The morning sun blinded Natsu as he and his team walked through the woods. Lifting a hand to his eyes, he did what he could to keep the annoying brightness out of his eyes. He stumbled on a root in the middle of the path due to his distracted state. Gajeel chuckled beside him, finding his misfortunes hilarious. Natsu grumbled in frustration.

"Erza, how much longer?" he called out to the redhead in the front of the group. Erza pushed a bush away from the path.

"The sky port is another few hours away Natsu, we should be there by six. Any later and the last airship to Tiar will have left."

Sky ports had first developed a few years ago with the help of the guild Blue Pegasus. They were faster than ships and could reach land areas that other modes of transportation couldn't like the cliffs that made up Tiar's coast. The Dragon Slayers groaned lowly. The thought of riding an airship already made them feel queasy, but they did their best to look indifferent. They had motion sickness patches for the trip, but they would only last for so long. Gray and Elfman snickered at the three Dragon Slayers. Erza rolled her eyes.

"I'm surrounded by children," she muttered.

"So, what exactly is the plan when we get there?" Gray asked, dodging a tree branch.

Natsu smirked, "Find them, beat them up, and go home, easy as pie," he said confidently.

"Natsu, even I know that that isn't an option," muttered Elfman.

"We can't just beat them up Natsu, we need to think about it a little deeper than that," said Laxus, shaking his head.

"I agree," said Levy, "There's always the possibility that they actually get to Tiar and we need a real plan of action."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"LEVY?!" they all screamed in unison, shaking the earth around them.

"What?" the blunette asked, placing a hand on her hip. Levy was wearing a black shirt with two unconnected white sleeves. The sleeves had an orange diamond pattern at the top of them. She also had on a tan skirt and black leggings with her signature headband on her blue head.

"W-What are you doing here Shorty?" Gajeel said, taken off guard by his wife's sudden appearance.

"What does it look like, I'm coming with you," she stated, walking passed him. Gray, Natsu, and Elfman gawked at the woman while Gajeel grabbed her upper arm and pulled her back to his side. He glared down at the short woman who returned the glare with just as much resolve.

"Oh no you're not. You're going back to the guild right now where it's safe," he growled, but Levy remained unmoved.

"I made my decision, I'm coming with you whether you like it or not. You need someone like me here," she said, folding her arms over her small chest. Gajeel rubbed a hand over his face, his frustration growing worse.

"Why would we need you here?" Levy rolled her eyes, holding a hand up and counting her fingers.

"One, Gale is my daughter as much as she is yours. Two, I might not know much, but I do know a little bit about Tiar from what I've researched. And three, I'm probably the smartest one here."

"Can't argue with that last one," muttered Gray, rubbing his neck in embarrassment. Levy's glare softened. She placed a tender hand on her husbands arm, startling him slightly.

"I can help Gajeel. Please, let me do this. There's nothing left for me here without you and Gale."

Sweat began to build up on Gajeel's brow. He bit his lower lip, trying to fight the will to let Levy accompany him. However, his better judgment failed. He sighed angrily.

"Fine." Levy smiled at his answer. She stood on the tips of her toes and gave her husband a kiss on the cheek before running up to the front with Erza. Gajeel grumbled to himself. Glancing to his side, he saw Natsu, Gray, and Elfman giving him cheeky looks, Laxus walked passed them, finding their stupidity ridiculous.

"What are you all staring at?" he barked. Natsu shrugged.

"Just trying to figure out who wears the pants in your relationship, you or Levy."

"Shut up Salamander, Levy put up a fight to come. Did Bunny Girl?"

"Yes actually, but at least Luce respects my decisions."

"Would you like some ice for that burn, Gajeel?" said Gray smartly. Natsu held a fist up which Gray gladly bumped in response. Gajeel snarled at them, continuing his hike up the dirt path. The group of now seven continued their trek through the forests of Magnolia. Natsu's mind wandered back to his child, wondering what Nashi and the other poor children could possibly be facing in the hands of Krugger the Kidnapper.

FAIRY TAIL

Thump Thump Thump

Nashi grumbled, her bed kept shaking and waking her up. She shifted around, trying to get comfortable on the hard, moving surface.

Wait? Since when does my bed move on its own?

Reluctantly, Nashi opened her brown eyes. The area was very dark and smelt unfamiliar to the young Dragon Slayer. She tried to sit up, but something was restraining her hands. Using her elbows, Nashi sat up in her seat. Her eyes were starting to adjust to the dim light of the area. The room was filled with wooden crates and water canteens. Nashi looked around the room once more, her eyes landing on the multiple bodies' surrounding her. She squinted, trying to make out who they were.

