Chapter XI

Hello to all! I have returned with yet another chapter of Embodiment of Flame! And yes, I have now gone from the kick of Guardians of Earth to a kick of Embodiment of Flame. Do not ask how these happen, they just come about. So expect a few more chapters of this story over the next while. That being said, I hoped everyone enjoyed the previous chapter. Though I have no way of telling on that front yet. I also hope everyone enjoys this chapter as well. Be sure to post a review if you do, I love hearing your opinions. I would like to thank Bakuto Masaki, my coauthor, for all of his previous, current, and continuing help on stories. And now it is time to move on to the reviewer responses, there may not be many but I do enjoy the few that are there.

JMK2: It is, is it not? Guess there's only one way to find out, eh?

Jalis: That they don't. I see. Good to know what I provided was sufficient. Glad you liked the kiss. Erm, sort of. I guess it's safe to reveal that she will be later, but as for now that's a little complicated. Mostly due to how they met in my story.

Ilikebedtimestories: Well as you can see, that hasn't slowed him down much.

FanFictionHunter: Glad to see you're so excited! Hope it helped your reading quality.

I thought that would be rather amusing. Well I wanted to get rid of Alzack, but Bisca still needed a teammate, so I just used Elie since she also has guns. And yeah, I assume that another Spirit would take the role if a Zodiac died or something like that. At the moment, there aren't any other replacements to the canonical Zodiacs. Yes she is. Yeah, it can sometimes get a little confusing having Julia and Juvia, but I keep them separated enough. Well in Embodiment of Flame, the two races don't differ, they're actually all one race. The dragons of Fairy Tail and the Dragon Race are all one race in my story.

Well here it is, hopefully it satisfies.

So, with that done, might as well move on to the main event, hm?

Natsu, Erza, Julia, Lucy, Bisca, Elie, Juvia, Kanami, Nazuna, Akatsuki, Shiroe, Naotsugu, and Gray stood in the barn of an old farmer as a storm passed overhead.

Nazuna smirked as she stepped back from kissing Natsu. "There, better?"

"The hell'd you just do, stupid fox!?" Julia growled.

Nazuna huffed lightly. "I calmed him down. It's a special technique only the Kannagi Class has."

Shiroe sighed heavily as the tension in the room subsided, before glancing to the side at the farmer and his two children. Narrowing his eyes, he thought, "It's strange… We call the People of the Land little more than NPCs… But they're extremely human… far more than we give them credit for. I guess… that means we Adventurers are the anomalies in this world. Though… that begs the question… How…?"

The following morning, the group departed the old man's barn and quickly concluded their return trip to Akihabara.

"Yahoo!" Natsu cheered as the group walked back through the main gates. "Back in Akihabara!"

As they did, Marielle immediately came running towards them and leapt to hug Serara.

The young girl, so surprised and confused by the sudden act, dove to the side, causing the excitable blonde to latch onto Natsu instead, giggling lightly as she melted from contact with his muscles.

Julia snarled in annoyance. "You five seconds to let him go, elf."

"Muscles…" Marielle mumbled mindlessly, ignoring Julia's threat.

Julia grumbled and grabbed Marielle by the collar, throwing her off Natsu.

"Mmuusscclleess…!" she pleaded as she was tossed away.

"She's so… weird…" Lucy muttered.

"Welcome back, everyone," Henrietta greeted as she approached the group.

"Hey Henrietta!" Natsu called out happily.

Henrietta smiled as the pink-haired teen called out. "So, I assume everyone made it back safely?"

Akatsuki nodded in response. "Yes. We have."

"And we have food!" Nazuna cheered.

Henrietta blinked, perplexed. "Pardon?"

Shiroe looked around and narrowed his eyes. "Let's take this into the guild hall."

"Um, okay?"

"Serara!" a young girl with short brown hair and wolf-like ears atop her head cheered as she hugged Serara happily as she and the rest of the group entered the Crescent Moon Alliance's guild hall.

After a moment's pause, Marielle's eyes lit up with an idea. "Hey! I know, let's have a party to celebrate Serara's return!"

"What for?" Shoryu asked, pleased about Serara's return, but disappointed with Marielle's suggestion. "It's not like the food tastes like anything."

Nazuna grinned happily. "Oh how wrong you are! Ashura 2.0! Get to cooking!"

"Right!" Natsu answered energetically, the others looking at the duo confused.

Sometime later, Henrietta sat up from her desk, smelling an alluring scent through the air. "That… smells so good…"

Nazuna grinned mischievously. "If you think the smell's intoxicating, wait 'til you actually see it and taste it."

"Wait, he's cooking? Actually cooking!?" Marielle exclaimed in surprise.

Akatsuki merely licked her lips with anticipation.

The door to Crescent Moon's kitchen opened as Natsu, with the help of Erza and the others, stepped out pushing several large carts filled with food.

"It's done!" Natsu announced, drawing the attention of all the others as they saw the vast assortment and variety of food on display.

"I – Impressive…" Henrietta muttered, uncertain how to take in the sight before her.

"It looks so good…" Marielle noted with mild drool, adding, "And so does the food."

"Less talk, more food," Akatsuki insisted.

"Dig in!" Natsu cheered.

Marielle took a plate of food, examined it curiously and then took a tentative bite before squealing with excitement and glee.

"Is it really that good?" Henrietta asked as she took a bite, trying her hardest to suppress the delighted moan.

Shoryu huffed in annoyance. "It can't be that good. All the food in this world su –" Shoryu began complaining, stopped as Shiroe threw a piece of streak at his mouth. Shoryu chewed the food curiously, swallowed it, and then growled with jealousy at Natsu. "Dammit…"

"This is ssoo good!" Marielle cheered. "What is it?"

"Barroth tail steak!" Natsu answered proudly.

His answer caused the entire guild to immediately stop eating, some with surprise, others with confusion, and others still with disbelief.

Natsu then pointed to a platter of sauce covered pieces of meat. "These are boneless Velociprey nuggets, and the salad is made from Dryad hair leaves."

Akatsuki examined the food curiously, uncertain how to process the information, eventually deciding to disregard it and continue eating.

