Chapter 3

A/N: Natsu and the group return to the guild. By now Erza, Gray and Lucy return to Hargeon and they are starting to notice something is not right with Natsu. What will the Fairy Tail master do in order to decide Natsu's punishment? All of us hope it won't be too drastic. This will be a filler chapter before the Phantom Lord Arc.

Meanwhile at Tartaros guild, All the denizens were sound asleep thanks to the courtesy of a familiar raven haired youth using his sleep magic. Zeref was wandering around the castle looking for a certain artefact which turns out to the book of END.

"This is bad... the book of END has vanished. Which means Etherious Natsu Dragneel has fully awakened. I hope he is not unstable like how he used to be when I brought him back to life. I remember all too well the amount of destruction of lives he has caused." Sighed Zeref deep in thought.

Zeref then looked at an altar where the book of END was formerly kept only to find out that ashes were all that's left of that book. With a sigh, Zeref cleared out the ashes and using his magic created a replica of a book of END in its place.

"That should do then so no one can suspect the book is gone." Mumbled Zeref with a smile.

Zeref then vanished and reappeared at his castle entrance. The guards stationed there bowed before their Emperor who simply smiled "At ease my men!"

The guards stood straight and one of them said with respect "Your Highness, Dinner is ready to be served and also as Lady Brandish insisted the dessert shall be the star Mango ice-cream."

Zeref shook his head in amusement "Ahhh, I can never forget Brandish persuading me to try out that ice-cream. I assume she shall be joining me for dinner."

"Indeed your Highness! She and Lady Dimaria are waiting for you." Said another guard with a bow.

"Splendid… You all are dismissed for the day. Go and spend time with your families." Said Zeref with a smile.

All the guards bowed and said "Your Majesty is a kind and just emperor."

Zeref said with an amused smile "Enough of all that, Now off you go my men."

All the guards bowed and left for their homes.

Zeref then walked inside the palace "I will be watching you Natsu Dragneel… No Etherious Natsu Dragneel. I can't wait to see you eventually you better not disappoint your big brother."

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Meanwhile, Team Natsu has reached the port of Hargeon thanks to the pirates dropping them. Erza then said to the captain "Thank you for dropping us to Hargeon Captain."

The Captain bowed "You are welcome Miss Scarlet. Here is our communication Lacrima to contact if you are ever in need of our services."

And he handed a communication crystal to Erza who nodded "Thank you Captain for your communication Lacrima. If needed I will be acquiring your services in the future."

She then glared at the Pirates "Will that be a problem?"

All the pirates bowed in fright "Not at all Miss Erza. We are at your service."

Natsu, Gray, Lucy and Happy sweat dropped at their antics.

"Is she always like this?" Whispered Lucy.

"That's Erza to you." Chuckled Gray.

Lucy then looked at Natsu and asked "Natsu, are you all right? You seem really quiet and less boisterous today."

Natsu turned towards Lucy and said with a shark like grin "Yes Lucy… I had a bad dream last night."

Gray frowned and thought "What are you hiding from us my rival? We are your nakama but I guess there's only one way to find out. I hope Master will agree with this."

Erza then said to them "Lets go home guys. Master is waiting for us."

All of them replied "Hai!"

After a while they finally reached Fiore and they saw their guild from afar.

"Finally, we are home. I can't wait to get some shower." Sighed Lucy.

"All in good time Lucy… Master would like to have a word with us especially you Natsu. You have a lot of explaining to do." Said Erza with a frown.

"Fine by me Erza! I am looking forward to see what punishment he will give. Either it will be exile or probably a ban to attend S class exams." said Natsu with a smile which made them gape in shock.

"Are you sure about this Flame Brain? This was our first S class together plus you helped me get closure with Ur and Leon." Said Gray with concern.

"Also Natsu, you did kill that S class siren which I think it was awesome. You saved the people there." Said Happy with a smile.

"And thanks to you I got a new golden gate key. It means a lot to me." Beamed Lucy.

"I am sorry guys rules are rules. Rest is upto Master." Said Erza stiffly.

Others nodded with acceptance and Erza walked towards Natsu until she was eye to eye with him "Natsu.. Don't ever leave for any dangerous mission without me. I am glad you are alive and well."

She did something none of them expected she pressed her lips on his cheek and kissed him.

"That's for good luck when you deal with Master!" said Erza softly and she walked ahead.

Lucy, Gray and Happy gaped in disbelief while Happy muttered "Aye, I didn't see that coming."

Natsu stood still unmoving then his eyes began to glow crimson and his shark like grin returned "Sure thing Erza!"

