Nashi:

Was I delirious? Probably.

I was losing a big chunk of magic power and I was still aching due to the torture from when I got knocked unconscious last time. The reason I wonder this is because I thought I heard someone say Reiki's name. Maybe my senses are still knocked out of whack.

Whatever the case, Lilith was going to be back any minute now and I'd rather not be here when she does. I tugged at my restraints again, praying that there might be a rusty link in the chains that would break if I pulled it hard enough. There was no such luck. My restraints held steadfast, unwilling to break and set me free.

"Damn it," I cursed, finally giving up as my restraints dug further into my wrists. When my heartbeat and breathing calmed down I could hear shouting coming from far away. I held my breath and listened harder in an effort to make out what was being said. Sweat dripped down my forehead as I prayed that it was something good.

There was a crash and something big hit the floor. 

"Where the hell is my kid?!"

I smiled the biggest smile I could muster, which wasn't very big, but I'd recognize that voice anywhere. Whoever was about to stand in my dad's way was going to be very sorry.

- - - - - - - -

Erza:

"Someone seems to be making a fuss," Kyoka pointed out the sounds of combat coming from upstairs. 

"I'll go check on the other prisoners," Lilith determined and left the dungeon, her lab coat flowing behind her as she left.

"Yaktoriga," Kyoka called. In response, an octopus/frog looking creature came slithering out of a hole in the ceiling. It carefully surrounded the two redheads, making sure not to touch either with its electric tentacles. "Be a dear and keep an eye on these two," Kyoka instructed. "Don't touch them, I want to be here when they break,"

Kyoka then left the room to see the commotion coming from further inside the cube. The door slammed shut and the lock clicked into place. Erza immediately directed her attention to her son.

"Reiki are you alright?" She questioned in an almost frantic tone. Reiki rolled his head up and looked his mother in the eyes. His expression softened at the sight of a familiar face.

"I'm okay," he answered.

"What happened? Where have you been?" Erza was now interrogating her son. Asking him questions about everything she could think of.

"Slow down," Reiki groaned with a forlorn expression, "After the eclipse gate incident, we were about to go back to our own time when Nashi found us. She's alive, but that woman who was just here transported all of us to a random location. I get the feeling she kept hold of Nashi, however, I don't know why,"

"Don't worry about her," Erza soothed. "She walked into Fairy Tail all in one piece a few weeks ago,"

Reiki's eyes lit up at his mother's words. "She's alright?"

"She and the rest of the future team are missing as of now, but I'm sure she's doing fine," Erza explained. Reiki gave her a skeptical look.

"What do you mean they're missing?"

Just then a screaming cry of pain was heard all throughout the halls of the dungeon. The voice was female and she sounded young. Reiki gritted his teeth at the sound of someone else in pain and pulled against his bonds. 

"We're not the only ones here," Erza pointed out in a concerned tone. 

- - - - - - - - -

Natsu:

"Welcome to your new home," The guards teased as they threw Natsu into the cell. 

"You think these bars can hold me? Open up and I won't roast you alive," Natsu growled. He was more than angry now, his blood was boiling with pure rage. "Where are they? You'd better tell me before I have to beat it out of you,"

"Whatever man," The guards stalked off. 

"Natsu?"

Natsu turned around to see that he was not alone in his cell. Handcuffed and lying on the floor were Storm, Gale, and Kali. "Are you guys okay?" Natsu questioned. He was relieved when they told him they were only a little beaten up. What concerned him was the fact that Nashi wasn't with them. "Where's Nashi?" 

The future team looked at the floor. This made Natsu nervous. 

"We haven't seen her," Gale whispered. "but we've heard her,"

Natsu's breathing stopped and his heart dropped in his chest. "What do you mean?" Natsu grumbled. Storm gritted his teeth in anguish, there was anger and sadness in his eyes. 

"These hallways carry sound pretty well... We think that the torture chambers are somewhere down this hallway," Gale explained sadly. Natsu inhaled sharply at the thought. No... Nashi was so kind and good. Why would anyone hurt someone like her? How could anyone hurt his little girl?

As these thoughts crossed his mind, a scream broke the silence. It was a cry that broke his very being. It shook his soul and stirred up an immense rage as he heard his daughter cry out in pain. 

"No... no, no!" Natsu cried out as he ran to the bars of the cell. "I'm here Nashi! Just hang in there," He called out as he gritted his teeth in anguish. Behind him, he could hear the silent whimpers of the future team. 