Lucy remained silent, annoyance and frustration coating her face.

"What's wrong?" Natsu asked.

"Why did you make it with such weird stuff!?" Lucy demanded. "What happened to lettuce, poultry, and beef!?"

Natsu raised an eyebrow, not understanding her contention. "Why would you want to eat such weak prey?"

"It's normal food!"

Marielle, her mouth stuffed with food, argued, "I think it tastes much better."

Akatsuki, her cheeks to near bursting with food, nodded with agreement.

"This stuff is the bomb!" Naotsugu exclaimed.

"Hell yeah!" Nazuna added.

"How'd you even make this? Food always tastes so bad most of the time," Marielle requested.

"There's a trick that we Adventurers can use," Nyanta explained.

"Really?"

Nyanta nodded. "It's like real life. Instead of creating food from the menu, use raw ingredients. Prepare them, mix them, and cook them yourself. And most importantly of all, you need to have the Chef Subclass. Without that, you ain't gettin' nowhere."

"Awesome!" Kanami cheered. "I can make yummy food!"

Shiroe narrowed his eyes in thought. "I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I think it'd be best to keep this a secret for now."

"What for?" Nazuna asked before taking another bite.

"It's information I doubt many, if any, other Adventurers have. And information is power."

Erza frowned suspiciously.

"For now, let's keep this technique a secret, we can use it as leverage in case we have dealings with the other guilds." After a moment, Shiroe blinked and then turned to Natsu. "Oh, that's right, you people came here looking for something, didn't you?"

"Someone," Erza corrected. "A blacksmith named Musica. You likely refer to him as one of the People of the Land."

Shiroe adjusted his glasses, closing his eyes in thought. "Ah, yes, I've heard of him. Several of the game's larger quests a couple years ago involved him."

"Oh yeah…" Nazuna muttered in realization.

Kanami nodded. "One we went on actually caused us to cross paths with Ashura for the first time."

Shiroe nodded and then redirected, "As I said before, the city he currently lives in, Punk Street, is in the far western arm of Yamato. But to get to it you'll need to pass through the territory around Minami. As long as you keep close to the coast though, you should be able to avoid coming into conflict with Plant Hwyaden." He then turned to Kanami. "Kanami, think you can lead them there? I need to stay here and handle some matters."

Kanami grinned with a thumbs up. "Leave it to me!"

Nazuna nodded and then turned to Marielle. "If it's okay with you, I'd like to go with Natsu."

Marielle nodded with a smile. "Of course, go right ahead. We can hold things down here for a while." Her smile immediately melted into a pout. "I wish I could go though…"

Henrietta sighed and lightly chopped Marielle atop the head. "No. You're the guild master. You have responsibilities."

Marielle moaned heavily in disappointment. "I'll miss the muscles…"

Natsu grinned happily. "How about this? After I get my sword fixed, I'll stop back by Akihabara."

"Really!? You will!?"

Natsu nodded with a smile. "It's a promise!"

Kanami then turned to Natsu and the others and suggested, "Okay, let's rest here for the night and leave in the morning.

"I call Natsu!" Nazuna and Julia called out at the same time before glaring at each other.

The following morning, the members of Crescent Moon Alliance sat around a large table, eating a breakfast prepared by Natsu.

Kanami moaned happily. "You make a good breakfast, Natsu."

Natsu nodded with a smile. "Thanks. I had plenty of practice."

"After we finish eating we'll be heading out," Nazuna noted. "With any luck we should avoid Plant Hwyaden's detection."

"That is the objective," Erza added.

Julia merely nibbled slowly on an egg.

"Can't wait to have Deca back!" Natsu shouted.

"Yeah!" Kanami cheered. "… Who's Deca again?"

Natsu face-faulted from Kanami's reaction but then pulled the broken remains of Decaforce from his back and showed them to her.

Nazuna's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Now give me back my necklace!" Gray demanded as he grabbed for Rave.

"No way!" Natsu argued. "It's mine! You can't even use it!"

However, suddenly, Plue climbed out from Natsu's scarf. "Puun, puun!" the little creature shouted as it dove at Nazuna.

Natsu blinked curiously as the white creature landed on Nazuna's lap. "I guess… Plue knows you…?"

Nazuna looked at the cone-nosed animal curiously before hoisting him up by the neck and shaking him around violently. "Where the hell have you been, you damn mutt!?"

"P – Puunpuun!" he responded weakly as she shook him.

"I don't care if you're running out of air! Now tell me where Ashura ran off to!"

"Puunpuun puun puun!"

Nazuna furrowed her brow in confusion. "Sealed? What do ya mean he was sealed?! How can he be sealed?!"

Plue twitched lightly and then immediately passed out.

She blinked in confusion and then gaped. "Ah crap!" She then started shaking him even more violently. "Don't die on me Plue! You're the only one that knows where my man is!"

Natsu then proceeded to take Plue straight out of the Kitsune's grasp. "I think that's enough."

Nazuna pouted angrily.

Erza sighed and then suggested, "We should get moving now. Daylight will not last long, and we need to spend as much of it walking as we can."

"Right," Kanami responded with a nod.

Shiroe watched curiously as Natsu and the others exited through Akihabara's main gate. "Akatsuki," he called out plainly.

"Yes?" Akatsuki asked as she appeared next to him in a flurry of pink light.

"I'm giving you your first real mission."

Akatsuki's eyes shined with excitement and anticipation. "R – Really?"

Shiroe nodded in response. "There's something about Natsu and Erza that concerns me. I want you to follow their group and observe them. Send me regular reports. Staying hidden from them is preferable, but if you do get spotted, make up an excuse."

"Yes, My Lord!" Akatsuki answered energetically before vanishing.

As Natsu and the others left Akihabara, Natsu noticed two girls walking into the city, their expressions downcast, as they walked in with several men, one of whom had several scars on his face. "What the…?" he muttered in confusion and worry as he noticed the group.

"Oy!" Gray called out. "Natsu, keep gawking and you'll be left behind!"

After joining with the others, Natsu questioned, "So… where do we go now?"

