In the small port town of Hargeon, an area where ships come and go, and people bustle through to get to their destination today, a pink-haired boy named Natsu Dragneel and his small blue talking cat named Happy are trying to get off the train.
"We made it to Hargeon." Happy yelled excitedly. "Come on, get up already." He looked back to see Natsu fallen over the ground
"Um, is he alright." One of the conductors asked.
"Oh yeah, he's fine." Happy told him. "This always happens when he travels."
"Never again." He spoke up. "I'm never riding on this stupid train again."
"If our Intel is correct, we should find that salamander in this town." The blue cat said while walking towards the door, "Let's go."
"Just give me a minute." He said while hanging out of the window.
The cat hops off the train as soon as the train workers throw more coal into the engine and start the parade. The processions begin to move with Natsu still inside Happy turns as his friend is hauled off, screaming for his life. "Uh oh, there he goes."
The journey begins
"What!" A girl screamed. "You mean to tell me there is only one magic shop in this whole town." This girl's name is Lucy, and she is currently in the same town as Natsu and Happy.
"Afraid so." The store clerk answered.
"The people here are more fishing folk than they are magic folk." he told the girl.
"Man looks like I came all this way for nothing." The girl said in a depressed tone.
"Aw, now, don't be like that." The man then pulled out a small box. "This color switch has been trendy lately." He then moves his hand around the small orb.
"Purple." He shouts, and his olive green clothes then turn purple.
"I already have one of those; what I wanted was some powerful gate keys." She tells the man.
"Gate keys, huh, that's a rare request." The man then pulls out a box and opens it revealing a silver key inside.
"Aw, it's the little doggie." Lucy squealed in delight.
"You know it's not powerful." The man tells her.
"Yeah, but I want it." She replies. "How much."
"Twenty thousand jewel."
Lucy completely froze and peered in closer to the man. "How much was that."
"I said twenty thousand jewels." He said in a quick voice.
"Oh come on." Lucy said while sliding on the desk pulling up her skirt a bit.
"How much is it worth." She said while winking.
The man freezes, a slight blush forming on his cheeks.
Lucy is then seen stomping away from the shop. "I can't believe that old coot only knocked off a thousand jewel." She said while grunting. "That trick normally works so much for using my feminine wiles."
Some girls run by her excitedly, saying that a famous wizard is in town. "Is it him? I don't believe it!" One of them shouts
"Wait, who is that." She inquires; one of the girls stops and looks back at her.
"He's this mysterious wizard that can use fire magic you can't even use in stores." She squeals with glee before running off again.
"Really." Lucy says.
"Well damn, never thought a famous wizard would be a deadbeat town like this." She said as the girls ran to meet the wizard.
Natsu and Happy are seen again walking through the town of Hargeon, "Damn, I ended riding the stupid train twice."
"You should get over that motion sickness." The cat told him, "it could be the death of you one day."
Ignoring his friend's comment, Natsu looked ahead.
"Hey, this Salamander guy has to be Igneel, right?" He asked in concern.
"Well, I mean, the only fire dragon that I've heard off is Igneel." Happy said, reassuring his friend.
As they were walking, they heard many girls screaming Salamander; they two looked at each other with excitement. "Well, speak of the devil, we're in luck today."
"Aye."
They run over to see a large group of girls swooning over something; in the middle is a guy with dark purple hair posing as the girls begin to go even crazier.
Lucy is seen in the middle of the crowd with pink cheeks her begins to skip a beat as she looks, and the man in the dark cloak. 'Why is my heart pumping so fast.' she thinks in her head. 'Is it because he's a famous wizard.'
Her eyes are then covered with hearts like many girls around the Wizard. 'Am I in love.'
"Hey, Igneel." Could be heard from a distance, but she chose to ignore it. "Igneel."
Just as she started to move closer, two figures jump in front of Lucy. As the girl stares at the pair for a second, which causes the hearts to break, she then looks around and notices that he was using a charm spell.
Natsu looked at the purple-haired man in confusion.
"Um, who are you?" He asks, shocking the man.
