Here's chapter 2! Edited and ready for reading! I hope you guys enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, but Elaina is of my own creation as well as anything else you don't recognize.

While still running away from the army, Elaina had convinced Natsu to head to the inn where her suitcase was so that she could grab it to take with them. Not to mention change out of her dress.

And now here she was, standing in front of the guildhall of Fairy Tail.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail!" Happy said. Elaina could practically feel the tears coming on as she smiled the biggest smile she ever had on her face in a long time.

"Hey," Natsu said, grabbing Elaina's attention. "Why're you crying?" Elaina shook her head while wiping her eyes.

"I guess I'm just so happy to finally be here," she said with a soft smile. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to join." Natsu smiled back before kicking in the doors.

"We made it back alive!" he shouted.

"We're home!" Happy exclaimed. Elaina took in the livelihood of the guildhall in awe. Everyone was talking, laughing, and enjoying themselves.

"So I heard you went all out in Hargeon, Natsu," a bucked tooth wizard said. "Had to go starting trou—" He was cut off by Natsu's fist.

"You lied to me about that Salamander," Natsu said in anger. "I'm gonna kick your butt."

"Don't get mad at me. I'm not the one to blame here. I'm just passing along a rumor I heard."

"It was just a rumor?!"

"You wanna fight?!"

"Let's go!"

That's when the chaos started. People were flying this way and that. Happy was even knocked around a bit. Elaina couldn't help but smile at the fighting in front of her.

"I can't believe I'm actually here," she said softly to herself. "After a year of dreaming for this to be real, for me to actually being able to join, it's really happening." She was practically beaming with excitement.

"So Natsu finally made it back, huh?" a voice caught Elaina's attention. She looked and saw the one and only Gray Fullbuster standing in his underwear. Wow, the series wasn't kidding about him having that stripping habit. "It's time to settle things once and for all." Gray started making his way to the brawling wizards.

"Gray, your clothes?" Cana Alberona said, sitting at the bar with a wine glass in her hand.

"I don't have time for that!"

"So you're gonna fight in just your underwear?" a black haired, brown eyed guy said from his seat next to Cana. He was wearing dark jeans, white t-shirt, and a dark blue unbuttoned shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Elaina didn't recognize him as a known member of the guild.

"You see?" Cana said with a sigh. "I don't date the men here because they have no class." Then she started guzzling down a barrel full of alcohol.

"Right, they're the ones with no class," Elaina muttered. She continued on watching the fight.

"Come here and fight me, Natsu!" Gray said.

"Not until you put some clothes on," Natsu responded.

"It's only noon and you boys already whining like spoiled babies," Elfman said from behind Elaina, causing her to turn around. "I'm a real man. You want me to prove it to you?" In response, both Natsu and Gray punched him, knocking him to the other side of the guildhall.

"Oh wow, they're really that strong," Elaina said.

"Geez, it's so noisy around here, huh?" a voice behind her said. It was accompanied by girlish giggles. Elaina turned around and saw Loke with two girls on either side of him. Elaina had to stifle a laugh when a glass knocked into Loke's forehead.

"Are you all right?" one of the girls asked.

"I'm gonna go fight, only to protect you two," he said before joining the fight.

"Yeesh, he really is a flirt," Elaina said.

"Hello. Are you new here?" The brunette turned around and saw the white haired, blue eyed beauty, Mirajane.

"Oh hi," Elaina said shyly. "I'm Elaina. I was hoping to join the guild." She jerked her thumb at the fight. "Shouldn't we stop them or something?"

"It's always like this around here," Mirajane said. "I just leave them alone. Besides—" She was cut off by Elfman slamming into her. Elaina looked on with wide eyes. "It's kinda fun, don't you think?" Then she passed out.

Elaina grunted as Gray was slammed into her. Natsu proudly stood not far away, twirling Gray's underwear on his finger.

"Give me back my underwear, jerk!" Gray exclaimed. Elaina blushed a deep red and she avoided looking at Gray. The wizard took notice of her and asked, "Excuse me, miss. Could I please borrow your underwear?"

"N-no!" Elaina said, pushing Gray far back as she could. She then was swept off her feet by Loke.

"These guys are all so insensitive," he said. "A woman has needs." Then he was punched by Elfman, causing the playboy to drop Elaina.

"A real man speaks with his fists, Loke!" Elfman said. He was kicked in the face by Natsu.

