Ch. 8- The Banquet

Fairy Tail © Hiro Mashima

Story and OCs © Me

Later that day, the entire village was seen standing around a large bonfire, a column of smoke and embers rising into the air as the tribespeople cheered, whooped, and hollered. Some beat their palms against bongo drums, blew notes into flutes, and rang little chimes while others hopped around on one foot, waving their arms in a dance. All the while, Natsu and the others sat with them, the former scarfing down whatever food he could grab, to nobody's surprise except for the villagers.

"Villagers!" Kilania declared. "Today, we celebrate the honored visit of the Son of Igneel! Let us rejoice and make merry!"

The villagers all cheered in agreement while Natsu just kept stuffing his mouth.

"Oh, MAN, this is good!" the Dragon Slayer exclaimed as he held a leg of meat in one hand and a piece of fruit in the other. "Is this spread great or what?!"

"Aye!" Happy exclaimed as he chowed on a large fish that was bigger than his whole body. Even Blue Fang was vigorously chowing down on some food that was laid out for him.

"But you know," Natsu said as he swallowed the mouthful of food, "it could use a little more spice." He then looked toward the bonfire before he grinned. "Oh, yeah, now we're talkin'!" With that, he picked up a burning log from the fire and began to inhale the flames, causing the tribespeople to gasp.

"Do you see that?!" asked one of the men in disbelief. "He's eating the flames!"

"He really is the son of a dragon!" exclaimed a young woman, just as Natsu finished eating the fire, letting out a large belch as he did.

"Ahh... now that hit the spot!" he exclaimed as he sat back down, patting his bloated belly.

"Well, at least no one's freaking out," said Haru as she held a banana in her hand. "Usually, when people see Natsu do that, they scream."

"The people here are certainly lively," Erza pointed out as she calmly watched the tribespeople dance and sing around the fire.

"Tell me about it," Gray agreed as he drank from a coconut. "Almost reminds me of home."

"Uh... Gray?" asked Haru. "Where's your shirt?"

"Huh?!" Gray questioned as he looked down and saw that his shirt was missing. "Oh, come on, again?!"

"This fruit is delicious!" Lucy exclaimed as she ate some sort of melon. "What is this?"

"It's called Boba Melon!" replied another young woman that was about her age. "It grows in the jungle and not only is it yummy, but eating it is good for your skin!"

"Wow!" Lucy said in amazement.

As everyone continued to make merry, there was one person who didn't join in the festivities: Torn, who leaned against a palm tree with his arms crossed and a venomous look in his eyes before he retreated into a tent.

"Time for the dance!" Kilania called out, prompting her people to cheer and holler in joy as they began to dance around the bonfire, twirling around and jumping in place, some of them even linking arms together. All the while, the Fairy Tail Gang watched while clapping their hands to the music. At one point, a little girl ran up to Lucy and eagerly grabbed her hands.

"Come dance with me!" she said to her, and though the Celestial Spirit Wizard seemed hesitant, she conceded and allowed the girl to pull her toward the bonfire. At first, it didn't look like Lucy knew what she was doing, but as she watched the girl's movements, she began to copy them exactly, hopping on one foot and twirling around, gracefully. As she danced, Natsu, who had slimmed down, watched her with wide eyes, his lips parted slightly in wonder at her dancing, something that Haru, Gray, and Erza noticed, causing them to smirk knowingly.

"Go and dance with her!" Haru said as she nudged her brother, who looked at her as if she had grown another head.

"What?!" he asked. "Hell no!"

Unfortunately, Haru wouldn't hear of it. In spite of Natsu's protests, she pulled him up to his feet and then pushed him, causing him to stumble into Lucy. The two stare at each other, surprised at first, but then Lucy smiles at him before she giggles and grabs his hands, encouraging him to dance with her. and after a moment, Natsu smiled as well as he began to move his feet to the rhythm, twirling around each other and hopping one on foot as they danced.

Erza, Gray, Haru, and Happy all laughed and cheered while Blue Fang just kept eating his food, but soon, it wasn't long before the rest of the villagers pulled them toward the center as well, forming a ring as they linked arms. Soon, they were all laughing and cheering, just having the time of their lives as the celebration went on... and Natsu probably had the biggest smile that anyone had ever seen.

XXX

That night, things had finally started to wind down as everyone began to bed down for the night.

"Man, now that was a party," said Gray as he sat on a log.

"That was certainly a lot of fun," Erza concurred. "We should really do it more often."

"Tell me about it," Haru replied as she rubbed Blue Fang's bloated belly, the wolf whining in pain from eating too much. "But I think Blue Fang's had enough partying for one day."

"That makes two of us," Happy said as he rubbed his bloated tummy, as well. "Soooooo much fish...!"

Haru could only giggle at the cat's expense. "Oh, Happy..."

"Hey, did anyone see where Natsu went?" asked Lucy as she looked around for the Dragon Slayer.

"Oh, he's over there," said Haru as she pointed to the statue of Igneel, where Natsu was currently sitting, staring up at it with a thoughtful look on his face. So deep in thought was Natsu that he didn't seem to hear Lucy approach him.

"Hey," she said, causing him to glance over at her. "How are you feeling?"