"Maybe you recognize my name, Salamander!" He shouts, doing another pose only to see the boy walking away from him.
The fan girls then attack him grabbing and biting him "You should be nice and apologize to him right now!" They all shout.
"Now that's enough." Salamander tells them, and they back off like animals; he then pulls out a paper and scribbles on it.
"Here you go, kid, you can rub this in all of your friend's faces." He said with a smile.
"Yeah, no thanks." Natsu tells him, which results in the fan-girls tossing him into a wall.
"well, that was fun, but I got to get going." Salamander said. "I've got business to attend to."
"You're leaving already." The girls said in perfect unison.
"Time for the red carpet." He flicked his fingers, causing flames, then came up at the bottom of his feet and lifted him. "I'm throwing a party on my yacht tonight, and you're all invited," he shouted as he flew off.
"Who the hell was that guy." Natsu inquired
"I don't know, but he sure as a creep." A voice calls out.
Natsu turns to see a girl walk up to him. "Hey, thanks for the help."
Later the two can be seen at a restaurant. Natsu is eating faster than what could be possibly be human.
"Um." Lucy said as she stared in shock. "There's no need to rush. It's not going anywhere." She said as food flew past her. 'There goes the money I saved at that old geezer's shop.' she looked up to the pink-haired boy smiling, but this was her way of saying thanks. 'Wait he has pink hair.'
"That Salamander was using magic." Lucy told the boy. "A charm spell, but they've been banned for years." She said, wondering. "I know I might not look like it, but I'm also a wizard."
"Is that so?" He asked as he took a long drink of water.
"Yeah, right now I'm labeled as a solo wizard, but right now I'm thinking of joining a guild." Lucy told the pink-haired boy. "Being part of a guild sounds like so much fun, while I admit I'm still new to this wizard thing, but I think I can get the hang it." She tells the boy who has a bare look on his face." She tells him. "I know this all sounds like gibberish to you but let me tell ya being a wizard is so much fun."
Natsu chuckled at her statement.
'You have no idea.' He said in his head.
"I mean, being solo has it's quirks, but being in a guild allows for all sorts of crazy adventures," she told him while squealing.
"You talk a lot." Happy told her half-heartedly.
"Oh yeah, you came here looking for someone?" Lucy asked, coming out of her fangirl state.
"We're looking for Igneel." Happy shouted.
"We heard that a Salamander would be coming through town, but it looks like it was the wrong guy." Natsu finished as he stuffed a whole pizza in his mouth. "I bet that poser can't breathe fire like a real dragon."
"Wait, so your friend Igneel looks like a dragon?" Lucy asked, confused.
Natsu swallowed the pizza. "No, he doesn't look like a dragon; he is one."
"Huh," Lucy shouted in disbelief. Even in this magical world, dragons are considered mythical creatures and are rarely seen by the human eye.
"What would a dragon be doing in the center of town!" She shouted at the two. "It doesn't make any sense." Lucy then stood up and placed some cash on the table. "Well, I've got to get going."
"Yeah, me too." Natsu said, standing up.
"Oh, I'm sorry I never got your name." Natsu asked as she walked out of the store.
She turned back and gave a light smile. "My name, Lucy H." She froze; she wasn't going to tell him that bit of information. "Lucy, they call me Lucy."
Natsu gave off a big grin, "Nice to meet ya, Lucy; I'm Natsu Dragneel."
"And I'm Happy!" The cat shouted.
Lucy smiled before walking away. "Natsu Dragneel, that name makes my heart all warm for some reason."
Lucy sat on a park bench reading an issue of sorcerer weekly magazine. "So mysterious wizard guy strikes again." She looked over what appeared to be a picture. Still, most of the mysterious man was covered in shadow, his dark red eyes only visible. "So this is the real Salamander." "they say he knows some type of lost magic," Lucy said to herself as she read the article. "I wonder what kind," Lucy said aloud.
"Man, I wonder what he looks like." She flipped the page and read more on the story "He had apparently wiped out a bandit clan but no official sitting, just the same symbol burning in the wreckage.
