The E.N.D. Of Fairy Tail

Chapter 2

"Welcome to Fairy Tail." Natsu says with a grin as they arrive at the door, an aura of translucent 'flames' coats the trio as he throws the doors open and releases the grip the he usually has on his magic power to keep it from slipping out and crushing everyone. As soon as he does this, everyone weaker than A-Class is forced to the ground, unable to stand, Lucy and Happy being the only exceptions.

"Wait, why did you do that?" Lucy asks upon him releasing his power.

"Hehe, I do that every time I get back to alert everyone to my return. Everyone has something that they do to let everyone know that they've made it home safe, and this is what I do." Natsu explains as he reigns in his power, and is instantly hit in the chest by an Ice-Sword, the blade shattering as it happens.

"Yeah, and everyone wishes that you would do something else." The person who threw the sword says as he walks up. "Regardless, it's good to see that you got back so quickly. Did you take care of the guy impersonating you?"

"Yep. It was Bora The Providence, that former member of Titan Nose who got kicked out for using forbidden magic. Apparently he started up a slave trading ring, and was using my name to draw in my fangirls so he could sell them off to the highest bidder. Lucy, here was one of his targets, but she's a big enough fan of mine to have memorized my appearance, and as such wasn't fooled." Natsu responds, making Lucy blush out of embarrassment when Natsu mentions her being a fan of his. "Anyways, I brought her back because she wants to join the guild. You know where Master is so we can take care of it?"

"She competent? She doesn't look like much." The Ice-Mage says, before turning to Lucy. "Also, my name's Gray, better known as Fairy Tail's Ice King, nice to meetcha, Lucy."

"Uhmmm, nice to meet you too, Gray." Lucy says while mentally compiling everything she knows about him and going over it, which is quite a bit, due to him being Fairy Tail's second most popular male mage.

"Yeah, she's competent. The reason that she doesn't look like much is because she's rather lacking in the physical strength aspect, but in terms of magic skill and power alone she's an easy High-B-Class mage. No need to worry about her strength, though, I plan to fix that after she joins." Natsu responds, making Gray pity the poor girl, knowing full well how hellish Natsu's training is, having gone through it before, raising his power to be on the level of an S-Class mage, despite him not being officially considered one, due to him not having passed the S-Class trial yet. Even after all that training, he still can't beat Natsu.

"Right then. Master should be in his office. Welcome to the family, Lucy." Gray says as he walks away, heading back to the bar to finish his food. Suddenly, he stops and turns his head in Natsu's direction. "By the way, Natsu, Master wants to see you before you head out on your next quest." He then continues walking to the bar.

Natsu's face becomes serious at this. "That's fine, I was planning to talk to him anyways." He says under his breath, only Happy being able to hear him. "Hey Lucy, go talk to Mira and Lisanna at the bar, they'll explain how the guild system works to you. I'll go get Master." He says after turning to her, before walking off and leaving her to do it.

Makarov's office; a few minutes later

Natsu slowly enters the office and sees Makarov sitting at his desk, the chair turned backwards so he can look at the pictures on the wall.

"Hey Master, you wanted to talk to me?"

Makarov turns to him, a serious expression on his face. "The Dark Guilds are getting more active as of late, and worshippers of Zeref are popping up left and right. When we met you mentioned that you have a connection with Zeref, and know things about him that nobody else does. I've let you keep your secret out of respect for your privacy, but with things as they are now, it's important that I learn everything I can about Zeref so that I can attempt to combat his followers. I beg of you, tell me everything you know about Zeref." He says, his voice and expression turning pleading at the end.