You all wanted chapter 2, so here ya go! I'll try not to follow every chapter/episode of Fairy Tail, but at least go with the canon to an extent. Will there be any fillers? *shrugs*
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima, & Halo is property of Bungie, 343 Industries, & Microsoft. I own none of the series or characters involved, unless I add an OC of my own.
Chapter 2: Welcome to Fairy Tail
"Well, here we are." Nat landed and gently put down Natsu, Lucy and Happy. There they were, in front of the door of the infamous guild.
Lucy was impressed with the size of the guild, which looked 3 stories high. There were 3 flags decorating the very top part of the building, the middle one with the guild's insignia on it.
"Huh, looks nice," Nat remarked.
"Wow, it's huge!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Welcome to Fairy Tail!" Happy said cheerily, snapping the girls out of their daze.
Removing her helmet, Nat started walking towards the entrance with her new friends following right behind her. There were two large wooden doors, making Nat think there's a special way to get inside.
She started to ask, "Hey Natsu, do we have to knock or can we just-" before being interrupted by the Fire Dragon Slayer kicking a door open. He then yelled, "We're back and alive!" as he walked in; Happy repeated the greeting with "We're home!"
Everyone else inside saw the duo coming in and responded "Welcome home!" in quite a friendly matter.
Natalie had a feeling things would go nuts within the next few minutes. Sure enough, she and Lucy were going to be in for a surprise.
The brunette Spartan saw a couple of guys laughing at a table a couple of feet away from where she & her friends stood. Nat then saw Natsu walking towards a buck-toothed man sitting at the table.
"Yo Natsu. I head what went down at Hargeon. Ya really did-" The man was promptly interrupted when Natsu kicked him in the face.
"Wait, why'd you do that?!" Lucy exclaimed.
Nat just face-palmed at Natsu's action.
"The information you gave me on Salamander was fake!" the pinkette yelled.
"How was I suppose to know? Those were just rumors I heard!" was the man's reply.
"What was that? You wanna fight?!"
"Uh, Natsu? You might wanna calm do-" Just like that, a random guy crashes into Happy, sending the poor feline bouncing around like a pinball into other people. That, and Natsu punching someone, set off a chain reaction within the rest of the guild. Now...
...it looks like a freaking riot, Nat thought, wide-eyed at what's currently happening. Almost reminds me of what some Marines & ODSTs would do in their barracks, and several other places.
Various objects flew throughout the place, people jumping about picking fights, and such mayhem ensued.
"Oh wow. I can't believe it, we're finally in Fairy Tail." Lucy said in astonishment. She then turned to one of her new friends. "Hey Nat. Um, what do you think of this place?"
The Spartan didn't say anything at first, only staring at the chaos with a blank expression. She finally responded, "I don't know. I would think this is some kind of joke, or that there's something we're not seeing yet."
"Hm, you might be right," the blonde mage mused.
Natsu's arrival didn't go noticed, however. A black-haired, shirtless guy in his boxers popped out of nowhere looking for the Dragon Slayer. This was Gray Fullbuster. Unfortunately, he has a habit of... taking off his clothes. "Where's Natsu? It's time we settled things for good!" he said.
"Gray, your clothes." a girl sitting at the bar pointed out. Like Nat, she too is a brunette, but had long wavy hair in contrast to Nat's short and somewhat messy. Not to mention this girl wore a blue bikini top and brown pants. This is Cana Alberona, Fairy Tail's best drinker.
"No wonder I don't date any of the guys here. None of 'em got class," Cana said as she downed a barrel of alcohol.
Lucy stood agape at the sight of chugging that much. Natalie just wondered how many of these people are underage, or if anyone even cared about such things. The armored girl noticed Gray yelling at Natsu to fight him, but the latter yelled back to put some clothes on first.
"How pathetic. Look at you guys, in the middle of the day, shouting like a bunch of spoiled brats." And in walked a tall, white-haired man named Elfman. This guy believes any problem can be solved with your fists. He certainly towered over Lucy, but Nat still stood taller by a few inches.
"Wanna see a real man? Let me show ya." Elfman said, who looked ready to take on anything.
"Please don't tell me he's encouraging them," Natalie & Lucy both said.
And then the tall white-haired man was sent flying by Natsu & Gray like it was no problem.
"Okay, now THAT is just sad." Lucy remarked, sweatdropping at what just transpired.
Nat couldn't agree more. I'm so tempted to take control here if whoever the Master is won't, she thought.
"Huh, it's gotten quite loud in here."
The super-soldier and celestial wizard turned around to see an orange-haired teen sitting at a table with girls beside him. This man is Loke, a lady-killer and someone high ranked on the bachelor's list.
"The orange hair reminds me someone I knew," Nat muttered. Thankfully, it's not a complete duplicate of that person.
A stray cup flew into Loke's forehead, sending him off his seat. One of the girls with him asked if he was alright, but he shrugged it off & was about to jump into the fray himself. The two impressed girls wish him luck, but Natalie and Lucy weren't amused.
The latter got a magazine out and crossed Loke's face, another image of a Fairy Tail mage corrupted.
Sighing, Lucy too wondered if this was the right choice. "This place is completely nuts. Nat, are we the only normal ones here?"
Said girl turned her head when the question was directed at her. Normal? By no circumstances are Spartans normal. But, considering I'm in a place filled with mages & I got no magic whatsoever, guess that kinda makes me the Odd One Out.
