Chapter I

Greetings and salutations to all! I am back with the next in my line of reboots. This time it is Embodiment of Flame: Reborn. Obviously I do not think the previous version was bad by any stretch, it was just... messy. As many of my early stories were. A lot of what you will see here will be what you have come to expect, but things will be cleaned up a little. The MC is still Natsu, it is still a multi-crossover, it is still a harem story, there will still be lemons, on and on it goes. So, let us begin!

Two small figures, one with pink hair and one with dark red hair, slowly made their way to a massive building with a complex marking above the large front door.

"We're here," the pink-haired figure said happily, the red-haired one nodding happily as they walked up.

"We did it, Natsu."

"Natsu!" a voice exclaimed.

A lean, muscular young man with a slightly tanned skin tone, dark brown eyes, spiky pink hair, a stamp just below his left shoulder in red, who wore a sleeveless, gold-trimmed, black waistcoat, left open and untucked, exposing his bare torso, white, knee-length trousers, a thick black wristband on his left wrist, black open-toed sandals, and a scale-patterned scarf around his neck, along with bandages around his left arm, laid sleeping on the lap of a woman.

"Natsu!" a small, anthropomorphic, blue cat with wings on its back floated in front of him shouted. "Natsu! Wake u –!" he was suddenly ensnared by red hair.

A pale-skinned young woman with long red hair worn in a pair of massive, waist-length braids tied behind her waist, red eyes, and a voluptuous figure with large breasts and wide hips, the same mark as Natsu appearing on the upper side of her right breast, visible through her revealing crimson dress that was secured by halter-neck straps, which left her back, sides, and a large portion of her cleavage down to just above her navel exposed, and extending down to her calves, with a slit down the side for her legs to move freely, two sewn patches of dark grey fabric at the dress' waist, long red gloves that almost reached her shoulders, and red, high-heeled shoes, smirked darkly as he hair extended out, wrapping around the cat. "Sshhhh…"

The cat grunted and mumbled incoherently as he tried to pry the hair off.

Suddenly, the train stopped, and the redhead looked out the window in thought. "Huh? Looks like we are here." She then shook the sleeping teen gently with a smile. "Natsu, wake up. We're there."

The pink-haired teen groaned as he rubbed his eyes tiredly and sat up with a yawn. "Mornin' Flare…"

"Sleep well, Natsu?" Flare asked as he looked around.

Natsu nodded in agreement as he reached out a hand to help the woman stand. "You bet, Flare."

Flare nodded happily as the two of them stepped out of a long train, Natsu stretching in relief.

"Ohh man, that felt good!" he exclaimed.

Happy, the flying cat, snickered derisively. "It only felt good because you got to sleep on Flare's lap instead of getting motion sick."

"Hey, it works, don't it?!"

Happy looked around curiously. "So, this is Hargeon? Looks boatfull."

As the three made their way off the train and into the city ahead of them, a sign denoting it as Hargeon, Flare put a finger to her chin. "Natsu, are you sure this is the place we should go to find him?"

Natsu grinned in response. "Yeah, I heard that Salamander should be here, so we should go looking."

"Sala… mander…?" Flare remarked curiously before tilting her head. "But isn't that…?"

"Come on Flare, or you'll get left behind!" Happy called.

"Ah!" Flare gasped before running to catch up.

As the three made their way through the city, Flare stopped and glanced over down a side street.

Natsu blinked as he noticed Flare standing with her head tilted curiously. "Oy, Flare, what's up?"

Flare lazily pointed down the street she was looking at. "There's a commotion down there."

Natsu raised an eyebrow as he looked where he saw a large number of girls gathered around a single spot, he heard one say, "I can't believe it's actually Salamander, the famous fire mage!"

Natsu blinked and looked at Happy.

"Salamander?!" they both said excitedly.

"Then it has to be Igneel!" Natsu said victoriously.

Flare tried to stop him weakly. "But… Natsu… wait…" Flare merely sighed and followed after the two.

As the three neared the group of girls gathered around a single point Natsu noticed that all of the girls were captivated by the supposed Salamander, with Natsu pushing through the group before eventually stumbling up to the "Salamander". Natsu blinked curiously as he looked at the man.

The "Salamander" before him was a tall man with short blue hair, black eyes, a purple crest above his left eye, clad in elaborate white and blue clothing.

Natsu blinked curiously and then sighed heavily. "You're not the right Salamander."

Salamander was about to respond when he noticed Flare and just shoved Natsu aside and approached her. "Well now!" he exclaimed, flashing a ring on his hand towards her. "What's a beauty like you doing with this rat?"

Flare shot the man a venomous glare as her hair began to writhe and twist. "What did you just call him, filth?"

Salamander stumbled back in concern. "That's… I…"

As he flashed his ring towards her again, a segment of her hair extended out and whipped his hand away. "Stop that. Or else I'm taking it and the illegal Charm Ring."

The blue-haired man winced and laughed weakly as he stuffed his hand into his pocket. "Don't know what you're talking about, baby."

As Natsu stood up with a frown, one of the girls in the crowd shook her head vigorously. He frowned in disappointment. "You're not Igneel. Not at all… Great…"

Flare sighed heavily as she walked up to him and fixed his coat. "I tried to tell you."

"I guess… I was hoping she was here."

Salamander looked around uncomfortably as the crowd turned its focus from him and decided to ascend into the sky, taking off with a swirl of purple flames. "You know ladies, I've got a party on my boat later, and all of you are invited."

All of the girls cheered happily, except for Flare who stood with an exasperated expression.

"I tried to tell you Natsu, isn't Salamander your title?" she asked.

Natsu blinked curiously and then turned blue before falling to his knees. "…Crap… I forgot all about that…"

Flare smiled as she knelt down, ruffling Natsu's hair. "There, there. Everyone makes mistakes."

As Natsu stood up his stomach growled loudly. "So hungry…"

At that moment one of the girls that was in the crowd, a teenage girl with shoulder-length blonde hair, a small ponytail to one side held with a blue ribbon, brown eyes, a large chest, who wore a sleeveless white shirt with a blue cross design on it, a folded collar, a short, pleated, blue skirt, with a brown belt that held a black whip on one side and a pouch with a set of keys on the other, and knee-high black boots walked up to him. "H – Hey, there," she greeted with a nervous smile.

