I awoke to a throbbing in my head where it had hit the rock floor. I didn't expect to be in the same place as I had been when I'd passed out but it still surprised me when I sat up in a room that looked like it was meant to be a control/dining room. Across the room, Wendy, Carla and Happy were searching the counter for food and Lucy, Natsu, Erza and Grey were peering at a thick, glass window worriedly. Lava was cascading down the outside of it as though the volcano had just erupted and right in the centre was a huge claw. It was long thin, and possibly a grubby white colour but because of the glow of the lava, I couldn't tell.

"What's happening?" I rubbed one of my eyes and stood up.

"Oh hey Wren" Lucy turned round and smiled reassuringly. "Well do you want the good news or the bad news?"

"Urgh... good news?"

"Well the good news is that we've found the demon."

I nodded. "And what's the bad news?"

"The bad news is that not only has the demon found us but it's ten times as big as we'd anticipated." Grey said, turning back to the window.

The demon could be huge especially considering the size of this one claw but I couldn't understand why they were all persistently staring at it. It wasn't going to move and I could already tell by the particles of the window that it was in no way going to break any time soon. It was built so the demon couldn't get in so chances are, the demon had never gotten in and we were perfectly safe.

"Hey Wren, you're up" I turned and to see Wendy coming up. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "I struggle transporting large numbers of people at once."

"Well why didn't you tell us? We could've found another way in!"

"Because there isn't one. I could tell"

Wendy shrugged. "Well anyway, we've found some sandwiches in the kitchen. They're fresh, the bread's still warm and nothing has mould on it. It's like people were making lunch and then suddenly just cleared out of here in a hurry."

"The stove was on as well" Carla said, landing on a table next to us. "We've turned it off now but as Wendy said, something must've driven them out to have left in such a hurry as to not even turn off the stove."

"I wonder what it could've been" I muttered quietly, not really wanting anyone to hear.

"It could've been the demon" Wendy glanced worriedly at the window that the others were still transfixed on.

"Don't be silly child. Look at the size of that thing. Do you really think that a demon of that size could've fitted through that hallway and into here? I doubt that claw there could even fit."

Wendy looked hurt. "I'm sorry Carla, it was just the only reasonable explanation."

Carla shook her head. "Sometimes you need to think before you speak child."

From over at the glass, Erza stepped backwards and headed towards one of the two parallel doors. She opened a small window and peered out. "There's still a little bit of lava there but it seems to be retreating. We should be able to get out in a bit and actually look around."

"What'll happen to the claw if the lava goes?" Lucy asked. "Will it reveal the entire demon or will the demon and claw vanish along with the lava?"

"Yeah that's a thought." Natsu leant on the control board in front of the window, resting his head on his hand. "We might be able to see it for the first time. Well, see it properly anyway. What do you think it'll look like? D'ya think it'll have horns and wings and breath fire and actually be a spirit, not a demon?"

"That'd be weird but you'd have thought that if anyone had seen it then we'd know what it'd look like." Grey said. "In fact, now you mention that, don't we usually get spoken to about a job before we actually go ahead with it? I mean, there's got to be someone there whose going to pay the reward money and who has suffered because of this demon."

"Maybe it left the volcano and went down to the village" Wendy thought out loud. "But then again, we'd have heard of it before simply finding it on a notice board."

"It does seem a little odd" Erza turned back to the slot in the door. "The lava seems to have gone from here so it should start to fall from the window."

"It is moving downwards" Lucy leaned forwards. "You'd have thought that in a moment we'd be able to..."

Her voice faltered making Wendy and I look up. The lava had suddenly vanished back down into the centre of the volcano. But the claw was still there and behind it, a long arm like thing and behind that, the demon.

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Hey reader :)
You know when Natsu is describing what the demon could actually look like? Well Hiro Mashima's original idea for Natsu was a small, fire breathing spirit with horns and wings
See you next time, and thanks for reading and sticking with the story even though it is only Chapter 5 now :)