A/N: Hey guys! Insanelee here and I'm back after a long, long time with another chapter of The Dragon's Regret. Ever since school started, I haven't had much time to update this story and I deeply apologize for it. I feel like crap reading your reviews and not being able to supply you with another chapter. So without further ado, I present you with another, overdue chapter of The Dragon's Regret.

Chapter 7: Lucy's First Mission

July 7th, X784

Lucy was walking towards the Guild early in the morning. She quietly left Levy's apartment, not wanting to wake her new best friend up. She was filled with so much excitement from last night that she couldn't sleep. Strangely enough, she wasn't feeling tired at all. With a smile on her face, she continued her trek towards the guild. She was currently walking on Strawberry Street, where she saw a landlady put up a sign in front of a building.

"For rent?" Lucy read the sign out loud. She gave a questioning look towards the landlady, who she assumed was the landlady. Said landlady had a sad expression on her face.

"That's right" the landlady said with a sigh. "Are you interested, would you like to come in?" She offered to Lucy with a kind smile that replaced her sad expression. Lucy, happy that she found a potential place to stay in, happily went inside. When she stepped in, she was amazed at the interior. Everything was very tidy, and it felt cozy, fitting one or two people. All of the necessities were there, and beside the bed was a window that had a great view of the outside. Simply put, Lucy was definitely going to get this apartment. The landlady smiled at the enthusiasm Lucy displayed for the apartment.

"Wow, this place is amazing!" Lucy exclaimed with a smile on her face. "Who would want to give up a place like this?" She turned to the landlady with a questioning gaze. At her question, the lady's sad expression returned, worrying Lucy.

"Two years ago, a handsome young man rented this apartment for him and his fiancé. They were both mages, but most importantly, a very happy couple. Unfortunately, the fiancé had met her untimely end during a mission. Since then, the young man has changed so drastically, it's as if he became a completely different person. He didn't smile that often, or even at all. He was always sad, and often spent time by himself. He wanted to get rid of the apartment, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. They hadn't even moved in and yet this apartment meant a lot to him. He finally got rid of it yesterday, but it still pains me that he's feeling so much pain at such a young age" The lady concluded her story, tears forming in her eyes. Lucy gasped at the story, and tears of her own started forming. Whoever this person was really loved his fiancé, and she felt guilty that she was going to take the apartment that was originally meant for him.

"Maybe I shouldn't rent this place after all…" Lucy started, feeling uncomfortable with the idea of renting the apartment. The lady, though saddened, was not one to lose a potential tenant.

"Nonsense! You need a place to stay, so I encourage you to rent this apartment! The young man told me that it wouldn't be fair to anyone who was interested in this apartment if he kept living in it and never actually used it! He would've wanted you to live happily in this apartment. Please reconsider."

Lucy was conflicted. She really needed a place to stay, and this place was perfect for it. On the other hand, she didn't want to take away a person's memory that could've been. However, the landlady did say that the man wanted someone to rent the place, and it was a really nice apartment….

"Alright fine, I'll take it" Lucy said after much consideration. The landlady seemed pleased with Lucy. She took her hand and dragged her out of the apartment and into her office.

After the negotiations with the landlord, Lucy was happy and a little worried at the same time. While she was happy that she rented the apartment, she had to pay monthly rent. And it wasn't cheap either. 70,000 Jewels a month was pretty high for monthly rent. She knew that her main source of income would be the missions that she would take from the Guild, but she wasn't sure what kinds of missions she should take, what her skill level was, and most importantly, how much they paid. As she pondered these thoughts, she saw Natsu come out of the Guild was a bag over his shoulders and some flowers in his hand. She was going to wave 'Hi' to him, but he suddenly turned around and walked towards the town's entrance. Curious as to where he was going in the morning, Lucy decided to follow him, hoping that he wouldn't see her. Her activity led her to the forest, which confused Lucy. What could be in here that would make Natsu go here? After a while, her question was answered with a gravestone and a small hut. Lucy looked at her surroundings in confusion as Natsu suddenly sat in front of the gravestone, placing the flowers in front of it. Lucy watched intently as Natsu opened the bag and pulled on the contents. He pulled out a bottle of alcohol, containers of food, and two cups. He took out the food from the containers and placed them in front of the gravestone, as if it were some sort of offering. He then poured alcohol into the two cups, one for him, and the other for the gravestone. He wrapped his scarf around the gravestone before lifting his glass into the air. He quickly downed the drink in one go, made a noise of satisfaction, and poured another glass. Lucy watched and finally understood what he was doing. Natsu was paying tribute to someone special to him. Today must've been the day he or she died. Lucy turned around and returned to the Guild, leaving Natsu to himself and his friend.