Lucy looked at the magazine. "It sorta looks like a fairy but with a tail." Lucy pondered for a second. "Do fairies even have tails?" Lucy asked herself out loud; she considered that for a while, then turned to see guild opening sections.
"Man, the number of guilds looking for members is huge." Lucy said with glee.
"But I don't want to be lower classmen though." Lucy said, "Or you know grunt." I wanna be one of the primary enforcers "Now that would be a cool title like." Lucy thought for a second. "I know Lucy the ultimate celestial."
Lucy laid-back reading the magazine. "I mean, I could join Blue Pegasus or Lamia Scale." She said while laying on her back.
"I wonder how to become a member though." Lucy wonders out loud.
"I can help you with that." A voice called out, causing Lucy to jump out off the bench she was lying on
She turned to see the man, the fake Salamander striking a pose.
"Oh, it's just Salamander." Lucy said, calming down. "What do you want."
"I wanted to invite you to my party." He said, making his trademark smirk.
"That one won't work." Lucy shouts, "A charm spell is ineffective once you realize it's been used on you." Lucy shouts at him.
Salamander smirked. "I guessed you were a wizard the moment I laid eyes on you." He then looks at her again. "It doesn't matter. The invitation still stands."
Lucy turns away from the man and crosses her arms. "Yeah, I wouldn't be caught at a party being thrown by a creep like you."
"A creep." Salamander said, falling. "Why would you call me that."
"Your spell using it to make yourself popular." Lucy said, scolding the man.
"I just wanted to feel like a celebrity at my party. Can you blame me." He told Lucy.
"This just proves even famous wizards can be big idiots." Lucy says while starting to walk away.
"You know the guild I'm in is looking for a recruit." He says, catching Lucy's attention.
"Wait, what kinda guild?" Lucy asks the man stuttering as she turns around to meet his gaze.
"One of the best in the country." Salamander tells her with a smile. "Phantom Lord." He says with a smile.
Hearts form in Lucy's eyes as she jumps up to Salamander. "I would be happy to go to your party, mister Salamander, sir."
"That was easier than I thought." He said, trying to push the girl back. "Now, don't be late." He said as he activated his red carpet and flew off.
"You got it to mister Salamander." Lucy said in a cheerful voice as she watched him fly off, then her eyes widen in revelation. "Damn it, I was so charmed." She says. "But I'm going to join a guild. I have to nice to that sleazeball until then."
Natsu and Happy stand on a balcony overlooking the town of Hargeon under the night sky. Natsu had back turned to the city as he leaned over the railing. "That was quite a meal eh happy."
"Aye."
"We should get home." Natsu started.
Happy looked over at the port and saw a ship "Hey, you think that's the ship Salamander is having that party on?" Happy asks.
Natsu turns to see the ship and immediately turns away. "I'm going to blow chunks."
"Oh, come on, it's not like we're going abroad it." Happy looked back at the ship before scratching his chin. "Besides, you're right; we need to tell Mavis that her Salamander lead was off. all we found was some guy pretending to be Salamander."
Happy's eyes widen in shock. "Natsu, I know you're not going to like this, but we have to go to that party." Happy told him.
"What? Why?" Natsu asked.
"Cause that's the fake Salamander is the one Mavis was talking about." Happy told the boy.
Natsu's eyes widen as he looks back at the ship. "I'm going to hate this." He says as he lets out a sigh.
Meanwhile, Lucy sits in a room with Salamander; two drinks are placed on the table. "Your name is Lucy, right."
"Um yeah." She answered nervously.
"I would like to toast your beauty." He waves his hand, and tiny bubbles come from the drink. "Now open wide and savor the taste of each drop."
'come on, Lucy, do for the guild, do it for doing it for the guild' before the Bubbles can reach Lucy's mouth, she slaps them away "what do you think you're doing?" She asks him coldly. "You were trying to use sleep magic."
Salamander smiles. "Very impressive, my dear."