"Gale?" she whispered to the navy haired girl. Gale scrunched her eyes before they slowly opened. She glanced up at the pink haired girl.

"Nashi? Where are we?" Gale struggled to sit up, her wrists bound as well.

"I'm not sure," Nashi answered. She was starting to grow nervous. She couldn't smell her parents anywhere and it was frightening her. She wanted her mommy and daddy badly. She looked down at her neck and gasped.

"What's wrong?" called another voice. Gale and Nashi turned around to find Asuka waking up from her sleep and looking at them concernedly.

"My scarf is gone," Nashi answered.

"You were freaking out over a scarf?" said Otoko, sitting up as well. Billy soon followed suit from beside Asuka. Nashi glared at Otoko, though she doubted he could see in the dim light.

"It's not just a scarf. My daddy gave it to me and it's super special." She couldn't think of a greater gift from her father. She only had it for a short time, but it already held great importance to her, just like her father's scarf. Nashi felt a hand on her shoulder and glanced at Mai who must have woken up while they were talking.

"It'll be okay Nashi. Maybe you left it back at the guild."

"But the real question is where are we," said Asuka, looking around the small space. All of a sudden, the room was filled with light. The six children squinted at the sudden brightness.

"Hey Krugger, the brats are awake," said a high-pitched voice. Without warning, the children were pulled out of their shaded haven and into the light of day. As their eyes adjusted to the brightness, they focused on the mysterious newcomers.

Before them stood three people, two boys and a girl.

The older man had dark orange hair and some on his face. He wore a dark brown tunic with a belt and orange armbands. Nashi's eyes were drawn to the two scars across his cheeks. He didn't look too thrilled to be in the children's presence based on the bored expression in his dark brown eyes.

The second man looked much younger than the other one. His hair was strange, with one half of his hair yellow and the other white. He had on a black leather jacket and a dark gray tank top. He had on white jeans with a silver chain hanging from one of the front pockets.

The woman looked only a couple years older than Asuka. She had pitch black hair pulled into two pigtails; on her head was a large black hat that engulfed her entirely in shade. She was wearing a red long-sleeved shirt and black corset along with a black skirt and black fur vest. She glared down at the children fiercely with her blood red eyes.

"Why do we need more kids again?" the woman groaned, "Granny already has more than she needs."

"You heard Krugger, he said we specifically needed mages," said the younger man. The kids stared at the piercing on his uvula, "This should be our last pickup."

"Who are you people?" Asuka demanded, taking the leadership role of the group. She glared at the people before her, but the young man and woman just laughed.

"Look Finny, she thinks she's scary." The older shook his head.

"Give the kid a break. It's not like she knows where we're taking them.

"Where are you taking us?" Billy asked, afraid of the answer.

"Tiar."

The six children heard a slight thud from behind them. They turned around to the best of their ability. Behind them were two wagons, one of which they assumed was the one they were just in. Near the far one stood another figure. His black cape flowed as he stomped toward the children. They assumed he was this "Krugger" guy because the three associates bowed slightly at his presence.

"We are taking you to Tiar, where you will serve in a great work," he said lowly. Nashi didn't like these people in the slightest. They kidnapped her and her friends, took her from her parents, and now wanted them to do something against their will, and it was probably evil. Nashi jumped to her feet.

"We'll never help you!" Nashi held up her arms, preparing for an attack.

"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!" Everyone waited for Nashi's attack to hit the man in front of them, however nothing happened. Nashi blinked in confusion, bringing her arms back down. Her eyes fell on the strange contraption that kept her wrists bound.

"Each of you is being restrained by Magic Canceling Cuffs. You can try all the magic you want, but it won't do anything. If you know what's good for you, you'll do as we say, or…" Krugger eyed his team, the children looked at them too. The older man held up a hand, a bright light emanating from it. The second held up a finger, smirking. The finger grew three times in size, the end being as sharp as a spear. The young woman simply smiled largely at them, razor sharp teeth visible for the children to see. The children gulped, looking back at Krugger.

"Now," he said, "are we going to have any issues?" No one responded. Krugger cast his gaze on the oldest of his team members, "Breccan, get the donkey ready. We'll be reaching the sky port soon. Cashel, Finola, chain the children together. They're walking from now on." The man turned around, heading back to the main wagon.

"Fairy Tail will stop you. My daddy's going to make you pay."

Krugger glanced over his shoulder. Nashi stared at him angrily. She didn't care who he was or what power he had, he wasn't going to push her around. Krugger strolled back to Nashi and kneeled down to her height. He grabbed the top of his hood and pulled it off so Nashi could see his appearance, she noticed that around his wrists were cuffs with chains attached to them.

