Chapter I

Greetings to all! This is Embodiment of Flame, a new story that has been brewing in my head due to...various reasons. If you do not mind I would rather leave it at that. Now, this is a crossover story, mainly Fairy Tail with Rave Master and a couple others in minor capacity, and starring Natsu with a few somewhat major alterations to some of the story. As you may have predicted, it will be a harem story, as if I would do anything less. I cannot really think of anything else to add so I would like to thank my secondary author, Bakuto Masaki, as usual, for his help with the story. Without further adieu, let us begin!

Two small figures, one with pink hair and one with dark red hair, slowly made their way to a massive building with a complex marking above the large front door.

"We're here," the pink-haired figure said happily, the red-haired one nodding happily as they walked up.

"We did, Natsu."

"Natsu!" a voice exclaimed.

A lean, muscular young man with a slightly tanned skin tone, dark brown eyes, spiky pink hair, a stamp just below his left shoulder in red, who wore a sleeveless, gold-trimmed, black waistcoat, left open and untucked, exposing his bare torso, white, knee-length trousers, a thick black wristband on his left wrist, black open-toed sandals, and a scale-patterned scarf around his neck, along with bandages around his left arm, jolted awake as a small, anthropomorphic, blue cat with wings on its back floated in front of him shouting.

The pink-haired teen groaned as he rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Ugh…are we there yet Happy?"

The flying cat, Happy, nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we just got here so you gotta wake up, Natsu."

Natsu nodded in understanding as a third voice asked, "Sleep well?"

Natsu turned to look at a pale-skinned young woman with long red hair worn in a pair of massive, waist-length braids tied behind her waist, red eyes, and a voluptuous figure with large breasts and wide hips, the same mark as Natsu appearing on the upper side of her right breast, visible through her revealing crimson dress that was secured by halter-neck straps, which left her back, sides, and a large portion of her cleavage down to just above her navel exposed, and extending down to her calves, with a slit down the side for her legs to move freely, two sewn patches of dark grey fabric at the dress' waist, long red gloves that almost reached her shoulders, and red, high-heeled shoes.

Natsu nodded in agreement as he reached out a hand to help the woman stand. "You bet, Flare."

Flare nodded happily as the two of them stepped out of a long train, Natsu stretching in relief.

"Ohh man, that felt good!" he exclaimed.

Happy snickered derisively. "It only felt good because you got to sleep on Flare's lap instead of getting motion sick."

"Hey, it works don't it?!"

As the three made their way off the train and into the city ahead of them, a sign denoting it as Hargeon, Flare put a finger to her chin. "Natsu, are you sure this is the place we should go to find him?"

Natsu grinned in response. "Yeah, I heard that Salamander should be here, so we should go looking."

"Sala…mander…?" Flare remarked curiously before tilting her head. "But isn't that…?"

"Come on Flare, or you'll get left behind!" Happy called.

"Ah!" Flare gasped before running to catch up.

As the three made their way through the city, Flare stopped and glanced over down a side street.

Natsu blinked as he noticed Flare standing with her head tilted curiously. "Oy, Flare, what's up?"

Flare lazily pointed down the street she was looking at. "There's a commotion down there."

Natsu raised an eyebrow as he looked where he saw a large number of girls gathered around a single spot, he heard one say, "I can't believe it's actually Salamander, the famous fire mage!"

Natsu blinked and looked at Happy.

"Salamander?!" they both said excitedly.

"Then it has to be Igneel!" Natsu said victoriously.

Flare tried to stop him weakly. "But…Natsu…wait…" Flare merely sighed and followed after the two.

As the three neared the group of girls gathered around a single point Natsu noticed that all of the girls were captivated by the supposed Salamander, with Natsu pushing through the group before eventually stumbling up to the "Salamander". Natsu blinked curiously as he looked at the man.

The "Salamander" before him was a tall and slim man with short, spiky blue hair jutting upwards, black eyes, and a purple mark above his right eye wearing a dark blue, high-collared cape reaching to just above his knees, a grey reverse side, a yellow border, and ornate blue designs on the edges, closed just below his neck with a flame-shaped fastener, a simple, white, short-sleeved shirt, magenta, pinstripe pants, and multiple metal bracelets on his wrists as well as several rings on his fingers.

Natsu blinked curiously and then sighed heavily. "You're not the right Salamander." Natsu stood up and shrugged turning to leave, only to get mauled by several of the girls in the crowd, all angry that he was rude to "Salamander."

"Salamander" walked up to the battered Natsu, holding a piece of paper in his hand and signing the word, "Salamander" on it and handed it to Natsu. "Here, I'll let you have my autograph for the trouble."

Natsu put up a hand in annoyance. "Not interested."

At that moment, one of the girls in the audience flinched before "Salamander" saluted, taking off with a swirl of purple flames. "You know ladies, I've got a party on my boat later, and all of you are invited."

All of the girls cheered happily, except for Flare who stood with an exasperated expression.

"I tried to tell you Natsu, isn't Salamander your title?" she asked.

Natsu blinked curiously and then turned blue before falling to his knees. "…Crap…"

Flare smiled as she knelt down, ruffling Natsu's hair. "There, there," she said plainly.

As Natsu stood up his stomach growled loudly. "So hungry…"

At that moment one of the girls that was in the crowd, a teenage girl with shoulder-length blonde hair, a small ponytail to one side held with a blue ribbon, brown eyes, a large chest, who wore a sleeveless white shirt with a blue cross design on it, a folded collar, a short, pleated, blue skirt, with a brown belt that held a black whip on one side and a pouch with a set of keys on the other, and knee-high black boots walked up to him.

Flare frowned in annoyance while Natsu raised an eyebrow. "What's up?" Natsu asked.

The blonde looked at him and asked, "Want me to buy you lunch?"

Natsu and Happy smiled excitedly and nodded.

Flare pouted annoyed.

The blonde nodded happily.

Inside a restaurant, Natsu and Happy voraciously devoured multiple plates of food, Flare eating calmly as the blonde watched in surprise.

