-What do you mea-AUUGH!"

Another piercing screamed ripped itself from Natsu's throat as his body stretched out and his back arched as his fingers clawed at the ground pulling up grass and slicing at the dirt. Eventually he collapsed back into the grass, his breathing labored and a ragged hitch at the end of each inhale. Sweat beaded across his forehead as an intense flash of heat that was difficult even for Natsu to endure caused him to whimper in pain, and his body rippled as agony rolled through his frame, causing him to tense.

"What's ha-happening to m-me?" Natsu panted, his eyesight going in and out of focus.

"Oh nothing much," Declan practically purred from his spot where he was standing "just a very special metamorphosis."

"Me-Meta-what?" Natsu asked before giving a sharp gasp.

Declan rolled his eyes before schooling his features with a sickly sweet smile "Metamorphosis, my dear Dragon slayer, metamorphosis. The particulars of what that means we will discuss later, for now though, I will be taking you into my custody but before I can do that I'll have to take some precautions to ensure your cooperation."

Natsu's eyes went wide as the man knelt next to him and reached out to rest his hand on the Dragon slayer's heart "Wha-What are y-you doing?…Stop…n-n-no…!"

But the youth was helpless to resist due to the pain afflicting his frame, and as Declan laid his hand flat against Natsu's chest the teen felt new agony flood his veins.

Ice rushed through his body, freezing his fire and extinguishing his flames. The dragon slayer writhed and bucked, his body convulsing as magic flowed from Declan and absorbed itself into his body "St-STOP!" Natsu cried.

Suddenly a flash of light propelled the man away from the Dragon slayer, sending him flying across the field, Natsu looked down to see his scarf glowing brightly and a relieved smile tinged with pain stretched his mouth "…Thank you…" he panted "…Igneel…"

Flipping himself onto his stomach, the salmon haired youth attempted his escape, dragging himself across the ground in painstaking slowness, his breath becoming ever more labored and ragged as his fingers dug into the ground and trembling arms tried to force his frame to move his body to a place of safety. But another bolt of pain caused him to stop, as another agonized cry forced its way past his lips, and the Dragon slayer felt his strength leaving him like waters gushing from a broken dam.

"Not so fast, runt!" Declan snarled as he stomped over to where Natsu lay and ripped the scarf off of the teen and throwing it far from them.

With one booted foot, the man pushed Natsu onto his back, and once again resumed where he had left off, his hand placed over the youth's heart and his magic flowing into Natsu. The Dragon slayer began to scream, his legs kicking and his fists flying in feeble attempts at punches, but the cold that he had felt before was now suddenly stronger, clouding his brain with a misty fog, and weighing his limbs down making them feel numb and heavy, as if he had spent several hours sitting in the snow.

Declan grinned evilly, pressing his hand harder against the mage's chest, pouring all of his power into the youth "That's it," he snarled "become mine, your magic and your fiery soul, fall under my control."

"No…NO…!" Natsu squirmed, thrashing his head from side to side, but the cold seeped into his very bones making his heart begin to slow and sputter "…Stop…this…"

Seconds ticked by, with Natsu gasping on the ground next to Declan, fighting for every breath until suddenly he felt a snap as his will to live and survive was broken and the ice froze his very soul. A shrill scream of tortured agony split Natsu's mouth wide, and tears filled his eyes as the onyx orbs grew dull, until finally the Dragon slayer lay quiet, the only movement being the feeble trembling in his limbs.

Stepping back Declan searched the area, smirking when he saw no sign of his partner, and drew out a purple rope throwing it towards the fallen teen "_**Bind**_!"

The rope writhed to life, slithering over to its intended victim, until it had wrapped around him binding his arms behind his back and rendering his legs useless. As Natsu slowly fell under the folds of sleep, his heart gave a squeeze for his friends who he knew was looking for him, until finally the Dragon slayer could no longer fight against the darkness creeping into his vision and the last thing he saw was the grin of his captor as he stood over him.

…

Lucy stopped, her heart freezing in her chest at the sound that reached her ears, and her entire body began to tremble "N-Natsu?"

"Don't stop running!" Erza cried as she ran past the celestial mage.

"Right!" Lucy stammered once again picking up her pace.

"Do you really think that could have been Natsu?" Gray asked, his eyes dark with fear.

"I know it was," Lucy nodded, teeth capturing her bottom lip as she struggled not to cry.

"But how?"

Erza and Lucy exchanged looks of sorrowful concern "I don't know," the armored mage finally replied "but for now we need to be focusing on finding him."

"Even though I want to find Natsu," Gray muttered as he ran "I'm not too keen on meeting whatever it is that's able to make him scream like that."

Lucy and Erza fell silent, each nodding in agreement with the Ice mage, but their progress was stopped when another stepped out from the trees, a woman with silver hair, and a black cloak lined with purple feathers.

"Hello all," she drawled.

"Who are you?" Gray yelled, unhappy that they were being waylaid.

"No one you need to be concerned with," the woman shrugged.

Erza let loose a snarl and pointed her sword at the woman "If you hold any measure of wisdom you would do well to move aside and let us pass."

The woman put on a show of pondering their request, one slender finger resting on her lips before she flashed them an impish grin "Nah, I don't think so,"

Gray sneered at her "Trust me lady, you don't want to be in between Fairy Tail mage's and their nakama, because if you're not helping us then you're liable to get hurt."

"Ooh, I'm shaking!" The woman pouted before laughing "Sorry, but if I were to let you go, then the idiot that is my partner might not be able to finish his job and we need that Dragon slayer."

"You," Lucy asked her heart freezing as her eyes widened with horror "You're targeting Natsu?!"

The woman merely smiled and Erza's sword slowly dropped till the point was resting on the ground, her own gaze shocked "This whole thing," she murmured softly "was a set up, a distraction set up so you could fulfill your ultimate purpose."

"Precisely," the silver headed female purred "we couldn't care less about any of you, we just wanted the salamander."

"But…WHY?!"

The woman sighed, casting a look of disgusted pity over to the celestial mage "I don't question the master, all I know is that he specifically wanted the fire dragon slayer, and that I have been promised a reward for my efforts in aiding in his capture."

"But for what purpose?" Erza asked her voice a quiet purr of fury.

The woman shrugged "I reiterate, I don't know, and what I do know I'm certainly not telling you. Now that we've had this lovely chat, I really must be going, _**Secure**_!"

The female mage threw a handful of seeds towards the group, and the team cried out in dismay when the items hit the ground and began to sprout into thick thorny vines, crawling up their bodies and entrapping them.

The woman gave a satisfied giggle before disappearing her voice ringing out among the trees "Ta-ta for now, Fairy Tail!"

Lucy struggled to reach her keys, but her hands were fastened to her sides restricting any movement. Gray suffered a similar difficulty, unable to use his ice make magic, and Erza hissed with pain when one of the thorns pricked her skin causing her eyes to flutter closed as the plant's poison rendered her unconscious.

Gray cried out as a thorn punctured his shoulder "Lucy," he slurred as he fought sleep "…we…need…guild…tell them…"

"No!" Lucy shouted over her friends before she saw one such sharp thorn beginning its descent down to her skin "Happy, get help! GO!"

The blue cat nodded his head, dodging out of the way of vines, before taking off at full speed towards the guild, his eyes filling with tears over his fear for Natsu and the grief of leaving his friends in a dangerous situation.

…..

The woman skipped into the clearing, her face brightening with glee as she saw her partner standing over the bound frame of the salamander "So, you had to use my spell to defeat him after all?" she asked with a smug smile.

Declan merely nodded, a smirk twitching the side of his mouth "Yeah, he wasn't able to put up much of a fight all bound up."

The female mage stepped over to the two her smile turning suspicious "Although," she purred turning narrow lavender eyes to the man "there was an awful lot of screaming for someone who didn't put up a fight."

"The potion we used on him last night kicked in, the metamorphosis has begun," Declan shrugged "besides Minora, how I choose to capture our target shouldn't concern you, as long as we have him, that's all that should matter."

Minora pursed her lips "And nothing else happened here, you bound him, and the potion caused him to fall unconscious?"

"The change is painful, that's why he screamed," Declan sneered "nothing else happened."

Minora sighed, her gut churning with suspicious distrust towards the man, and she felt keenly that he was lying to her but about what she wasn't sure "If you say so," she finally muttered turning to walk away "let's return to our hideout, I'm sure the master has another letter detailing his instructions for what we are supposed to do next waiting for us."

Declan merely smirked as he stooped down and scooped the unconscious Dragon slayer under one arm _'Little does she know,'_ he thought smugly _'that this was only the beginning to the true purpose behind our plans, I just have to pour more of my magic into him, and he will be under my complete control.'_

**And it just continues to get curiouser and curiouser **

**REVIEW please!**


	6. Answers lead to more Questions

**So, things are getting pretty difficult for our favorite mages. Let's see what happens next!**

The guild was in full swing back in Magnolia.

Cana had challenged yet another person to a drinking contest, Gajeel was at his usual table eating scraps of iron while Levy read to him various parts of a book that she was currently using for research and Lily was drinking a large bowl of milk. Master Makarov was alternating between drinking and yelling at his guild, while Wendy was pouting in a corner with Carla over a spell she had yet to master that was giving her some trouble.

The whole entire main area of the guild was a cacophony of voices, clinking glasses and plates, as well as a good deal of rushing about as the various mages came in from, left for, or agonized over missions. It was in the middle of all this chaos that the front door burst open, causing the entire room to fall silent as a blue cat flew through the open portal, tears streaming down his furry cheeks.

"NATSU'S IN TROUBLE!"

"What happened?!" Makarov bellowed his face tight with fear as he leapt to his feet.

"We were on our mission, when these two mages showed up," the blue cat explained "one of them disappeared with Natsu into the forest and the other stayed to fight Erza, Gray, and Lucy."

"Hmph," Laxus scoffed "what's the problem then? It sounds like something they could handle."

"That's just it," Happy moaned shaking his head "after Natsu ran into the woods, we heard him scream, like he was in a lot of pain…I've never heard him scream like that."

Mira Jane gave a small shocked gasp "Is he ok?" she asked urgently.

Happy landed on the bar, his wings disappearing, and his feline features heavy with fatigue "I don't know," he sighed "Erza, Gray, and Lucy were taken down before we could find him."

Gajeel's jaw fell open, scrap metal falling onto his plate with loud clangs, and Wendy's hands flew to her mouth as her eyes filled with tears "They…what?!" the Iron dragon slayer demanded in a soft growl.

"The second mage, a woman, she used these weird seeds to trap them, and the thorns did something to them, they fell unconscious," the cat wailed "We need to get to them NOW!"

Gajeel exchanged a look with Levy before standing up "We're coming with you,"

"And me!" Wendy cried raising her hand.

"Guys," Happy murmured his eyes bright with joy and tearful with relief "thank you!"

"Gihihi!" Gajeel chuckled "Come on runt, let's go rescue flame brain and the bunny girl."

Levy gave a nod "Agreed, though I have to admit I'm surprised that even Erza and Gray were beaten too, that's just too weird."

"No kidding," Panther Lily grunted "anything that can take them out is definitely a force to be reckoned with,"

"Well standing around here talking isn't going to solve anything," Carla sniffed.

"Yes, let's go!" Wendy cheered.

Without another word the group left the guild, their faces grim and set with looks of determination as they began their journey to help their friends and most important of all to rescue their Salamander.

….

Natsu slowly became conscious, his breath coming out as a thin whine of pain as his vision sluggishly came into focus, and the young man drug his arms across the cold stone floor in an attempt to push himself up into a sitting position. His onyx eyes perused the area where he was being held and noticed that his wrists were encased with enchanted irons, and were attached to the wall by long chains. He was located in a dark stone cellar, with only one small window allowing a small amount of light to enter in, and a narrow stairway lead up to a wooden door that was located a good seven feet off the ground.

"Nggh," he groaned softly as he picked himself off the floor, frowning at how much his arms were shaking "Whe-where am I?"

"You're where your friends cannot find you,"

Natsu whirled around at the voice, his head wobbling slightly as dizziness slapped him from the rushed motion "Who…YOU?!"

Declan emerged from the shadows, a grin lighting his features "Nice to see you again, little salamander."

"Why am I here?" Natsu snarled baring his sharp teeth "Why did you capture me?"

The man chuckled "Ah, poor Dragon slayer, so used to being the one who is the strongest in a battle, never the person who is rendered helpless and alone with no way to fight or escape."

Natsu grit his teeth, making them creak from the force, his face a tight snarl "Brave words from a man who has a death wish."

Declan merely smirked "Like a cornered animal you bare your teeth, but you have yet to comprehend just how truly doomed you are."

"HA!" The dragon slayer barked "I'm not the one who should be thinking about my death, _you're_ the one who kidnapped a Fairy Tail mage, my guild will come find me and when they do…you'll find out just what doom really means."

The enemy mage rolled his eyes before sneering at his captive "Assuming they get here in time,"

Natsu's brow furrowed in worried concern, his eyes narrowing with fiery suspicion "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is I have a very special plan for you, one that doesn't include your guild," Declan stated slowly.

"What kind of plan?"

The fire mage merely snickered "Like I'm telling you, at least not for right now anyway."

Natsu released a frustrated snarl laced with anger "TELL ME WHAT I'M DOING HERE!" he bellowed slamming his fist into the stone floor.

"**Restrain**!"

The chains binding Natsu gave a mighty tug, pulling him flat against the wall and growing around him like metal vines until he was completely encapsulated by the steel, his frame nothing more than a writhing mass within the cocoon "Wha-!" the dragon slayer gasped "What did you do to me?"

"Just a Restraining spell that my partner developed to keep you under control," Declan practically purred as he knelt in front of the growling Fairy Tail mage "you see she doesn't have very much magic of her own, and she's pretty useless all on her lonesome."

Natsu merely stayed silent, his mind reeling on the question of just how many people were involved and their motives for taking him, but the fire mage kept on rambling "Actually, she can't even make a simple attack with her magic, because the power level is so weak!" he cackled.