Flare frowned in annoyance while Natsu raised an eyebrow. "What's up?" Natsu asked.

The blonde looked at him and asked, "Want me to buy you lunch?"

Natsu and Happy smiled excitedly and nodded.

Flare pouted annoyed.

The blonde nodded happily.

Inside a restaurant, Natsu and Happy voraciously devoured multiple plates of food, Flare eating calmly as the blonde watched in surprise.

Natsu took a moment to breathe between bites and asked, "So why'd you buy us food and everything?"

The blonde nodded in understanding. "W – Well, to thank you. That jerk Salamander guy was using a Charm Ring on all of the girls around him, it even worked on me, haaa," she paused with a heavy sigh, "but you interrupting him like that broke the spell. So, I have to thank you because who knows what would've happened if you hadn't."

Flare smiled proudly and leaned over, wrapping her arms around Natsu's and burying it in her cleavage. "Well I suppose that just proves how weak you are. After all, I only have eyes for Natsu, I couldn't be charmed into anyone else. Rriigghhtt, Natsu?"

The blonde twitched an eyebrow. "Watch it Red, I could force you to pay for your own meal."

Flare simply leaned on Natsu's shoulder with a smile. "Oh? Jealous?"

Happy then remarked, "Ooh, catfight, rawr."

"You're the cat here!" the blonde rebutted and then paused and blinked curiously. "Gah! Talking cat!"

"You only just now noticed?"

Natsu tilted his head curiously and then asked, "What's your name anyway? Mine's Natsu."

"H – Huh?" the blonde sputtered in mild confusion. "Oh, right. I'm Lucy."

"And I'm Flare," the redhead remarked, possessively hugging Natsu's arm.

"No one asked!"

"So that guy was gettin' you with some type o' magic, huh?" Natsu asked.

Lucy nodded in agreement. "Yeah, like I said, a Charm Spell. It's a spell that breaks once the victim is aware what's happening. Actually, I'm a mage myself, though I haven't joined a guild yet. Oh, in case you don't know, a guild is a place where a whole bunch of wizards gather together and do jobs and share information. I really want to be in one so I can be a full-fledged mage. I know that once I do join one I'll be able to start taking jobs and earning money."

That got Flare's attention, the busty redhead sitting up with interest. "Oh? Who do you plan to join?"

Lucy folded her arms with pride. "Only the greatest! Fairy Tail!"

Flare remained silent for a moment before tilting her head in confusion. "… Why? You seem normal."

"Huh?"

"You look way too normal to be joining a crazy guild like ours."

Lucy sat, dumbfounded. "… 'Ours'?"

Flare pulled her top aside slightly, showing the large red mark on her chest.

Lucy gaped in shock. "Y – You're from Fairy Tail!? Both of you!?"

"So's Happy," Natsu added.

She sat in complete disbelief. "… I… see… A – Anyway… what are you guys doing in Hargeon?"

"Looking for Igneel."

"Who's Igneel?"

"My mom. She's a dragon."

Lucy almost choked on her own breath. "… H – Huh?!"

"You heard him," Flare interjected bluntly.

"D – Dragon!? You've gotta be kidding! Even for mages, meeting a dragon is rare to the point of impossible! Besides, a dragon wouldn't just be hopping around the middle of a city."

Natsu frowned in confusion, scratching his head in thought. "Why would she hop around? She can walk just fine."

Lucy just slumped her shoulders in frustration.

"What?"

"This is insane…"

"This is Fairy Tail," Flare explained.

"Whatever! So, you guys are really in Fairy Tail?"

Natsu nodded with a smirk. "Yep! Been there for a long time!"

Lucy slumped back slightly and lowered her head in thought before gulping with uncertainty. "… C – Can… Can I join?"

"N –" Flare began to answer before being overwritten by Natsu.

"Sure! We'll even take ya there!"

Lucy's eyes went wide with excitement.

Flare interjected, "But first we need to take care of that fake Salamander."

"Huh?" the blonde asked, not understanding the gravity of her words.

"Salamander is Natsu's title. That cretin is ruining Natsu's name with his antics. So we are going to stop him."

"H – Huh? How?"

Natsu grinned and slammed his fists together. "Beat him up for his crimes of course!"

"… Heh?"

"What?

"Is that… legal?"

Flare huffed derisively. "Duh. He's using illegal magical artefacts to control people."

"Then shouldn't we alert the authorities?"

Flare frowned in disappointment. "It could take weeks for them come down on him, and by then he will have accomplished whatever it is he plans to do. So we have to do this now."

Lucy furrowed her brow in thought before nodding in reply. "… Okay. But how?"

"We find him and beat the crap out of him," Natsu explained simply.

"I figured that, but how will we find him?"

Happy interjected. "Mr. Creepy said he was having a party on his boat tonight. So we go to the big boats!"

Natsu instantly went pale with horror, Flare frowning as well.

Lucy noticed this with concern. "Natsu? What's wrong?"

Flare explained. "Natsu's a Dragon Slayer. We don't handle vehicles well."

Happy looked up at the girl in curiosity. "Huh? But what about your –?" he began to ask before he was silenced with a gag of hair.

Lucy just watched in disbelief.

Lucy stared in shock as she stood in front of a large mirror wearing a form-fitting, low-cut, formal, red dress. "Why am I the one going on the boat!?"

"Well, we need believable bait," Flare answered simply.

"The hell!?"

"What?"

"Are you trying to get me killed?"

"No," Flare replied, completely unconvincingly.

Lucy groaned heavily before Natsu chimed in, "It looks good on you."

The blonde suddenly stood up straight in surprise. "H – Huh?"

However, before he could respond, Flare interjected. "You said you're a mage, right? We need you to ground the boat so Natsu and I can actually fight and ki – I mean defeat him."

