Hey guys! Been a while. Eh, heh.. Sorry. Well, here is a Fairy Tail story! It's been bouncing around in my head for quite sometime now, and I figured I would throw it down on some paper. (well.. computer screen?)

I don't own Fairy Tail, I would probably butcher it if I did.

I do own OC's and some places. If you are familiar with the series, then you will know which ones don't fit.. (one of these things are not like the other...)

The story is original, and if for any reason some time in the future this kind of situation actually comes up in the series, that was my bad.

R&R and enjoy!

Take off Your Colours

It was another nice, simple, quite day in Magnolia. The sun was shining. The birds singing and fluttering around, while the people of this fine town busied themselves with daily chores and activities. Children ran around the streets, giggling and laughing, spraying each other with squirt guns, or playing hide and seek. Mothers teaching their daughters what fabric is the best, while fathers give their son piggy back rides. This magical place couldn't be better.

Relaxed.

"GRAY!"

Stress free.

"WHAT, FLAMEBREATH?!"

Quite.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT! AND PUT YOUR DAMN CLOTHES ON! FIRE DRAGONS ROAR!"

Magnolia.

"ICE-MAKE, LANCE!"

And then there's Fairy Tail. Magnolia's number one guild. Which has just had one of its walls blown out by the battle that was going on inside. The lively group that adorns this building is anything far from normal. They were a group of rowdy, loud, and dangerous folk. They were also the most loyal, friendly and protective people you could ever meet.

"Oh my." Mirajane sighed, as she walked over to a recently vacated table covered with empty glasses and half eaten plates of food. "When will they learn?"

"Whats with them?" Lifting up a barrel, Cana took a swig, "So childish." She moved ever so slightly to her right, the chair flying towards her barely missing and hitting the back bar.

"I've got your back, Natsu-nee!" Romeo yelled, as he jumped over a table occupied by Team Shadow Gear, who all three members ducked just in time.

"Watch it, Romeo!" Jet yelled, "You almost hit Levy!" Just as he started to get up, a beer mug came flying out of the blue and hit him square in the face. As he slid down the side of the chair, all he could mutter was an apology to Levy, who just sat there with a blank face staring at him.

Romeo readied himself to throw a small blue fire ball at Gray, and as he went to throw it, he was encased in a watery bubble. "No one hurts Gray-sama." Juvia warned, as a watery form of herself built up in front of the small fire mage. Romeo struggled to breath.

"Juvia! Let him go! He's just a kid!" Gray yelled, temporarily taking his eyes off the fight going on between him and Natsu, which gave Nastu the opportunity to land a fire punch right into the ice mages face. "Ahg! What is your problem, Natsu!?"

It was utter chaos in the guild today. With it being the end of the off-season for jobs and tourists, these fights were breaking out more and more. The lack of jobs made for very bored and restless mages. Sure there were jobs, but they mostly were small errands for the towns folk. Take my laundry to the dry cleaners, rescue my cat who is lost in the woods, put on small a play or two, but nothing exciting. And the restlessness of not going anywhere had officially gotten to Natsu.

"Quit takin' all the good jobs!" Natsu screeched at Gray, readying for another fire attack at the ice mage.

"I ain't taking shit!" Gray countered, as ice formed in his hands.

The doors the guild were forced open so hard they almost fell off their hinges, "ENOUGH! ALL OF YOU!" Erza boomed, as she came into the guild hall. Grabbing Natsu and Gray in mid-flight, she held them by the collars of their shirts. "You two, stop being so childish and let's go. The master wants to see us, and when he learns what you've done to the guild, again, it wont be a happy meeting." She looked around the now silent guild, "Where is Lucy and Wendy?"

"Here!" Lucy chirped, as she slowly stood up from behind a turned table, Wendy and Carla right behind her. Happy flew down from the ceiling, hovering right above Lucys left shoulder. Dusting herself off, Lucy made it over to Erza, a silent Wendy still in tow.

Erza looked around the guild one last time, before landing her gaze on Gajeel, who was quietly eating. "Gajeel, you and Pantherlily are wanted as well. Let's not keep the master waiting." She dropped Gray and Nastu, both of them landing on their faces with a groan. Turning she headed back out of the guild.