She kept that in her head and sighed before replying, "I guess in our case, you and I are the sane ones out of this bunch."
"Hello there! Are you two new?" The new voice got Nat & Lucy's attention. As they turned around, they saw Mirajane herself in a red dress greeting them. And all the while, the brawl continued behind the white-haired girl.
"Oh my gosh! It's the one and only Mirajane!" Lucy said in excitement like the fangirl she is.
Nat only rolled her eyes at her friend's statement but didn't say anything.
The blonde girl then pointed out the ongoing fight happening in the background. "Um, shouldn't someone try to stop this or something?" she said.
"You have no idea how much I want to just take control of this situation, Luce," Nat added.
Mirajane herself looked at what was going on. "This happens a lot, so I just let it go. Besides-" and she was abruptly interrupted when someone was thrown at her. Wait, thrown? Yup, someone threw Elfman into her. "-it's more fun this way." she managed to say before passing out, a bump evident on her head.
Lucy was shocked to hear that statement; Nat didn't say anything but her hands were at her sides, itching to draw a weapon and somehow calm the place down. She was snapped out of her thoughts when Gray was sent crashing in the girls' direction. In the midst of the fight, Natsu took Gray's underwear. Wait, what?
"Hahaha! Lookie what I got!" Natsu said, twirling his rival's undergarments.
"Hey! Give me back my underwear!" Gray exclaimed.
Lucy shrieked in horror at the sight of the buck-naked teen. Nat covered her eyes, shaking her head at this. Gray then noticed the blonde & brunette behind him, he asked Lucy, "Hey miss, mind if I borrow your underwear?"
On instinct, Nat roundhouse kicked Gray back into the fray. "You should know better than to ask a lady that!" She somewhat yelled.
Out of nowhere, Loke picked up Lucy in a bridal fashion. "How rude of these guys. Don't they know a woman has needs-" And with that, Elfman uppercuts Loke, the former yelling something about men and fists. Natsu then kicked Elfman away, telling him to "Get lost!" Happy let out an "Aye" at his friend's statement.
"Ugh, look how noisy it is. So much for having a relaxing drink." Cana said from the bar, not even looking at the brawl. She then turned around, holding a glowing blue card. "Alright, it's about time this came to an end."
Nat then went into battle mode. "Lucy, watch Mirajane." She then donned her Recon helmet, bracing herself for what's to come. "I'm getting my game face on." the taller girl sternly stated.
And in response Cana's statement, the others were ready to use their own magic too, with magic seals appearing on their arms & hands.
Lucy watched over Mirajane, with Happy next to them. Natalie stood in front of the trio, now holding an Assault Rifle. The armored girl let out a warning shot, which echoed throughout the building. Now THAT got everyone's attention on her.
Lucy gasped, now worried her new friend will take the brunt of all the attacks. "Nat, do you know what you're doing?"
Cana smirked at the sight of Natalie. "Well well, look what we got here fellas. Seems like this new girl is gonna get serious too."
Natsu grinned. "Oh yeah, she's one my new friends. And from what I hear, she's a kick-ass soldier called a Spartan. I'm gonna ask to fight her at some point."
Behind her visor, Nat had an unamused look on her face. The tic marks didn't help either. "Natsu, if you know what's good for you, don't push your luck." Said pinkette flinched at her statement, but didn't say anything.
Like the others, Gray looked on in interest at the armored girl. "A Spartan, huh? Wonder what kind of magic she uses. I can't sense anything from her, though." As he said that, ice formed on his arms from his magic seal.
"I don't see a magic seal anywhere. Does she need a certain item to use her magic?" Happy wondered.
Lucy looked at Nat carefully. Happy has a point. I don't seen a magic seal anywhere. Are her guns the source of her power? The blonde mage suddenly noticed something else on the Spartan. Is that a... magic circle on her back? Why does it look like an eyeball? And wait, I can sense a faint raw energy emitting from her.
Loke chuckled at Natalie making her debut. "So, the new girl thinks she can call us out?"
"No," Nat said blankly. She then switched out her assault rifle for another weapon. "I call shotgun." She pumped her newly equipped weapon, aiming it at the various members. Nat knew better than to just open fire like a maniac. "Before anyone else gets hurt, you all better stand down. Now."
Everyone else in the guild stared wide-eyed at Nat. Many of them had questions about this girl. What is a Spartan? How tough is she? Is her magic dangerous? For some, she reminded them of certain other armored girl that's a member of the guild.
Before anyone released their attacks, or in Nat's case, open fired, a giant foot stomped in the middle of the brawl.
"That's enough! Will you fools stop bickering like children!" the large dark figure said. His appearance made everyone pause before anything could happen.
"That's huge!" Lucy remarked, who also looked like she was gonna cry.
Nat too was surprised to see the giant man. Though, staring up at it made her tempted to bring out the big guns.
"Oh, I didn't know you were still here, Master." Mirajane said. Apparently, she looked better now and still had that warm smile on her face.
"Wait, Master?!" exclaimed Lucy.
"Huh? That's the Master of this guild?" Nat questioned. The size of the giant didn't exactly terrify her. She's faced bigger enemies, like Covenant Scarabs and other ships, but this was something else.
"Haha! Everyone backed down! Guess this round is all mi-" Natsu was about to claim his 'victory' - that is, until the giant stomped on him. Nat somehow saw that coming. The Master then turned his attention on her & Lucy.
