Bonus Chapter:

Natsu Devours a Village

Fairy Tail © Hiro Mashima

Story and OCs © Me

"Well, this is a fine mess, isn't it?" asked Haru as she walked along with the others with her backpack slung over her shoulder.

As of right now, the group of Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Haru, Happy, Blue Fang, and Master Makarov were all standing in the middle of a rocky landscape that was lined with fissures. This was Web Valley, a place hidden within Clover Canyon. Even the most experienced explorers got lost in this labyrinthian landscape, leaving nothing but their bones.

Two days after the incident with Lullaby, the group had made their way here in an attempt to escape from the angry mob of Guild Masters after the conference hall had been destroyed... but now, they found themselves hopelessly lost.

"Seriously, Happy," Lucy began, "I can't believe you got us lost, again! We've been walking since forever-and-a-half and we still haven't gotten back to Magnolia, yet!"

"What do you mean, 'again'?" asked Happy, indignantly. "This is the first time I've ever gotten us lost! Cut me a little slack, Lucy!"

"Well, let's also try to make it the last time, please," Haru agreed, but then, the group tensed as they heard this audible roar, causing them to turn to Natsu, who had his hand over his growling stomach.

"Ugh..." Natsu groaned. "Man, I want some food~!"

"We all do," Gray retorted. "Talking about it just makes us hungrier!"

"I can't help it if I'm hungry, jerk!" Natsu barked as he got in the Ice-Make Wizard's face.

"No, but you can stop running your mouth, can't you?!" Gray questioned as he butted heads with the Dragon Slayer.

"LISTEN UP!" Makarov shouted in a stern voice before he quickly withered. "We need some foooood..."

"YEAH, WE KNOW!" Natsu and Gray yelled while Blue Fang whined pitifully, the wolf's stomach also rumbling.

"Aww, Blue Fang," Haru cooed as she gave him a sympathetic pat on the head. "You're hungry, too, huh, boy?"

"Enough!" Erza called out, sternly... only for her stomach to bellow with a hungry rumble, as well, and this actually sounded louder than Natsu's stomach, much to everyone's surprise.

"Your stomach's trying to tell ya somethin', isn't it?" Natsu asked.

"No, it's not," Erza replied, still trying to retain her dignity. "You're hearing things."

"Yeah, real convincing, Erza," Gray replied.

"Sheesh, and I thought Natsu's stomach growled really loud when he was hungry," Haru muttered, then all of a sudden, Happy let out a joyful cry as he spotted something flying around in the canyon: it was a school of fish... with wings! And they were talking!

"I can fly!"

"You can fly!"

"Can you fly?"

"Are those... Winged Fish?" asked Haru.

"Aye!" Happy cried. "They're a legendary delicacy... and SUPER yummy from what I hear!"

"Uh... actually, Happy," Haru began, "that's not really-"

"A legendary delicacy?" Gray asked, interrupting her train of thought.

"Winged Fish, huh?" Erza inquired.

"Sounds good to me!" Natsu exclaimed with drool dripping out of his mouth and his stomach growling along with Gray's, Erza's, Blue Fang's, and Makarov's.

"Well done, Happy!" Makarov exclaimed as he put his hand on the little cat's shoulder. "You make this old man very proud!"

"Guys, enough with the growling stomachs!" Lucy scolded... only for her own stomach to start rumbling, too, which prompted Gray to give a smug smirk.

"You were saying?" he asked while Lucy only side-eyed him while muttering "Shut up".

"Guys, wait a minute!" Haru called. "About the Winged Fish-"

"Keep your shirt on, sis!" Natsu interjected as he held up a fishing pole. "We'll be sure to catch one for ya!"

"That's not what I mean!" Haru shouted. "Listen to me, already!"

Alas, everyone else was too hungry to listen to the Beast Wizard, for they were all sitting over the edge of the valley with fishing rods in hand. It seemed that Winged Fish were even harder to catch than regular fish, considering the fact that... well, they had wings and they were flying around, screaming. Happy was actually getting ready to give up until Lucy attempted to encourage him... and yet, somehow, he misinterpreted her words as being mean.