"Look, I don't want to give you the wrong idea." Lucy tells the man baking off. "Yes, I would love to join a top-tier guild, but I'm not going to date you to make that happen."
Salamander laughs as the curtains around him open, revealing tons of men holding all the women from the party. "Welcome to my shop." He tells her, smirking, "You'll be wise to behave yourself until we make it to Bosco." He then looks up at her, making an evil face, "don't make me angry."
Lucy turned around, shocked. "I thought... you said you'd get me into your guild!" She shouts at him angrily.
"Forget it. I only told you that so we could make you one of our slaves." He says with a large smirk on his face.
The men in the back all start laughing.
"That's our salamander." One of them says.
"Got a big haul this time!" Another shouted.
"Why you." Lucy pulls out her gate keys, but Salamander shoots some fire at her knocking them out of her hands
"So you're a celestial wizard." Salamander ponders. "These keys will only work for the wizard they are contracted with." he then tosses them out of the window, "They are no use to me."
Lucy's eyes began to tear up as the men started to hold her down. "You used magic to take advantage of others." She said, tears going down her face. "You're the worst person alive."
Just before any of them could say anything, something falls through the roof of the boat the just circling the whole area. Once it clears, it reveals Natsu with a serious look in his eye
"Hey, I know you." Lucy says with pure joy.
But Natsu quickly gets sick, turning away to barf. "I knew this was a bad idea."
"You are so lame," Lucy shouts at him.
"Hey Lucy, what are you doing here." A voice calls out.
Lucy looks up to see Happy flying in the large hole Natsu made. "Oh, Happy, this guy tricked into thinking I was going to join a guild and wait since can you fly!" Lucy shouts
All of Salamander's men jumped in shock as the talking blue cat grabbed Lucy by her waist and flew off with her. "Wait, what about Natsu."
"I can't carry two people." Happy replies.
"After them, we can't let them report this to the council." Salamander shouted; they all ran outside. "Prominence Whip." Salamander waved his hand and four strings of fire burst from his hand.
Happy quickly avoided all of them, causing them to collide into a small firework.
"That cat is fast." Salamander said.
"Hey, guys."
Salamander and his men turned to see Natsu struggling to stand up behind him.
"What about Natsu and the other Girls?" Lucy asks Happy as they fly away.
"Lucy, we have a problem." Happy tells her, ignoring her question.
"What problem." As if on cue Happy's wings disappeared, and he let go of Lucy
"My transformation's up." They both fell into the water, Happy hitting his head on the rock
Lucy then turned her head to see something, 'My gate keys.' Lucy said in her head; she swam over and picked them up.
Back on the ship, Salamanders men are knocking Natsu around. "Forget about them. Let's get going to Bosco."
"Bora the Prominence!" Natsu shouts as he stops one of the men from hitting him.
Lucy then appears above the water with a large grin on her face. "Alright, Open Gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!" Water then shoots, revealing a mermaid.
"Aquarius, I need you to get that ship into the harbor for me?" Lucy asked the spirit.
"Tch." The spirit turned and faced the ship and a dark glare growing on her face. "Oh, and don't ever drop my key again, or I will kill you." Aquarius then raised her jar above her head and causes a giant wave to consume the boat.
The boat is then thrown back into the harbor, causing it to rain for a while
Lucy sits up and glares at Aquarius. "I told you to get the ship, not me."
"Oh, sorry for getting you out of the water, miss grumpy." Aquarius shot back. "Oh, and I'm taking off for a while. I'm going on a vacation with my boyfriend." She tells Lucy, smirking. "And he's hot." she then vanishes leaving an angry Lucy behind.
"I know." Happy says, popping out of the sand. "If the fish lady gives you any more trouble, just let me deal with her."
Lucy sighs. "I'm not sure how much more of this stupid cat I can take."
Lucy calms down and turns to the ship, and heads toward it.
Salamander climbs out of the wreckage and looks in disgust. All of his captives run away; he turns to see Natsu standing on top of the boat.
"So you're the guy behind all the mysterious disappearances." Natsu says as he takes off his red jacket. "It looks like this is my lucky day."
