Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Fairy Tail—The Master and the Dragon

Chapter 1

The moon shone brightly over the silent town of Hargeon. The populace had long retired to their homes, leaving the streets empty of any activity. Life in Hargeon, a port city, was usually rather peaceful. Nothing of great excitement ever really happened there. On occasion, a wizard may show up and liven up the place, but all in all, life in Hargeon was uneventful and that suited the people just fine. The quiet was nice.

Suddenly, the sounds of heavy panting and running footsteps could be heard running down one of the streets. A wild-eyed man was running as fast as he possibly could with seemingly no direction in mind. He took countless turns down various streets, always making sure to look over his shoulder before each turn.

The man banked a quick right into an alley and immediately found himself crashing into an immovable object. He rubbed his face, which took the brunt of the collision, and looked up to see what could have possibly gotten in his way. He knew this area well and there was never anything in this alley before. What he saw made his eyes grow wide in fear. It was a wall of nothing but shadow.

As soon as the man came to this realization, the whole alley started to grow darker. The sound of giggling forced the man to snap his head around. Blocking what was now the only exit were two figures covered by the darkness. The man began to back away from them only to find his back pressed up against the wall. He didn't know what to do. He was trapped.

"Please, don't hurt me!"

The dark figures didn't move or speak.

"What do you people want from me? I haven't done anything!"

This got a reaction. The same person who giggled was now laughing. "Oh please, you know what you did." The voice was female.

"No I swear! I didn't do anything!" the man pleaded.

"Then why'd ya run?" she asked.

The man pointed to the other figure. "He was chasing me!"

A huff could be heard from the other figure.

"Of course he was chasing you," the woman reasoned simply. "After all, you are our mark."

The man was close to wetting himself. "M…Mark?" he stuttered.

"Yes, m…mark," the woman said mockingly.

"But…why? I didn't do anything I swear!"

The woman's raised her arms to shrug. "Yeah that's what they all say, but they always did something. You're no different."

"I am!"

The woman sighed. "Lacro Yenma. Age 35 and unmarried, no known family. You are responsible for the murder of a woman who you attempted to rape one night when you were drunk."

The man froze. 'How…How could they possibly know that?'

The male partner finally spoke. "I'm tired of this. Can I just eat him now? Fear always makes the flesh taste better."

The question made the man start to actually wet himself.

Another sigh from the woman. "You know you can't do that."

The man groaned. "I know, I was just kidding. I was just trying to get this guy to wet himself in fear…" he paused and sniffed the air, "…which he already has."

"God, you're immature sometimes."

The man simply chuckled. "So what's the call?"

In a very serious tone, she replied, "Kill him, but make it clean. We don't need the whole alley to be painted red and we don't need any signs that a dragon was here. And no eating."

Did she say dragon? The man thought to himself in fear.

The man smiled, the little light in the area causing his teeth to shine. Lacro felt his heart beat even faster when he saw that this man had long and pointed teeth. He then heard a low growl and before he knew it, the man was jumping towards him. Before Lacro could even let out a scream, a black blade protruding from the side of the man's forearm cut through the flesh of his throat completely. Lacro's head rolled to the side and fell to the ground.

The man sighed. "Well, that's another one. Man, I still can't believe these guys are criminals. They're so weak. How the hell do they have the balls to do what they do?"

The woman shrugged while pulling out some cloth and tossing it to the man, who easily caught it. "Beats me, but if they committed the crime, it's not our place to say whether or not they're capable. As long as they did it and got away with it, we'll bring 'em down. Now clean yourself off, Nikolias."

The man did as instructed and wiped off his clothes and the blade that was still protruding from his arm. Once he finished, he tossed the rag back and retracted the blade and caused the wall that Lacro's corpse was still leaning against to disappear. "So mission accomplished then."

She gave him a smile. "Yep, mission accomplished! On to the next one!"

"And where would that be, Gracie?"

"I believe Magnolia should have something. We'll look around there."

"Sounds good to me. Lead the way."

Natsu Dragneel stood proudly as he admired his work. He and his team had been sent to deal with bandits that were harassing Clover Town. However, as usual, Natsu got overexcited immediately and burned down a lot of the property while chasing down the bandits with his Fire Dragon magic.