"I told you to butt out!" the pink haired boy said. Elaina started to fuss over Mirajane as the brawl continued.

"That's enough, you guys," Cana said, bringing out one of her cards as a magic circle appeared in front of it. "I suggest that you knock it off."

"Oh yeah?" Gray said, readying himself to continue to fight. "Says who?" Elfman's arm transformed into rock and Loke readied his ring magic.

"I'm ready for ya!" Natsu said, flames around both fists.

"So they always fight like this?" Elaina said, holding onto Happy like the blue cat could be a shield.

"Uh-huh," he said.

"You don't really seem to be worried." That's when a large black foot stomped onto the ground. Elaina looked at the extremely tall black figure.

"Would you fools stop bickering like children?" he said. Everyone stopped fighting.

"I'm sorry," Mirajane said, having recovered from before. "I didn't know you were still here, Master." Natsu laughed.

"Man, talk about a bunch of babies," he said. "Looks like I win this round, you guys." The large figure stepped on Natsu before looking at Elaina.

"Well, seems we've a new recruit," he said. Elaina nodded and then watched as the figure shrunk down to his normal size. She looked down at the familiar face of Makarov Dreyar, Fairy Tail's guild master. He held up a hand of greetings. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Elaina said. "So this guy's really in charge?"

"Of course he is," Mirajane said. "Allow me to introduce the Fairy Tail guild master, Makarov." Makarov then jumped and flipped towards the railing of the second floor, only to hit his back on the railing before righting himself. Then he cleared his throat and addressed the guild.

"You've gone and done it again, you bunch of clods," he said. "Just take a look at how much paperwork the Magic Council sent me this time. He held up a bunch of papers. "This is the biggest pile of complaints yet. Have you lost your minds?! All you kids are good for is getting the higher-ups mad at me." Master Makarov trembled in anger before he calmed down. "However..." He set the papers in his hands ablaze. "I say to heck with the Magic Council." He threw those papers into the crowd and Natsu caught them in his mouth like a dog catching a treat. "Now listen up. Any power that surpasses reason still comes from reason, right? Magic isn't some kind of miraculous power. It is a talent that only works when the flow of energy inside of us and the flow of energy in the natural world are in perfect synchronization. To perform magic, one must have a strong mind and the ability to focus. It should take over your being and come pouring out of your soul. If all we do is worry about following rules, then our magic will never progress. Don't let those blowhards on the council scare you. Follow the path you believe in. 'Cause that's what makes the Fairy Tail Guild number one!" Master Makarov then lifted his hand into the air, sticking out his pointer finger and thumb. Everyone cheered, following his lead, copying the same symbol he was.

Elaina smiled at the newly fresh Fairy Tail emblem on her right hand. Yes, it was in the same place Lucy had gotten hers and yes, it was in pink too, but that had everything to do with it being Elaina's favorite color rather than the story line.

"There," Mirajane said. "Now you're an official member of the Fairy Tail Guild."

"Oh, thank you, Mirajane," Elaina said.

"You're welcome. And you can call me Mira." Elaina nodded.

"All right then, Mira." The brunette made her way to Natsu, who was standing in front of the request board with a bored expression on her face.

"Hey, Natsu," the girl said, holding out her hand in excitement. "Check it out. I got the Fairy Tail mark! It's official! I'm a member!"

"Congratulations," he said in a distracted tone rather than the bored and uninterest monotone voice he used in the show. "Welcome to the guild, Elaina." The green eyed girl blinked in surprise. Natsu had actually said her name. If she remembered correctly, Natsu had gotten Lucy's name wrong. What was so special about Elaina that he had remembered her name?

"Make sure you pick one with a big reward, Natsu," Happy said to the pink haired boy, who was stilling looking for a new job to do.

"Whoa, 160,000 Jewel to get rid of some thieves?" Natsu said as he picked a job flier from the board.

"Sounds good to me."

"How come my dad hasn't come back yet?" Romeo Conbolt asked Master Makarov, who was drinking from a mug of beer. Master Makarov stopped and looked at the six year old boy.

"You're starting to work my nerves, Romeo," the Master said. "You're a wizard's son. Have faith in your father and wait patiently for him."