The group all looked at each other and shrugged. Natsu and Gray picked themselves off the ground and dusted off. Looking at each other, they turned to head out of the guild. Gajeel finished up his food and started walking towards the door as well.

"I wonder what that was about..." Mirajane whispered to herself, as it was rare that she didn't know what the master had planned. But what ever it was, she had a very bad feeling about it.


"I bet you are all wondering why I called you all here today." The guild master, Makarov, said as he sat with his legs crossed on a small tree stump. "I just got back from a meeting with the Magic Council."

Lucy looked up from her shirt, where she was picking off a stray hair, "Master, what did they say? Did Natsu go overboard again?" Natsu, who was sitting right behind her rolled his eyes and scoffed, while Happy, curled up in Lucy's lap, snickered.

"No, but some weird things have happened over at Mount Cupala." Makarov said.

"And what does that have to do with us, Gramps?" Natsu yawned, clearly bored with the meeting already.

"Well, the Magic Council has decided to have Fairy Tail send in there best." The tiny guild master answered, raising an eyebrow at Natsu, "And the happens to be you six." He sat up and explained the situation, "Mount Cupala has been giving off strange magic waves. They have been watching it for some time now, but recently its been throwing magic spikes, which has been disturbing the villages surrounding it. We need you to go up there and find out what has been happening, and stop it."

Erza spoke this time, "Do we have an idea of where on the mountain its coming from?"

"They think it may be near the summit, but do not rule anything out." Makarov looked at all of his 'children'. "This is a very dangerous mission because of the time of year, and we don't know what we are up against. The snow from the winter is melting fast, so be careful of avalanches."

"When do we leave?" Gajeel asked, while he leaned against a tree, his arms crossed.

Makarov looked over at the iron dragon slayer, "Tomorrow morning. Because of the lack of jobs, the Magic Council have bought you all train tickets, so do not worry about the cost." He looked back down at the ground, "Pack what you will need for at least a weeks worth of necessities. The smaller towns that surround the mountains will have Inns you can stay in until you make your ascent, from there you will need tents to sleep in."

"What about communication to the guild?" Erza questioned.

"We will have Warran try to keep contact with you, but its so far away, we arn't sure that he will be able to reach you." Standing up, Makarov took a huge breath, "I trust you will do good. You are Fairy Tail wizards. Go and get ready, this will be a long journey for you all." With that, he started to walk away.

"Well, you heard him. Lets go pack. Get plenty of sleep tonight." Erza eye balled Natsu, "We will meet at the train station at 7 tomorrow morning." She turned and started walking towards Fairy Hills, Wendy and Carla on her heels. Natsu gagged at the thought of being on a train, but started moving to go home. Happy jumped out of Lucys lap and flew towards Carla.

Gray looked at the sky and with a sigh, he started towards the guild with Gajeel, who was several steps ahead of him. Pantherlily walking beside him.

The celestial mage stretched and got up. "Soon..." came a chilling voice through the wind. Lucy yelped and looked around, trying to find its source, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. "What was that?" She said quietly to herself, as she raised her right hand to her chin. Deciding it must have been her imagination, she turned to go home.

"Come on, Lucy. It's getting late." Natsu said, suddenly right next to her again.

Lucy jumped, lashing out and punching him straight in the cheek. "Natsu!" she about screeched, "How many times do I have to tell you, do NOT sneak up behind me!"

The dragon slayer grabbed his face and looked at Lucy, "Geeze Lucy, what the hell was that for?" he rubbed his cheek for a second, "Come on, I'll walk you home." Grumbling, he turned away.

Still a little shook from the intrusion, Lucy stood her ground, "I can walk myself home. Why do I need you to come with?" It was weird for Natsu to be so nice, especially after being hit. Usually if she hit him, he would be on the ground whining, or pouting about it being unfair that she was a girl and he couldn't hit her back.

Natsu stopped, "I don't like the idea of you walking home alone this late." He said, never turning, "Now, are you coming?"

Lucy was completely shocked. All she could do was nod and walk up to where Natsu was. As the two started walking, Natsu couldn't help but scan the entire area with his senses. He had heard something, he just wasn't sure what it was. What ever it was though, he could tell it wasn't good and the second he heard it, he got an overwhelming urge to get to Lucy. His mind and senses kept saying one thing. Protect Lucy. And if that's what his body and mind was telling him to do, that's what he would do, despite her abuse towards him. She was his bestfriend, besides Happy, and he would protect her with everything. Even if it was just the wind.