"In fact," Declan continued "the only ability she has to call her own that is even slightly useful, is that while she's not a very strong offensive fighter, she is a master at forging magical items as well as potions. She has a special kind of genius at bending magic to her specific will, crafting items that work as strong as any S-class mage signature attack. Strange isn't it? She hates it about herself, she wants real magic that she can use to become the strongest and stop her reliance on toys and magical brick-a-brack."

The dragon slayer bared his teeth at the man, hatred burning from his every pore "But what does that have to do with why I'm here?"

Declan's eyes widened comically and he slapped a hand over his mouth with mock guilt "Oops, it appears I've said too much, sorry little Salamander, but that's all you get for today."

"Stop messing with my head," Natsu growled menacingly "what is your reasoning behind kidnapping me and holding me hostage?"

"Hmm, wouldn't you like to know?" Declan hummed smugly before reaching forward and tapping the mage's nose with an index finger "Now why don't you be a good boy, and lie down?"

"No," was the steady rebellious reply.

The fire mage snarled with anger, grabbing Natsu by his pink hair and pulling it up viciously, a devilish smirk lighting his features when he heard the hiss of pain come from the teen "I said," he whispered before bellowing into Natsu's ear "DOWN!"

The man's hand began to glow as he once again began to push his power into Natsu, causing the dragon slayer to writhe and buck, his mouth wide as tortured screams poured from his mouth. But the metal encasing him proved more than a match for the boy's thrashing, as it endured the movement, keeping him locked in place.

The screams continued for well over ten minutes, Declan hovering over Natsu his hand burning with yellow light, magic pulsating from the limb and into the young mage's body; until finally the salamander could bear it no more and he slumped into the depths of unconsciousness. Declan sat back, his face bright with the grin of triumph at yet another successful injection of his powers into his captive.

"Just a few more doses," he murmured softly to himself "just a little more time that I will be forced to wait until I get what I want."

….

"THERE THEY ARE!"

Lucy moaned, she could feel the effects of the poison wearing off and the voices of her friends were coming through as if they were screaming under water. She struggled to move within the foliage that was holding her in its grip, but she felt more thorns prick against her, their sharp points threatening to break the skin immediately forcing her to stop her movement. The celestial mage opened her mouth, attempting a cry for help, but the girl could only manage a dull croak from her dry throat.

"Quick, Gajeel," a voice sounding much like Levy cried outside the vines "you get to work on freeing Gray, I'll take care of Erza, and Wendy you take Lucy!"

"Right!" was the echoing cry.

Lucy's lips twitched as a faint smile brightened her features, and closed her eyes with a sigh of relief, waiting for her nakama to rescue her.

"Wing slash of the Wind Dragon!"

Suddenly the vines fell away, each one sliced to ribbons, and the girl fell to her knees a moan of as stiff muscles loosened slipped from her lips. The small wind dragon slayer immediately tackled the young woman, her brown eyes filling with tears as she sobbed into Lucy's shirt.

"You're ok!"

Lucy gave her a warm smile, wrapping her arms tightly around the girl "Wendy, thank God you're here."

"We came as soon as we heard," Levy called as she created the word **Pruning Shears** in the air, resulting in them popping and dropping a sharp pair of shears into her hands with which she began chopping away at the vines surrounding Erza.

Gajeel merely turned his whole upper arm into a sword, and with a few clean swipes, he sliced through the vines, freeing Gray to fall to the ground with a resounding thud and a grunt of pain.

"Whoa…" the ice mage groaned "my head feels like I got hit by Master and Erza…at the same time."

"It's probably the toxins left over from the venom of the plants," Wendy sniffled rubbing away her tears and scrambling over to Gray "how does it feel?"

"I feel how Natsu looks when he's on a train," Gray grumbled before he suddenly winced and silence fell on the group.

"Do-" Lucy began, her voice quiet but her chocolate brown eyes were cast down "do you know…where Natsu is?"

The trio exchanged looks of guilt before Levy gave a sigh, pausing in her furious chopping "I'm sorry Lucy, but we don't know where he is."

The celestial mage turned to the blue cat, unshed tears glistening in the corners of her eyes "Happy?"

The exceed sniffed, his own eyes becoming wet with tears "I'm sorry Lucy, I didn't see him when I flew over the forest."

"Don't worry Lucy," Gray said lowly placing a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder "we will find him."

Lucy took a few deep breaths, before casting determined brown eyes on her friends "You're right, we _will_ find him, and then we'll make those jerks pay for messing with Fairy Tail!"

**So this was the latest chapter! Hope you enjoyed it!**

**REVIEW!**


	7. Cry for help

**Ok guys, I didn't get a chance to write this till now because, well….I DISLOCATED my KNEE.**

**So I'm back! Sorry for the wait for the latest Internal Struggle, and I apologize if it's a tad short! So let's get into the story!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that pertains to Fairy Tail, or its characters.**

Minora walked into the house, noting Declan stretched out on the couch reading the latest Sorcerer magazine "Anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

"Nope," the man replied "all is quiet, the change began again a while back and I had to use your restrain spell to avoid him injuring himself, other than that though it's been kind of boring."

Minora furrowed her eyebrows, sensing something underlying his words that caused mistrust to churn in her stomach "I see, is there any mail?"

Declan shook his head, his focus still on the magazine "I haven't checked, thought I would when you got back."

Any suspicion the girl felt towards her partner dissipated as pleasure coursed through her veins over the fact that he knew how much she truly enjoyed being the one who checked the mail. Not for the mail itself, but for what may lay inside, instructions from their master. She loved being the one to open their mailbox and peer inside, being the one to discover a letter from the person who was the mastermind of their endeavor, it was one thing she went to great lengths protecting, ensuring that she got the job of checking their mail. Practically skipping out to their mailbox, the girl released a squeal of joy when she found the familiar manila envelope, bearing the wax seal of the man who commanded them. Hugging it tightly to her chest, the girl ran back into the house, thrusting it out towards Declan.

"Look!" She gushed "Master sent us more instructions!"

Declan merely smirked, giving her the same gaze one would use when humoring a child "I see that, how wonderful."

Minora simply beamed at the envelope, memorizing every line and detail, running her fingers over the wax seal, only to be rousted from her reverie by her partner in crime.

"Ahem," Declan coughed "so are you going to open it? Or just stare at it?"

"I'M GONNA READ IT!" the girl snarled at her partner before opening the envelope with a huff.

_**My dear Minora,**_

_**I have already heard that you succeeded in your first task at acquiring the fire dragon slayer. Well done, I am proud of you and the progress you have made.**_

_**Now begins the next task, the potion that you created with your unique gifts in forging magical items has already begun its work in the Salamander's body. The changes should begin quickly, and our dreams will be fulfilled.**_

_**Watch over the boy, trust Declan, and I promise that your deepest wish will be given to you.**_

_**Yours truly,**_

_**M.**_

Minora gave a wide smile to Declan, gently handing him the letter "The master is pleased with our work; we have been given the ok to start the next phase of the plan."

Declan looked over the letter quickly before handing it back "We have already given the kid the potion, and we've seen the affects, so what do we do now?"

"I guess we just monitor the changes," the young woman shrugged "and then once it's complete we'll receive a letter detailing master's instructions for what we're supposed to do next."

The man nodded his head, giving a small smile to his partner "Trust me, it's going well, we should see some visible differences within the next few hours."

…..

Lucy sighed, Erza had finally been freed, and now they were all hiking through the woods looking for clues as to Natsu's whereabouts. Her calves hurt, and her feet ached, but the blonde didn't want to stop looking in the hopes of finding her partner faster. Jerking her chin up, and straightening her shoulders, the celestial mage grit her teeth against the pain radiating in her muscles, and instead focused forward. There would be plenty of time to nurse bruises and blisters later, but for now they needed to find their Salamander.

"NATSU!" Happy screamed, his eyes wide with panic as tears threatened to spill over onto the blue fur "Natsu! Where are you?!"

"He's not here," Erza sighed, "the best we can do is look for traces that might lead us to him."

Grey nodded his head, his lips pursing in careful contemplation "His scream was close, but not close enough to be in this area," the ice mage called "let's try a little further up!"

"Right!" Gajeel and Levy shouted, already darting forward, their keen eyes missing not even the smallest detail.

Carla, Lilly, and Happy flew overhead, their heads darting to and fro as they searched until suddenly the black cat pointed his finger with a bellowed "OVER THERE!"

The group surged as one towards the spot, breaking through the trees into another smaller meadow, only to finds evidence of a fight, Erza knelt to the ground, running her fingers through a long drag mark. "They were here," she intoned solemnly.

Lucy's head swung back and forth so fast, Grey was worried she would give herself a severe case of whiplash, before finally the chocolate brown eyes widened as she sprinted forward with a scream "Natsu!"

She saw a log laying on the ground, with one end of a familiar scarf flung across it, and her heart threatened to beat out of her chest as her hopes shot for the stars that she might find her friend and partner. Falling to her knees, the girl hit the ground hard enough to cause her legs to bleed, but she didn't feel the scratches nor did the girl even notice them, so intent was she on finding the salamander. However disappointment broke her heart and shattered it into a million jagged shards, each one piercing her soul with a renewed agony only found in loss. For the scarf she was so exultant to find was not attached to Natsu, but merely left on the ground, abandoned by its master.

Lucy scooped up the scarf in trembling hands, her tears coming in an overwhelming flood, streaming past her cheeks and dripping onto her blouse "N-Natsu," the blonde wept as she hugged the article of clothing like it was a lifeline "N-N-Natsu…what happened to you?"

The team pulled up short of the scene, each one casting their eyes to the ground as grief swept through their very souls, and once again the same question resonated with each of them; _where was their salamander_?

…..

Natsu gasped for air where he lay in the cellar that his captors had deposited him in.

His body felt incredibly hot, and his muscles ached, which was certainly a new experience for the Dragon Slayer. He had never felt discomfort when it came to heat, but now the boy actually found himself wishing for something that would cool him down and end his torture. His breath was coming in short labored gasps, accented by the slight wheeze at the end of each exhale, and Natsu shuddered as a wave of agony rippled through his frame.

Sweat dripped down off a strand of hair, plopping onto the smooth skin of his cheek, and sliding down to his jaw, and the teen could only squirm as horrible nausea laced with the spiked edge of whatever was slicing his stomach into ribbons caused him to once again curl into the fetal position a small whimper echoing into the cellar.

He had been released from the Restrain spell, and now he had some relative freedom to stretch his arms and legs, not that he could at the moment though. No, the mysterious pain that had laid him low on the train and back at Lucy's apartment had returned full force, making the boy choke and cough as he struggled to bring air into his suffering lungs.

His vision blurred and swayed as he fought to raise his head from off the stone floor, but crashed back down with a pained whine when his suffering increased tenfold. His frame scrunched up even tighter, and the Dragon Slayer felt hot tears leak from his eyes as it reached unbearable heights. Sharp teeth biting his bottom lip, Natsu felt a choked sob rip from his throat, and he buried his face further into floor feeling the rough concrete scrape the skin of his nose.

He clenched his eyes shut, doing battle with the urge to cry at his current situation, but be it said that Natsu Dragneel was not a crier. However he seemed to be losing that battle in spectacular fashion, because despite his best efforts, the tears were coming accompanied by heart wrenching sobs that jerked his body in convulsing waves.

He wanted to know where his friends were, he wanted them to find him and rescue him, but most of all he wanted this strange agony that felt like it was twisting his insides with a fork to stop. Natsu had no idea what was going on, he knew he had been ill since the day before, and that it had worsened on the train, but he had hoped it was just a weird case of food poisoning. But with his captor Declan telling him that he was necessary for some plan, that they had done something to him, and after all that was pouring some strange magic into his body that almost hurt worse than he did now, Natsu was officially done.

The Dragon Slayer wasn't one for seeking comfort from others, despite his goofy nature the teen was pretty much a loner when it came to him feeling pain, but at this point he was more than ready to get busted out of there so he could find the closest blanket and smother away the agony. Natsu sighed dreamily, though his face was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, a nice blanket, Lucy's bed, a roaring fire in the fireplace and the softest pillow; that's what he wanted right now. Another stab of pain quickly erased that daydream, causing the fire mage to give a low moan, and the chains rattled as another fierce wave of trembling set his limbs in motion.

"Guys," Natsu gasped "get here quick, I need you."

…

Wendy and Gajeel straightened up, their faces solemn as they exchanged looks of fear and concern "Did you feel that?"

The group paused, turning to face the Dragon Slayers at the question said in unison and Erza stepped up "Feel what?"

Iron and Air faced their guild mates before each doing their own shrug "Sometimes we feel things," Wendy replied shyly "especially about other Dragon Slayers."

"Is it Natsu?!" Lucy yelled, now wearing the Dragon scale scarf, before rushing forward to fall on the ground and grab the small girl's hands "Was it?!"

Wendy sighed, opening her mouth and closing it as if she couldn't find the words, before casting a longing glance at Gajeel making the young man sigh "We think so," he growled.

"Then what did you…feel?" Grey asked his voice uneasy and hesitant.

Gajeel paused, giving a heavy swallow before answering the Ice mage's question "Nothing good."

Wendy felt tears press into the corners of her eyes, and she cast her dark gaze up to Lucy "Natsu's in trouble," she wept quietly "I don't know what's going on, but he's in a lot of pain."

Grey, Erza, and Lucy drew in hissed breaths of horror and the celestial mage bit her lips as she desperately tried to quell the cries that were crawling up her throat "Is there any way we can find him?" she asked quietly.

"Maybe," Levy chewed on her thumb's knuckle before finishing her sentence "Natsu's scarf has absorbed a lot of his magic energy, if we can get it back to the guild, I can find a book containing a locator spell that will use the scarf to pinpoint his exact location."

The team looked at each other, each of their faces mirroring the same question, but finding it didn't even need to be asked. Each giving a firm nod, they set their backs to the setting sun, and looked towards their Guild Hall.


	8. Let the Games Begin

**So I am still stuck in my leg cast, however I am starting physical therapy in about three weeks, which makes me extremely happy.**

**Warning: This chapter will get a tad gory, because we will see what Declan and Minora have planned for Natsu. So if you are squeamish, skip over it or just don't read the chapter.**

Natsu hunched over, his legs curling into himself as he twisted into the fetal position, and a tormented whimper crept between his lips.

