The Next Dragon Slayer

Venom Rose

The thick, thorny vines full of those horrible flowers cover the entire guild, and I mean it. They drape over the whole building, blocking all entrances and exits. My dad's face grows angry again, as it does when someone or something threatens something he loves. This time it's Fairy Tail.
I'd heard about the guild being destroyed before by Gajeel when he was a part of Phantom Lord. But that was a long time ago. This time the guild isn't destroyed so much as trashed. Still, when Dad charges up there to tear the vines off, Mom pulls him backwards. She can tell that touching those things won't end well. Dad is fuming when he instead uses his magic to burn away the plants. His Fire Dragon Slayer magic is way more powerful than my own. I'm learning all I can from him, though.
After checking the perimeter to make sure we got rid of all the roses, we all file back into the guild hall. But the inside wasn't left completely untouched. Gasps flood through crowd as they see what's been posted on the wall. It's a picture of my little brother Luke's team as they're being held in captivity. There's a message underneath that reads, We have your little Fairies and if you want them back alive you'll have to come get them.
The wind is knocked out of me. This message feels like a punch to the gut. Not Luke, they don't have Luke. I mean, we do fight sometimes, but I love him. I dare one more look at the picture on the wall. Luke's blond head is dirty and he looks messier than usual. He's covered in cuts and bruises. I can't see his Celestial Spirit keys with him. He's completely helpless. Luke and his team are all around 14 or so. They're too young to be caught up in all this.
I look to Mom and see she has a hand to her mouth and silent tears running down her cheeks. Right next to her, Dad is wearing an even scarier look of rage before. This is Overprotective Natsu Dragneel. I can tell right now that he'll run straight to Venom Rose and rip it to shreds.
The guild doors are thrown open again and more people rush in. The Redfox family stops in their tracks to look up at their twin children in the picture next to my brother. Emma looks shocked, Levy looks heartbroken, and Gajeel looks like my dad. They're both going to get revenge and heck if I don't help him them get it.
Soon enough the whole guild is there, including the Fullbusters, who are shocked and horrified to see Rin up there in the picture. Storm steps over to me, as does Emma, and I stand there with my two best friends as we gaze at the tortured faces of our younger siblings.
This will not stand.
Gramps stands on the bar to make an announcement to the guild about the situation. I don't even catch a word of it, though. My brain is already forging a plan to get my brother and his team back. But then my attention snaps to what is being said. Gramps is sending out a team to get them back. Only problem is, we're not part of it, and neither are our parents.
"Gramps, that's not gonna happen." My dad growls.
"We're going to get our kids." Gajeel snarls.
"This isn't up for discussion." Gray looks Master dead in the eyes.
"No, you are not going," Master's giant fist smashes the men down, crushing them beneath it, "I'm not sending your team because you're too attached to think clearly. You'd make a mistake that could cost you your lives and your children's lives."
Crap, he makes a good point. But the protest isn't over yet.
"Master, we need to be the ones to rescue them!" My mom shouts, her eyes still red from her tears.
"No, child, I'm afraid not." Master sighs.
"You have to let us go!" Levy cries.
"Let us save them, we're their parents," Juvia swipes a hand across her eyes and then stands up along with everyone else.
"My decision has been made, I can't allow you to go." Master hardens his gaze.
Then, typical for our guild, a fight breaks out. There's yelling, tables are being smashed, it's total chaos. Usually I'm down for a fight, but right now this is all too much. I quietly slip out of the hall and walk to the field for some peace. My boots scuff the bark of one tree as I hoist myself up to sit on a branch.
Once I'm seated with my leaned back against the tree, I continue to think, think about the plan I started formulating back at the guild. Unfortunately my mind keeps wandering elsewhere.
My brother and his team are young, they're not even allowed to go on dangerous jobs. The one they were on was simple, and it was fairly safe. Some rich couple decided they needed security for their party, and by security I mean they wanted people at the door to make sure only those with invitations got in. But somehow, being "security" for a party turned into being kidnapped and held captive. Maybe I don't need permission to go get my brother back.
"Hey," Emma trudges up to the tree.
"Hi," I look down at her.
She pulls herself up next to me and sits down. "You thinking about them?" She sighs.
I can hear the worry in her voice. "Yeah, I think we need a plan." I shrug, frustrated that I can't think of something good.
"Even if we had one, we wouldn't be able to act on it. Master is determined not to let any of us get involved." Emma crosses her arms.
We both go silent. Even though no one is talking, I know we're both thinking about the same thing. We want to get our siblings back, and we're going to find a way to do it. Then a thought pops into my head. Finally, something good. My head whips towards Emma and the words are off my lips in an instant.
"Emma, let's form a team and go rescue them ourselves. What do you think?"