"I was only trying to help you!" Lucy cried.

"Leave him alone," Haru muttered.

Eventually, they did manage to catch one fish, but all the others flew away in fear. Despite this setback, Natsu cooked it using his flaming breath before he held it out to Happy, insisting that he eat it. Though the blue cat was concerned about the others, Gray said that it was much too small to split evenly between them and Makarov urged him to eat it before they changed their minds. So, Happy went ahead and cheerfully ate the fish... in spite of everyone trying so hard to fight their own hunger.

However, the moment Happy finished it all, he retched in disgust.

"GROSS!" he cried.

"It was really that bad?!" Lucy questioned.

"I was trying to tell you!" Haru spoke. "Winged Fish aren't as good as people say they are! I should know since I ate one back when I was living in the forest!"

"Ya know, ya could have said something sooner, sis," Natsu deadpanned.

"I TRIED TO TELL YOU!" Haru barked.

Soon, the group was seen walking along the path, dejected from their lack of food.

"I hate to say it, but..." Natsu murmured.

"All that fishin'..." Gray groaned.

"Made me hungrier..." Makarov groused as they all kept walking... but then, all of a sudden, they stumbled upon the open square of a village!

"A village!" Erza exclaimed with relief.

"Houses!" Gray pointed out.

"And where there's a village," Happy began, "there must be...!"

"FOOOOOOOOD!" Natsu cheered as the group happily ran into the village... but stopped as they realized that the streets were totally empty. No sounds of villagers gossiping, no pets barking or chirping... just the sound of the howling wind.

"There's no one here," said Gray.

"It sure is quiet out here, isn't it?" asked Lucy.

"It's like a ghost town," Haru said as she hugged herself, shivering nervously. "Where do you think everybody is?"

"Maybe they're taking an afternoon nap or somethin'," Natsu suggested before he cupped his hands around his mouth. "HEY! ANYBODY HERE?!"

"WE'RE STARVING LIKE CRAZY OUT HERE!" Happy shouted. "SOMEBODY COOK US SOME DINNER!"

"Wow, Happy," Lucy deadpanned, "ever heard the word 'please'?"

"You really think that everyone is taking an afternoon nap?" asked Gray, skeptically.

"Either that or they all got drunk and passed out," Makarov mused.

"I think that only happens back at the guild, Master," said Lucy, incredulously.

"Hmm-hmm..." Makarov chuckled. "We do love our spirits, don't we?"

Natsu winced as he felt his stomach beginning to grumble noisily, complaining about its current state of esurience.

"Aww, I know," he said as he rubbed his belly. "You're hungry, aren't ya?"

"Seriously, Natsu?" Haru asked, incredulously. "You're talking to your stomach?"

"Well, it's talkin' to me!" Natsu rebuked before his nose twitched, having caught a scent of something... something delicious. With a grin, he soon dashed off, leaving the others behind.

"Hey, where are you going?!" Haru called after her brother.

"You guys can hang out here all day if you want but I'm gonna find a kitchen to raid!" Natsu called back.

"Shame on you for even thinking about robbing this place, Natsu!" Gray shouted, although he was grinning as he ran ahead of him.

"You guys aren't doing any of that while I'm here!" Haru shouted as she ran after them.

"You're just mad I thought of it first!" Natsu argued as they all stopped in front of a house, and soon, the Dragon Slayer started to bang on the door. "Hey, is anyone home?!"

There was no answer, causing Natsu to moan in frustration as he kept pounding his fists against the door.

"Come on, give us somethin' to eat!" he whined. "We're dyin', here!"

Suddenly, the door opened... and yet, as Natsu, Haru, and Gray looked inside, they found that the whole house was empty. The only thing there was an empty table with a plateful of freshly baked bread.

"There's no one here, either?" asked Haru.

"Where could they be?" Gray asked.

"Who cares? There's food!" Natsu exclaimed as he picked up a loaf of bread and sniffed it. "Oh, good, it still smells fresh!" He opened his mouth to take a bite. "Open wide~!"

