Fairy Tail:

Guardians of the Elise Kingdom

Fairy Tail © Hiro Mashima

Story and OCs © Me

Prologue

The sky was filled with thick, dark clouds that rumbled with thunder and crackled with lightning. Rain poured from the heavens, drenching everything it touched. Not a single star nor the moon could be seen.

This was truly a night that was not fit for man nor beast.

Hidden beyond the walls, past the courtyard, and deep inside the stone walls of the castle, men clad in suits of steel armor marched along the corridors, armed with swords, spears, and crossbows. Even on a stormy night such as this, they remained on high alert… for deep within the castle's dungeons, a prisoner sits within a cell, sitting on an old, tattered mattress. The walls and ceilings dripped with water and the occasional rat came scurrying in, sniffing the floor for any crumbs before it quickly scampered off through a crack in the walls.

The prisoner, meanwhile, sighed softly, covered by a dark brown cloak, their face hidden under the hood… and yet, tears dripped from their face as they clutched to their chest a silver amulet with a round blue sapphire in the middle.

It was at that moment that one of the guards approached the cell, holding a bowl of rice and a small loaf of bread on a platter, which he slid inside the cell through a slot.

"Your dinner is here," he spoke, causing the prisoner to rise up from their seat and approach the meager meal while the guard watched in sympathy. "I'm… very sorry about this… I don't know what's gotten into His Majesty, but I'm afraid his orders are absolute."

"...I know," the prisoner whispered, sadly as they took hold of the bread. "I hold nothing against you... or the king."

"Still… I hope you forgive him… as well as me," the guard said.

"...I hope that you forgive me, too," the prisoner said, to the guard's bewilderment… but then, he felt a harsh blow to his throat, causing him to grunt in pain before he soon collapsed on the cold floor. Soon after, someone else appeared from within the shadows: a tall, slender, blue-eyed woman with ginger-colored hair that was tied up in a ponytail by a white hairband, and she was wearing a dark blue leotard along with a matching mask covering her mouth, a kodachi sword attached to her hip, a dark red cape draped over her shoulders, and white bandages wrapped around her forearms.

"Perhaps you should take a bit of a rest, my friend," she suggested before she reached down and took the keyring from his waist, then unlocked the cell door, allowing the prisoner to walk out. "Are you all right?"

"I knew you'd come for me, Hasuko," the prisoner said.

"Of course, I would," the woman, Hasuko replied before she took a knee before her. "I am happy to see that you are safe… Princess Alyssandra."

The prisoner removed her hood, revealing her dark red eyes, her short, silvery-white hair that was decorated with a golden headpiece, and her pale rose dress hidden beneath her cloak.

"We must make haste," Hasuko urged. "It will not be long before news of your escape spreads."

"Yes, of course," Alyssandra answered before she and her liberator hurried down the dungeon corridor.

XXX

In the royal throne room, a shadowy figure stood alone in the dark… even as a flash of lightning briefly illuminated the room. He fixed his gaze toward a tall portrait depicting a blue-eyed man with a long mane of dark brown hair and a thick, bushy mustache as he wore regal clothing and a great, golden crown upon his head, and standing beside him was a beautiful woman with silvery-white hair, dark red eyes, and wearing an elegant cyan gown… and around her neck was the same amulet that Alyssandra wore. Before the pair, there was a young boy wearing a royal purple suit with golden embroidery in the sleeves, smiling with admiration at the man who had his hand on his shoulder, and in the woman's arms was a tiny girl wearing a light blue dress, sucking her fingers.

As the figure heaved a quiet sigh, the doors to the throne room were suddenly thrown open, revealing the very guard that Hasuko had knocked out earlier.

"Your Majesty!" he cried before he kneeled before him. "I bring troubling news! The princess has escaped!"

"What?!" the figure questioned as lightning flashed and thunder boomed, illuminating the room once again.

This figure was revealed to be a young man with long, spiky, dark brown hair and dull blue eyes. He wore a blue regal cape over his shoulders and a red royal suit underneath, and a pair of puffy, lavender trousers with black, leather boots. On his head was the very same crown that the man in the portrait was wearing.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty!" the guard said, keeping his head bowed. "Someone snuck up behind me and-"

"I don't care about the details!" shouted the king before he waved his arm. "Find her and capture her, at once!"

"Yes, Your Majesty! Right away!" the guard answered as he ran out of the throne room… and meanwhile, the king seethed angrily as he looked out the window, just as another lightning bolt flashed and a roar of thunder rolled through the clouds.