"It's already been two years" Natsu said as he drank more of his alcohol. He sat quietly in front of the grave stone, drinking in peaceful silence. He had noticed that the new girl, Lucy was following him ever since he left the Guild, but he didn't really care. He just wanted to spend the day with her. He let out a heavy sigh as he poured himself another drink.

Lucy sat at the bar in silence. Her previous joy has been replaced with sadness. It saddened her to know that Natsu has lost someone and that today was the anniversary. What's worse was that she had unintentionally eavesdropped on such a personal moment for Natsu. She let out a heavy sigh as she slumped down in her seat. Levy who had been sitting next to her, was worried for Lucy ever since she walked into the Guild.

"What's wrong Lu-chan?" Levy asked her friend worriedly.

"Levy-chan, did something happen on this day?" Lucy asked her friend. Levy raised an eyebrow at her question.

"What do you mean?" Levy asked. She knew an answer to her question, but she didn't know what Lucy wanted to know. Lucy let out another sigh before she answered.

"This morning, I saw Natsu come out of the Guild and I followed him to this grave site. Then, I came back here to give him some privacy, and now that I think about it, it's unusually quiet today. I mean everybody's here talking to each other, but no one's starting a fight. Not to mention, I haven't seen Mira-san or Elfman today. What's going on?" Lucy asked Levy. Levy was impressed with Lucy's intellect. She was able to notice such details in only a couple of days. Levy let out a heavy sigh of her own before she answered.

"Lu-chan, here at Fairy Tail, we all consider ourselves to be family. We look out for each other and care for each other. Naturally when someone dies, we all feel sad. Today was the day something like that happened. Two years ago, we all lost someone very special. Everyone took it hard, but Natsu, Mira, and Elfman, they were devastated. Natsu especially, because he lost two people on this day." Levy said, making Lucy's eyes widen.

"What happened?" Lucy asked.

"It's not my place to tell. I would tell you to ask Mira or Elfman, but I don't think that they have recovered since that day. Natsu is just a no-go. He got the worst of it out of all of us. He doesn't like anything relating to this day to be mentioned, so we all keep quiet. Lu-chan, I'm asking you as your friend to just forget about it. You wouldn't want to make anyone, especially Natsu, upset." Levy finished as she got up and went to the Job Board. Lucy continued to sit at the bar in silence. She wanted to know more about what happened on this day, but she didn't want anyone to feel more upset than they should. These thoughts continued to plague her mind throughout the rest of the day.

Natsu sat beside the gravestone, watching the sunset with a sad smile on his face. The sunset was really beautiful, especially in their location. He could understand why she wanted to be buried here.

"Man, the sunset looks amazing, doesn't it?" He asked, hoping that someone could hear him. Sadly, he was met with silence. He continued to watch the sun set until it went down completely. His body grew tired with all the sentimentality of this day. He withdrew into the hut that he made with her so many years ago. The hut was a little small, but he managed to fit himself into it. He lied down and draped an arm over his eyes and tried to sleep. He couldn't help but reminisce about the halcyon days, when he and Igneel would live happily together, train together, laugh together, sleep together, and all of the other wonderful things they did together. His mind shifted to memories of him and her. She could make him smile on the gloomiest of days, when no one else would be able to. She made him feel complete. Now, both of them were gone, one for good, and the other, who knows where he went? Natsu let out a heavy sigh as sleep finally took over.

break

Lucy sat at her desk in her new apartment, writing on a piece of paper. With the help of many of the guild members, she was able to put all of her stuff into her new apartment in a short amount of time. While she was happy that she finally found a place to live in, she couldn't help but remember what she had saw earlier today. She wanted to know more about Natsu and the gravestone, so she talked to Levy. However, she ended up getting more questions than answers. As she pondered on these thoughts, she continued to write on the piece of paper on her table.

