**Fairy Tail and characters belong to Mashima, not me. You know the drill.

So I just want to say that I'm glad there's enough interest in the story that people are concerned about the time jump. And I also want to make sure everyone knows that I have plans for how to handle the time they were training, the relationship growth, and the rest. Just wanted to get that out there.

DragonFire44 - Just wanted to clear up on point specifically - Wendy and Happy certainly did NOT side with the people who wanted to kill Natsu. I re-read the whole chapter three times to make sure I didn't mess that up.**

Anyway, thanks for all the favs, follows, and reviews. Feel free to drop a few more. Pretty please. :)

"So let me get this straight. You burned Erza's clothes off, and now you're a couple?"

Natsu groaned inwardly, but kept the same smile on his face as he just chuckled and rubbed his head. Anyone should be able to tell the small story Happy forced into the open wasn't anywhere close to the development of their relationship. He didn't really feel like talking about it, though. Especially to someone who took the middle ground when the guild was deciding whether they should kill him or not.

"There's obviously more to it than that," Erza's voice cut in. He shouldn't be surprised. Of course the knight couldn't let it stand at that. "I only explained it to you because we had to clarify Happy's statement. We didn't want you to get the wrong idea."

"Well, how did it start then?"

"I can't really put my finger on any specific time that it started. Perhaps as far back as the Tower of Heaven…" Erza said, running her fingers through her beautiful scarlet hair.

"But neither of you knew how you felt till after Natsu burned your clothes off?!"

"That's not true," Erza said. "Of course there were indications. We just never… Fully talked about them before that…"

"Geez you're dense Lucy," Happy interjected. "Or are you just upset because you didn't rape him first?"

"I. Did. Not. Rape. Him." Erza's death glare scared Natsu, even though it was directed at Happy.

"Look, let's just say that the incident forced a few things into the open and leave it at that," Natsu said from his place in the redhead's lap. He could definitely appreciate this aspect of their relationship. It made train rides a lot easier to deal with.

"But I don't wanna!" Lucy whined. "I'm a reporter now. It's a reporter's nature to dig!"

Natsu was about to retort when a small shovel hit the blonde on the side of the head. Since neither he nor Erza had moved, only one of them could be responsible.

"Happy!" Lucy yelled. "What was that for?!"

"It's a shovel Lucy," the cat replied innocently. "You said you wanted to dig."

"Stupid cat!" Lucy yelled. She then began lecturing Happy on how he should treat friends that he just reunited with. Natsu closed his eyes, doing his best to tune the blonde out, and nestled his head into Erza's lap.

Suddenly his body was flung back and forth violently, to the extent he feared he might get whiplash from the motion. Opening his eyes with a start, he caught sight of a familiar redhead who seemed to be physically holding him off the floor, shaking his body like she was trying to shake the dust off a rug.

"Alright Erza, I'm awake!" He shouted, having adjusted to this unfortunate manner of waking when the female knight deemed that he needed to awaken quickly.

"Ah, good." She smiled, setting him down. It took all his willpower just to maintain his balance after the trauma his body just went through, but fortunately he had practice. "We'd better hurry. The train's about to leave again."

Adrenaline coursed through his body when he heard that, and he rushed off the train, not waiting for Erza to catch up. The moment he was outside he assumed his usual posture on all fours, kissing the ground repeatedly.

A terrifying presence suddenly revealed itself before him, and he leapt to his feet, shivering as he turned to face his red-haired lover. She stood there, a couple feet away, her face shadowed by her bangs.

"Natsu…" She said, her voice dangerously even and void of emotion. "How many times have I told you to stop doing that?"

"Ehehehe…" He rubbed the back of his head. "But I'm always so happy to see the ground again!"

She grabbed the front of his shirt, and he felt his feet leave the firm surface beneath him. "Not that." Her tone didn't change. Well, if anything it got cold. He felt cold, and he thought for sure that was impossible.

