A/N: Hey guys, it's me Xae! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in ages, but I hope you don't mind . Here, Chapter Two. Enjoy~ (or not :P)

Chapter Two: New Faces

XXX POV

A dark figure reclined in his armchair in the shadows of a damp, musty dungeon. At least, it looked like a dungeon. The figure was tall, massive, and well-built, with muscles rippling underneath tanned skin. The man's upper body was covered by a large, loose black coat sporting white edges,with wide and high collar. The man wore a loose pair of pants with prominent hems, along with a pair of simple, dark shoes. Circling the man's neck was a large, orange-colored necklace, composed of several crosses linked together by small beads, which bore a small skull, with its eyes obscured by a blindfold.

The man breathed in deeply. The air smelt wet and stank of rotting leaves. He lowered his head to face a white screen directly in front of him. Images bubbled and changed on his command, as he shifted between his many targets. A young man with indigo hair trudged through the woods. A middle-aged woman carrying an infant in her arms, wandering the streets desperately. The images flickered as the man focused on one target in particular.

He sucked in a deep breath. He found her. A girl with long, forest green hair, a dark velvet cloak around her shoulders, and a bundle in her arms. She peered this way and that and continued walking along the pastel coloured path. The man smiled. He long fingers reached up to touch the bandages wrapped around his eyes. He could not see the white screen with flickering images. But yet. He knew.

"We are almost complete. Now for the final touch. Our revenge will be so sweet." His deep booming voice echoed in the hollow dungeon.

? POV

"Here we are, Bory! Oak Town, Fiore!" I stopped to take a look at my surroundings. Well... It wasn't really what I had been expecting. "Oh no... Look, Bory." There were huge cracks in the yellow ground in some places, the once beautiful trees and flowers ruined by the gaping cracks in the ground. I felt small sharp pebbles and the rough, uneven ground under my feet. My forehead creased. I had heard that Oak Town was a beautiful city, with greenery and flowers aplenty, and beautiful exotic colours and scents. But this... Something must have happened here. Everywhere I looked, there were cracks in the ground, the smallest being the length of a large rat, and the biggest spanning as much as an entire football field. I turned to my left. There was a path amongst the bushes, paved with pastel coloured bricks. I sniffed the air.

"I think it's this way!" I looked up. "Bory! Hey!" The large apple tree I was standing under began to quiver, its leaves trembling. "Bory no!" A large red apple fell from the branch above me and I had to duck out of the way. A long, turqoise rope-like thing dropped down from the branch and it twitched slightly. I sighed. "Get down from there, will you?" I yanked the rope-like thing and my turqoise coloured Exceed came crashing down the branches.

"Mmmph my tailllll!" He squealed. I caught Bory in my arms and looked down at him. He had his cheeks full and he clutched an apple to his chest, looking extremely pleased with himself.

"Mmmm! We can go noww!" Bory spluttered with his mouth full. I rolled my eyes. "Of course we can." I turned and marched down the path paved with pastel bricks. I can smell the slightest hint of dragons... I hope I'm going the right way... But there is something about this place. I just can't put my foot on it...

We walked and walked, the path starting to go downhill a bit. Bory finished his apple and sat up in my arms. He peered around. "Ira! Down there!" He leapt up and immediately fell over again. "Woah there!" I caught him just in time. "Where were you- Oh! What is that..." A huge, magnificent castle loomed above us, towering at nearly 50 stories high. Straight ahead, lay huge oak double doors, complete with bronze knockers. I raised my head and squinted up at the castle.

"Wow there must be at least a hundred rooms! There are so many windows!" Bory exclaimed, leaping out of my arms and onto the ground beside me. I looked up at the many glass windows, lined with gold and silver patterns. I sniffed the air again. "The scent of dragons is getting stronger... Let's check it out!" I tugged Bory's tail and reached out to grab the bronze knocker. But before I even touched it, the huge double doors swung wide open, as if whoever or whatever was inside was waiting for us. I gulped. "I'm scared..." Bory whimpered, hiding behind my back.

"L-Let's go." I muttered. We walked through the double doors, and into a long narrow corridor. The walls were covered in royal purple velvet, with numerous paintings adorning the walls. Just then, the doors slammed shut behind us. Bory flew back and tried to wrench the doors open, but they were sealed shut. "Ira..." He tugged my cloak nervously, "Ira, we're trapped!" I calmed my breathing and took a deep breath.

"Then the only way to go, is in." I said decisively. I took a tentative step, but suddenly, the floorboards gave way and slid open, and I was plunged down a long slippery slide.

"Ira!" Bory cried, wings on his back, hovering above the gaping hole. "Ira!" I craned my neck to look back at him, but my eyes watered at the speed I was going. Bory dove down after me, but the floorboards slid shut before he could enter and I was plunged into complete darkness.

All of a sudden, I hit the ground with a thud and I quickly got up. The ground was slimy and squelched under my feet. I could hear the sound of my heart beating rapidly against my ribcage and the rush of pounding blood in my head. I took up a defensive position and looked around, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. It looked as if I had landed in some sort of dungeon.

A tall, broad figure appeared just in front of me and I took a step backwards. "Who are you?" I demanded. "And what do you want?" The figure, a man, chuckled, a loud booming noise that echoed against the moist walls. "What do I want?" He repeated, mocking me. "I want you."

A wave of fear washed over me, but before I could even react, everything turned fuzzy and blurry, like I was about to fall asleep. My eyelids drooped and the last thing I remember after my head thudded against the wet floor, was a pair of black clogs.

"HURK-" Natsu's face was a sickly shade of green. He swayed unsteadily in his seat, eyes bulging. Lucy looked concerned. "Natsu, are you- " This time, Natsu's mouth bulged and Lucy leapt backwards in alarm.

"NOT IN HERE!" Erza roared, yanking the carriage window open and forcing Natsu's head outside. The sickening sound of vomit being splattered onto the road outside caused Lucy and Wendy to cringe. Erza pulled Natsu back inside the train carriage where he slumped weakly against the side of the window, looking sick. "Get a grip," Gray muttered, smirking at the poor dragon slayer. Natsu was too ill to retaliate.

"It seems like Troia has lost it's effect on Natsu." Happy wondered aloud. Wendy stepped forward. "Let me see if it works again. Natsu-san seems in a lot of... distress." Wendy murmured, reaching out to lay both hands on Natsu as a warm glow began to radiate around Natsu's body.

"Ahhh much better!" Natsu sighed, as the effects of Troia began to work their magic. "Thanks Wendy!" The hour long train ride after that was pretty uneventful, other than the usual bickering between Natsu and Gray, with Erza interrupting occasionally to quiet them for a while.

When the five of them reached Oak Town, it was not a pleasant sight. Huge cracks ran along the ground, destroying the flowerbeds and uprooting trees. "What happened here..." Lucy gasped, worried. Erza studied the cracks. "This isn't natural. We have to find out who's behind this and put a stop to it before the citizens get hurt." Erza glanced at the four of them.

"Wendy, Lucy, go with Charle to warn the citizens and evacuate them to somewhere safer." Erza instructed. Wendy and Lucy nodded and quickly set off the gather the villagers. "Natsu, Gray, come with me. We'll trace whoever is behind this." Natsu and Gray agreed reluctantly. For once, they weren't arguing. They knew that this was a serious matter. I hope Master comes back soon... Erza thought, This may be more complicated than we imagined...