Dear Mama,

I finally joined the Guild of my dreams, Fairy Tail! It's so amazing! The people there are very nice, not at all what I expected from such a powerful Guild. In fact, these people are some of the strangest people I have ever met! The master is really nice, although he can be a little perverted at times. Gray brought me to the Guild, though I don't know why he strips all the time. Erza's really scary but she means well! Then there's Mira-san, who's just as scary as Erza, but just as nice too! Levy-chan is my best friend at the Guild. She loves books just as I do, and wants to be the first to read the novel that I'm writing. There are so many interesting people I want to write about, but I'm going to need a lot more paper!

But then there's Natsu. I don't really know what to think of him. I mean, he seems like a nice person, but underneath it all is a sad man with a terrible past. What happened to him Mama? He lost two of his best friends today, just like I did. I want to find out more, but I don't want him to be upset or angry with me. What should I do Mama?

Anyways, it's getting late. I have to end this letter, but I'll write to you every day! I can't wait to sleep in my new apartment, in my new bed! This apartment rocks! I wish you were here to see it. I love you Mama 3

Love,

Lucy

She folded the paper in half and put in it an envelope. She then put the envelope into a box. She then looked at her bed, and then back to her desk, where a stack of papers lay. She decided that she was too tired to continue writing, so she went to bed. All of the thinking she did today made her tired. She decided that she would sleep, and try to forget about everything that happened today. For Natsu's sake.

July 8th, X784

Lucy awoke from a great sleep in her new bed. She got out of her bed and performed her daily rituals of showering and brushing her teeth, all in her new bathroom. She wrapped a towel around her body and walked into the kitchen to cook some breakfast.

"Yo Lucy!" Natsu and Happy greeted casually from her chair in the living room. They were eating some of Lucy's food from her pantry when she walked in.

"Good morning Natsu, Happy" She replied back to then, not noticing that they were somehow in her apartment. She continued into her kitchen when she froze mid step. She took a double take at her living room and indeed saw Natsu and Happy in her living room, eating her food. Her eyes slowly and comically widened with the realization. Natsu, not realizing that what he was doing was creeping her out, simply waved at her with a smile on his face.

"My room!" Lucy screamed in horror. She then quickly performed a spin kick and attacked Natsu in rage. "What the hell are you doing here?!" She asked in rage as her foot hit Natsu, crashing him into Happy, who was crushed in between Natsu and the wall. Natsu and Happy both slumped to the ground, while Lucy was seething in embarrassment and rage. "How did you even get in?!" She angrily asked the two.

"Jeez Lucy, is any way to greet a friend?" Natsu said as he was rubbing his head.

"We barely know each other! And don't avoid the question!" Lucy retorted quickly. Natsu got up from the ground and sat back in the chair. "How did you even find out where I lived?" She asked angrily.

"I asked the guys where you lived. I need to ask you for your help on something" Natsu said, surprising Lucy. What could she possibly do to help Natsu out?

"What do you need my help for?" Lucy asked. Natsu was about to say something, but noticed Lucy's current state of dress.

"Maybe I'll tell you when you put on some clothes" Natsu bluntly said. Lucy looked down and noticed that she was still in her towel. She blushed a bright red and quickly ran to the bathroom with a set on clothes in her hand, not before calling Natsu and Happy perverts.

"I don't get it. She was perfectly fine standing in front of us with nothing but a towel, but then she calls us perverts and rushes towards the bathroom" Natsu thought out loud.

"Lucy's weird." Happy said

"You said it buddy"

"I can still hear you guys!" Lucy called from the bathroom.
"Hurry it up in there!" Natsu called impatiently. Moments later, a frustrated Lucy stormed out of the bathroom and approached Natsu. "Finally, what took you so long?" He asked.