Of course, it didn't help that most of his team was just as destructive as he was. As soon as Natsu started fighting, Gray Fullbuster started using his Ice Make magic and was almost as destructive as Natsu while taking out the bandits. Erza Scarlett, who was always destructive if it meant the job got done, partook in her fair share of damage as well, sending various swords into the surrounding area and breaking apart multiple walls and vendors' stands while trying to immobilize the bandits. Capturing all of the bandits took roughly an hour, which Natsu didn't feel was enough time to really get going.

Lucy Heartfilia walked over to where Natsu was standing while groaning. "So much money…we're going to have to pay so much money to fix all of this."

Natsu turned to her and flashed her one of his signature grins. "Maybe, but it was a fun mission at least!"

Lucy just glared at him. "Maybe for you, but I was more interested in getting paid so that I could afford to pay rent."

Natsu rolled his eyes. "Man, you're a broken record with that stuff, Luce."

Lucy groaned again, deciding to give up on that particular argument.

"Oi, flame brain!"

Natsu turned to see Gray and Erza walking over to them. They had been reporting to the Magic Council about the bandits before the Council members took the bandits away. They had just finished and decided to join Natsu and Lucy.

"What is it, ice head?" Natsu shot back.

"What'd you call me?" Gray shouted while invading Natsu's personal space. "Wanna say that to my face?"

Natsu didn't back down. "You heard me!"

Metal clad hands separated the two before they could really get into it. "That's enough, you two. We need to head back to the guild now. If we leave now, we should be back in Magnolia by this afternoon."

Lucy looked pleadingly at Erza. "Erza, how much money are we actually taking home today?"

Erza shook her head. "Because of the damage caused by these two knuckleheads, we were only paid ¼ of the originally offered amount."

Lucy gave her a deadpanned look. "You know, you destroyed a lot of stuff, too."

Erza pretended that she didn't hear what Lucy said. "Alright everyone, let's move out."

Natsu, Erza, and Gray headed back towards Magnolia with Happy flying circles around their heads and Lucy dragging her feet in the rear.

"One quarter of the pay…," she wailed softly over and over again. She had no idea how she was going to manage this month's rent. She could always take more missions, but with the way her missions usually went while tagging along with Natsu and the demolition crew, she would just end up doing a lot of work and getting little pay for it. But what other choice did she have? It's not like other sources of income were easy to come by. She looked up at the sky. The sun was starting to reach the midpoint of the world's ceiling, indicating that it was getting close to noon. She sighed as she let the beams of warmth cover her soft skin. Could this day get any worse?

It was a couple of hours after noon when Team Natsu arrived back in Magnolia. Everyone's mood had stayed the same for the entire trip back; Erza was content with a job well done, Natsu and Gray were still throwing insults at each other, and Lucy was still depressed over losing what should have been easy money.

They reached the middle of town when the fighting between Gray and Natsu grew more heated.

"I don't care what you say, ice fairy. There's no way that you could beat me in a fight!" Natsu threw at Gray.

"I don't care if you believe me or not. It's a fact that everyone knows except for you," Gray growled back.

Natsu turned to Lucy. "Oi Lucy, who's stronger; me or Gray?"

Lucy smacked her hand against her forehead. "I don't care, Natsu. I just don't care."

Natsu flashed an evil grin at Gray. "See that? Lucy thinks that I'm stronger than you!"

"When the hell did she say that?"

"She said Natsu, didn't she?"

"She never said that you were stronger, dumbass!"

"Yes she did. You just couldn't hear it with all of that snow in your ears."

And thus the brawl began.

Gray threw a punch out at Natsu that caught him straight in the jaw and sent him flying into a fruit stand. Natsu jumped to his feet with a grin and charged Gray. Natsu attempted throwing a punch, but Gray easily dodged it and planted a foot in his gut and making him flinch. The fight was drawing quite a crowd.

Lucy looked around before turning to Erza. "Erza, why aren't you stopping them? They're making a scene."

Erza shrugged. "They need to get it out of their system. To be honest, I'm surprised they made it this far before snapping."

Lucy just sighed and watched the brawling wizards.

"So this is Magnolia, huh?" Gracie marveled. "It's wonderful!"

Nikolias walked along side her, eating a large bag of chips. "I'm just glad they have a lot of snacks around. I was starting to get really hungry."

Gracie shot Nikolias a look. "Really? The food is what you noticed? Not the scenery?"

"What? You know what happens when I get hungry."

Gracie sighed. "I know, but still… Couldn't you at least pretend to be interested in the new sights?"

Nikolias raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"To make you seem more…human. Human beings tend to take in the sights."

Nikolias chuckled. "Yeah, 'cause that's what I care about. Being more like a dumbass human."