Finally, they reached the Fairy Tail guild hall which was a large two story building. Fairy Tail's headquarters resided in an imposing building consisting of three floors and incorporating several architectonic styles: it took on a shape reminiscent of a pagoda, with each floor being smaller than the one below it and sitting on the latter's roof. The roofs also bore great resemblance to those of real pagoda, consisting of extremely long, arched tiles lined up one after the other and possessing simple curved protrusions jutting upwards on the building's angles. On the highest roof, topping the summit of the building, sat a simple, round and pointed dome, highly reminiscent of those seen on Arabian buildings, which bore a flag on its point. The roof below the one with the dome, the middle one, housed a large banner with Fairy Tail's symbol on it, held up by a pair of vertical poles. The building's large entrance was again Arabian in design, with its shape being reminiscent of that of the dome on the summit, and above it was the guild's name, topped by a protruding, stylized heart shape and flanked by a pair of carved fairies. Stylized heart shapes were also visible on the frames of the numerous, large pentagonal windows located on each floor, with the top floor housing smaller, arched windows partially covered by banners.

"We are here now!" said Lucy with awe.

"Care to do the honors Flamebrain?" said Gray with a grin.

Natsu smirked and kicked the doors open and he yelled out "We are home!"

The inside was similar to a large lunch hall, and mainly consisted of wood, possessing a parquet floor and a mezzanine held up by wood beams overlooking it. Several long benches and the related tables stretched across its length with a bar managed by a certain white haired model & S class mage at the end. Several other waitresses also assisted her. The request board was located beside the bar which was occupied by a dark skinned man with black eyes.

"Nab, take a job before I pound you into oblivion." Said Erza angrily.

The frightened Nab nodded with fear took a job and rushed out of the guild. Erza noticed the people in the guild were asleep or hung over due to excessively drinking last night.

"Sounds like they had quite a party last night." Said Natsu in amusement.

"What do I do with them?" sighed Erza shaking her head.

"Ahhh, I see you guys have returned." said a female voice.

Team Natsu turned towards the female who had spoken. She was Mirajane Strauss the current model of the Sorcerer's weekly and an S class mage of Fairy Tail. She is a fair skinned girl with long white hair which curled at the ends and had a small ponytail on top of her head. She was wearing a maroon outfit sleeveless, ankle-length maroon dress with a pleated skirt.

"Hello Mira… is Master expecting us?" asked Erza with a smile.

"Yes he is. Speaking of stealing S class quest from second floor.. Natsu you have some explaining to do." Said Mira and she turned towards Natsu and was shocked to see his new appearance.

"Missed you too Mira!" said Natsu with a cheeky grin.

"Wow… Natsu you look a bit different. You look more rugged and more handsome than ever." Said Mirajane with a slight blush.

"Guess puberty came early." Said Natsu with a shrug while Mirajane was checking him out by looking at him up and down.

Lucy was watching agape and Gray was smirking with amusement. However, Erza was getting slightly annoyed at Mirajane for eyeing Natsu more than usual for some reason wondered why it was bothering her.

"Mira… if you are done… we all would like to talk to Master." Said Erza curtly.

"Oh yeah, He is inside the room he has been expecting you." Said Mirajane with a wink.

Team Natsu then went inside the study room where Master Makarov was waiting for them.

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Inside the study room sat the Master of Fairy Tail. He was a short old man with white hair which was slightly balding. He had a white bushy moustache. He was wearing a white shirt with an orange coat. His attire was completed with matching orange shorts and an orange and blue striped jester hat.

"So, you all have returned? The mission to Galuna island was a success then." Said Makarov in a firm tone.

"Yes Master! The mission was a success." Said Erza bowing with respect.

"I see… Natsu my boy please step forward." Said Makarov looking at Natsu.

Natsu stepped forward and looked at Makarov who then said "It's so good to see you safe and sound my boy."

Suddenly, Makarov using his Titan magic enlarges his fist and punched Natsu.

"IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED TO HEAR YOU STUPID BOY? I SHOULD EXPEL YOU FOR THE STUNT YOU PULLED." shouted Makarov with anger at the downed Natsu.

Gray got frightening and tried to walk away but suddenly the titan's hand caught him.

"And, where do you think you're going Gray? I told you to stop Natsu from taking this quest."

Gray tried to say "You see ummm…"

"What you kids did was beyond reckless! It was lucky none of you got killed in this mission and that Erza came along to intervene and help in finishing the quest." Said Makarov with a sigh.

Erza then explained what happened in the mission and also added the fact about the Siren faced by Natsu which made Makarov think deeply.