"Well excuse me for wanting to look good" Lucy retorted impatiently, before cracking a smile and showed off her outfit. "What do you think? Doesn't this just bring out my sex appeal?" Lucy asked the two with a wink. She was wearing a green tank top with a pink tube top underneath it. She had on a yellow mini skirt with brown boots*. She twirled around in hopes that she could entice either Natsu or Happy with her looks. However, neither Happy nor Natsu were affected.

"Lucy you don't have any sex appeal" Happy bluntly said. Natsu snorted at his comment, while Lucy got angry.

"Shut it you damn cat, what do you know about sex appeal?!" Lucy yelled at Happy.

"Waah! Natsu, Lucy's scary, just like Erza!" Happy said as he flew behind Natsu, using him as cover to shield him from Lucy.

"Lucy you can't get a boyfriend like that if you threaten people and show off your nonexistent sex appeal" Natsu chided. Lucy was about to say something, but remembered that Natsu needed her help with something, so she, with much restraint, changed the subject.

"What do you need my help with?" Lucy asked impatiently. Natsu, remembering what he was there for, quickly got serious.

"Lucy, now that you're a member of Fairy Tail, you're gonna have to go on missions. You represent our Guild when you go on these missions. The better you do, the more requests Fairy Tail will gain, and the more trustworthy we become to the people. These missions give different pay, depending on the difficulty of the mission. I can see how nice this apartment is, but I imagine that the rent isn't cheap." Natsu explained to Lucy. Lucy understood what he was saying, but she didn't understand what he needed her for.

"Okay, I get all of that, but where exactly do I come in for this plan?" Lucy asked.

"Lucy, I want you to come on a job with me." Natsu announced, shocking Lucy. Why does he want her to go on a job with him?

"Why me? Can't you go by yourself?" She asked worriedly.

"Sometimes a job can be too difficult for one person to complete by themselves. That's why teams are made" Natsu told her.

"Teams?" Lucy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's right. A team is a group of people that go on missions together. Being on a team increases the success rate of a mission. It can also balance out the abilities of a team" Natsu explained. Lucy raised an eyebrow at the last part of Natsu's' explanation.

"Balance each other out?" Lucy repeated. Natsu nodded and explained.

"Exactly. I'm just a fighter Lucy. I don't have the brains needed to complete other missions. But, I can sense that you are a smart girl, and that you would be great for this mission. You're the brains and I'm the brawn. We're both good at something the one isn't good at, balancing out our weaknesses and strengths" Natsu explained.

"Still, why do you need me?" Lucy asked, unconvinced about the whole balance each other out thing.

"Like I said, you seem like a really smart person. I mean, Levy's out on a mission with her team, and Erza's out on her own mission" Natsu told her.

"What about Mira-san?" Lucy asked. Natsu became quiet at the mention of Mira's name, which unnerved Lucy.

"I simply can't work with Mira" Natsu said after some time. An awkward silence filled the room, making Lucy uncomfortable, while Natsu didn't seem to notice. Suddenly, Natsu snapped his fingers, remembering something very important that he needed to ask Lucy. "Oh yeah I forgot, I don't even know what kind of magic you can use" Natsu told her, which made Lucy face fault. He was going to ask her to team up with him when he didn't even know what kind of magic she could use? Lucy sighed at Natsu's behavior before she answered.

"I'm a Celestial Spirit Mage" She answered simply. She got blank stares from Natsu and Happy. She sighed again before she explained her magic. "I can summon Celestial Spirits by opening their gates with their keys" Lucy explained. The same look stayed on the two's faces. "Look, if you guys still don't get it, I can demonstrate it for you. I got one from Hargeon and I still haven't made a contract with it yet" Lucy concluded. She grabbed a silver key and pointed it forwards and took a stance.

"I am connected to the path to the Celestial Spirit World! Heed my call! Pass through the gate!" When she finished, a bright loud surrounded her.

"Open, Gate of the Little Dog! Nicola!"

