Chapter 14

Nation Building Part 1

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Magic / Curse"

Flashback

"Scroll Communications / Tv"

Location / Date / Time Change

The centaur-like creatures dragged Natsu across the plain as the terrain around him started shifting. Rocks shot up as the monsters rode on, jumping over the ledges. "Get... Off Me!" Natsu dug his feet into the ground and hooked a rock. Standing up, he pulled on the arm as the two engaged in a tug of war. "I said, get off!"

He pulled on the arm as hard as he could until he heard bones snapping and yanked the arms out of the socket. The monsters roared in pain as the arms faded away. "Okay, now it's a fight." Natsu said as he cracked his knuckles. Charging forward, he delivered a flaming kick to one before punching its head off. He jumped off the fading body before gripping another by the face and roasting it. The third was sliced in half by a Wing Attack, leaving only one blood monster left.

"Looks like it's just you and me." Natsu launched forward to fight before the ground underneath him crumbled and he fell. The monster stared at the hole before walking away, gripping the nub where it's arm once was.

Natsu hit an underground lake belly first. "Ow!" He gripped his chest in pain as the cavern started shrinking due to the terraforming. The water was at his neck when the reformatting of the planet finally stopped. "Well, things can't get any worse than they are now." Natsu said aloud.

"Okay, step one at a time. First, let's get out of here." Lighting his body on fire, the water evaporated instantly as the stone slowly started melting on to him as the cavern grew in size. But this stone wasn't like the stuff the coliseum was made out of. It took several hours just to make a hole big enough to move his arms.

As soon as it was large enough, Natsu fell on to his gut and let his legs and arm healed. Once they were done, Natsu stood up and looked around at the chamber her created. "Hey, it's a lacrima." He walked over to the red crystal and studied it.

Placing his hand on it, he sensed the magic power inside of the crystalline structure. "Woah, there's barely any magic inside of this stuff. If I had to guess, there's enough for one blast." An idea crossed his mind as a smile graced his face. "Looks like I just found my way out." Stepping back, Natsu lit his hands on fire. "Fire Dragon Wing Attack!" Swinging his arms, whips of flames hit the crystal, sparking an explosion.

The blast was a lot bigger than Natsu predicted and tore through the roof. Throwing some rocks out off of him, Natsu stacked some up and climbed them before sticking his head out of the ground. The terrain above ground had changed and he found himself in a budding forest. "Okay, this is new." A bear roared from behind him as it charged. "Oh, for crying out loud." He punched the beast and dazed it before delivering a flaming kick, killing the beast.

'You should have just killed that idiot worker.' End said from inside his head. 'Then you wouldn't be in this mess. But you just had to be a noble soul, didn't you?'

'Shut up.' Natsu said, silencing the voice. He looked around for any kind of identifiable land mark, something to tell him where he was. Finding nothing like that, he raced towards the shore of the island, battling any creatures he encountered. Starring out to the sea, Natsu could barely make out a town in the distance. 'I gotta get to land, find out what the hell happened.' Natsu thought before diving into the water and started swimming.

As he willed himself through the clear, salty water, he missed the black fin poking out of the liquid. It followed behind him as glowing red eyes pierced out of the water. The tail paddled from side to side before the body jumped out of the water, revealing it to be the size of a great white shark.

Natsu turned around at the sound just in time to for the teeth filled jaw to clamp down on him. It dived down into the depths with Natsu's torso getting ripped open by the teeth. "Let go!" Natsu blurred out, warped by the water. Pulling his fist flaming back, Natsu socked the beast in the gills, forcing it to let go.

Natsu floated under the water as his chest bled heavily. The shark circled around him before charging. It's maw opened, revealing serrated teeth that started to rotate at faster and faster speeds. 'Oh now this is just ridiculous.' Natsu thought, holding his breath. The shark reached him and Natsu held his hands at the jawline, keeping the teeth off of him. The pinkette then opened his own mouth and shot a ball of fire into it, making the beast let go.