"Fine…"

Natsu suddenly realized an important question had gone unanswered. "Actually, what kinda magic do you use anyway?"

"Oh! Celestial Summoning!" she answered proudly.

"Ah. Like Yukino."

"Who?" Lucy retorted, her pride slowly melting.

"Another member of Fairy Tail. She uses Celestial Spirit Keys too."

"Ah…"

"What?"

"… N – Nothing…"

"Okay…?"

Lucy sighed and decided to change the subject. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Earlier, Flare said you were a Dragon Slayer. What does that mean exactly? I mean, as far as I know, there aren't any dragons to slay."

Natsu raised an eyebrow but shrugged it off. "Oh. That's our Magic. It's called Dragon Slayer Magic."

"I see… And… that's why you can't do vehicles?"

"Motion sickness."

"I… see… Wait, if you're both Dragon Slayers, then how come only y –?"

"I am much better at handling it," Flare interrupted before nonchalantly pulling a flask from her cleavage and taking a swig from it before putting it away.

Lucy gulped as she walked down the boardwalk towards Salamander's boat, a multi-story, lavish party boat. 'Got to stay calm… I can do this…' Her calm instantly faded as she saw the supposed doorman, a scrawny, mat-haired man with a suit that quite clearly did not fit properly. '… This is so gonna suck…'

As she approached, the man looked up from his clipboard and licked his lips as she neared, causing her to cringe in disgust. "Ah, another guest? Name?"

"Lucy," she answered, trying to keep her composure despite every fiber of her body telling her to run like hell.

"Hm… not on the list."

Lucy frowned and was about to argue when Salamander walked down the ship's entry plank with a smirk and put a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, she's a personal guest of mine."

The doorman blinked and then snickered wryly. "Oohh, right, go on in little lady."

Lucy gulped in response. 'Just what have I gotten myself into…?'

"Uh-oh, I don't see her anymore," Happy noted as he and the others watched the boat from a distance away before it took off from the dock.

"Well that's not good," Flare remarked, no real sense of urgency in her voice.

Flare raised an eyebrow and turned to Natsu. "Should we go?"

Natsu nodded and the group made their way down the hill they were on towards the boat.

As the three approached the boat, Flare noticed something fall into the water as a commotion started.

Happy then jumped onto Natsu's back. "Come on, let's go!" Happy exclaimed.

Natsu nodded as wide, white, feathered wings emerged from Happy's back, before the two took off into the air.

At the same time, Flare took off the tie on her braids and shook her hair loose, causing it to fall to its full length, flowing down her back.

Inside, Salamander stood in front of a crying Lucy, with multiple goons around him holding unconscious women. "Now, now, don't worry. I'll just be taking you and the rest of my merchandise to Bosco," Salamander said in an attempt to "sooth" Lucy.

As they floated above the boat, Natsu grit his teeth as his fists became encased in flame. "Let's go, Happy."

"Aye, sir!" Happy agreed as he released Natsu, dropping him onto the top of the barge.

Lucy clenched her fist when the ceiling suddenly burst as something fell through.

As the smoke cleared, Natsu stood up in front of Lucy, a glare on his face and his fists covered in flames.

"Wh – What the…?!" Salamander shouted.

"Bora, what should we do?!" one the men shouted.

"Salamander", who was actually Bora, turned and shouted, "Don't call me that, you dolt!"

At that moment Happy swooped down and grabbed onto Lucy, taking her away from the ship.

"Hey!" Bora shouted as he shot several bursts of purple flame at Happy and Lucy, Happy dodging through the air and missing each shot.

However, after a few moments Happy grunted.

"Wh – What's wrong?! Did he get you?!" Lucy asked frantically.

"N – No…" Happy strained. "I'm… out of power… and… you're heavy…"

"Hey! I'm not fa –!" she began to shout as Happy's wings then vanished in a burst of light and both he and Lucy fell into the water.

Back inside the ship, Natsu glared and was about to attack Bora and his men when the boat started to rock. "Oh crap…" Natsu groaned before he fell to the floor, motion sickness taking ahold powerfully.

Bora raised an eyebrow and then chuckled in amusement. "How pathetic. Take care of him."

Bora's goons then gathered around Natsu and started pummeling him.

At the same time, Lucy saw a ring of keys stuck on a rock underneath the water, and dove down to grab them. As she reemerged at the surface she took in a breath and then nodded to herself. "With all this water around, I can summon Aquarius." She then took a golden key from the ring and stuck it in the water. "Open, Gate of the Water Bearer: Aquarius!" A magic circle appeared in the water, a bell ringing as a figure appeared from within it.

The figure was a royal blue mermaid with waist-length blue hair combed back, a long, blue fish tail that started after her waist, and a large bust covered by a dark blue bikini top, holding a blue pot under one arm.

Happy gaped in shock at the sight. "Wow!"

Lucy smirked proudly. "I'm a Celestial Spirit Wizard, I can summon Spirits like Aquarius here to help me."

"Cool!"

Aquarius then turned to Lucy with a deep scowl.

"Oh crap, she's angry," Lucy gulped.

Back on the ship, Natsu was helpless against Bora's grunts until several were hit with long streams of fire, sending them flying into the opposite walls.

Bora gaped before he and his men turned to see Flare standing outside the room, her hair elongated and flowing like tendrils, encased in flames, and a furious scowl on her face. "Don't you hurt Natsu!"

Her flame-coated hair then shot forward, striking and ensnaring several of Bora's goons, burning several as she tossed them out into the ocean, before walking towards Natsu and Bora, still scowling.

Bora stumbled backwards as Flare walked towards him, falling against the wall with a frightened expression. "N – Now, let's not get crazy okay…?"

Flare's scowl turned to a warm smile as she sat down and placed Natsu's head in her lap and began stroking his hair. "There, feel better?"

Natsu moaned happily as he fell asleep.

"Whhhaaa…!?" Bora shouted in shock. "Are you mocking me!?"

Lucy gulped as she looked at Aquarius. "Wh – What's wrong… Aquarius…?"

