Deep in the desert a man and woman walk over to what appears to be footprints, the man bends down his long black hair that covering the right part of his face. "Yep, they were definitely here, but it's been several days."
"Well, what do we do?" The female asked, her green hair falling over her shoulder as she crossed her arms over her black dress.
"We head back and give our report."
"We're heading back!" The woman screamed.
The two then rode off their names were Alzack Connell and Bisca Mulan, and as they return to Magnolia, they both carried hearts of uncertainty.
"Are you sure they went into Clover Canyon?" Mira asked as she started pacing the pub floors?
"Don't look at me, Mira. I was ready to go after them." Bisca answers. "I think someone's getting soft on me."
"I know you're worried, but Clover Canyon is a death trap." Alzack explained. "Even with someone from a hunter's guild to guide you, it would swallow you up and never spit you out."
"Okay then, the real question is why would they go in there if it's a dangerous maze of canyons?" Bisca asked, looking at Mira.
"I don't know." Mira said, resting her hand on her cheek. "I don't know."
Happy walks up to a cliff and kicks off the pebble; he looks down as he tries to listen for a sound.
This place is known as Clover canyon, and tons of researchers, brave or foolish, have ventured into this wide maze of canyons only to decorate its landscape with their bones.
"Ah Jeez!" Lucy shouted as she started waving her arms around, "we've walked for a forever and a half and still haven't found Magnolia yet." Lucy complained to the cat. "Why are we following a cat anyway."
"Hey, I wasn't lost last time, so this is the first time I got us lost." Happy retorted to the celestial wizard.
"First time or not, let's just make it the last time, okay." Lucy told the blue-haired cat, frowning.
"I'm hungry." Natsu said as he and Mavis caught up to the pair behind them where Gray and Erza, who had looked off concern on their faces as they walked through the landscape.
"We all are so would shut up about," Gray shouted as they caught up. "And besides, couldn't you just eat your own fire."
Natsu grew a face-off annoyance as he looked at Gray with angered eyes.
"Are you stupid? I can't eat my own flames!" Natsu shouted. "That's like telling you to eat your arm."
"Why would I do that?" Gray asked in shock
"Pretty much the same reason." Lucy finished.
"The only type of fire Natsu can't eat is his own." She explained.
"It's not the only fire I can't eat, but still." Natsu corrected her, "She's right, though."
Lucy then looked to the two wizards following them.
"Hey Gray, Erza, if you don't mind me asking, why are you following us back to Magnolia?" Lucy questioned as their two faces grew grime.
"Um, I left my luggage there." Gray lied. What he was really after was to find out what this Mavis person really was.
"I just wanted to see the sights. I heard that they some perfect strawberry cake." Erza told Lucy she wasn't; however, lying a part of hr really regretted not stopping for cake in the magical city of Magnolia.
"Never mind that, Lucy." Mavis said, speaking up. "We have other things to attend to." Mavis said, looking towards the horizon.
"Like what."
"Getting some food." Natsu said as he groaned.
"Jeez, will you shut up!" Gray shouted, "You're just making it worse, ya idiot."
"I'd like to see you make me you icy freak!" Natsu shouted.
"Yeah, well, bring ya, fire clown."
they soon began fighting to throw fist back and forth, one accidentally hitting Erza.
Gray stopped in full terror as he was the one who hit Erza and Natsu slowly started to back up slightly, giving off an 'i don't want to be you' before his head was grabbed along with Gray's, and she smashed them into each other.
"Listen, we are all hungry here." She said, standing over them. "So we all need to be level-headed-" She was interrupted when her stomach started growling as well.
"Your stomach's trying to tell you something." Gray said sarcastically.
"No, it's not." Erza said, denying the Ice wizards statement. "You're hearing things."
"You kids really need to calm down." Mavis said with a slight annoyance in her voice.
"We'll get home soon enough." She said as she looked over the cliff along with Happy.