Kanami turned and explained, "We pretty much just keep going southwest for a while."

"Ah…"

Kanami flicked her hand through the air before a map of Yamato appeared in her grasp. Pointing to various spots on it she explained, "Now… we are here. Minami is here and where we need to go is here. The path we are taking is here."

"Th – That's so far…" Lucy groaned. "Can't we just take a train?"

Kanami put the map away and shook her head. "There aren't any in Yamato."

"S – Seriously?!"

Nazuna nodded in agreement. "Oh she's serious alright."

"Yahoo!" Natsu cheered. "A trainless nation!"

Kanami raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What's with him?"

"Dragon Slayers have one primary weakness," Erza elucidated. "Extreme motion sickness."

"Well that's… new," Nazuna muttered in thought.

"Well let's get going," Kanami urged. "It'll probably take a few weeks to get there."

Lucy cried in frustration. "My legs won't survive…"

Several weeks passed as the group traveled through forests and plains of Yamato, soon passing through Minami's territory without incident and entering the lands near Punk Street. A vast desert.

"Are we there yet?" Natsu asked in frustration.

"No," Lucy responded bluntly.

"Now?" Natsu asked again.

"Holy crap it's hot here…" Gray groaned heavily.

"Take your clothes off and I deball you," Julia snarled.

Juvia stumbled lightly, sweating heavily from the heat. "Natsu-Sama… it's hot… Juvia doesn't know how much longer she can keep her magic up…"

"Hey Lucy!" Natsu hollered. "Got any cooling Spirits?"

Paling, Lucy answered weakly, "N – No… not really…"

Happy raised a hand and interjected, "Aye! She has Aquarius!"

"No!" Lucy argued vehemently. "You don't want to summon her!"

"But Juvia needs cooling!" Natsu argued sternly, not wanting to let Juvia collapse.

"Trust me, you do NOT want me to summon Aquarius!"

"Just do it! Juvia might die!"

Lucy groaned heavily. "I need water to summon her. As you can see, there isn't any here."

"Yeah right," Natsu argued dismissively.

"I don't see any, do you?!"

"We've got this," Nazuna interjected, holding up a nearly empty canteen of water, "but that's it."

Natsu immediately grabbed the canteen and dumped it on Juvia, causing the pale-skinned woman to swiftly and immediately absorb all of the water.

"Wh – What the hell…?!"

Juvia extended a hand and created a small orb of water.

Lucy flattened her brow and rebutted bluntly, "You're kidding me right? She'll kill us all if I summon her from that."

"Just do it," Julia urged.

Lucy gulped in fear. 'She's gonna kill me…' Putting Aquarius' key partially into the orb, Lucy chanted, "Open, Gate of the Water Bearer: Aquarius!"

Aquarius appeared from a magic circle in burst of smoke, remaining silent for a moment, before scowling and grabbing Lucy by the collar. "Stupid girl! What have I told you about summoning me from puddles, dammit!?"

"Hey!" Natsu snarled angrily.

Aquarius turned to him with a growl. "Huh? The hell do you want!?"

Natsu pointed at Juvia and answered, "For you to help cool down Juvia!"

Aquarius twitched an eyebrow and then smirked with irritation. "Oh I'll cool everyone down. Water Torrent!" Raising her urn, a massive blast of water then shot from it and hit everyone.

Juvia swallowed all of the water, absorbing it swiftly.

Aquarius twitched an eyebrow in annoyance.

Nazuna shook virulently, getting rid of all of the water before glancing at her tails and paling. "Nnnooo! My fluffy tails are all frizzy!"

With a groan, Lucy noted, "Great… now that I'm all wet this heat is sticking my clothes to me…"

"Hey!" Natsu shouted angrily. "That was uncalled for! I just asked for help, you don't have to be such a bitch about it!"

Aquarius growled angrily.

Lucy paled in fear. 'Oh no! He said it!' Fearful, she then immediately ducked and hid behind Erza.

"What'd you just call me, you scrawny human!?" Aquarius growled.

Snarling, Natsu retorted, "I called you a bitch, fish stick! Cuse that's how you act! Be nice and I won't!"

Kanami chuckled weakly. "He's got quite a mouth…"

"Yeah…" Nazuna added quietly before snickering. "Bet it's great at other things too…"

"Juvia can confirm that," the Water Dragon Slayer added with a sly smile.

"Indeed he does," Erza added.

Aquarius growled with rage. "Okay, that's it! You need to learn your lesson! Water Cannon!" She then fired an extremely high-pressure blast of water at Natsu.

Natsu easily dodged the blast, causing it to hit the boulder behind him, which caused it to explode. Natsu turned and saw Akatsuki, who had been hiding behind the boulder, get sent flying. "Akatsuki?!" he shouted in surprise, fear, and confusion as the blast flung her away.

"Why is she here?!" Lucy exclaimed in bewilderment.

Natsu immediately leapt up and caught Akatsuki, grabbing her with his arms, before she hit the ground. "Are you okay?!"

Aquarius huffed lightly. "Maybe next time you'll learn some manners."

Natsu growled as he set Akatsuki down and turned to Aquarius. "I'm not the one needing a lesson in manners!"

"Why you little…!" Aquarius snarled before raising her urn for another surge.

However, before she could, Natsu leapt up, slamming his head into her abdomen, knocking her to the ground and causing the released water to hit the dirt below in a large, but ultimately harmless, splash.

"Now stay down and cool off!" Natsu growled.

Aquarius coughed violently as she sat up before glaring at Natsu. "You've got some real nerve you –!"

"Shut it!" Natsu interrupted with anger. "What the hell is wrong with you!? We ask for your help and you go and yell at us for no reason! And you even attack us! I'm surprised your even allowed in the Zodiac with that attitude! How the hell did Ophi and Maxwell even let you become one!?"

Aquarius grit her teeth angrily, tears biting at just the edges of her eyes, before snapping, "Shut your damn mouth! And what do you know, human?!"

Natsu responded by holding up his three Celestial Spirit keys. "I have three."