Natsu took a moment to breathe between bites and asked, "So why'd you buy us food and everything?"

The blonde nodded in understanding. "It's a thank you. That jerk Salamander guy was using a Charm Ring on all of the girls around him, it even worked on me, haaa," she paused with a heavy sigh, "but you interrupting him like that broke the spell. So I have to thank you because who knows what would've happened if you hadn't."

Flare smiled proudly and leaned over, wrapping her arms around Natsu's. "Well I suppose that just proves how weak you are. After all, I only have eyes for Natsu, I couldn't be charmed into anyone else."

The blonde twitched an eyebrow. "Watch it redhead, I could force you to pay for your own meal."

Flare looked at her flatly. "You wouldn't dare."

"Watch me."

Happy then remarked, "Ooh, catfight, rawr."

"You're the cat here!" the blonde rebutted and then paused and blinked curiously. "Gah! Talking cat!"

"You only just now noticed?"

Natsu tilted his head curiously and then asked, "What's your name anyway? Mine's Natsu."

The blonde nodded. "I'm Lucy."

"And I'm Flare," the redhead remarked, possessively hugging Natsu's arm.

"No one asked!"

"So that guy was gettin' you with some type o' magic, huh?" Natsu asked.

Lucy nodded in agreement. "Yeah, like I said, a Charm Spell. It's a spell that breaks once the victim is aware what's happening. Actually, I'm a mage myself, though I haven't joined a guild yet. Oh, in case you don't know, a guild is a place where a whole bunch of wizards gather together and do jobs and share information. I really want to be in one so I can be a full-fledged mage. I know that once I do join one I'll be able to start taking jobs and earning money." Lucy then sighed happily before asking, "So you guys are looking for someone?"

Natsu nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Igneel, the Salamander."

Flare sighed in response.

"Although, he doesn't look like a Salamander."

Lucy laughed good-naturedly. "I would hope not."

"Yeah, he doesn't look like a Salamander because he's a dragon," Natsu said plainly.

Lucy stopped mid-laugh and then paled. "D-dragon!? You've gotta be kidding! Even for mages, meeting a dragon is rare to the point of impossible! Besides, a dragon wouldn't just be hopping around the middle of a city."

Natsu and Happy paled. "He wouldn't?"

Flare sighed and looked at Natsu with a pout. "I tried to tell you that, Natsu."

Natsu frowned. "Ohhh…and I thought for certain Igneel would be here…"

After a few more minutes of talking Lucy paid for their meal and began to leave, but as she turned towards the exit she found Natsu and Happy kneeled over behind her. "Eh?"

"Thank you for your kindness!" Natsu and Happy said in unison, Flare standing silently behind them.

Natsu then added, "There's no reason to pay for our meal, since we weren't trying to save you." He then handed her "Salamander's" autograph. "Here, for thanks."

Lucy looked at it disgusted. "No one would want that."

As Lucy walked out of the restaurant Natsu wondered what to do with the autograph from "Salamander".

Flare walked up to him and touched the autograph, right before it was engulfed in flame.

Natsu grinned happily and stuffed the burning piece of paper in his mouth before gulping it down.

Later that night, Natsu, Happy, and Flare were wandering on a roadside when they noticed multiple lights in the distance. "Hmm…what's goin' on there?" Natsu asked.

Flare put a hand above her eyes to get a better look, a pointless gesture as the sun was down. "I don't know, it looks like a boat."

As the three stood several girls walked past them, one saying, "Did you hear? That Salamander guy is an actual Fairy Tail wizard."

"Wow, so cool!" another exclaimed.

Flare and Natsu watched the two leave before turning back to the boat, Natsu clenching his fists angrily. "So this guy says he's from Fairy Tail, huh?"

Flare raised an eyebrow and turned to Natsu. "Should we go?"

Natsu nodded and the group made their way down the hill they were on towards the boat.

As the three approached the boat, Flare noticed something fall into the water as a commotion started.

Happy then jumped onto Natsu's back. "Come on, let's go!" Happy exclaimed.

Natsu nodded as wide, white, feathered wings emerged from Happy's back, before the two took off into the air.

At the same time, Flare took off the tie on her braids and shook her hair loose, causing it to fall to its full length, flowing down her back.

As Natsu and Happy made their way towards the boat, they heard a familiar voice shout frantically, "You're supposed to be from Fairy Tail, aren't you?! You're the worst kind of wizard!"

Natsu grit his teeth as his fists became encased in flame. "Let's go, Happy."

"Aye, sir!" Happy agreed as he released Natsu, dropping him onto the top of the barge.

Inside, "Salamander" stood in front of a crying Lucy, with multiple goons around him holding unconscious women. "Now, now, don't worry. I'll just be taking you and the rest of my merchandise to Bosco," "Salamander" said in an attempt to "sooth" Lucy.

Lucy clenched her fist when the ceiling suddenly burst as something fell through.

As the smoke cleared, Natsu stood up in front of Lucy, a glare on his face and his fists covered in flames.

"Wh-what the…?!" "Salamander" shouted.

"Bora, what should we do?!" one the men shouted.

"Salamander", who was actually Bora, turned and shouted, "Don't call me that you dolt!"

At that moment Happy swooped down and grabbed onto Lucy, taking her away from the ship.

"Hey!" Bora shouted as he shot several bursts of purple flame at Happy and Lucy, Happy dodging through the air and missing each shot.

However, after a few moments Happy grunted.

"Wh-what's wrong?! Did he get you?!" Lucy asked frantically.

"N-no…" Happy strained. "I'm…out of power…" Happy's wings then vanished in a burst of light and both he and Lucy fell into the water.

Back inside the ship, Natsu glared and was about to attack Bora and his men when the boat started to rock. "Oh crap…" Natsu groaned before he fell to the floor, motion sickness taking ahold powerfully.

Bora raised an eyebrow and then chuckled in amusement. "How pathetic. Take care of him."

