A Fairy Tail Christmas Miracle

Fairy Tail © Hiro Mashima

Story and OCs © Me

Summary- Christmas Eve is here... but it's anything but merry when one of Fairy Tail's members has not returned.

Chapter 1

December 24th, Year X784. Christmas Eve in Magnolia was usually such a magical and beautiful time. A time for families to huddle up against a warm fire, eat good food, and decorate their trees with all sorts of colorful ornaments and tinsel garland.

However... this was not the case for the Fairy Tail Guild on this night. Instead of spending the night at the guildhall... they were out in the East Forest, holding lit lanterns as they traversed the snow-covered trails. They had spread out in different directions, but also made sure to stay close so as not to get lost... and as they did, they called out a name.

"NATSU~!"

There was no response. Just the sound of the wind and the silence of the falling snow.

"Natsu?!" Romeo called as he held up a ball of Purple Fire while his father did the same. "Are you out there?!"

"Hey, Natsu, where are you?!" Macao asked.

"Answer us!" Mirajane cried. "Please!"

"Natsu! Where are you?!" Elfman shouted with usual manliness.

And yet, there was still no answer from the Salamander. Wendy was being carried by Carla, flying alongside Gajeel, who was being held aloft by Panther Lily, as well as Lisanna in her Take Over: Harpy Form.

"See anything yet?" asked Carla.

"Just snow, snow, and more snow!" Wendy answered.

"Dammit," Gajeel cursed. "It's freezin' cold out here! You'd think Salamander would at least some kinda trail!"

"He has to be around here, somewhere!" Lisanna called as she kept flying. "Keep looking!"

Down below, Erza looked around as she held up her lantern with Gray standing behind her. At that moment, Cana walked up to them with Juvia at her side.

"Any luck yet?" Gray asked.

"No," Juvia shook her head. "No sign at all."

"Not even tracks or anything," Cana replied.

"Keep looking," Erza urged. "There's bound to be something."

"Natsu!" Levy called out as she held up a lantern that she had made using her Solid Script while Jet and Droy walked behind her. "Answer us! If you're out here, give us a sign! Natsu!"

"Natsu, honey?!" Elektra called as she walked alongside Makarov and Laxus. "Natsu!"

"Where are you?!" Makarov shouted.

"Natsu! Say something!" Laxus called out, his coat flapping in the wind... and yet, there was still no answer. Nearby, Alzack and Bisca stood close together, their hands clasped around the hands of their little girl, who looked up at them with big, bright, and worried doe eyes.

"Mommy? Daddy?" she asked. "Where's Natsu?"

"That's why we're out here, darlin'," Alzack replied.

"I miss him," Asuka said, sadly. "I want him to come home."

"We miss him, too, sugar," Bisca said as she held him. "Look... it's cold out and it's past your bedtime. Maybe we should get you home, huh? You want Santa to bring you lots of presents, right?"

"No!" Asuka cried. "I don't wanna go home! I wanna find Natsu!"

The two Gun Wizards glanced at each other, sadness and concern welling up in their chests. They knew that Asuka must have been so tired, but they also knew that they couldn't just leave knowing another member of their family was lost. That's when Erza walked up and placed a hand on Bisca's shoulder.

"Take her home and make sure she gets plenty of rest," she told them. "We'll continue the search." She then knelt down in front of Asuka, gently cupping her face. "Asuka... I know you're very worried, but we promise we're going to find Natsu and bring him back home. Right now, you need to go home and get nice and warm and get some sleep, okay?"

"...You promise, Auntie Erza?" asked Asuka.

"I promise," Erza smiled as she stood up, and soon after, Alzack scooped his daughter into his arms and he and Bisca carried her off back to Magnolia.

Meanwhile, Blue Fang trudged his way through the deep snow, sniffing the ground for any kind of scent trail while he pulled a large sled behind him. In that sled was Haru, who sighed as she looked around with her oil lantern... and yet, she found nothing. No sign of her older brother, at all, and that only made her heart drop more. That's when she glanced back at the two passengers: Lucy and Happy.

The Celestial Spirit Wizard had the little blue coat wrapped up inside her coat, holding him close to her bosom to keep him warm. They both stared distantly into the forest, expressions of great worry on their faces. As Happy whimpered, Lucy gently stroked his head in an attempt to calm him down... even though deep down, she was trying not to panic.

Natsu left on a job 4 days ago... but he never came back. It wasn't even anything hard for him to do. Just defeat a gang of robbers in a neighboring town, and the reward was supposed to be quite hefty two. The town wasn't even that far, to begin with. He could have easily walked from Magnolia to there and back again... but he never turned up.

At first, everyone simply thought that maybe he decided to stay at an inn in the next town over... but when they got no such report and as time passed, they started to realize that something was definitely wrong. Thus, the search party was formed, and they spread out, searching all over the forest... but with the darkening sky and the encroaching snowstorm, things were starting to look bleak.

As Lucy looked up at the sky... all she could do was hope and wonder...

'Where are you, Natsu?'

So, I kinda got inspired last minute. This is by no means canon, but I just thought I'd put it up anyway.

Review, please!