Aquarius widened her eyes and then huffed in derision. "You must be joking. You are the one Lady Maxwell gave Leo's Key to?"

"Yeah. I also have Ophi and Virgo."

"Tch. Just great. Look, I haven't got the time to play with you. So unless you need anything else, I have a date."

Natsu hissed angrily. "How 'bout for you to be nice to Lucy!? I can't even believe that's what you're so bitchy about!"

"It's none of your business. I'm stuck with a master who's just a friendless, witless brat that keeps pulling me away from my boyfriend for stupid crap like preventing some Dragon Slayer from drying up like it's my business!"

Natsu narrowed his eyes and growled, getting fed up with Aquarius' insults. "It is your business as a Zodiac Spirit! You're supposed to help those that need it! Not be a miserable self-serving bitch!"

Aquarius growled and grabbed his scarf, pulling him close with a scowl. "Listen here, you annoying little brat! I am a Zodiac Celestial Spirit! I am not some slave for humans to play with or use as a tool, got that!?"

"Play with?! How is saving a life or helping people playing?! All you care about is yourself and you'll probably end up alone if this is how you treat everyone!"

Aquarius narrowed her eyes. "Well somebody has to!"

"And what's that supposed to mean!?"

Aquarius flinched, pushing him away before grabbing her urn. "It's none of your business."

Natsu immediately grabbed her hand before she could teleport away. "Answer me."

Aquarius looked at him surprised before narrowing her eyes. "Let go of me."

"Not until you answer me."

"You humans wouldn't understand," Aquarius bit back before wrenching her hand from him and teleporting away, vanishing.

Natsu narrowed his eyes and then sighed heavily.

Lucy sighed remorsefully. "Sorry you all had to see that."

Natsu folded his arms in thought, he had to look deeper into the situation. "I'm going to have a talk with Ophi later."

"Uuhh…" Kanami mumbled. "What exactly was that?"

"Aquarius," Lucy began, "one of the Zodiacs of the Celestial Summon Spirits."

"Oohh, you're a summoner."

Lucy nodded silently in response. "All I want is to be Aquarius' friend…"

Natsu moved close to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault, okay?"

"Yeah… Come on, let's just get to Punk Street."

Eventually, the group came up to the entrance to Punk Street, a very dingy, dust-covered town, with many wooden shops and buildings arranged in rows, people carrying wide varieties of fire arms littering the premises.

"Wow!" Elie shouted in awe. "So this is Punk Street, the holy land for weapons!"

"Must… get… swords…" Erza muttered with twitching excitement.

The duo then immediately ran off into the city.

Nazuna blinked curiously as they ran away. "Well… that happened."

Natsu sighed and scratched the back of his head before turning to the others. "Come on, let's go look for Musica. Where ever he is."

"Right," Julia added in agreement. "The sooner we find him the sooner we can get to a mating bed. It'd be best if we split up to find him. I'll be with Natsu."

"No," Nazuna argued staunchly. "I'll be with Natsu."

"Me!" Julia argued vehemently.

Kanami walked up to Natsu smiling and remarked, "Let's go, Natsu."

Natsu nodded in agreement. "'Kay."

The duo then walked off, leaving Nazuna and Julia arguing obliviously nearby.

As they walked through the roads of Punk Street, Kanami glanced at Natsu, Plue asleep in the rolls of his scarf, and asked, "Hey, Natsu, why does Plue always live there?"

Natsu glanced back at Plue and then shrugged. "No clue. He just likes it, I guess."

"Huh…"

However, the duo suddenly stopped when they heard a loud ruckus nearby in a restaurant.

"Wonder what that's all about," Natsu muttered. "What do you think, Plue?" Glancing back to get the white creature's opinion, Natsu instantly realized he was gone. "Oh not again! Plue! Where are you?!"

"And Happy too!" Kanami added.

The two rushed into the restaurant and found the duo sat at a table, drinking wine with an old man, his long grey hair tied back and a rough, spun cloak over his shoulders.

"Ah crap!" Natsu grumbled. "He's picked up Cana's bad habits!"

The old man laughed loudly as he watched Plue down a large bottle of wine in mere seconds. "You can really drink li'l guy!"

"I'll say," Kanami commented.

"I dun' feel sho gud…" Happy blubbered as he stumbled around drunkenly.

"Happy!" Natsu snarled.

The old man turned and glanced at Kanami and Natsu and paled with shock and fear, dropping his glass in shock. "Gh – Gh – Ghost!"

"H – Huh?!" Natsu shouted emphatically. "Where!?"

The man pointed at the duo.

Natsu blinked and turned to the side, poking Kanami's chest slightly. "Nope. Pretty solid, so not a ghost."

Kanami blinked and then smacked his hand away lightly. "I'm married, so you can't touch these ones."

Natsu blinked in confusion. "You are? You don't smell married."

Kanami huffed lightly with a small blush. "I'm married and I have a kid. It's just… they're both back in the real world."

"Don't you mean your world?"

"Uh, right," Kanami muttered with mild bewilderment.

"So… what are their names?" Natsu asked curiously.

"They're…" Kanami began to answer but trailed off as she furrowed her brow in thought. "They're…" Straining her mind further her eyes began to widen horror.

"K – Kanami! What's wrong?!" Natsu urged as he steadied her.

"N – No… this can't be… I… I can't remember their names…!"

The old man stood immediately, his playfully drunken face now stern. "What's wrong with her?"

Natsu tightened his fist as he held the panicking Kanami. "She can't remember her family…"

The old man narrowed his eyes as he looked around. "Come on, let's get her out of here, people are starting to stare."

The door to the old man's house flew open as he held the door for Natsu to carry a quivering Kanami in.

The old man pointed to a ragged sofa nearby. "Set her there, I'll get some water."

"Sure…" Natsu answered slowly as he set Kanami down gently.

The man walked back into the room seconds later, holding a glass of water.

Natsu nodded in gratitude and handed the water to Kanami. "Kanami, here, drink this."

Kanami nodded and drank the glass down swiftly, passing out moments later.

Natsu gasped in shock.