Bora's goons then gathered around Natsu and started pummeling him.

At the same time, Lucy saw a ring of keys stuck on a rock underneath the water, and dove down to grab them. As she reemerged at the surface she took in a breath and then nodded to herself. "With all this water around, I can summon Aquarius." She then took a golden key from the ring and stuck it in the water. "Open, Gate of the Water Bearer: Aquarius!" A magic circle appeared in the water, a bell ringing as a figure appeared from within it.

The figure was a royal blue mermaid with waist-length blue hair combed back, a long, blue fish tail that started after her waist, and a large bust covered by a dark blue bikini top, holding a blue pot under one arm.

Happy gaped in shock at the sight. "Wow!"

Lucy smirked proudly. "I'm a Celestial Spirit Wizard, I can summon Spirits like Aquarius here to help me."

"Cool!"

Aquarius then turned to Lucy with a deep scowl.

"Oh crap, she's angry," Lucy gulped.

Back on the ship, Natsu was helpless against Bora's grunts until several were hit with long streams of fire, sending them flying into the opposite walls.

Bora gaped before he and his men turned to see Flare standing outside the room, her hair elongated and flowing like tendrils, encased in flames, and a furious scowl on her face. "Don't you hurt Natsu!"

Her flame-coated hair then shot forward, striking and ensnaring several of Bora's goons, burning several as she tossed them out into the ocean, before walking towards Natsu and Bora, still scowling.

Bora stumbled backwards as Flare walked towards him, falling against the wall with a frightened expression. "N-now, let's not get crazy okay…?"

Flare's scowl turned to a warm smile as she sat down and placed Natsu's head in her lap and began stroking his hair. "There, feel better?"

Natsu moaned happily as he fell asleep.

"Whhhaaa…!?" Bora shouted in shock. "Are you mocking me!?"

Lucy gulped as she looked at Aquarius. "Wh-what's wrong…Aquarius…?"

Aquarius sighed angrily. "The next time you lose my key like that…I'll kill you!"

Lucy and Happy gasped in fear as water surged from the urn in her hands, sending the two flowing away. Though it had the added effect of pushing the ship to shore, grounding it and damaging it heavily.

"Why'd you get me in the blast too?" Lucy asked weakly as she laid in the rubble of the ship.

Aquarius huffed. "Hmph, I was aiming for you, not the ship. I messed up by destroying it."

"What?!"

"Now, don't even think about summoning me for a while, I'll be on vacation with my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?!"

Aquarius then vanished in a shimmer of light.

Lucy and Happy then got up and ran over to the damaged ship, where they saw Bora and his men strewn about, though Lucy gaped when she saw Natsu and Flare sitting quietly, Natsu's head resting on her lap. "Is this seriously the time for that?!"

Flare lightly patted Natsu's head. "Time to get up, we're on the shore," she said softly.

Natsu stood up and cracked his knuckles as he walked over to the edge of where the room's floor was, and looked down to see Bora and the others standing below them, both Natsu and Flare angry at the group.

Bora looked up and saw Natsu and raised an eyebrow.

"Oy, Salamander, you said you're a Fairy Tail mage, right?" Natsu asked angrily.

"Yeah, so what?" Bora responded bluntly.

"Funny, I don't remember you. Because, you see, I'm a Fairy Tail mage too."

Bora's eyes widened, as did Lucy's, as she noticed the mark on Natsu's shoulder and on Flare's chest, the brand of Fairy Tail.

Flare then narrowed her eyes. "I thought his name sounded familiar. Natsu, he's Bora the Prominence."

"I don't care who he is," Natsu rebutted angrily. "He made a mockery of Fairy Tail and tricked people into thinking he's one of us and did bad stuff, now he's gonna pay."

"Ah crap," Bora grunted. As Natsu prepared to attack, Bora hissed and raised a hand. "Not so fast." Purple flames emerged from a magic circle and rocketed towards Natsu, engulfing both him and Flare.

"Oh no!" Lucy exclaimed.

However, a bubbling sound emanated from the flames as they started converging on a single point before they began to diminish as Natsu swallowed the flames.

"What!?" Lucy shouted.

Happy explained, "Flames don't work on Natsu, he's a Fire Dragon Slayer. It's a Lost Magic, he's got the scales of a dragon so flames don't hurt him and he's got the lungs of a dragon so he can eat fire."

Natsu wiped his chin with the back of his hand and sneered. "Che, those flames of yours taste awful."

Flare asked shyly, "Would you rather use mine, Natsu?"

Natsu grinned and nodded. "You bet!"

Flare smiled and flared her hair out, encasing it in flames that Natsu immediately began gulping down. Flare folded her arms and moaned with a reddened face as Natsu devoured the flames her body produced, throwing her head back slightly.

"That's too much!" Lucy shot.

After a few seconds Natsu sighed and then chuckled. "Much better, now I'm all fired up!"

Flare put a hand to her cheek with a satisfied moan.

One of Bora's men then gasped. "Oh crap, Bora, that guy, I think he's…the real Salamander!"

"Shit…" Bora cursed as Natsu prepared to attack.

Natsu slammed his fists together, causing a magic circle to form in front of him, his pupils became slitted, and he placed his fists in front of his mouth, his right in front of the left, as another magic circle appeared in front of his hands and he shouted, "Fire Dragon Roar!" A powerful stream of fire then blasted from the magic circle and tore towards Bora and his men. Unfortunately, his attack extended far beyond Bora and his men, destroying a portion of the city as well.

Natsu sighed in relief as he and Flare jumped down.

Lucy gaped in shock. "Is this…really what Fairy Tail wizards are like…?"

Natsu, Lucy, Flare, and Happy then turned as multiple guards started running towards them.

Natsu then ran, grabbing Lucy's hand.

"H-hey! What are you doing?" Lucy asked confused.

"You said you wanted to join Fairy Tail, right? Well then, come on, I'll take you there," Natsu said happily.

Lucy widened her eyes and then nodded in agreement.

