"Their mission was changed. To 'lead the Dragon Slayers here.'

The moment Natsu heard those words, a horrid sense of foreboding made itself known to him. And when you were raised by a beast, especially one as magnificent as a dragon, you knew that you should always trust your instincts.

"Kuso!"

"Bastards! Damn!"

He howled, rage and agony all mixed up as he screamed his frustrations to the world. The bastards were tearing his magic away, the very essence which made him him, one of the few things which tied him to Igneel…

He could see it, feel it being drained away, sucked out of him. And it felt like an important part of himself was being ripped away, torn to shreds by the very same people who hurts his nakama. He couldn't do a single thing about it, in this horrid world of uncertainty, where magic didn't exist.

He didn't notice when the pain stopped, but he couldn't ignore the screams coming from next to him, the piercing shrieks of Wendy which cut through the haze in his head, and reminded him of just how useless he was. Damn it.

"Stop it! I'll give you her portion too! Leave her alone!"

"Tell me. Surely this isn't all of the supposed Dragon Slayer's power? Say it!"

Wendy bowed her head in defeat as the man in front of her continued to speak. She couldn't say it. If she told them how Dragon Slayers got their power… Natsu would…

"Say it!" The man commanded, going through the motions which would allow him to steal her magic once again.

A tear slid down her cheek as her will broke down completely. Surely… Natsu could withstand it? She just couldn't stand it anymore, this constant draining of her core… Even Natsu had fallen, silenced as he hung from the chains in the midst of unconsciousness.

Sorry, Natsu…

Gray kicked open the door without hesitation whatsoever, concern for his nakama –dare he say it, even Natsu- coursing through his veins and fueling his actions. Charles and Lucy followed almost immediately after. They saw Wendy, lying crumpled on the floor in front of a huge rock which had the picture of a dragon painstakingly carved on it.

"Wendy!" the group cried, all rushing to her side. She was unconscious, and slightly pale, but otherwise fine.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Wendy!" Charles sobbed, lying over her friend's body, tears streaming down her face.

"We better get them to take the exballs," Gray said, popping the pill into Wendy's mouth.

She coughed harshly a few times, eyes sliding open as she gazed at her nakama. "Natsu… Natsu is…" she said, her voice soft.

"What's wrong with Natsu?" Gray nearly shouted, worried for his… friend? Rival? Whatever. Now wasn't the time to think of such things. What mattered was saving him. "Where is he?"

"G-Gray…" Lucy stuttered, alarmed by the volume of his voice, and the intensity behind his words.

"Natsu… He…"

Natsu's eyes weakly slid open as he returned to the conscious world again, his sight blurred by black patches that made up most of his vision. He could feel the muscle in his arms tearing, his wrists torn and bloody from the chains they tied him up with. He couldn't remember where he was…

He remembered telling Wendy not to give up, sharing their hopes that their nakama would come to rescue them. Then… he said he would take her place, so long as they would stop hurting her. And… he thought he remembered Wendy apologizing.

"Awake?" the man whose name he didn't know –nor want to know- said, sneering.

He snarled. If only he could eat some fire, he was sure that his strength would return… Then he would punch this bastard's face until he turned his nakama back. His eyes widened as they met flame, the brightness momentarily blinding him.

Was he going delusional? Fire had appeared just as he wished for it… Hope started to kindle in his heart, a flickering candle which chased away the shadows of doubt. Was he finally going to be able to fight back?

"So you know what this is, ehh? Dragon Slayer," the man said, beckoning for the soldier carrying the torch to walk forward, "Too bad we do, too," he smiled greasily, eyes mere slits.

That candle was promptly doused as the soldier shoved the torch down his throat, forcing him to swallow the flames. It was more than a little uncomfortable, but it gave a slight boost to his magic, which was all gone again as quickly as it appeared, sucked away by the contraption which stole and away at his core.

