Gone For Awhile

The Hydra Guild

(Natsu's POV)

Something's changed. I don't know what it is, but something's definitely different about my surroundings. I opened my eyes, but everything was still dark. I couldn't find a source of light anywhere. Did I get captured? What about Jellal and that pink-haired girl, Meredy?

I try to move to stand up but end up toppling over, landing face-first into hard concrete. Ow! That hurt! Wait, am I in a dungeon? I focus my eyes on seeing in the dark and barely make out a cell with three brick walls and iron bars in front of me. Yep. Definitely in a dungeon.

I tense my muscles. Hands and arms are tied behind my back with rope. I should be able to bust them when the time is right. I use my legs to sit upright once more and lean my back against the wall. Now I wait. Ugh! I hate waiting. But this was Jellal's mission, and I have no idea where he is. I hope I hear an explosion soon. Or something, at least!
.
.
.
.
.
.
AAAAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!
.
.
.
.
I don't want to wait anymore! I want to go home! Stupid Jellal! I fidget with my bonds, acting like I'm trying to get out and making a general ruckus. Someone's bound to come down and stop me from breaking out. I manage to stand up and run at the bars, my face squishing through.

"HEY!!" I scream at the top of my lungs. "IS ANYBODY OUT THERE?!!" No answer. "HEEELLLLLLOOOOO!!!!!" Still no answer. This is pissing me off.

I back all the way up to the wall for a running start. I launched myself from the wall using my right heel and crashed into the iron gate of my prison cell, only making a dent in the bars. To my surprise, as soon as I backed up to try again, the bars straightened themselves out!

WHAT!!

Now how am I suppose to get out of here? I finally decide to burn off my bonds, igniting the flames on my hands and making them go all the way up my arms. Finished breaking the ropes, I stretch my arms and flex my muscles.

Staring at the gate, I try to think of a way out of this cell. Maybe Jellal is waiting for me to cause some commotion. ARGH! Why didn't he tell me his plan before I got caught!? Maybe that idiot got caught too and is somewhere down here with me. That thought makes me smile, but I wonder if I can melt the bars as I did for Lucy back in Crocus.

I walk up to my prison gate, hands on the bars, and focus my heat on my hands. They turn red under my heat, and I pull just enough to bend them a little out of the way. The hole I created is just big enough for me to climb through. But, they started straightening out again! My jaw dropped to the floor in utter shock. Now what? I can't use my strength or my fire. I am completely useless! I walk back to the wall and slump down to the ground.

I can't bend the bars or melt them because they go back to their original form. My magic is useless in this dungeon. And I'm losing precious time with Lucy! I wonder how long I've been gone now. Did Lucy go on another mission without me? I'm sure she did; she's got to pay her rent. She wouldn't have to worry about it if I were there like I'm supposed to be. I'm so frustrated with my situation I turn around, swinging my fist, impacting it into the wall hard enough for it to crack.

Stunned, I remove my hand and watch, waiting for the cracks to disappear like how the bars straightened themselves out. I wait a few minutes, but nothing. The cracks are still there, spidering their way away from the small crater my fist made.

FINALLY! A way out!

A big, toothy grin spreads across my face as I pull my arm back, fist ready. I swing my fist forward, smashing it into the crater. Over and over again, I pounded the wall. Damn! This is a really thick wall! With every punch, I hear the bricks crumble and weaken beneath my fist.

Finally, after about thirty-some punches, I break through the wall of my cell, the bricks tumbling down from above. I kick at the lower part still attached and climb my way through into another hallway. No sirens blared, and no one was rushing their way down the hallway. I look back into my cell to see the same nothing on the other side of the gate. Nobody's coming to check on their prisoner? What kind of dark guild is this? Nobody's watching me? Seriously?

I shrug my thoughts away and turn back to the hallway before me. Now, which way do I go? Crossing my arms in front of me, I contemplate the two paths before me. Left? Or Right? Shrugging again, I decide to go left and hope it leads somewhere.

Man! I gotta walk through another dark tunnel? It feels like I just escaped from the last one! At least the last one was a straight tunnel; this one is full of other hallways. I wander down the hallway after hallway, taking turns left and right, not really knowing where I was going. This is so frustrating! I can't even smell anything besides the mold growing on the walls!

As I have my mental tantrum, I catch the sounds of fighting and suddenly pick up Jellal's scent. A grin spreads across my face, and I rush down the hallways, following Jellal's scent. Once I reach the scene, I find Jellal and Meredy back to back, surrounded by red-robed figures, black lines across their faces and arms making them blend into the shadows from their hoods. A Two-Headed serpent was visible on the back of some of the robes. Without question, I suck in a deep breath and form a tunnel with my hands, crouching low as I cast my spell.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" I release my spell, and fire spreads along the ground, catching the robes on fire. Surprised by the sudden attack, they all turn towards me, Jellal and Meredy smiling as they now had backup.

Together, we took out the group that started the attack. Jellal used his METEOR spell to give him incredible speed. Meredy used her LINK magic to summon swords that caused immense pain without leaving a scratch. I used my Fire. I loved using my Fire since it was one of the only things I had left from Igneel.

Now that I had shown up, it was three vs. thirty, which gave us ten bad guys each. Not enough, in my opinion. The three of us took these out like it was a game.

Since Jellal and Meredy were all about destroying the entire guild, which I had no problem with, we kept moving. Eventually, with me in front sniffing for the enemy, we came to a stairway that was crowded with robed figures who were armed and ready with different spells. We readied ourselves, and another easy battle ensued. After a while, without thinking, I started counting points. Five points for the face. Ten points full-body takedown. Another five if I swept their legs and fifteen points if I made them tumbled down the stairs. Soon, Jellal caught on, and it became a competition between him and me. Meredy jumped in at sixty points for a domino effect, tripping one guy and making him fall down the stairs, taking three more guys in robes with him.

Jellal and I stared at her in awe before we all bust out laughing. I never thought we could have this much fun taking out a dark guild. Maybe one day, we could all team up again. I know how much he means to Erza. Jellal would make a great member of Fairy Tail.

Before we could continue up the staircase, more robes showed up, blocking us on both sides. I looked at the wall and sized up the space we had around us.

"Quickly! Get against the wall!" I shouted to Jellal and Meredy. They flattened against the wall as I cast my Wing Attack spell and pounded my flaming fists into the ground. The flames spread sideways and blew the robes up/down the stairwell. Jellal uncovered Meredy and himself from his cloak, which he had put up to protect themselves from my flames.

We then rushed up the stairs, jumping over fallen bodies. I had no clue where we were going, so I let Jellal lead. He obviously knew where to go since he didn't tell me where we were going. We must've taken out at least half the guild, but it wouldn't be over until we took out the guild master, whoever that was.

When we reached the top, we had to duck back down. The robes had gathered and bombarded the entrance with spells, blocking our path. I was not about to be buried in another avalanche. I saw a chance and rushed forward before a large piece of the stairwell came crashing down. Now it was just me against the guild. I turned my attention to the wizards before me, and a wide grin spread across my face. I punched my fist into the palm of my hand. "I'm all fired up!"