The Chaos of Time

Chapter 13

Look Alive

In Magnolia:

"Hey gramps! What the hell did you kick out the pinky for! How am I supposed to get a rematch now?" The source of the voice was Gray, who was standing, shirtless, with his arms crossed. From the other side of the guild, two girls stopped there fighting and turned their heads. "Yes master. I too would like to know that."

Sighing, the old guild master set down his beer before standing up on the counter. "Listen up you miscreants! Let this be a lesson to all of you. Never put your family in danger! That being said, it was by no means permanent. We can't have new members hurting us. This was meant as a lesson for Natsu. I would have let him rejoin after a day or two." Coughing to the side, he continued, though he sounded slightly embarrassed.

"Unfortunately, it seems the Natsu has left the city, and Wendy has followed. Sooooo…" He drew the word out as he glanced around the room, before lying eyes on his target. "Gildarts go find them and bring them back!"

Said man spluttered his drink before glaring back at the master. "Come on master, I just got back. Can't you send someone else?" The master just grinned to the ceiling. "Nope! Get going and bring those two back." He said before plopping down and resuming his drink, ignoring the grumblings of the guild ace.

Despite his complaints, the Crash mage did as he was told and left the building. A few minutes later, Erza sat up from her spot on the floor, exhausted after her fight with the demon slut. "Time to beat up someone else." She said in glee, before glancing around the room. "Huh, Where's Gray?

Somewhere in the forest:

Sitting on a ragged cloth, the only protection from the ground, sat Natsu. A solemn look plastered on his face, as he stared at the nothing at the other side of the tent. It was the middle of the night, but he wasn't tired, nor could he sleep even if he was. His thoughts were too focused on the events of the previous few days.

He'd saved a town, gotten kicked out of Fairy Tail, and then captured by slavers. Taking a deep breath, he sighed. He wasn't too worried about his current situation. All he had to do was wait until the magic-restraining cuffs were removed.

What troubled him, was Fairy Tail. It had been his life. His crutch after the initial loss of Igneel. It was the home of his friends and his family. And now it was gone for him. He was alone, and all because he had been too proud.

Glancing down to his side, he smiled. There lay the small sky dragon slayer, gently sleeping, while hugging another child. He wasn't entirely alone. At least he had her.

Wendy was like a beacon of hope, and not just for him. All the other children who feared what was to come looked up to her. She smiled, and hugged them, and promised they would be fine.

It was with the sight of her sleeping face, that he set his resolve. Auction day was in the morning, and he would save all of them. He would save these kids. He would protect his family. He would protect her. With those thoughts, he lied down his head, and drifted into darkness.

The Following Morning:

"Look alive everyone! Today's your lucky day!" A large man, with an ugly face said, before breaking out with laughter.

The children in the tent shuddered as the cold air swept in through the open tent flap. "That means right now, ya runts!" He shouted after a lack of response, and grabbed the nearest boy, and threw him outside.

The response was immediate as the remaining children scrambled to their feet. Once outside, they were all gathered up into a large group. A little girl, no older than four, clung to Wendy's side, tears streaking down her face.

The blue haired dragon slayer just stroked her head, while whispering to her.

As Natsu glanced around, he couldn't help but feel a stabbing pain in his heart. He had been so selfish. Worrying about his own problems, while all these other kids had their own. And they weren't as fortunate to have the mind of an adult in their bodies.

Turning to Wendy, he spoke quietly but with force. "Wendy. We must protect everyone. If your hands are loosed even a little, let it all out."

She was about to respond, when the leader of the slavers arrived, standing upon a stool for extra effect. "Ah my children! How unfortunate it is for me to say this, but today is goodbye. As much as it pains me, profit must be made. So! Look alive, and hope you get sold. For if any of you don't. Well, let's just say I don't have to budget to keep you on this earth."

With that said, he turned and stepped down, while his men ushered the kids into their wagons. After a lot of shouting and jostling, the wagon began to move.

It was about an hour-long ride, with the smell of the ocean became increasingly more prominent as they went.

Upon arrival, with knifes prodding them onward, the children were removed from the wagon. What lay before them was a much larger camp. Natsu growled as they were shoved forward through the camp, before being locked into another tent.

"Natsu." A voice piped up behind him. Turning around, he met a stern look from Wendy.

"What is it?" She glanced around, before speaking again, though in a whisper. Without his enhanced hearing it would have been almost impossible to pick up.

"I think they may remove the handcuffs when they put you on stage. That would be a good time to do something. If you can distract everyone, I can try to round up the kids."