"Hm? What's this? We have some newcomers?" he asked.
"Ah, yes!" Lucy said quickly; it was evident she was quite intimidated by the sight of the Master. Nat simply nodded, but now had her shotgun lowered.
The guild Master suddenly let out a shout, though it looked like he was letting out energy. In an instant, the Master shrunk into a small old man. He wore a hat with what looked like pointy ears, as well as a shirt & jacket with clogs.
"Nice to meet you two," he said, raising his right hand in greeting.
"Whoa, he's tiny!" exclaimed Lucy, who calmed down a bit.
"Is he seriously the one in charge around here?" questioned Nat, as she holstered her shotgun.
"He certainly is. This is Makarov, the current Master of Fairy Tail." Mirajane answered, her usual smile still on her face.
The Spartan & her blonde companion watched as the Master jumped high, doing a few flips towards the railing on the second floor. Nat smiled when Makarov accidentally hit his head, but he straightened himself up and he cleared his throat. She noticed his hands were behind his back, his left hand holding a stack of papers. Looks like he's going to make an announcement, Nat noted.
Well, she wasn't half-wrong. When Makarov started talking, what he said somewhat caught Nat off-guard. Makarov then scolded the guild members for recent incidents some of them caused. It all ranged from Elfman punching a VIP he was escorting, to Gray running naked in public, and something like Cana sending a bill to the Magic Council for a drinking bill. Of course, the latest was of Natsu's recent visit to Hargeon. Nat was relieved neither her nor Lucy were mentioned with what happened with the Fire Dragon Slayer's actions.
"You know, all you fools do is make the Council angry at me!" Makarov continued. Many looked down in shame, the old man trembling a bit. "Even so..." Nat then saw the Master set aflame the stack of papers he was holding. "...to heck with the Council."
The now flaming papers were thrown in the air, Nat then saw Natsu jump up & grab it with his mouth, munching on the flames like a snack.
"Listen up!" Nat saw everyone look at the Master seriously, some closing their eyes as they listened. "The power to overcome reason, is born from reason itself. Magic is not a miraculous power. It's the synchronized and incarnated form of Spirit Energy particles that flow within us and in nature. It requires willpower and concentration. You pour your entire soul into whatever magic you do. Worrying about the watchful eyes of the higher-ups won't improve your magic. Don't be afraid of those Council fools! Follow the path you believe in! That's what Fairy Tail mages are all about!" Makarov then pointed his right hand up, forming an L shape with his index finger and thumb.
She saw everyone around him point their arms up, cheering and roaring at their Master's magnificent words. Natalie couldn't help smiling herself as she watched everyone around him grinning and cheering.
Looks like I'll enjoy my stay here, the Spartan thought.
After that was all sorted out, Nat and Lucy were going to get their Fairy Tail guild stamps. The armored girl now had her helmet under her arm, as well as he shotgun stored away in the DSU. Nat watched as Mirajane stamped Lucy's hand. "There you go. Now you're officially a member of the Fairy Tail guild." The blond girl was ecstatic that she finally joined the guild of her dreams.
"Now it's your turn, Natalie." Mirajane said. Nat stepped forward, ready to take the mark of Fairy Tail. "So, which color would you like?" the white-haired girl asked.
"Black, if it's alright," Nat said. Mira nodded and put the stamp down into a pad and held it up, the stamp now pitch black.
"And where would you like it?" asked Mira. Nat thought about it for a moment, and came up with an idea. But first, she handed Lucy her Recon helmet. "Lucy, can you hold this for a moment?" Said blonde nodded, happy to oblige.
Nat then proceed to remove her left shoulder pad, an ODST model. After that, she rolled down what looked like a metal-like wetsuit, exposing her skin. She then pointed at her shoulder, "This will do."
Mira nodded and stamped her shoulder, leaving a black Fairy Tail mark with a blue outline. Afterwards, Nat rolled her suit's sleeve back up & put back her shoulder pad. She then thought of something.
"Oh, Mira, if it's not too much trouble, could you also stamp my armor? Same place, just on the outside." Nat asked.
"Of course! I don't mind at all." Mira replied gleefully. She then stamped the ODST pad, the color the same as on the soldier's shoulder. The white-haired teen then took notice of other stamps on the taller girl's armor.
"Oh, what are those marks? And what is... Oonsk?" Mira asked, her head tilted slightly to the side?
"Oonsk?" Nat then saw Mira, and & now Lucy, were looking at her other marks. "Oh, these. This here," pointing at the black & white yin-yang symbol with a yellow cog in the background, "is something I chose myself. And, this," pointing at the UNSC brand, "I worked for the military branch of that government before coming to Earthland."
"Really? I didn't know you were in the military." Mira said in awe.
"That's right, she's a Lieutenant," Lucy added. "But due to some unexpected circumstances, Nat's here and decided to join Fairy Tail."
Said girl nodded at that. "I've never heard the UNSC be called something like 'Oonsk', or anything like that."
"What does it stand for? UNSC, I mean," Mira wondered.
"United Nations Special-Ops Corps." Nat replied. She knew it was best not to let people here know the real name it stood for. But Nat mused there would be more people in the future who'd ask similar questions and try to look it up.
"Really? Do you guys work in secret or something?" Mira asked.
Nat shrugged. "Something like that. I'm a Spartan, a super-soldier meant to do the impossible that normal people can't."