"Not so fast," Erza spoke up as she entered, causing Natsu to freeze.

"Oh, come on!" he complained. "What is it now?! I'm hungry!"

"Something's not right about this," Erza said.

"She's right," agreed Gray. "Who would leave a table full of food just sittin' here like this?"

"Not to mention if someone cooked this, then where are they?" asked Haru.

"How the hell should I know?" Natsu asked as he and Happy held a loaf of bread, too. "Anyway, ready to dig in, Happy?"

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

"Through the teeth and past the gums, look out belly, 'cuz here it comes!" Natsu declared before he opened his mouth to eat.

"Natsu!" Erza shouted, causing him to yelp in fright.

"Y-yes, ma'am!" he cried.

"We need to investigate the village, first," said Erza. "We held out this long, we can hold out a little more-"

GWWUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRBLE!

"Uh... I think your stomach is telling a different story, Erza," Lucy pointed out.

"Indeed," Makarov concurred. "So which one do we listen to."

"Haru, you're the best at foraging," Erza said, despite her stomach still grumbling loudly. "Take Natsu, Gray, Blue Fang, Lucy, and Happy and go scour the forest for mushrooms or anything that looks edible, and don't eat any of the food in the village, understand? While you're doing that, Master and I will investigate this place!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Haru saluted.

"Wait... mushrooms?" Lucy questioned.

"Come on, guys!" Haru called as she headed out. "Foraging Squad, let's go!"

"Sounds good to me," Gray said as he followed Haru out, along with Happy... but Natsu was the only one who remained behind, staring longingly at the bread.

"Natsu..." Erza said in a warning tone.

"Just... just one loaf of bread?" Natsu asked, whining pathetically. "Please, Erza?"

"No," Erza answered, firmly.

"Just a bite, then?" asked Natsu.

"No!" Erza replied, remaining firm.

"An itty-bitty, teeny-tiny lick?" asked Natsu, only for Erza to point her sword at his face. "AAH! I'M GOIN'!"

With that, he soon ran off to catch up with his sister and the rest of the Foraging Squad. It didn't take them very long to find a forest that surrounded the village, but so far, they didn't find anything edible. All the while, Lucy was wondering why Erza would want them to search for mushrooms in the first place.

Eventually, though, the group did manage to find many mushrooms growing in the forest... all of them different shapes and colors, and even though he was complaining about it earlier, even Natsu proclaimed that they looked appetizing.

Then again, since no one had in about 2 days now, anything would look appetizing.

"But why mushrooms of all things?" Lucy asked.

"Come on, Lucy, it's so obvious," said Happy. "Natsu's gonna eat a poisonous mushroom and then something weird will happen to him! You know the cliché, right?"

"Well, lucky for you guys that I'm here," Haru said as she looked around. "Due to living out in the forest as a kid, I can tell the difference between a good, edible mushroom and one that could leave you on the toilet for days."

"Too much information, Haru," Lucy grimaced.

"Now, Natsu," said Haru, "I know you're starving, right now, but whatever you do, do not pick any mushrooms until I've made sure they're absolutely safe-" She trailed off as she began to hear munching sounds, causing a deadpan expression to appear on her face. "You're not listening, are you?"

"You say somethin', sis?" Natsu asked as he turned to look at her, his cheeks stuffed to bursting with mushrooms.

"Ugh..." Haru groaned in irritation while Blue Fang slapped a paw over his muzzle, sharing his partner's sentiment. Eventually, Gray started getting on the act, as well, just picking and eating whatever random mushroom he saw with Happy commentating on the build-up of a "gag" of some sort. Eventually, though, as Natsu kept eating, he suddenly began to gag and grab at his throat.

"AAH!" Haru shrieked as she grabbed her brother and began to slap her hand against his back. "Natsu, spit the mushrooms out! Quick!"

"Oh, no!" Lucy cried. "Is Natsu in danger?!"

POP! All of a sudden, a pink mushroom with yellow polka dots popped out of the top of Natsu's head!