Flare puffed her cheeks slightly as the group ran away from the pursuing soldiers.

At the same time, in a different place, a group of people stood suspended over a large Magic Circle.

As they discussed different topics, one voice spoke up. "This is ridiculous. Fairy Tail merely causes destruction everywhere it goes."

Another voice added, "Agreed. This guild is nothing more a bunch of fools."

"All they do is break things," a third voice interjected.

A young man with short blue hair, a red, tribal tattoo encompassing his right eye, wearing a long white tunic with black stripes across the edges and on the upper part of his arms, a decorated collar, large straps connected to decorated buckles, and matching pants and shoes, spoke up in a calm voice, "I'd have to disagree. While Fairy Tail does cause its fair share of trouble, it also helps in many things. I can think of several instances where their actions have been invaluable."

"Hmmm…regardless of your personal liking towards them, Siegrain, we are still left with a problem. Fairy Tail is a troublesome and destructive guild, but at the same time competent and strong."

"Then I suggest we merely leave them be," Siegrain recommended. "If they cause too much further issue we can deal with them."

"…So be it…"

At that same time, Natsu, Lucy, Flare, and Happy arrived in front of A large, three-story stone building with multiple extravagant towers, a bell-tower at the top of the building, and a large, orange banner bearing the symbol of Fairy Tail upon it in white.

"Wow…" Lucy said surprised.

Natsu grinned as he walked up to the front door and kicked it open roughly, shouting, "Hey! I'm back!"

However, right as the door opened a sudden blast of water shot from within, slamming into Flare and sending her flying back.

"Wh-what the…?!" Lucy shouted in shock and confusion.

Happy then gulped worriedly. "Uh-oh. Juvia's angry."

Flare sighed in frustration as she grabbed her hair, heavy and wet with water. "I guess I forgot about her."

Lucy gulped and asked, "Wh-who…?"

At that moment a slender young woman with dark blue eyes, fair skin, and long, elbow-length, wavy blue hair wearing an ankle-length, blue dress with parallel, light blue stripes going down the front, accentuating her impressive bust, white, furry cuffs on the wrist-length sleeves, a slit up the left side, up to her hip, exposing a blue Fairy Tail mark on her left hip, knee-length brown boots, a short, dark blue shawl around her shoulders with white fur on the collar and the bottom, and a dark blue Cossack hat with white fur trim and a single, yellow, flower pin walked towards the front entrance of the guildhall. She looked at Flare with an intense glare. "Flare…explain…" she said in a very angry tone. "Why did you not wake Juvia this morning and tell her Natsu-Sama was going somewhere?"

Flare began to sweat heavily. "I…forgot…?" she said, or rather, asked, with a weak, apologetic shrug.

Juvia narrowed her eyes in thought. "Juvia wonders how fat you would look if she shoved one hundred gallons of water down your throat."

Flare began waving her arms frantically. "Th-th-that's not necessary!"

Lucy paled slightly. "C-can someone even expand that much…?"

Natsu grinned and nodded. "Yeah, Mira does sometimes."

Juvia outstretched a hand, causing a sphere of water to appear in her grasp. "Juvia thinks it is necessary."

Flare paled in concern. "N-now…let's be reasonable…neh…?"

"Juvia's being very reasonable, Flare. Very reasonable."

Natsu then pointed at the water sphere and asked, "If you're not gonna do anything with that, mind if I take a sip?"

Juvia instantly turned to Natsu with a smile. "Juvia doesn't mind at all, Natsu-Sama!"

Flare sighed in relief but almost immediately found a bubble of water around her head. After a moment Flare's hair ignited, evaporating the water.

Juvia frowned in annoyance before one of the people inside the guildhall walked up to Natsu mildly annoyed. "You really caused havoc back in Hargeon, did you know that?"

Natsu growled and kicked the guy in the face hard. "Well maybe you should've told me that the 'Salamander' there was a fake you jerk!"

"It's not my fault that you screwed up, dumbass!"

However, when the guy had gotten kicked across the room he knocked over another patron's drink, who immediately stood up and punched the guy, sending him flying at a table where several others were drinking and eating as well, getting them equally enraged.

Almost in the blink of an eye the entire area erupted in a full brawl.

A young man with spiky black hair, dark blue eyes, his blue Fairy Tail crest on his right pectoral muscle, who wore a pair of dark green pants with a light brown belt, a metal bracelet on his right wrist, a necklace with a crest resembling a sword with a gem in it, and a chain attached to the belt loops on the right side of his pants, who was wearing nothing more than that at the time, scowled angrily and shouted, "Hey Natsu!" as he walked over towards the pink-haired Dragon Slayer.

However, he was stopped by a tall, slim, tanned young woman, with an ample bust and long, wavy, mid-back brown hair that had two shoulder-length strands framing her face, with one starting from a prominent, high fringe, big brown eyes with prominent eyelashes, a black Fairy Tail stamp on the left side of her abdomen just above her hips, with most of her upper body exposed save for a blue bikini top, which in itself did little to hide her breasts, a pair of capri pants, high-heeled sandals, three plain bracelets on her left wrist, and a pair of metal bracelets adorning her biceps, who was also drinking out of a full-sized beer barrel. "Gray, your clothes."

The dark-haired teen, Gray, raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about Cana?" He then looked down at himself and gaped, "What the…?!"

The woman, Cana, sighed.

Suddenly a large, muscular man with tanned skin, long white hair styled upwards in long, wavy spikes with no eyebrows and dark eyes, a scar under his right eye, a black Fairy Tail crest on the left side of his neck, who wore a dark blue jacket with a purple liner, held closed by a series of buttons, a zipper on the front that left the collar open, matching pants, and wooden geta sandals, slammed his foot on the table. "This fight's for a real man!" He then slammed into one of the other people inside the hall who had a chair in his hands.