One spectacular light show later, a spirit emerged. However, it didn't really look like a dog. Instead it looked like a tiny snowman with wobbly legs. Natsu and Happy both looked shocked at the result, and gave Lucy looks of pity.

"Better luck next time" They both said.

"I didn't mess up!" Lucy told them annoyed. Lucy's annoyance was suddenly replaced with adoration for Nicola as she suddenly hugged him very tightly. Eventually, she showed them how surprisingly simple the contract negotiations went, and even renamed Nicola to Plue. She hugged Plue as she continued the conversation from where it was before. "I still don't understand why you need me. I mean, I'm new and I don't think I can help you that much on this mission." Natsu sensed her apprehension and chuckled.

"Don't worry, I found the easiest mission I could find." Natsu reassured her, which made her let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, well then I guess I could come. Can I see the flyer?" Lucy asked. Natsu nodded and asked Happy to give her the flyer. Happy promptly gave her the flyer. Lucy accepted it and read over the flyer. It looked like a decent job until a red stamp caught her attention, her eyes bulging in surprise.

"Easiest job my ass! This is an S-Class job!" Lucy said as she threw the flyer back at Natsu. Natsu looked surprised at Lucy's knowledge of S-Class jobs.

"You know about S-Class jobs?" He asked.

"Mira told me about them yesterday." Lucy said with a shudder. She remembered how carefree Mira was in her description about S-Class jobs.

Flashback

Lucy sat at the bar, observing her surroundings. She had gotten to know most of the Guild members, so she didn't have anyone to talk to. She looked towards the second floor and saw a lone man sitting at a table, feet propped up on said table with his eyes closed and arms crossed. He had a set of magical headphones with him, so she assumed that he was listening to music.

"Ne Mira-san, who's that up there?" Lucy asked while pointing towards the man. Mira followed her finger and scowled when she saw who exactly Lucy was pointing towards.

"That's Laxus, the Master's grandson" Mira said, shocking Lucy. If this Laxus person was really related to the master, then he was be a very strong wizard.

"Wow, he must be a strong wizard then" Lucy said with amazement in her voice.

"Yeah, but he's a bit of an ass. He thinks all of us are weaklings and that he should be the next master of the Guild. I wouldn't advise talking to him if I were you." Mira said before she resumed to her activities. Lucy was naturally curious. She wanted to know Laxus better, but she didn't know whether it was worth it considering how Mira just described him. She decided to give it a shot and went upstairs when Mira stopped her.

"Lucy where are you going?" Mira asked, stopping Lucy in her tracks.

"I'm going upstairs?" Lucy replied, not sure why someone wanted to know such a thing.

"Lucy, you can't go upstairs, it's forbidden." Mira explained. Lucy's eyes widened at Mira's words.

"Forbidden? What do you mean?" Lucy innocently asked.

"Upstairs is where the S-Class jobs are. Those are jobs that are extraordinarily difficult. Only mages the Master deems worthy can go upstairs and perform those missions. If you try to go on one of those missions, you'll surely die." Mira said with a smile on her face, creeping Lucy out. "Don't go upstairs, do you understand?"

"H-hai Mira-san" Lucy said, suddenly scared about going upstairs.

End Flashback

"There is no way that I'm going on an S-Class job as my first job." Lucy said with a huff.

"Oh come on Lucy, nothing bad will happen. It's not like we're gonna take down some super criminal, we're just going to some island and try to lift a curse there" Natsu explained, as if a curse was any better than meeting a criminal.

"Oh sure, that's so much better. Getting cursed is way better than fighting an incredibly dangerous criminal" Lucy said sarcastically. Natsu however, didn't notice her sarcasm.

"That's the spirit Lucy!" He said with a smile.

"I was being sarcastic you know…" Lucy trailed off.

"Look Lucy, don't worry about a things. I'm taking you with me; I know the risks of this mission. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I will protect you." Natsu said with conviction. Lucy blushed fiercely at his statement. It surprised her how confident Natsu was with his statement. The look in his eyes says that he will do what it takes to ensure her safety. Still, Lucy was not confident with her abilities and how big of a role they would play in this mission.