Natsu quickly swam to the side and slammed his burning hand into the monsters gills. Flames then blasted out for five seconds and when they died, the monsters head were gone. It turned belly up as it floated to the surface of the water. When it did, it turned into the smoke like all the others. 'Okay, now I can get to Magnolia.'

He looked around , trying to find the right direction, only to find a horde of the sharks swimming towards him. 'They must have been attracted by the blood. And I'm running out of air.' Looking up at the surface, Natsu shot flames out of his feet and rocketed towards it. Unfortunately, the depth he was dragged to was much greater than he anticipated as nitrous started building up in him. 'Oh... god...' The bends hit him and he passed out.

A massive shark shot up and clamped it's jaws on Natsu before sinking into the depths of the oceans.

4 Months Later

"You sure he's alive?"

"I'm positive. I'm getting a pulse."

"You saw him fall out of that thing. How could he be alive?"

"Quiet, he's waking up."

The bickering voices woke Natsu up as he slowly his eyes to find himself staring up at the sun with a mast in his way. "Oh, my head..." He complained as he pushed himself up. "Where am I?"

"You're on board our ship." He looked forward to see a group of four staring at him. Three men and one woman in total. The first man was large and black with a scar across his eye and grey hair. Next to him was a man with sky blue hair and a beard slightly darker. The third man had blood red hair and a mustache with green eyes. The woman was the shortest of the group, having black hair with a smaller than average chest.

"My name is Harold." The grey haired man said. "This is Lawrence." He motioned to the bearded man. "Maxwell." To the last man. "And Candice." To the girl. "You're lucky we found you. Another minute inside of that Grimm and you'd be dead."

"Grimm?" Nastu asked confused. "What's that?"

All four stared at him like he lost his mind. "You know, Grimm." Maxwell said. "The creatures of darkness, the destroyers of man. Black bodies, white plates and masks, piercing red eyes. Ringing any bells yet?"

Natsu went wide eye at the description. "Those things have a name now?" He asked.

"What do you mean now?" Candice asked back. "They've had that name for a while."

"Sorry its... its been a while since I've had a conversation." Natsu said before he went wide eyed again. "Magnolia! I need to go there now!"

All four looked at him confused before Lawrence spoke up. "Calm down, we'll get you there... if we can find it."

"What do you mean find it?" Natsu asked back. "It's the best city in all of Fiore to live in. The Kardia Cathedral, Fairy Tail. You know, that city?"

"Yeah..., you're going to have to show us on a map where that settlement is." Harold said.

'Settlement?' Natsu asked as they unrolled a map in front of him. 'What the hell?' He knew what Earthland was supposed to look like, and this picture certainly wasn't it. There was a part of the world that looked like a dragon. Islands littered the map as a mainland filled up the map. "What happened?"

"This is the way the worlds always been." Candice said. "We're currently exploring the world, seeing if any other place is habitable. My parents died when the whole world changed, and no one knows why it happened. We're about to head to the nearest settlement to refuel. Care to join us?"

"...Sure I guess." He shrugged his shoulders before his stomach growled. "Can I get something to eat?" The others chuckled and lead him to the chow hall, where they talked to him for the whole ride.

Hours Later

'Holy shit, what happened here?' Natsu thought as he stared at the settlement. Broken buildings littered the place as people struggled to recover from a massive event. Crude barriers littered around in a circle as people with clubs and chipped blades acted as guards. Children were huddled next to their parents while trying to play with each other.

"It's bad, isn't it?" Lawrence asked. "Ruins like this litter the whole world. Tectonic shits rocked the world, but no one knows why they just happened."

Natsu walked through the town, looking for some kind of sign of where he was. A familiar symbol on the ground caught his attention and he raced to it. Pushing all the rubble out of his way, he reached the object and picked it up. It was the Fairy Tail flag, tattered, stained, and falling apart. A piece of string was hooked on a rock and the force Natsu applied broke it. The flag undid itself in his grasp, leaving him holding a clump of strings.