"So, Natsu you faced an S class creature and won? I commend you on a job well done. However, it's time to decide your punishment." Said Makarov with a nod as Natsu stood up.

"This will be your punishment. You will be fighting Gray, Erza and Lucy together and if you win you get a reward. If you lose you are forever banned from entering the S class exams. Do you accept?"

"I accept Master." Said Natsu with a nod.

"Natsu, you can't be serious." Said Lucy with shock.

"I agree with Lucy it'll be too much for Natsu." Said Erza in agreement.

Gray stood silently glaring at Natsu "At least we will now see what you are capable of… flame brain!"

Suddenly, Lucy, Gray, Happy and Erza slowly dozed off and fell asleep except for Natsu and Makarov who looked on in surprise.

Reason being a mysterious tall individual entered the study. He wore a dark blue cloak and his arms and legs are mostly covered in bandages. He wore a dark blue bandana with a silver forehead protector, and a green mask that obscured the bottom half of his face. He carries his Magic Staves on his back, which are held by a dark green strap going across his main body.

"Ahh Mystogan, what brings you here child?" said Makarov with a smile.

"There is trouble brewing. A large army which carries the insignia of Phantom is gathering on the outskirts of Magnolia and their numbers are growing as well." Said Mystogan solemnly.

"Hmmm… this is highly troubling. So the guild master of Phantom Jose Porla is upto no good." Said Makarov with a frown.

"It appears so yes!" nodded Mystogan.

Mystogan turned towards Natsu in surprise "Hello Natsu… it seems you are immune to my sleep magic."

"You must be Mystogan we finally meet at last." Said Natsu with a grin.

"That is nothing Mystogan. He defeated an S class creature who was tormenting Galuna island. Natsu is no ordinary mage." Interjected Makarov.

"Is that so?" said Mystogan with his eyes wide.

Makarov nodded "I have changed my mind. Your punishment has been altered Natsu."

"Master, I will go and take care of the Phantom divisions be alert." Said Mystogan with a bow.

"I will permit you to do so. Take Natsu with you Mystogan." Said Makarov firmly.

"But Master…." Said Natsu but Makarov put his hand.

"This is your chance to prove yourself Natsu. You want to be an S class mage don't you? Then go with Mystogan and help him destroy the Phantom Divisions and sub divisions." Said Makarov with a grin.

"Are you sure about this?" said Mystogan.

"I know what I am doing my child. Natsu's strength and power are destructive. He will be of great help to you." Said Makarov with a smile.

"All right… I am all fired up. Let's go Mystogan." Said Natsu smashing his fists.

Mystogan smiled "Come Natsu…We have work to do."

Then Natsu and Mystogan bowed and left the room to do their guild master's bidding.

Soon, the spell was broken and Lucy, Erza, Gray and Happy woke up.

"Aye… What happened? I dreamt of fishes." Said Happy with a yawn.

"Yeah… It happened all of a sudden." Said Lucy rubbing her eyes.

"It was Mystogan.. wasn't it Master?" asked Erza curiosity.

"It sure was… he came giving troubling news and I sent him with Natsu." Said Makarov seriously.

"Wait Flame brain was awake from Mystogan's magic?" sais Gray with disbelief.

"Yes he was which is why I sent him on a mission with Mystogan I believe the punishment has been changed to that." Said Makarov with a smile.

"First his looks and demeanor changing, him not having motion sickness and now him being immune to Mystogan's magic? Something is not right with Natsu." Said Erza with a sigh.

"I know you four have noticed he has gone through some changes. But I have noticed something else." Said Makarov while thinking.

"What happened to Natsu?" cried Happy.

"I have felt something dark… something demonic. I could feel it's presence ever since Natsu entered the guild. That entity could probably be within Natsu it felt even worse than the Lullaby demon." said Makarov in a grim tone.

"So, what should we do master? I can't let that entity consume Natsu." Asked Erza with worry.

"For now we observe and notice anything unsual. If needed action will be taken." Said Makarov with a sigh.

All of them nodded to their guild master in agreement.

"You all can go now and relax I will be busy now. But be on guard my children war will be coming in our door anytime soon." Said Makarov.

"You can count on us Master." Said Gray clenching his fist which released ice while the other three nodded with determination for future things to come.

And we can end the chapter here. By now you may wonder why I sent Natsu away is that with his awakening he became far more powerful so would want to leave the curbstomping for later. I wanted to make it more interesting with Phantom Lord attacking in Natsu's absence. So in the next chapter, the Phantom Lord Arc will start.