"Natsu's the one in the scarf."

Chapter Two

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Makarov fell to his knees, tears falling non stop. The blonde woman grabbed Natsu by the back of his waistband. She walked past Makarov, she dragged Natsu behind her. She waved her hand, a huge smile plastered on her face.

"That was fun, let's play some other time again, Makarov."She chirped. Her boots clicked against the sidewalk and road. She disappeared from eye sight.

Time began running again. Clocks ticked. The clouds began moving. Everyone went back to their business as if nothing had happened. Except for Gray,Makarov, and Elfman.

Gray fell to his knees, the gash was still there on his back. Blood oozed from the open wound. Elfman was unconscious. Makarov was still crying his heart out. The rest of the guild didn't notice, until they heard Gray's body hit the ground.

"Gray!"Juvia shouted and ran to his side. A few others ran to help her carry him to the infirmary.

Lisanna ran to aid Elfman, Mira right beside her. Erza noticed the giant hole in the guild. She looked around for Master Makarov and found him beaten up leaning against the entrance of the guild.

She carried him towards the infirmary and placed him on a bed. He seemed to have been in a battle.

"What happened?"she demanded. Seconds ago they had been partying like crazy and now Makarov,Gray and Elfman were beaten up.

Makarov managed to choke out a sob. He made no attempt to speak. His mind was somewhere else. He needed to find out how to get Natsu back without having to run into that blonde monster.

"Call Wendy, and Porlyusica. "Erza ordered Lisanna. She sat on a chair beside the infirmary bed. "What happened?"

Makarov gulped down a lump of guilt in his throat. He first needed to come up with a good plan. One that wouldn't fail. "Later,"he said between shivers. His body hurt,badly. The blow caused his ribs to break. That woman was bad news. If Alvarez had powerful mages like that, he didn't want to know what would happen to his kids. For now he needed to clean the image of Elfman's lifeless body off of his head.

Erza nodded. Happy stormed through the door. "Natsu's gone! He's missing!"

Erza gave a sharp look at Makarov. He shook his head.

"We'll talk about this later,"Erza told Happy. "We'll find him."

Lisanna and Wendy walked in. Immediately Wendy rushed to Gray and closed the gash. She fixed Makarov's ribs. His breathing returned to normal.

"Gray will be unconscious for a few hours, Elfman should wake at any minute. You're fine for now, Master. Porlyusica-san should take a good look at you,"Wendy said. "I would recommend for you to rest."

"Rest can wait,"Makarov spoke in a hoarse voice. He felt the sharp stare of Erza. "Gather everyone, we have serious matters to talk about."

Everyone nodded and spilled out of the infirmary. Glancing to his right he sighed in relief seeing Elfman's chest rise and fall in a slow rhythm. Gray was bandaged and laying on his stomach. He too was breathing slowly. He was glad they were fine. He jumped off of the infirmary bed and walked out to the second floor. He stood over the railing and cleared his voice. Everyone was chatting silently among themselves. They stood quiet when they heard Makarov walk out.

"I have heart breaking news, everyone,"Makarov began. "Not so long ago, I had a battle with not just an ordinary mage. This woman was strong enough to carry 10 magic restrainers and still have enough power that could rival a wizard saint. She had power to stop time, that's why you felt as if nothing had changed. She is from the Alvarez empire. She came here for one thing; Natsu. She took Natsu with her. I'm afraid I don't know their intention with him, but I do know they are up to no good. "

Everyone began whispering again. Angry shouts were heard. Makarov shouted over everyone.

"Hear me out! This is no ordinary fight, I will have to have a chat with their emperor, I'll see if we can work something out to get Natsu back."

Everyone stood quiet. If this woman was as powerful as Master had described there was no way any of them stood a chance. Porlyusica walked through the guild doors without a word, she walked into the infirmary. Makarov jumped off of the railing and followed after her.

Erza slammed the door shut behind him. "All of this happened while we were all..."she thought of a right way to say it. "-Frozen in time?"

Makarov nodded. "She didn't know who Natsu was, she cut through Gray's back to have me talk."

"And you did,"Erza's words slipped out with hatred. She stopped herself, Makarov had done what was best. She knew somewhere deep inside she hated his decision.

Makarov held his breath. "I had no choice, she, she killed Elfman."

Erza's eyes widened. She looked at the sleeping Elfman. "Why didn't you tell Lisanna or Mirajane?"

"Mira already lived through having to lose Lisanna. If I hadn't let her take Natsu, she would have killed Gray as well. Then Gajeel. She brought Elfman back, and now we need to find Natsu."Makarov said.

"Did you at least find out her name?"Erza asked.

He shook his head. "I had other things to worry about, you're speaking as if I didn't care what happened to Natsu, Erza. I care. At the moment the only thing that mattered was not letting her kill another one of my children. "

Erza nodded and sat down on a chair. Porlyusica finished checking on them.
"They should be fine, they just need to rest. Gray's wound is already closing up thanks to Wendy. As for Elfman, he didn't feel dying, but his body went through the traumatic feel of it. There for he will not be participating in any of your lunatic events that you have in mind."

Elfman closed his eyes. It was true. His body felt weak. The area where the sword had been thrusted through his body was hurting. His body felt awfully cold. He shivered lightly. He had been dead. Even if they were a few minutes. He had been so close to being dead for good.

He pretended to be asleep, as if he had heard nothing. Erza eyed him closely. She had caught his body shivering for a slight second. His breathing wasn't slow in a peaceful rhythm. Porlyusica had already stepped out with Makarov. She walked out too and closed the door behind her.

Elfman had heard everything.