The pain had somehow grown impossibly worse, and the Dragon slayer had long abandoned all pretenses of not feeling any of it. Natsu hated himself for it too, despised the fact that he could no longer even manage a weak façade at well being, but now was only capable of pathetic mewling as each new wave of agony stole his breath and caused him to scrunch further into an even tighter ball in an attempt to ward off the hurt spearing through him. A sharp spike shot up his spine, causing the pinkette's back to arch and a hiss broke the silence of the basement, tears dripped down his face as another bolt slashed through his skull causing muscular hands to cradle his head. The torture continued to build to incomprehensible levels, and Natsu writhed on the floor, his movements accompanied by the sound of screaming that the Dragon Slayer eventually realized was his own.

The sound of the cellar door opening caused Natsu to squint up at the only exit from his own personal torment, only to see Declan and Minora creeping down the stairs "He appears to be right on the brink," Declan murmured smugly.

"How long do we have to wait until his transformation is complete?" Minora whispered softly, her eyes gleaming with excitement and bloodlust.

"Not long," Declan shook his head gently "in fact I would say it is the perfect time to transport him to the site so he doesn't destroy our hideout."

"Agreed,"

The two descended on the squirming form of the salmon haired youth, but not before Minora once again cast the Restrain spell on him. Natsu groaned miserably as he was carried up the stairs, and out of the house into a field not far behind the dwelling, only to be secured down to the ground by even yet more enchanted chains created for the sole purpose of confining him. A metal collar bit into his neck with chains attached on either side, while the cuffs surrounding his wrists were firmly pounded into the ground with stakes.

"_**Release**_," Minora declared with a sharp wave of her hand.

Declan quickly walked around Natsu, spilling sparkling white sand in a wide circle while whispering a mystic cant before connecting the two ends resulting in a loud boom of thunder and a shimmering blue force field rose in a graceful arc and forming a shimmering bubble. The Dragon Slayer lay on the grass, his chest heaving in labored gasps, and a rope of dread began to knot up in his stomach, twisting it in nauseating crimps and bunches.

"Wha-What," he rasped "what are y-you doing…to me?"

Declan merely smirked before turning to Minora "Think we should tell him?"

"I don't think it should prove to be a problem," the woman shrugged "in the next few hours he won't even remember he was ever human."

Natsu felt his eyes shoot wide and he whirled his head around to face Declan, the question unspoken on his lips, but raging in his eyes about what she meant and Declan could only chuckle.

"We snuck a special potion into your system a couple days ago, I'm sure you remember waking up that morning feeling sick," at Natsu's nod, the man continued his explanation "basically the plan is to bring out the Dragon magic residing within you, and change you into a dragon erasing all that makes you human and use you for our own devices to conquer all of Fiore."

"WHAT?!" The Dragon slayer felt his heart break even as anger surged through his veins "That's insane!"

"Maybe," the man shrugged "but once we have Fiore in our hands, the question concerning my mental stability won't matter much."

"Don't forget my part of the plan," Minora pouted "what I was promised."

"Of course my dear," Declan smiled gently "after Fiore is bowing at our feet, you get to have the dragon's heart in order to gain natural magic, the kind that doesn't require magical items."

Fear clenched that very organ within Natsu, and the boy shrunk away from his captors, the labored breaths speeding up as panic took over "Wh-Why?!" he wheezed.

"Because we desire power," Minora sneered "and if I can get power by sacrificing the life of a mage who uses magic that isn't even needed anymore, then so be it!"

Natsu opened his mouth to shoot back a retort but a bolt of lightning sliced through his body, causing it to tense up as his back arched and a scream shook the surrounding area. The Dragon slayer fell back into the grass, panting as the uncomfortable heat returned and he barely suppressed a groan as his eyes drifted closed. Declan turned to Minora, a smirk quirking one side of his mouth.

"You might want to leave because once this gets started, it's going to get bloody."

Minora's features turned a slight shade of green before she faced her partner and slapped a leather collar into his hand "This will ensure his obedience, just make sure you attach it before he gets too big and is capable of killing you."

"Of course,"

With that the female left the two mages in the field, wandering back to the hideout they had shared, and Natsu loosed a snarl at his abductor "How can you do this, don't you even have the smallest shred of decency?"

"Maybe not according to you," Declan shrugged "but I've waited too long and worked too hard not to get what I want, and whether you like it or not, our plan is well on its way to success."

Natsu writhed and bucked, new agony tearing him apart from the inside, and the Dragon slayer released another tortured scream.

Spikes stabbed at his skull, and the boy thrashed his head from side to side, his pained cries growing in volume. Declan merely sat on a nearby tree stump, one hand cupping his mouth as he yelled "Don't fight against it Dragon slayer, it's going to happen one way or another, might as well not make worse for yourself."

Natsu sent a savage snarl at the man, but it was quickly cut off in a yelp.

He could feel his insides boiling with unrestrained magical energy, and his bones were melting into hot wax shifting to form something completely different. Natsu clenched his teeth, choking on his own air, his chest and spine burning like they were dipped in magma. Rolling onto his side, the youth growled deep in his throat as his back muscles began to ache and it felt like a knife sliced into his head.

Something was growing there, Natsu wasn't sure what it was, but he could feel two points on his skull beginning to grow hot, searing the skin and punching him hard with vertigo. Digging his forehead into the cool dirt, the Fire mage grit his teeth, struggling to swallow the sobbing wail that wanted to wrench itself from his jaws. Hot trails of burning liquid that Natsu vaguely identified as blood trickled down his face, and the boy howled when twin shards of bone split his skin and formed horns framing his skull. Natsu picked himself up till he was on his knees and lifted his head, only to slam it back down into the grass, trying in a twisted effort to drive away the misery, but unfortunately it had only begun.

Hunched over in a trembling ball, Natsu whimpered softly when he felt the muscles in his back begin to roil and shift, and his shoulders tensed as he braced himself for what was coming. Bones that had not existed before grew, extending from his shoulder blades, causing a grotesque bulge under his skin making Natsu convulse, his back straightening as he stretched up pulling at his chains testing their limits as choked sobs were caught behind a clenched jaw and teeth that were bared at the sky. Falling to the ground and rolling onto his stomach as far as he was able despite being hampered by his bonds, the youth felt the anomalies continue to grow until two leathery wings stained crimson ripped themselves from his back spraying blood and bits of muscle all across the field. Natsu dug his nails, which were quickly shifting into claws, into the ground as he shrieked into the grass.

Slowly his consciousness began to slip, and the sounds of his screaming along with all other sound faded away almost as if he had dove underwater, and darkness ate away at the edges of his vision. Natsu was barely able to comprehend his spine lengthening and the rip his pants gave when a tail grew and began to lash furiously at the air behind him, and his eyes grew dull as he slipped into a semi catatonic state. Shock overtook his limbs, and suddenly he felt as though he was doused in ice water as he quivered, his body shaking with not only the trembling settling into his frame but also the force of the uncontrollable weeping that sent tears scorching down his cheeks.

And as he watched Declan loom overhead with the leather collar in hand, Natsu could only close his eyes, sharp teeth biting his bottom lip, and send a prayer to the heavens _"Please,"_ he gasped his face twisted from the raw emotion tearing its way from his heart _"someone…anyone…FIND ME!"_

…

Levy pursed her lips in careful thought, one hand idly swatting Gajeel away as he hovered over her shoulder. Honestly, she was flattered that a muscle head like the Iron mage was so fascinated with her brand of magic, but having someone buzz around you while you were trying to concentrate was the thing she found least motivating. Right now she was using her Gale Force reading glasses, eyewear that allowed its user to read like the wind and devour entire books in scant minutes, to scrounge her personal library for any information concerning a certain locator spell.

Giving a frustrated growl, the small blue haired girl faced the object of her irritation and pointed in the direction of the doors "Gajeel, I need you to go find Lucy and tell her to go to Magnolia's public library researching any and all spells allocated to tracking magical signatures and pinpointing their locations!"

"Right!"

Levy watched the muscular man leave with a fond smile, and shook her head gently. To anyone else Gajeel was rude, brusque, and more than usually obnoxious. His metal studded features accompanied by his hulking frame only added to the intimidating persona, granting him the reputation of the 'scary guy' of the guild. But to her, he was tender and sweet, gentle to the point of almost annoyance. If she so much as stubbed her toe he was there threatening death to the offending table leg. Levy fought back a giggle at the image, but quickly composed herself as she grabbed another book and flipped through it, the magical glasses allowing her to read the lengthy tome with perfect clarity in under five seconds. She needed to find Natsu, that was their priority right now, and she couldn't allow any distractions, no matter how cute and misunderstood they might be, get in the way of that goal.

Giving an endearing pout, the girl ran down the hall of books, her keen eyes watching the labeled signs declaring the section and category of each bookcase, before skidding to a stop. Brain whirling with the knowledge one can only gain by having intimate knowledge of every shelf, Levy remembered one particular book that she had forgotten about but had read years before.

Grabbing a ladder, she built up momentum and jumped onto the first step, riding it to her desired destination, and sliding to a stop right at the perfect spot. Reaching up, the bluenette braced her arms on the rungs of the ladder, leaning her head on the smooth wood as she flipped through the book, heart thundering in her chest as brown eyes widened in delighted surprise. Sliding down the ladder and landing on the floor with a loud clomp, the girl ran out the door of her library, waving the book in her right hand, a cry of triumph echoing down the halls of the guild.

"I found it, I know how to find Natsu!"

**So how was that my pretties? Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and let me know what you think!**

**Now…REVIEW!**


	9. The Beginning of the End

**Welcome back guys to Internal Struggle!**

**As a small disclaimer, I'm sorry for taking so long, I just recently moved back to America from Ireland due to my knee injury as well as other reasons, and it's been pretty hectic just getting back on my feet here.**

**Hope you enjoy this installment!**

"Wakey, wakey sunshine,"

Natsu slowly wrenched his eyes open, the onyx orbs glaring blearily up at the distorted figure of the man standing over him "Let…me…go…" he wheezed before his gaze widened in shock.

His voice sounded…different, it was deeper and more gravelly.

The youth brought a hand up to massage his throat only to wince when he felt instead of fingers he had razor sharp claws, and beneath the pads he felt the skin of his neck was covered in soft serpentine scales. Pushing himself up on shaky legs, the dragon slayer whirled his head around to look over his shoulder only for his jaw to drop and a gasp of horror slip from his lips. He had been transformed into a dragon. Although smaller than most, probably due to still being a teenager, he was still at least half the size of a full grown Dragon. Pink scales adorned his underbelly while his back and wings were dark red.

"No…" Natsu breathed, his frame trembling as an icy fear clenched his heart "This can't be happening..."

"What little dragon slayer," Declan smirked "thought your friends would rescue you before it got to this point?"

Natsu spun to face his captor, the chains rattling as he strained against them, his lips curling back to reveal two rows of glittering fangs and a guttural snarl rumbled in the base of his throat even as a traitorous part of his mind was attacked by a cold despair over his friends being so late in their recue "They're coming," the new dragon growled "and believe me, you will pay for messing with the guild by taking one of us captive!"

"Ha!" The other fire mage barked "That's the beauty of it though, because even if they do manage to come, I can guarantee that they will be powerless to stop me. We're long past the point of no return, and there is nothing they can do."

Natsu felt his heart give a stutter as stark terror caused it to jump "…Why…?" he felt his voice crack but quickly regained his composure as he forced a strong façade back onto his dragon features "What could possibly be so bad that the strongest guild in Fiore can't handle it?"

"Put quite simply," Declan smiled "you are."

Natsu jerked back a renewed sneer baring his teeth "I already knew you were insane," he muttered piercing his captor with glittering onyx eyes "but you're just plain stupid if you think that I'm going to turn against my guild."

"Trust me, you won't have any opinion in the matter,"

Dread curled itself in many heavy knots weighing down his stomach, burning it and making anxiety to buzz in the back of his head and the dragon shook his head violently as sudden fury surged through his veins "What are you talking about?!" he bellowed.

"You once commented on how my fire tasted disgusting," Declan answered his face never losing its serene calm "do you remember why?"

"Yeah," Natsu hissed "It tasted like it lost its life, it was still fire, but almost like a pale shadow of what fire originally is supposed to be."

"Exactly," Declan nodded "I can control fire but at a cost, you see I'm not as talented or strong as you due to the fact that I can't really create my own fire. I can only take a preexisting flame, and subjugate it to my will, but in doing so I destroy the inner spark within that flame. I destroy its will, its hunger the thing that makes fire powerful and untamable. True it makes the flame weaker, but it is mine to control."

Natsu could hear his heart thundering in his ears, and suddenly he felt the world begin to slip as he fought the urge to collapse to the ground in shock "…And what," he whispered in a hushed tone that clearly betrayed his wish to avoid the question completely "does this have to do with me?"

"Everything," Declan replied in his own whisper before cracking a grin and spreading his arms wide like a showman in the center ring "This," he cried enthusiastically "is my ultimate triumph. I will use my power to break your will and then I will have complete control over the only living dragon in existence, which will be more than enough to take over Fiore."

"My guild has three other Dragon slayers besides me," Natsu spat savagely "you're outnumbered even with a dragon!"

"Yeah," Declan drawled "three dragon slayers who were incapable of defeating even one dragon during the Celestial Gate crisis, somehow I don't feel too worried."

Natsu gripped the grass with his claws, feeling them sink into the soil as intense anger burned through his heart but his captor was not aware of this as he began to advance on his prisoner, one hand stretching out towards Natsu. The dragon thrashed his head from side to side, his muscles bulging as he struggled against his restraints, fighting to gain freedom from his bonds but to no avail as Declan placed his palm over the dragon's heart and once again focused on pouring his energy into Natsu's body making the animal to give a high pitched screech in pain.

The fairy tail mage turned dragon lashed his tail, pulling and tugging against the collar and chains pinning him to the ground as the all too familiar feeling of ice dousing his inner flame once again crept into his soul "NO!" he screamed "I won't let you!"

Declan merely smirked "Too late, for you it is far too late to fight against inevitability."