"Whatcha doing?" Natsu turned to see a small boy with black hair and black eyes looking at him.

"Nothing I, I thought I saw something important." He answered, standing up. "So, where are your parents, kid?"

"My mom is helping people and my dad is guarding us." The boy answered, walking forward. "My name is Leonard, what's your name?"

"Natsu. The name is Natsu." He answered. "So does this place have a name or something?"

"No... we just hang around here. There's no name for this town." Leonard replied. "We just hang around here and try to survive against the Grimm."

"Leonard! Where are you?" Both looked over to see a woman with brown hair and black eyes walking out from behind a corner. "Oh, you came in with those other travelers, right?"

"Yeah." Natsu nodded. "Where are they, anyway?"

"They're around, gathering supplies for their journey." She answered. "I can give you a tour of the town if-"

A bell started ringing catching everyone's attention. People behind them started running away from the wall while those on it held their weapons with all their might. "Leonard, lets go. Now." His mother grabbed onto his wrist and pulled him in closer. "Don't just stand there, go help the fighters here."

"Why?" Natsu asked.

"Grimm are attacking." She answered. "They come out of the woods every couple of days and try to kill us. We can usually handle the small ones, but they only ring the bell when 'it' is coming."

"What's it?" Natsu asked.

Before the woman could answer, a roar caught their attention. Men were shouting in a panic before the wall was kicked down. Shrapnel flew in every direction as Grimm poured into the settlement, attacking anyone they could. Racing through the hole on horse feet was a horned monster with one arm.

The monster roared before flinging its arm in a circle, randomly grabbing onto Leonard's mother and pulling her in. "Mom!" Leonard shouted as Natsu raced passed him.

'I already lost my family, I'm not gonna let anyone else lose theirs.' He reached the beast as it was bringing the woman to its mouth. "Hey, buddy! Remember me!?" The monster looked down at Natsu before throwing the female to the side. She skipped along the ground as the monster reared up to stomp Natsu.

He rolled out of the way before slamming his fist into the leg, making it buckle slightly. The monster swung its arm at him but Natsu jumped over it before kicking it in the face. The Grimm seemed unfazed and slammed its head into Natsu, sending him flying backwards into rubble. Catching himself on the ground, Natsu watched as Leonard raced towards his mother.

The hybrid noticed him as well and roared, letting the membrane in its mouth snap. The arm rose up and launched towards the kid. Natsu raced forward and slammed his whole body into the monster, making the arm go wide. Flipping up onto its back, Natsu reached up and held onto its horns. "Everyone, keep fighting! Don't give up!"

The people watched as this stranger was actually holding off this monster that terrified and killed them for months. The fighters rallied their courage and grabbed their weapons before running back into battle. The noncoms dragged the wounded away from the battle and even a couple of kids grabbed some clubs and started beating on a Creep. Natsu looked over to see Leonard pull his mother to safety.

The monster roared before it started acting like a bucking bronco, and Natsu barely managed to steered it out of the town. Once a dozen miles away from the settlement, Natsu was flown off and hit a tree. Pushing himself up, Natsu smirked as the beast twitched its head. "This is perfect. Now I don't have to hold back!"

Lighting his hands on fire, Natsu charged the beast and slid under it before swinging his arms, burning the undercarriage and its legs. The Grimm roared in pain as Natsu grabbed a back leg when it tried to kick him. "Not happening!" Natsu slammed his elbow down on the joint, bending it the wrong way.

The arm flung around and tried to grab Natsu, but he jumped out of the way and the arm hit the tree behind him. Natsu summoned two balls of fire and flung them at the Grimm. Once they touched, an explosion rocked the forest, stripping leafs off the surrounding trees. Ash fell from the impact as the monster faded from this world.

Natsu landed on the ground before he turned back to the direction of the village. "I gotta get back. They could need me." Ten minutes later, he reached the village and found black smoke rising from the bodies of the Grimm. One tried to crawl away, but it was stabbed in the back.