A relatively handsome young man with hazel eyes and shaggy orange hair, who wore azure-tinted sunglasses, three piercings in his left ear, a green coat with a wide collar and prominent, spiky, brownish fur trimming it over a red shirt, black pants, and off-white sneakers sat on a wide bench with two girls on either side of him. "You should try to be more calm, Elfman."

"Won't you be joining the fray, Loke?" one of the girls asked.

With a smirk he, Loke, answered, "No, I'm a lover not a fighter." That is until he was hit with a chair, flipping the bench on its back.

Loke then stood up and adjusted his glasses. "Okay…now I'm mad."

Lucy looked around and gaped. "There isn't a single sane person here…"

At that moment, a young woman with long white hair, which curled at the ends and had the bangs tied up into a small ponytail, a rather impressively large bust, and blue eyes who wore a long maroon colored dress and matching high-heeled shoes walked to Lucy with a smile. "Hi there, you must be new."

Lucy stared at the woman for a moment before gasping. "Y-you're…Mirajane Strauss…one of Sorcerer Weekly's top models, aren't you?"

The woman, Mirajane, nodded in return. "I am. But you can just call me Mira."

Mirajane was about to speak again when Natsu ended up tossing the large-built man through the air, causing him to crash right on top of Mirajane.

"Gah! Mira!" Lucy shouted.

"As you can see, it's always lively here," Mirajane said with a bump on her head before passing out.

Natsu grinned victoriously at the large man. "Hah! Take that Elfman!"

"Way to go Natsu," Flare cheered.

"Go Natsu-Sama!" Juvia cheered ecstatically before she and Flare scowled at each other.

As Natsu was about to respond, a massive, shadowed figure crushed him underfoot.

Lucy paled as she looked up and saw the massive, hulking figure standing in the center of the guildhall.

"That's enough! Out of all of you!" it shouted in a deep, bellowing tone. The commotion in the guildhall stopped almost immediately. The figure then turned and saw Lucy.

"Eep!" Lucy squeaked in fear.

The figure then began shrink, shrinking down to an extremely short, elderly man with black eyes, balding white hair, and a thick mustache wearing a white shirt with a black symbol on the front, an orange hoodie, matching orange shorts, pointed shoes, and a blue and orange striped jester hat.

Lucy blinked curiously in disbelief. "Huh…?"

"Nice to meet'cha. I'm Makarov Dreyar, the Guildmaster of Fairy Tail," he greeted.

"Y-you're…the Guildmaster!?" Lucy shouted in disbelief.

Rather than answer her, Makarov jumped up to the second floor railing of the guildhall. He then pulled out a large stack of papers and showed them to the guild. "Do you all see these?!" he shouted.

"Y-yeah…what's it about…?" Natsu asked curiously.

"These are all of the complaints that have been filed with the Council against Fairy Tail!"

'H-huge!' Lucy shouted in her head.

Makarov smirked as the stack of papers in his grasp caught fire. "Although, as far as I'm concerned, the Council can blow it out their ears!" He then tossed the burning pages into the air, prompting Natsu to leap up and devour them. "We have no reason to be afraid of those watchful eyes and ears of the Council, since we're Fairy Tail!"

The rest of the guild cheered in agreement with Makarov.

Sometime later, Natsu stood in front of a large board with many different fliers on it.

"Hey, Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed as she ran up to him.

Natsu turned to her curiously.

"Look!" she said happily as she showed him her right hand, which now had a pink Fairy Tail emblem on it.

Natsu smirked in response. "Nice work, Lucy."

Lucy nodded happily.

As the two spoke, Natsu saw a slim young boy with straight, dark purple hair and blue eyes wearing a dark green T-shirt with a yellow symbol on the front, pleated shorts with two large pockets in the back, and simple sandals, each held up by two bands joined by a round button talking with Makarov.

"Come on, Gramps!" the boy shouted frantically. "My dad's been gone for over a week!"

Makarov sighed before turning to the boy. "Romeo, you should just go back home and wait patiently. Macao can take care of himself."

Romeo clenched his fists in frustration.

Natsu slammed his fist into the request board before walking out of the guildhall.

"N-Natsu-Sama! Wait!" Juvia shouted as she ran after him.

"N-Natsu?" Lucy remarked curiously. "Why did he rush out like that?"

"I can probably guess why," Mirajane remarked.

"What?" Lucy asked.

"He probably sees a little of himself in Romeo."

Lucy tilted her head in confusion. "Why?"

Flare, who had suddenly appeared behind Lucy, startling the blonde, explained, "Natsu was raised by Igneel, a dragon. Igneel taught him how to speak, fight, and how to use Dragon Slayer Magic. But then he just vanished seven years ago."

"I see…" Lucy muttered in thought.

Natsu, Lucy, Juvia, and Happy sat in a wagon driving up a snowy mountain.

Juvia sighed as Natsu sat, slumped over in the seat across from her. "Ohh…why is Flare the only one who can make Natsu-Sama feel better? Why can't Juvia?!"

Lucy sighed before rubbing her arms. "Yeesh, it's so cold here."

"Well that's Mt. Hakobe for you," Happy interjected.

Lucy merely sighed in frustration.

Eventually the wagon suddenly stopped.

"H-hey! Why'd we stop?" Lucy asked in confusion.

The driver of the wagon answered, "The weather's too bad here. I can't take you any further than this." He then turned around and left after the others got off.

"Oh you've gotta be kidding!" Lucy shouted in exasperation.

Natsu flexed his arm as he looked around. "All we gotta do now is find Macao."

Lucy, shivering, asked, "Why would this Macao guy take a job all the way out here anyway?!"

"These mountains are inhabited by powerful creatures called Vulcans. Macao came to fight them off."

"He's crazy…" Lucy groaned before pulling out one of her keys. "I can't take this! Open, Gate of the Clock: Horologium!"

A magic circle appeared in the air before, with a burst of smoke, a tall, brown grandfather clock with long, thin, black arms and legs, a glass case, a numerical clock face at the center, and a small face at the top with slit eyes, a thin, twirly, moustache-like mouth.

"Horologium, let me in!" Lucy exclaimed.