His eyes showed his desperation, his frenzy, as the implications of this made its way through his brain, which processed too slowly for his liking. And the screams began anew, a spice of despair added to previously wounded howls which had had to be wrenched from a reluctant throat.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Your Highness. The extraction is complete for now."

"Excellent work."

"The magic power of Dragon Slayer is indeed magnificent. If they consume their element, their magic power gets an instant boost. Unfortunately, one of the Dragon Slayers' –the girl's- element was air. We could not do anything about the quality of the air, but for the male it is an easy matter. With this, it won't be a problem converting that into a weapon…"

"In order to destroy Extalia, the Royal Army intends to crash the giant Lacrima into it! They're going to use everyone at Fairy Tail as a bomb!" Wendy said, her voice high with rampant emotions.

"In Edolas, they have floating islands. I'm sure you all saw some of them, right?," Lucy explained, as she tried to make some sense of what she was hearing. "It seems like they float using Extalia's magic power. It said in the book that they control the balance of magic in this world."

"And our nakama that have been turned into Lacrima are on one of the islands?" Gray asked, arms folded in thought.

"One right next to Extalia, yes…" Charles said, her voice carefully blank. It was obvious that she was still feeling guilty about leading the group into the trap. "Right now, floating above the Royal City where we are, is Extalia and the Lacrima." She added.

"They'll hit the floating island with Dragon Slayer Magic to accelerate it, and crash it into Extalia. That's what the Royal Army is planning," Wendy said, shakily.

"What'll happen?"

The magic power of Extalia and Fairy Tail will collide, explode and fuse… They said magic power will rain down on this country for eternity…"

"If they do that, then everyone in the Guild will…"

"They'll disappear!"

Natsu lay slumped against the slab of stone, wrist held up by chains which were stained red with his blood. His skin had broken, the flesh raw and bleeding. He thought maybe that the flash of white he saw when he peered up to assess the damage was bone, but he wasn't too sure. He couldn't trust his sight, not when everything was all blurred together in a jumble of colors.

"Damn it…" he cursed weakly, voice hoarse from screaming.

He could feel his skin bleeding in a thousand different places, and bruises of different sizes starting to form. The Royal Army… The name roused a well of hatred and anger, a well that was steadily growing deeper and deeper.

They had apparently discovered that his magic would flare protectively whenever he got hurt, in an attempt to heal and protect him. He snorted. Fat lot of good it did. It only encouraged them, as it meant there was more magic to be drained away. He felt weak, like a cripple. And he supposed in some way he was.

It was… disgusting. He felt as if he were nothing more than a pawn, as if every move he made was futile, and he could only dance in the palm of a greater being. His pride, his ability, his magic. All that he had once believed in was what had broken him. They manipulated his ability to eat flames, extracted his magic, destroyed his pride and scattered it amidst the wind.

Where did this cynical side of him come from? He couldn't quite remember feeling like this ever before. Yet, this constant feeling of depression and worthlessness, the shroud of shame which hung around him, suppressing him... It was somehow tinged with nostalgia, as if this torment was once a constant in his life.

He couldn't remember anything about his time before Igneel. He accepted Igneel as his father, and treasured the old dragon. But now, his mind started to wander, and approached a topic that he wanted to stay far far away from. His real family.

Igneel was his father. That would never change. But even he wasn't stupid enough to believe that his human parents, the ones who had given birth to him, didn't exist. So then why had he wandered into the forest that day, that day he found Igneel? Why didn't they come looking for him?

Or maybe, they abandoned him? Left him to die in the forest because they couldn't stand looking at how utterly worthless he was? He couldn't even help himself, let alone save his nakama. His lack of ability to do anything was, in fact, helping the enemy. Would anybody want such a useless child?

And, as if a barrier in his mind had broken, a torrent of memories washed over him. Of his life before that fateful day in the forest. It left him drowning it the sea of emotions that was attached to the memories, and with each choked gasp that escaped him, his memories became just that little bit clearer.