The serpentine eyes were flung wide as an agonized howl was directed towards the darkening twilight, feeling like his captor was reaching into his chest cavity wrapping an ice cold fist around his heart and squeezing it hard. His soul was being ripped out, everything that made him who he was shattered into thousands of irreparable jagged pieces, and his fire smothered by a mountain of snow. Natsu had always hated the cold, hated how it doused even the fiercest flame, and now he was discovering a new deeper level of loathing for the cold as icy chain wrapped themselves around his inner fire, tightening around it until it was barely more than a spark. Natsu panted as a strangled cry of torment caught in his throat, accompanied by tears welling up in the corners of his vision.

Declan felt the last walls barring him from control of the beast give way and with one final push, the man gave a malicious grin as he heard the audible snap of Natsu's will breaking followed by a horrible animalistic scream leaving the dragon falling into the grass as a lifeless heap, no traces of Natsu Dragneel left within its dark gaze.

Stepping around the fallen form of the dragon Declan lifted his chin with a confident smirk "Get up," he commanded.

The beast heaved itself up onto its claws, wings folded regally at its sides, flanks heaving as it drew in long breaths into its lungs "Good," the mage purred as he released it from its chains but keeping the collar firmly in place all before climbing onto the dragon to straddle its neck "now, let's get to work on conquering Fiore, shall we?"

"Declan!"

The mage turned from where he sat, facing the awed features of his partner in crime "Ah, Minora," he sneered "I had hoped you would stay in the safety of our little lair somewhat longer but I see I was wrong."

"What are you doing?" Minora spluttered running from side to side as she struggled to find a way up the side of the beast.

"Simple," Declan shrugged "I'm preparing to conquer Fiore,"

"But why does it look like you're about to leave without me…" the female queried "I mean, you work for me, I was the one who received a letter from the Master first, and then hired you!"

"No, you followed the instructions in the letter to find me and hire me, as per the master's instructions," Declan smirked "but the thing that you don't realize is…_I'm_ the master."

"Y-You…?!" Minora gasped her eyes widening "But…but…all those letters?!"

"Oh please," Declan snarled "you honestly think it isn't the easiest thing in the world to mail a letter from an alternate address? Not to mention you were so gullible, and so desperate to consume the heart of a dragon all in the hopes of getting a natural source of real magic, you fell for my ruse hook, line and sinker."

"But…why me…?"

"Because I needed you to turn Natsu into a dragon," Declan spoke slowly almost as if he were speaking to a child "my brand of magic lets me take control and subjugate anything that is made of fire, that's why the _'master'_ insisted that we take Natsu, because if we had turned any of the other Dragon slayers into their…more scaly selves I wouldn't have the ability to break their wills and take control. But I can't do that without a specific type of magical item or potion to accomplish the initial transformation, and I had to make sure you wouldn't sabotage the plan by teasing you with your heart's deepest desire."

Minora grit her teeth so hard they creaked from the sheer force "You never planned on giving me a dragon heart, did you?"

Declan gave a sound caught between an aggravated groan and a sigh "Of course not you twit," he growled "you've wasted all this time that you'd spent moping and wallowing in your wretched self-pity, when you already held the ability to gain real magic. You could have gone out and turned a Dragon Slayer into a dragon, a job so simple a child could do it, and killed them after they fell unconscious from the transformation. Why reward ineptitude?"

"Declan…you…TRAITOR!" Minora screamed chest heaving with betrayal and fury.

"No my dear, not a traitor," the mage merely smiled "for how can one betray a tool?"

Kicking the dragon with his heels Declan barked out "Fly, we're going to Magnolia to destroy the Fairy Tail Guild. And then we're going to the capital!"

Minora watched what she knew to be an invincible duo flew off into the darkening sky, and as angry tears streamed down her cheeks she clenched her fists and shrieked "DECLAN!"

…

"Are you sure that this will help us find him?" Lucy asked hesitantly.

"Totally sure!" Levy replied cheerfully as she finished drawing the diagram on the table in the Guild common room.

Their fellow mages gathered around, each of their faces wreathed with both concern and anticipation "So how will this work?" Gajeel rumbled.

"We put Natsu's scarf in the middle of the diagram," Levy answered setting said article into the center and taking a seat "then we speak the incantation for the locator spell!"

Erza nodded "Then let's get this started,"

The script mage closed her eyes and began to speak an ancient tongue that sounded like it had no components of any known language, neither verb nor vowel, but was the rumblings of the very earth itself. The diagram glowed a bright yellow as the scarf lifted off the table, levitating a foot or so off the table, as golden glitter fluctuated in and around the piece of clothing swirling in an unseen cyclone of wind.

Lucy tensed, capturing her bottom lip between ivory teeth but her tension melted away when she felt Wendy's diminutive hand slip into hers and give it a gentle squeeze "Everything's going to be fine," the small dragon slayer whispered.

True to her words, the runes gave a bright red flash as fire erupted around the diagram's edges and the guild gasped as a large three dimensional map appeared in the air and Levy devoured the image with her eyes, decoding the images to discern their meanings.

"So," Grey murmured "where is he?"

"I can't believe it," Levy breathed, glasses slipping down her nose as her eyes widened considerably "Natsu…he's on the move…at incredibly high speeds."

"To where?" Makarov demanded.

Levy turned to face their old master "He's heading…here,"

**Sorry for the incredibly long time in between updates, let me know what you guys think of this latest chapter!**


	10. What can we do?

**So here we are back with Internal Struggle, let's see what's happening with our story, huh?**

Agony, that's what Natsu was aware of.

At first the only thing he could see was pitch black. All was darkness around him, and the dragon slayer was almost able to lose himself in it, to allow the endless night to consume him and somehow ebb away the stabbing throb tormenting his body. But it didn't work, even through the fog surrounding him, the pain pierced through causing a strangled cry to rip its way from his throat.

Heaving what felt like ten tons, Natsu struggled to open his eyes, waiting as the blurred images slowly came into a bleary focus.

"Magnolia?" he questioned.

Trembling arms braced themselves against the warm concrete of the sidewalk he was lying on, and struggled to push himself up to a sitting position, and he turned his head from side to side in slowed pained movements.

The streets were empty, which was more than slightly odd considering it was late afternoon and one of the busiest times in the city for the markets, and the salmon haired youth opened his mouth to yell for his guild but only a dry croak echoed through his vocal chords. Clearing his throat, Natsu swallowed a couple times before once again calling.

"Luce? Erza? Grey?"

Nothing, his voice bounced off the buildings as it drifted down the vacated streets and alleyways. His legs wobbled as he clambered to his feet, and began to stumble forward towards the direction of his Hall. Panic fluttered in his chest as he cast his eyes every which way, but still found no evidence of life, not even a paper fluttering in the breeze. Clothes lines hung empty, the fountains were dry, and doors lay open showing unoccupied houses completely devoid of furniture or memorabilia that represented the families that ought to live there.

"Gajeel?" Natsu called "Wendy? Master? _Anyone_?!"

But silence remained his constant companion.

Despite the pain, the dragon slayer sprinted towards his Guild, his breath coming in short ragged pants as sandaled feet hit the ground in rhythmic stomps. Skidding to a stop in front of the main gate, he burst through the doors, voicing an anxious shriek that echoed through the rafters.

"Is anybody here?!"

The guild was equally empty, the tables missing, and the bar no longer laden with the copious amount of food and drink normally adorning its shelves. Tears welled up in the youth's eyes, and fists clenched at his sides tight enough to draw blood.

"_SOMEBODY ANSWER ME_!" he screamed hot tears staining the wooden floorboards beneath him.

Falling to his knees, Natsu gripped his shoulders as uncontrollable tremors shook his muscular frame. Feelings he had long forgotten, ones he had buried deep within his heart so he would never be forced to endure them again, overwhelmed his already wildly beating heart. When he was a child, he had wandered around forgotten and abandoned, the isolation had ripped a jagged wound across his soul making the boy fear that he would be abandoned by everyone in his life. Then he had found Fairy Tail, and they had taken the broken child in, healing him in ways that few others could. They accepted his eccentricities, encouraged him and disciplined him to grow into the caring man that he was, and they were his family in every way except blood.

But now? Now Natsu was alone again, abandoned by guild, abandoned by his city, he was alone in the world completely and utterly isolated without a single soul to comfort him.

"No," he quavered "this isn't happening…they wouldn't leave….they wouldn't leave…!"

"_**But they have left you little dragon slayer, you're all alone…and you always will be**_"

Natsu whirled around to face the voice, water still flowing down his cheeks in despairing rivulets "Who's there?!"

Then stepping out of the shadows, a golem made of dark flame whose features were an exact copy of Declan smirked at the young man _**"Just me…"**_

"You…" Natsu snarled "What did you do to the city? To my Guild?!"

The golem shrugged _**"Nothing, this is simply your inner court, or put more simply…your mind. I have to admit this is new to me as well, when I took control of fire before it was simply like lighting a match, but you…you have a soul and a consciousness. Simply taking control of your body is not enough if I wish to ensure complete obedience, no I need to bring your entire psyche under subjection."**_

Relief rushed through Natsu as he stood, his guild hadn't abandoned him, he was merely shoved into his mind which would make sense considering he was human and no longer a dragon "Then that means I still have a chance to beat you and take my body back?" he stated with a fiery grin.

"_**A chance," **_The golem nodded _**"but to be honest, the odds are not in your favor."**_

"What's that supposed to mean you sneaky jerk?!"

Before Natsu even finished uttering that fateful question, hundreds of more golems streamed from the shadows, surrounding him in endless waves of malicious intent. The Dragon slayer merely shrugged "You think that making more of your disgusting face will help you? Let's see you try and face my Dragon fire!"

With screaming battle cry, the youth clenched his fists and pumped them in the usual manner he used when igniting his flames, but instead of the comforting warmth he was used to as fire licked around his skin, Natsu was shocked to see that his hands lay barren of magic. Not even the smallest spark was at his disposal "What?" he murmured as his world tilted in shock.

"_**HA!"**_ The golem barked out a laugh pointing a mocking finger at his prey _**"Have you forgotten? How can you fight me with fire I CONTROL?! You're powerless dragon slayer, absolutely useless, and now you will learn how it feels to be completely alone without even your magic to save you!"**_

"No, no, nonononoNO!" Natsu begged as he shook his fists staring at them with eyes rapidly growing in both shock and horrified terror "Please light, please, please, PLEASE light!"

Nothing, and as one the golems advanced on the panicked youth, easily using his dismay to overpower him and drown him in darkness yet again. Like a teleportation spell, they drug him into the shadows, through the floor, and into the lowest part of the Guild into a dungeon that Natsu wasn't even sure existed in real life. Raising their hands they flung icicles at him, effectively pinning him to the wall. One through his right shoulder, several pinned his arms and legs, while one stuck in the center of his abdomen. Blood dripped down the wall to pool on the floor and the teen could only release a sobbed moan as he strained against the cold ice piercing his body.

"_**You are mine Dragon Slayer,"**_ the first golem whispered _**"even if you were to somehow miraculously be rescued by your friends and changed back to a human, I own you…body and soul."**_

A shiver slunk down Natsu's spine as the freezing temperature intensified as water began to drip through the cracks in the stone ceiling, plopping onto the pinned mage sliding down his hair and skin. Tears joined the rain, and as the youth gave one last heart wrenching sob of despair, the golem merely smiled and threw one last icicle.

Straight through his heart.

…..

Lucy and the rest of the guild raced out of the Hall, only to stop short as their eyes widened in horror "No…way…" Lucy gasped in a shuddering breath "Natsu…"

"Th-that…can't be him…can it?"

Grey's whispered plea only made the trembling currently afflicting the celestial mage's frame worsen and she found herself driven to her knees as sobs wracked her in violent convulsions "It's him," she wept "who else could it be?"

The guild merely stared in shock into the twilight as a red dragon beat its way across the stars, a lone figure of a man astride its shoulders, coming closer and closer to their home "What do we do?"

Erza, always the pragmatist, even she sounded at a loss for words as her keen warrior's brain quickly calculated the impending battle that would surely ensue with their approaching enemy. Grey shivered, despite being immune to the cold, there was something horribly sickening with the fact that they were being forced to face one of their own in what could possibly be deadly or even fatal combat.

"What _can_ we do?" the ice mage muttered miserably.

Silence reigned and the fairy's felt stark bitter hopelessness begin to gnaw at their insides until the voice of Makarov interrupted the negative miasma building among the ranks "We do what we always do," he growled with a firm nod brimming with determined vengeance "we stick together!"

Turning to face Erza the aged master pointed in her direction "Erza, I want you, Grey, Juvia and Lucy to find a way to remove that man from Natsu's back."

"Right!" the group said in a shouted affirmation of their orders.

"Gajeel," Makarov once again turned "I want you, Levy, and Lisanna to be ground crew plus basic defense. I want you backing up our air team. Once the mage has been knocked out, you will restrain him and ensure he is properly bound."

"RIGHT!"

"Laxus, I will have you, Mira, Evergreen and Wendy to be aircrew. Your job will be to bring down Natsu without hurting him!"

"Of course!" Laxus replied with a nod.

"Then what are you brats waiting for?!" Makarov shouted "Let's get our Salamander back!"

"YOSH!"

"WAIT!"

The group stopped, and slowly turned at the strange voice, finding themselves facing a young woman with white hair and a black cape lined with purple feathers. Lucy felt her eyes grow wide and she rushed forward to land a solid punch to the girl's face, causing the stranger to fly backwards and hit the pavement with a heavy thud.

"YOU!" The celestial mage screamed "You're the one who kidnapped Natsu!"

Minora merely sat up, one hand massaging her aching jaw, "Yes I kidnapped him," she spat "and I probably would do it again, but as you can see the situation has become far bigger than you or me. Declan is insane and he means to use your mage to conquer all of Fiore!"

The news drove the guild into silence and Minora picked herself off the ground before continuing "However, if you will accept my offer of a temporary truce…I may have a plan to turn your salamander back into a human."

