So here we are back with Internal Struggle, thank you so much for your patience, I hope you enjoy this latest installment.

Last time we saw our faithful team entering Natsu's mind so to rescue him from Declan's influence.

The ball of light sped through the many alleyways and streets, the guild members following dutifully behind each of their features painted with grim concern. Erza's eyes darted back and forth taking in every detail of her friend's Inner Court. Minora's words rang in the back of the Requip Mage's mind making her stomach clench.

Was Natsu really as lonely as the Item Mage insinuated? The state of his Inner Court certainly gave the impression of him being so.

The very idea of the Salamander being lonely and distancing himself from others so to avoid heartbreak was not only plausible, but also believable. Erza felt her heart break though when she realized how many years had passed without her or Grey even noticing without some outsider spelling it out for them. The shame of it set her gut churning and guilt roared in the back of her mind like an irate dragon. Erza clenched her fist, hot tears pricking her eyes as she put on an extra burst of speed.

Grey glanced over at the red head his eyes darkening as he guessed at what was running through her mind. It was probably pretty similar to what he was thinking. He was angry, more than that he wanted to punch something, starting with himself if he could manage it. How many times had he teased Natsu, made him feel like less of a person all because of what…he felt like it? Such reasoning suddenly resonated within the Ice Mage as childish and the young man's shoulders drooped at his own carelessness. For someone who considered himself the Salamander's closest friend and rival, how dare he not notice the grief lurking in the back of Natsu's gaze? But miss it he had and now he could only follow their leader promising himself that he would make it up to the Fire Mage as soon as they rescued him.

Lucy was not so angry or even sorrowful as the others, if anything she felt like her eyes had been opened. For years she had caught small glimpses of a side to the Dragon Slayer that he worked so hard to conceal, and every time she was left feeling shocked and confused. Puzzling through these moments, the Celestial Mage would merely shake her head and say that Natsu would talk to her when he felt like he could trust her with his innermost secrets. However now that she ran through his Inner Court, she could see all too clearly that her suspicions had been correct, there was a lot more to the Dragon slayer than most knew.

Finally the ball of light brought them to an all too familiar street and zipped inside a building that all three knew by heart, their Guild Headquarters.

"He's in here?" Erza asked slightly befuddled.

"Of course he is," Grey smiled with a warm chuckle "what is the first place he goes whenever he's in trouble or looking for a fight?"

Lucy giggled with a nod "True, however I could have sworn that his Central Core would have been in the Guild Hall. I guess his innermost being is something different."

Erza cocked her head, the idea that the Guild not being Central to Natsu's very self was foreign to her "Strange, then where would it be?"

Grey gave a forceful shake of his head "We can worry about that later, right now we need to find Natsu and make sure he's safe before getting to his Central Core and fighting Declan."

Lucy and Erza exchanged a looks of confident determination "Right," they replied with a nod.

Entering the Guild Hall the three friends were struck dumb all over again by the sheer emptiness of the room. The bar was empty, no tables lay on the floor and even the mission board was devoid of the mess usually covering it. Lucy gripped her upper arms, giving them a brisk rub as she suddenly felt cold.

"Well, well, well," a malicious voice echoed among the rafters causing the guild members to go on high alert "look who joined the party? I must say, I wasn't expecting this."

"Show yourself!" Erza barked materializing a sword into her hand.

"Oh I don't think so," the voice replied in a dark chuckle.

"What, you scared to face us?" Grey snapped with a wicked grin "I can't say I'm surprised, a coward like you couldn't even hope to be a challenge in a fair fight."

"Ha!" the voice scoffed "Please, surely you realize that any fight here would be to my advantage, you have no hope of a fair fight. I rule this space, I'm the ultimate power controlling everything here!"

"Were you the one who took the people out of Natsu's Inner Court?" Lucy asked finally voicing the question everyone had been wondering.

"No, that wasn't me." They could practically feel the grin hidden in the dark "that was all your Dragon Slayer. Isn't that rich? The powerful, confident mage that so many people are afraid of is just a scared lonely little boy crying all by himself on the inside! How utterly pathetic, I had been expecting so much more but that's what happens when you get to know a celebrity."

Grey gnashed pearly white teeth, his fist clenched so tight that blood began to leak through his fingers and drip to the floor "How dare you," came the quiet snarl from a clenched jaw before the Ice Mage shrieked "How dare you insult Natsu like that you piece of scum?!"

"Ooh, it looks like I hit a nerve," A cackle reverberated across the ceiling "well since you're so determined allow me to spell it out for you, it is too late to rescue Natsu. He is completely under my control, and even if you were able to find his Central Core you have no hope of defeating me."

"We'll see about that," Lucy yelled her hands clenched at her side "just you wait Declan, you won't have long before we kick you out of here for good!"