This fact intrigued Mirajane. "Wow, I'm glad someone like you joined our guild."
"Thanks. That means a lot." Nat said, before taking her helmet back from Lucy. "And Thanks for holding this." Lucy nodded before going to where Natsu was. Probably to show him her guild stamp. Nat noticed the Dragon Slayer was standing in front something that said 'Request Board'.
"Hey Natsu, look! I'm finally a member of Fairy Tail!" Lucy happily said, showing off her stamp.
"Uh huh. That's nice. Welcome to the guild, Looney." Natsu replied in a bored tone, who didn't even look back.
"It's Lucy, not Looney!" Lucy exclaimed.
"You could at least look, Natsu." Nat said as she joined the conversation. This time, Natsu did take notice of the girls' guild stamps.
"You had yours on your shoulder, Nat?" he asked.
"Yup. I figured it would be best seen there." was the taller girl's reply. "Hm, Request Board?" she wondered, now looking at what Natsu was staring at a moment ago.
"Right, you can choose whatever jobs are available on here." Natsu answered.
"Each has their own reward. The harder ones have higher pay!" Happy pointed out.
The pinkette then found a job that caught his interest. "Whoa, a job to take out a bunch of thieves! And it's for 160,000 jewels!" Natsu said excitedly, holding the request in his hands.
Of course he'd like something that involves fighting, thought Nat.
"Hasn't my dad come back yet?" The Spartan noticed a little boy with black hair standing in front of the Master. She then saw Natsu took notice of the conversation.
"You're starting to get on my nerves Romeo." Makarov said. "You're the son of a wizard! Have faith in your father and just wait a little longer."
"But he said he'd be back in three days. It's now over a week!" the boy identified as Romeo said worriedly.
"If I recall, I believe he took a job at Mt. Hakobe," Makarov said as he scratched his beard with 1 hand and held a glass of beer in the other.
"That's not far! Why won't anyone go look for him?" Romeo whimpered, now looking like he's on the brink of tears.
"Listen! You're the son of a wizard. And everyone here can take care of themselves. So, why don't you just go home, have some milk, and wait like a good little boy." the Master said the kid.
Nat took notice of the sympathetic glances some of the guild members were giving. She turned her head in time to see Romeo punching Makarov, yelling "Jerk!" before running off out of the guild in tears. The Spartan couldn't help but feel sympathy for the boy.
"Must be hard on him," Lucy said from where she sat at the bar.
"The Master may have been harsh, but he's actually worried," Mira said as she cleaned a wine bottle.
Nat was going to take a seat next to her blonde friend, but a crash caught her attention. Apparently Natsu had slammed the request he was holding back into the board.
"Hey Natsu! What do you think you're doing?" a tall shaman-looking man exclaimed.
Before taking a seat, Nat grabbed the request previously held by Natsu out of the board. She then folded it and put it in 1 of her pouches. I'm going to need whatever money I can get, she thought. As she sat down next to Lucy, Nat noticed Makarov sigh out of the corner of her eye.
"Master, you sure about this? He's definitely going up the mountain to save Macao," the tall man identified as Nab said, leaning against the counter of the bar with his left elbow. Lucy and Nat watched as Natsu leave with his backpack.
The buck-toothed man nodded, his beer mug held up to his lips. "That's why he is such a kid."
"All this would hurt Macao's pride." Nab scratched the back of his head.
"No one can decide what someone else should do with their life. Just let him be!" the Master spoke with his left eye closed, a short sigh escaping his lips again.
"I wonder what got Natsu so worked up..." Lucy turned around, looking at the front doors.
"Natsu probably sees himself in Romeo." Natalie turned her attention back to Mirajane, listening closely.
"Something similar happened to Natsu…" she noticed Mirajane's sad gaze. "We may be members of Fairy Tail, but that doesn't mean we have our problems. Each of us had been hurt, pained, or suffered a loss at some point in our lives."
Natalie closed her eyes, remembering some things... the people... that she lost. Her parents were taken away from her when the Covenant invaded her home planet. She remembered her older brother, who tried to get her to safety & never saw him again. She remembered when agents from ONI asked her if she wanted the chance to fight back, & she took it. She remembered being really close with 2 other Spartan-IIIs, before her Lone Wolf attitude set in.
And of course, there was... Noble Team. Each of them, save Jun, she saw with her own eyes how they went down. Nat opened her eyes, coming to a decision.
"Why did you two come with us?" Nat gave a blank stare at Natsu who was currently laying down with a sick look on his face.
The Spartan crossed her arms as she sat back against the leather benches in the carriage they were currently in. She closed her eyes, ignoring Natsu's question and awaited their destination.
"There's nothing wrong with us coming along, is there?" Lucy asked.
"That's a sad case of motion sickness you've got, Natsu," Nat noted, her eyes still closed.
Said Dragon Slayer tried to glare at her, but gave up & kept on groaning and moaning.
The Spartan looked back on what Mirajane told her & Lucy about Natsu's past.
"Natsu's dad... left and never came back. Not his real father, I mean the one who raised him. It was an actual dragon."
"No way! Natsu was raised by a dragon?!" Lucy exclaimed, her face showing how surprised she was.
Mira nodded while she continued to clean the dishes. "The dragon found Natsu alone in the forest one day. It taught him how to talk, read, as well as sue magic. But one day, the dragon just disappeared."