"Don't get worried," the old man eased as he flopped onto a chair. "It's just a minor sedative, it'll keep her asleep for a little while. With any luck, her mind will have sorted itself out by then."

"I hope you're right…" Natsu muttered in concern. Natsu then stood and turned to the man curiously. "Who are you anyway?"

The man sighed with a shrug. "I'm just an old drunkard, trying to drink himself into the grave."

"Huh?" Natsu mumbled in confusion. "Well, if you're this old, you must've lived here a long time, right?"

"That I have," the old man answered as he took another swig of wine.

"I'm looking for someone named Musica, you know him?"

The old man narrowed his eyes silently. "… What do you want him for…?"

"I need him to fix Deca," Natsu answered plainly.

"Deca?" the old man asked as he sipped his wine, just before Natsu pulled the broken Decaforce from his back, causing the old man to spit his drink. "Th – The hell…?! How'd you get this, boy?"

Natsu blinked in confusion. "Huh? An old man named Shiba. Or was it Shiva?"

The old man furrowed his brow in confusion. "Shiva?"

Natsu nodded in response.

Narrowing his eyes in thought, the old man then frowned at Natsu. "That's a lie. I know who originally owned this sword, and he wouldn't give it up unless you killed him. So I'll ask again, how'd you get this sword?"

"I already told you!" Natsu urged. "I got it from old man Shiva."

He remained silent in thought and then sighed heavily. "Fine. Give it here."

"Why should I give it to you?"

"I'm Galein Musica, the one who originally forged Decaforce and is the only one who can fix it."

"Really?!" Natsu asked excitedly. "Awesome!"

Accepting Decaforce, Galein then remarked, "Two days. It'll take two days. Don't come back until then."

Natsu turned to Kanami. "But… I can't just leave her here all alone."

"Then go rent a hotel for the two of you," Galein rebutted, mildly annoyed.

Natsu sighed in frustration. "Okay…"

"Yahoo!" Elie cheered as she walked down the road with a glum Erza. "My tonfa blasters have been upgraded!"

"Curses," Erza muttered in disappointment. "This is a town that makes guns, not swords. Why couldn't they make swords? Oh no. Natsu will not be able to get his sword fixed…"

As they walked, another group of people, the head of which was a man with long, shoulder-length brown hair and matching brown eyes, with metal studs in his forehead, wearing a black, long-sleeved shirt, a necklace of silver beads with a skull in the center, white pants, and black shoes.

"Come on, Musica," a man with a green Mohawk groaned, "we really need to find a new job to do."

The man, Musica, waved a hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. I'm workin' on it. And it will be a good one."

Elie and Erza looked at each other confused. 'Musica?'

"Think it's him?" Elie asked.

"It may be," Erza answered curiously. Walking up to the brunette man, she then asked, "Excuse me, is your name Musica?"

He turned to her in thought before his eyes widened as he looked at her. "Y – Yeah…"

Elie then walked up next to Erza with a smile. "We need to talk to you. Do you have a moment?"

Musica blinked in thought before smirking and turning back to his group. "You guys go on ahead. I'm about to score."

Erza narrowed her eyes as a sword appeared in her hand in a flash of light which she then pointed at Musica's head. "We are not interested in you like that. I would like to make that clear."

Musica paled in fear. "S – Sorry, my bad…"

"Glad you understand," Erza said with spite as her sword vanished.

Gulping in fear, Musica then asked, "S – So, what do you two ladies need…?"

"We are looking for a Legendary Blacksmith named Musica to fix the sword belonging to our friend."

Musica raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Sorry, I'm no blacksmith."

"Elie, Erza!" Natsu suddenly shouted as he ran up to the group, carrying the unconscious Kanami on his back.

"Natsu?" Erza asked as she turned to him and then noticed Kanami on his back. "What happened?"

"Huh?" Natsu asked as he stepped up to them before realizing what she was referring to. "Oh, Kana-Chan had a panic attack about something."

Musica sighed in annoyance and turned to leave. "If it's all the same to you, I think I'll take my leave."

However, as he left, Erza immediately turned and put a hand on his shoulder with a displeased frown. "Where are you going?"

Musica began sweating heavily with fear. "N – Nowhere…"

Natsu then noticed Musica and raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Who's this guy?"

"Musica, the blacksmith," Elie explained with a smile.

Musica sighed in annoyance. "Look doll, I already said I'm not –" Musica was suddenly interrupted as Natsu punched him in the face. Snarling, Musica shot back, "What the hell was that for!?"

Natsu huffed in annoyance. "Reflex on pervs hitting on my friends."

"Well you might want to rein in that reflex before someone knocks your teeth in."

Erza shot a deep glare at the brown-haired man. "Are you threatening him?"

"He punches me again I am."

Natsu huffed in irritation before turning to the others. "Besides, I already met Musica."

"Really?" Nazuna asked as she and Julia approached the group. Nazuna then noticed Kanami waking up slowly as Natsu set her down. "What happened to her?"

"She had a freak out earlier." He then turned his attention to Kanami. "Hey, Kana-Chan, how are you feeling?"

"Better…" Kanami muttered before standing. "I think…"

"Well just try not to think about it for now. We found Musica already anyway."

"No, you didn't," Musica argued. "My name's Hamrio Musica, and I'm the leader of a gang called Silver Rhythm."

"Then you aren't the Musica we're looking for," Nazuna remarked.

"Which I already said!" Natsu urged.

Hamrio sighed and then looked around at the girls surrounding Natsu. 'Damn, how many babes is this jackass with?!'

"And I found the blacksmith! Well, Kana-Chan and me, but she got a bit… hysterical about something. He said he'll get Deca fixed in two days."

Hamrio sighed and argued, "Sorry pal, there's only one Musica, me."

"No way!" Natsu snarled. "I gave the old man my sword and he said he'd fix it!"

Hamrio then laughed loudly. "Let that be a lesson, stupid. You just gave that sword of yours to a fake. I'm the only Musica left."

"H – Huh…?"

"You've been conned. In case you didn't know, this town's crawling with Demon Card's goons."

Natsu snarled with irritation before Bisca and the others joined the group.