But what else could she mean? He hadn't done anything other than kiss the ground just now. That and rush off the train, of course. Rush off the train… Wait, that triggered a memory… Something about the train, and Erza. Leaving the train? Leaving Erza? Leaving Erza on the train?

Natsu gulped and did his best to prostrate himself, but the iron grip on his shirt didn't break. That's right. Erza hated it when he rushed off the train without her! "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I won't do it again I swear!" He flailed in her arms, trying to escape her punishment.

"Really? That's good. And here I thought I was going to have to knock it into your head… again."

Natsu sighed in relief as his feet were lowered to the ground again. Ah yes. That wonderful, firm feel underneath him. He couldn't believe he got off so easy this time!

He barely completed the thought when an iron-clad fist impacted the left side of his temple. The firm ground fell out from under his feet as his body twisted back and to the left, and he barely managed to turn his face in time to keep from getting a mouthful of dirt as his head and shoulders impacted the ground first. His body slid painfully across the hard dirt platform, coming to a stop a few meters away.

"I trust you'll remember next time," Erza said sweetly, extending a hand to help him up. "You know this hurts me more than it does you."

Yeah right, Natsu thought as he accepted her hand and rose to his feet. Either that was a blatant lie, or she was a masochist. He couldn't accept the latter, though it might make things interesting in the bedroom…

"Stop thinking about perverted stuff. We're searching for Gray and Juvia right now." Erza scolded him. What, was she a mind reader now too?

"No I can't read your mind. You just can't control your facial expressions."