"You said that three hours ago." Natsu retorted. "Honestly, I'm getting more hungry by the second."
"AH!" Happy screamed as he grew a wide smile on his face.
"What's up with you?" Natsu asked, shocked at his best friend's outburst.
"Down there, look Natsu, look!" Happy shouted as the rest of the group went over to see a bunch of flying fish going over the canyon.
"Those are wing fish there, a rare delicacy." Happy explained as his mouth started to drool.
"You can't be serious?" Lucy asked.
"You did good Happy ya done good." Natsu said with tears in his eyes as his stomach started to growl even louder.
"A rare delicacy, huh?" Gray asked out loud, his stomach growling again.
"Wing Fish." Erza said under her breath, her mouth drooling at the sound of food she just couldn't help herself.
"Alright guys, it's time to get fishing!" Happy shouted, holding a fishing rod in one of his hands.
Soon Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Lucy were sitting at the side of the cliff, holding fishing rods as the wing fish continued to fly over the bottom.
"Come on, bite the rod ya stupid fish." Natsu moaned as he hung over the cliff.
"This better be worth it." Lucy groaned as she looked down.
"Just shut up and fish; anything edible will do." Erza groaned at the two, clearly annoyed by their antics.
"You're that hungry, huh." Lucy said under her breath.
"We need to fish harder, guys!" Happy shouted, his face lighting up.
"Come on, we can do this!" The blue cat shouted.
"Okay, I give up." Happy said, throwing his fishing rod to the ground and walking away from it.
"Wow, that was quick." Lucy said, shocked at the felines' quick downfall.
"Why would you give up? You can do it, little guy." Lucy said, trying to cheer the talking cat up.
Happy looked up to the blond girl and started to run away, crying, "I can't help that I'm little." as he ran away with tears in his way, shocking Lucy, who just wanted to see him smile.
After hours of sitting on the cliff, Natsu and co could catch a single wing fish. They all stood over the fish as it groaned, it's eyes turning into X's soon, the fire covered the fish as it yellow, and orange scales soon turned into red and green.
"There ya go, Happy." Natsu moaned as he handed the fish to his small feline friend.
"But, that's not fair to you guys." Happy said as he stared a the fish.
"If we were to split it up, it just makes us want more." Gray told the feline as he turned away. "Just hurry up and eat it before we change our minds."
"Okay." Happy then shoved the fish bones and all down his throat as his friends all turned away, groaning as the blue cat eat the wing fish without a second thought only to spit it out seconds later, completely disgusted by its contents.
"Really!" Lucy shouted as she saw Happy attempt to clean the fish off his tongue.
Moments later, the group continued to walk, their hands covering their stomachs.
"I hate to say it, but." Natsu started.
"All that fishing made us even hungrier." Gray finished as the group continued to their trail to Magnolia.
"Hey, look." Mavis said with glee as they came up to what appears to be a small village.
"Wait, it can't be!" Erza shouted.
"And we all know what's in a village!" Lucy shouted.
"Food." Natsu and Happy shouted as the group, excluding Mavis, ran into the village, leaving a perplexed Mavis behind. "Gor all they know, that could have them been having heat stroke." She let out a sigh as she followed the kids into the village.
As she caught up with them, she noticed that village seemed a little off, as if it were missing something.
"Hey, where is everybody."
"Maybe taking an afternoon nap." Natsu suggested.
"Hey, anybody home!" Natsu shouted as loud as he could.
"Somebody cook us some dinner!" Happy shouted afterward.
"Geez Happy ever hear of the word, please." Lucy commented.
"That's very weird." Erza stated as she moved ahead. "Even so, there should be at least a few people up and about."
"Maybe they all got drunk and passed out." Mavis suggested.
"That only happens in Magnolia, Mavis." Lucy said, sweat dropping.
"They do love their spirits, don't they." Mavis said, smiling. "It's almost reassuring."
Before anyone else could react, Natsu burst off in blazing speeds.