Natsu smiled, and was about to respond, when he felt a tug on his right arm. Turning to the side, he noticed the young girl who had been clinging to Wendy the night before.

"Excuse me sir, but she told me you would get us all out. How are you going to do that?" The little girl asked, with hope just poking through the fear on her face.

"What's your name?" He asked, while looking into her eyes.

"Well, the people at the orphanage said I didn't have one. So, they named me Leya"

"Well I'm Natsu, and I'm a Fairy Ta…" The words choked briefly as he said them, but he continued. "I'm a wizard. I'll beat up all the bad guys and keep you safe."

A beam of admiration shone from her eyes, and Natsu smiled. "Thank you so much!" She spoke excitedly, briefly forgetting their current position.

Unfortunately, the present made itself known again when Alexi entered the tent. "Alright little ones, time's a wastin, and there's money to be made! Who wants to go first? Huh? No one? Then I will choose…" After a drawn-out breath, he jammed his finger towards a child close to the entrance.

"This one! Good luck. Look alive, and please do fetch a hefty sum. I would hate for our time together to have been a waste." He said, with a minor pout on his face, before tilting his head back and letting out a laugh.

"Ah gets me every time." He spoke silently, though Natsu heard and it made his blood boil. All this was nothing but a joke for him. It made him sick.

Unable to do much, all the two dragon slayers could do was wait.

Out in the Forest:

Gildarts grumbled as he walked. This was not an ideal day for him. He didn't mind the walking, or the assignment that much, but the suddenness? He could only tear up at the thought of that beautiful girl waiting on his doorstep, waiting for his handsome self to sweep her off her feet and…

A twig snapped behind him and he snapped around, unintentionally shooting his Crash magic into the bushes, obliterating the greenery into cubes. A high-pitched scream sounded as a young child dove out of the bushes.

"What the hell! You almost killed me!" The voice shouted and Gildarts just stood there, staring at the raven-haired boy standing in his underwear.

"What are you doing here?" The older mage asked.

"I want to teach that pink-haired bastard a lesson. Before he gets back to the guild." Gray responded and crossed his arms.

Shaking his head, Gildarts just said 'Go home kid,' before turning and resuming his walk.

After several minutes of walking, ignoring the child behind him, he turned again. "Really kid?"

Gray just stood there, staring as sternly as he could. "I'm coming with you."

Gildarts just sighed before continuing his walk. "Well, if you die it isn't my fault."

With Gray following behind, trying his hardest to keep up, Gildarts had continued along the trail, tracing the residual magic signature.

After a few hours of his pace, he came upon a group of tents. Entering the camp, he followed the sound of voices that came from one of the tents.

Poking his head through the door, much to the shock of the card playing occupants, he spoke. "Excuse me, but you wouldn't happen to have seen a couple of kids around here? There's a boy with pink hair, and a girl with blue hair."

One of the men stood up, drawing a knife, before sneering at the intruder. "Who the hell are you, and so what if I had?"

"The name's Gildarts. From the Fairy Tail guild. You may have heard of me." His statement was met with a lunge from the knife wielder, the point aimed towards his throat.

Gildarts let out a brief sigh, before swatting the knife, which proceeded to vaporize into small cubes.

Lashing his hand out, he grabbed the bandit by the neck before raising him off the ground, and running his eyes over the other occupants. "Now then, I don't have time to deal with you weaklings."

"Tch, you…bastard." the hanging bandit managed to get out before he was slammed into the ground, knocking him unconscious.

Before either of the remaining men could react, Gildarts had rushed across the room, delivering a punch to the midsection of one, sending him flying through the tent wall.

Reaching out, the Crash Mage grabbed the remaining occupant by his arm, twisting it behind his back painfully.

"How about you give me the information I want, or I will break every bone in your body."

Stepping out of the tent soon after, he turned to the young ice mage who had been waiting outside.

"Sorry kid, but I gotta run." The ace of Fairy Tail then turned and took off, leaving the dumbfounded child behind.

A/N: Sorry everyone for taking so long to get out a chapter. Life is full of distractions, and writer's block is a killer. As for the story, I wrote Chapter 12 on a whim as a means to reach a certain outcome, but wasn't sure how to get there. So for the mixed reviews, please bear with me. This arc will be over in a chapter or two, and hopefully it will be something you all enjoy.

That all being said, I am in the process of trying to plan out the future of this story, so I am open to any and all ideas that you readers may have. Feel free to leave a review of dm me with any questions.

-ChaosofTime is out