"I'm sorry Natsu, but I can't go with you" Lucy said with finality. Natsu nodded and slowly got up. However, he had an ace up his sleeve….

"Alright Lucy, that's fine. I'll just have to find someone else to go with. But what am I going to do with the reward? I mean, even when I split 7 million Jewels with someone, it's still a lot of money. I can use that money and never worry about rent for at least 4 years" Lucy's ears perked at the mention of the money. 7 million Jewels split between two people? That meant each person would get 3.5 million Jewels each!

"And not to mention, what am I going to do with a Golden Zodiac Gate Key? I'm not a Celestial Spirit Mage, so I don't have a need for such a thing. Guess I'll have to throw it out or give it away to someone" Lucy suddenly jumped with a big smile on her face.

"You know what? I change my mind! Let's go to this island! I want to see how I do on such an important mission! And if I complete an S-Class mission as my very first mission, I could be famous!" Lucy said as she quickly packed her things for the mission. Natsu smiled and Lucy's behavior.

'That was way too easy' he thought to himself. He looked at Happy and they gave each other a thumbs up.

Gray sat at the bar back at the Guild, waiting for Lucy to come. He wanted to go on a mission, and with Lucy being new to the Guild, he decided to take her along with him. He already had a mission for them, a simple job requesting the investigation of a village that has disappeared, leaving behind many monsters in its place. Gray sat at the bar, slowly losing his patience as time went on. He has been waiting for Lucy for the last couple of hours, and she has yet to show. As he sat at the bar waiting for Lucy, a loud shriek brought him out of his musings. He looked for the source of the shriek and found it at the second floor in the form of Mirajane.

"Mira what's wrong?" Gray asked, wondering what could make someone like Mira make that kind of sound.

"Master, a job flyer from the second floor is missing!" Mira exclaimed, shocking all the mages in the Guild. The Master was drinking his coffee when he had heard the news. He spit the coffee out of his mouth, a comedic expression on his face to match his delayed reaction.

"A job sheet's missing?"

"If it was from the second floor, then it must've been an S-Class job."

"Who would do something like that?"

Various questions were being asked around the Guild. All of the members were curious as to who was dumb enough to take an S-Class job without having it approved.

"A cat. I saw a cat with wings take that flyer."

A powerful voice resonated throughout the Guild. All the chatter in the Guild ceased and everyone looked up at the second floor to find Laxus calmly sitting at a table with an evil smirk on his face.

"Happy took it?!" Mira and Gray asked in shock.

"That's right. The cat was talking about going on a job with some girl named Lucy." Laxus replied, shocking the Guild even more.

"He's taking Lucy with him?" Mira exclaimed in shock. Happy is usually with Natsu, which means he must be going as well. That wouldn't be such a bad thing if Lucy wasn't going. Lucy only been with the Guild for a few days and hasn't gone on a mission yet.

"Damn Natsu. He's taking Lucy on an S-Class mission with him? Doesn't he know how dangerous those missions are, especially for Lucy? I swear that idiot will get her killed just like-"Cana vented, expressing her anger and hatred for Natsu. Her rage was so great that she didn't realize what she was about to say. Fortunately, Laxus stopped her.

"You know Gramps, this is pretty reckless of Natsu. I mean sure he can go on these types of missions, but to take a newbie with him? He's going to get her killed. That goes against everything you believe in doesn't it? He should be severely punished when he gets back." Laxus calmly said.

"When they come back? They shouldn't go on the mission in the first place!" Mira shouted at him, making various members of the Guild flinch. She walked up to Laxus and put her hands at her hips, "If you saw Happy take the mission, why didn't you try to stop him?" she asked him with ferocity. While many would shake at her tone, Laxus was unaffected, keeping that evil smile on his face.

"All I saw was a cat with a piece of paper in his mouth. How could I have known that that piece of paper was an S-Class job?" Laxus calmly asked. Mira responded with a dark glare that made it apparent why she was called "The Demon". Laxus however, just shrugged it off.