"Huh, so that's Igneel," Lucy spoke up softly, a sympathetic tone in her voice. She seemed lost in her own thoughts, as was her brunette friend.
Nat listened intently, somewhat surprised to hear Natsu was actually raised by a mythical reptile. She wondered what other such creatures also existed in this world.
"Natsu really looks forward to seeing Igneel again." Nat looked at Mira, who was smiling again by now. "Isn't that cute?"
Nat opened her eyes when the carriage came to a stop. "Guess we're here," Lucy said from her seat next to the Spartan.
"Yes! We stopped moving!" Natsu yelled in excitement, now doing some weird dance while spouting little flames. Happy seemed to be replicating what his buddy was doing.
"This is as far as we can go." Nat heard the carriage driver said. She got up first and opened the door - which surprised her when she saw they were high up in the mountains, and a blizzard blew around them.
As Natsu, Lucy and Happy got out of the carriage too, Nat donned her Recon helmet, her HUD coming to life with lights & various displays.
"It's really freezing! We may be in the mountains, but it's summer! There shouldn't be any blizzards!" Lucy whined from behind her friends. She struggled to keep warm as she kept rubbing her arms.
"That's what you get for dressing lightly." Nat sweat dropped at Natsu's comment. "Like you're one to talk," was the Spartan's retort.
"In your case Nat, you're prepared." Natsu pointed out. "At least that armor of yours is keeping you warm, right?" The taller girl nodded at that.
"Well, we weren't exactly informed of where we were going. Now lend me this blanket!" Lucy said as she grabbed Natsu's rolled up one on top his backpack.
"Such a noisy girl," Natsu said.
"Aye," said Happy, agreeing with his friend's statement.
Nat simply rolled her eyes. She then brought out a spare blanket from her DSU, handing it over to Lucy. "Here, this should also help."
Lucy gratefully took the extra blanket from the other girl. Then, the blonde came up with an idea. "I've got it!" She brought out one of her silver keys & shouted, "Open, Gate of the Clock! Horologium!" As Lucy swung her key downward, a blue magical seal appeared in front of her. Suddenly, out of a puff of smoke came a tall, brown grandfather clock. It had long, black arms, a glass case, a roman-numeral clock at the center, and a small face at the top with slit eyes and a mustache-like mouth.
"Oh wow, a clock!" Natsu said in awe.
"That's so cool!" said Happy.
"Huh, so that's one of her contracts." Nat noted.
The three were fascinated by Lucy's celestial magic. Nat then saw Lucy open the clock's glass & went right inside, wrapping hers & Natsu's blankets around herself. The blonde looked like she was trying to say something, all the while her teeth chattered.
"Is she trying to say something?" Nat questioned.
"Huh? I can't here her," Natsu said, tilting his head sideways as he looked at the blonde.
The clock answered for Lucy, saying no one inside can be heard when behind his glass. "She says, 'I'll stay here,' is what she's trying to tell you."
"Then why'd you come with us? wondered Natsu, his shoulders drooping.
" 'What kind of job was Macao doing up here,' she inquires." the clock said.
"You could've asked before tagging along. He went to slay a big monster called a Vulcan," Natsu responded as he crossed his arms.
Looking inside the clock, Nat saw Lucy's eyes widened & then yelled something. Guess she doesn't have her radio on, or it's not on her, the armored girl mused. " 'I want to go back to the guild,' is what she says.'
Natsu sighed, and shook his head as he started walking away. " 'Well go right on back,' is what I say."
As he walked next to Natsu, Happy muttered an "Aye."
Nat turned her head towards the duo walking away, then back to Lucy. "I hope this doesn't mean I have to carry or drag this thing." she said.
The Spartan then tapped the glass to get her friend's attention. Lucy looked up to see Nat tapping the side of her helmet. The blonde acknowledged what she was trying to say, and tapped her right ear. " 'I did not forget what you gave me', is what she is thankful for."
Nat nodded before turning her head and seeing how farther along Natsu & Happy were. She only walked a few feet further, not wanting to lose Lucy in the snow.
"Macao! Where are you?" Natsu yelled.
"Macao!" Happy shouted from his friend's shoulder.
Natalie was seven feet behind them, she too looked around for the missing man. She kept looking back on her radar if anyone, or anything, was within range. Then, something came up.
"Guys, I've got a reading on something," she said.
"Where?" Natsu asked, looking back at the Spartan.
The Fairy Tail members then became aware of a rumbling sound, as if something was sliding down the mountain. Nat brought out her Assault Rifle, pointing it at where the sound is coming from.
All of a sudden, a large white monkey came jumping down, its arms over its head as it was about slam into them.
"Move!" Nat yelled as she rolled out of the way. Natsu jumped back, evading the blow.
"Whoa, that's a Vulcan!" Happy exclaimed.
"Are you kidding me?" Nat questioned. I would've mistaken it for another type of Brute.
The large primate then turned its attention to something else. It snorted as it made its way towards Horologium. Picking up the clock, the Vulcan peered inside and saw Lucy. "It's a human girl!" It exclaimed.
"So it can talk." Natsu said, pumping his fists together as flames came out.
"I don't know if I should be surprised anymore," Nat deadpanned. She then realized their blonde friend was being carried away by the Vulcan. The clock calmly said, " 'Who cares if it can talk?! Just get me away from this thing,' is what she said furiously.