Natsu stared at the Celestial Spirit Wizard for a few moments before he heaved a small sigh and looked back up at the statue.

"...I'm not gonna lie," he said. "I was kinda bummed out about comin' here, at first... but now I'm not bummed out, anymore."

Lucy smiled as she sat across from him. "You may not have found Igneel, but you found something just as good."

"...Yeah," Natsu grinned. "You're right." He then looked up at the statue, proudly. "I mean... my Dad's a hero! That's pretty awesome!"

"It is pretty cool, huh?" Haru asked as she approached while holding Happy, and Erza, Gray, and Blue Fang followed after her.

"We're glad that we helped you find something about your father, Natsu," Erza said.

"It may not be Igneel," Gray began, "but at least in a way, you kinda got some closure."

"Aye!" Happy agreed while raising a paw.

"Yeah," Natsu replied, "and... it makes me feel hopeful that I'll find him, someday."

Lucy smiled warmly, as did the others. Even if it wasn't exactly what he was looking for, they were still happy to see that Natsu was going back to his usual self. This helped him to realize that the search for the one he called his father wasn't entirely for nothing.

However... the warm moment was short-lived, for Blue Fang's ears suddenly twitched before he glared up at the sky in alert. Then, he began to growl and bark aggressively, gaining everyone's attention.

"Blue Fang?" Haru asked. "What's wrong, boy?"

As Blue Fang kept barking, Happy looked up and spotted a familiar shape in the sky, causing him to shriek in terror.

"THAT BIG BIRD IS BACK!"

As everyone else looked up, they saw that it was Xerxes, the roc that had attacked them earlier, with Eliza mounted on his back... and it seemed that the bird was carrying something in its talons.

"What's that?" asked Lucy, worriedly... and she soon got her answer when Xerxes opened his talons, releasing several Lacrima orbs, and they were flashing!

"Special delivery~!" Eliza called out.

"LACRIMA BOMBS!" Erza screamed.

"TAKE COVER!" Gray shouted before everyone dove out of the way, just as several explosions rang out throughout the village. Panicked cries soon filled the air as the tribespeople scattered, forced out of their homes as they were destroyed, parents carrying their crying children out, the elderly being pulled out of the way, and some throwing themselves to the dirt and covering their heads. Soon, the air was filled with smoke and fire as the explosions continued seemingly without end... but finally, after what felt like hours, the explosions finally ceased.

"Ugh..." Haru groaned as she raised her head up. "Is... is everyone okay?"

"I'm all right," Erza replied as she sat up while holding her head. "Mostly..."

"Damn..." Gray cursed. "Talk about fireworks. I think I went deaf in one ear."

"Ugh... my ears are ringing," Happy moaned as he came out from underneath Blue Fang's legs.

"Urrgh... ugh...!" Lucy grunted as she found herself pinned to the ground by Natsu, who held his hand over her head.

"You okay, Luce?" Natsu asked as he sat up.

"Yeah, I think so," Lucy replied as she looked around and saw the extent of the damage... and needless to say, she was shocked and horrified at the sight. Some of the villagers lay scattered about, some with severe burns, others with large scratches... and then there were some villagers that were just lying limp. "Oh, no...!"

"The villagers...!" Haru whispered. "This is horrible!"

Natsu gaped in horror at what he was seeing... but then, what he saw next really made his blood run cold: Igneel's statue... now reduced to a pile of rubble. Upon seeing it, Natsu seethed, his fists going ablaze and his pupils narrowing into slits.

"How dare they...!" he hissed. "HOW DARE THEY!"

"Aww, what's wrong, Salamander? Didn't you like our little welcoming gift?"

Natsu and the others turned to see none other than Xavier Blightheart, who grinned as he entered the ruined village, along with Tyson, Akira, and two other figures: a tall, humanoid figure wearing an iron mask and a black hood and cloak that was ripped around the bottom, and a man with dark red, spiky hair that was tied back in a ponytail, wearing a pine green kosode and dark red hakama pants, and attached to his hip was a katana.

"Who the hell are you guys?!" asked Gray.

"I am Xavier Blightheart," said Xavier. "We are the Guild known as the Gargoyle Talon Guild."

"Gargoyle Talon?" Erza repeated.

"You know them, Erza?" asked Lucy.

"I've heard of them, at least," said Erza. "They're said to be a Hunter Guild, specializing in tracking and capturing rare creatures and even people... and Xavier Blightheart is their leader."

"I get it now," said Haru. "This guy must be that 'Boss' that that girl was talking about."

"You know it, Greenie," said Eliza as she had Xerxes land behind the group.

"Look here, pal!" Gray shouted. "We don't care who the hell you are! Attacking us is one thing, but bringing innocent people into it is a whole different story!"

"That's right!" Haru shouted. "Who the hell do you people think you are?!"

"Now, now, there's no need for hostilities," said Xavier as he raised his hands in defense.

"Yeah, we're not here to hurt anybody," said Akira. "Besides, it's not even Fairy Tail, or this village that we're after."

"What?" asked Lucy. "Then what are you after?"

"Yeah, what do you want?!" Natsu asked.

"...It's you that we want," said the masked figure in an ominous tone. "Salamander."

"Huh?" Natsu muttered in confusion.

Here's trouble!

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