"This is bad. What job was taken?" Master calmly asked.

"The Cursed Island of Galuna." Mira replied, not taking her eyes off of Laxus.

"What?!" Master exclaimed, his eyes widening.

"Galuna Island?"

"That's insane!"

"Those guys are really stupid!"

The entire Guild was in an uproar at the revelation of which job was taking. The Master composed himself and sprung into action.

"Laxus! Go and bring them back!" He ordered. Laxus simply waved his hand.

"Don't be silly. I have my own thing to do. Besides, the members of this Guild should be able to take care of themselves. I'm not gonna babysit Natsu just because he went on a mission." He explained himself. He opened an eye and looked at Mira. "If you're so concerned about them, why don't you go after them?" Mira said nothing as she looked at the floor, a look of apprehension appeared on her face. Laxus laughed at the sudden change in behavior, "What? Can't do it? You still afraid to face Natsu after all this time? How pathetic." Laxus burst out laughing, demoralizing Mira, while making everyone else feel sorry for her. Fortunately, Master decided to intervene.

"Laxus! That's enough" Master commanded. Laxus just rolled his eyes while Mira sent a thankful look towards the Master. "We need someone to stop Natsu from going on that mission. Lucy's life is in danger if she goes on that mission" the Master told the Guild. While most of the members nodded, many looked nervous, even scared of the idea of stopping Natsu. Natsu is regarded as one of the strongest mages in the Guild, as well as one of the scariest. He ties with Mystogan and Laxus as the strongest mage in the Guild, and ties with Erza and Mira as the scariest. With what happened two years, Natsu became the complete opposite of what they were used to. Even though recently he has shown signs of his old personality, he still scares his Guildmates. The Master looked around the Guild to find someone to go after Natsu. He immediately took Elfman off his list. He, along with Mira, is still uneasy about talking, or doing anything, with Natsu. He also took Cana off his list. Her hatred for Natsu is so strong that she might actually do something to Natsu other than bring him back to the Guild. Erza wasn't a choice due to her being out on a mission. Most of the other Guild members he considered were out on missions, and everyone else was not up to the task. Master sighed in defeat.

"I guess there's no one here who can bring him back."

"Master, I'm hurt" a voice called out to him. Master and everyone else in the Guild followed the source of the voice to the one person who could be considered an equal to Natsu in strength: Gray Fullbuster. Gray, with a cigarette in his mouth, in his half naked glory, stood up from his seat and faced the Master. "I can't let a comment like that slide."

Natsu, Happy, and Lucy were standing at the ports of Hargeon, with frustration written all over their faces. They asked all of the ferrymen at the port if they could take them to Galuna Island, but all of them refused. As soon as they heard the name of the island, they immediately rejected their request, fearing the curse on the island.

"Galuna Island? Yeah right, we're not going near that place!"

"Going to that place brings nothing but trouble."

"Even pirates don't go to that island."

Were some of the various responses that they received. Lucy was getting frustrated that her first mission has off to a poor start, and she hasn't even started it yet. She was going to get the key and the money no matter what! Natsu, seeing no other option, came to a decision.

"Let's swim there."

Lucy looked at Natsu as if he had grown an extra head.

"That's a ridiculous idea" she said. Sure, they couldn't find a boat that would take them, but swimming is just a ridiculous idea. How can they possibly be able to swim such a far distance? "We're not swimming" she said with finality.

"Found ya!" a voice from behind called to them. Lucy jumped at the voice, while Natsu froze in place. Lucy was surprised that Gray had managed to find them, while Natsu looked angry.

"Gray, what are you doing here?" Lucy asked her friend. Gray looked at her, concern written all over his face.

"I'm here to take you guys back to the Guild" he simply stated. Lucy looked at him with confusion all over her face.

"Why would you do that?" She asked.

"Yeah Gray, why would you?" Natsu asked with a tone. Gray looked at him with anger in his eyes.

"You know damn well why I'm taking her with me" Gray yelled at Natsu. He turned back to Lucy, concern all over his face again. "The Master doesn't want you to go on this S-Class mission, and he wants to talk to Natsu about this personally" he explained, emphasizing the 'personally.'