Aquarius sighed angrily. "The next time you lose my key like that… I'll kill you!" She then looked down and noticed Happy chewing on her tail and gained a tic mark of rage. "Get. Off. Now. Unless you want to die."

Happy remained still for a moment before slowly letting go.

Lucy groaned in exasperation. "Look, we need help! So can you stop being mad and knock that ship to the beach!?"

Lucy and Happy gasped in fear as water surged from the urn in her hands, sending the two flowing away. Though it had the added effect of pushing the ship to shore, grounding it and damaging it heavily.

"Why'd you get me in the blast too?" Lucy asked weakly as she laid in the rubble of the ship.

Aquarius huffed. "Hmph, I was aiming for you, not the ship. I messed up by destroying it."

"What?!"

"Now, don't even think about summoning me for a while, I'll be on vacation."

"Right…"

Aquarius then vanished in a shimmer of light.

Lucy and Happy then got up and ran over to the damaged ship, where they saw Bora and his men strewn about, though Lucy gaped when she saw Natsu and Flare sitting quietly, Natsu's head resting on her lap. "Is this seriously the time for that?!"

Flare lightly patted Natsu's head. "Time to get up, we're on the shore," she said softly.

Natsu stood up and cracked his knuckles as he walked over to the edge of where the room's floor was, and looked down to see Bora and the others standing below them, both Natsu and Flare angry at the group.

Bora looked up and saw Natsu and raised an eyebrow. "You think I'm scared of you, brat?"

Happy sniggered snidely. "If you aren't you will be!"

Flare then narrowed her eyes. "I thought his name sounded familiar. Natsu, he's Bora the Prominence."

"I don't care who he is," Natsu rebutted angrily. "He made a mockery of Fairy Tail, and tricked people into thinking he's one of us and did bad stuff, now he's gonna pay."

"Ah crap," Bora grunted. As Natsu prepared to attack, Bora hissed and raised a hand. "Not so fast." Purple flames emerged from a magic circle and rocketed towards Natsu, engulfing both him and Flare.

"Oh no!" Lucy exclaimed.

However, a bubbling sound emanated from the flames as they started converging on a single point before they began to diminish as Natsu swallowed the flames.

"What!?" Lucy shouted.

Happy explained, "Flames don't work on Natsu, he's a Fire Dragon Slayer. It's a Lost Magic, he's got the scales of a dragon so flames don't hurt him and he's got the lungs of a dragon so he can eat fire."

Natsu wiped his chin with the back of his hand and sneered. "Che, those flames of yours taste awful."

Flare asked shyly, "Would you rather use mine, Natsu?"

Natsu grinned and nodded. "You bet!"

Flare smiled and flared her hair out, encasing it in flames that Natsu immediately began gulping down. Flare folded her arms and moaned with a reddened face as Natsu devoured the flames her body produced, throwing her head back slightly.

"That's too much!" Lucy shot.

After a few seconds Natsu sighed and then chuckled. "Delicious! Much better, now I'm all fired up!"

Flare put a hand to her cheek with a satisfied moan.

One of Bora's men then gasped. "Oh crap, Bora, that guy, I think he's… the real Salamander!"

"Shit…" Bora cursed as Natsu prepared to attack.

Natsu slammed his fists together, causing a magic circle to form in front of him, his pupils became slitted, and he placed his fists in front of his mouth, his right in front of the left, as another magic circle appeared in front of his hands and he shouted, "Fire Dragon Roar!" A powerful stream of fire then blasted from the magic circle and tore towards Bora and his men. Unfortunately, his attack extended far beyond Bora and his men, destroying a portion of the city as well.

Natsu sighed in relief as he and Flare jumped down.

Lucy gaped in shock. "Is this… really what Fairy Tail wizards are like…?"

"Aye!" Happy cheered.

Natsu, Lucy, Flare, and Happy then turned as multiple guards started running towards them.

Natsu then ran, grabbing Lucy's hand.

"H – Hey! What are you doing?" Lucy asked confused.

"You said you wanted to join Fairy Tail, right? Well then, come on, I'll take you there," Natsu said happily.

Lucy widened her eyes and then nodded in agreement.

Flare puffed her cheeks slightly as the group ran away from the pursuing soldiers.

At the same time, in a different place, a group of people stood suspended over a large Magic Circle.

As they discussed different topics, one voice spoke up. "This is ridiculous. Fairy Tail merely causes destruction everywhere it goes."

Another voice added, "Agreed. This guild is nothing more a bunch of fools."

"All they do is break things," a third voice interjected.

A young man with short blue hair, a red, tribal tattoo encompassing his right eye, wearing a white tunic with black trousers, spoke up in a calm voice, "I'd have to disagree. While Fairy Tail does cause its fair share of trouble, it also helps in many things. I can think of several instances where their actions have been invaluable."

"Hmmm… regardless of your personal liking towards them, Siegrain, we are still left with a problem. Fairy Tail is a troublesome and destructive guild, but at the same time competent and strong."

Lucy sighed as she followed behind Natsu and Flare.

"You okay?" Natsu asked, concerned.

"Y – Yeah," she stuttered, her thoughts elsewhere.

"Good," he replied with a grin. "We're almost to Magnolia."

"Finally…" Flare grumbled as she shook the flask from her cleavage. 'I'm almost out of brew…'

As the group rounded the top of the hill and reached the edge of the nearby city, Lucy's eyes went wide. "Whoa…"

"Let's go!" Natsu cheered before sprinting ahead.

"Natsu, wait up!" Flare exclaimed, Lucy following quickly behind with excitement.

Eventually, they reached the rear end of the town, where Lucy saw a large, three-story stone building with multiple extravagant towers, a bell-tower at the top of the building, and a large, orange banner bearing the symbol of Fairy Tail upon it in white.

"Wow…" Lucy said surprised.

Natsu grinned as he walked up to the front door and kicked it open roughly, shouting, "Hey! I'm back!"

As the group walked in, one of the people inside the guildhall walked up to Natsu mildly annoyed. "You really caused havoc back in Hargeon, did you know that?"

Natsu growled and kicked the guy in the face hard. "Well maybe you should've told me that the 'Salamander' there was a fake you jerk!"