"Natsu!" Candice cheered as she and her team ran over. Once she reached him, she whacked him in the back of the head. "What the hell were you thinking, attacking that Grimm!? You could have gotten yourself killed!"

"How'd you get away from it?" Harold asked.

"Got away? I killed it." He answered back, shocking everyone.

"The Grimm is gone!" One townsman cheered as he heard the conversation. "We will never see it again! Praise the hero, Natsu!" The crowd of people surrounded him and thanked him.

"Thank you, Natsu." He looked down to see Leonard and his mom standing off to the side. "You've saved us."

Natsu's smirk grew as a man with black hair walked over to them. "Don't mention it. Now let's party!" The crowd stared at him in confusion of his decree. "What's wrong?"

"Don't get us wrong, we appreciate what you've done for us." Leonard's father said. "But we don't have the time to celebrate. Now we must attend to the wounded and bury the dead."

"Oh..." Natsu mumbled as the crowd left.

The crew he arrived with walked over to Natsu, bags at the ready. "Listen, we're gonna head out in a bit. Explore the world and map it out for everyone, maybe bring the world together through training." Candice said. "We were wondering if you wanted to come with us. We could use a fighter like you with us."

"Huh?" Natsu wasn't really listening to them, he was too busy thinking about the crowds reaction. No matter how bleak things were with Fairy Tail, they always found a way to look on the bright side. Just how bad were things now.

"Hey, Natsu." The pinkette look down to see Leonard at his feet. "It's okay if you want to leave. We can take care of ourselves now that the big Grimm is gone."

"No, no that's not it." He said back. "It's just... I can't believe they don't want to celebrate. It's a big deal that that monster is gone, isn't it? Why not be happy?"

"Come with me." Leonard reached up and grabbed Natsu's hand, leading him along. 30 minutes later, the two looked out over the settlement from a hill about half the size of mountain Zona. They could see everything from the sea to the forest even to the edge of the island Natsu woke up on.

"Wow..." Natsu was impressed at the view as the sun started to set.

"I come here everyday because I love this sight." Leonard explained. "It shows me that things can get better. We just need to be patient. But some times, I can't help but get frustrated at how slow things are going."

"Then speed things up." Natsu said. "Grab the bull by the horns and work hard to change the world! Kick impossible out and do whatever you can!" He turned back to the sunset. "Go beyond this tiny valley."

"Valley..." Leonard repeated that last word. "That's it... that's what we'll call this town. Vale!"

"Huh, I like it." Natsu chucked, rustling the boys hair. "Think we should head back now?"

"Okay." The child nodded before leading him back to the settlement as the sun was closed to setting. In front of the town was the travelers, a bag for Natsu at the ready. "Well, this is goodbye, I guess."

"Yeah, I'll come back one day. I promise." Natsu told him before taking the bag and left with the quartet.

"Leonard!" The boy turned around to a half dozen kids run over to him. "Where have you been?"

"Hey guys." Leonard said. "Listen, I've come up with a great name for-"

"You have to see this." The group grabbed him and lead Leonard to the spot when Natsu killed the Grimm, where the leafs were now a permanent dark red.

Salem's Plain

A Creep walked forward and lowered its head, placing a book it held in its mouth on the ground. The black cloaked woman reached down and picked the tome up. "Excellent work." She said. "Now, bring me more." The Creep ran out of the room as the woman began reading the book inside a giant library.

2 Years Later

Far West of Vale

The ship that housed the five adventurers reached the safest spot to way anchor. It was a sandy beach with plenty of rocks to tie their ship to. "So... this place is sandy." Natsu chuckled, the only one not wearing a cloak to protect him from the sand and heat.

"How are you not bothered by this heat?" Maxwell asked.

"Heat's never really bothered me." Natsu answered. "So, you guys want me to scout ahead?"

"Not a chance." Harold said. "One wrong move in a sand storm and we'll be separated for who knows how long. We can't just run in head first."