Hamrio turned and gaped in disbelief. "Damn kid, how many honeys you traveling with?"

Akatsuki then proceeded to immediately drop kick Hamrio.

"The hell!? Now I'm getting hit by grade-schoolers!?"

"No luck on that blacksmith," Gray remarked. He then turned to Hamrio and asked, "And who's this idiot?"

"Not the Musica we're looking for," Nazuna answered before Musica could, annoying the man.

"Hey!" a new voice shouted.

The group turned and watched as a tall, heavyset man with a green Mohawk and several bolts in his head walked up to the group with many grunts from Demon Card with him.

"So you're the Rave Master, eh?" the man asked angrily.

Natsu looked at the man confused, and annoyed. "Uumm… and you are… who?"

"I'm Bis," the overweight man answered shortly before growling, "The old man said you have Rave. Hand it over."

Natsu furrowed his brow in annoyance. "I don't have it, Dis."

"It's Bis!" he growled before throwing out large clamps that slammed everyone against the wall before the bolts in his head launched, pinning everyone against the wall.

"What the hell?!" Natsu yelled as he tried to pry his arms from the clamps unsuccessfully.

Bis turned to the other Demon Card members and ordered, "Search them for Rave."

"With pleasure," several of the goons responded gleefully as they approached the group.

One of the goons walked up to Bisca and snickered as he looked her over. "I'll start with you."

"Don't touch her!" Natsu snarled as his body began to heat up.

"Heh, like you can stop me."

Natsu then immediately snapped his arms free, the clamps melting from the heat of his body.

Another of the goons gaped as he began lifting Lucy's skirt, only for Natsu to punch him through a wall.

Bis growled, enraged. "You son of a…! Kill them all!"

Juvia's body then liquefied before she was freed from the cuffs and then reformed, ready to fight. "Water Dragon Roar!" she shouted before sending a torrent of water at several of the goons, washing them away.

Julia's own body then began to heat up before the clamps on her wrists melted as well.

Kanami then flinched, wrenching her own arms from the wall.

Nazuna then extended several of her tails out, knocking out more of the soldiers.

"Yo, Pis!" Natsu shouted.

"It's Bis!" the large man hollered before sending several bolts flying at Natsu, which the pink-haired teen immediately melted with torrent of flames.

The clamps around Gray's arms then froze, allowing him to snap them and break free.

Bis stepped back in shock. "J – Just who the hell are you people!?"

Natsu grinned and shot back, "We're wizards of Fairy Tail! And we are going to kick your ass! Fire Dragon Roar!" Bis and the rest of his group were then consumed by flames and knocked down. "Tch, he was weak."

The remaining grunts under Bis then prepared to fight as well, but before they could approach, Elie raised and fired her tonfa blasters. However, rather than basic shots, the shots fired exploded violently on impact.

Gray gaped in disbelief.

"What the hell!?" Bisca exclaimed in shock.

Elie blinked in surprise and then laughed weakly. "Oops… I guess the guy overpowered them a little…"

"A little!?" Bisca snarled.

Elie laughed weakly again. "Yeah… I think I'm going to head back to that shop and get my weapons fixed."

"Good!" Bisca retorted angrily, knocking Elie on the head lightly. "We don't need you blowing up buildings on a job! Natsu does that already!"

"Hey, I'm not that bad…" Natsu grumbled.

"You sneezed and blew up an inn," Erza argued.

"You burned down a mansion," Lucy chided.

"You destroyed Hargeon's port," Happy reminded.

"That was Lucy and you know it!" Natsu argued angrily.

"Me!?" Lucy yelled in annoyance and disbelief.

"Yeah! You caused that tidal wave that smashed the ship into it!"

Elie sighed and walked away as the others argued.

Kanami blinked curiously as the brunette walked away.

Shortly later, Natsu and the others walked through Punk Street, attempting to find Elie after she had run off.

"Elie!" Natsu howled as he looked around. "Elie! Where'd you go!?"

Musica sighed before asking, "Any idea where she went?"

"Uuhh… which way's the gun shop?"

"I know which she likely went to," Erza interjected. "Follow me."

"Right!"

After Erza led the group to the store in question, Natsu stopped when he heard the sounds of a struggle from within.

Natsu slammed the door open suddenly and saw a tall man with short, grey-purple hair that was swept back, prominent sideburns moving down his face, bright red eyes, wearing a long, brown coat with a Demon Card emblem on one side, a beige shirt and matching beige pants, along with tall boots, and a sword slung along his back, holding Elie hostage, his arm wrapped around her neck.

"Elie!" Natsu shouted frantically. "Let her go!"

However, before he could lunge at the man, he put his sword against Elie's throat. "Now, now. Don't get too close. If you do, I'll lop off this pretty girl's head."

Natsu growled angrily, having to hold himself back from throwing flames at the man.

"And just who the hell are you?" Gray demanded.

The man grinned maniacally. "General Commander Lance, of the seventeenth Demon Card Unit. And you, pinky, have something I want."

"Then let her go!" Natsu commanded.

Lance snickered lightly. "I have a better idea. I'll give you two hours. If you don't show up at my house with Rave by then, I'll cut the girl into pieces."

"Damn you!" Natsu howled before lunging at Lance.

Lance retaliated by swinging his sword, causing a large pack of wolves to emerge and charge at Natsu.

Natsu swung a flame-encased fist as the beasts charged, causing them to suddenly vanish. When they did, his eyes widened when he saw that Lance and Elie had both vanished, causing Natsu to release a loud, anger-filled roar.

"Well that's just great," Musica grumbled. "So now what?"

"I'm going to go and get Rave before I rip that bastard in half," Natsu snarled.

"Wait, Natsu," Erza urged. "You should not go off alone. We should split into two teams."

Kanami nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Half of us go to try and rescue Elie while the others go to deal with getting Rave."

"I'll go and confront Lance," Musica urged.

Gray nodded and added, "I'll go with you."

"I shall come and help as well," Akatsuki interjected.

"I call Natsu!" Nazuna and Julia called out simultaneously before glaring at each other.