Lucy reeled back in shock, turning to look at her guild with questioning brown eyes, but a nod from her family urged her to face her one time enemy and growl;

"We're listening…"

**Let me know what you think!**

**REVIEW!**


	11. Family Never Gives Up

**I'm so sorry that it's been so long since I've updated!**

**I'm going to try to get this story rolling again, but life has been very hectic for me as I'm moving to Indiana and will be working as a teacher in a private school. But hopefully I'll be able to update more often in the upcoming months.**

**ENJOY!**

Declan looked down from where he sat astride Natsu, having instructed the dragon to perch on one of the larger buildings of Magnolia, he could see the Fairies gearing up for battle and a malicious grin full of bloodlust stretched his features into a macabre mask of demented pleasure.

"Go ahead and try to save your dear little Salamander," he chuckled softly "but I assure you it will be all for naught."

Waving his hand, Declan made the former mage breathe fire so that he could create a sea of Golem's marching towards the guild "Let's see how you like this."

….

Erza flew down, casting her heavenly wheel in every direction and effectively cutting down dozens of Golems in her wake, but still they could not break through "Grey!" she shouted "We must get to Natsu!"

"I know, I know!" Grey snarled using his Ice Make magic to freeze over ten Golems and send them crumbling into small ice cubes "I'm trying, but unless you have a better plan for getting through these guys besides wailing on them…please, be my guest!"

"What are these things?!" Gajeel snarled using the Iron Dragon roar to take out a wave of golems.

"Living dolls," Levy replied "that man, Declan, is creating them by controlling the fire Natsu breathes from his mouth and makes them into his own personal army!"

"Oh great," the iron dragon slayer muttered unhappily "so basically he's got an unending supply of fire, and we're the only ones who are getting worn out by fighting."

"Pretty much!" the bluenette nodded.

"Grey-Sama," Juvia shouted "If we want to complete our mission, we must find a way to remove ourselves from these Golems and get to higher ground!"

"I agree," Grey grunted ignoring the way Juvia swooned at his words "Erza, do you see Declan's current position?!"

"Yes," the Knight panted "He's on top of the City Council Building."

"Then I think it's high time we take the fight to him!"

….

Minora had set herself at one of the tables in the main Guild hall, ingredients and books spread all over in front of her as she frantically cobbled together an item that would turn Natsu back into a human "The thing we want to focus on," she spoke as she dumped a handful of silver dust into a boiling cauldron "Is distracting Declan long enough to get the potion into Natsu."

Warren Rocko nodded, his fingers to his head as he telepathically streamed the information to the Guild currently fighting on the ground before suddenly pausing "A potion?" he asked incredulously "But won't that make it harder to return him to normal?"

"Yeah," Lucy snorted derisively from the corner where she was pouting "what are we going to do, fly up and hope Natsu is feeling thirsty after breathing so much fire?"

Minora didn't even spare either mage a glance, so intent on her task as her pale hands flew across the table mixing, stirring and adding various magical items to the brew "This potion," she stated "once bottled and denied oxygen for at least ten minutes will be released from its contained state as a vaporous cloud as a direct reaction to its exposure to air. All you have to do is release it within a five foot radius, the potion will do the rest."

Makarov nodded from where he stood monitoring their new ally's progress, confident in his children that such a thing was not only possible but attainable, however a piece of information neglected to be given that (though what it was, Makarov had no clue and wasn't sure why it was important except for the churning in his gut) nagged in the back of his mind demanding his attention and forcing him to speak.

"There's something you're not telling us," the Master of the Guild rumbled softly "something I have sensed you have been holding back, what is it?"

The white haired mage suddenly paused, her hands giving only the slightest of quivers before she returned to her work with a sigh "Look," she practically whispered "I can turn your Salamander back into the human he was, but as you know Declan controls fire."

"And?" Makarov prodded.

"You see, he's always had a complex about the fact that he can't create his own fire, that he has to subjugate a preexisting flame and bend it to his will, but that makes the flame weaker because in a sense he is breaking the fire's will and removing its inner spark so to make it his to control. The main reason he chose Natsu is because of the fact that he could reach into the Fire Mage's very soul and shatter it, forcing Natsu to obey him…no matter what form he's in."

"So the real battle will not be in returning Natsu to a human form…" Warren murmured horror written across his features.

"But it will be in removing all of Declan's influence from his heart, mind and soul after you get him back," Minora finished her own face grim as she worked.

"How could you," Lucy snarled turning angry chocolate eyes to their strange ally "how could you possibly in good conscience allow this to happen to another living person?!"

"Look," Minora spat sending an equally angry gaze back "I didn't know that he planned to break your precious mage, all I knew was that he would use him to conquer Fiore and then give me his heart to me so I can get my own magic!"

"And how is that better?!" Lucy shrieked.

"What would you know?!" The white haired female snapped pounding the table with a fist "You're part of the most powerful guild in the world, you're always in the magazines getting interviewed for how powerful and hot you are. How would you know what it feels like to live in a magical world and not have any to call your own?! How would you know what it's like to have to rely on toys and magical items in order to put up a decent fight but without them you're weak?!

Lucy's eyes were shadowed as one fist shook with the effort it took not to punch the misguided girl "I understand better than you think," she hissed "do you think it's easy having magic that can only be accessed through celestial keys? Do you think it is easy going into battle knowing and often experiencing that helplessness because all it takes is one well aimed shot to separate me from those keys and leave me powerless? I understand that agony all too well, when I've used up all the contracts I have available to me on that day and have nothing left and am forced to watch my friends fight their battles and I have no strength to help them…no matter how much I wish I could."

Lucy slowly approached the female her face still partly in shadow before she raised her head to pin determined tearful brown orbs on the girl who was partly responsible for their trouble "But it's Fairy Tail that made me realize that it isn't always the most powerful person who can have the most strength, true strength is found is finding happiness in who you are and learning to use the skills you have to protect those that you love. But hurting another innocent person all because you aren't happy with who you are? That's nothing short of cowardice."

Minora felt hot liquid well up in her lavender eyes and spill down her cheeks "That's a pretty thought and all," she whispered in low grieved tones "but how will any of that help you in separating Natsu from Declan's influence?"

Silence reigned in the hall and Makarov cast angry grief filled eyes to the floor, his fists clenched and trembling in fury at the trespass committed against them and the battle that still lay ahead even after they reclaim their Salamander before turning a determined gaze back to the item craftsman "We'll be able to do it, somehow, we will. We're family, and family never gives up when one of their own needs rescued, we will find a way."

Minora gave a weak smile as she gave one final stir and poured the glowing pink liquid into a vial "I hope so, for all your sakes, I hope so."

Standing up, the girl handed the vial to Lucy "Here, I know you can't possibly understand my reasoning for doing all this, but I hope this makes up for what I've done."

The Celestial Mage grasped the potion with a pout before heaving a sigh "I can't say I completely forgive you, but I still appreciate what you're doing, so I'll just leave it at that for now."

"Right," Makarov bellowed "Lucy get that potion to Erza, Grey and Juvia, let's get our Natsu back!"

"On my way!"

…..

"Did you get all that?" Grey screamed as he blasted through another Golem.

"Yes," Erza grunted slicing through another dozen "we need to get to Declan now!"

"Juvia can help if Grey-Sama wishes to assist me," the water mage shouted.

"Just do what you're gonna do!" Grey snapped back.

Flowing her arms around either side of her body, Juvia created a stairway of water holding it until Grey had frozen it solid with his ice make magic, and with a roaring battle cry the three bolted up the steps towards Declan and towards their friend.

Lucy ran down the streets at a sprint, one hand deftly feeling through her keys until she found the one she had been looking for. Without stopping, the girl held the key up in the air and cried out "Gate of the Lion, I open thee!"

Loki materialized out of thin air, falling to land gracefully on his toes before darting forward to keep up with his mistress "Lucy, looking lovely as ever," he drawled smoothly.

The blonde rolled her eyes good naturedly before turning to face the Celestial spirit "Are you up to speed about what's going on?"

The duo turned a corner so to thunder down an abandoned alley as the lion nodded his head "Natsu's been turned into a dragon and is being controlled by some jerk named Declan."

"Exactly," Lucy returned "our job is to get this vial within five feet of Natsu and release it so that the mist will envelope him and turn him human."

"Then why don't you give me that," Loki sang with a wink as he whisked the vial out of Lucy's hand so to pocket it "and you can just focus on distracting Declan."

"You make it sound so easy," Lucy growled unhappily.

"Excuse me, but I'm the one who has to get within five feet of a raging fire breathing dragon," Loki sniffed with a small pout "all you have to do is get Declan to focus his attention on you long enough for me to do so, and with legs like yours that shouldn't be too difficult."

"Well if it's that easy, how about I just take the time to go put on a dress so I can do the can-can in front of a maniac!" Lucy shrieked.

Loki threw back his head and gave a large appreciative laugh "There's my Lucy," he smiled gently "I've been worried that this whole business has made you far too serious, it's good to see you act like yourself again."

The Celestial mage felt her face go slack as her eyes widened with wonder and she slowly came to stop, staring at her friend while brown orbs slowly filled with tears and a bright smile brightened her features. Jerking forward she enveloped the spirit in a trembling hug, clinging tightly to his suit clad form.

"Thank you," she wept "after everything that's been going on just in the past two days and all my worry over Natsu being missing, I almost got lost in the anger and sadness."

Loki wrapped his arms around the crying girl and gave her a gentle squeeze "We're going to save Natsu, I promise, and in no time he'll be causing trouble around the guild again like he used to."

Lucy could only nod, her nose firmly buried in his chest before drawing back and wiping her tears "Right," she said with a swift exhale "no more tears, no more being upset, Natsu needs us and it's finally our turn to save _him_ in return for all the times he's saved us!"

The lion grinned brightly before sweeping Lucy up into his arms and bending his knees preparing for a powerful jump "Then let's not waste any more precious time!"

"GO!"

**So yeah, I'm so sorry for the long wait, and I know that this chapter was more info than anything else but I hope you enjoyed it! **


	12. Mission Do or DIE

**So who knew that moving is always so hectic? At any rate, enjoy this latest installment of Internal Struggle. **

"LUCY! Where is that potion?!" Erza screamed into the telepathic link connecting the guild.

"I'm on my way!" The celestial mage reported as Loki danced across the rooftops gliding gracefully towards his destination "We'll be there in five minutes or less."

"Try to make it less," Grey grunted ducking under a golem's fist and returning with an icy upper cut "because we're running out of juice, and Declan is still in control of flame brain."

"Roger that," Lucy nodded before turning to the spirit carrying her "is this your fastest speed?"

"HA!" Loki guffawed gaily "My dear Lucy, you haven't even seen me go at top speed."

"Well now would be a great time to show me!"

"Your wish is my command!"

In a flash of golden light the lion spirit charged forward eliciting a squeal of shock from the blonde, his feet merely a blur as he pushed himself to go faster than he had ever dared and within seconds they had arrived at their friend's side as Loki fell to the ground, his arms slipping listlessly down to his sides releasing the celestial mage to fall to the rooftop and his shoulders heaved with ragged pants.

"See," he wheezed "I can go much faster than you think."

"Loki!" Lucy gasped "Are you ok?"

"Yes," the spirit nodded firmly while clambering to stand on wobbly legs "at least I will be long enough to give one last burst of speed and get our Natsu back."

"Are you sure you can do it?" Erza asked raising her sword to block a golem's claw and twist her blade so to slice of its arm and then its head.

"Of course I can," Loki said with a wink "I'm me, aren't I? All I need is for you to clear a path and make sure I have a smooth runway."

"Right," Erza nodded before whirling to face her teammates "Grey, Juvia you two give Loki the space he needs. Lucy and I will distract Declan, got it?"

"RIGHT!"

As one, the Guild surged into their designated posts each screaming their own battle cry. Erza grabbed Lucy and sent them flying towards their target "You got a plan for distracting him?" the knight asked.

"Uh…" Lucy sweat dropped "Loki had a suggestion, but somehow I don't think it will work."

"Then what do you suggest?" Erza pressed.

"I don't know, but I can try summoning one of my other spirits and we can just attack him head on?" Lucy shrugged.

"Sounds like my kind of plan!" The knight grinned maliciously.

"Open Gate of the Water Bearer!" Lucy cried sticking the key into a nearby rain collector.

Aquarius appeared with her signature water vessel, and an unhappy look on her face as she sent a furious glare to the younger woman "Do you have any idea what I was in the middle of?"

"I'm sure you were in the middle of another date," Lucy sighed more than used to the spirit's volatile temper "but the person you want to direct your fury at is that man!"

Aquarius turned to look at where Lucy was pointing and snarled at the scene of the man sitting astride a red dragon "Who's the jerk with the fire breathing lizard?"

"His name is Declan," Erza snapped "he turned Natsu into a dragon and has taken control of his mind, we are unable to transform our friend back into his former self without gaining Declan's complete attention long enough for Loki to pour the potion on Natsu and take away the pyro's firepower!"

Aquarius narrowed her eyes before looking back at Lucy, and her heart sank as she saw the celestial mage's brown orbs overflowing with fury, worry, but most of all sorrow and the mermaid released a resigned sigh "Fine, I'll take out all his golems, that should agitate him enough to grant us his entire focus."

"Great!" Lucy grinned "I know I can count on you!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Aquarius groaned.

The mermaid lifted her vessel summoning a large wave to rise out of the canals and cover the streets where the other Fairies were doing battle, effectively extinguishing every golem on the ground. A cheer rose from the guild members as their opponents were erased and a howl of aggravation echoed from the rooftop.

"You meddlesome fish!" Declan screamed before kicking Natsu's flanks harshly with his heels "Dragon, breathe me more fire!"

Natsu took a breath, preparing for a mighty stream of fire but the lizard suddenly hesitated, its dark eyes growing wide as pupils contracted to thin slits before dilating into full round orbs. The dragon began to cough and sputter, its throat convulsing as it struggled to clear its airways of whatever substance was closing it up. Lucy glanced over to where Natsu was gasping for air and smiled when she saw Loki kneeling on the ground not five feet from the man currently riding the dragon, and an empty vial that once contained the potion held between his fingertips. As the spirit disappeared in a cloud of gold dust, Lucy could only grin at Erza.

