Hello, minna-san! ♥ Here is the next chapter of my NaLu fan fiction!  I hope you all like it, haha!  I dedicate this chapter to AiraIsabelBenito; thanks for the feedback!  You're an awesome person! ^.^ I might not be able to publish the next chapter today, because I have to go to my neice's birthday party. c:  She's so adorable~!  Well, sorry if that's true! ^.^;  I will try, though!  Feedback is, as always, very much appreciated!  Until next time!

яу-¢нαи,

тнє иαℓυ ωяιтєя ☆

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"Welcome,"  The male said.  "Fairy Tail."

Natsu turned to face the two mages, his face becoming serious and suspicious.  Everyone else froze, turning forward as well.

The female snickered.  "Lores, when do you think we can play with them?"

"Those two..."  Carla murmured.

"Look!"  Gray replied.  "The Disappearance Staff, and the Casting of Magic!"

"They're the thieves!"  Erza exclaimed.

Lucy was staring at them with horror, strangely unable to move her eyes from them.  And just so, the man revealed to be Lores focused his sharp eyes on Lucy, making her flinch.  Suddenly, he flashed in front of Lucy, making her body tense.  Everyone else gasped, but Lucy found that she could not; she couldn't even move, either.

He rested a finger under her chin, lifting her face up.  "You're Ms. Lucy Heartfilia, then?  I'm surprised; I'd expected someone more capable of Rose's power."

Natsu appeared, shoving Lores away from Lucy.  "Don't touch her!  Lucy's gone through enough already!"

Lores smirked, flashing away to stand back next to Loren magically.  "That will be determined by us."

"What?"  Natsu asked, his voice threatening.

"Go ahead, Loren."  Lores replied, and the female now known as Loren smirked in triumph.

"What're you--"  Gray began to ask, but was interrupted as Loren lept into action.

Grabbing ahold of the Casting of Magic container, Loren waved her hand over it, and the top burst open.  As soon as that happened, water burst from it, becoming a giant wave that slammed into everyone.  The air was knocked out of their lungs, and they were sent to the ground heavily.  

Coughing up water, Lucy gagged for air along with the others, who were stunned.  Then, just as they were trying to get up, ice appeared out of nowhere, turning the puddles under all their bodies into ice.  It went up their hands, creating heavy spikes that trapped their arms and legs to the ground.

Lucy was the only one who wasn't pinned.

"W-What the?!"  Natsu grunted, trying to pull himself free.  "Ice?!"

"I c-can't break free!"  Wendy exclaimed, fearful.

"Neither can we!"  Happy exclaimed, referring to him and Carla.

Natsu tried lighting his hands on fire to melt the ice, but the flames wouldn't surface from under the ice.  "What?!"  He exclaimed.  "I-I can't use my magic!"

"I can't either!"  Erza replied gruffly.

"I can't even use my ice magic!"  Gray exclaimed.

"Hang on!"  Lucy exclaimed, standing up.  "I'll--"

Lores apeared behind her, landing a heavy blow to her back that knocked her unconscious.  He caught her with one arm, her body leaning halfway over it.

"Lucy!"  Natsu exclaimed in shock.

"Why're you doing this?"  Erza exclaimed.  "And what did you want with the Disappearance Staff and the Casting of Magic?"

Lores grinned, flashing away to stand back next to Loren.  "To be able to defeat you, Fairy Tail.  We knew you were coming; to see the dragons.  But I'm afraid I have some bad news for you; they aren't here."

"What?"  Natsu asked, his eyes wide.

Lores smirked.  "It's true.  We're the only ones here!"

"B-But Rose said---"  Wendy started, but stopped abruptly when Loren's threatening eyes landed on her.

"That woman is a liar."  Lores replied.  

"Who are you?"  Carla dared asked, her eyes small in wonder.

The two mages grinned at the exceed.  

"We,"  Lores began.  "Are the Brother and Sister Dragon Slayers."

"D-Dragon Slayers?!"  Natsu exclaimed.