The walk was quite. Lucy could tell that Natsu was tense, but why she couldn't figure out. The look on his face was unreadable and his movements were lucid. He looked relaxed, but Lucy knew him better. His guard was up, but she didn't know why.

They turned on to her street, where her apartment was just a few houses up. "Well, I'm home. Safe and sound." She said, breaking the silence between them.

Natsu looked over at her and then back to the road. She could tell he wasn't satisfied with just bringing her home, but he didn't seem to protest when she walked up to her door and opened it. While thanking and bidding him a good night, she shut the door and made her way into her bathroom.

Turning on the water to her bath, she grabbed a towel and placed it on the hook next to the tub. Lucy then walked over to her sink and took off her keys and set them down gently, then reached to take her hair down from the twin pony tails she had them in. She studied herself in the mirror, picking at imperfections in her face before stripping down and stepping into the bath tub.

Lucy sighed as she slid into the hot water. She loved her house. She loved her life. Her friends were amazing and her spirits always had her back. She couldn't ask for anything more.

Except one thing. And that one thing had been bothered tonight. She couldn't explain it, but something was on her bestfriends mind. Maybe he heard the voice to? No. She doubted it, it was just her imagination. It could be the trip they were all about to take. No, it couldn't be that either, Natsu lived for adventure. She sighed, maybe she was over thinking things, maybe he would be better in the morning.

Finishing up her bath, Lucy wrapped her hair in a pink towel, and covered herself with another one. Looking in the mirror one last time she stepped out of the bathroom and straight into her bed room. She walked over to her dresser and pulled out a set of long pajamas and threw them on. "I guess I should start packing." She said to herself, pulling out a suit case and stuffing some clothes and other odds and ends into it.

It took Lucy an hour to pack, and by the time she was done she was exhausted. Looking at her clock she sighed. "10:30. I didn't realize how late it was." She sang to herself. Stretching, she climbed into her bed. Her bed was so comfy, with the large pink feather down comforter, and feather pillows, she snuggled in deep and closed her eyes. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.


Natsu had just finished packing up his backpack and sleeping bag when Happy flew in. "Where have you been?" He asked the small blue cat.

Happy let out a sigh and flew to the hammock bed that belonged to Natsu. "I had to make sure Wendy and Erza made it home safely." He said, as if he could have done something if they had been attacked. "I'm so sleepy!"

"Pfft, you mean you wanted to make sure Carla made it home safe." Natsu teased. Everyone knew the crush Happy had on the other Exceed.

"Natsuuu," Happy exclaimed, "Be nice!" he snuggled in deeper to the pillows and yawned.

Natsu just shook his head and chucked. He had to give his furry friend credit, he wasn't afraid of his feelings towards Carla. And at every opportunity Happy was trying to win her over with a fish, despite being turned down every single time. That was more than Natsu could do with his own feelings.

"Well, I'm going over to Lucy's for the night." The dragon slayer said, as he walked over to Happy.

"What for?" Happy asked, rubbing his eyes.

"I heard something tonight. It made me uneasy and I want to keep an eye on her."

Happy giggled, "You liiiiike her." He purred, while eye balling his friend.

"No, Happy. I want to make sure she is safe. There is a difference." Natsu countered, turning a slight shade of pink. Happy knew some of the feelings he had towards Lucy, but it was only a hunch and the fact that even though he seemed clueless most of the time, the small Exceed was very alert to everything going on in the guild. "Don't forget to pack for the trip, Happy."

"Aye, Sir." Happy cheerfully said before stretching and rolling over.

Natsu looked around the living room one last time before opening the door and heading out, satisfied he had grabbed everything he needed. He looked to the stars and shivered a bit. It was chilly out. Wrapping his scarf closer to his neck he headed out.


Arriving at Lucy's house, Natsu sniffed the air. Everything seemed fine, so he started to climb up to her window, which would have been easier if Happy was there.

As soon as he reached the top, he gave one last heave and jumped inside, landing silently inside her bedroom. He saw Lucys sleeping body curled up in her bed and smirked a bit. "You know," he whispered so not to wake her up, "You wouldn't have to curl up if you closed your window at night." He then gently closed her window.