"BWAH!" he gasped. "That was scary!"

"YOUR HEAD IS WHAT'S SCARY!" Lucy and Haru shouted.

"This is why I was saying to let me check them, first!" Haru said. "But noooo! No one wants to listen to the expert!"

"What are you talkin' about?" asked Natsu.

"I was hoping that he'd turn purple..." Happy bemoaned, dejectedly.

"Uh... that's what you were HOPING for?!" Lucy questioned.

"Hey, what are you guys all worked up about?" asked Gray as he stood beside Natsu... with a blue, flat mushroom growing out of his head, as well.

"Just... take a look at each other, okay?" asked Lucy, unable to handle how exasperated she was, right now, and as Natsu and Gray both took a glance at each other, they screamed as they saw the mushrooms growing out of their respective heads.

"HAHAHA! THERE'S A MUSHROOM ON YOUR HEAD!"

"OH, YEAH?! WELL, I BET YOURS IS BIGGER THAN MINE! I WISH YOU COULD SEE YOURSELF, YOU LOOK SO DUMB!"

"NOT AS DUMB AS YOU DO!"

"Would you two cut it out?!" Haru questioned.

"Seriously, this could be really bad!" Lucy cried. "Who cares how you look?!"

As for Happy and Blue Fang, they were both staring down at some mushrooms themselves... and drooling a bit, at that.

"Hey, Droopy Eyes," Natsu said with a scowl. "What the hell are you laughin' at, huh?!"

"Me?!" Gray asked. "What are YOU laughin' at, Shroom-head?!"

Soon, the two boys began to fight each other, throwing insults back and forth as they tussled.

"YOU CAN FIGHT LATER!" Lucy shouted. "WORRY ABOUT THE MUSHROOMS FIRST!"

"I've pretty much given up at this rate," Haru deadpanned. "Come on, Lucy, you, Blue Fang, Happy, and I will- AAH!"

To her horror, both Happy and Blue Fang had also taken a bite out of some mushrooms... and they both had multi-colored fungi growing out of their heads.

"Are we seriously the only sane ones around here?!" asked Lucy.

"Apparently, we are," Haru groaned.

"I guess that just happens to everybody who eats these things, huh?" Gray mused.

"Maybe they just like the look!" Natsu surmised.

"Who knows?" Gray asked. "Maybe it'll be a fashion statement when we get back to Magnolia."

"I'd rather it not be one, thank you," said Haru.

While Blue Fang didn't seem to mind the mushroom growing out of his crown, Happy took one look at his... and started crying.

"It's not as funny this time!" he cried while Lucy just gaped in disbelief.

"Were you TRYING to be funny?!" asked the Celestial Spirit Wizard.

"Just let it go, Lucy," Haru said before she turned to Natsu... and gasped. "Uh... Natsu? Is it me, or has that mushroom gotten bigger?!"

"Huh?" Natsu muttered before he looked up and saw that the mushroom growing out of his scalp had indeed doubled in size.

"Not fair!" Happy whined. "How come Natsu gets all the good gags?!"

Suddenly, the air was filled with a ferocious growl, causing the group to gasp as they looked up.

"Uh... do you guys hear that?" asked Lucy, worriedly.

"Probably my stomach, again!" Natsu answered as he placed his hands over his belly. "Those mushrooms didn't fill me up at all!"

"That's way too loud to be your stomach, Natsu!" Haru rebuked.

"It's coming from the village," Gray said as he turned to the direction of the village... but then, out of nowhere, the mushroom growing out of his head suddenly fell off, and Natsu's soon did the same, and Blue Fang's too!

"Yay! The mushrooms are gone!" Happy cheered.

"I wouldn't be so sure, Happy," Lucy replied as she pointed at the mushroom growing out of the little cat's head. "Yours is still going strong."

"AAH!" Happy cried.

"Come on, let's go!" Haru exclaimed as they all turned to run. "Erza and Master Makarov may be in danger!"

"Erza! Gramps!" Natsu called as they all ran back to the town.