The glass case on the clock opened, allowing Lucy to crawl inside before it closed on her.

Horologium then began speaking, "It's way too cold out there, I'm going to stay in here, so she says."

Juvia smirked in amusement. "What's wrong, can't handle the cold? Juvia can take it just fine."

Lucy twitched an eyebrow.

Natsu looked around in frustration before bellowing, "Macao! Where are you!?"

Horologium said calmly, "Stop that you idiot, you'll cause an avalanche, she shouts."

At that moment, a large, ape-like creature with dark grey skin, white fur, and a tall, pointed head, elongated chin, and circular markings on its arms appeared in front of the group.

"What the hell is that, she exclaims."

Natsu's fists were encased in flames as he looked at the beast. "It's a Vulcan!"

The Vulcan sniffed the air for a moment before turning to Juvia and grinning widely. "Pretty woman!" it shouted before grabbing Juvia and running off.

"Natsu-Sama!" Juvia called as the beast carried her away.

"Juvia!" Natsu bellowed. "Get back here with my mate you bastard!" Natsu hollered before giving chase.

Soon, in an icy cave, the Vulcan threw Juvia down as it looked at her.

Juvia groaned as she sat up. "You stupid beast, you won't get away with this!" She raised a hand as water began to condense in her grasp.

The Vulcan grinned and took in a deep breath before exhaling, sending a pungent cloud towards Juvia.

Juvia's eyes widened as the water in her grasp fell and she felt her body begin to grow weak. 'N-no…this is…' Juvia stumbled for a moment before collapsing to her knees.

The Vulcan walked up to Juvia with a wide grin, reaching a hand out towards her.

"Don't touch her!" Natsu shouted as he slammed a flame-encased fist into the beast's face, sending it flying away towards the back of the cave.

The Vulcan growled before standing up. "Annoying!"

Natsu glanced to the side and noticed Juvia attempting and failing to stand, her complexion discolored. He turned to the beast and snarled. "Alright you bastard, what'd you do to her?!"

The Vulcan merely sniggered before chucking a large chunk of ice at Natsu.

Natsu swung a punch at the ice chunk, shattering it to pieces. "And where the hell's Macao?!"

The Vulcan blinked and then pointed to a hole nearby.

"Macao!" Natsu shouted as he ran over, only to see the edge of the mountain. "Hey! You-!" Natsu turned to shout, only to get kicked out the hole by the Vulcan.

At that moment, Horologium vanished in a shimmer of light, leaving Lucy behind.

"W-wait! Horologium!" Lucy exclaimed.

The Vulcan sniggered as he turned to Lucy and Juvia. "Ooh, two ladies!"

Lucy snarled in annoyance. "Crap, I can't believe it's come to this." She then pulled another key from her pocket and raised it in the air before shouting, "Open, Gate of the Golden Bull: Taurus!"

A Celestial Spirit magic circle appeared and from within it appeared, in a burst of smoke, an extremely tall, muscular, humanoid with the head and tail of a cow along with white and black spotted fur all over his body who wore a large golden ring on his nose, a pair of swim briefs, knee-length boots, a red belt around his neck with a bell attached, bandages around his forearms, black, fingerless gloves, and a massive axe slung over his back.

Taurus immediately turned to Lucy and shouted, "Ooh! Miss Luuucy yoouu've got a nice body in that outfit!" with hearts in his eyes.

Lucy groaned in annoyance. "Argh! I forgot he's as big a pervert as the Vulcan! Just fight that pervy monkey!"

"Yoouu got it Miss Lucy!" Taurus shouted before charging at the Vulcan.

However, before Taurus could attack the Vulcan, Natsu suddenly reappeared and slammed a flaming fist into Taurus' face. "Take that you stupid monster!"

Lucy gaped in disbelief. "You idiot! The Vulcan's over there!"

Natsu blinked curiously and looked ahead, seeing Taurus lying unconscious on the ground and then turned and saw the Vulcan standing nearby. Natsu scratched his head in confusion. "Huh…"

The Vulcan glanced over and saw Taurus' axe, grinning deviously.

"Natsu-Sama!" Juvia shouted.

Natsu turned suddenly as the Vulcan swung Taurus' axe at the teen. Natsu deftly jumped over the attack and spat several blasts of fire at the beast.

The Vulcan grinned and swept the axe in front of itself, putting out the flames.

"Oh, come on!" Natsu growled in frustration.

The Vulcan swung again, Natsu dodging once more.

Natsu attempted to spin and attack the beast but slipped on the ice and fell flat on his back.

The Vulcan capitalized on the moment and swung the axe down at Natsu.

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted as the axe seemingly hit him.

However, Natsu barely managed to catch the axe and stop it from hitting him. He then grinned as the axe started to heat up and melt.

"H-he's…melting it…" Lucy said in surprise.

Natsu opened wide as the molten drops of metal fell into his mouth. He grinned proudly before saying, "Now I'm all fired up!"

The Vulcan blinked curiously as Natsu pulled the axe from its grasp, kipped up to his feet, and then reared back his fist which became encased in bright flames. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" he shouted as he slammed his fist into the Vulcan, the flames exploding forward, sending the beast crashing into the opposite wall.

As the Vulcan slumped to the floor its body was showered in light, which then faded to reveal a slim, mildly muscular man with short, straight, slicked-back, blue hair, linear, dark eyebrows, a prominent nose, and a large amount of stubble on his face, including a thin mustache, wearing a knee-length white jacket with a blue liner, rolled up sleeves, as well as a simple, dark shirt underneath, brown, pinstriped pants held by a light-colored belt bearing a snake pattern with a simple, square buckle, a distinctive pair of shoes with a leopard pattern, and a large, serpentine necklace who was heavily bruised and beaten.

Lucy exclaimed, in shock, "Whoa! It turned into a guy!?"

Juvia stood up and turned to her, annoyed. "Don't you know how Vulcans fight?"