"It's not my fault that you screwed up, dumbass!"

However, when the guy had gotten kicked across the room he knocked over another patron's drink, who immediately stood up and punched the guy, sending him flying at a table where several others were drinking and eating as well, getting them equally enraged.

Almost in the blink of an eye the entire area erupted in a full brawl.

At that moment, a young woman with long white hair, which curled at the ends and had the bangs tied up into a small ponytail, a rather impressively large bust, and blue eyes who wore a long maroon colored dress and matching high-heeled shoes walked to Lucy with a smile. "Hi there, you must be new."

Lucy stared at the woman for a moment before gasping. "Y – You're… Mirajane Strauss… one of Sorc –?" she began to ask before Flare suddenly slapped a hand over her mouth.

Both Mirajane and Flare looked to see Natsu was embroiled in the fight, not paying attention to them.

"Too close…" Mirajane sighed in relief.

"Wh – What was that for…?" Lucy asked, insulted, as she pulled Flare's hand away.

"Never mention her involvement with that magazine in front of Natsu, ever," Flare warned.

"I… see? Why not?" she wondered in bewilderment.

With a smile, Mirajane simply answered, "Once you get to know him better you'll understand."

"Okay…?"

A young woman with elbow-length black hair, dark blue eyes, a blue Fairy Tail crest just above her right, nicely shaped breast, who wore a chain around her neck with a silver emblem, a pair of dark green trousers, and nothing else, walked up to Natsu, annoyed. "Hey Natsu!" as she walked over towards the pink-haired Dragon Slayer.

However, she was stopped by a tall, slim, tanned young woman, with an ample bust and long, wavy, mid-back brown hair that had two shoulder-length strands framing her face, big brown eyes with prominent eyelashes, a black Fairy Tail stamp on the left side of her abdomen just above her hips, with most of her upper body exposed save for a blue bikini top, which in itself did little to hide her breasts, a pair of capri pants, and high-heeled sandals, who was also drinking out of a full-sized beer barrel. "Granel, I know you're proud of letting Natsu see your tits, but there's a place and a time."

The dark-haired teen, Granel, looked at her in confusion and raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about Cana?" She then looked down and realized her upper half was almost fully exposed, momentarily stopping the battle. "Oh shit!"

Suddenly a large, muscular man with tanned skin, long white hair styled upwards in long, wavy spikes with no eyebrows and dark eyes, a scar under his right eye, a black Fairy Tail crest on the left side of his neck, who wore a dark blue jacket, matching pants, and wooden geta sandals, slammed his foot on the table. "This fight's for a real man!" He then slammed into one of the other people inside the hall who had a chair in his hands.

"I'm a woman, asshole!" Granel shouted.

"You should be more chill, Elfman," a young woman with short, wild blonde hair, a simple tube top around her generous bosom, and scant clothing otherwise, snickered, holding a beer in one hand.

"Hu –?" Elfman stammered before being frozen from the neck down, a scowling Granel standing next to him.

The blonde woman laughed loudly. "Cool timing, Granel!"

Granel looked at her in confusion. "You not joining the fray, Leone?"

Leone tilted her head slightly in confusion. "Why would I –?" she began before an errant piece of wood was sent flying, smashing her beer bottle. "Okay… now I'm mad."

Lucy looked around and gaped. "There isn't a single sane person here…"

"What was that?" Flare asked, busily slamming two men around the area with her hair.

Mirajane simply smiled at Lucy. "Don't worry, this is just how things are," she explained before being smacked in the head by a flying bottle, Lucy gaping as her expression remained unchanged even as blood dripped down her face.

Natsu swiftly dropped the man he was punching and saw Elfman with an outstretched arm and worried expression, the man in front of him having ducked his throw. Natsu responded by grabbing the huge man by the leg and using him to pummel the other would-be combatants.

Flare found the act very amusing. "That's what you call beating a motherfucker with another motherfucker."

However, Natsu's onslaught was halted when a massive, shadowed figure crushed him underfoot.

Lucy paled as she looked up and saw the massive, hulking figure standing in the center of the guildhall.

"That's enough! Out of all of you!" it shouted in a deep, bellowing tone. The commotion in the guildhall stopped almost immediately. The figure then turned and saw Lucy.

"Eep!" Lucy squeaked in fear.

The figure then began shrink, shrinking down to an extremely short, elderly man with black eyes, balding white hair, and a thick mustache wearing a white shirt with a black symbol on the front, an orange hoodie, matching orange shorts, pointed shoes, and a blue and orange striped jester hat.

Lucy blinked curiously in disbelief. "Huh…?"

"Nice to meet'cha. I'm Makarov Dreyar, the Guildmaster of Fairy Tail," he greeted.

"Y – You're… the Guildmaster!?" Lucy shouted in disbelief.

Rather than answer her, Makarov jumped up to the second-floor railing of the guildhall. "Okay, you lot!" He then pulled out a large stack of papers and showed them to the guild. "Do you all see these?!" he shouted.

"I didn't do it!" Natsu reflectively shouted.

"These are all of the complaints that have been filed with the Council against Fairy Tail!"

'H – Huge!' Lucy shouted in her head.

Makarov smirked as the stack of papers in his grasp caught fire. "Although, as far as I'm concerned, the Council can blow it out their ears!" He then tossed the burning pages into the air, prompting Natsu to leap up and devour them. "We have no reason to be afraid of those watchful eyes and ears of the Council, since we're Fairy Tail!"

The rest of the guild cheered in agreement with Makarov.

Lucy merely gaped in disbelief. "… They really are all insane…"

"You'll fit in," Flare taunted.

Sometime later, Natsu stood in front of a large board with many different fliers on it.

"Hey, Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed as she ran up to him.

Natsu turned to her curiously.

"Look!" she said happily as she showed him her right hand, which now had a pink Fairy Tail emblem on it.

Natsu smirked in response. "Nice work, Lucy. Great to see you joined!"

Lucy nodded happily.