"Look, Gray, tell the Master that it's going to be fine. I'm taking her with me" Natsu explained, which didn't seem to cut it for Gray.

"The Master told me to bring you guys back, so I'm going to do it. Lucy, you're coming with me, we can go on a safer mission for your first" He told both of the mages. At his response, Natsu got angry.

"Who the hell do you think you are ordering me around?!" He asked.

"Who the hell do you think you are for taking Lucy on such a dangerous mission?!" Gray responded. Gray and Natsu were glaring daggers at each other, which unnerved Lucy. From what she had heard, Gray and Natsu were great friend who haven't had an argument in two years. She tried to settle some of the tension in the air.

"I-It's okay Gray. I wanted to go, really!" She said with her hands up and a nervous smile on her face. Gray, however, didn't seem to hear her.

"Be lucky that it's me that they sent and not Cana. I can't even begin to imagine what she would've done if they picked her" Gray told him, as if to assuage any fear in Natsu, none of which he had.

"Is that supposed to make me feel relaxed or something? I don't know what it is about Cana and how she doesn't like me, but in any case, I'm still going. Cana, Loke, Erza, or even Laxus or Mystogan! I don't care whoever they send; we're still going on this mission!" Natsu declared.

"You're putting her at such great risk, you know that right? Do you want a repeat of happened two years ago?" Gray yelled at Natsu. At his question, Natsu's raged intensified.

"DON'T YOU DARE BRING THAT UP!" Natsu yelled, scaring Lucy and Happy, while attracting the attention of a lot of people. Gray was the only one not affected. "This is different. I'm much stronger now, I can protect Lucy" Natsu argued. Lucy listened to their exchange with a mixture of fear and curiosity. While she had heard that Natsu can be frightening, she didn't know how frightening he could be. Right now, Natsu was the scariest person Lucy had ever met, next to Erza. But the conversation interested her. Who was it that Gray was talking about and why did Natsu suddenly lash out in intense rage?

"I don't care if you're strong enough to protect Lucy; the Master wants her back so I'm going to take her back! If I have to use force, then so be it" Gray said as he readied his magic in his hands. Natsu lit his fists in retaliation.

"I don't care what the old man says, I'm going on this mission with Lucy and that's final!" Natsu told Gray. Both mages took a battle stance and glared at each other. Lucy and Happy were scared of a possible fight. One of the ferrymen however, looked surprised at the magic gathered in Natsu and Gray's hands.

"You guys are mages?" he asked, surprising the four. Lucy looked over to the ferryman and nodded. "Wait, so are you guys going to break that island's curse?" he asked.

"Well, we're going to try…" Lucy said nervously.

"Yeah, and nobody's going to stop us" Natsu said, not taking his eyes off Gray.

"Not if I have anything to say about it" Gray interjected. The ferryman looked at the mages for a long time, before pointing at his boat.

"Get in!" He told them. Lucy and Gray turned to the ferryman in surprise. Natsu, noticing that Gray was distracted, took the opportunity to knock him out with a kick. He put Gray over his shoulders and faced the ferryman.

"Alright then, let's go" He said nonchalantly, making Lucy and the ferryman sweatdrop.

"We're taking him with us?" Lucy asked.

"If we leave him here and he wakes up, he'll go back to the Guild and they'll send more people. It's best if we take him with us." Natsu explained which made sense to Lucy. Lucy and Natsu looked at each other with a smile on their faces, ready for their job.

"Well then,

"Aye sir!" Natsu and Happy responded.

A/N: And that's the end of Chapter 7! Once again, I apologize for taking such a long time to update. School has kept me busy, in addition to intense laziness. Physics and AP Calculus have been kicking my ass so I needed to study. This chapter took me so long to write though. Every time I would it down to start writing, I would get a couple of words in and stop. This took me like 2-3 weeks to write. I apologize once again. This chapter didn't really have a lot of action so if it's not the chapter you were expecting, don't worry because the next one will have a lot of action in it.