Chapter 2: Monster Hunt!

Well, no reviews yet, but the first chapter was your basic day at Fairy Tail, so I'm sure there are hundreds of stories like it out there. I went ahead and rolled out the second chapter while it was still fresh in my mind, so here it is!

As always, I don't own Fairy Tail (why do we have to put up disclaimers in FANfictions anyway? lol!)

On this bright and sunny morning, Natsu Dragneel and his flying cat friend Happy are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the rest of their team at the Fairy Tail guild hall. After hearing that Lucy is desperate to make her monthly rent payment, Team Natsu has decided to take on a job hunting down a fearsome sea monster. Natsu is nearly beside himself with excitement...

"Ahh, come on!" growled Natsu as he paced back and forth in front of the bar in the guild hall. "How long before everyone gets here?"

"You just said that a minute ago!" Happy replied.

"Well, Erza said that we were meeting up first thing in the morning, and it's morning, so where is everyone?"

"Take it easy Natsu, no need to be so impatient." said Grey as he walked up to the bar.

"Who are you calling impatient, you popsicle?"

"Obviously you're the only one standing here, dragon breath!"

"Mira's here too, so technically you could be calling her impatient, right?" Happy interjected.

Both Natsu and Grey looked over at Mirajane, who was standing behind the bar counter, smiling brightly as usual.

"You sure seem excited about this job, Natsu. Which one did you decide on?" Mira asked.

"The one with the sea monster! It's been a while since I got to beat up something big and dangerous, and it pays 200,000 jewels."

"You know," said Grey, "if Lucy takes 70,000 jewels, that leaves 130,000. And if we split that between you, Erza and I, that only leaves about 43,000 for each of us."

"Aw, I don't care about the money. Happy and I already decided that Lucy can have our share."

"That's so sweet of you, Natsu, taking care of Lucy like that." said Mira.

Just then, Elfman popped up seemingly out of nowhere.

"That's because Natsu's a real man!" he exclaimed as he patted Natsu on the back.

"Oooh, you liiiiiike her!" teased Happy as he floated up behind Natsu's head.

"Shut up, cat!" yelled Natsu.

Just then, the guild hall main door opened up, and Erza Scarlet walked in, causing Natsu, Grey and Happy all to go silent. She was wearing her usual Heart Kruez armor, and towing a huge cart full of luggage. She looked over and noticed Natsu and Grey already waiting for her, so she walked over towards the bar to greet them.

"Good morning Natsu, good morning Grey. How are the two of you this morning?"

Natsu and Grey put on their best fake grins and answered in unison.

"We're fine, thank you ma'am!'"

"Very good. Now that everyone's here, we should head out immediately. If we take the morning train to Hargeon we should be able to catch a boat to the village and be there before dark."

"But Erza," Happy chimed in. "Everyone's not here."

"Hey that's right, where's Lucy?" asked Natsu.

Erza looked confused. "She was supposed to be here already, I distinctly remember telling her to be here by 7:30 in the morning, and it's already 8:00."

"She's probably sleeping in, knowing her." Happy suggested.

Grey scratched the back of his head as he questioned aloud; "Doesn't anyone else get the feeling that Lucy's probably the only one that isn't excited about this job?"

"Nonsense." Erza replied. "She's the one who picked out this job in the first place."

"Actually, I think that was Natsu." Happy pointed out.

Erza held her fist to her chin in thought. "Well, I suppose we should check her house and make sure she's ok."

Just then, the guild hall door burst open and Lucy rushed in, panting from exhaustion. She looked like she had run the whole way from her apartment to the guild.

"There you are, Lucy." said Erza. "We were just about to come looking for you."

"Whew!" Lucy panted as she tried to catch her breath. "Sorry I'm late!"

"What happened? You look exhausted." Grey asked.

"Yeah, you look like something the cat dragged in!" Natsu added.

"I don't think I could drag Lucy all the way here from her house, she's too heavy!" Happy exclaimed.

"Who are you calling heavy, cat!?" Lucy shot back. Then she turned back to the others and began to explain. "I got up early, just like we planned, and got everything ready. Then, while I was walking by the canal on my way here, I slipped and fell in."

"See, people keep telling you not to walk on the edge of the canal like that." said Grey.

"I was not walking on the edge!"

"I bet you were!" Natsu teased.

"Ok, so maybe I was." Lucy sighed. "But either way, I was soaking wet and I had to go back home to dry off and change clothes and then I realized I was running late so I raced all the way back here."

"I see." said Erza stoically. "That sounds like quite a morning ordeal. But we need to get moving now if we're going to catch the train to Hargeon."

"What! We have to take the train!?" Natsu exclaimed. "Isn't there another way to get there?"

"No there isn't." was Erza's response. "And besides, I already told you we were taking the train to Hargeon, and then a boat to the village."

"Aw, a train and a boat? This trip is gonna suck!"

"We have to hurry, or else we'll miss the train and have to wait till tomorrow!" Erza demanded.

"But I'm to tired to run!" Lucy whined.

"That's ok," Natsu replied. "Happy'll fly you the station!"

"Hey! Why do I have to do all the heavy lifting?"