"You guys can stand here all you want, but I'm going to find a kitchen to raid." He said as he ran off.
"Shame on you for even thinking of robbing this place, Natsu!" Gray shouted as he caught up with the dragon slayer.
"You're just mad cause I thought of it first!" Natsu shouted as the two ran off.
Natsu ran up to a door and started to bang on it. "Is anybody home." Receiving no answer; he proceeded to bang on the door even harder.
"Come on, I'm dying, man!" Natsu shouted as he barged in to find an empty house.
Gray followed Natsu inside. "It looks like no one's home."
Natsu looked around and noticed something on the table.
"Who cares? There's food." Natsu walked up to the table, which had a bowl of bread and some soup lying on it. Natsu picked one up. "Open wide."
"Natsu, wait!" Erza shouted before he could put the bread in his mouth. "Isn't this strange to you."
"Yeah." Gray added.
"Who leaves a table full of food." Gray said as he started messing with the soup. "And where are they now."
"How should I know." Natsu told him. "Ready to dig in, Happy."
"Aye." Happy answered with his mouth drooling.
"Natsu!" Mavis shouted, causing the boy to freeze, "We need to investigate the village first."
Soon everyone in the rooms stomachs started to growl, which caused Mavis to sweat drop. "Okay then, Lucy, and Natsu, I want you to search the area around the village for mushrooms, or anything that looks edible while you do that, Erza, Gray, and I will search the village."
"Yeah yeah." Natsu said as he grabbed Lucy and started to drag her out.
"Hey, wait!" Lucy shouted as she struggled to get out of the dragon slayer's grip. "Come on, this isn't cool, Natsu."
"I'll go with them" Gray spoke up. "I won't last long in here if I can't eat."
"Very well." Mavis said.
Outside the village, in a forest area, Natsu Lucy and Gray walked around looking for mushrooms or a least something they could eat.
"Man Mavis that food looked delicious too." Natsu complained as he walked ahead; he then saw the Mushrooms.
"I was wrong. These look tasty too." Natsu shouted as sparkles went into his eyes.
"why Mushrooms, though?" Lucy asked
"isn't it obvious, Lucy." Happy said, getting an (oh yeah) from Lucy. "Natsu will eat a poisonous mushroom, and something weird will happen; you know the cliché, right."
"Give me some credit Happy you think I'd fall for some lame gag like that." Natsu mumble as he stuffed a bunch of Mushrooms in his mouth. "Please."
In the village
Erza had walked around a while she noticed that few clothes had been hung up to dry; a slight breeze had brushed past her mind was all over the place; she was positive that Natsu and Mavis had some connection to that mysterious wizard she had hunted for the past few weeks, but it was like looking for a ghost he appeared and disappeared as he pleased.
Erza shook her head; she couldn't think about that right; she needed to focus on the village Erza walked into the house Natsu was in and saw Mavis looking over the steaming hot food.
"It's still warm." Mavis said under her breath.
"what was that." Erza said as she walked up to the woman.
"It looks like it was made a few minutes ago." Mavis said. "But if that's the case, then why is this place abandoned."
Forest
"These Mushrooms are small, but if I eat a bunch of them, I'm bound to get full sooner or later." Natsu comments.
"Then you should start picking faster." Gray said as he walked up with an equal amount of Mushrooms in his mouth.
"Here comes the setup."
Natsu froze, and his eyes began to pop out as he started choking, scaring Lucy. Soon, a large red Mushroom popped out of his head. He let out a breath of air as he was able to calm down "That was scary."
"Your head is scary!" Lucy shouted.
"I thought it would turn purple." Happy said in a disappointed tone.
"That's what you were hoping for!" Lucy shouted.
"What's all the commotion about?" Gray asked as he appeared with a large blue mushroom on his head.
"Just look at each other, okay." Lucy walking away from the two.
Natsu and Gray to each other and soon burst out laughing at each other's mushroom, getting a groan from Lucy behind her Happy noticed a cartoonish large mushroom.
