Welcome! HellFly here! It's been a while my loyal readers! And to my new readers I bow to you in greeting. This is my first Fairy Tail fic, I'm so excited. It's my current obsession, along with my latest OTP NaLu!

Recently I've just been hunched over this here computer typing away multiple different stories for this anime. And so far this is the only one I've even come close to finishing. So I'm going to go ahead and post it to motivate me to actually finish something. This story could've been part of NaLu week under the theme 'Fairy Tale'. Ah well, better late than never I guess.

This is part one of a (planned) four-chapter story. Well, I guess there's really nothing left to say except thank you for clicking in and reading. Oh! And prepare to laugh. Not so much now, but you will later! Enjoy~!

Story Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, all of it belongs to the wonderful and genius Mashima-san. I am merely the victim of an evil hoard of plot bunnies in my closet.

The Legendary Dragon's Key

Chapter 1

Legends Tell...

On the planet of Earthland, there was a peaceful nation called Fiore. Population; Seventeen million. This kingdom was known for the majority of it's large population having knowledge of the use of magic. It held the most mages in all the world.

Magic existed in many forms, and just like with many other things there were two sides to using magic... The good and the bad.

Now everyone knows one mage alone is no problem. That's why long ago they decided to form groups called 'guilds'. They started out as a few mages who traveled together and did jobs for money. As time passed the guilds grew, taking in more people and becoming a common thing.

But because there were also guilds that supported shady characters and equally shady actions - also known as dark guilds - a magic council had to be created to make laws that all mages and guilds must abide by.

However, none of this is really what our story is about.

There is one certain guild called Fairy Tail that just so happened to be the most renowned guild in all of Earthland. It was filled with rambunctious rule-breaking mages of all ages that sometimes destroyed more than they actually helped... but they were still all very talented and powerful nonetheless.

At this time, there was a small gathering of the guild's most well-known mages...

This is where our story begins.

"I'm telling you, this mission is well worth our time looking into. If all holds true in the end, we'll be rich beyond our wildest dreams!" Macao ranted, raising his mug in the air. Wakaba raised his as well, muttering, "Hear, hear."

"But it's not an official mission, old man." Gray pointed out, leaning back in his chair. He had listened to this guy's raving all day but Macao had yet to really reveal what this so-called 'mission' was.

"True, it hasn't gotten the council's approval, but listen to this story and you can judge for yourself whether you want to join me. Either way, I'm going for it."

"Me too!" Twelve year old Romeo piped up from behind his dad. He had heard this story many times now, and he believed it without a doubt like his father.

"I told you, son... I need you to stay here and watch over the guild while I'm gone. With Master Makarov out at a meeting, someone's gotta man this place."

Romeo pouted, his entire posture deflating at being told he couldn't go. "Yes, dad..."

"Just tell us already! Men don't procrastinate at times like these!" Elfman growled, smashing a fist down on the table. It sent a few drinks into the air - at least the ones that weren't quickly snatched in reflex to the motion - and spilled all over the floor.

"Elfman!" Mira scolded, walking up with a dishcloth. "Don't waste things like that!"

"Sorry, nee-chan..."

"Real men apologize." Jet teased, gaining a laugh from Droy next to him. "Right, Levy?"

The bluenette in the chair in front of them simply nodded, hiding her giggles behind her small hand. Elfman huffed and crossed his big arms in a pout, blush coating his cheeks. Embarrassment wasn't manly at all.

"Anyway..." Macao drawled, regaining everyone's attention. "As I was saying, this mission may not be official, but if the legends are true we can seriously make bank on this."

"You've said that already!" Gray groaned. "Just tell us what the hell you mean!"

"I'm glad you asked!" Macao grinned, leaning forward and intertwining his fingers together as he rest his elbows on the table. He cleared his throat.

"There is a legend that has spread over Fiore lately, and recently it arrived here in Magnolia as well. Granted this story isn't that old, but it's already earned the title of 'legend'. It's mystery and appeal draws many listeners in, but fewer brave enough to actually try to find out if it's true.

"This legend tells of a fierce fire-breathing dragon in the mountains south-west of Crocus; they say he not only attacks any trespassers, but he also guards a special treasure inside a small castle on the peak of one of the mountains."

"What kind of treasure?" Gray asked with narrow eyes, not buying this tale for a minute. "And why the hell does this 'treasure' need a whole castle?"

"Gray-sama~! Juvia wants to hear!" The blue-haired rain woman whined from beside Gray.

Macao glared at the ice-make mage. "I'm getting to that! Geez, youngin's and their impatience... Ahem... This is no ordinary treasure, either. It's said to be the most valuable treasure in all of Earthland!"

Erza leaned forward, genuinely intrigued now. "What's so special about it?"