He walked over to a corner of her room and set his bag down carefully, and as he straightened he inhaled deeply. Natsu loved the smell of her room. It always smelled like lilacs and a fresh spring rain. Just like Lucy. It was a soothing scent, and it always calmed him down if he was worried or stressed. He didn't remember what calmed him down before her, but he also didn't know what he would do if she wasn't around anymore.

Sighing as his nerves started to relax, Natsu took his sandals off, carefully climbed into her bed and snuggled up on the empty side of the bed. Chuckling to himself, he wondered yet again why this tiny woman had such a huge bed. The scent of lilacs and rain, once again, lulling him to a peaceful sleep.


Lucy's alarm clock went off at 5:30 am. Groaning, she rolled over and pressed the snooze button, stretched and rolled back over to the other side of the bed. Lucy froze as she hit some hard and warm. She opened her eyes to see a messy head of pink hair.

"NATSU!" She screamed as she fell out of her bed and landed with a hard thump.

All Natsu did was grunt and roll over, taking all the blankets with him.

"Natsu, get up!" Lucy screamed again, this time she got up and pushed him out of her bed.

He gasped as he hit the floor, face first. Sitting up slowly he looked at her with a shocked and hurt expression on his face. "What the hell, I was comfortable!"

"This is MY room!" Frustrated, Lucy stomped over to her light and flicked it on. "Ugh!" She grumbled something about coffee and walked towards her kitchen.

Natsu rubbed his head and got up. He messed with his hair and walked into the kitchen where Lucy was feverishly making coffee. He watched her for a bit, wondering why she was so mad. All he wanted to do was make sure she was safe. Slowly, he walked over to her kitchen table and sat down, wiping sleep out of his eyes and yawning.

Lucy finished making two cups of coffee and sighed as she sat one in front of Natsu. She then sat at the other side of the table and sipped at hers. She crossed her arms and looked directly at the fire dragon slayer in front of her. He looked up at her sheepishly and shrugged, then decided to take a sip of his coffee, as he muttered a 'thank you.'

They sat like that for a couple of minutes, then Lucy got up. "I'm going to get dressed," she started walking away, "please stay out here."

Natsu heard her bedroom door close and sighed. It was way to early for his liking. Sipping at his coffee he leaned back in his chair, letting his mind wander from last nights weird sound and the up coming mission. He had to get his head in the game, he couldn't let anything take his focus off of what they were getting into.

After about a half hour of silence, Lucy opened her bedroom door. Natsu looked up at her and held in excitement as he saw what she was wearing. She wore shorts with a pair of black leggings underneath. Her hair was let down, hanging slightly past her shoulders and one side of her bangs were clipped to the side with a small barrette. But what he was so excited about was a red sweater. The same sweater he had gotten her for the first Christmas after she had joined Fairy Tail. The one they had spent together. He had spent so much time looking for the perfect gift for her, and when he saw that sweater on the racks, he grabbed it with out even looking at the price tag.

"You should get ready. We need to leave in a bit." Lucy said, walking to the table and taking the two empty coffee mugs. "Where is Happy?" She asked, as she turned the water on and started washing the mugs.

"He decided to stay home last night." Natsu answered, as he got up from his chair. Walking over to her bedroom door, he looked back at Lucy, "Sorry for scaring you this morning." He walked in and shut the door.

Lucy ignored his apology. She should be used to it by now, since he usually ended up in her bed when it was cold. Or hot. Or just anytime he felt like, actually. But that was just Natsu, and as annoying as he could be, he was her bestfriend and she wouldn't stay mad for long. She never did.

Natsu came out of her bed room a few seconds later. On his back he had his backpack and sleeping bag, and in his right hand he held her suite case. "Did you grab everything you needed?" He asked, sarcastically weighing her baggage.

Walking over and grabbing her bag, she narrowed her eyes at him. "There's a tent and sleeping stuff in here as well as cloths. Its going to be heavy."

Natsu just rolled his eyes. "Come on, Lucy. Lets go." He headed for the door.

Grabbing her house keys, Lucy opened the door and waited for Natsu to walk out. She locked up and turned. The morning was beautiful. It was cold out, but it would warm up during the day. She breathed in the crisp air and looked at her bestfriend, "Lets get this over with." She smile.

Smiling in return, Natsu let out a laugh.