Dammit. Well, nothing to do now but search for the stripper, and his slightly psychotic stalker… er, lovestruck admirer?

~~~~~~Erza's POV~~~~~~

Erza smiled a little as she and Natsu caught up to Happy and Lucy. The two didn't even notice they'd been alone for the past few minutes, probably because Happy was too busy pushing Lucy's buttons and Lucy was too busy overreacting as usual.

She wished Natsu had been awake for a little more of the train ride, but at the same time she knew it was just as well that he slept through it. He'd done a terrible job of hiding his ambivalence concerning Lucy and the others who didn't stand with him. Paired with his discomfort that came from moving vehicles, things could've easily gotten out of hand.

A small smirk played across her lips as she stole a glance at her lover, currently oblivious to the world as they approached the downpour ahead. Though she'd chided him for the obvious perverted look that crossed his face, it was more for her own sake than his. The moment she saw that gaze it sent her own mind to the bedroom, fantasizing at just how far she could push the pink-haired dragon slayer. Would he find her weird if she asked to enact some of her fantasies? Would she become less in his eyes? Would he even be scared away from her?

These questions and hundreds of others like them kept her from pursuing her more outlandish desires in the bedroom. Instead, she dove into everything they could do within 'normal' bounds. Every so often she would try to push him a bit further. Just a little prod, hoping that, eventually, he would open up to the world of sexual fantasies her books ignited within her. Until then…

"Umm, Erza, are you ok?"

She quickly focused her attention on the owner of the voice. Lucy was standing still a few feet in front of her, turned back with a slightly quizzical expression. At that instant she felt the upturn of her lips and the faint drips of blood escaping her nose. She quickly wiped her nose and put her poker face back on, calmly and regally addressing her questioner.

"Of-of course I'm alright, Lucy. Why would I be thinking about ropes and sex?"

Lucy's mouth dropped open, and Erza realized what she just said. Her mind quickly ran through her options. 1.) Act all flustered and say she wondered where that came from. 2.) Accuse Lucy of planting the thought in her mind. Finally she decided on option 3.) Pretend nothing happened and continue their quest to find Juvia.

"Well, what are you staring at me like an idiot for? I'm pretty sure we'll find Juvia in the middle of that downpour over there."

"Are you really going to pretend that didn't just happen?"

"What is it that we're pretending didn't happen?" She asked in a placid tone, her eyes boring into the blonde mage's.

"Well… Er... " Lucy stammered as though she wanted to reply, but finally looked down, retreating a couple steps. "Nothing. Nothing happened."

"Exactly." Erza smirked, nodding calmly.

"But Erza, you said you wanted to get roped to a bed-"

Her body took over before she could react calmly to the cat, and the next thing she knew her leg was fully extended while he was flying halfway across the town into the rain, and not on his own power.

She heard a giggle from the blonde, and turned her fury on her. "What's so funny? I most certainly didn't say I wanted to be roped to a bed while Natsu fucked me in the ass and demanded I call him master!"

Her mind caught up with her mouth too late and she reacted the only way she knew how. Soon Lucy, gaping mouth and all, joined Happy in flight toward the house that seemed to be at the center of the persistent downpour.

"Not a word," she warned Natsu. He just nodded, his eyes wide and his lips pressed tightly together. She felt kind of proud. In the past, she might've punished him just for being there when those words were said. This was definite proof that she'd grown.

"Good. Let's find Juvia now." She nodded, satisfied, and started in the direction of the perpetual raincloud. No doubt this would lead them to Juvia... And the reason for Juvia's disappearance.

When they arrived at a small hut at the center of the rain, Erza knocked hard on the door. No answer came after several moments, so she decided to try again. Still no answer. Beginning to feel annoyed, she knocked harder. At this point Lucy and Happy, both looking worse for the wear, rejoined them outside the hut. Lucy looked like she was about to say something, but Erza simply gave her the look.

When nobody came to the door after waiting several more minutes, Erza decided she'd had enough. She punched the door hard. The result was quite satisfying. The door came off its hinges and exploded back into the room.

The four quickly entered the hut, stepping into what appeared to be a simple living area. A small couch sat near the corner of this main area, and a single rug was spread in the middle area. The door to the bedroom was open, and through it they could see the the headboard of the bed, as well as a couple pillows and a tangle of blue hair lying on the pillows.

"Juvia!" Forgetting their earlier disputes, the group rushed into the room. Juvia lay facing away from them on the bed, only her head visible above the blankets that were pulled tightly over her.

"Gray-sama…" Her lips muttered the words deliriously, but her eyes remained tightly shut. The visible portion of her forehead and ear glistened with sweat, and the faint odor of illness hung heavy in the air.