"That, my dear, is the part where the story divides into several different versions. No one knows for sure what it is... but the one version that seems to be the most popular says that it's a magical golden key. Rumors I've heard tell that this very powerful key has the "power to change the world", whatever that means."

Gray scoffed, "Rumors... So this story is bogus! I ain't buyin' it." He crossed his arms over his now-naked chest.

Cana, who had somehow ended up laying across the end of the table, mumbled out a slurred, "Gray, your clothes."

"GAH!"

"Kyaa~!" Juvia squealed with hearts in her eyes.

Macao scowled, though. "It's not bogus! It's gotta be true - men and celestial mages alike have gone in search of this key or treasure, and they all come back the same..." He trailed off dramatically, forcing the table to lean in eagerly so they could hear more.

"... Seriously burned with no memory of their journey after entering the mountains." Macao said eerily, and Levy let out a frightened "Eep!"

"Bull..." Gray said under his breath as he pulled his shirt back on.

"If what you say is true then there is some sort of beast out there that is hurting innocent people..." Erza said, bringing a hand to her chin in a thoughtful gesture. "It must be dealt with."

Levy gasped. "W-Wait, let's not jump to conclusions! Don't forget these people were waltzing through this dragon's territory, trying to take something he obviously has no intention of giving up. He has every right to defend his home."

"Gotta agree with the shrimp on this one." Gajeel said gruffly, having been silently listening until now. "As a dragon slayer, I know what it feels like to be possessive or protective of an object or person. This dragon is doing nothing wrong or illegal by my standards."

"But we can't guarantee this really is a dragon!" Elfman pointed out. Everyone considered that. "What if it's just some freak playing pranks on the whole country? That's unmanly!"

Lisanna raised her hand to speak. "Well, it could be a sort of demon. But I don't know many that use fire, and Macao said this story had different versions..."

"Yes that's true, what else did these stories say the treasure or beast was?" Juvia asked curiously.

Macao took a swig of ale, then set his mug down. "Not much. The treasure could be anything; gold, rare documents, some sort of magical trinket... Some say the dragon is actually a slayer like Gajeel and little Wendy. But some of little faith say it's just some guy who knows memory magic and has pyromania.

"But I believe it's a real dragon..."

Erza raised a brow at him. "Why do you say that?"

"Because a friend of mine was up in the area. Never went in, but he swears on his life he heard the roars of a living, breathing dragon."

"In that case, I'm in." Gajeel smirked, causing everyone to jerk their heads to him. "I wanna see this for myself. Maybe this dragon knows something about mine or Wendy's dragons."

"Could be. Glad to see someone willing to accompany me. Who else wants to go?" Macao looked around the table, watching as several hands went up.

"I'll stay with Romeo, partner, in case the kid has a hard time." Wakaba said, ruffling the boy's hair.

"If this turns out to be a beast that gets kicks off hurting innocent travelers, it must be destroyed. I will accept this responsibility." Erza said with authority.

Levy smiled and raised her hand. "If Gajeel's going, I wanna go too. This sounds like a great opportunity, maybe that castle has a library with rare parchments!"

"If Levy goes, we go!" Jet and Droy said simultaneously. Gajeel rolled his eyes at the pair.

"I'm going, this sounds like the sort of mission a man would go on!"

"I guess I'll go since Elf-nii is."

"Well if both my siblings are going, I will too."

"I-I want to go as well! Like Gajeel-san I want to meet this dragon!" Wendy said excitedly, with Charle floating next to her. Obviously she was going since Wendy was, no way she'd let the little slayer out of her sight.

"Cana? You going too?" Wakaba asked the drunken woman still laying across the table.

"Nah... I'll stay and watch the bar for Mira..." The brunette mumbled, staring off at some unknown moving shape in the ceiling. The group laughed at the drunk, knowing she wouldn't be doing as much watching so much as drinking.

"Just don't let me come back to an empty storeroom, please." Mira said with a smile, but the undertone of that smile spoke of death is she wasn't adhered to. Cana nodded, sensing the hidden meaning without needing to see the look.

"Juvia will go! Gray-sama, please say you'll come with us!"

Gray nodded, "Oh I'm going all right... Just to see how fake this is and say I told you so."

"Yay! Gray-sama is coming with Juvia!" She cheered, not put off by his comment in the slightest. The man just looked at her like she was crazy, nothing new there, really.

Macao grinned at all the volunteers. Finally, he stood up, looking over the group.

"Well then, everyone... Pack your things and be ready to move out tomorrow morning, we're going to the south-western mountains!"

And so ends chapter one. Hope you enjoyed it! And as I said there's lots more to come, and way more laughs to be had. I've already got a major chunk of this bad boy written, and like I said above, I just need the motivation to finish. Some reviews would just about do the trick~! I might even update faster with a little encouragement. Lol. No pressure. But seriously...

See you next time! SoaringHellButterfly.