As the two spoke, Natsu saw a slim young boy with straight, dark purple hair and blue eyes wearing a dark green T-shirt, pleated shorts with two large pockets in the back, and simple sandals talking with Makarov.

"Come on, Gramps!" the boy shouted frantically. "My dad's been gone for over a week!"

Makarov sighed before turning to the boy. "Romeo, you should just go back home and wait patiently. Macao can take care of himself."

Romeo clenched his fists in frustration.

Natsu slammed his fist into the request board before walking out of the guildhall.

"N – Natsu?" Lucy remarked curiously. "Why did he rush out like that?"

Mirajane frowned with concern. "Oh dear… I can probably guess why."

"What?" Lucy asked.

"He probably sees a little of himself in Romeo."

Lucy tilted her head in confusion. "Why?"

Flare, who had suddenly appeared behind Lucy, remarked, "Didn't he tell you?"

"Gyah!" the blonde shrieked as she reflexively leapt into Mirajane's arms.

The white-haired beauty was rather surprised, for various reasons. "My, my, you're rather light.

"Nope!" Happy teased.

"Shut up cat!" Lucy hissed as she got down.

"I'm not a cat, I'm Happy!"

Mirajane then answered the blonde's questions. "Natsu was raised by Igneel, a dragon. Igneel taught him how to speak, fight, and how to use Dragon Slayer Magic. But then she just vanished seven years ago."

"I see…" Lucy muttered in thought.

"Well? Are you going to go help him?"

Natsu, Lucy, Flare, and Happy sat in a wagon driving up a snowy mountain, Natsu asleep on Flare's lap.

Lucy sighed before rubbing her arms. "Yeesh, it's so cold here."

"Were you expecting it to be a volcano?" Flare mocked.

"I wasn't expecting it to be this cold!"

"Well that's Mt. Hakobe for you," Happy interjected.

"Indeed," Flare added, gently stroking Natsu's hair.

Lucy merely sighed in frustration.

Eventually the wagon suddenly stopped.

"H – Hey! Why'd we stop?" Lucy asked in confusion.

The driver of the wagon answered, "The weather's too bad here. I can't take you any further than this." He then turned around and left after the others got off.

"Oh you've gotta be kidding!" Lucy shouted in exasperation.

Natsu flexed his arm as he looked around. "Well, let's get climbing! All we gotta do now is find Macao."

Lucy, shivering, asked, "Why would this Macao guy take a job all the way out here anyway?!"

Flare huffed mockingly. "To clear out the monsters in the Job description. What did you think us Mages do?"

Natsu explained, "These mountains are inhabited by powerful creatures called Vulcans. Macao came to fight them off."

"He's crazy…" Lucy groaned before pulling out one of her keys. "I can't take this! Open, Gate of the Clock: Horologium!"

A magic circle appeared in the air before, with a burst of smoke, a tall, brown grandfather clock with long, thin, black arms and legs, a glass case, a numerical clock face at the center, and a small face at the top with slit eyes, a thin, twirly, moustache-like mouth.

"Horologium, let me in!" Lucy exclaimed.

The glass case on the clock opened, allowing Lucy to crawl inside before it closed on her.

Horologium then began speaking. "Ah… nice and warm, it's way too cold out there, I'm going to stay in here, so she says."

"Um… okay?" Natsu mumbled in confusion.

"Wimp," Flare taunted, looking around.

"How are you not cold, she asks."

"Our bodies are naturally warm due to being fire based Dragon Slayers. Mine being Magma."

Lucy twitched an eyebrow.

"What?"

Natsu looked around in frustration before bellowing, "Macao! Where are you!?"

Horologium said calmly, "Stop that you idiot, you'll cause an avalanche, she shouts."

At that moment, a large, ape-like creature with dark grey skin, white fur, and a tall, pointed head, elongated chin, and circular markings on its arms appeared in front of the group.

"What the hell is that, she exclaims."

Natsu's fists were encased in flames as he looked at the beast. "It's a Vulcan!"

The Vulcan sniffed the air for a moment before turning to Flare and grinning widely. "Pretty woman!"

"Ah crap, she shouts."

"Come 'ere you son of a bitch!" Natsu challenged as he charged at the beast, though it dodged before swinging at him. He ducked under its strike and swung his fist up in an uppercut, sending the monster slamming against a wall. "Now piss off!"

"Eh, she wonders."

The Vulcan charged at Natsu and raised both arms in the air before slamming down atop Natsu, embedding him in the snow.

Flare growled with anger before her hair splayed out like massive claws and became engulfed in flame.

The Vulcan grinned before taking a deep breath and then expelled a huge cloud of gas.

Flare stopped as the effects hit her instantly. "Crap…! Th – This is…" she mumbled before her magma melted away and she collapsed, the Vulcan grabbing her before seeing Lucy inside Horologium.

"Eek!" She sat helplessly inside the living clock as the beast picked it up and took both her and Flare away. "Wh – What the…!? What'd that thing just do!?"

"Get up Natsu!" Happy urged as he shook the prone teen, who groaned as he sat up. "Ugh… wait, Flare! Lucy!" he shouted before he watched as the Vulcan ran off. "Get back here with my mate you bastard!" Natsu hollered before giving chase.

"This isn't good…" Lucy mumbled as the Vulcan set down Horologium and Flare, before focusing on Flare.

The redhead groaned as she woke up and saw the Vulcan. "Foul Beast… I'll melt you…"

The Vulcan just snickered before shooting out another cloud of gas.

Flare growled before setting her entire body ablaze, igniting the gas with a huge explosion.

"Whoa, she exclaims."

The blast sent the Vulcan slamming against a wall, trying to pull itself out before seeing Flare's hair swaying out, all ablaze.

Flare scowled at the beast with venom. "You will pay for trying to touch me you foul mongrel. My body belongs to Natsu alone, and I will see to it that you are punished dearly for your mistake!"

Lucy just gaped in disbelief.

Her hair swirled and formed the shape of a massive serpentine dragon made of flame.

The Vulcan laughed weakly. "… Uh-oh…" it muttered before the dragon shot a powerful blast of fire.