"You know you are partly human, right?"

He waved his hand. "Yeah, but I don't acknowledge that part."

"Just try to be more human. Then you can blend in better."

"I'm blending in just fine." He kept munching on his chips while Gracie just pressed her palm against her face.

Suddenly, Nikolias' ears twitched and he turned his eyes to the right. "Huh."

"What is it?"

"Sounds like something's happening over there."

Gracie's face lit up. "Ooo, maybe it's a street performance! Oh, let's check it out, Niky!"

"Gracie, I don't think…," he started but was interrupted by Gracie taking his arm and dragging him to where he had been looking. "Oh come on, Gracie. Do we have to?"

Gracie looked back to shoot him a smile. "Because it will be fun!"

Nikolias just rolled his eyes and allowed Gracie to drag him towards the commotion.

After a little walking, they arrived to see a crowd huddled around something. Gracie and Nikolias could hear shouting coming from the center.

"What the hell is going on in there?" Gracie asked.

Nikolias crinkled his nose. "I smell sweat and a little bit of blood. My guess is a fight of some kind."

Gracie huffed. "And I thought this was a peaceful town."

Nikolias just grinned. "And now this town just got a little more interesting."

"Oh Niky…"

Nikolias started to turn. "Still, I have no interest watching two strangers beat each other. Come on, let's keep walking, Gracie."

The fight between Gray and Natsu was intensifying more and more. Each mage was getting solid hits in, completely oblivious to the crowd that had been forming. Both were sporting cuts and bruises, but neither side was willing to concede.

"Just stay down, fire ass!" Gray shouted.

Fire started swarming around Natsu. "Ha! Like I would quit! Nice try, snow boy! If I didn't know better, you're trying to get me to quit because you're scared of losing."

"Yeah right."

"I think you're just one big arctic chicken!"

"Shut it!"

Natsu tucked his arms into his body to make wings and started flapping them around. "Bawk bawk bawk!"

Gray gritted his teeth in frustration and charged Natsu…which was exactly what Natsu knew he would do. Natsu drew back his right arm, fire enveloping his fist. As Gray drew closer, Natsu unleashed his attack.

"FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!"

Gray was caught completely off guard by Natsu's attack and, before he could even attempt to put up a defense, Natsu's fist collided with his chest. The impact knocked the wind out of Gray and sent him flying into the crowd.

Seeing the flying ice mage, the crowd quickly dispersed to avoid getting hit by the boy. However, not all bystanders were as quick. Or even paying attention for that matter.

"Still, I have no interest watching two strangers beat each other. Come on, let's keep walking, Gracie."

Suddenly, the crowd started to make sounds of panic and the occasional "Look out!" caused Nikolias to turn in confusion. Before he could understand what was happening, a body slammed into him, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Niky!" Gracie called out in concern. "Are you alright?"

Natsu pumped his fist in victory. "HA! Alright, I win! Take that, icicle breath!"

"Yay, Natsu!" called out a proud Happy.

Lucy stared in shock before looking to Natsu. "Natsu…are you insane?"

Natsu looked at her in confusion. "Heh?"

Lucy pointed to where Gray had flown. "You knocked him into a civilian!"

Natsu scratched the back of his head. "Oh…well that wasn't supposed to happen. I guess we should make sure they're okay."

Lucy nodded and she and Erza ran towards Gray with Natsu in tow.

Gray rubbed the back of his head and grumbled, "Damn, how did I leave myself open like that? Stupid, Gray, very stupid. I'll never hear the end of this."

"Gray! Are you alright?" Lucy called as she, Erza, and Natsu ran to him.

"Yeah, I'm cool. Natsu doesn't hit that hard."

Natsu's eye twitched. "What, you wanna go for round two, you frozen bastard?"

"Bring it!"

"Enough, you two. We need to check on the civilian that Gray collided with," Erza said, stopping any considerations of another brawl.

"I thought I hit something. Where is he?"

Erza pointed to where a woman was kneeling. A young man was lying on the ground and slowly starting to move around.

"Come on, we should apologize," Erza said.

"Yeah, I guess we should," Gray agreed.

The four mages and Happy headed over to the couple to make sure everything was alright.

"Niky! Hey Niky! Come on, snap out of it!"

Grumbling into the dirt was the only response she got.

"Hi there!"

Gracie turned to see four people and a blue cat standing by her.

"Uh, hello," Gracie said.

A red haired woman stepped forward. "My name is Erza Scarlett. I would like to apologize for my comrades' behavior."