"Besides, that sun is about to set." Lawrence said, securing the knot around a rock. "We couldn't let you head out even with that freaky fire thing you do. Firsts things first is we set up a base camp and find a way to leave a trail for us to follow back to the ship."

"Fine, fine." Natsu chuckled before helping them unload the ship. "You know, I used to hate ships... and trains... and cars. Pretty much anything that moved. Now, I can see why people like riding in these things." He chuckled lifting up the box holding the tents. He reached the rim of the ship and watched as Candice ogle Maxwell as he set everything up. "Still won't go talk to him, huh?"

"How can I?" She asked back. "I've known him my whole life. I can't just ask him out on a date or something like that."

"I used to know a girl like you." Natsu said, thinking of Bisca and Alzack. "You just need to talk to him. Don't think that you're going to ruin your friendship, think of it as the next step in it."

"C-can you just be there when I do it?" She asked, earning a nod.

"Hey, get down here you two!" Harold shouted. "We need Natsu to light the fire! Unless you wanna eat cold meat, get down here."

"Okay, we're coming." Natsu shouted back before the both used the rope ladder to get down. The tents were set up and they tore some boxes apart for firewood. Natsu crouched down and lit the fire before the others stuck some cured fish on sticks and roasted them.

Minutes later, the meat was ready and the group was feasting on the flesh. "Anyone else getting a little sick of fish, day after day?" Natsu asked.

"No choice." Maxwell said. "Seems SOMEBODY got into the food supplies and ate everything they could."

"I said I was sorry. Get over it." Natsu replied before taking a bite.

"I've never seen a person eat so much at once." Lawrence confessed. "I don't know if that's a gift or a curse."

"Seems like a curse to me." Harold said. "Candice, what do you think?"

"I think the whole thing is just weird." She replied. "A guy eating an entire crews worth of food and breathing fire like it was nothing. It's just not natural."

"Remind me how the Grimm are natural again." Natsu replied.

"...Touché." Candice said. They looked up at the moon and stared up at the shattered orb. "Hey, remember the first time Natsu saw the moon?"

"Oh, yeah. That was hilarious." Harold chuckled. "'I can't believe someone broke the moon before me! How am I supposed to know how strong I am now!' You cried for like an hour straight that day."

"It wasn't an hour." Natsu replied. "Still, what happened to it?"

"Don't know." Lawrence replied. "It's been like that for as long as anyone can remember. Some think that it happened because we displeased the gods."

"Huh, gods suck, don't they?" Natsu asked. The pinkette was never one for religious practices, but it never bothered him that others did. A while back, he tried to learn everything he could about what had happened. But all he got were theories, guesswork and speculations. Everything was either explained with divine intervention or just left up in the air.

"Well, it's getting pretty late." Maxwell said, standing up. "We should probably hit the sack. First watch, Natsu?"

"Sure, you guys turn in." Natsu replied. The explorers crawled onto their mats and went to bed as Natsu stared at the fire.

'Man, these guys are a lot of fun to hang around with.' He thought to himself. 'They kind of reminds me of-' His old team flashed in the flames before a log fell over. 'I really miss them...' He crouched before the flames and tended to the fire with his bare hands. A small Grimm tried to jump him from behind, only to get swatted away into nothingness.

The Next Morning

The explorers woke up and found Natsu playing with a ball of fire he made. "Why didn't you wake one of us of up so you could sleep?" Lawrence asked.

"I didn't feel like going to sleep." Natsu replied, stomping pit the last ember. "So, who's up for some exploring?"

"I know I am." Maxwell said, flipping up a hood on his outfit.

"Hold it." Candice called out. "We're not doing anything until we finished packing everything for the trip." Maxwell mumbled in annoyance before joining the others in cleaning up the tents. Minutes later, they all had finished cleaning and placed tents on their back. "Okay, now we can go."

"About time." Maxwell said before looking over at Natsu. "What are you doing?

"We need someway to find the ship again." He said, taking a step to reval a trail of glass underneath him. "Shall we get going?" Harold nodded and the group followed him into the sandy wasteland.