Outside the cave, Natsu ran up a snow-covered road when an explosion shot a hole in the side of the mountain, the Vulcan flying out before slamming into a mountain on the opposite side of a canyon. "Huh… Guess they're okay then."

Inside, Lucy watched in horror as Flare's hair returned to normal, the dragon of flame vanishing.

Flare noticed her terrified expression in confusion. "What?"

"Yo!" Natsu shouted up as he stood below the hole in the mountain. "You okay in there!?"

"Of course!" Flare shouted down with a smile before Natsu leaped up.

"Good to see you're both safe."

Lucy just sat silently as Horologium vanished.

"What's wrong, Lucy?"

She immediately pointed at Flare, silently.

"What?" Flare mumbled as she tied her hair back up.

"Whatever. Did you find Macao?"

Flare winced, as she realized she had completely forgotten about that.

Happy looked outside and saw a man with short purple hair and a white coat sitting in the crater where the Vulcan had landed. "Hey! I found Macao!"

"Really?!" Seeing him in the crater, he was rather confused. "Huh…"

"The Vulcan turned into a person…?" Lucy wondered in bewilderment.

Flare stood up and turned to her, annoyed. "Don't you know how Vulcans fight?"

Lucy smiled weakly, attempting to hide her exasperation. "Ah…n-no…not really…"

"They use Take-Over Magic to take control of a target as a new body."

"Creepy…"

Natsu walked up to the man, who groaned as he awoke.

The man sighed as Natsu helped him stand. "How pathetic am I? I beat nineteen Vulcans only to get Taken Over by the last one."

Natsu chuckled as he punched the man in the arm lightly. "Come on, beating nineteen Vulcans is something you can brag about, Macao."

Macao snickered weakly. "Maybe you're right."

Back in the town, Romeo sat on the steps, dismayed. "Those jerks." He thought back to sometime ago.

Romeo stood in front of a group of boys who were taunting him.

"Hey, you're the kid whose dad is a member of that stupid guild, right?" one boy asked with a sardonic smirk.

Another boy remarked snidely, "Yeah. They're just a bunch of useless wizards who sit around doing nothing but drinking!"

Romeo clenched his fists in frustration. 'Those bullies are the reason I begged Dad to go and get a job from the request board. And because of that…' Tears began flowing down Romeo's face.

"Romeo!" Natsu shouted.

Romeo looked up and widened his eyes as he saw Natsu and the others returning to the guild, a battered Macao limping with Natsu helping him stand. "Dad!" Romeo shouted as he ran over to the man. As he and his father embraced happily, Romeo shouted joyously, "Thanks Natsu, Flare, Happy! You guys brought my dad back!"

Lucy, annoyed, snarled, "Hey! I was there too…"

"And hid," Happy teased.

"Shut! Up!"

Flare could only laugh at their back and forth.

Natsu walked into the guildhall and looked around. "Hmm…"

"Something wrong, Natsu?" Mirajane asked as she took a tray back to the bar.

"Hey, where's Lucy?"

Mirajane blinked and then smiled. "She bought an apartment down by the river." She reached under the desk and handed Natsu a key. "Here, this should open it."

Natsu grinned and nodded. "Thanks! C'mon Happy!"

"Aye, sir!" Happy concurred happily.

Flare blinked curiously and followed and behind the two.

Sometime later, Lucy walked into the lounge of her apartment and flinched in surprise when she saw Natsu, Happy, and Flare sitting on her sofa.

"Yo, Lucy!" Natsu greeted happily.

"What the hell are you doing here!?"

Flare, eating a bowl of noodles, responded, "We're here to see how you're settling in."

Natsu, however, was rather confused. "Yeah, Ama said it's always best to greet women in the morning."

Lucy grumbled in annoyance but then raised an eyebrow curiously. "Wait, Ama?"

Natsu nodded. "Yeah. I wasn't raised just by Igneel, but also by Amaterasu."

"Amaterasu… don't think I've heard that name before. Who is she?"

"Goddess of the sun," he explained without concern.

"Rriigghhtt…" Lucy muttered, not believing a word of it.

"What? It's true. I don't see what the big deal is though."

"… Whatever… just wait here."

Deciding the trio were not going to leave, Lucy made tea and handed cups to both Flare and Natsu.

"You know, it's rude to barge into someone's house like this," Lucy chided.

"It is?" both Flare and Natsu asked in unison.

Lucy was shocked by what she could only explain as ignorance. "Yes!"

Natsu tilted his head in confusion and pulled out the key Mirajane gave him. "Really? Mira gave me this key so I figured it was okay."

"Why does she have a key to my apartment!?" Lucy exclaimed in confusion and fear.

Flare explained, "She has a key to all the rooms in Fairy Hills."

Lucy looked at her, wondering what she meant. "What's Fairy Hills?"

"The girls' dormitories."

"… There are dorms!?"

"Yes."

"… Ah…"

Natsu put the key away. However, when he did, Lucy noticed something glint in his pocket.

Lucy blinked in thought and pointed to it. "Hey, what was that in your pocket?"

Natsu tilted his head curiously and pulled out a strangely-shaped golden key with a spade-tip and a purple object coiling around it.

Lucy twitched an eyebrow and asked, "Why do you have a Zodiac Spirit Key?"

Natsu blinked as he looked at it. "I've had it for a while. Yukino gave it to me."

"Do you actually know how to use it?" Lucy asked, incredulous.

"Yeah. I've summoned Ophiuchus a couple times."

Lucy tilted her head curiously. "Ophiuchus? That's not one I know."

"Then you must not know a lot."

She was very unamused.

Natsu raised an eyebrow and then shrugged, putting the key in his pocket. "Oh, right! You're a Celestial Spirit Mage like Yukino, right?"

"I'm pretty sure we established that already…" 'So I'm not the only Celestial Spirit Mage in Fairy Tail, huh? Great…' She then pulled the keys from the pouch on her waist. "I have six Gate Keys right now. Three of them are Zodiacs, the other three are the regular, silver keys." Lucy then raised both eyebrows in realization. "Oh, that's right! I have that new key I bought. I need to make a contract." She then turned to Natsu. "Have you ever seen a Celestial Spirit Mage make a contract before?"