Salamander smiles.
"Take him." He shouts at two of his men. "Yes, sir."
"Watch out!" Lucy screams.
"Don't worry about him." Happy tells her while eating a fish. "I probably should have told you this earlier, but he's a wizard too."
Lucy's face grows wide in shock at the revelation as the two men then jump at Natsu, but he effort slaps them both away, revealing a red mark on his arm.
"Hey, boss, that mark on his arm." One of the men state. "I don't recognize that guild, but this is bad news, Bora."
"Don't call me that, you fool." Salamander or Nora shouts at the henchmen.
"Wait, who's that?" Lucy asks.
"That's Bora the Prominence." Happy answers. "He and his Titan Nose guild have been suspected of aiding in theft." Happy explained.
Natsu then begins to walk down the boat. "Now listen, we can do this the easy way." Natsu says before his face becomes serious. "Or I could beat you into a pulp."
Salamander, know known to be Bora smirked at this statement.
"And like you can stop me, Prominence Typhoon." A spiraling column of fire is sent flying towards Natsu, who doesn't even move.
"Natsu." Lucy shouts as she attempts to go and help him, but she is stopped by Happy, who has his wings back.
Bora laughs. "Well, I guess that's that." He then turns to walk away.
"Aw, man, this is so gross." A voice calls out. Bora turns around, and a shocked expression grows on everyone's faces as Natsu stands eating all of the fire. "You call yourself a fire wizard, man. These flames are gross."
"Fire magic doesn't work on Natsu." Happy tells Lucy as she recovers from her shock.
Natsu then consumes the rest of the fire and gives off a huge smirk. "Now I got a fire in my belly that's raging to get out." He then slammed his fists together, and a fire started to swirl around his body. "Fire Dragon." Natsu's mouth began to puff up as he put his hands over his mouth. "Roar."
A massive amount of fire burst from his mouth, consuming all of Bora's men. Bora had used his red carpet spell to lift himself over the fire.
"Where did this kid come from." The man said as Natsu rose from the wreckage, a dark shadow covering his body only showing his red eyes.
Lucy let out a gasp. "He looks just like."
"Now, remember." Natsu then ignited fire around his hands. "I gave you the chance to surrender."
"Red Shower." Bora shots as little balls of fire are blasted at Natsu, who easily dodges them. He jumps up hits Bora knocking him into a nearby building.
"So he eats fire and then attacks with it?" Lucy asked. "But how does he do it? Is it some spell?"
"Well, he has dragon lungs, so he breathes fire, dragon scales to dissolve the fire, and dragon claws for attacking with fire." Happy explained as Natsu landed on the building across from Bora.
"His brand of fire magic allows him to take on all of the qualities of a dragon." Happy told Lucy as bora continued to attack Natsu to no avail.
"It's called Dragon Slayer magic Igneel was the one who taught it to him." Happy finished.
Bora unleashed another fire attack only for Natu to eat it again. "Now that was a hefty meal." He said as he cleaned his face. "But I'm about to cook you like a smoked fish."
"You're going to do what to me?" Bora asked, panicking.
"Get ready, Fire Dragon Iron Fist." Natsu's hand then jumped into the air and hit Bora with a smoldering fist of fire, sending him into a bell tower.
Lucy stood there, awestruck at Natsu's immense power.
"That...that was incredible, but he went a little overboard." Lucy said, looking over the wreckage.
"Aye."
"Oh, shut it, cat." Lucy looked down to see that the cat was gone, and Natsu as well she looked around and saw the same symbol she saw on sorcerer weekly. "Could he be the Salamander."
As Lucy started to walk back up the steps, she noticed a small letter lying on the ground; she picked it up, seeing it was left for her. "Did he leave this for me."
Lucy opened the letter. "Go to Magnolia."
"Magnolia." She said as she looked in the distance. "Don't they call it the city filled with magic? Apparently, solo wizards can find work there." Lucy looked down as the symbol behind her burned. "Maybe I'll find out more about that salamander after all."