"He did it," the celestial mage breathed "the potion has been released!"

"Dragon," Declan shrieked kicking Natsu's flanks over and over "what's wrong with you?! I said to breathe more fire!"

Natsu thrashed his head from side, strangled wheezing whispered from his open maw while suddenly his form began to shrink, claws retracted and scales softened to pink skin. Declan thrust his gaze back and forth as he came ever closer to the ground and his dragon lost more and more mass as its features became increasingly human. "No, no!" he wailed "Fire, I need fire, this can't be happening!"

"Well too bad," Grey smirked from where he stood his ice steaming in the hot wind "because it is."

"How can this be happening," the mage snarled before his eyes widened with an epiphany "Minora, she betrayed me!"

"Yeah, about that," Lucy sneered "maybe you should take better care of your teammates? She was pretty eager to help us once you stabbed her in the back."

"That wretch!" Declan snarled even as the keening screech of his steed broke the silence of the night signaling its imminent transformation "I should have killed her when I had the chance!"

Erza dove down from where she had been hovering, and locked Declan in a fierce embrace holding his head firmly in the crook of her elbow while her other arm pinned his arms behind his back "Lucky for us you didn't, now I'm going to take you to a place where you won't cause any more trouble and we'll see to escorting our friend home!"

Declan gnashed his teeth in a macabre smile "Don't think that just because you took away my dragon means that you have won the day," he cackled "I still have an ace up my sleeve, one that I doubt you can defeat."

"Whatever," Grey mumbled walking up to where Erza stood so to punch the man into silence "we're Fairy Tail, and we can defeat anything."

The group finally were given the freedom to turn back to their missing Dragon slayer, a collective breath of relief being shared as they watched the final stages of the potion render the dragon back into human form. Lucy felt her face flush bright red as they quickly noticed that Natsu had no clothes, and Grey threw his jacket (that he had miraculously not discarded) over the prone form as the glow finally died away leaving the sleeping teen on the roof.

Kneeling down amidst the cracked and broken shingles, Lucy allowed her fingers to drift across the soft pink hair of the boy she knew best and tears welled up in her eyes as she gathered him into her arms and hugged Natsu close rocking him gently "We found you," she sobbed smiling through her tears "we finally found you,"

Erza sat down next to Lucy, her requip shutting down leaving her in the armor she usually wore. Tugging off a gauntlet, the woman felt Natsu's head and released a grieved sigh "He may be human, but his fever says that he is far from well. We need to get him home to the Guild Hall as soon as possible for medical treatment."

"Right," Lucy Nodded allowing Erza and Grey to take him but not before quickly fastening the long coat shut to give Natsu a semblance of privacy.

As one the group left the rooftop, walking home victorious with their precious bundle caught between them. But as his fever raged, and whimpers of pain slipped between wheezing breaths, the friends could only grit their teeth as their hearts clenched in worry over a battle that had surely only just begun. Lucy followed close behind, her chocolate gaze melting with concern over her partner but closing her eyes with a smile she spoke quietly.

"Warren, tell everyone that Natsu is human and safely back in our arms."

…..

Warren nodded his head before turning to face Makarov and giving a thumb's up accompanied by a wide grin "He's safe, they're bringing him home now."

Makarov sank to his knees as tears he had tried so incredibly hard to hold back finally flowed freely down aged cheeks "Thank God," he wept "thank God!"

Minora glanced at the elderly man, her heart sinking as she realized that the worry and anxiety that had plagued him was mostly her fault. In her short time among them, Minora had to face the awful truth of her actions just by observing the love and protectiveness the Fairies held for each other. She had done an incredibly selfish and cruel act all in the name of self service, and the woman wasn't quite sure what to say much less how to act. But with the Guild master weeping happy tears full of relief that one of his children had been successfully rescued, Minora decided that silence was enough, and for now she would simply be happy that the Fairies had succeeded in their mission.

….

Gajeel pumped his fists, while Levy jumped into his arms squealing in joy. The entire guild was celebrating their Salamander's rescue and imminent return, and Happy was certainly the most ecstatic among them. Carla patted him soothingly while Lilly smiled rubbing the blue furred head affectionately, all the while Happy bawled giant sized crocodile tears proclaiming for all the world to hear his gratitude to the Guild for helping him rescue his best friend.

Laxus sighed, more than a little exhausted and ready to relax in the Hall with his guild mates in what was surely going to be a party of epic proportions celebrating their success, but even he could not hold back the smile that the one person whom the guild almost seemingly revolved around was once again back where he belonged.

….

Lucy waited on a chair in the hall outside the infirmary, one restless leg bouncing as she waited for Mirajane to call them inside and report her findings. She was anxious to see Natsu, that was a given, but something about what Minora had told her coupled with Declan's threat set her on edge in a way she hadn't felt in a long time. She wanted, no she _needed_ to see for herself that Natsu was ok and Declan didn't have the hold on him that he proclaimed he did.

With a groan of impatient frustration, the blonde buried her face in her hands and bent forward until her head was nestled between her knees. It was going to be ok, she told herself over and over that nothing Declan could do would hurt Natsu, the Dragon slayer was simply too strong for that. But even with that statement ringing in her head like a bell, Lucy could not fight against the icy dread encapsulating her heart and squeezing it like a fist. Would everything truly be ok? What if Natsu wasn't truly rescued, could he turn into a dragon at any minute only with Declan's provoking? What if-?

"Lucy?"

The celestial mage shot up, stumbling to her feet at the gentle voice of the barmaid "Yes?"

"He's awake,"

**Whew, so we got Natsu back, but what's going to happen next?!**

**See you next time!**


	13. Interrogation

**Natsu is awake! Let's see how this develops. **

Lucy practically tiptoed into the room, brown eyes wide with trepidation as she slowly approached the sick bed currently containing the salmon haired mage. The blonde felt her heart begin to pound painfully against her ribs as she was able to make out her best friend's form under the sheets. However it quickly broke when she got her first true look at the youth.

Natsu lay more still than Lucy had ever seen him, his normally spiky hair hung limply around his face in dull sweaty tufts. His muscular chest heaved beneath the quilt with labored wheezes and his overly pale skin gleamed with cold sweat that ran in rivulets down his arms and face. But the thing that struck Lucy the most and made her want to sob was the Salamander's eyes.

The normally lively cobalt eyes that were surrounded by innumerable laugh lines and brightened by uncontainable grins were…dead.

Lucy slapped a hand across her mouth as a sob caught in her throat. Natsu was lifeless, and that was the confirmation of her worst nightmare. The boy lie on his back, his black gaze blank and devoid of anything that even slightly resembled his former state. Sitting down on the mattress, the blonde girl reached out to grip Natsu's hand between her trembling ones as tears stained the material and plopped on their arms only to race down their wrists.

"Natsu?" Lucy quavered "It's me…Lucy, h-how do you feel?"

For a few moments, Natsu didn't move nor even spoke he merely stared at the wall. Lucy released one of her hands from her friend's and stroked his cheek tenderly with her fingertips "Natsu?" she whispered "Please…say something…"

The boy didn't twitch and Lucy felt her head droop with the intense weight of sorrow that settled squarely on her shoulders.

"Is he awake?!"

The celestial mage's head jerked up as she whirled around to face her team as the members came pouring in "Grey!" Lucy smiled with relief through her tears "Erza, Wendy, Levy and Gajeel. I'm so happy you're here."

"How is he?" Erza asked softly.

Lucy opened her mouth to answer, but found not even the smallest word to begin to describe the utter grief that was their fire mage and could only look back at the youth her chocolate brown orbs overflowing with hopelessness. "He's not…he won't…" she sniffled "I-I…I don't know what to do…"

Erza and Grey approached the bedside, each one on either side of the youth and the Requip mage brushed the damp salmon colored bangs away from the worryingly sallow face "Natsu," Erza murmured "what has that monster done to you?"

Grey stared in shock at his closest friend and rival, his stomach churning with anxiety as he realized with a sudden pang just how much he missed the salamander's obnoxious cheerfulness, something he had claimed earlier to loathe.

"Come on Natsu," Grey grimaced as he slunk forward with soft steps that belied a fear that he might break the fire mage by being too noisy "Come on man, say something, just show us you're ok."

Silence was their only response and Levy found herself burying her face into Gajeel's side as a strangled sob ripped its way from her throat. The dragon slayer winced as grief struck him and could only wrap a comforting arm around the crying bookworm.

The ice mage gnashed pearly teeth, his eyes flashing in supreme agitation before suddenly stomping over to the bed "Come on flame for brains, we don't always get along but there is one thing that I know," stooping down Grey grabbed ahold of Natsu's shoulders "You're too strong to be beaten by something like this!"

Cobalt eyes widened, and for a moment Grey felt hope bubble in his chest that he had somehow managed to strike a chord, but that all came crashing down when the youth began to tremble as tears welled up to stream down pallid cheeks.

"N-No," Natsu murmured a whine building in his throat into a full-fledged shriek as his body began to thrash in Grey's grasp "St-Stay away…No m-more…NO!"

Grey jumped to the side as Natsu fell out of the bed and crab walked backwards until he hit the wall. As soon as he made contact the boy curled up into a trembling ball muttering incoherent mumbles, sobs wracking his shoulders as tears dripped off his chin.

"N-n-no," he murmured as quivering hands slowly lifted to grip salmon hair while he rocked back and forth "no more…no more…hurts…it hurts…no more…it hurts…."

Lucy and Erza exchanged helpless looks before the blonde rushed over to kneel beside the fire mage "Natsu," she whispered soothingly "what hurts?"

The Salamander gave a violent shiver before suddenly becoming very still and responded in a haunted tone "The cold…"

Grey reeled back as dizziness hit him hard enough to feel like a physical slap, his cold…hurt?

…..

"And that's what happened…"

The guild sighed as Erza finished telling the tale of what had happened in the infirmary, Makarov sitting in the midst of his children his gaze serious even as his shoulders drooped with emotional fatigue and worry.

"I don't understand," Grey finally said sorrowfully breaking the uncharacteristic silence of the Guild hall "why would he scream like that? I didn't mean to hurt him, but as soon as he felt my cold…he just freaked."

Lucy placed a consoling hand on the visibly distressed ice mage's shoulder before turning to Minora "Please, is there anything you can tell us that will help Natsu?"

Minora bit her bottom lip, shaking her head softly "I'm sorry, but Declan has never attempted trying to take over the will of a person before, the only reason he was able to do so with Natsu was because Natsu's soul is made out of fire due to being a Fire Dragon Slayer. The only person who would know what's going on inside Natsu's head would be Declan himself."

"Then I guess we go ask him,"

The Guild turned to faced Makarov, watching as their aged Master stood to his feet, legs trembling with rage as shadowed eyes rose to pin blazing orbs on his children "Erza and Grey will accompany me to our holding cell where Declan is, no one else is to follow us, wait until we return."

"But Master," Lucy burst clearly wanting to go with.

"No Lucy, your place is with Natsu, besides," Makarov turned his back to the celestial mage "I don't want you to see what may happen down there."

Erza's features hardened in preparation of what was to come, while Grey gave a nervous gulp. They were both prepared to do what it took to get the answers needed to save their friend however it still never sat well with any Fairy to hold someone prisoner much less possibly torture them for answers. It just wasn't their way. But time was running out, and they all wanted their salamander back, regardless of what unpleasantness they had to endure.

….

Declan lay back in his cell, a satisfied smirk twisting his mouth as he once again checked on Natsu in his 'cell'.

The mage still hung pinned to the wall by the giant icicles that sucked the fire from his very soul. Helpless weeping and groaned screams of rage echoed down the halls of the boy's mind making Declan chuckle. Whoever said that Natsu was difficult to subdue much less defeat? Well no matter who it was, they must have been a moron, because Declan was fully relishing the feeling of victory thrumming through his veins. Despite being in a cell under the Guild headquarters, Declan still felt like he had the upper hand, and as long as he had control over Natsu, he still had a chance at victory.

The clomping steps of his captors brought the man back into reality and out of the headspace where he kept Natsu imprisoned.

"Declan," the gravelly tones of the Guild master wafted through the cell bars, and the man opened his eyes to gaze on his visitors "I think you know why we're here."

The fire mage grinned maliciously "I'm not an idiot, of course I know why you're here," Declan interlaced his fingers before pillowing them behind his head so to lean against the wall "you want me to release Natsu from my control."

"So," Grey spat impatient aggravation dripping from his tone "are you going to do it, or not?"

"Hmm," Declan made a show of pondering the ice mage's request, even going so far as to tap his index finger on his chin before smirking "I'll take 'not'."

"Why?!" Erza demanded one hand flying to her sword hilt in an obvious show to cause intimidation.

Declan shook his head in seeming longsuffering patience "Surely you understand my position, I'm being held captive, I'm not going to release my most valuable bargaining chip before I at least regain my freedom."

"There's no way we're letting you go free," Makarov hissed "we'll be turning you over to the counsel as soon as we get our Salamander back."

"Then you'll be waiting a long time," Declan shrugged "because I'm not cooperating without a few conditions being met and since Natsu is being held captive _inside his mind_ there's no way for you to rescue him save agreeing to my terms."

"Why you…" Erza snapped pulling the sword from her belt and holding it at ready only to be stopped by Makarov.

"No Erza," he spoke softly gripping her wrist gently "that won't help Natsu."

Erza glared at the man on the other side of the bars before replacing her sword back into its sheath with a huff "It would help me."

Makarov gave the girl a fatherly smile full of understanding before nodding his head "Maybe so, but not all hope is lost, I have a plan."

With that the Master walked away from the cell and back towards the stairs, leaving Erza and Grey standing mystified at his words. Chasing after him, the duo exchanged a confused gaze before addressing their adoptive father "What do you mean 'plan'?" Grey queried.

"Just something Declan said," Makarov shrugged though a grin was stretching his features "I think I know how to save our boy."

**Ok, I know I was gone for a super long time, but I'm working full time as a teacher now and I even moved across the country from California to Indiana, so I've been crazy busy and just plain exhausted.**

**I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter, and please REVIEW!**


	14. The plan and the diagnosis

**So what's the Master plan? LOL Yeah, I made a stupid pun. At any rate, let's see where we go from here.**

"WARREN!"