"Watch it with the heavy comments, furball!"

"That's enough, both of you!" Erza interjected. "We've got to go now!"

And so Team Natsu dashed out of the guild hall. Grey struggling to put the shirt and jacket back on that he'd taken off during their conversation, Natsu spouting flames in excitement, Erza leading the way with her usual determination, and Happy complaining as he carried Lucy through the air. Fortunately, Lucy was too out of breath to retaliate.

One Train and Boat Ride Later:

Team Natsu walked down the gangplank and onto the dock. Erza and Lucy waved at the boat's captain and crew as they prepared to shove off. Grey was holding up Natsu, who was still trying to shake off the effects of his ever-present motion sickness. The village itself was made up of little more than small wooden houses scattered across the shoreline, and the smell of fish permeated the entire area. Happy took in a deep breath, and started drooling.

"Wow! This place smells so good!"

Lucy, on the other hand, was holding her nose. "Eww, you actually like that smell?"

"Of course, I bet this is what heaven smells like!" Happy replied, his face a picture of total bliss.

"If this is what heaven smells like, I can't even imagine what hell is like." said Lucy sarcastically.

Happy darted from building to building in excitement, but then returned with a look of disappointment on his face. "Where's all the fish?" he asked.

The group looked around and noticed that Happy indeed had a point. While the entire village was clearly a fishing town, there were no fish to be seen. In addition, the town seemed surprisingly empty. Over a dozen fishing boats were docked at the pier, but nobody was working there. Also, no one appeared to be working in the village itself. The whole place seemed empty except for a few birds, some young children playing in the streets, and a small wooden sign saying "welcome to Cocoplum Village."

Natsu, who was recovering from his motion sickness, looked around in confusion. "Hey, you're right Happy, doesn't look like anyone's doing any fishing here. In fact, shouldn't someone be meeting us here to tell us about the job?"

"Yeah, kinda strange, don't you think?" said Grey.

Lucy looked back and forth across the nearly-empty village, but then she noticed someone coming out of one of the houses. "Look!" she called out. "There's someone right now!"

Everyone turned to see where Lucy was pointing. A suntanned man wearing loose pants and a vest but no shirt was walking out from one of the houses. He turned and saw the five friends standing at the docks and immediately rushed toward them.

"Hey! Hello there!" the man called out as he ran. "You four look like wizards, are you the ones who answered our job request?"

"That's us!" Natsu replied, giving the man the thumbs up.

"Oh, thank goodness! I'm sorry I didn't meet you at the docks, I wasn't sure when you'd be arriving. My name is Elias, and I'm the head fisherman of Cocoplum Village."

"Pleased to meet you, Elias." Erza answered.

"Why is the town so empty?" Lucy asked. Then she gasped as the thought occurred to her. "That sea monster isn't...eating people, is it!?"

"What!? No! And thank goodness, too. Most of the men and women have been forced to look for work in Hargeon since that monster started eating all our fish! There's only the village elders left here right now, and the children who are too young to be at school. And me, of course. I'm the Head Fisherman of Cocoplum Village."

"That's awful!" cried Happy. "A fishing town with no fish. Come on, Natsu! Let's go teach that monster a lesson!"

"Sounds like a plan!" the Fire Dragon Slayer replied with a toothy grin. "I'm all fired up and ready to go!"

Grey just shook his head at Natsu's usual impetuousness. "Shouldn't we try to find out a little more about this monster first? Like, where to find it, for example?"

"Oh, that beast appears in the same part of the sea every time." Elias explained. "If you sail straight east from here, about four leagues, you'll find yourself in the monster's territory."

"Why does it only appear there?" asked Erza.

"We don't know, it's probably protecting it's lair. Or maybe it's a mother guarding her evil brood of hatchlings, before they swarm out and spread across the seas!"

"There's no need to be too dramatic." said Grey.

"Sorry," Elias replied with embarrassment. "Sometimes I just get a little carried away."

"If the monster only appears in that part of the ocean, why don't you just fish somewhere else?" asked Erza.

"That's where we catch all the biggest fish." said Elias with an exaggerated look of depression. "We supply most of the seafood for this part of Fiore, if we don't start bringing in the big catches again soon, this whole village will be nothing more than a ghost town!"

Lucy patted Elias on the shoulder. "Don't worry," she said. "We're Fairy Tail's strongest team! We'll take care of that sea monster and save your village!"

"That's right!" said Natsu.

"Aye sir!" Happy shouted.

"Just point us in the right direction and we'll do the rest." said Grey.

"We'll need to borrow one of your boats." Erza added.

"Probably a big one..." said Lucy as she looked at Erza's enormous cart of luggage.

"That won't be a problem." Elias replied. "You can use the biggest boat in our fishing fleet. I'll help you load up right now!"

And so Team Natsu loaded up on the fishing boat and set sail eastward toward what would be one of their biggest adventures yet!"

Next Time: Here There Be Dragons!

Aww yeah! Second chapter completed! Are you enjoying the story so far? Anyone even reading it? Lol! Leave a review so I know that A: someone's actually reading this story, and B: What you like/dislike about the story, my writing style, or whatever. Until next time!