"Hey, no fair!" Happy shouted, the mushroom still growing on his head. "It's not funny when the joke's on me!"

"Maybe next time, don't eat weird mushrooms, then!" Haru shouted back as they kept running and eventually made it back to the village, only to find that the ground was glowing red. Not only that, but the houses, lamp posts, and even the ground itself were beginning to twitch and writhe around... almost as if they were alive!

"Uh... what's going on?!" Lucy asked.

"Everyone, stay alert!" Erza called out.

"No... this can't be...!" Makarov whispered.

"It's time to rumble, Gramps," said a now topless Gray as he put his hands together, preparing to use his Ice-Make Magic.

"No, wait!" Makarov cried. "We need to get to higher ground! There's something I have to check!"

"What?!" Haru asked. "Why?!"

"Just follow me!" Makarov answered before he ran off.

"You heard the Master!" Erza called as they all ran after him. "Everyone, let's go, and stay close!"

"Right!" the others replied as they ran out and climbed up to the top of a cliff that overlooked the village... but as they reached the top, they all saw that the buildings and lamps had turned into hideous monsters!

"Whoa!" Natsu exclaimed. "Looks like we made it out just in time!"

"Now I understand," said Erza. "It was a Magic Circle in the ground, wasn't it?"

"Wait, what now?!" asked Haru.

"While you were gone, Erza and I were investigating the village and found odd lines carved into the ground," Makarov answered. "It was actually a giant Magic Circle, all along, and this circle is used for a type of magic that was banned many years ago: a form of Sealing Magic that is known as 'Alive'!"

"So... what does it do?" asked Lucy.

"See for yourself, Lucy," Makarov replied. "It's exactly what it looks like! It has the ability to turn inanimate objects into living creatures!"

"So... the villagers...?" asked Haru, although she seemed to be dreading the answer.

"It seems that the villagers cast this spell," Makarov confirmed with a grim expression, "and they were devoured by the very creatures they brought to life!"

"But why would they use magic that's been banned?!" Lucy questioned.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Erza asked. "This village... was home to a Dark Guild!"

"What?!" asked Lucy.

"No way!" Natsu exclaimed.

"While we were investigating," Erza continued, "I came across a collection of magic tools and items, tucked away in a shed. Upon closer inspection, I realized that they were tools used to practice dark magic."

"Knowing how reckless and irresponsible Dark Guilds can be," Makarov began, "they were probably thinking up some crazy plan, only to end up getting burned in the process... BUT!" He then grinned. "There's one thing we should be thankful for!"

"And that would be?" Natsu inquired.

"This particular Dark Guild's mischief brought these creatures to life," said Makarov, "and living creatures can be turned into... FOOD!"

"Wait, what?" Lucy asked.

"Actually... he does have a point!" Haru said, and meanwhile, Natsu and Gray both had rather menacing-looking grins, which only creeped Lucy out further. Even Blue Fang had a rather crazed grin on his muzzle, his fangs bare and his jaws dripping with saliva.

"Wait! Are you guys seriously considering eating those things?!" Lucy questioned... and she soon got her answer when all their stomachs started roaring in response. "Yeah... I should have known."

Soon, without another thought and too hungry to think about anything else, the group charged at the horde of monsters. Haru, using her Feral Beast Fist move, "tenderized" the flesh of one of the beasts while Natsu roasted it with several Fire Dragon Iron Fist attacks. Gray, meanwhile, was making himself some "monster-cicles" by freezing them with his Ice-Make: Fishnet spell, and as for Erza, she had requipped into a chef's outfit, complete with a set of knives to butcher the monsters. Blue Fang was wrestling with a large monster and biting its throat with all his strength while Happy was... fighting with a chair.

"WAAH! HELP ME!" Happy cried as the chair was trying to buck him off like a wild bronco.

Soon, all the monsters were defeated... meaning there was only one thing left to do.

"Time to eat!" Natsu exclaimed as he pulled off a monster's tentacle and took a bite, followed Erza, Lucy, Haru, and Gray... but then the moment they all took a bite, they all gagged.