Two Weeks Later

The five explorers marched through the massive sandstorm, holding their hoods down to protect their eyes. "Will this thing ever let up!?" Candice complained. "I think I have half a pound of sand in my hair alone."

"Calm down, this can't go on much longer than forever." Maxwell replied. "Natsu, how's the path looking?"

"Well, it's still in one piece!" Natsu said before looking over his shoulder, finding nothing but sand. "I can't see it anymore! We have to back!"

"We know that!" Lawrence shouted. "But we have to stick together! If one of us gets lost in this thing, we won't be able to find them!"

"Can't you just burn all this sand away!?" Maxwell asked the Dragon Slayer.

"You wanna deal with thousands of pieces of glass flying through the air?" Natsu asked back.

"Guys! Look!" Harold pointed ahead and the others looked in his direction. Just ahead of storm was a few jagged rocks showing an unnatural cave. "Just a little farther and we can rest!"

"But the path!" Natsu pointed out.

"Burn a spot and then get down here!" The leader suggested as the others followed him towards the cave. Natsu did just that and raced after the rest. The reached the cave only to find others inside as well, their faces hidden by the wraps on them. From the looks of their skin, they'd been living in the desert most of their lives.

"Please don't hurt us." One female said.

"We're not going to hurt you." Candice said. "We just need a place to wait out this storm."

The other desert dwellers were a little skeptical before one stood up. "Very well, just know that we're not afraid to defend ourselves." She said, motioning to the dagger on her hip.

The visitors nodded and sat down as the storm raged outside the cave. "So... where are you guys from?" Natsu asked, trying to break the ice.

"A small village a while away." One of the men said. "Our people regularly travel on hunting trips. We just happened to get caught up in this storm as well."

"Is there anything to do in here?" Harold asked.

"Nothing we can do in front of kids." Another said.

"Hey, it's clearing up." Candice pointed out. The sandstorm was slowing down and the groups stood up. "Good luck on your way back." The leader nodded and the nomads left for their village.

The explores turned the other way to find a battered clearing, complete with growing trees, fruit and a lake of crystal clear water. The group raced to the oasis and Candice scooped some water into her hands before drinking it down. "Ahhhhh..." She sighed out as enjoyed the cool drink. "Finally, a change of luck."

Lawrance reached the nearest tree and picked some coconuts off of the ground. "Well, we've got some fresh food for our travels."

Maxwell picked up a black and white monkey by the tail and brought it over as it tried to claw at him. "Anyone feel like monkey jerky?"

"Not that I've seen it's facem no." Candice replied. Maxwell shrugged his shoulders and let the animal go, only to have run right over to Natsu and hide behind him.

"It's okay, little buddy." Natsu said before picking up the creature and petting it. "We're all friends here. I mean, except for the guy who tried to eat you alive."

"I would have killed it first." Maxwell said.

"Okay, okay, that's enough fooling around." Lawrence walked forward, coconuts over his shoulder in a bag he brought. "Let's gather some supplies and head back to the ship. Clearly the only thing out here is sand and heat. Well, other than this place."

"So we do need to kill the monkey?" Maxwell asked, pulling a knife off his hip.

"No, we don't." Natsu said, protecting the monkey.

"Rumor had it that there was a town in the middle of this continent." The head explorer continued. "I think we're supposed to go south a bit after those people. If we show up there with fruit they've never seen before and they'll be willing to trade us all kinds of things. Maybe even some better weapons. Can't rely on Natsu all the time."

Chittering caught they antention as their attention as the sand near them shifted. Bursting from the ground, a massive Grimm crawled forward on eight legs. Its head was covered by a human like mask with black spikes flowing out the back. Instead of a normal mouth, its lower jaw held mandibles that went down its throat. Armor plates covered its chest as its arms lead to two massive pincers. Its torso was shooting up out of a heavily plated scorpions body. A tail stuck out of its back, ending in a glowing yellow stinger.