"Elie's my teammate," Bisca remarked before readying one of her pistols, "so I'll be rescuing her."

"Juvia goes with Natsu-Sama," Juvia interrupted, raising a hand.

Erza nodded in understanding. "Then I shall go to aid with the rescue."

Natsu, Julia, Nazuna, Kanami, Juvia, Lucy, Plue, and Happy made their way to Galein's house swiftly, prepared to take back Rave.

"So…" Lucy muttered, "this is it?"

Natsu, without responding, slammed the front door open. "Old man! You in here?!"

Galein, drunk as before, walked up to the door irritated. "Came back already, eh? Guess you wanted to see if I was lying, huh?"

Natsu shook his head in response. "I suspected you may have lied for a minute but I don't take you for a liar. You don't smell like one, and I need Rave. And I need you to fix Decaforce in two hours."

Galein blinked in thought before laughing loudly. "Young fool! I haven't forged so much as a spoon in fifteen years, and you want me to forge an entire sword in two hours?! Get lost." He then grabbed the broken Decaforce and tossed it to Natsu, along with Rave. "I was just gonna sell the damn thing anyway."

Nazuna furrowed her brow in confusion. 'Fifteen years?'

Natsu hissed angrily. "Fine. Then I'll stop Lance with or without he sword."

Galein widened his eyes before taking Decaforce from Natsu's grasp.

"Hey!" Natsu snarled.

Galein looked at the sword in thought before looking at Natsu. "You seriously intend to go up against Lance?"

Natsu nodded firmly. "Yeah. The bastard's threatening my friends."

Galein narrowed his eyes. 'This kid… Is he really…?' He then looked at Natsu once more. "I don't know if you're extremely brave or just stupid. But I can tell, you've got that same fire in your eyes as an old friend of mine. And if you're anything like him, then I know nothing I say will stop you. So maybe… I can help put an end to this and put down some ghosts from my past."

"Ghosts…?" Lucy asked with worry.

Galein walked to the corner table of his home and grabbed the bottle of sake sitting on it, popped the cork out, and dumped the contents into a bucket. "I never would've imagined this day would come…" He then grabbed a thick, heavy brown coat from a closet, threw it over his shoulders, and pulled his hair back.

Nazuna pouted. "You could have given the sake to me…"

"I'd given up on fighting back, so I drowned myself in booze and laid down like a dog for Demon Card. But now, there is a battle I can fight. For the first time in fifteen long years, I'm going to forge a sword. I will stake the name of Musica on it!"

Lance sat in a large throne room, Elie chained to the wall next to him, sitting silently, tapping the end of his sword against the ground repeatedly.

"I'm bored…" Elie groaned.

"Shut up," Lance growled.

"Hey, wanna play a game?"

"Shut up."

Elie pouted. "Aaww, come on. Anything. Ooh, how about a word game? I say a word, and then you start a new word with the last letter of that word? I'll start. Plue."

Lance immediately stood up and put his sword to Elie's throat, scowling. "Shut. Up."

Elie gulped in fear. "O – Okay…"

Lance snarled and sat back down. "Where is that brat? It's already been an hour."

Back at Galein's house, Natsu and the others waited as Galein attempted to reforge Decaforce's shattered blade.

"Is it done yet?" Julia asked impatiently.

"Give an old man a break," Galein grumbled back as he hammered the metal. "It has been fifteen years since I last worked with metal. And even then it took me two days to repair a broken sword. To do it in just over an hour… Well let's hope I've got a miracle on my side."

Julia silently pointed at Natsu.

"About that," Nazuna interjected. "Something doesn't fit."

"Hm?" Galein hummed as he worked.

"You say it's been fifteen years since you forged a sword, but I remember you making one four years ago."

Galein stopped and looked at her puzzled. "What are you talking about? I haven't seen you two in forty years."

Kanami furrowed her brow before a realization hit her. "… Oh, I see what's going on here…"

"Huh?" Nazuna mumbled.

"We've gotten a little mixed up. Don't you remember? Time flows a little differently in Elder Tale than in the real world."

Nazuna blinked curiously and then furrowed her brow curiously. "Hm… ah! Yeah, you're right."

Kanami folded her arms in thought. "Hhmm… Shiroe explained it to me once… One hour in Elder Tale is five minutes in our world, one day is two hours… which means… one year is a month for us. So four of our years is…" Kanami counted silently in her head for several moments. "Ah! It'd be forty-eight years in this world."

Natsu flattened his brow. "Man, you guys are old."

Kanami immediately punched him atop the head.

"Gah! I thought you guys would get sliced up if you hit me!"

"Only in main cities," Nazuna corrected. "A Podunk town like this would never have the Royal Guard."

"Huh…? Whatever. Hey, old man, think you'll make it?"

Galein nodded in response. "Don't worry, I'll make it. I'm giving the sword a strong core first, so it won't break again. If something has a strong core, it'll be harder to break. That's true of swords and people."

Natsu looked at Plue curiously. "I bet Plue's nose would break easily."

"Then it has a weak core!" Galein argued angrily.

Elsewhere, Erza, Akatsuki, Bisca, Gray, and Musica stood outside of Lance's mansion, waiting.

Musica glanced down at his watch and grumbled, "Dammit Natsu, what's taking you?"

"Probably lost," Gray chided. "Again."

Erza stood nearby, tapping her foot impatiently.

Bisca frowned with worry. "This is bad. We've only got half an hour left."

Erza tightened her fists angrily. "If he is not here soon, I am heading in myself."

Bisca then stiffened as she felt a familiar, metallic sensation against the back of her head.

Behind her, one of Lance's underlings stood with a gun pressed against her head before he announced, "None o' ya move of greeny gets a new breathing hole."

Bisca twitched an eyebrow in annoyance.

Musica frowned in disapproval. "C'mon, the least you could do is threaten me and not the pretty lady."

The goon then saw Musica and gaped, shrieking, "Y – Y – You're the leader of Silver Rhythm! D – Did you come here to steal from us?!"

Bisca sighed. "Oh great… the idiot's a thief…"

"INTRUDERS!"