Warren Rocko whirled around to stand in a sharp salute, his eyes wide at the bellowing authority in the voice calling for him "Yes, Master!?"

"Meet me in my office," the elderly wizard growled "Lucy, you will come as well. Wendy, I want you to monitor Natsu's condition with Porlyusica while Gajeel stands guard."

"Yes Master," came the unanimous reply.

The celestial mage quickly fell into step alongside Erza and Grey, her brown eyes darting between them as questions bounced in her brain "So," she practically whispered her features pleading for answers "what did he say?"

The red head looked down at one of her closest friends, pursing her lips in careful thought before giving her answer "He won't help us, but that is something we already knew. Master has a plan, one he hasn't even shared with us yet that he gained from some kind of clue he says Declan unknowingly gave him. For now, I choose to have faith in our Guild master."

Lucy paused, her lips thinning into a grim line before she gave a resolute nod "Then I will too," she said in a voice slightly choked with emotion "for Natsu, I choose to have faith in our Guild."

Grey smiled gently before laying a comforting hand on the blonde's shoulder and giving it a squeeze "We'll save him, he's always saved us, now it's our turn to save him. With Fairy Tail we can accomplish even the impossible."

"I like your attitudes, my children," Makarov rumbled in front of them "it's a mindset like that that moves mountains and defeats the strongest enemies."

Minora scrambled to her feet, lavender eyes wide "You can save him? You know how to separate Natsu from Declan's influence?"

Makarov paused from his current stride, turning to face the mage "If I said yes, what do you plan to do?"

The woman closed her eyes, collecting herself before taking a deep breath and pinning them with a stern gaze "I will do everything in my power to make amends for my previous selfish actions against your guild."

Makarov regarded the girl for an exceedingly tedious couple of minutes before breaking out into a wide grin "Good, in that case you can come with us to hear the plan."

The group quickly marched up the stairs into the room Makarov had claimed as his office, Erza closing the door so to keep out any prying ears that may unintentionally hurt their hopes in saving Natsu "So," the requip mage murmured sliding her gaze up to their Guild Master "What is your plan?"

Makarov settled himself in front of the window, his eyes on the bustling streets below as his hands clasped behind his back "Warren," his aged voice growled "what can you tell us about your magic and how it corresponds to the inner workings of the human mind?"

Warren Rocko inhaled quickly, ready to divulge all he knew before he was forced to pause "I'm not sure what you mean….what _do_ you mean, master?"

"Could you hypothetically," Makarov queried "transport the consciousness's of other people and insert them into the mind of one singular person."

Warren's jaw dropped even as shocked gasps resounded around the room and he considered the magnitude of just what the guild master was requesting of him "I-I" he stammered slowly "I don't know, I've never tried."

"Well then, will you try for the sake of your family?"

At this Makarov turned, pinning the telepath with a fiery gaze that would have made the salamander proud, a look overflowing with pleading determination that belied the will to do anything within its power to see his family safe and secure. Warren gave a hard swallow, his Adam's apple bobbing as sweat suddenly beaded across his brow. He was scared, sure linking minds to hear verbal thought much like a telephone is one thing, but transporting separate consciousness's into the inner court of Natsu's mind? Warren wasn't sure if he could pull it off, but he certainly wasn't going to turn down Makarov, especially with him looking at him like that. Finally with a sigh, the man gave a tentative nod.

"I'll try,"

"Good," Makarov exhaled in relief "then I want Lucy, Erza and Grey to prepare for departure. They will be the main team going into Natsu's mind to free him from Declan's control. Wendy will assist with her healing magic should anything go wrong, and Gajeel will provide backup protecting Natsu and your bodies in the worst case scenario of an attack while you three are under the spell."

"What can I do?" Minora asked lavender eyes pleading to be allowed to be useful.

"You will not like what it is I ask of you," Makarov sighed.

"Let me be the judge of that!"

The aged Master quirked an eyebrow at her boldness before continuing "I want to put you in the same cell as Declan, while there I would like you to get as much information out of him concerning Natsu's current condition as you can. Warren will mind link you to the three going into Natsu's mind, thus everything you find out will be broadcasted directly to them."

Minora nodded her gaze downcast "You're right," she muttered ruefully "I don't like it."

"But will you do it?"

Minora jerked up at the sound of the celestial mage's voice, paralyzed by two pleading brown orbs before giving a weak smile "Of course," the mage replied "it's the least I can do to pay back what I owe."

"Then let us prepare, we have a long night ahead of us."

The group nodded at Makarov's words, each of them immediately becoming lost in their own thoughts full of questions, concerns and most of all fears for the future and what it may hold for a certain dragon slayer.

….

Porlyusica knelt next to Natsu's bed, her nimble fingers poking and prodding, examining the deadness of his eyes and tracing his features under weathered skin. Pursing her lips the woman placed her hands on Natsu's core, looking to assess the condition of his magic and pushed healing magic into him.

Natsu, who had been lying on the bed seemingly still in his current comatose state suddenly arched his back as a shriek ripped its way up his throat. Gajeel whirled around from his guard position, flinging his arms to brace the dragon slayer against the mattress.

"What's going on?!" the metal eater growled savagely.

"I'm not sure exactly," Porlyusica grunted as she held down flailing arms "but I have a theory,"

The duo held Natsu until finally he calmed, Wendy stood in shook as one of the strongest mages she had ever met curled up in the fetal position clutching himself in a tight hug as harsh sobs rocked his frame. Thick tears rolled down his cheeks even as his broad shoulders trembled. Porlyusica reached out to stroke hair away from his face, but froze when the young man flinched away from her hand squeezing against the headboard with a whimper.

"N-no," he croaked in a tortured whisper "no more…no t-touching…n-no m-m-ma…" the boy stuttered until he finally spat "no magic,"

Gajeel breathed in a deep breath through his nose as he heard Natsu reject the thing closest to his heart that connected him to Igneel. Wendy released a sob, before rushing forward, her hands glowing with healing magic.

"Let me help him!"

"NO!" Porlyusica barked at the young girl.

Wendy stood paralyzed in indecision, her hands trembling as loyalty to the interdimensional counterpart of her mother paused her hands, but her love for her Guild family made her heart thunder in her chest, each heart beat making the organ crack a little more with the sorrow overwhelming her. Natsu lay there, his breath hitching until he once again fell into his vegetable state. His cobalt gaze slowly deadening until they resumed their dull and lifeless glaze. Gajeel sat back, sweat dotting his features as his shoulders heaved with the labored breath he was drawing into his lungs.

"What…" he snarled pinning the aged doctor with red eyes "was _that_?!"

Porlyusica sighed, massaging her aching muscles that were strained from holding the fire breather down "As I said before," she grumbled "I have a theory."

"What theory," Wendy finally sobbed turning angry eyes onto the elder healer "could possibly justify denying help to our family?!"

"Didn't you just see what happened?" Porlyusica snapped "I just tried using healing magic on him to check on his inner fire, and the child flipped out as soon as I touched him!"

"What does that mean?" Gajeel growled with a petulant pout his aggravation leaking into his undertones.

Porlyusica sighed "I believe that Declan may have used a similar method on Natsu when taking over his magic, he probably pushed his power into Natsu's body through physical contact traumatizing the boy to the point of making him wary of all forms of magic."

"So even my magic," Wendy whispered clenching shaking hands and hugging them to her chest as her blue eyes widened "would make Natsu feel threatened?"

"Essentially, yes," the woman nodded her features weighed down with sorrow "even after we rescue the boy from Declan's influence, he is going to have a long battle ahead of him just recovering from the mental trauma of all he's endured."

Wendy looked down at the still form of their normally uncontainable dragon slayer thinking carefully about all the ways things had changed for them before Porlyusica's voice once again broke through her thoughts "There is one other thing,"

Gajeel groaned "What more could possibly go wrong?"

The healer's lips thinned into a grim line "I'm sorry, but based on what I was able to sense before Natsu began to scream I believe his magic is severely depleted. It will take time and a lot of effort to build it back up to its former state."

"But how?!" Wendy exclaimed spreading her hands wide "Declan was able to use it freely while Natsu was transformed, and he's used more magic in the past than he did when we were rescuing him and was never effected before!"

"That's the difference though," Porlyusica stated with eerie calm "Natsu was the one using his magic. Natsu's power relies on his will, something that Declan apparently broke in order to gain control over the boy. When Natsu's will was shattered and twisted to obey Declan's desires, his magic lost its main source of regaining lost power. Declan has no intention of giving Natsu power right now, and even once we shatter his influence over the boy, the very fact that Natsu now fears magic will make it even harder for him to build up the will to use it again."

Porlyusica paused her mouth opening just a crack before she continued "It's highly likely that unless Natsu learns how to overcome his new fear of magic, he may never use it again."

Gajeel felt his heart clench at the news, giving a heavy swallow as he processed her words and what they meant for Natsu "We won't let that happen," he murmured more to himself than the people occupying the room "whatever that monster did to Natsu, I choose to believe in the flame brain's strength. Natsu is one of the strongest people I know, he has inspired courage and confidence in the face of certain defeat more than once and every single time we came out victorious. And even if Natsu has been weakened, his family will be his strength and help him find his own again."

Wendy stood in awe as the normally monosyllabic Gajeel spoke more words than she had ever heard him say in one of the most inspiring speeches ever given. Her heart swelled as she gave a weak smile. Yes, things looked bleak, but she knew that when Fairy Tail united to fight for a singular cause, mountains would crumble and enemies screamed in fear. Whatever happened, they would win, and Natsu would return to his former self…somehow.

**I hope you enjoyed this latest installation, I'm sorry it took so long, please give me your opinions and thoughts!**

**REVIEW PLEASE!**


	15. Setting Out

**PLEASE FORGIVE ME!**

**I recently got a job where I literally work ten hours a day and it's hard to find time to write. Here is the next installation of Internal Struggle!**

"Now, let us begin" Makarov rumbled.

"I'm still not entirely sure how we're going to do this," Lucy murmured her soft brown gaze resting on the pitiful form of their dragon slayer.

"In short," Warren stepped up his eyes hard with determination "I will transplant each of your subconscious' into Natsu's mind. From there, you will free him from Declan's control."

"But how do we do that?" Grey growled "I mean, I'm pretty sure there won't be a big sign saying 'Declan is here'."

"Honestly I don't know," Warren sighed "This is new for me, I've never done it before and the most I can do is anchor you here while you walk around inside. You'll have to figure that out as you go."

"Sounds like fun," Grey snorted "and while we're at it why don't we see just how much brain damage we can cause on Natsu, you know other than what's already there."

"That's not funny Grey!" Wendy barked making all the mages jump at the ferocity coming from the small mage "Natsu is hurt and needs our help, Declan has already injured him enough we don't need your careless attitude to make it worse!"

Grey was about to shoot back an insult but the tears in the healer's eyes told him something much bigger had occurred that made his earlier words sound insensitive "What are you hiding Wendy?" he asked softly.

Wendy jolted before shame filled blue eyes hit the floor "Natsu…" she whispered in a tortured voice "he's scared of magic now, he doesn't even like when people touch him anymore. We can break Declan's hold over him and get Natsu back, but we won't really get him back, not truly. He'll be afraid of us, and he'll be afraid of our magic, it's going to take a long time before he's back to the way we know him."

Grey felt his breath catch in his throat "Natsu's afraid of magic?" he asked in a croak.

"Yeah," Gajeel confirmed his own red gaze full of sorrow "I saw it myself. As soon as Porlyusica touched him with healing magic he began to scream for us to stop."

Lucy clenched her fists as rage stole over her heart. The news they just heard was beyond shattering, it could very well steal everything that made Natsu the man he was away from them, but Lucy was done crying. She had shed more tears in the past week than she had in years and she was tired of weeping, she needed something to hit and that thing was most assuredly Declan.

"How dare he," the celestial mage snarled as shooting stars of magic formed around her shaking fists "how dare he take that away from Natsu, from us?!"

Looking up Lacy cast fiery eyes onto her guild family "We're going in there," she commanded with an air of authority none had seen her possess before "we're going to save Natsu, we're going to beat Declan so hard that he regrets ever learning magic in the first place and then we're going to remind Natsu of who he is by doing what we do best…being his family!"

Gajeel gave a toothy grin "Bunny girl's right, there's no point in moping around here."

"I agree," Erza stated firmly "it's time to leave and settle this once and for all!"

"Good," Warren smiled "then I want you to lay down or sit down in a way that is the most comfortable for you, we don't know how long this will take and I'd rather you not come back to your bodies cramping from being left in an awkward position."

The group nodded, each taking a bed in the infirmary and laying down as Gajeel took his spot by Natsu's bedside "Don't worry," the metal dragon slayer smirked "I'll protect everyone here while you're off kicking Declan's tail from here to the royal palace."

The trio nodded with grateful smiles before settling in, Warren took his place in the middle of all of them "I'm connecting our minds now, first I'm connecting to Minora to ensure she can talk to us while in the cell with Declan."

"_Can you all hear me?"_ a soft falsetto came through.

Warren merely smiled "Contact success, now is the hard part. I'm going to transport your minds into Natsu's while maintaining your connection to the outside world. Our goal is to allow you to hear her conversation with Declan so you can glean any clues from him in how to erase his influence over Natsu."

"Go ahead," Erza grunted.

Suddenly their vision faded away into black making Lucy feel a slight panic flutter in her chest before the darkness exploded into stars. Surfing on waves of the light, the three mages flew through the swirling kaleidoscope of color towards a pinprick of light on the other side.

"_The light you see is the entrance to Natsu's subconscious." _Warren's voice supplied _"you should be arriving within the next few minutes."_

True to his word, the trip was barely two minutes long as they crashed through the light and into a world that looked like the mirror image of Magnolia "Whoa," Grey murmured "this is Natsu's mind?"

"_His Inner Court to be more precise," _Warren said _"I believe this is the middle ground in his mind. Everyone has an Outer Court, an Inner Court and a Central Core. I connect the Outer Courts for thought speak, but the Inner court is closer to where Natsu's core lies. He's here, I can sense his presence."_

"So what is the difference between Courts?" Erza wondered aloud.