"Alyssa…!" he hissed. "You won't escape!"

XXX

"HYAH!" Hasuko shouted as she snapped at the reins of the horse, which whinnied as it began to gallop away from the stables, carrying both the kunoichi and Alyssandra with it as they rode across the courtyard and toward the palace gates. At that moment, they heard the shouts of the guards behind them, causing Alyssandra to turn and gasp as she saw several of them appear from just about every nook and cranny, firing their crossbows and throwing their spears at the escaping duo.

"They're after us!" Alyssandra cried.

"Hold on!" Hasuko shouted before she snapped at the horse's reins, urging the steed to gallop faster, just as the guards were beginning to close the gates.

"We're not going to make it!" Alyssandra shouted.

"We will!" Hasuko replied, and just as it looked as if they were about to be trapped, their horse managed to slip through the gates just as they were about to close and galloped away through the streets.

"Dammit!" cursed one of the guards. "They're getting away!"

"We can still stop them!" yelled another. "Hurry! Capture them before they escape the kingdom! On your horses, men!"

Alyssandra whimpered as she clung to Hasuko's cape, her heart pounding in her ears as she could hear the sound of hoofbeats behind her, causing her to glance back and see that the guards had now mounted up on horses of their own… and they were quickly gaining on them.

"They're catching up!" she cried.

"Not for long, they're not!" Hasuko declared as she threw several kunai knives at some stacks of barrels and crates, causing them to topple over and block the path of the guards, some of which fell off their spooked horses. Still, some of them managed to get past the wreckage and continued their pursuit. That's when Hasuko reached into the pouch that was attached to her right thigh and pulled out several balls, which she then threw to the ground, where they burst into huge clouds of smoke, causing the guards to cough as they found their vision obstructed while Hasuko and Alyssandra continued to make their escape.

It was then that they reached the city's outer wall, heading towards a drawbridge.

"We're almost there!" shouted Hasuko.

"But look!" Alyssandra cried as she pointed toward the drawbridge, which slowly began to rise. "They're raising the drawbridge!"

"Not if I can help it!" Hasuko said as she pulled out another kunai, which she tossed at one of the mechanisms that raised the bridge, jamming the gears and stopping the bridge from going up. As the guards hurried to fix the problem, that's when Hasuko and Alyssandra's mount darted across the bridge before leaping off the edge and finally landing on the other side before it continued galloping away, toward the horizon. All the guards could do was continue to shoot their crossbows at them, but they could not shoot far enough to hit them.

"Stop!" shouted the captain as he raised his hand. "Save your ammunition! It's no use… they got away."

"King Lars isn't going to like this," said one of the guards.

"There's nothing we can do about it, now," said the captain. "Besides… it's probably for the best." He then sighed as he took off his helmet, revealing his shaved head and his scarred right eye. "I think the princess can see that not everything is as it seems…"

Meanwhile, Hasuko and Alyssandra continued to ride their steed through the vast plain.

"So where do we go, now, princess?" asked Hasuko.

"We'll keep heading north," replied Alyssandra, "toward the Kingdom of Fiore!"

"Fiore?" Hasuko repeated. "That kingdom is known for the many wizard guilds that occupy it… something that we lack in Elise!"

"Exactly!" Alyssandra replied with a determined expression. "We're going there to find the strongest guild in Fiore! I've heard many tales of their exploits, and therefore, they are the only ones who can help us! We must seek the aid… of Fairy Tail!"

XXX

The Town of Marigold, Fiore Kingdom

In this large town of Marigold, found close to the southeastern border of the Kingdom of Fiore, this peaceful town that was known for its popular tourist trade… was about to have a very rude awakening.

KABOOM!

A huge explosion suddenly rang out throughout the town, followed by several people screaming as they flew through the air. A column of smoke rose from the wreckage of a burning building, the charred bodies of several thugs lying around on the ground. It was at that moment that the one who gave them their sound thrashing stepped out of the ruins of their hideout: it was none other than Natsu "Salamander" Dragneel, wearing his trademark white scarf, along with a red vest with a golden yellow flame pattern, green trousers with red baggy legs that also had an orange flame pattern around the rims with golden yellow embroidery, a pair of goggles over his hair, and along with his scarf, he also wore Igneel's fang; the one he obtained from Dragon Island.

"You clowns call that a fight?" Natsu asked as he punched a fist into his palm. "I haven't broken a sweat, yet!"