"Tch, dammit all." Nat then sprinted after the big monkey. She switched her current AR rounds to stun rounds, not wanting to take chances of accidentally hitting Lucy.
Elsewhere, at the summit of Mt. Hakobe...
" 'How did I get myself into this mess? And what's with this giant monkey?' she asks tearfully." The clock said, its hands covering its eyes as the Vulcan danced around. It then pressed its face into the glass, staring at Lucy. "A woman!" it said, a perverted look on its face evident.
All of a sudden, the clock glowed then left in a ball of light. This left Lucy vulnerable to the perverted monkey. "Wait, what? Horologium! Don't leave now!" the blonde mage yelled in a panicky voice.
"I apologize, but time is up. So long~" was the clock's response, in that same calm tone.
"Oh come one! I need an extension!" Lucy exclaimed.
The monkey had an even creepier look on its face as it reached its hands out to Lucy. Before one of it laid one of its hands on her, someone stopped it from doing so.
"What the hell do you think you're doing you ugly, hairy freak?"
Lucy was certainly happy to see the Spartan come to her rescue.
Nat held onto the Vulcan's right arm with her left hand and pulled the creature forward. She then gave it a right hook to the face, then kicked it in the stomach, using her right leg to send it to the left. The monkey grunted in pain as it rolled back and crashed into an ice pillar.
"Hey, you big monkey! Where's Macao!" Nat saw Natsu running in their direction, and he looked ready to fight. But then the Fire Dragon Slayer slipped and fell, sliding into an ice wall himself.
"Huh?! That's just lame! He couldn't have made an entrance like you, Nat..." Lucy said, facepalming.
"This is just sad. I'm not sure why he keeps trying after I do it," the armored girl said, she herself helmet-palming.
"Hey monkey! Where is Macao!" Natsu asked again. The Vulcan gave him a puzzled look.
"You understand what I'm saying, right? He's a human man. Now tell me where he is." As Natsu said that, Lucy ran to him and got behind him as Nat took a fighting stance in front of her.
"Man?" the big primate said questioningly.
"That's right! Now where did you hide him?" Natsu asked, pointing at the monkey.
"How do you know that's what happened?" Nat questioned the pinkette.
"Yeah really, how about we not jump to conclusions." Lucy added, still shivering from the cold.
The monkey suddenly pointed right, waving for Natsu to follow. "Perfect! He understood me!" Natsu than ran toward an open window in the cave. He poked his head out, yelling for Macao. "Where'd he go?"
Natalie wasn't able to react fast enough as the Vulcan pushed Natsu out the window. "Monkey!" was all Nat heard from the Dragon Slayer as he was sent falling.
"Natsu!" Lucy ran to the window where he fell. The Vulcan itself was doing some stupid dance as it sang to itself "I don't need men! I like women!"
The Spartan-III then brought out her assault rifle and pointed it at the enemy as she took a defensive stance in front of Lucy. "You've gone and done it now, bastard..." Nat swore as she glared at the monkey.
"Oh no! Natsu's not dead, is he?" Lucy said worriedly.
"..." Nat didn't say anything, but she was sure the pink-haired teen could take care of himself. When this is over, I'm looking for him and Macao, she though.
Dropping her blankets turning towards the monkey, Lucy also decided to get serious. "Alright you pervy monkey. Time to take you down!"
The blonde mage brought out one of her golden keys and swung it downward. "Open, Gate of the Bull! Taurus!" And out of blue magic seal came forth a humanoid cow wearing only brown fingerless leather gloves, a speedo, & black boots. Nat noticed it had a giant twin bladed battle axe on its back. The cow (well, technically bull) also had a golden ring in its flat nose and horns on its head.
Almost reminds me of minotaurs from mythology books, the Spartan thought.
"A cow?" the Vulcan questioned.
"I'm warning you! Taurus is the most powerful spirit that I have a contract with." Lucy said.
"Wow. I gotta say, Luce, I'm impre-" as Nat began to say her statement, Taurus himself started to speak.
"Oh wow Ms. Lucy, you most certainly have a beautiful figure. You've got a pretty face too." the bull said with hearts in its eyes.
"...I retract my previous statement. This... is just really pathetic." said Natalie, who is now sweatdropping.
"Tell me about it. I forgot to mention Taurus is a perv too." Lucy said as she put a hand on her forehead, looking away in shame.
The monkey narrowed it eyes as it glared at the bull. "You no touch my woman."
"Your woman? I don't think so." Taurus said, glaring back.
"Alright, let's go!" Nat started things off by firing at the Vulcan. It ran to the side, dodging her bullets before charging at her.
"Go for it!" Lucy shouted. The bull jumped high into the air and drew its axe. It then swung its axe down with both hands, sending a shockwave of rocks at the monkey. The latter was able to jump out of the way, evading the attack.
"That's fast!" Lucy said in surprise. The monkey then turned its attention to Taurus. Nat was going to started firing again, when all of a sudden, Natsu came out of nowhere and kicked Taurus in the head.
"Natsu?!" Lucy cried in surprise.
"He's fine?" Nat wondered.
Unfortunately for Taurus, he was sent flying and landed on the ground unconscious. "Guess this is it for me..." the bull muttered before passing out. "Epic fail!" Lucy exclaimed as she pointed at her spirit.
Natsu turned to Nat and asked, "Hey, did the number of monsters increase?" as he pointed his thumb at the monkey.
"No, the spirit was our ally, you dolt." Nat said, pointing at the fallen Taurus.