Lucy smiled weakly, attempting to hide her exasperation. "Ah…n-no…not really…"

"They use Take-Over Magic to take control of a target as a new body."

"Creepy…"

Natsu walked up to the man, who groaned as he awoke.

The man sighed as Natsu helped him stand. "How pathetic am I? I beat nineteen Vulcans only to get Taken Over by the last one."

Natsu chuckled as he punched the man in the arm lightly. "Come on, beating nineteen Vulcans is something you can brag about, Macao."

Macao snickered weakly. "Maybe you're right."

Back in the town, Romeo sat on the steps, dismayed. "Those jerks." He thought back to sometime ago.

Romeo stood in front of a group of boys who were taunting him.

"Hey, you're the kid who's dad is a member of that stupid guild, right?" one boy asked with a sardonic smirk.

Another boy remarked snidely, "Yeah. They're just a bunch of useless wizards who sit around doing nothing but drinking!"

Romeo clenched his fists in frustration. 'Those bullies are the reason I begged Dad to go and get a job from the request board. And because of that…' Tears began flowing down Romeo's face.

"Romeo!" Natsu shouted.

Romeo looked up and widened his eyes as he saw Natsu and the others returning to the guild, a battered Macao limping with Natsu helping him stand. "Dad!" Romeo shouted as he ran over to the man. As he and his father embraced happily, Romeo shouted joyously, "Thanks Natsu, Juvia, Happy! You guys brought my dad back!"

Lucy, annoyed, snarled, "Hey! I fought that thing too!"

Natsu walked into the guildhall and looked around. "Hmm…"

"Something wrong, Natsu?" Mirajane asked as she took a tray back to the bar.

"Hey, where's Lucy?"

Mirajane blinked and then smiled. "She bought an apartment down by the river." She reached under the desk and handed Natsu a key. "Here, this should open it."

Natsu grinned and nodded. "Thanks! C'mon Happy!"

"Aye, sir!" Happy concurred happily.

Flare blinked curiously and followed and behind the two.

Sometime later, Lucy walked into the lounge of her apartment and flinched in surprise when she saw Natsu, Happy, and Flare sitting on her sofa.

"Yo, Lucy!" Natsu greeted happily.

"What the hell are you doing here!?" Lucy demanded.

Natsu blinked curiously. "What do you mean? We came to greet you!" Natsu said with a grin. "Ama said it's always best to greet women in the morning."

Lucy raised an eyebrow curiously. "Ama?"

Natsu nodded. "Yeah. My dad was Igneel, but my mom was Amaterasu."

"Amaterasu…don't think I've heard that name before."

Deciding the trio were not going to leave, Lucy made tea and handed cups to both Flare and Natsu.

"You know, it's rude to barge into someone's house like this," Lucy chided.

Natsu tilted his head in confusion and pulled out the key Mirajane gave him. "Really? Mira gave me this key so I figured it was okay."

"Why does she have a key to my apartment!?" Lucy exclaimed in confusion.

Natsu put the key away, however, when he did, Lucy noticed something glint in his pocket.

Lucy blinked in thought and pointed to it. "Hey, what was that in your pocket?"

Natsu tilted his head curiously and pulled out a strangely-shaped golden key with a spade-tip and a purple object coiling around it.

Lucy twitched an eyebrow and asked, "Why do you have a Zodiac Spirit Key?"

Natsu blinked as he looked at it. "Yukino gave it to me."

"Yukino?"

Natsu nodded. "Yukino Agria. She's a friend of mine in the guild. She gave me this key."

"Do you actually know how to use it?" Lucy asked, incredulous.

"Yeah. I've summoned Ophiuchus a couple times."

Lucy tilted her head curiously. "Ophiuchus? That's not one I know."

Natsu raised an eyebrow and then shrugged, putting the key in his pocket. "Oh, right! You're a Celestial Spirit Mage like Yukino, right?"

Lucy nodded. 'So I'm not the only Celestial Spirit Mage in Fairy Tail, huh?' She then pulled the keys from the pouch on her waist. "I have six Gate Keys right now. Three of them are Zodiacs, the other three are the regular, silver keys." Lucy then raised both eyebrows in realization. "Oh, that's right! I have that new key I bought. I need to make a contract." She then turned to Natsu. "Have you ever seen a Celestial Spirit Mage make a contract before?"

Natsu nodded. "Yeah, I saw Yukino make contracts a couple times before."

"I see…" Lucy frowned in thought. 'Sounds like this Yukino girl is going to be competition.' She then pulled out a small grey box and pulled from it a simple silver key. Nodding to herself, she raised the key and shouted, "Open, Gate of Little Dog, Nikola!"

A magic circle appeared in the air and a burst of smoke emanated from it. As the smoke cleared, a short and stout white creature with bland eyes, an orange, horn-like nose similar to a carrot, whose body trembled slightly.

Natsu twitched an eyebrow as he looked at the creature. "That's completely ridiculous."

Lucy frowns. "I think it's cute. Besides, the Nikola don't take much energy to summon and so a lot of people use them as pets."

Natsu sat silently as Lucy created her contract with the Nikola.

After a few moments Lucy folded her arms in thought. "Right…now I need to give you a name. Hmm…ah! How 'bout Plue?"

The little Nikola, Plue, nodded happily in agreement.

"What a weird name," Natsu and Happy muttered in unison.

"Shut it!" Lucy snarled. Lucy then sighed and asked, "Okay…so why are you guys here anyway?"

"We wanted to form a team with you to go on jobs," Natsu answered with a smile.

"Aren't you already on a team with Flare?" Lucy asked.

Flare smiled victoriously.

Natsu nodded. "Yeah, but the more the merrier!"

Flare frowned in resignation.

"I even have a job picked out, but I left it at the guildhall."

Lucy nodded as she stood up before Plue vanished. "Okay, then let's go get it."

The group made their way back toward the guildhall shortly when a voice called out to them.

"Hey! Natsu!"

Natsu and the others turned and saw two people walking towards them.