"Good goin', Natsu!" Happy exclaimed as he fluttered up beside him. "That's gotta be a new record!"

"Right?" Natsu asked with a grin.

"Couldn't you have held back, just a little?"

This came from Haru Dragneel, who was sitting on the back of her silver wolf partner, Blue Fang as they stood on the roof of another building. She was wearing a short-sleeved orchid-colored jacket with pale rose trimmings and a fuchsia corset underneath with a matching skirt, and she was giving her adopted older brother a disapproving glare as she surveyed the damage.

"Seriously, bro, we're supposed to be saving the town, not wrecking it!" Haru argued.

"Hey, I got the bad guys, didn't I?" Natsu asked, incredulously.

"Uh… not all of them!" Happy called as he pointed to several more thugs on the streets… cornering young Wendy Marvell, who was wearing a colorful dress with sky blue, teal, and light yellow colors, and the hem of her dress was shaped like a flower with white diamond patterns, almost giving her the appearance of a fairy. She even had a necklace around her neck with a wing-shaped pendant.

"Wendy!" Haru called.

"I got this!" Wendy called before she took in a deep breath. "Sky Dragon… ROAR!"

Soon after, a powerful whirlwind burst from her mouth, sending the thugs flying through the air, causing the Sky Maiden to wince as she saw several of them drop to the ground.

"Sorry!" she called out.

"Wendy," said Carla as she flew up beside her, "don't apologize to them. They're the enemy, remember?"

"Oh, right," Wendy recalled. "Sorry!"

"Oh, good grief, child…" Carla groaned.

Not too far off, Erza Scarlet, dressed in her standard Heart Kreuz Armor, stood before her foes, who all surrounded her with swords and spears as they chuckled in a sinister and lewd manner, some of them licking their lips to show their perverse intentions. However, in true Erza fashion, the Fairy Queen showed no fear. She simply reached into her little pocket dimension and requipped her broadsword, then took a sword stance as she pointed her weapon at the brutes.

"Those who wish to be cut down, step forward!" she exclaimed.

"Someone's gonna get cut, all right!" shouted one of the thugs as he and several others charged with their weapons brandished. "Let's see what's under that skirt!"

Big mistake. In a flash of light, Erza soon requipped into her Heaven's Wheel Armor, and in the blink of an eye, she soon cut down the brigands… but the shockwave from her attack also ended up cutting through the walls of the buildings around her.

Meanwhile, Gray was seen wearing… well, just his pants with a brown belt around the waist. He did have a jacket and a pair of brown fingerless gloves, earlier, but he unknowingly discarded them during his fight with the thugs, who were more than a little creeped out by his stripping habit.

"All right," said Gray in his usual casual manner. "Who's up next?"

"Get that perv!" shouted one of the thugs as they all charged at the Ice Wizard, who soon put his hands together as the air turned frosty around him.

"Ice-Make… ICE CANNON!" he shouted as he soon conjured a bazooka of ice in his hands, which he fired at his foes. However, in doing so, he also destroyed yet another building behind them.

And where was Lucy, one may ask? She was currently dealing with her own batch of criminals. The Celestial Spirit Wizard was wearing a pale rose vest with magenta straps that crossed over in an X-formation, and under that was a hot pink shirt, as well as a dark brown leather skirt with her whip and Gate Key pouch attached to a white belt with a hot pink heart-shaped belt buckle. Also, she had her hair styled in pigtails.

As the thugs leered at her in the same manner they did to Erza, Lucy pulled out one of her Gate Keys and held it up into the air.

"Open, Gate of the Ram!" Lucy exclaimed. "Aries!"

In a flash of light, Aries soon appeared before Lucy, meekly fiddling with her hands.

"Umm… I'm sorry," she squeaked.

"Well, well," said one of the thugs. "Looks like we got two little cuties to play with!"

"Hehe! This just got even better!" exclaimed another before they charged at Lucy, who gripped the handle of her whip, which began to glow with magic power.

"Fleuve d'étoiles!" she shouted as she whipped the brigands out of her way, and whoever was left, they were soon buried underneath Aries' dense wool.

"I'm sorry about that!" Aries exclaimed. "I was just protecting Lucy!"

"You did great, Aries!" Lucy replied. "Thanks for the backup!"

Aries nodded, giving a small smile before she returned to the Celestial Realm. Soon after, Erza, Gray, Wendy, Haru, Blue Fang, Happy, and Carla appeared.