"But sir, he told me he'd be back in three days. And he's been gone for over a week now!" Elaina couldn't help but feel sorry for Romeo. She knew what it was like not having parents around at a young age. She had already decided that, like Lucy, she was gonna go with Natsu to Mount Hakobe to help look for Macao.

"If I remember correctly, he took the job on Mount Hakobe," Master Makarov said.

"That's right. And it's not that far from here, so why won't somebody go look for him?"

"Listen, kid, your old man's a wizard. And like every other wizard in this guild, he can take care of himself. Now go home, have some milk and cookies, and wait!"

"Jerk!" That's when Romeo punched the Master in the nose and then ran outside while yelling, "I hate you all!" as he cried.

"Poor kid," Elaina said.

"I know it sounds like the Master doesn't care, but he really is worried," Mira said. Elaina nodded as she watched Natsu shove the flier in his hand back onto the request board hard.

"What do you think you're doing?" Nab asked. "You almost broke the board, Natsu." The Master sighed as he and Elaina watched Natsu and Happy walk out of the guild. "This doesn't look good, Master. You know how he can be. I bet he's going up to Mount Hakobe to save Macao."

"When is that kid ever gonna grow up?" another wizard asked.

"Who knows? Going after Macao isn't gonna do anything except hurt his pride."

"Remember Nab, we can't choose another's path," the Master said. "Just leave him be."

"Natsu's pretty upset," Elaina said with a sad look in her eyes.

"He and Romeo have a lot in common," Mira said. Elaina looked at the barmaid. "I think he sees himself in Romeo. Just because we're members of Fairy Tail, it doesn't mean we don't have our own personal issues. We've all had our fair share of suffering and loss." Elaina wondered if Mira was thinking of Lisanna as she was saying this.

"Why'd you come with us?" Natsu asked in pain from his motion sickness as they rode a carriage to Mount Hakobe.

"I'm hoping that I could help," Elaina said. Natsu flopped down on the seat opposite of her. "I know what it's like to lose someone close to you." Natsu and Happy looked at her, but Elaina wasn't paying attention to them. She was remembering what Mira had said before she left.

Flashback:

"Many years ago, Natsu's father left and never came back," Mira said. "Well, technically, it wasn't his real father, but the one who raised him. He was actually a dragon."

"Natsu was really raised by a dragon, huh? I remember him saying he was looking for a dragon when we met in Hargeon." Mira nodded.

"When he was a little boy, a dragon found him wandering the forest. He took him in and taught him all about language, culture, and magic. But one day, the dragon disappeared and never returned."

"That dragon must've been Igneel."

"That's right. And Natsu lives for the day when he'll finally see Igneel again. It's kinda cute, don't you think?"

"You don't think Natsu would mind if I went with him, do you?" Elaina asked Mira.

"I don't think so. I'm sure if you hurry, you could catch up with him." Elaina smiled a bit at Mira before getting up from her seat and starting towards the door before stopping and looking back at Mira.

"I know how he feels, how he and Romeo both feel. I know what it's like to lose your parents when you're just a little kid." And with that, Elaina ran as fast as she could to catch up with Natsu.

The halting of the carriage shook Elaina from her thoughts.

"I guess we're there," she said.

"All right!" Natsu said, suddenly feeling rejuvenated, and jumped up from his seat. "We've stopped moving!"

"I'm sorry, but this is as far as I can get you," the driver of the carriage said. The doors to the carriage opened and the trio were greeted by an enormous blizzard.

"Whoa!" Happy said as he had to hold onto the door so he wouldn't blow away.

"I guess we should start walking, huh?" Elaina asked, looking at the fire wizard.

The three trekked on through the raging winds of the blizzard. Elaina shivered, rubbing her hands on her upper arms, hoping and failing to create some heat to warm her up.

"Is it always like this in the summer?" Elaina asked, biting her lip.

"That's what you get for wearing light clothing," Natsu said.

"It was a split-second decision. I would've been more prepared if I knew what it was going to be like." She shivered violently, feeling her knees knocking together. "You don't mind if I use your blanket, do you?"

"I guess so." Elaina smiled gratefully as she took the blanket from Natsu and wrapped herself as tightly as she could. It was slightly warm, not much, but enough for Elaina to feel slightly relieved.

"Thanks." Unlike what Lucy did, using Horologium to carry her through the snow, Elaina didn't call on the clock spirit. She continued trekking through the best she could.