Natsu nodded. "Yeah, I saw Yukino make contracts a couple times before."

"I see…" Lucy frowned in thought. 'Sounds like this Yukino girl is going to be competition.'

"Well ya gonna do it?" Happy asked, eating a small sandwich.

"I'll get to it! Geez…" She then pulled out a small grey box and pulled from it a simple silver key. Nodding to herself, she raised the key and shouted, "Open, Gate of Little Dog, Nikola!"

A magic circle appeared in the air and a burst of smoke emanated from it. As the smoke cleared, a short and stout white creature with bland eyes, an orange, horn-like nose similar to a carrot, whose body trembled slightly.

Natsu twitched an eyebrow as he looked at the creature. "That's completely ridiculous."

Happy poked the white blob with a stick.

"Hey! Stop that!" Lucy shouted.

"It's weird…" Happy muttered.

"I think it's cute. Besides, the Nikola don't take much energy to summon and so a lot of people use them as pets."

Natsu sat silently as Lucy created her contract with the Nikola. He looked at the creature in confusion.

After a few moments Lucy folded her arms in thought. "Right… now I need to give you a name. Hmm… ah! How about Plue?"

The little Nikola, Plue, nodded happily in agreement.

"What a weird name," Natsu and Happy muttered in unison.

"Shut it!" Lucy snarled.

"So what's he do?" Natsu asked, staring at the white critter.

"Nothing really. He's just a friendly companion."

After a moment, Plue walked up to Natsu and grabbed his hand. "Eh?"

"What's it doing?" Flare wondered.

"No idea…"

Plue just kept pulling.

Lucy frowned in confusion and decided she needed to get the cone-nosed creature's attention. "Hey, Plue, we need to make our contract."

"Puun?" the Nikola emoted before walking over to Lucy and picking up its own key from her before swallowing it, resulting in Lucy shrieking with extreme distress.

"WHAT THE HECK!?"

"Well that's new," Flare noted calmly.

"Why'd you do that!?"

"Pun, pun, puun!"

"… Oh right, you can't speak human. Well this is just great…" Lucy then sighed and asked, "Okay…so why are you guys here anyway?"

"We wanted to form a team with you to go on jobs," Natsu answered with a smile.

"Aren't you already on a team with Flare?" Lucy asked.

Flare smiled victoriously.

Natsu nodded. "Yeah, but the more the merrier!"

Flare frowned in resignation. "Bedroom and missions aren't the same, Natsu…"

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Oh… still, I think it'd be fun."

"Fine…"

Lucy gulped in concern as she stared worriedly at Flare. 'Seriously! What is this chick's problem with me!?'

"I even have a job picked out, but I left it at the guildhall."

Lucy nodded as she stood up. "Okay, then let's go get it."

The group made their way back toward the guildhall shortly when a voice called out to them.

"Hey! Natsu!"

Natsu and the others turned and saw two people walking towards them.

The first was a slender, well-endowed young woman with chin-length, light blue hair, brown eyes, and slightly tanned skin who wore a short white dress with a low-cut top, showing off part of her moderate bust, thigh-high, white, high-heeled boots, all partially covered by long, ankle-length cloak that had feathery accents, and a blue rose ornament on the left side of her head.

The second was a slim young woman with lightly tanned skin, green eyes with dark, blue-green eyeshadow, long eyelashes, glossy, dark red lipstick, and long, straight, glossy black hair that reached her lower back that was mostly left loose, which was also tied into bun-shaped loops at the sides of her head, wearing a cheongsam that was blue in the front and dark blue in the back with a slit up the left side that was opened all the way up her left leg, exposing her soft thigh, shoulder-length ornamental gloves bearing the same dual colors, and calf-length boots.

Natsu smiled widely as he saw the two. "Hey! Yukino! Minerva! Back from your job?"

The two walked up to the group and turned to Lucy.

"Yeah, but who's this?" the white-haired girl, Yukino, asked.

"This is Lucy, she's a new member of the guild, and a Celestial Spirit Mage like you, Yukino."

The white-haired girl smiled widely. "That's great to hear!"

Lucy raised an eyebrow in thought. "Really?" 'That's Yukino?' Lucy took a moment to look over the girl and pouted in frustration. 'Darn… she's really pretty. She really is my competition.'

"Um… is something wrong, Lucy?" Yukino asked with concern.

"N – No!" the blonde sputtered. She then turned to the other woman and asked, "And, you are…?"

The woman bowed politely. "My name is Minerva Orlando." With a whisper, she added, "Though hopefully one day Dragneel."

Lucy just stared at the woman in disbelief.

Natsu then asked, "So you guys finished that job, eh?"

Minerva nodded with a sigh. "Yes. Though it was rather irritating."

Yukino, with a slightly annoyed smile, rebutted, "That's because you insisted on using your Yagd Rigora to get the job done when Libra would've been able to do it in half the time."

Minerva smiled sweetly as she pulled on Yukino's cheeks roughly. "My magic was perfectly suited for that. We didn't need to do it the cheap way. Got. That?"

"O – Okay, okay!" Yukino slurred as Minerva tugged her cheeks.

"Good," Minerva chirped as she released the white-clade girl's cheeks with a snap.

Yukino moaned slightly as she rubbed the sides of her face.

"So, what are you off to do?" Minerva asked Natsu curiously.

Natsu smirked and responded, "Me, Lucy, and Flare are gettin' ready to go on a job together."

And finito! Thus ends the first chapter. Be sure to let me know what you thought of it with a review, whether you liked it or not. If you were confused, unsure, or have questions on anything, leave a review about it as well and I will address what I can in the next chapter's reviewer response. Though if it is anything spoiler related you may have better luck with a PM, since I do not do spoiler talk in my reviewer responses since not everybody likes to be spoiled. If you did not like it, review if you must, but try to actually have suggestions instead of just knocking, and please for the love of god have a proper grasp of English. That said, until next time, bye-bye!