It twitched its head as its mandibles gesticulated along its throat. Its spikes reared up as it roared at the group before scuttling forward. "Everyone get ready!" Candice shouted.

"We're always ready!" Lawrence dropped the bag and pulled out a war axe. Maxwell unhooked a second knife and Harold drew a sword from his back.

"Stick with Candice, little buddy." Natsu told the monkey as he placed it down. It scampered over to Candice and climbed onto her head as Natsu charged into battle.

The monster reared its tail back before thrusting it forward. Maxwell rolled to the side and kept running before jumping and attempting to stab the Grimm, only to get swatted away. Lawrence let out a roar as he tried to cut through a leg, only for the metal to bounce off the plate.

Harold swung his sword, but the monster caught it in into pincer and snapped it shut. The steel broke into two before it picked Harold up. Its gaping maw drooled onto him as it pulled him in closer. "Help!" He shouted. Lawrence tried to cut the arm, but the flesh was just too thick.

"Hey ugly! Over here!" Natsu shouted before punching the monster in its face. It let go of Harold and stumbled back a bit before roaring in Natsu's face. "Get him out of here! He could be hurt!" Maxwell nodded and raced over to grab his friend. Natsu rolled out of the way as it tried to crush him with the pincers before it noticed Maxwell moving.

It plunged its stinger forward and Maxwell ducked to pick up Harold. It just grazed his shoulder and Maxwell cried in pain as he lifted his friend up and ran over to Candice. "It's just you and me now, Lawrence." Natsu said as the leader stood next to him. "Feel up for a good fight?"

"You bet your ass I do." Lawrence said, spinning his axe in his hands. The monster roared at them before it plunged its stinger down. Both fighters rolled to the side before they charged the Grimm. Natsu slammed his flaming fist into the chest as Lawrence hacked at its legs as best he could. The monster roared before it flung its tail from side to side, knocking Lawrence back.

It hit Natsu before he dug his feet into the sand, catching the tail. "Not gonna send me flying!" He shouted before igniting his forearm and crashing it into the tail. The section of the plate armor cracked at the attack. The monster roared in pain before it wrapped its tail around him and pulled the Dragon Slayer off the ground.

Its mandibles clicked and drooled onto his face as it brought Natsu towards its mouth hole. "Let him go!" Harold shouted as he jumped up and dug his axe into the arm. The Grimm roared as black blood dripped out of the wound. It flung Natsu into a tree and slammed it arm down, digging Lawrence into the ground.

Two slams later, Lawrence was on the ground in pain as it stared down at him. It clamped its claw on his head and began to squeeze, making the explorer cry out in pain. Natsu willed himself up and stared at the sight. Natsu looked up at the tree and smirked before grabbing punching it. Two coconuts fell into his hand before he threw them at the Grimm, hitting it in the head.

It dig it's claw out of the groundbefore it turned around and roared at Natsu before it raced over to him. "Fire Dragon Wing Attack!" Natsu jumped up and delivered two flaming whips to the beast. The monster raised its claws and blocked the attack, singing its claws. It plunged its tail forward and repeatedly tried to stab him. Natsu dodged all of them before grabbing the tail.

"Fire Dragon Roar!" Natsu opened his mouth and blasted the monster in the face, burning the spikes off the head. He then spun the tail around and shoved it into the body, goring it with its own appendage. Climbing up onto the tail, Natsu jumped back from the arms that tried to grab him and kicked them into the monsters face.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Crimson Lotus - Fire Dragon Fist!" Natsu cocked his burning fist back before unleashing a flurry of punches. It's claws held out for the most part before they finally cracked. Pulling his fist back one last time, Natsu delivered one final punch that knocked the head off the body. It rolled along the sand before it and the body faded into nothing.

Landing soundly, Natsu raced over to Lawrence and rolled him onto his back. "You okay, man?" He asked, pushing his friend up to a seated position.

Blood was trickling out of the grey hair as Lawrence grabbed his head in pain. "Nothing I can't handle." He replied. "Come on, let's go check on the others." Natsu nodded and helped him up before they both ran over to the other three and the monkey. Maxwell was on the ground writhing in pain as Harold gripped his arm.