"If you're that cold, what'd you tag along?" Natsu asked. Elaina bit her lip, trying to decide what to say. She had already told Mira that she had lost her parents so she suppose that it wouldn't have hurt to tell Natsu.

"Because I wasn't that much older than Romeo when I lost both my parents and I don't want him to go through the same thing I did. Besides, Macao's a Fairy Tail wizard and so am I. We look after each other, right?" Natsu nodded with a slight smile on his face. "So what kinda job had Macao way out here?

"You should have asked that before you came with us." Elaina shrugged.

"Wouldn't have changed my mind."

"He went to slay a Vulcan. It's a big monster." Elaina nodded before wincing as the wind blew.

"We should look for Macao and fast before the storm gets worse." Natsu nodded and they walked forward.

"Macao! Where are you?!" Natsu shouted.

"Macao!" Happy and Elaina yelled. Then out of nowhere, a Vulcan attacked them.

"That's a big Vulcan!" Happy said. The Vulcan sniffed before dashing to its left.

"Hey, wait!" Natsu said. The Vulcan stopped in front of Elaina, who shook in fear.

"Me like human woman," it said. Elaina whimpered, backing up slowly. Unfortunately, it grabbed her and started to take off with her.

"So it can talk, huh?" Natsu said as he watched the Vulcan leave with Elaina.

"Natsu!" she screamed, her voice cracking in fear.

The Vulcan brought Elaina to an ice cave, setting her down once they were inside. Elaina backed away as far away as possible from the beast. Just because she knew it was Macao doesn't mean it was any less scary for her. Elaina quivered in fear as the Vulcan towered over her.

"Hey, you big ape! Where's Macao?! Tell me!" Natsu shouted as he came flying into the cave. He ended up slipping on the icy cave floor, crashing into the cave wall. "Spill it, monkey. Where is my friend?"

"Huh?" the Vulcan said. Elaina quickly ran to Natsu's side.

"You understand me, right? He's a human man. Now tell me where he is."

"Man?"

"That's right. Where are you hiding him?"

"Man!" The Vulcan beckoned Natsu to follow him, pointing off the in the direction of the entrance to the cave.

"Hey, I think he's gonna show me." Natsu went to the entrance, sticking his head out. "Macao!" The Vulcan roughly pushed Natsu out.

"Natsu!" Elaina shouted.

"No like man," the Vulcan said. "Me like woman!" Then it started to chant 'woman'.

"All right. Looks like it's my turn." Elaina took off the blanket and took a golden key off her key ring. "Open, Gate of the Golden Bull: Taurus!" The bull spirit appeared in front of her.

"It's nice to see you, Miss Elaina. You still got that nice body of yours. How about a smooch?" Elaina sighed and scrunched her nose in distaste.

"Taurus may be big and strong and is the strongest out of all my celestial spirits, but he's probably one of the biggest perverts I've ever met."

"No touch my woman!" the Vulcan said.

"Your woman? Them's fighting words, you moo-nkey."

"Go get him, Taurus," Elaina said. Taurus grabbed the axe on his back, slamming the blade into the ground to create a ripple effect with the ground debris. Unfortunately, the Vulcan dodged the attack. The Vulcan was about to attack Taurus, when Natsu appeared and kicked Taurus in the face, leaving the bull spirit down for the count. "Natsu!"

"Hey," the pink haired boy said. "So how come there are more monsters now than when I left?"

"Taurus isn't a monster, Natsu," Elaina explained. "He's one of my celestial spirits."

"That guy?" Natsu looked over at the Vulcan.

"No, Natsu, the other one, the bull. Hang on for a second, though, how'd you manage to get back here? Didn't you take, like, a serious fall?" Natsu looked back at her and grinned.

"Happy came to save me." Natsu looked at the blue cat that hovered above them. "Thanks, little buddy."

"Aye," Happy said.

"I almost forgot that you could fly, Happy," Elaina said, smiling at him.

"My woman!" the Vulcan said, lunging to attack Natsu, who stopped him easily.

"You listen up," the pink haired Dragon Slayer said. "I consider everyone in the Fairy Tail Guild my friend." The Vulcan kicked Natsu back a few feet, but Natsu was still standing. "Whether it's Gramps and Mira, or even those annoying jerks Gray and Elfman." The Vulcan started to charge and a glowing magic circle appeared at Natsu's feet. "Happy and Elaina too. They're all my friends. Which is why I'm not leaving without Macao!" Natsu gave the Vulcan a flaming kick to the gut. However, the Vulcan was still standing and sent an ice attack, causing Elaina to dodge so she wouldn't be hit. "Your ice attack has no effect on fire."