Bisca hissed and then swiftly crouched down and swung her leg up and back, slamming it into the goon's groin.

Almost immediately, dozens more soldiers began pouring out from Lance's mansion.

"Just great. There goes stealth," Bisca grumbled before a rocket launcher appeared in her grasp in a flash of light.

"What the hell!?" Musica shouted in disbelief.

"Piss off!" Bisca shouted before firing the rocket launcher, consuming all of the grunts in a massive conflagration.

Akatsuki gaped in shock. "Whoa…"

Musica smirked and then cracked his knuckles. "Well, since they already know we're here, let's go kick this guy's ass."

Erza immediately summoned multiple blades and nodded in agreement. "Right."

Lance glanced up and then smirked as Erza and the others walked in. "How nice of you join us."

Bisca glared before Musica threw out a knife, cutting the chains holding Elie.

"Freedom!" Elie exclaimed as she rubbed her sore wrists. "Thanks weirdo!"

Musica stumbled weakly with an annoyed smile. "R – Right… He didn't do anything funny, did he?"

Elie huffed. "He totally tried to look down my shirt!"

"Be sure to tell Natsu when he gets here," Bisca remarked.

Lance growled and shot a glare at Elie.

Elie shrunk back at the scowl. "Eek! Just kidding! Yeesh, learn how to take a joke."

Erza and Bisca merely sighed in exasperation.

Lance snarled and threatened, "Keep it up girl, and I'll chop you apart toes first."

"Man, you're way too serious," Elie groaned.

Lance sighed and then turned to Erza and the others, annoyed. "I have no business with any of you. Where is the Rave Master?"

"Late," Bisca noted.

Suddenly, Bis ran into the mansion, burned from Natsu's previous attacks. "Boss! This is bad! Someone's beat everyone up!" Bis then blinked and turned to Erza and the others and gaped. "Hey! You're the jerks who beat me up!"

Bisca blinked in confusion and then pointed at Bis. "Hey… you're that Lis guy."

"It's Bis!" the heavyset man corrected angrily.

Lance hissed in irritation. "Tch. That's not good to hear Bis, that you lost to these weaklings. Deal with them. And depending on how well you do, I'll deal with you afterward."

Bis stiffened fearfully. "Y – Yes, sir!" He then turned and pointed to one of the other soldiers in the room. "You! Get me the Crank Master Three Thousand!"

"That…" Gray muttered, "doesn't sound nice…"

The grunt then returned with a large, yellow piece of machinery that he strapped to Bis' arm, with three drills on the end. "I'm gonna kill you jerks!" Bis growled.

Erza looked at the machine in thought. "Hhmm… I will need to preserve that so I can give it to Natsu."

As the drills started spinning before rotating around one another, Bis shouted, "Time to die!"

Gray put his right fist into his open left palm, before thrusting both hands forward and shouting, "Ice-Make: Lance!" A large series of spears then shot from a magic circle, flying straight towards Bis.

Bis grinned before thrusting the machine forward, shattering the spears on contact.

"Huh…"

Erza then stepped forward as two swords appeared in her grasp. "Let me handle this."

"I'll grind you into a pulp!" Bis growled before charging at her.

Erza narrowed her eyes and then immediately dashed past Bis, surprising and confusing him, before he suddenly collapsed in a heap. Erza sighed before her blades vanished. "There, finished with Nis."

Bis groaned before standing up weakly. "It's… Bis…" However, before he could stand fully, Lance's sword pierced through his torso, killing him instantly before he dropped to the ground.

Lance hissed in annoyance as he pulled his sword from Bis' body. "Useless pawn. Can't even kill one girl."

Erza narrowed her eyes angrily. "He was your ally!"

Lance huffed in amusement. "He was a pawn." After kicking Bis' body away, he added, "And a useless one at that."

Galein hammered furiously at Decaforce as Natsu and the others stood impatiently behind him. "Natsu…" Galein muttered slowly.

"Yeah?" Natsu asked, slightly confused.

"Back when I worked as a blacksmith, I lived happily with my family."

Natsu raised an eyebrow in bewilderment. "What's with the backstory all of a sudden?"

"Because… my despair started with the sword I crafted… for Lance."

"Huh?"

"I forged a sword… the Beast Sword, for Lance. A sword he then immediately used to slaughter my family."

"Wow… ungrateful bastard."

As Galein continued to speak, tears began rolling down his face. "My family… slaughtered by my own handiwork…"

"Galein…" Nazuna mumbled somberly as she listened to his story with the others.

"That's bull," Natsu argued bluntly. "Your work didn't slaughter them. Lance did."

Galein grit his teeth as he continued, "With the sword I made. Tell me, do you know what it feels like to know you were involved in your family's own massacre…?"

"I'm sorry, I don't."

"Tell me something, Natsu," Galein requested as he stamped a large, musical note shaped mark on the finished blade of Decaforce before handing it to Natsu.

"What is it?"

"Does the name Resha mean anything to you?"

"Resha? Hhmm… Nope. Nada."

Nazuna frowned slightly.

"Why? Should she?"

Galein blinked slightly before sighing. "Oh. No. It's nothing." He then tightened his fists desperately. "Please… Natsu… destroy that cursed sword I made…"

Natsu frowned in thought for a moment. "… Okay, I will."

Lucy then immediately rushed into the room. "Natsu! It's almost five o'clock!"

"Ah crap!" Natsu snarled as he slung Decaforce over his back. "I gotta go!"

"Wait!" Galein urged. "There's something you need to know first."

And there you have it folks! That puts this chapter to bed. I sincerely hope you all enjoyed it. If you did, be sure to post a review letting me know what you though of it. If you were confused or unsure about anything or simply had questions, be sure to post a review about those as well and I will do what I can to address them. Unfortunately I cannot provide information about future harem members or future events in the story seeing as that would be spoilers, so do bear that in mind. If you did not like the chapter, however, I would recommend you go and find something you do like and do that. If you must post a review, though, try to keep a tight focus. Well, nothing else to say here, so I suppose I'll see you in the next chapter, bye-bye!