"Agreed!" Erza bellowed.

The shadows on the floor writhed and stretched until one figure burst from them, pure white eyes burning as the inky black form stepped towards the group "I'd like to see you try, as our first round of entertainment how about we play a game. You versus my little doll. Whoever wins gets ownership of what lay in the dungeons downstairs."

"Natsu!" came the unanimous cry.

"Maybe, maybe not," the voice chuckled maliciously "I'm certainly not telling. Regardless, if it is, do you want to take the chance of letting my golem have Natsu all to himself as his play toy?"

Erza grit her teeth, armor clanking as her frame trembled in abject fury "You monster," she whispered harshly her armor disappearing in a flash of light to be replaced by her Heavenly Knight armor.

"You're not going to win this," Lucy ground out flicking her whip to lay on the ground at her side.

Grey slammed a fist into an open palm smirking as the temperature dropped drastically "Get ready for a world of hurt."

"Be careful when you fight him!" Warren bellowed over their connection "All of you have access to your magic except Lucy. Celestial Spirits are not able to come here as this is a dimension outside of time or space. Remember, any damage you cause here will in turn effect Natsu!"

Nodding unanimously in understanding, the three burst forward with a resounding battle cry each attacking the Golem only to scream in frustration as their attacks raked empty air. The shadowy creature bent in an unnatural angle avoiding all three blows, a white grin stretching its features in a disturbing way. Erza leapt to the front wielding two swords as she slammed first the right blade then the left into the creature, each one being blocked in a shower of sparks before she brought both blades above her head chopping them down with the power of a guillotine.

The Golem was unfazed however, merely allowing itself to be cut in half, its macabre grin never leaving its face before coming back together. Lucy skirted around the Requip mage spinning gracefully building momentum up into her swing as she cracked her whip to wrap around the shadow monster's neck and then bent it backwards holding it down "Grey, now!"

The Ice Mage sprinted forward then gave a powerful jump high in the air. Bringing his fist over to his right side, the mage allowed all of his anger and frustration build into one attack making the skin of his arm turn icy white. Mouth stretched wide with the roar bellowing from his lips, Grey punched the creature into the floor in an explosion of snow and ice encapsulating it in a solid block of the freezing substance.

Lucy stood up, brown eyes wide before jumping up into the air with a shout of glee "We did it!"

"Yes!" Grey exclaimed pumping his fist suddenly missing his shirt.

Erza reverted back into her armor before grinning her victory at the ceiling "I believe we win this round,"

"Hmph," the voice scoffed unhappily "maybe this one, but you still have no idea how to stop me, much less find me. You'll have to find your way through the inner workings of Natsu's mind to get to his Core and that will be quite the journey."

The voice faded away, taking with it the shadows lurking among the rafters and the group immediately ran toward the door where Warren's bobbing ball of light was currently dancing. Flinging the door open, they pelted down the stairs their thoughts on one thing and one thing only. Finding their Salamander.

With a desperation that increased with every second that passed Lucy found herself taking the lead, the sound of her heeled boots echoing off the stone as she ran. She still remembered the pain of finding Natsu's scarf without the Dragon slayer attached to it. She remembered the horror when she realized that he had been abducted and they had no way of finding him till it was too late and Declan had turned him into a dragon. Turning Natsu back into a human was supposed to be the happiest moment of this entire experience, but then they discovered that his will had been shattered and Declan still controlled him from the inside. Lucy hated the feeling of helplessness this entire misadventure had brought, and she was determined that this time, they would well and truly rescue Natsu. They wouldn't fail, and somehow they would bring their salamander back to where he belonged.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Lucy hit the door with a thud throwing it open with the combined weight of her body plus the momentum of running down the stairs. Ahead lay a long hallway with one door at the end of it, and Warren's light waited patiently in front of it.

"He's here!" Lucy cried tears beginning to trickle down her cheeks.

What they expected to find, they weren't really sure. Natsu sitting in a cell with that goofy grin of his and a sarcastic remark about how long they took? Possibly. However nothing could have prepared them for what they found, and as Lucy opened the door only to fall to the ground with scream Grey found his stomach clench hard enough to make him run back out of the room to retch violently in the corner. Erza stood stoic, but her eyes shook with repressed emotion.

Natsu was there, hanging from the wall of the cell, giant icicles pinning him to the cold hard stone. Blood dripped from every gaping wound, and especially from his mouth. His head drooped low, shadowing the once bright cobalt eyes that burned with a fiery passion powerful enough to inspire an entire guild. The worst thing though was the icicle sticking out of his chest where his heart should be, blood soaking through the ice a good five inches up the stem. They weren't sure if he was alive, and no one even knew how to check much less get him down.

They had found their Salamander, and Declan was going to pay for what he had done.

Does that make up for my absence? Please REVIEW!