"Lucy!" Erza called. "How are things on your end?"

"Never better!" Lucy replied. "Did you guys take care of things, too?"

"All good, here," said Gray… still wearing just his pants.

"Where are your clothes?!" Lucy questioned, causing Gray to freeze as he finally realized he was shirtless.

"Ah, crap, not again!" he shouted.

"I took care of some of the bandits, too," Wendy spoke up, "but all that's left is the boss."

"I think Natsu's taking care of that guy," Haru added.

"Wait… Natsu's handling the boss?!" Lucy questioned.

"Aye!" Happy answered before the realization suddenly hit. "Uh… uh-oh…"

"I think it's best if we find him," Carla said with urgency in her voice. "Right now, in fact!"

"I couldn't agree more!" Haru exclaimed. "Let's go!"

"If Natsu does what I think he's gonna do, I'm gonna kill him!" Lucy shouted as they ran off to wherever Natsu might be.

"Not if I kill him, first, you won't!" Gray added.

Not too far from the group, Natsu was in hot pursuit of a tall, muscular man with a bob cut, wearing a pair of shades, a black shirt with the word "AKUMA" in big bold white letters, a pair of blue pants, and dark brown boots. As he ran, he glanced back at the Fire Dragon Slayer, who grinned as he ran after him and got closer with each sprint. At that moment, the ringleader fired off some kind of energy blast from his right palm, and in doing so, he knocked over several crates and barrels on top of Natsu, who yelped as he was buried. Now, if this fool knew better, then he would have known that this wouldn't be enough to take down the great Salamander.

Unfortunately, this guy didn't know better.

Before he realized it, there was this red hot glow coming from the pile, and suddenly, they were blasted apart by Natsu's searing hot flames, to the ringleader's horror. A fang-toothed grin creased the Salamander's lips as fire swirled around him, then he took a squatting position as the flames began to gather at his feet. It was at the moment that Lucy and the others arrived as they all gathered on a rooftop.

"Oh, no!" Haru cried. "Don't tell me!"

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted. "STOP!"

Too late.

"FIRE DRAGON SWORD HORN!"

Using his flames to boost his speed, Natsu flew at the ringleader, who screamed in horror as he turned to run… only for the pink-haired youth to slam into his back, sending him flying towards a large building in the center of town… a building that was soon demolished the moment Natsu and his quarry collided with it.

After a few tense moments, Natsu soon emerged from the wreckage, standing over the comically charred body of the ringleader.

"WHOO!" he cheered as he heaved his arms up in the air. "Yeah! Fairy Tail for the win, baby!"

However, his celebration was short-lived, for Lucy suddenly went up and smacked him in the back of his head.

"OUCH!" Natsu cried as he turned and glared at her. "What the hell, Luce?!"

"Natsu, you doofus!" Lucy shouted. "Look what you did! YOU JUST DESTROYED THE TOWN HALL!"

Natsu's eyes widened before he looked around and saw the ruins of the building that he had just destroyed.

"Uh… whoops," he muttered, sheepishly while Erza groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose.

~A few minutes later~

"I must say… a job well done, Fairy Tail," said a man dressed up in a lavish light rose suit with light pink pinstripes, "that is… IF YOU HADN'T DESTROYED MY BEAUTIFUL TOWN HALL!"

The team visibly flinched, save for Erza, who stood before the group with a steeled gaze.

"I do apologize for the recklessness of my comrade, Mr. Mayor," she said.

"You apologize, huh?" asked the mayor. "Apologizing won't fix my town, you know! I would have given you a reward, but now that money is going to the repairs that you vandals caused!"

"But sir-" Lucy started.

"I don't want to hear it!" the mayor snapped. "Get out of my sight and out of my town! Remind me never to hire you delinquents again!"

With that, Team Natsu was soon sent away and was on the road back home to Magnolia. Needless to say, they were more than a bit disgruntled at this. Lately, it seems that they've been failing at more and more jobs due to their acts of accidental property damage.

"Another reward down the crapper," Gray said, having found his jacket and gloves. "This is the 4th time this week. Way to go, Natsu!"

"Hey! I didn't see you doing anything but takin' off your clothes, Ice Princess!" Natsu argued.

"I didn't think being part of this guild would be so… destructive," Wendy added.

"And we've only been with them for two weeks," said Carla as she walked alongside the Sky Dragon Slayer.

"Seriously, though, this is ridiculous," Haru said as she rode on Blue Fang's back. "I know that Fairy Tail tends to cause property damage, but this takes the cake, even for us! What is with this streak of bad luck we've been having?!"