"She can't hear us," Kali sniffled. "We've called out to her so many times, but she hasn't responded,"

Natsu clenched his cuffed fists and growled. By hurting his child, Tartaros was effectively torturing her and her friends. The cruelty of their situation was almost too much to bare. "We've gotta break out of here,"

"Good luck with that," came a silky voice. From down the hall, a woman in a slim dress and lab coat came walking towards the cell. As she stepped into better lighting, Natsu could see her dark hair and glasses that framed around her red eyes. She stroked the iron bars with her manicured fingernail. "These bars can hold much worse than the likes of you three lovelies. Oh? Why I didn't realize we had a new friend,"

"You better back the hell off lady," Natsu growled, standing to his full height and staring her dead in the eyes. 

"Down boy," Lilith sneered. She flicked her fingers and sent everyone in the cell flying into the wall. The air was knocked out of their lungs at the blow and their cuffs were pulled up to where they were suspended on the wall.

Natsu and the future team struggled against their bonds as Lilith stepped into the cell. Her high heeled boots clicking on the stone floor as she stepped closer. "It seems you all still have not learned your place," She lectured. She raised her hand and pointed it at Gale. The girl had a look of fear written all over her face as a magic circle formed on Lilith's palm.

"Leave her alone, she didn't do anything," Natsu spat. Lilith side-eyed him and lowered her hand. She stalked toward the dragon slayer eyeing him carefully like a jungle cat studying her prey.

"You remind me of one of my pets in the other room,"

"If you're talking about a pet, then shouldn't it be me you're looking at," Kali stated. 

"shut up," Lilith waved her arm and sent the exceed flying face-first into the floor. Natsu gritted his teeth and growled. "ah, that's it. You must be her father," Natsu's blood ran cold. 

"Listen lady,"

"Lilith,"

"I don't care!" He barked. "If you touch her I swear there will be nothing left of you but a pile of ashes and some manicured nails,"

Lilith smiled. "I'd like to see you try," She let out an evil laugh and walked out of the cell. After locking it up again, she released the prisoners from their position on the wall. Natsu ran at the cell bars and stared intently as Lilith started to walk away. "As for my dearest pet Nashi," She snickered. "I believe I know her better than any of you,"

"What makes you say that?" Gale challenged. Lilith stopped and looked back at Tartaros' prisoners.

"I spent three months studying my pet. Did she ever mention anything to you all about the cost of being a dragon slayer?"

Nobody said anything, they were clueless.

"I guess not then," Lilith smiled sinisterly. She stalked back to the cell bars, looking down at her prisoners. "I've studied hundreds of types of magic, however nothing has fascinated me more than dragon slayer magic. It's an ancient power and a dangerous one at that. However," she grinned menacingly. "the cost of using it is far greater than you realized. I myself have come across only two dragon slayers that have payed this price, but there are many more dragon slayers just like them,"

Natsu's heart sped up as he realized what she was talking about. It couldn't be.  

"One of them being the black dragon himself, Acnologia," Lilith sneered. She noticed the expression on Natsu's face and grinned deviously. "You know what I'm talking about don't you," 

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" He snapped. "I've been a dragon slayer my whole life and I'm just fine! Nashi will be too,"

"Natsu what is she talking about?" Storm questioned wooriedly and innocently.

Natsu looked back at the future team. Concern and confusion were written all over their faces. They were scared.

"So they don't know," Lilith chuckled evilly. "Acnologia was once a human himself! He used dragon slayer magic so much that he turned into the creature he had set out to kill in the first place!"

Lilith was now laughing like the mad scientist she really was, her insanity showing it's true colors.

"If your friend doesn't get a hold of her magic, SHE'LL BECOME A DRAGON JUST LIKE ACNOLOGIA AND ALL THE OTHER DRAGON SLAYERS THAT CAME BEFORE HER!" 

"I SAID SHUT UP!!!" Natsu raged. He ran at the cell door hoping to break the bars and get free. He had no such luck as the bars held fast. Lilith had stopped laughing, but she was still smiling like the devil. 

"what?" Gale whispered. Her eyes were wide and glassy with tears that threatened to fall. Her shock was overwhelming, leaving her speechless and unable to move. Nashi, her best friend and surrogate sister was going to lose her human life? 

"You're lying!" Storm yelled. "Natsu and Lucy wouldn't have let her become a dragon slayer if that was true. Even if it was, how come the dragon slayers are still human in our time?"

"That question still requires more research," Lilith sneered. "Unfortunately this facility only has two torture chambers that are both currently in use... I suppose I'll just have to take you all back to my own lab in Alvarez. Then I can study you as much as I want without interruptions," Lilith concluded.

"Like hell you will!" Natsu barked. "As soon as I break out of here I'm gonna burn you and all of Tartaros to nothing but ashes. You stole three months of my daughter's life, you're not stealing any more of her time or anyone else's ever again!"