"Oh boy," Elaina said, seeing the Vulcan holding Taurus's axe.

"That's not good."

"Please be careful, Miss Elaina," Taurus said in a daze. Natsu kept dodging the axe as the Vulcan swung it. That is until Natsu slipped on the icy cave floor. Elaina gasped just as Natsu stopped the axe, the blade being between his two hands.

"Taurus, you gotta go back," Elaina said, seeing Natsu struggle with the pressure the Vulcan put on the axe. "Your axe will go back with you." Then she watched as Natsu heated up the axe with his hands, consuming the drops of melted metal.

"Oh yeah, now I got some fire in my belly," Natsu said before he spit out of little balls of metal that were in his mouth, pelting the Vulcan with them. Then Natsu attacked the Vulcan with his Fire Dragon Iron Fist, defeating the beast.

"We beat him!" Happy said.

"Yeah, we did, but wasn't it supposed to tell us where Macao is?" Elaina asked.

"Oh," Natsu said, remembering why he was fighting the Vulcan in the first place. "Forgot about that." Then Elaina remembered that this was the moment that the Vulcan turned back to Macao. And it happened. The Vulcan glowed brightly, blinding them for a moment. "What the heck was that?" In the Vulcan's place was a beaten up Macao. "Macao?"

"So Macao was the Vulcan after all."

"Yeah, he must have been taken over by that Vulcan," Happy said.

"Taken over?"

"It must have used a possession spell on him. You see, Vulcans survive by stealing people's bodies and taking them over. They're evil body snatchers."

"Well, in any case, he's hurt." Elaina looked at Natsu. "You have medical supplies in your backpack, right, Natsu?" He nodded and went to grab the supplies. They set Macao on Natsu's blanket and Elaina started to treat his wounds.

"It looks like he put up a good fight before that Vulcan finally got to him though," Happy said.

"Macao, don't you die on me," Natsu said to the unconscious man. "Romeo's waiting for you. Open your eyes!" That must have done the trick because Macao opened his eyes that very moment.

"Natsu?" the man said.

"You're okay." Elaina smiled with relief.

"I'm so pathetic. I defeated 19 of those brutes. But the 20th, that's the one that got me. I'm so angry with myself. I'm embarrassed to go home and face Romeo."

"Don't be like that. Come on, man. You beat 19 monsters." Natsu held out his hand and Macao took it. "Now let's go home. Your little boy's been waiting for you."

Elaina watched the two wizards, smiling at the friendship the two had. She wished that she could create bonds like that with the guild now that she joined.

"Hey Romeo!" Natsu called out to the six-year-old boy as he, Elaina, Happy, and Macao started walking towards him. Romeo looked up and his eyes widened as he saw his father being supported by Natsu.

"Dad!" Romeo exclaimed as he jumped on his father, knocking Macao down. Macao righted himself and hugged his son. "You came back. I'm so sorry, Dad."

"No, I'm sorry for making you worry," Macao apologized.

"I can handle it 'cause I'm a wizard's son."

"Next time those bullies pick on you, here's what I want you to say. 'Can your old man defeat 19 monster all by himself? 'Cause mine can.'" Elaina smiled as she, Natsu, and Happy started to walk away.

"Natsu!" Romeo called out to the retreated trio. "Happy! Thanks for your help!"

"No prob, kiddo," Natsu said.

"Aye," Happy added.

"Elaina, thanks for helping them bring my daddy back to me!" Romeo called to the brunette.

"It was my pleasure, Romeo," she called back as she turned around and waved to the boy. She turned back around and looked at Natsu and Happy. "Well, I'm gonna go grab my things from the guildhall and find an inn for the night. I've got apartment hunting to do in the morning."

"You could just stay with me and Happy," Natsu offered as they approached the guildhall.

"Thanks, but I don't wanna intrude. I'll be fine, really." She started walking into the building before turning back slightly, giving the cat and Dragon Slayer a wave and a smile. "I'll see you guys later." Natsu smiled at the girl's retreating back as she slipped inside.

And there you have it! Chapter 2! I hope you guys like it! Don't forget to leave a review!