In the village
Erza and Mavis meet up underneath a mushroom statue.
"Find anything?" Erza asked.
"No, every home has been abandoned." Mavis told her. "But there's piping hot food on every table." Mavis then stroked her chin. "I have to admit I'm very perplexed, I feel like I know what's going on here, but I can't think of it."
Erza looked down and noticed a perfectly cut line in the middle of the ground.
"What's this." Erza bent down and felt the mark.
"It can't be a crack." Mavis told her. "The mark is too perfect," Mavis told her as she followed the line. "Then maybe."
Forest
Natsu and Gray were still laughing at their mushrooms, and Lucy just quit trying to stop them. "Come on, you guys, let's figure this out."
"Hey, look what I found!" Happy shouted as he picked the large mushroom.
"Woah, that's huge!" Lucy shouted. "I don't wanna know what that does to you."
"Man, we could eat for days of that," Gray said, completely ignoring what happened the last time he ate one.
"Let's hold off on eating these things." Lucy said as she deadpanned; she couldn't believe they wanted to eat more of these things; however, she couldn't blame them; they were running on fumes at the most even then she wasn't that hungry yet, but before she could react Happy shoved the large mushroom in his mouth. "How could you! you have no idea what that thing does, and you still put it in your mouth, spit it out!"
"But it's yummy." Happy tells her before he swallows it, and like Natsu, his eyes stats to pop out as a small brown Mushroom grows on his head.
"It looks like that what happens to everyone who eats a mushroom." Natsu said as he looked at his friend's misfortune.
"Maybe there's some way around it." Gray asked.
"That or maybe the villager thinks it's stylish." Natsu said, smiling. "Who knows, we might be in style when we get back."
Lucy giggled and looked at Natsu, and her face froze. "Um Natsu, I think your Mushrooms growing." Oddly enough, Natsu's mushroom had grown twice it's original size and had sprouted some fungus.
"Natsu always gets the good gags." Happy cried.
Meanwhile, Erza and Mavis continued to follow the line until they had found to intersecting lines.
"Weird." Mavis said as she overlooked the line.
as they continued to look around, it seemed that something started growling. Mavis looked around; it appeared to be coming from everywhere.
"What's that?" Erza asked
"It must be a-" Mavis started
Forest
Natsu, Gray, and Lucy also heard the noise.
"What's that?" They all asked as Natsu and Grays Mushroom started to glow before falling off.
"Hey, look, the Mushrooms fell off." Happy shouted excitedly.
"Not quite." Lucy said, smirking. "Yours is still going strong."
"Huh."
A large roar then covered the area scaring Lucy.
"What's that?" She asked.
"I don't know, but we need to find out." Natsu told her, "Let's hurry and get back to the village."
"Okay."
They all ran off, forgetting about a panicking Happy who was trying to pull off his unwanted mushroom.
"Come on now, this isn't as funny."
In the village
The two lines under Mavis and Erza started to glow as the ground began shaking. "What's going on?"
"Erza, Mavis!" A voice shouted; the two turned to see the voice belonged to Natsu, who ran up to them with Happy, Lucy, and Gray following behind them.
"What's going on!" Lucy shouted as the building around her started to glow red, and a few of them even started moving.
"Be careful Happy." Natsu told his feline friend.
"Aye."
"No villagers." Mavis started muttering. "Weirdly shaped lines and the buildings." Mavis's eyes widen in her realization. "We need to get to higher ground!" Mavis shouted. "I need to see something."
Within moments the Wizards were all on top of a tall cliff; as Mavis looked down, she thought, confirmed by what she saw, "I don't believe it, this is an ancient spell called Alive."
"What?" Lucy asked
"The evidence is clear it turns in a mint objects into living creatures," Mavis told them. "I do not doubt in my mind that we've to stumble some black magic users."
"Wait, a dark guild?" Gray asked.
"No, these people were not wizards." Mavis explained. "I can only assume that they were trying to come up with some hair-brained scheme only for it to backfire."