"Where is Happy?" Wendy asked, looking around people to find the small blue cat. "He should have been here by now."

"Who cares?" Carla answered, looking up at her dragon slayer. "He knew what time to be here."

Gray looked at Natsu, "Why didn't you wake him up this morning?"

"I wasn't at home, Frostbite." Natsu glared.

"What did you call me?" The ice mage said, as he got in Natsu's face. The two of them clearly getting ready to engage in a fight.

"Enough." Erza commanded. She looked around the crowd and then back at Natsu. "The train will be here in 5 minutes. If he isn't here when the train boards, then we will have to leave him behind."

Lucy looked up from her book, "What a shame." She looked over at the pink haired mage, who looked like he was about to break out in a fit of tears.

"But Erza, we can't leave Happy behind." He slumped down on the bench next to Wendy, "He will be here."

The group new that Natsu needed Happy to fight. Happy was his wings, and it was easier for the fire dragon slayer to maneuver threw the skies when he had his Exceed.

"NATSUUU!" Came Happy's squeeky voice, as he flew thru the crowd of people and straight into Natsu's lap. "Good morning, Carla!" He gave her a happy hello.

Carla just crossed her arms and threw her nose into the air. "I see you made it. It would have been fun without you."

"But Carla, you said 'wouldn't' wrong." Happy countered, not understanding that his friend was snubbing him. Carla just scoffed, while Pantherlily chuckled.

The train pulled up and the group got ready to board. Natsu got instantly nauseous. "We arn't even on the train yet, Natsu." Lucy pointed out, as he leaned against her for support.

Erza grabbed the handle of her huge cart filled with bags and pulled it towards the train. One of the baggage workers tried to convince her that many bags were not allowed. They argued back and forth while the rest of the mages watched in horror.

"He must be new..." Wendy said.

"I don't see why she needs all of that stuff..." Pantherlily said to Gajeel, who just smirked and stepped on to the train, following Lucy and Natsu.

Moments later Erza stepped into the small booth the group had picked out. "I managed to per sway his decision." She said confidently, a small smirk lit her face.

"Which means to beat the pulp out of him." Lucy said dryly. Natsu head rested on her lap, gagging, then holding back the puke that promised to come up.

"So how long are we going to be on this thing?" Gray asked Erza, who pulled out a map to show them.

"Well, this is the first of three trains we need to take." Erza pointed out all the stops. "After this last one we have quite a long walk to get to the first village at the base of the mountain."

Natsu whined then turned over facing Lucy. "Oh you better NOT puke on me, Natsu." She said, as she pulled her arms up. He held back another gag then sniffled. She dropped her arms and sighed, resting one of her hands in his hair. The poor dragon slayer couldn't handle any type of transportation.

Gajeel sighed and looked out the window, he was starting to get nauseous as the train started to take off, and he tried to hide it well. He was a bit jealous of Salamander. This was not how he wanted to spend his first day of spring. With thoughts of a certain blue haired solid script mage, he closed his eyes and tried to relax, desbite the shaking of the train.


Darla Kanavik sat on her highly decorated throne, made up of dragon bones herself and her family had killed over the century. She looked around the throne room, the high ceilings adorned with large black chandeliers and the walls decorated with gruesome pictures of battle. She sipped her red wine out of a silver chalice. Being at the top was nice. To bad she had to kill her mother to get there. No, it wasn't to bad, her mother was a cold-hearted bitch.

"The dragon and spirit mage have started their way here, Master." A small voice came from in front of her.

Darla looked down to see her right hand kneeling down in front of her, right hand in a fist over her heart. "Good. How long until their arrival?"

"About three days time, Master." Slowly standing, the tiny girl looked up. Straightening her black robe, she took a breath. "They have others with them. The one named Titania, an ice mage and two other dragon slayers."

"Who are the other two dragon slayers?" Darla asked, swirling her chalice.

"The iron dragon, Gajeel Redfox. And the Maiden of the sky, Wendy Marvell, Master." She smirked.

Darla smiled. This was going to be a great catch. At first, she only wanted the Salamander and the spirit mage. But now with the Sky Dragon Slayer, she would be able to finish her plan out without a hitch. "Good job, Jeanne. You may go." She said, dismissing the woman.

Jeanne bowed deeply and turned on her heel, heading for the large doors on the other side of the room.

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