"_The Outer Court is for the physical body where you process movement and commands that allow you to interact with the outside world. The Inner Court is where your thoughts, dreams and goals live. The Central Core is everything that makes Natsu who he is. His heart so to speak. My guess is that Declan has Natsu imprisoned in his Inner Court somewhere where he can't reach his Central Core and ultimately regain control over his body and mind."_

"If Natsu is so powerless, how has he been able to react to our magic, shouldn't that be impossible of Declan has control over his Central Core?" Grey asked.

"_I'm not entirely sure," _Warren sighed _"it could be as simple as Natsu has a particularly strong mind, or that he is close enough to his Central Core to allow some of his personality to leak through. Whatever the case may be we should consider that a comfort because it's a sign that Natsu isn't completely lost to us."_

"Let's stop wasting time then," Lucy nodded "Warren, lead us to where Natsu is."

"_Right,"_ A bright orb of blue light flitted around them leaving a trail behind it before shooting off into the streets of the empty city.

"Let's go!"

As one Erza, Grey and Lucy burst forward into a sprint following the orb as it wove its way through alleyways and streets never pausing in its pursuit of the fire dragon slayer. Lucy glanced around at the seemingly alien surroundings. It looked like Magnolia, but the sheer emptiness ranging from the pristine homes all the way to the canal without any water in it was creeping her out. She couldn't fathom why Natsu's city in his mind was so empty when he was usually such an extrovert.

"Why is this city so lonely?" the blonde murmured.

Grey stole a glance at the girl before casting his eyes back to their odd guide "I don't know," he answered despite the question not being aimed at him "normally I would make a sarcastic quip about how his brain is just that empty but there's just something about this place that feels wrong."

Erza nodded, her stomach sinking as she considered the implications of why Natsu's inner space was so devoid of life "Maybe it's because this isn't technically Natsu's space anymore."

"What, you mean Declan has something to do with this?" Lucy queried as they made a sharp left turn.

"I think so," the requip mage stated biting her bottom lip "think about it. When is Natsu the most alive and the most himself?"

"When he's with his guild," Grey answered.

Lucy cast dark brown eyes to stare into the middle distance as she processed their words. Flashes of memory from days gone by exploded in her mind, particularly of a lonely Natsu sitting by himself hugging Happy to his chest as he struggled desperately to summon the strength not to cry. Lucy remembered that day all too clearly and it still made her feel sick to her stomach. She had never seen Natsu like that, but then his keen ears picked up her heartbeat and when he turned around and saw her the sadness in his eyes melted away into genuine joy as a broad grin replaced the grim slash that had once held residence on his mouth. Grey was right, the Celestial mage decided, Natsu was most himself when he was around his family and not all alone where heartaches were all too real and the strength to fight seemed so hard to find.

"So it would make sense that his Inner Court should have people in it, particularly Magnolia, Natsu loves this city," Erza practically whispered the last part her voice betraying the sheer amount of grief afflicting her spirit.

"So the first thing Declan does is remove anything that would give Natsu the strength to fight by making his Inner Court empty," Lucy asked.

"_That is all speculation,"_ Minora's voice came in _"Declan probably doesn't even know if people were meant to be here, Natsu may not even know. This is the first time Declan has ever taken over the fire of someone's spirit and taken control of their body. He probably couldn't do that with anyone but Natsu. For all we know this is his true Inner Court and Natsu is actually a very lonely person who distances himself from others out of fear of being rejected or hurt."_

The three slowed down as their eyes widened with the stark understanding of Minora's words "Natsu is lonely?" Grey asked.

"_I wouldn't be surprised if he was," _Minora sighed "_it's usually the people with the biggest smiles who hide the biggest heartaches."_

Grey immediately began to mentally berate himself, how could he have been so stupid!? Out of anyone at the guild he and Erza should have known better. Natsu was a goofball, yes. And he was more often than not pretty stupid, but lonely, why wouldn't he be? He didn't exactly keep it a secret that his life goal is to find his adoptive father Igneel whom had disappeared on him when he was just a little kid. If anyone knew the pain of losing their parents, it was Grey. He knew the abandonment one felt when you were all alone in the world, and being a child didn't make things any easier.

Ducking his head in shame the ice mage drew in a deep breath and released it "Let's go save Natsu," he croaked "and then we're going to save his magic while making sure that his Inner Court fills up with people."

Lucy smiled at Grey placing an understanding hand on his shoulder "I agree,"

Erza gave a firm nod "Let's go get our salamander,"

**Was that a good update? I hope it makes up for the horrible amount of time I made you wait for the next chapter.**

**See you again soon!**


	16. Lost and Found

**So here we are back with Internal Struggle, thank you so much for your patience, I hope you enjoy this latest installment.**

**Last time we saw our faithful team entering Natsu's mind so to rescue him from Declan's influence.**

The ball of light sped through the many alleyways and streets, the guild members following dutifully behind each of their features painted with grim concern. Erza's eyes darted back and forth taking in every detail of her friend's Inner Court. Minora's words rang in the back of the Requip Mage's mind making her stomach clench.

Was Natsu really as lonely as the Item Mage insinuated? The state of his Inner Court certainly gave the impression of him being so.

The very idea of the Salamander being lonely and distancing himself from others so to avoid heartbreak was not only plausible, but also believable. Erza felt her heart break though when she realized how many years had passed without her or Grey even noticing without some outsider spelling it out for them. The shame of it set her gut churning and guilt roared in the back of her mind like an irate dragon. Erza clenched her fist, hot tears pricking her eyes as she put on an extra burst of speed.

Grey glanced over at the red head his eyes darkening as he guessed at what was running through her mind. It was probably pretty similar to what he was thinking. He was angry, more than that he wanted to punch something, starting with himself if he could manage it. How many times had he teased Natsu, made him feel like less of a person all because of what…he felt like it? Such reasoning suddenly resonated within the Ice Mage as childish and the young man's shoulders drooped at his own carelessness. For someone who considered himself the Salamander's closest friend and rival, how dare he not notice the grief lurking in the back of Natsu's gaze? But miss it he had and now he could only follow their leader promising himself that he would make it up to the Fire Mage as soon as they rescued him.

Lucy was not so angry or even sorrowful as the others, if anything she felt like her eyes had been opened. For years she had caught small glimpses of a side to the Dragon Slayer that he worked so hard to conceal, and every time she was left feeling shocked and confused. Puzzling through these moments, the Celestial Mage would merely shake her head and say that Natsu would talk to her when he felt like he could trust her with his innermost secrets. However now that she ran through his Inner Court, she could see all too clearly that her suspicions had been correct, there was a lot more to the Dragon slayer than most knew.

Finally the ball of light brought them to an all too familiar street and zipped inside a building that all three knew by heart, their Guild Headquarters.

"He's in here?" Erza asked slightly befuddled.

"Of course he is," Grey smiled with a warm chuckle "what is the first place he goes whenever he's in trouble or looking for a fight?"

Lucy giggled with a nod "True, however I could have sworn that his Central Core would have been in the Guild Hall. I guess his innermost being is something different."

Erza cocked her head, the idea that the Guild not being Central to Natsu's very self was foreign to her "Strange, then where would it be?"

Grey gave a forceful shake of his head "We can worry about that later, right now we need to find Natsu and make sure he's safe before getting to his Central Core and fighting Declan."

Lucy and Erza exchanged a looks of confident determination "Right," they replied with a nod.

Entering the Guild Hall the three friends were struck dumb all over again by the sheer emptiness of the room. The bar was empty, no tables lay on the floor and even the mission board was devoid of the mess usually covering it. Lucy gripped her upper arms, giving them a brisk rub as she suddenly felt cold.

"_**Well, well, well,"**_ a malicious voice echoed among the rafters causing the guild members to go on high alert _**"look who joined the party? I must say, I wasn't expecting this."**_

"Show yourself!" Erza barked materializing a sword into her hand.

"_**Oh I don't think so,"**_ the voice replied in a dark chuckle.

"What, you scared to face us?" Grey snapped with a wicked grin "I can't say I'm surprised, a coward like you couldn't even hope to be a challenge in a fair fight."

"_**Ha!"**_ the voice scoffed _**"Please, surely you realize that any fight here would be to my advantage, you have no hope of a fair fight. I rule this space, I'm the ultimate power controlling everything here!"**_

"Were you the one who took the people out of Natsu's Inner Court?" Lucy asked finally voicing the question everyone had been wondering.

"_**No, that wasn't me."**_ They could practically feel the grin hidden in the dark _**"that was all your Dragon Slayer. Isn't that rich? The powerful, confident mage that so many people are afraid of is just a scared lonely little boy crying all by himself on the inside! How utterly pathetic, I had been expecting so much more but that's what happens when you get to know a celebrity." **_

Grey gnashed pearly white teeth, his fist clenched so tight that blood began to leak through his fingers and drip to the floor "How dare you," came the quiet snarl from a clenched jaw before the Ice Mage shrieked "How dare you insult Natsu like that you piece of scum?!"

"_**Ooh, it looks like I hit a nerve,"**_ A cackle reverberated across the ceiling _**"well since you're so determined allow me to spell it out for you, it is too late to rescue Natsu. He is completely under my control, and even if you were able to find his Central Core you have no hope of defeating me."**_

"We'll see about that," Lucy yelled her hands clenched at her side "just you wait Declan, you won't have long before we kick you out of here for good!"

"Agreed!" Erza bellowed.

The shadows on the floor writhed and stretched until one figure burst from them, pure white eyes burning as the inky black form stepped towards the group _**"I'd like to see you try, as our first round of entertainment how about we play a game. You versus my little doll. Whoever wins gets ownership of what lay in the dungeons downstairs."**_

"Natsu!" came the unanimous cry.

"_**Maybe, maybe not," **_the voice chuckled maliciously _**"I'm certainly not telling. Regardless, if it is, do you want to take the chance of letting my golem have Natsu all to himself as his play toy?"**_

Erza grit her teeth, armor clanking as her frame trembled in abject fury "You monster," she whispered harshly her armor disappearing in a flash of light to be replaced by her Heavenly Knight armor.

"You're not going to win this," Lucy ground out flicking her whip to lay on the ground at her side.

Grey slammed a fist into an open palm smirking as the temperature dropped drastically "Get ready for a world of hurt."

"_Be careful when you fight him!" _Warren bellowed over their connection _"All of you have access to your magic except Lucy. Celestial Spirits are not able to come here as this is a dimension outside of time or space. Remember, any damage you cause here will in turn effect Natsu!"_

Nodding unanimously in understanding, the three burst forward with a resounding battle cry each attacking the Golem only to scream in frustration as their attacks raked empty air. The shadowy creature bent in an unnatural angle avoiding all three blows, a white grin stretching its features in a disturbing way. Erza leapt to the front wielding two swords as she slammed first the right blade then the left into the creature, each one being blocked in a shower of sparks before she brought both blades above her head chopping them down with the power of a guillotine.

The Golem was unfazed however, merely allowing itself to be cut in half, its macabre grin never leaving its face before coming back together. Lucy skirted around the Requip mage spinning gracefully building momentum up into her swing as she cracked her whip to wrap around the shadow monster's neck and then bent it backwards holding it down "Grey, now!"

The Ice Mage sprinted forward then gave a powerful jump high in the air. Bringing his fist over to his right side, the mage allowed all of his anger and frustration build into one attack making the skin of his arm turn icy white. Mouth stretched wide with the roar bellowing from his lips, Grey punched the creature into the floor in an explosion of snow and ice encapsulating it in a solid block of the freezing substance.

Lucy stood up, brown eyes wide before jumping up into the air with a shout of glee "We did it!"

"Yes!" Grey exclaimed pumping his fist suddenly missing his shirt.

Erza reverted back into her armor before grinning her victory at the ceiling "I believe we win this round,"

"_**Hmph,"**_ the voice scoffed unhappily _**"maybe this one, but you still have no idea how to stop me, much less find me. You'll have to find your way through the inner workings of Natsu's mind to get to his Core and that will be quite the journey."**_

The voice faded away, taking with it the shadows lurking among the rafters and the group immediately ran toward the door where Warren's bobbing ball of light was currently dancing. Flinging the door open, they pelted down the stairs their thoughts on one thing and one thing only. Finding their Salamander.

With a desperation that increased with every second that passed Lucy found herself taking the lead, the sound of her heeled boots echoing off the stone as she ran. She still remembered the pain of finding Natsu's scarf without the Dragon slayer attached to it. She remembered the horror when she realized that he had been abducted and they had no way of finding him till it was too late and Declan had turned him into a dragon. Turning Natsu back into a human was supposed to be the happiest moment of this entire experience, but then they discovered that his will had been shattered and Declan still controlled him from the inside. Lucy hated the feeling of helplessness this entire misadventure had brought, and she was determined that this time, they would well and truly rescue Natsu. They wouldn't fail, and somehow they would bring their salamander back to where he belonged.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Lucy hit the door with a thud throwing it open with the combined weight of her body plus the momentum of running down the stairs. Ahead lay a long hallway with one door at the end of it, and Warren's light waited patiently in front of it.

"He's here!" Lucy cried tears beginning to trickle down her cheeks.

What they expected to find, they weren't really sure. Natsu sitting in a cell with that goofy grin of his and a sarcastic remark about how long they took? Possibly. However nothing could have prepared them for what they found, and as Lucy opened the door only to fall to the ground with scream Grey found his stomach clench hard enough to make him run back out of the room to retch violently in the corner. Erza stood stoic, but her eyes shook with repressed emotion.

Natsu was there, hanging from the wall of the cell, giant icicles pinning him to the cold hard stone. Blood dripped from every gaping wound, and especially from his mouth. His head drooped low, shadowing the once bright cobalt eyes that burned with a fiery passion powerful enough to inspire an entire guild. The worst thing though was the icicle sticking out of his chest where his heart should be, blood soaking through the ice a good five inches up the stem. They weren't sure if he was alive, and no one even knew how to check much less get him down.

They had found their Salamander, and Declan was going to pay for what he had done.

**Does that make up for my absence? Please REVIEW!**


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