"We need to air this place out," Lucy exclaimed, quickly running for the window. Erza also headed for the other window, while Natsu and Happy ran to the bathroom. They soon returned with a bucket of cool water and a towel.

Even with the team caring for her, Juvia didn't wake up for several more hours. When she finally awoke, Erza made sure she was the first to talk to her.

"How did this happen, Juvia?" She asked the girl, concerned for the other woman's health. "How did you let yourself get in this condition?"

"Gray-sama is gone…" Juvia muttered, her voice exhausted and weak. "Gray-sama said he didn't want Juvia…"

Erza's mood instantly took a turn for the worse. "Ok, where is that fucker? Time to knock some sense into him again."

"He left," Juvia wailed, and the downpour outside the house intensified. "Gray-sama left Juvia."

"Ok, so I guess we're not getting anything more out of her." Natsu commented. "How about we get out of this rain and see if we can sniff him out."

"Well, perhaps we should ask around first." Erza said. "See if there's any trouble locally. Maybe somebody knows something that could give us a clue."

"I agree with Erza," Lucy said. "If we just run off and start sniffing, we might end up headed in the wrong direction."

"Aye sir!" Said Happy cheerfully.

"Read the mood, cat!" Yelled Lucy.

"Aye sir," Happy reiterated.

"Lucy kick!"

"Lucy got fatter!" Happy yelled as he flew across the room.

"Stop making fun of my weight,cat!" Lucy yelled as she chased after Happy to deliver another kick.

Erza sighed as she watched the two squabble like children, then turned to Natsu. "Let's go see what we can find out about Gray," she said. Natsu nodded, and the two departed the little hut, leaving Lucy and Happy to their shenanigans.

Unfortunately, the interrogation of the villagers went rather faster than she expected. Not to mention, it didn't exactly yield good results. It kind of pissed her off how every villager just seemed to faint the moment she exerted the tiniest bit of interrogation pressure.

Now only a couple houses remained. Erza and Natsu approached the first house, a quaint little home that looked to be little more than 4 walls, a door, and a couple of strategic windows. The house itself was plain brown, with the trim around the doors and the windows a dark green color. The door was painted white, and in front of it lay a brown and white mat.

Erza approached first and rapped sharply on the door a few times. A voice came from inside. "Just a moment, please!" There was a clatter of footsteps, and then the door opened to reveal a middle-aged man with a slightly squarish face. He had a rather average nose, with drooping eyebrows, a noticeably receding hairline, and the middle-age pooch that stuck out above his belt. His clothes were neat and tidy, but rather plain and clearly of the inexpensive variety. He spoke in a sort of monotone that matched the response to the knocking on the door.

"Can I help the two of you with anything?"

"Perhaps," Erza responded. "I'm Erza and this is my partner, Natsu. We're looking for one of our guildmates who was living in this town for a long time. He's around Natsu's height, but just a little more on the skinny side. He has really dark blue, practically black, hair, and a bad habit of taking his clothes off constantly."

"Sure, we've seen Gray around. But if he's missing I don't know anything about it." The man smiled. "Name's Hotoro, by the way. Dare I ask why you're here looking for him? If he's not at his house he might just be out on a trip somewhere."

"His girlfriend told us he went missing a little while ago and he didn't tell her anything. So of course, we suspect something must've happened." Erza scowled, releasing her 'interrogation power' toward the man. "Are you sure you don't know anything?"

"Nothing at all," the man replied, shaking his head. "Sorry I couldn't help."

"It's fine," Erza said, a little dejected. "We'll have to keep looking on our own. Have you heard any rumors of anything weird around the town?"

"Nope," the man replied decisively. "Nothing goes on around here. Probably why your friends chose to train in this area. It's always real quiet out here."

"Alright, well thanks for your help…" Erza sighed and the two of them turned away, heading for the last house.

Perhaps they'd unintentionally left this house for last, or perhaps it was the grandiose style that put them off. The final house stood well over 70 feet high, with a walled garden entrance and an ornate iron gate barring entry to the garden. The house was constructed of the finest polished stone, with enormous windows revealing large portions of beautifully furnished rooms on the inside. The door, faintly visible beyond the garden path that led in, seemed to be composed of single slabs of wood that were each 5 feet in width and 10 in height. And lifelike statues of various well-known creatures could be seen scattered throughout the garden.

At the right side of the gate, on the stone wall that rose 6 feet from the street level, there was a knocker that was just above shoulder height for Natsu. Or at least it looked like a knocker, but when he took hold of it and attempted to knock he found that he could only pull it back slightly and return it to its original position.

However, it apparently accomplished its purpose, as the next moment a voice came through a communications lacrima hidden in a section of the stone wall nearby.

"What do you want?" The voice was a high baritone, a bit nasal, and very harsh - almost to the point of being annoyed.

