Usually, in a fight, Natsu always took the opportunity to strike first. It was his style, and he never waited for anything. However, this time, he couldn't go with it.

Because his body wouldn't move an inch.

Not even a few seconds after he and Gon were ready to fight, both of them found themselves frozen in spot, unable to move. Their enemy stood there with a smirk on her face.

"Wha- what's happening!?" Natsu exclaimed.

"I remember this feeling!" Gon said. "It's the magic you first used in the woods when you saw me!"

A frown immediately appeared on the woman's face. "This isn't magic, you little brat. This power is something that will transcend the world of magic and bring the SIA guild to the top."

"If that's what you think will happen, you have another thing coming!" Natsu yelled, but he still couldn't move an inch. Their enemy shook her head in disbelief and slowly walked towards the two boys.

But this wasn't normal paralysis. There was something different about it to Natsu. He felt really cold. It was almost as if his body was...

Made out of ice.

Before the lady could approach closer, flames engulfed Natsu's body. Gon could feel the intense heat and even the lady had to back away.

The smoke cleared away and there was Natsu standing there, grinning, with his body perfectly mobile again.

"I don't know what crazy thing you just did, but when you're fighting with an idiot of an ice wizard all day, you learn to recognize when your flames can take over!" Natsu said.

"Wait..." Gon said, finally figuring it out. "So you freeze our bodies using a form of invisible ice."

The woman looked truly shocked. "This isn't normal magic. You can't just easily melt it! Unless..."

She scowled. "You're a Dragon Slayer boy, aren't you?"

Natsu grinned. "Finally figured it out! Son of the Fire Dragon King, at your service! And now... I'm all fired up!"

He took a deep breath. "Fire Dragon Roarrrrrrrrrrr!"

However, before the spiral of flames could reach the woman, they froze in midair. "Dont think you've beaten me yet." the woman said. "If I could only freeze people, I wouldn't even be this high in the ranks."

But before she could continue, a figure came out of nowhere and punched her hard in the face. Her body slammed against the wall.

The heat from Natsu's flames had finally thawed Gon's body, and he had been able to get a hit in with his Jajanken.

The lady slowly got up and to his annoyance, Gon found his body frozen once again. But... it didn't feel as cold. His punch had clearly taken its toll on their enemy.

"Nope, not happening. I'm ending this NOW." Natsu said, his hands catching on fire. "I've faced stronger enemies then you. Heck, you're not even one of the elite in this guild. And this great new power doesn't even feel as much special as what we saw in Tartaros."

"Dragon Secret Art..."

"Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!"

The entire hallway was engulfed in flames. Gon had to shield himself from the heat. However, once it was finally over, the white haired woman was out cold.

"Well, that was easy." Natsu said. "Phew, let's get out of here!"

Wait, the fight was over. That reality hitting him, Gon slumped to the floor in sadness.

"Awww, I barely got to do ANYTHING!"

Natsu chuckled. "You did great, kiddo! That punch threw that lady of her guard and it helped me end the fight. Don't beat yourself up."

Gon sighed. "Wait... Fire Dragon King... that's your dad?"

Natsu smirked. "Did I possibly forget to mention to you that Igneel is a dragon?"

Gon mouth fell open and Natsu laughed. "Yeah, he was the best. He taught me everything I knew. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him."

Was. Taught. Those were past tense words. Did that mean...

Natsu must have caught Gon's realization and smiled sadly. "I saw him again. That's what matters. Now, the only thing that's left is to look towards the future."

Gon didn't ask for the details, but he didn't think they mattered. He had a similar story to Natsu, but Natsu hadn't had the perfect ending that Gon supposed he would have imagined. It made Gon wonder if perhaps seeing Ging wouldn't end as happily as Gon always imagined himself.

But that didn't matter. Gon wasn't going to be pessimistic about the future. He would meet Ging again, no matter what.

It took a while, but the two of them finally managed to get out of the base without getting caught. They had to be extremely quiet and use Zetsu the entire time.

"Well, that's done. What now? Where is the main base from here?" Natsu asked.

"Give me a minute!" Gon said. And to Natsu surprise, before he could even blink, Gon was racing up the trees and jumping from the branches.

A few minutes later, Gon was back. "We can get out of the forest that way. We are probably on the other side of Magnolia, away from where we want to go."

Natsu sighed. "Looks like we have some walking to do."

Neither Wendy and Killua were in the mood for any of this. Their encounter of the SIA member put a deep crack in their plans. And they had to overcome it at all costs.

He has a strange energy coming from him, Killua thought. We have to find out his ability.

And that means letting him make the first move.

Killua looked over at Wendy. But she already got the message.

Brace yourself.

And brace themselves they had to do.

The man they were facing looked between Wendy and Killua, as if trying to make a decision. His eyes finally fell on Wendy.

And a scream erupted from her.

"Wendy!" Killua ran over to her. She was holding her head, trying to stop the pain.

"Stay away boy." the man said. "Unless you want the same thing happening to you."

Killua studied the man. His left hand... the fingers were in a strange position. That was probably how he was casting the spell.

He could definitely shoot his yo yo and catch the man of guard. That would stop what he was doing to Wendy. Then they could defeat him. That would be all it would take.

But his hands froze. His yo yo's remained in his pocket. Killua looked into the cold and serious eyes of their enemy and voice surrounded his head.

If you don't have certainty that you can win, do not fight.

If you can't beat them, run away.

Run away.

RUN AWAY.

It was all Killua could do to stand his ground. But he just stood there, horrified that he couldn't take any action.

And finally the screaming stopped. Wendy herself looked surprised at the halt of the pain. She wasn't injured. In fact, you could have never guess she was screaming in pain a few seconds ago.

"Wha- What did you do to me?!" She panicked.

"Want to see? It's very impressive." the man said.

And all Wendy and Killua could do was stare at the streaks of light in front of them.

Erza saw a small figure in the sky from outside the guild hall. As she looked closer, she saw a pair of wings. She ran into the guild hall.

"Carla is back!" She announced.

Everyone gathered at the front of the hall. Carla finally landed, holding the Archive lacrima in her hand. She looked very worn out.

"I... came here... as fast as I can..."

"Did you attract any suspicion?" Erza asked.

Carla shook her head. "We were very careful. Wendy and Killua should be okay by... themselves."

Kurapika took the lacrima. "Archive."

He sighed in relief. "This is it. This is the layout."

Everyone gathered around it as Kurapika explained it.

"So pretty much the entire base has some sort of alarm security so nobody can enter. However..."

He pointed at a single spot on the diagram. "There's one blind spot. If we enter through there, we won't be detected. No alarm system is perfect."

"So we need to get to the base as soon as possible. We also need to find Wendy and Killua and hope that Natsu and Gon can make their way there also." Erza said.

Carla sighed. "I hope the kids haven't wandered off anywhere."

Kurapika took out his Dowsing Chain and put it near the lacrima. The shiny ball pointed towards the forest. "They're in the woods around the main base. Is that where they're supposed to be?"

"Good." Carla said. "That means nothing happened in the past few hours."

Kurapika studied the layout. As expected, the location of the Scarlet Eyes weren't labeled. He'd have to find his own way to locate them.

"So we know the blind spot. But how are we supposed to get into it?" Gray asked.

A chuckle came behind them. It was Lucy.

"So I finally get a time to shine huh?" She held up a golden gate key. Gate of the Maiden: Virgo.

"It's showtime!"