"I'm sorry, what?"

Erza motioned to a dark haired shirtless boy. "Gray here was the one who collided with your friend there because of a fight he was in with a fellow teammate."

Gracie felt really confused. "Wait, why were teammates fighting each other and in the street no less? And why is he not wearing a shirt?"

Gray looked down. "GAH! Where the hell did it go?" He began searching the immediate area for his lost garment of clothing.

"Hi, I'm Lucy!" a blonde girl said. "To answer your questions, Gray is a bit of a stripper, so he's normally without clothes. And Gray and Natsu here," she slapped a pink haired boy's chest with the back of her hand, "are constantly getting into fights everywhere."

"Alright…"

"Anyway, we would like to apologize," Erza said. "Is your friend alright?"

Gracie turned around to look at Nikolias. "Yeah, he's fine, just lazy." She stood and smiled at her company. "Thank you for checking on him, though. My name is Gracie and this is my friend and partner, Nikolias." She motioned to the young man still face down on the ground.

Erza bowed slightly. "It's nice to meet you, Miss Gracie."

Gracie waved her hands in front of her. "Please, no Miss, just Gracie."

"So Gracie, are you new in town? I don't recognize you or Nikolias."

Gracie smiled. "Yes, we're just passing through. It's quite a nice town."

"What brought you to Magnolia?" Lucy asked.

"Originally business, but it seems like that has fallen through, so strictly pleasure."

"Oh I see…hey your friend is starting to get up!" Lucy said.

Gracie turned to see Nikolias slowly getting on all fours before he froze. "Niky? Everything okay?"

Nikolias began slowly scanning the ground. "Where…Where are they?"

"Where's what, Niky?"

Nikolias slowly looked up. His eyes were flickering and he was sweating profusely. "Where are…the chips, Gracie?"

Understanding appeared on Gracie's face as she began to look frantically around. "Shit, where are the chips?" She turned to her company. "Do you see a big bag of chips anywhere?"

"Why?" Natsu asked with a puzzled look.

"It takes too long to explain. Please, do you see the chips?"

The mages looked around.

"Is that it?" Happy asked, pointing to a bag of chips on the ground with crumbled chips scattered all around.

Gracie paled a bit. "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!"

"Gracie, what's wrong?" Erza asked.

"Please, do you have anything to eat on your persons?" Gracie begged.

Erza shook her head. "We're out of rations, my apologies. Why?"

Gracie ran over to Nikolias. "Niky? Can you stay calm for me?"

Nikolias was shaking now. "Gracie, I…I'm so hungry."

"I'll get you something, just hang on." Gracie looked up. "Please, find me something."

"What's going on?" Erza asked.

"I don't have time to explain!" she said, panic in her voice. "He needs food, now, or bad things will happen. Hurry!" She turned her attention back to Nikolias in an attempt to calm him down.

The mages looked around for anything to eat, splitting up to find something.

"Niky, you're stronger than this. Just hold on," Gracie said softly.

Nikolias was shaking more noticeably. "I…know I am, but…I'm just so…hungry." His voice was getting rougher and deeper. His hair began to stand on end and his fingers began digging into the stone.

Gracie kept trying to reassure Nikolias, but it was only slowing things down slightly. If he didn't get food soon, there would be trouble.

"Gracie!"

Gracie looked up to see Lucy running towards her with an apple in her hand with the rest of the group running behind her. Upon reaching Gracie, they were all slightly shocked to see Nikolias looking slightly different.

"Gracie, will this do?" Lucy asked, handing her the apple.

"It will for now. Thank you, Lucy." She presented the apple to Nikolias. "Here Nikolias, eat this."

Nikolias reached for the apple. Once his fingers touched it, he grabbed it quickly and devoured it within seconds until there was nothing left. Slowly but noticeably, Nikolias became less tense and his hair began to settle back down. Gracie released a heavy sigh.

"Thank you so much. Everything's alright now."

The mages stared at the now panting Nikolias until Natsu spoke up. "So…what the hell was that just now?"

"It's complicated."

"Do you mind explaining?"

Gracie remained silent. It was actually Nikolias who responded.

"It's okay, Gracie. We can tell them. They have a right to know why they were almost dinner."

Lucy's eyes widened. "Wh…What?"

Gracie sighed again. "Alright, I guess that makes sense." She stood up, supporting Nikolias with her shoulders. "Do you have anywhere that we can talk that's a bit more…private?"