"What's going on?" Lawrence asked.

"I don't know." Candice replied, wiping some of the sweat off of her crush's head. "He came over here and collapsed in pain."

The monkey was trying to push Maxwell on his back. Natsu helped it and it showed the cut, veins glowing a sickening yellow. "He's been poisoned." Natsu realized. "We need to find a cure and fast, or he's gonna die."

"How are we supposed to cure him!?" Candice asked in a panic. "We don't even know what kind of poison it is!? What if we end up making things worse!?"

"Candice, calm down." Harold said, walking over.

The monkey was once again scrounging around before it ran over to a cluster of purple and yellow flowers. "I think he's trying to help us." Natsu said. Racing over to a nearby rocked, Natsu broke three chunks off before shaping two of them into a mortar and pestle. He then shaped the third into a cup before racing to the water.

Once he returned to the group, he carefully started grinding the plants into a powder. Adding some water to it turned it into a past that he then applied to the wound. The convulsing stopped and the sweat died down as Maxwell's breathing returned to normal. "I think he's gonna be okay." Natsu said. Candice smiled before kissing the man on his stomach on the check. "Guess you're gonna stop hiding your feelings, huh?"

"Yeah..." She nodded. "I am."

"Well, this is all well and good, but can we please get back to the ship?" Harold asked, standing up. "I'd rather not be here when more Grimm show up."

"Alright, let's move out." Lawrence said as he grabbed the bag of fruit and picked it up.

Natsu slung Maxwell over his shoulder before Candice helped him. The two started walking before the monkey raced in front of them. "I think he wants to come with us." Natsu said.

"Well, he did just save Max's life." Candice pointed out. "I say he comes with us."

"If he does, you're taking care of him." Lawrence said as he walked a head of them.

Natsu looked down at the primate before waving his head. The monkey climbed up his body before resting on his head. "I think I'll call you... Ben."

3 Week Later

Candice sat over Maxwell as he laid in the ships sick bay as Ben rested on his chest. "Still not up, yet?" She looked over to the door as Natsu walked in. Ben raced over and climbed onto Natsu's shoulder.

"No, he isn't." She replied before pouring some water into Max's mouth. "Are we sure that medicine those wonderers gave to us is actually helping?" She placed the glass down as her own stomach growled.

"Get something to eat." He told her. "You'll do him no good if you pass out before he wakes up." He walked out of the room and entered the dinning room of the ship.

"Has she left his side since we got back from that vaccum of a desert?" Harold asked, his arm in a cast. "Hey, Vacuo... I kind of like that name." The monkey chittered in joy at the new name to his homeland.

"Not one bit." The Dragon Slayer replied. "We need to get to this town as soon as possible. I don't know how much longer she's gonna last longer if he stay unconscious."

"As the captain of this ship, I think we need to hold an intervention for her." Lawrence said as he sat up. "This obsession she has has to end. She needs to move on before she jeopardizes her health." He marched over to the door as Natsu and Harold follows him. "Candice, we need to talk-"

Pushing open the door, the three men and the monkey found Candice and a now awake Maxwell engaged in a passionate kiss. The two left for air as the girl noticed the door opened. "Do you mind? You're interrupting something private." Maxwell said, pulling Candice in closer.

"R-right. Sorry about that." Lawrence said before quickly closing the door.

"Well, looks like that problem is taken care of." Natsu joked as Ben nodded.

You guys did it. You passed a hundred reviews. Thank you for them all, negative or positive.

This was intended to be one long chapter, but I decided to split it in two. In this first half, we see how I think Vale and Vacuo were founded/named. And if you're wondering, the W.O.R. on Vacuo said that the center of the kingdom was a paradise. The Shark Grim belongs to mirzers on deviant art. The Scorpion man one was my own idea, hope he was intimidating. See you in the next half.

Beta read by Natsu is Awesome.