"GROSS!" they shouted.

"Ugh... yeah, that was a bad idea," Haru groaned while wiping her mouth. "Blegh! Even dirt tastes better than this!"

"What the hell, Gramps?!" Natsu questioned. "We can't eat this crap!"

The only one who wasn't complaining about the taste of the monsters was Blue Fang, who was ripping off bite after bite of the monster that he killed... and he seemed to be enjoying it, too!

"How can he eat that?!" asked Lucy.

"Blue Fang's a wolf!" Natsu retorted. "Wolves eat anything if they're desperate enough!"

"Hey, what about me?!" Happy yelled while waving his paws up and down. "How come nobody helped me when I was being attacked by that chair monster?!"

"Oh, hey, your mushroom fell off!" Gray pointed out.

"I don't care about the stupid mushroom, anymore!" Happy spat. "I'm asking why you didn't help me! How could you be so mean?! I thought we were friends!"

"We are friends!" Natsu replied.

"You were just goofing off, right?" asked Gray, to Happy's shock.

"Well, now what do we do?" asked Erza. "I'd rather starve than eat any more of those things."

"I guess that's what we get for eating a bunch of monsters," said Gray.

"Man, this sucks!" Natsu whined as his stomach began growling again. "And all that barbecuin' I did made me hungrier than ever~!"

"I'm sure we can find something to eat around here as long as-" Haru started, only to gasp as she saw a monster appear behind Happy, who was still in his comically stunned state. "HAPPY, BEHIND YOU!"

"Huh?" Happy muttered, only to turn around and shriek upon seeing the monster about to swallow him whole.

"FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!"

Without any prompting, Natsu punched the monster with a blazing fist while Haru jumped in and grabbed Happy, taking him out of harm's way.

"You okay, Happy?" asked the Beast Wizard.

"Haru... I knew you cared~!" Happy sobbed.

"Uh... guys?" asked Lucy as she saw that they were surrounded by monsters from all around. "I think we made these things angry by trying to eat their buddies!"

"Man, these things are nasty," Gray noted.

"In more ways than one," said Erza.

"Haru, quick!" Lucy urged. "Sing them a song or something! Maybe you can get these things to calm down!"

"I can't!" Haru replied. "My Beast Magic only works on animals, not monsters! If anything, I might make things worse if I sing to them!"

"You've gotta be kidding!" Lucy cried.

"Then we'll have to fight our way outta this!" Natsu shouted as he lit both his hands on fire. "I'm gonna blow these things away! FIRE DRAGON WING ATTACK!" He slammed his fists into several monsters, charring them thoroughly.

"Ice-Make: WALL!" Gray shouted as he conjured up a wall of ice, freezing the monsters in their tracks, and meanwhile, Erza had requipped into her Heaven's Wheel Armor and sliced through a few more of them with her dual swords.

"I might not be able to use my songs," Haru began, "but Blue Fang and I can do more than just sing! Beast Siren: HOWL!" Taking a deep breath, Haru and Blue Fang both unleashed a powerful sound wave that sounded like a long howl, pushing the monsters back and causing rocks to fall on top of them.

"I can help, too!" Lucy exclaimed as she held up Taurus' Key. "Open, Gate of the Golden Bull! TAURUS!"

Soon enough, Taurus appeared before her, brandishing his giant ax... and drooling over the blonde girl with hearts in his eyes.

"You're lookin' smooooth as always, Miss Luuuucy~!" he mooed.

"Not now, Taurus!" Lucy shouted as she used her whip to tie a monster's mouth shut. "Less passion and more bashin'!"

"She loves my mooooves!" Taurus lowed as he leaped into the air and slammed the blade of his ax into the ground, sending several more monsters flying while also chopping them up... but it seemed that the more monsters the group defeated, even more came to take their place!

"Man, they just keep comin'!" Natsu complained, and that's when they saw another flesh of dark red light, causing the group to look down and see another Magic Circle appear beneath the monsters!

"Another one?!" asked Gray.