"Really? Oops." Natsu said as he rubbed the back of his head.
Lucy sighed at his actions, but realized something. "Wait, you're alright! How did you survive?"
Natsu grinned as he answered her. "It's all thanks to Happy." he said, pointing at the floating cat that's now with them. "Thanks little buddy."
"Aye!" Happy responded gleefully.
"Wait, you can't handle modes of transportation, but you're fine with Happy?" Lucy questioned.
Natsu then gave her a funny look. "Huh? What are you talking about? Happy's not a made of transport. He's a friend. And did you forget, Nat was the one who flew all of us to the guild."
"At least you didn't barf when I carried you all." Nat pointed out.
Lucy looked away in shame at her own statement. "You're right, that was wrong of me to say."
The Vulcan then took its chance to smash its fists on Natsu. "She's my woman!" it said. The pinkette effortlessly blocked the hit with only 1 arm, even as the ground beneath him broke.
"Listen up! All members of Fairy Tail are my friends!" Then the monkey and Natsu kicked each other simultaneously, sending their opponent skidding across the cave. "Whether its Gramps and Mira, or those annoying guys Gray and Elfman..." the monkey started running again at Natsu. The latter's magic seal glowed beneath him. "...Happy, Lucy, and Natalie too. They're all my friends." Flames swirled under Natsu, building up his energy. "And that's why..." the monkey was going to deliver a blow on Natsu, but he reacted quicker. "...I;m not leaving without Macao!" he yelled as he landed a fire-powered kick at the Vulcan.
The blow sent the big monkey flying into the ceiling but it was able to get back on its feet. Several icicles fell from the ceiling on the ground in front of the Vulcan. It growled as it smashed its hands together and broke the ice spikes, sending them flying towards Natsu.
A few stray ones were aimed at Lucy, and so Nat took immediate action. "Lucy, watch out!" The Spartan then grabbed the blonde mage in a protective hug and turned her back towards the oncoming icicles. Nat then activated her Armor Lock, the glowing energy field surrounding and protecting her and Lucy from harm. The latter was in awe at what her friend could do.
"Those things won't work on fire!" the Fire Dragon Slayer exclaimed as he stood firm, the icicles melting before they could even touch him. The action caused a lot of steam to form up. And when it cleared, Nat came out of Armor Lock to see where the Vulcan went. She saw it holding the bull spirit's axe, a grin evident on its face.
"That's not good." Natsu said.
"That's Taurus's axe!" Lucy said in surprise. The somewhat conscious bull was able to mutter out in a small voice, "Be careful Lucy..."
The monkey swung at Natsu, the latter able to dodge the deadly weapon flawlessly. Until he slipped on the ice yet again. The monkey then took its chance to slice Natsu in two.
"Natsu!" Lucy cried out in panic.
In an instant, Natalie parried the blow away with the blade end of her now summoned Gravity Hammer. She then slammed the hammer part of the weapon onto the ground next to her, sending some debris flying. "Mine's better than yours." She said.
"Huh?" The monkey looked confused, but aimed to strike again. Nat then swung and parried the axe yet again, and afterward, slammed the hammer on the ground in front of the monkey. The blow sent it flying several feet and landed on its back.
"Wow! That's a really cool weapon!" Lucy said in excitement.
"You're just full of surprises, aren't you Nat?" Natsu said as he stood up.
The Spartan grinned behind her helmet at the compliments, before charging at the Vulcan again.
The monkey got back up, and determined to keep on fighting. It swung Taurus's axe yet again, but Nat's hammer kept it at bay. Natsu then took a chance to kick the Vulcan in the stomach, making it stumble back.
The pinkette grinned and smashed his knuckles together, the red dragon magic symbol appearing in front of him. He gathered fire into his fists as he jumped towards the monkey.
"Take this! Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu smashed his fist into the monkey's face, sending it flying back towards the wall. A small explosion resulted from that, blowing a small hole in the mountain. The monkey was now smoked and unconscious, upside down and much rubble fell around it.
"Well that takes care of it," Nat said as she stored away her Gravity Hammer. She looked to see Lucy make her way towards them, Happy floating by the blonde mage. "He did it!" the flying cat said.
"Um, weren't we going to ask it where Macao is?" Lucy pointed out.
"Oh right, I forgot." Natsu said as he scratched his head.
Nat simply rolled her eyes as she reloaded her assault rifle before putting the safety on and holstering it.
"Well, this guy isn't going to talk anytime soon." said Lucy as she looked down at the monkey.
Suddenly, the monkey glowed a bright yellow, a circle appearing front of it. And then, as it became smaller, it exploded into a ball of smoke. When it cleared, there was a man in the monkey's place. Natsu's eyes widened, realizing who it was.
"Macao?!" he said in surprise as he moved towards the man.
"Wait? So you're telling us that perverted monkey was your friend this whole time?" Lucy asked in disbelief.
"Aye, he must have been taken over by the Vulcan." Happy said.
"Wait, taken over? What do you mean by that?" Nat asked.
The floating blue cat continued with its explanation. "Vulcans possess a human's body into order to survive. They're really evil creatures."
What is it that magic can't do, Nat wondered.
Sometime later, Natsu, Lucy and Nat laid Macao on a blanket and took off his coat and shirt to treat his wounds.
"He must've fought real hard before being taken over," Happy said.
