Dragon Mating Season

Missing

Third, they will become protective.

{LEVY'S POV}
I groan, my eyes fluttering open. I remember meeting those two masked men, then fighting a bunch of dark guild members. They weren't that strong, but there were just too many of them that the three of us got overwhelmed.

After that, nothing. We were probably drugged, so everything is blurry. I sit up. For the second time this week, I'm bound tightly at the hands and feet. This is getting old.

I see Lu-chan and Mira a short distance away and try to inchworm over to them. It's taking forever, so I give up and look around for a way to cut the ropes.

We're being held into some sort of cave prison. The walls are made of jagged rock and a wall of iron bars with no visible exit separates us from a forest outside. Couldn't they at least leave us a door?

I roll over to a particularly sharp rock jutting from the wall and use it to start sawing at my bonds. The rock cuts into me, and the ropes are rubbing my skin raw, but I grit my teeth and keep going.

After ten torturous minutes, I'm free. I rub my shackle burned wrists and grimace, then untie my feet and go to the other girls, untying their hands and feet too.

"Where are we?" Lu-chan groans, rubbing her eyes.

"I don't know." I reply. She finally sees the extent of our predicament and bolts upright.

We both look at Mira, who rolls over and mutters something like, "Five more minutes Lisanna."

I shake her. "Mira. Wake up!"

She blinks, then gasps and sits up. We all evaluate the situation. Each of us tries to break the cage bars, but they repel magic like the anti magic chains. Also, Lu-chan's keys have been taken.

"What now?" Lu-chan asks. I'm about to respond, when Mira shushes us. Then I too hear the unmistakable voice of Herman.

"Cal said to give the prisoners food and don't let them die, but don't talk to them or let them escape. I will give the prisoners food and not let them die, but not talk to them or let them escape." He repeats over and over.

I have an idea. "Play dead." I hiss, dropping to the ground, putting my hands behind me and bending my legs so he can't see I'm untied. They both follow my lead.

"Hey! I have food! Oh wait, I'm not supposed to talk to you." I hear Herman banging on the bars, but my eyes are closed.

We don't move.

"Aren't they hungry? Why don't they move?"

Still, we remain motionless.

"Oh no. I think they're dead. Cal's not going to be happy. I was supposed to keep them alive, because the master needs them alive." I risk opening my eyes a tad, and see Herman scratching his head.

"Should I go inside? Cal said not to, but if they're dead, they can't do anything." He places his hand on the cage door. Unfortunately, I can't see how he does it, but the bars retract to create an opening.

Herman walks in and leans over me, poking my cheek. With all my strength and a lot of determination, I use both my legs to kick him, and he steps back with a grunt.

"Now!" I shout. Lu-chan, Mira, and I scramble to our feet and dash towards the exit. Herman tries to blast us with wind magic, but he only propels us faster. The opening closes right after we make it out, leaving Herman trapped inside.

"Uh, can you let me out?" He asks as we pant for breath. "It can only be opened from the outside."

We look at each other and snicker. Time to gather some information. "I really wish we could, but we don't have the key."

Lu-chan catches on quick. "I have keys, Levy-chan. Too bad I don't know where they are."

"Those gold and silver thingies?" Herman perks up. "Cal has them."

All of us share a glance and smirk. Herman seems to think it over. "But those keys won't open this door. Why did you want to know that?"

Mira smiles sweetly at Herman, making me shiver. She's scarier than any masked kidnapper. "So how do you open the cage?"

Herman tilts his head. "Same way you open all the other doors in the base. Just channel magic into the center of it."

"I see. Thank you." Mira grins at us. We wave at Herman as we leave.

"Wait. Aren't you going to let me out?" Herman calls behind us. We ignore him.

Lu-chan takes a deep breath of fresh, not cave air. "So, we're finding Cal and getting my keys back, then finding out what these guys want us for?"

I nod. "Obviously. We'll be back before the dragon slayers even know we're missing."

{NATSU'S POV}
Lucy's missing. That's all I can think about. We tortu—interrogated the 200 or so members of the dark guild Dark Eclipse that fought the girls, and they willingly volunteered the location of their base after a few minutes.

Then a man and woman came out of nowhere. We recognized their scents as the ones who kidnapped Lucy and the others the first time, so I tried to attack the man, but his girlfriend, who's apparently the ice dragon slayer, defended him.

Emery and Misaki explained to us how their goal is to speed up the process of mating season and make sure things go without a hitch, so we enter an uneasy truce, although I still don't like them for taking Lucy against her will.

Since we know whee their base is, Laxus, Gajeel, and I are raring to go, and itching for blood, but Misaki stops us.

"I'm just as worried about the girls as you are, but I can't let you go on foot. Even though it's slower, we're traveling via my magic." She demands, creating a storm cloud.

"Why?" I growl.

"You'll destroy things." Emery responds.

"What makes you say that?" Gajeel snarls.

"The East Forest. You ripped up half of it."

Oh yeah, we did do that. Emery continues, "And that brand new trail you carved to Haumaforte? And Lucy's apartment? Need I go on?"

"Fine." I hate how logical this guy is.

We jump onto Misaki's snow cloud, and she floats us into the air and flies us in the direction of Dark Eclipse's base. I'll make them pay for daring to steal my mate.

This thing is too damn slow. I need to get to my Luce right now. I just hope she's okay.