Grrroooooowwwwwrrll~!

Haru sighed as she glanced back at Natsu, who was sitting with her. "Natsu, it's your fault the job went south, so don't go growling at me, okay?"

"That ain't me growlin'," Natsu countered as he put his hand on his stomach. "It's my belly. I'm starvin'!"

"Aye, me, too," Happy agreed, his stomach also growling. "We're running low on food. If this keeps up, I won't be able to buy any fish!"

"You can always just catch some, you know," Haru pointed out.

"Food is the least of my problems," Lucy said as she glared at Natsu. "Seriously, Natsu, this was probably my last chance to get rent money! If I don't pay it soon, I'll be out on the streets! Does the thought ever occur to you that if you keep busting up towns, I could be homeless?!"

Natsu's shoulders sank before he looked away… a visibly guilty expression forming on his face.

"Sorry…" he muttered, causing Lucy's eyes to soften as she noticed before she sighed and rubbed her arm, suddenly feeling guilty for snapping.

"Now, now, let's not get too hot under the collar," Erza spoke up. "I'm sure we'll get another opportunity to gain an even bigger reward, soon."

"Well, I hope so," Gray said. "Seriously, this is just-"

Suddenly, Blue Fang's ears pricked up and he froze on the spot, to everyone's surprise.

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

Without warning, the silver wolf suddenly dashed off into the forest, taking the Dragneel Siblings and Happy with him.

"AAH!" Haru shrieked as she clung to Blue Fang's collar. "BLUE FANG, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!"

"WHOOOOOOOAA!" Natsu cried.

"NOT AGAIN!" Happy shouted as held onto Blue Fang's tail.

"Natsu! Haru! Happy!" Lucy called as she and the others soon ran after them. Blue Fang huffed as he ran through the forest, jumping over bushes and ducking beneath low branches while his passengers hung on for dear life. His eyes only remained forward, his nose pointing down as he followed whatever scent he was following.

"B.F.!" Natsu cried. "SLOW DOWN, BIG GUY!"

"HARU, WHAT'S GOTTEN INTO HIM?!" asked Happy.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Haru shouted. "BLUE FANG! STOP! HEEL, BOY!"

No sooner did she give this command that Blue Fang finally stopped running, nearly throwing his cargo off his back. It was then that everyone else managed to catch up, Lucy and Wendy panting as they tried to catch their breath.

"You really should put a leash on him!" Carla pointed out.

"Sorry," Haru said. "He just took off outta nowhere!"

At that moment, Natsu sniffed the air and his eyes went wide.

"I think I figured out why," he said. "There's a weird smell in the air."

"Now that you mention it, I smell it, too!" Wendy agreed. "It smells like sickness!"

"Really?" asked Lucy. "Where's it coming from?"

It was then that the group heard this noise: the sound of raspy wheezing.

"What was that?" asked Gray as he looked around.

"It's coming from those bushes, over there," said Erza as she pointed at some nearby bushes, which Natsu walked over and parted to reveal a white-haired girl wearing a green cloak… and her face was flushed red with fever as her breath came out in ragged pants.

"It's a girl!" Natsu exclaimed, causing the group to run over to see the young woman.

"Is she okay?!" Lucy asked.

"It looks like she has a bad fever," Wendy said before she got down on her knees and held out her hands to her head, her palms glowing a warm teal color. Once she did, the young woman sighed in relief as the flush on her face subsided… but only slightly.

"It looked like it worked," Carla pointed out, "but we might need to get her some medical attention, and fast!"

"Then let's get her back to Magnolia!" Erza urged. "We'll take her to the guild and then have Miss Porlyusica have a look at her!"

"Natsu, get her on Blue Fang's back!" said Haru.

"Right," Natsu nodded before he carefully picked the girl up and slung her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. "Upsy-daisy!"

"That's not how you carry a lady!" Carla shouted, but regardless, Natsu just placed the girl on Blue Fang's back, and after making sure she was secure, the group began to head back to Magnolia.

"It's time like this that I say we should have brought the Wolf Wagon with us!" Lucy exclaimed as she ran alongside Blue Fang.

"Not on your life!" Natsu complained.

"You do realize that Wendy could have just used her Troia spell on you, right, bro?!" asked Haru. However, as the group headed home with their delicate cargo… they didn't realize they were being watched.

And thus begins a new adventure!

Review, please!