Natsu had a fierce look on his face as he leaned forward. "Macao! Come on, get up! Romeo's waiting at home for you! Open your eyes!"
Said man slowly woke up at the sound of the Dragon Slayer's voice. "Ugh, Natsu?" Macao was still in pain, but alive.
"Macao!" Natsu said excitedly.
"I feel so pathetic. I took out 19 of those things, but the 20th... it was the one that got me." the taller man said.
Lucy gasped in surprise at hearing that. Even Nat was somewhat surprised to hear that.
"It's ticked me off. I can't face Romeo like this!" Macao said in shame as he covered his eyes.
"Nonsense! Defeating that many is a great feat!" Natsu said.
I can't believe it. He was able to take on those brutes all by himself... Lucy thought, staring at Natsu & Macao in awe.
Natsu held out a hand, the older man grabbed it & was helped up. "Alright, time to go home. Romeo's waiting." Macao grinned back at that.
Amazing. I don't think I can match up to them. Lucy smiled as she looked down a bit.
"Lucy, what's with that grin? It's creep-" Happy was caught off when an armored hand touched his head.
"Happy, please don't ruin the mood." Nat said sternly.
The cat gave a simple 'aye' in response to that. Lucy just smiled at the brunette's action.
Back at home, Romeo continued waiting for his dad. He thought back to a few days ago when a bunch of older kids teased him a few days ago.
Fairy Tail's mages are nothing. They all just like to sit around and drink all day.
I'm gonna be a knight some day and not some stupid wizard.
Mages are just a bunch of drunks!
That prompted Romeo to tell his dad to get a good job and show the other kids that Fairy Tail mages aren't pushovers. And so Macao did, and went on the hunt for a Vulcan. Romeo hadn't heard from him after that. The boy wiped away tears in his eyes, wondering if it was all his fault.
Just then, he heard someone call out for him. "Romeo!" Said boy looked up to see Natsu, Lucy, Nat, and Happy coming up the path. Romeo was surprised to see Macao, who was being supported by Natsu.
The little boy's eyes welled up with tears as he got up and ran to his father. "Dad!" The ensuing hug sent Macao backwards, but he was happy to see his son again.
"Dad! I'm so sorry". Romeo cried as he hugged his father tight.
"I worried you, right? Forgive me." Macao hugged Romeo back.
"It's fine! After all, I'm the son of a mage!" Lucy, Natsu, Happy, and Natalie watched the two warmly, smiles on their faces. The guild members then turned and walked down the road.
"If those brats make fun of you again, tell them this. 'Can your dads defeat 19 monsters? Because mine can!" Macao grinned, looking down at his son.
Romeo smiled happily back at him. The boy then turned around, ran down the road a bit, and cupped his hands to his mouth as he yelled, "Natsu! Happy! Thank you!" Natsu and Happy turned, grinning, "Yeah!" "Aye!"
"Natalie and Lucy, thank you too!" Lucy turned around, blushing a bit and waved, a big smile on her lips. Nat turned as well, smiling and waved. "Sure thing, kid!" she said.
The Spartan looked up at the orange sky in deep thought as she and her friends head back to the guild.
According to Lucy, today is July 4th. My first day in this new world filled with magic and many mythical creatures. So I was in a freak snow storm, dealt with a monster, and saw Celestial Magic at work. We also helped reunite a father and son. I'll admit, it was quite heart-warming. Y'know, Fairy Tail can be quite outrageous... but they're not bad people. I think I'll enjoy my stay here. And I'll be sure to carry on the honor of the Spartan as I'm in this new world.
This is Natalie-312, formerly Noble 6, signing off.
And there's that. What happens next? Well, this is a Fairy Tail story (mostly) told from the perspective of a Spartan-III, but it doesn't mean our dear Natalie will go on every mission Lucy, Natsu or others have. Well, Nat will at least appear in the major story arcs.
I may/may not have flashback chapters that show the important parts of Natalie's life, before and during her time as a S-III. And why did Loke remind her of someone she knew? I've got that worked out, but the full explanation won't be anytime soon.
Someone pointed out the issue of the kinds of guns Nat has on her. I'll work it out so that her rounds are magic that hit her targets, but don't kill. Unless she decides to load in anti-magic/live rounds that kill, that is. Now sure what to say about Covenant weapons though. Plasma burns aren't exactly treatable (or seen) in Earthland yet, I believe.
Oh, Lucy saw something that looked like a magic circle on Nat's back when the girls first were in the guild. It was hard for me to describe it, but it was my way of saying it's the Marathon symbol. For those that don't know, Marathon was another shooter (aside from Oni) Bungie worked in the 90s before making Halo. And those that are really into the Halo mythos will know there are lots of Marathon references in the series. In this case, the Marathon symbol is a Forerunner glyph that means 'Reclaimer'. Yes folks, like John-117, Noble 6 here is a Reclaimer. What does that mean for dear Natalie? Something good, that's for sure.
Also, anyone know the heights of the Fairy Tail members? I know Elfman is tall, probably as tall as Chad from Bleach, but I'm certain even a Spartan like Nat is taller. Let's not even get started how much taller the Master Chief is compared to these people. Even out of her armor, Nat is also someone taller than, say, Erza, Lucy, etc.
By next chapter, or after that, our local Spartan finally meets the Titania herself. Will these armored beauties clash? How will the rest of the magical world react to seeing a super-soldier?
Just wait and see. ;)