"So they were eaten by their own homes?" Natsu asked in amazement.
"That's crazy." Natsu's face lit as a thought came into mind. "Wait, if they're living creatures, then that means."
Gray's face also lit as he got what Natsu was going at, "we can probably turn them into."
"Food!" The two shouted in unison, giving off large smirks.
"Your smirking makes your nakedness creeper Gray!" Lucy shouted, popping up behind the two.
Erza nodded, smiling at this point she'd eat anything.
"Let's get cooking!" She shouted.
[##against magic ost##]
"Wait is this good." Lucy started before the three wizards jumped off the edge, complete set with their idea.
"Should we stop them?" Lucy asked.
"Actually, I kinda wanna see where this is going." Mavis answers. "It can't be that bad."
Natsu landed in front of the monster with a large smirk on his face. "Hello, dinner, before I eat you, let me tell you a little secret, I'm an awesome chef, and I like to flambe."
"Fire Dragon Iron Fist." Nasu struck the beast multiple time with his fire till it turned orange.
"Sorry pal, but you're toast!" Natsu shouted as he continued to strike it.
"Now that it's cooked." Natsu then hit the rocks behind him and caused boulders to fall on it. "We'll cover him up and let him steam for a bit."
Gray landed in front of a few more monsters. "Normally I'd save dessert for after the meal, but not today Ice-Make: Fish Net." A large wave of ice covered the monster freezing it solid "Anyone wanna try a monster Popsicle."
Happy was trying to fight a chair; he swung at it with a small club that he had found.
"I don't care if you're a chair; you can't taste worse than a wing fish." Happy told the chair as it continued to strike at him on blow caused happy to jump up and cause the chair to run around crazily.
[##Titania's theme##]
Lucy had managed to catch up with Erza, who was giving the monster a death glare.
"Erza!" She shouted.
"Stand back." Erza told her. "It's time to get cooking."
"With what."
"Requip." Erza's armor then came off as she changed into her chef armor with two giants knives as her weapon; she then struck at the monster, causing it to break into smaller stick.
"The secret is the cut them into pint small square 5 centimeter wide."
Mavis had found a rock and decided to sit on it, her face looking a little gloomy as she heard Natsu shouting Fire dragon iron fist, and Gay shout Ice make knuckle.
"I saw a lot of outcomes for this, but I didn't expect this one." She said as she heard what seems to be the last punch.
Natsu landed in front of the monster, who was now covered in rocks.
"Time to dig in." He tore off a tentacle and was about to eat when happy, who was still on the chair, ran past him. "What's with Happy? I don't care how hungrier he is. He can't make it a chair."
Erza stood in front of her handy work smiling.
"go on, Lucy; you try me first." She said.
"No way." Lucy retorted.
"Fine."
"That's cold, Erza; you were using me as your personal Guinea pig!" Lucy shouted as Happy flew past them still on his chair. "Um, should we help him out."
"He'll figure it out." Erza told her as she stared at the piece of the monster; she then took a bit of it while Lucy looked on.
"So?" Lucy asked Erza looked up and handed her the price; she just it off.
"Fine." Lucy unwillingly took the monster piece and looked at it.
Gray had also taken a piece of his monster. "Not pretty; let's hope it tastes better than it looks."
All three wizards bit into the monster simultaneously, and all their mouths pucker up from disgust.
"Gross!" They all shouted.
"Mavis, you knew, didn't you!" Natsu shouted at a know-laughing Mavis.
"Yeah, kinda."
"Then why'd you let us eat it." Gray came up shouting. "You trying to kill us."
"I'll have to agree I wouldn't exactly call this edible." Erza said, agreeing with Gray.
"If you knew it wasn't edible, then why'd you force me to eat it!" Lucy shouted behind her Happy crashed into the side of a cliff causing his mushroom to fall off.
"Hey, your mushroom finally came off." Gray said, completely ignoring what had happened to the cat.