The first was a slender, well-endowed young woman with chin-length, light blue hair that curved in, fringes of hair hanging down framing her face and short bangs hanging over her forehead, brown eyes, and slightly tanned skin who wore a short white dress with a low-cut top, blue markings above the skirt and on the border just above her moderate bust, thigh-high, white, high-heeled boots with blue stripes on the top and the ankles, blue bracelets, covered by long, ankle-length cloak that had feathery protrusions around the chest, shoulders, and back, blue feathers at the bottom of the front and the back extended into long, flaring sections secured by blue ribbons, and a blue rose ornament on the left side of her head.

The second was a slim young woman with lightly tanned skin, green eyes with dark, blue-green eyeshadow, long eyelashes, glossy, dark red lipstick, and long, straight, glossy black hair that reached her lower back that was mostly left loose, parting in the middle of her forehead, sporting two long bangs framing her face and reaching just below her shoulders, which is also tied into bun-shaped loops at the sides of her head, with each bun featuring a braid, wearing a cheongsam that was blue in the front and dark blue in the back with a slit up the left side that was opened all the way up her left leg, exposing her thigh and was secured with multiple dark laces, shoulder-length ornamental gloves bearing the same dual colors, and calf-length boots.

Natsu smiled widely as he saw the two. "Hey! Yukino! Minerva!"

The two walked up to the group and turned to Lucy.

"Who's this?" the white-haired girl asked.

"This is Lucy, she's a new member of the guild, and a Celestial Spirit Mage like you, Yukino."

The white-haired girl, Yukino, smiled widely. "That's great to hear!"

Lucy raised an eyebrow in thought. 'That's Yukino?' Lucy took a moment to look over the girl and pouted in frustration. 'Darn…she's really pretty. She really is my competition.' She then turned to the other woman and asked, "And, you are…?"

The woman bowed politely. "My name is Minerva Orlando."

Natsu then asked, "So you guys finished that job, eh?"

Minerva nodded with a sigh. "Yes. Though it was rather irritating."

Yukino, with a slightly annoyed smile, rebutted, "That's because you insisted on using your Yagd Rigora to get the job done when Libra would've been able to do it in half the time."

Minerva smiled sweetly as she pulled on Yukino's cheeks. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Nuffin, I didn shay nuffin," Yukino slurred as Minerva tugged her cheeks.

"Good," Minerva chirped as she released the white-clade girl's cheeks.

Yukino moaned slightly as she rubbed the sides of her face.

"So, what are you off to do?" Minerva asked Natsu curiously.

Natsu smirked and responded, "Me, Lucy, and Flare are gettin' ready to go on a job together."

Minerva blinked curiously. "Oh? What kind of job?"

Inside the guildhall, Natsu looked at the job request board and then grinned. "Good, it's still here." He then pulled it down and presented it to Lucy.

Lucy looked at the job request in thought, Yukino, Minerva, and Flare crowded around her to look at it as well. Lucy twitched an eyebrow before sighing and reading the request. "Hmm…wow. This person is offering two hundred thousand Jewel just to recover a lost book. That should be easy."

Natsu grinned victoriously.

Yukino blinked and then pointed to a lower section of the job request. "Look at this."

Lucy twitched an eyebrow. "You've gotta be kidding…the person we're going to take this book from is…an old pervert looking to hire blonde maids…hey!" Lucy looked at Natsu annoyed. "You tricked me!"

Natsu snickered. "C'mon…you said you'd do it."

Lucy sighed in frustration. "Grr…fine."

Yukino smiled weakly and interjected, "If you want, I could come along to help."

Lucy folded her arms in thought and then shrugged. "I guess it couldn't hurt." She then pointed at Natsu, annoyed. "I am going to get you back for this, count on it."

Natsu chuckled in amusement.

Later, Natsu, Lucy, Yukino, Flare, and Happy made their way towards the location of the quest-giver, Shirotsume Town.

As they were riding to the location via cart, Natsu avoided motion sickness as he slept, using Flare's lap as a pillow.

Lucy twitched an eyebrow as she looked at the sleeping Natsu. "There's just something not right about this…"

"Try not to look at it too judgmentally," Yukino supplicated.

Lucy turned to her curiously. "Why?"

"Well, ever since they were little, Natsu and Flare have always been together. After Natsu's surrogate father, Igneel, vanished, Natsu wandered on his own for a while before he met up with Flare. They wandered the country by themselves for a while before they found their way to Fairy Tail."

Lucy blinked in thought and then turned back to the fiery duo, both of whom were fast asleep. "Is that…really true…?"

Yukino nodded. "Yeah. I joined Fairy Tail after Natsu did, but I still believe that's true."

Lucy frowned in though before hearing Yukino chuckle to herself. "Something funny?"

Yukino turned to her in surprise and then shook her head. "No, just thinking back. I say I joined Fairy Tail after Natsu did, but it's more accurate to say I joined because of Natsu."

Lucy raised an eyebrow in thought. "What do you-?"

"We're here," Yukino interjected as the cart they were in approached the town in question.

"Natsu, it's time to wake up," Flare said softly as she tapped his shoulder.

Natsu groaned before sitting up and stretching with a grin. "Man, I feel great!" His stomach then growled loudly. "Huh…well I say it's time to eat!"

As the group exited the carriage, Lucy grabbed Yukino's wrist and said, "How about you guys go and get something to eat? Yukino and I have some other things to take care of."

"Sounds good!" Natsu said with a grin as he, Flare, and Happy made their way to a restaurant.

Yukino, confused, asked, "W-we do…?"

"Come on, come on!" Lucy hurried as she dragged Yukino to some unknown destination.

And there you have it, the first chapter of Embodiment of Flame! I hope everyone enjoyed it. If you did, please be sure to leave a review. If you did not, go ahead and leave a review, just be sure you are leaving constructive criticism and not mere insults. If you are curious or unsure about anything be sure to leave a review as well and I will do my best to assuage your confusion. Well, I suppose that is everything to say, so I shall see you in the next chapter!