He looked much older than the rest of his group with his dark gray hair and beard. His face was full of wrinkles and some flaking skin. His eyes were dead looking; one was black while the other was completely white. Nashi wanted to gag when he opened his mouth and a horrible stench coming from it.

"You, my child, will never see your daddy again," he spat. Nashi tried to remain indifferent to his horrid tone. Krugger stood once again, putting the hood back on his head and stomping back to the wagon. Cashel and Finola finished chaining the children together and started pushing them along the dirt road. None of the children spoke as the four strangers led them on through the woods.

Nashi swam in her thoughts. She had no idea what was going on or what would befall them, but she knew that her father would find her. He would always find her.

And she would do whatever she could to make his task easier.

FAIRY TAIL

"Are we almost ready?" a snarly voice asked. The owner of that voice was a large, bald man. He wore an army green shirt with the sleeves torn off and leather gauntlets on his wrists. His associate looked up at him, smirking.

"Almost ready Ward. These fairies won't know what hit them."

Ward smiled evilly, looking down at the city of Magnolia below. He was still frustrated that six, which he later discovered was seven, mages of the notorious guild Fairy Tail left the city before the runes were put into place, but he was determined to keep the rest in place. Krugger and Mother Agnes were going to be furious with him when they found out, but at least he could stop the rest from escaping and mark his name in history as the man that brought Fairy Tail to it's knees.

In the Fairy Tail guildhall, everyone was trying to return to his or her regular activities, but it was nearly impossible to do so in their circumstances. They were all extremely tired and worried sick. They had faith in the rescue team, but just how long would it take them to recover the lost children? They just hoped they reached them before Krugger got to Tiar, or it would be increasingly more difficult.

Lucy sat with Happy at the bar, her head on the counter. She couldn't sleep at all last night. Her husband and daughter had been on her mind all night. She missed the warmth Natsu provided when sleeping and seeing Nashi's smiling face once she woke up. Lucy looked up when she felt a light hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Mirajane looking at her concernedly.

"Are you okay Lucy? You look awful." Lucy chuckled at Mira's bluntness. With much effort, she brought her head up.

"Who doesn't Mira," she said, gesturing to Jet and Droy who were sleeping in a corner, unconsciously cuddling with each other. Mira giggled.

"I suppose, but you look a little worse than most of the people here."

Lucy shrugged, "I don't know, maybe it's the stress of it all." Mira nodded in agreement. That was probably the reason. Happy looked at Lucy sadly, holding up his half eaten fish.

"Will my fish make you happy Lushi?" not a second later did Lucy bring a hand to her nose.

"N-No thank you Happy, but could you eat that somewhere else. It smells really bad."

"No it doesn't!" he exclaimed. Mira shook her head at the two friends. Though it wasn't the best idea, it was nice to know Happy was trying to cheer her up.

"Why don't you eat that somewhere else Happy, Lucy isn't in the mood." Reluctantly, Happy nodded and took his fish over by the window. Lucy smiled at Mira, silently thanking her. For some reason, Happy's fish smelt worse than normal. It was probably old; he never did know the difference. Mira placed a hand on Lucy's.

"I know how you're feeling Lucy, don't worry. Natsu will get her back."

"And let's not forget Gray-sama!" said Juvia, joining the group. Lucy and Mira laughed. They were impressed that she didn't go chasing after him right after her left. Juvia smiled at Lucy.

"They will be home soon Lucy-san, just you wait."

Lucy grinned, "Thanks Juvia." Lucy turned to Mirajane, "Mira, I'm feeling a little hungry, can I get a milkshake?"

"Strawberry?" Mira asked.

"I'm in the mood for chocolate today." Mira nodded happily, glad Lucy was getting back to her cheerful self. She threw the ingredients of Lucy's chocolate milkshake into the blending lacrima and turned it one. A couple seconds passed before all of a sudden it turned off. She raised an eyebrow in confusion. She had just purchased the new device a couple of weeks ago, was it already broken?

"Is everything okay Mira-san?" Juvia asked, noticing the silence of the normally noisy machine. Mira scratched the top of her white head.

"I'm not sure. This lacrima is practically brand new, it shouldn't be broken."

"Maybe it's jammed or something," said Wendy, joining in with Carla. Mira shook her head.

"I doubt it." All of a sudden, the lights began to flicker above them. Lucy stared at the light lacrimas in curiosity. Then it all stopped. The lights had completely died. Everyone began to murmur amongst themselves, wondering what could have happened.