"We're Fairy Tail wizards, and we'd like to talk to you about something." Erza figured they might as well get straight to the point."

"Fairy Tail Wizards?" The harshness disappeared immediately. "Come on in!"

Without another word, the gate suddenly swung inward, and the two stepped onto the garden path. As they walked along, they noticed that the garden was filled with rare and beautiful flowers, as well as many more stone statues than those that had been visible from the street. But Erza did a double take when they were near the end. There, in life size, realistic stone, stood the members of Team Natsu - Natsu, Lucy, Erza, and Gray.

"Erza, Natsu!" A young man probably only a couple inches taller than Levy met them at the door. His hair, styled up to somewhat resemble the mess that topped Natsu's head, looked pink at first glance, but a closer look revealed that the roots were black. Dyed. Erza for some reason felt immediate disdain, but tried her best to push it aside. "It-it's such an honor to meet you! What can I do for you?!"

"You seem quite familiar with Fairy Tail," Erza said tersely. "Were you perhaps aware that some other Fairy Tail mages have been living here recently?"

"Just as scary as the rumors say!" The young man looked as though he was in awe. "I can't believe I'm here talking to you in the flesh!"

"Just answer the question please," Erza said, her frown deepening.

"Oh, well, yes. I guess I've seen Gray around a bit now that you mention it. And that blue-haired chick…" he appeared to be thinking for a moment before snapping his fingers. "Oh yes, Juvia!" He then smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm really more into Team Natsu than the rest of the guild, so sometimes I have trouble with names. Well, except Mirajane. I looooove Mirajane!" He actually started drooling here.

Erza felt suspicion rise in her mind. This guy definitely seemed very off. More than just off. Maybe he kidnapped Gray as a sort of start to some weird Fairy Tail mage collection. Somebody that obsessed had to be up to no good.

"Ok," she said. "So if you know Gray was living here, did you also know he went missing?"

"Gray?! Missing?" The as yet unidentified man's eyes widened. "I had no idea! How long has he been missing?!"

Erza rolled her eyes at the obvious facade. "Now look here," she instantly exerted a small portion of her pressure, just like she had at all the other houses. "You're the last person to talk to in this village, and nobody else knew anything. And besides, just look at your garden. You're obviously the most suspicious person of anyone here, and-"

"Erza."

She shot an annoyed look at Natsu. Why was he interrupting her? "I'm in the middle of an interrogation Natsu. Now back to what I was saying," she turned her attention back to the young man in front of them. "All that together makes you the obvious culprit-" She cut off again as she finally registered that the man she was berating wasn't even awake. He'd passed out from the pressure, just like all the others, and now lay on the ground at her feet.

"Why do they all have to be so weak?" She growled in frustration. "How are we supposed to get to the truth now?"

"Umm," Natsu seemed to be looking back in the direction of the previous house. "You said why did they all have to be so weak?"

She shot him an annoyed look again, not in the mood for repeating herself. "Yeah, what of it?"

"Don't you remember? The guy in the last house… Whore or something like that?"

"Horoto? You're right." It suddenly hit her. The plain, middle-aged guy didn't even react to her pressure. Like it was nothing to him. Thinking to this point, she felt her anger boiling again as she turned and raced back toward the house they'd left only a few minutes ago. "Damn you Horoto! What are you hiding?!"

This time when she pounded on the door, nobody answered. No voice came from inside. Not even a single sound proceeded from within the house. She pounded harder for about a minute before deciding to kick things up a notch.

She kicked the door as hard as she could. But instead of the door crashing open as she expected, she felt a powerful rebound force against her leg that knocked her backward. Before she had time to react she'd landed back on the walkway on her ass. Hard.

She got up quickly, looking as dignified as she could. Seeing the smirk in Natsu's eye, she coughed lightly. "Ahem. It would appear this door is barricaded by a magic spell. My guess would be that This Hotoro guy doesn't want us to find out what he's up to in there."

"Or he's not in there anymore, and the barricade is one of those high-class magic locks that keeps unwanted visitors out," Natsu offered.

"He wouldn't have had time to leave," Erza replied tersely. "We weren't at the other house that long."

"My nose says different," Natsu said. "It's telling me he headed off to the northeast, and moving fast too."

"Well what are you waiting for?! After them!"

Natsu instantly obeyed, and the two raced across the wilderness in the direction that Natsu's nose told them Gray would be waiting.

~~~~~~~~Another Part of Town~~~~~~~~

"Hey Lucy," Happy said.

"I told you to shut up cat!" Lucy growled.

"But this is important!" Happy said.

"Fine, what is it?"

"You're fat!" Happy said, then dodged a kick. "Also, Natsu and Erza just ran off that way, and they're moving really fast."

Lucy turned to see the duo's forms fading rapidly in the northeast. "Hey! Wait for us!" She yelled, and she and Happy immediately gave chase.