"Oh, you gotta be kiddin' me!" Natsu shouted.

"Oh, wow, it's so pretty!" Happy exclaimed.

"There's nothing pretty about this!" Lucy shouted, but then, all of a sudden, the monsters started to sink into the ground... which began to tremble and crack.

"Uh... Erza?!" Haru asked, worriedly. "What do we do?!"

"RUN FOR IT!" Erza shouted, but it was too late, for the ground soon gave out beneath them, causing them to plummet toward the Magic Circle!

'Is this... how it ends?!' thought Haru.

XXX

A little while later, while the sun was still high... it was soon revealed that somehow, the group had managed to escape from their harrowing experience and were walking along the path, once again.

"Uuuuggh..." Natsu moaned as he held his stomach. "Man, I'm starving... like for real...!"

"I can't walk another step, you guys!" Happy whined as he floated along in front of them.

"Well, it's a good thing you have wings unlike the rest of us, you show off!" Gray spat.

"Uh... I still don't know what happened," Lucy said, confused.

"Yeah, me neither," said Haru as she walked alongside Blue Fang while carrying her backpack, "but at least we're okay... right?"

"...Master?" Erza asked.

"Yes?" Makarov answered.

"I'm... still not satisfied with your answer," said Erza.

A brief flashback showed that the monsters were in fact the lost villagers who used the Magic Circle to cast the forbidden spells, but they never suspected that they would be taken over by the very creatures they created. After a scolding from Makarov, they vowed never to use such dangerous magic, ever again. Natsu asked how the unsealing was even done, but the old man told him not to overthink it. Lucy, however, was a bit disgusted that Blue Fang actually ate the flesh of one of the monsters.

"When we fought the monsters," said Erza, "it seemed to activate some sort of self-destruct spell within the Magic Circle... and that's when you came in." She glanced down at Makarov, who didn't even look at her. Somehow, you managed to dispel the Magic Circle, saving us and the villagers... but how did you do it?"

"I'll tell you about it, someday," Makarov replied. "What matters now is-"

Suddenly, Natsu collapsed on the ground, his stomach rumbling loud enough to startle everyone.

"Urrgh... this is it...!" he groaned. "The end of the road! We're gonna starve out here! So many things left undone... I never got to find Igneel~!"

"Oh, Natsu~!" Haru called. "Look what I have!"

"Huh?" Natsu murmured as he looked over his shoulder, only to gasp as he saw Haru holding a bag full of bread, apples, and even some dried meat!

"Ta-dah!" Haru exclaimed.

"FOOD!" everyone cheered as they ran to grab something from the bag.

"Whoa, easy!" Haru cried. "One at a time!"

"Haru, where did you get this?!" asked Lucy, excited to finally see some real food for once.

"The villagers gave it to me as thanks for helping them out!" Haru answered as she fed Blue Fang a piece of dried meat from the bag.

"Oh, sis, you're a lifesaver~!" Natsu cried comical tears of joy as he hugged his sister, who laughed as she hugged him back with one arm, and soon after, Natsu began to stuff his mouth as much food as he possibly could.

"Well done, Haru," Erza said as she ate an apple.

"Oh, yeah, that hits the spot," Gray said as he ate a piece of dried meat.

"I feel at least 20 years younger, now!" Makarov exclaimed.

"It's not fish," Happy said while eating some bread, "but I'm so hungry, I don't even care! Even bread tastes yummy!"

"And that's not all!" Haru added. "One of the villagers said that if we just keep heading down the main road, we'll reach Magnolia before sundown!"

"Ha! Bring it on!" Natsu exclaimed. "Now that I got some food in my belly, I feel like I could run all day!"

"In that case," Haru began, "last one to Magnolia's a rotten egg!" With that, she ran on ahead, causing the others to run after her, laughing and cheering the whole way.

Man, this turned out to be really long, but I had fun with this one. ^^

Anyway, I think that's enough Fairy Tail for the time being. I'm gonna see if I can get back to my other projects. Thanks for putting up with all the new Fairy Tail stuff!

Review, please!