"That means...  Loren is a Water Dragon Slayer and Lores is an Ice Dragon Slayer!"  Wendy exclaimed, completely thrown off guard.

Lores smirked.  "There's much more than that, which you will soon see."  He adjusted his hold on the unconscious Lucy.  "If you wish to save this girl, you'll head farther inside this terrain, and to the ruins near the cliffs."

Turning away, Natsu sensed he was about to leave.  "Hey, wait!  I won't let you--"

Loren smirked evily at him, but then turned her back to him and flashed away with Lores.

"Wait-!"  Natsu exclaimed, but they had already gone.

"This ice..."  Gray murmured.  "It's not normal!"

"It seems to be restricting us from using our magic..."  Erza murmured, outraged.

"Damn it!"  Natsu exclaimed, furious.  "We gotta get out of these!"

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When Lucy opened her eyes, the first thing she felt was the bounds on her wrists.  Flashing her eyes open, Lucy looked around wildly.

She was inside a large building, with nothing inside but the stone structure.  The building itself was falling apart; there was no ceiling, and part of the wall was crumbling.  There was a window next to her, and Lucy climbed to her feet to look out it to she where she was.

With a gasp, Lucy's eyes widened.

She was basically over a cavern; one that disappeared into darkness.  It stretched as far as Lucy could see; both ways.  There was a bridge that went across, but Lucy wasn't sure she would cross it anytime soon.  It was made of white brick, but was only wide enough to fit three people in a line on it.

Why am I here?!  Lucy's mind exclaimed.  Where are Natsu and the others?!

Lucy was about to look for an escape, but then she heard noises behind her.  Turning around abruptly, she saw Lores standing there.

"You're awake, I see..."  He murmured, scanning her with his eyes as threatening slits.

In shock and fear, Lucy dropped to the ground, scootching back to the wall behind her.

"What's going on?"  Lucy asked.  "Why are you doing this?"

"You're a threat to us."  Lores simply stated.  "So we need to wipe you out."

"W-Wipe us out?"  Lucy flinched.  "But why?  We just came here to find the dragons!  Where are they?"

"They aren't here,"  Lores replied, his face impassive.  "We've been here long enough to know."

"T-They aren't...?"  Lucy murmured, her eyes widening.

The realization struck Lucy like a slap to the face.  She'd led them into a trap; not to the dragons.  She really did let Natsu and Wendy down...just like she feared.

Rose...lied to her!

"Who are you?"  Lucy asked next, her voice quivering slightly in blame.

"I'm an Ice Dragon Slayer, Lores."  He replied.  "My sister is a Water Dragon Slayer; Loren."

Lucy clenched her teeth, trying to release her bonds.  "Why are you trying to kill us?!  You should be looking for the dragons, shouldn't--"

"We already tried a long time ago."  Lores interrupted, his voice bitter.  "We came here, and there wasn't even a trace of them."

Suddenly, Lores smirked.  "Until we realized we should be doing something else so the dragons would come back."

"Something else?  What do you mean?"

Lores looked at her with a crazy smirk on his face.  "It isn't the dragons leaving that's the problem.  It's humans."

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"I've got it..!"  Natsu exclaimed, pulling with all his might.

His right hand broke free, but not without injury.  His right hand was now bleeding from the sharp ice, and it was frozen severely.  Quickly lighting his hand on fire, Natsu set to work on freeing his friends.

Walking over to Erza, Natsu set fire on her ice, which slowly started to melt.

"At least this ice has a weakness..."  Erza murmured.  "Once you get one limb free, you can use the magic on that hand or foot."  Her face turned grim.  "However, it takes a long time to break free, which gives the perfect advantage to the enemy."

"Who knew I would actually think ice is annoying for once..."  Gray muttered.

"Natsu, are those two really dragon slayers?"  Happy asked, his face worried.

Natsu didn't look at him, but responded.  "It seems like it."

"I just don't get this..."  Wendy murmured.  "Why would they attack us?"

Everyone was silent, unable to answer.

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Stay tuned for the next chapter, Chapter 19: Lores and Loren's Motive!

I hope you all enjoyed~!