"I don't care about the mushroom; I want to know why you guys didn't help me!" Happy shouted.
"You were in trouble?" Natsu asked, confused. "I thought you were goofing off."
The happy face grew pale as he backed away from his so-called friends who started talking about what to do now. 'And here I thought we were friends.' Happy was pulled from his thoughts when another monster popped up from the ground.
"Lookout." Natsu shot it with a ball of fire.
More monsters then began popping out of the ground surrounding the wizards
"These things are disgusting," Lucy said.
"In more ways than one." Erza finished.
"We need to get out of here." Mavis told them.
"Alright then." Natsu said, smirking. "We'll have to fight our way out. Fire Dragon Roar." Natsu shot down most of the monster, but more popped up in their place.
Erza then requiped into her Heaven's Wheel armor and sliced the monster that came up, pushing them back.
"I wanna help!" Lucy shouted. "Open Gate of the Golden Bull Taurus." The giant cow came out the ground and immediately grew hearts in his eyes.
"You're looking smooth as usual, Ms. Lucy." He told her.
"Less passion more bashing."
"She loves my Mooves." Taurus then slammed his Axe on the ground shooting up some monsters.
"Ice-Make: Wall." Gray shot up a large wall of Ice and cover the monsters in it as the wizards keep beating up the monsters more than kept coming up in their place; they all ended up in a circle surrounding the ground began to glow as the number of monsters tripled then that of before.
"So pretty." Happy said, forgetting the situation they were in.
"You're missing the point again." Lucy told him. "What's going on in that mixed-up head of yours."
Soon the ground began to crack beneath them, causing them to be panicked even more.
"Run!" Erza shouted but was too late as the ground beneath them shattered, and they fell in the hole.
Hours later
"Man, I'm starving." Natsu complained as the group was back to where they started roaming around trying to figure where the hell they were and get home to Magnolia so they can get some food of any kind at this point.
"I can't walk another step." Happy said, going into the air with his wings.
"Stop showing off ya fuzzball." Gray told him.
"I'm just glad we're still alive." Lucy said, following them.
"By the way?" Gray asked, facing the blond Wizard. "What exactly happened."
Lucy just shrugged as she looked back to Mavis, who was trailing behind them; she had to admit she still didn't understand what the girl was.
"Mavis is it?" Erza asked in a calm voice as she walked up to the small girl. "I don't understand your explanation, ma'am."
Flashback
Natsu, Lucy, and Mavis all stood in front of the now free villagers, all of them on the ground looking completely exhausted.
"What were you trying to pull?" Natsu asked.
The people of the village flinched until a member came forward.
"We...we were trying to use the magic circle to cast spells, but it turned us into those things." She told them.
"When you guys stepped into the circle, you activated it, and we lost control." Another man told them.
"uh, I ate one those things." Lucy said, grossed out.
"Well, you won't have to worry about it is happening again." Mavis spoke up. "I hope you villagers learned your lesson; black magic isn't to played with."
"Mavis, what do you mean?" Natsu asked
"Don't worry about it Natsu." Mavis told him. "Now as for you villagers, I hope you never attempt anything like this again." Mavis said, refocusing her attention on the villagers.
"Yes, we never want to go through that again."
End Flashback
"When we finally beat the monster, the magic circle seems to self destruct on itself, and you were able to not only save us but free the villagers as well?" Erza asked as she stopped alongside Gray, who had slowed down to meet her. "How'd you do it."
"Hmm." Mavis stroked her chin, pondering on how she should tell the girl this.
"Honestly, I don't know how to tell you this." Mavis told her. "But you shouldn't worry yourself about it." Mavis said, giving off a warm smile.
This got weird looks from Erza and Gray as they continued to trail the three wizards to Magnolia.
"Besides, that's not the most important thing right now." Natsu said.
All four of them nodded their head as Mavis let out a sigh; she would have to deal with this for a longer time.
"We're still hungry."