"Strange," said Carla, "First the blender and now the light lacrimas." Pantherlily glanced outside, "It looks like the rest of Magnolia is experiencing the same problem. All the lights and magic mobiles are out. Do you think it's a power outage?"

"But magic mobiles don't run on electricity, they run on magic," said Cana. Everyone began to grow nervous. Lucy pulled out one of her many Gate Keys and held it out in front of her.

"Open, Gate of the Ram, Aries!" Nothing happened, not even a tiny spark. Carla tried concentrating on her area magic, but nothing sprouted from her back like it was supposed to. Everyone in the guild frantically tried using his or her magic but to no avail. It was hopeless.

There was no magic.

"What is going on?" muttered Lucy staring down at her keys. This made absolutely no sense.

"Look!" Everyone was startled by Freed's sudden exclamation. He was pointing outside through the back windows. Lucy and a couple others ran to the back of the guild and gasped.

Along the border of the cliff and onward were the unmistakable markings of runes. Lucy opened the back door and walked up to the runes, Freed, Master Makarov, and Mirajane following her. She stretched forth her hand but was stopped by the rune wall. Freed looked up and found the rules of the runes.

"It says that all magic within the runes is cancelled out except for the following names," Freed skipped the names to see what else was written. He looked down at Makarov, a look of fear on his features, "no Fairy Tail members may enter or exit."

"Can you disable it? You are a Rune Mage," asked Mira. Freed shrugged sadly, "Not from within here. I can't use magic just like the rest of us."

"Do any of you recognize these names?" Makarov spoke up. Mira, Lucy and Freed stared at the names but didn't recognize any.

"What is happening here?" Lucy whispered to herself. The four were suddenly startled by the sound of Lucy's name being yelled. Their eyes landed on the back door of the guildhall where Happy was running out to meet them as fast as his little legs could carry him. Lucy scooped him up once he got close enough.

"What's wrong Happy?"

"When I was sitting at the window, I saw a bunch of storm clouds, and there was this large group of men coming toward the guild. Look!" he said, pointing to the sky. The four mages looked up into the once clear blue sky to see a large cluster of gray storm clouds slowly engulfing the sky. The winds began to grow more ferocious around them and Lucy clutched Happy closer to her in fear that he would be blown away.

"These clouds, they are not natural," said Makarov. The group quickly ran into the guildhall. When they entered, they saw a large group of their comrades standing by the entrance. They rushed over and pushed their way through the crowd. Their eyes widened at what laid on the other side.

Walking down the street was a large group of men. They shot magic in every different direction, scaring off defenseless citizens. The man in front was bald with a green shirt. He smirked when he saw the group of Fairy Tail mages. He threw a hand toward the guild.

"Attack! Capture them all! We can't let anyone get away!" To the guild members' surprise, a lightning bolt came shooting from his hand and at the guildhall, taking out a small section of the building. The mages of Fairy Tail tried using their magic to fight back, but just like before, nothing happened. Lucy glared at the man who was strutting down the street as if he owned the place. If she had her magic she would teach him a lesson.

"Retreat to the basement!" Makarov's voice suddenly exclaimed. Lucy was shocked to hear such an announcement, especially from her master. She looked down at the old man.

"But Master, we can't just-"

"Don't argue with me Lucy!" the man snapped, "we are outnumbered and defenseless. We must find some way to defend ourselves so we can come up with a plan of attack."

Lucy was about to argue back when she felt Happy squirming in her arms.

"Lushi." She stared into his large irises; fear was etched on his face. Lucy felt conflicted. She wanted to fight, she wanted to prove her worth as a Fairy Tail mage, but if it meant risking the lives of her friends…

"Okay," she muttered, following after Makarov. Everyone in the guild ran toward the basement for safety. The path was dark, and without light lacrimas it would be increasingly more difficult to see, but they continued down into its depths. Lucy stood in the doorway, looking back as the men destroyed more of the area and got closer to the guild. Anger bubbled in her. This wasn't going to be the end. With that final thought, Lucy closed the door, locking her and the rest of Fairy Tail deep under ground.

Ward watched from outside as his men stormed the hall. He smirked to himself. He thought the fairies would have put up at least a little bit of a fight, but it looked like he was mistaken. One of his assistants came running up to him panting.

"The guild members have locked themselves down in the basement. We can't get the door to come down, even with our magic. It must be built to withstand magic sir."

Ward waved him off, "It doesn't matter. They can't do any damage down there. Keep a couple men in the guild at all times. They can't stay down there forever, and when they come, we'll be ready for them." With that, Ward laughed, his siege of Magnolia a complete success.