Daphne arc

The Daphne arc is an anime-only arc that took place between the Oración Seis arc and the Edolas arc of the Fairy Tail series.

New Members, New Friends
Team Natsu returns home to their guild with Wendy and Carla after their lengthy battle against Oracion Seis. Natsu enjoys a short time of motion sickness-free transport and Lucy thinks back to all that happened after learning the truth about Cait Shelter. The light team members all head back to their guilds on good terms, and Lucy meets up with Gemini, Scorpio, and Aries who tell her of Angel's arrest and their voided contracts. They ask to form a contract with Lucy, who is surprised to receive 3 of the 12 ecliptic keys at once. She also shows her kindness to the spirits, which is no surprise for Gemini, confusion for being called a person for Scorpio, and happiness for Aries for finding a nice owner, free of mistreatment, and being able to be with Leo.

As they arrive at Fairy Tail, Wendy and Carla are instantly welcomed by everyone. Everyone is glad that Team Natsu managed to arrive back safely and had managed to take out 1/3 of the Balam Alliance. They learn of Wendy being the Sky Dragon Slayer and the master then throws a welcome party for Wendy and Carla. Gajeel watches from the second floor and is disappointed to see that both Natsu and Wendy have cats while he doesn't, despite also being a dragon slayer. Wendy instantly takes a liking to the guild but Carla is somewhat disturbed by the immaturity of the guild. Mystogan then looks down from the second floor and, surprised to see Wendy arriving at Fairy Tail, disappears in a gust of wind.

A Rumor and A Mystery
A week later, Wendy and Carla are looking for a job on the guild request board while Lucy and Levy encourage them to go on their first job with their respective teams. Meanwhile, Gray approaches Natsu and informs him that he overheard a rumor that a woman named Daphne saw a dragon. After Gray tells Natsu where to find the woman, Natsu immediately leaves with Happy. Hoping that the dragon would be Grandeeney, Wendy and Carla decide to join the two while Gajeel decides to stay behind, thinking that the information is false. Natsu ignores Gajeel's comment and gets ready to leave, with Wendy and the others following him.

Meanwhile, Erza is shopping for a cake to welcome Wendy to the guild. After talking with the baker, Erza asks the owner if he can make fifty Fantasia Cakes. The owner is surprised at this request, but is even more shocked when Erza tells him forty-nine of the cakes are for herself. As she later exits the store, she feels an ominous presence. Heading to an alley, Erza finds herself fighting a hooded figure who also uses Requip. After clashing swords with Erza, the figure disappears, leaving Erza confused. Elsewhere, Natsu, Wendy, Happy and Carla arrive at the inn where Daphne is said to be staying. After checking most of the rooms, the group finds themselves face to face with a suspicious looking door.

Natsu asks for Daphne and the door opens. A bespectacled woman appears and reveals herself to be Daphne. She believes all of them to be customers for her product, Metamo-chan. She continues to talk about Metamo-chan until Natsu gets mad and asks to talk about dragons. Meanwhile, Erza explains to Makarov and the rest of the guild about her assailant. She believes that it was a beast who attacked her. Juvia then tells the guild that Gray went off somewhere without telling her. Back at the inn, Daphne tells Natsu that she lied about seeing a dragon. Natsu then attempts to leave the room, but when he opens the door there is only darkness. Natsu tries punching into the darkness, but is sent flying back. Wendy opens the window but all she sees is darkness. Natsu tries punching the wall again but is sent back by Gray. Gray then goes over to Daphne and is ordered to crush Natsu.

Fire and Ice: Natsu vs. Gray
Gray launches the first attack by using his Ice-Make: Lance. Natsu is able to dodge his attacks. Gray then strips off his shirt and tells Natsu to be serious. They exchange blows and Natsu tackles Gray into the wall. Daphne then explains to Wendy, Happy, and Carla that she and Gray are partners. Wendy and the cats don't believe her at first, thinking that she has Gray under a spell, though she qickly dispels their belief. Meanwhile, everyone in the guild is worrying about what has happened to Natsu and the others since they've been gone for a long time. Erza and Lucy then decide to head out and find them.

Elsewhere, Gray and Natsu continue their battle. Both of them are still evenly matched until Gray gains the advantage after they fall into a pool. Gray traps Natsu in an ice prison, but Natsu breaks out using his Dragon Roar, which creates an explosion. Using the smoke to his advantage, Gray is then able to land his Ice Make Lance on Natsu sending him flying through the wall. Natsu then breaks the ground they're standing on and they fall to the first floor. Happy tries to call for help, but when he tries to leave the building, he is sent back by an invisible barrier. Daphne explains to them that her Magic is called Concealment Magic and it won't allow them to be found. They then see Erza and Lucy walking outside, both of them are unable to see the inn. Suddenly the thing that attacked Erza before appears again. They exchange blows and Erza is able to slice off the hood he is wearing, which reveals a lizard-like face and body. Lucy summons Virgo to help Erza, but suddenly another Lizardman appears and it has the same powers as Virgo. Virgo and the Lizardman exchange blows underground but Virgo gets overpowered. Lucy then tells Virgo to retreat and summon Loke. The Lizardman disappears and another one appears, this one having the same powers as Leo.

Meanwhile, Gray and Natsu go at each other and Natsu is able to smash Gray into a wall. Natsu believes that he has won and goes over to see what has happened to Gray. Gray then freezes Natsu's feet as Daphne goes over to them and traps Natsu in her Hidden Darkness. Natsu then remembers about the City Without Sound, but then he gets electrocuted. Erza and Loke are still engaged in battle with their respective Lizardmen until Erza uses her quick re-equipping to beat her Lizardman. Lucy then tells Loke to return and summons Plue to beat her Lizardman in a comical dance off. Daphne then reveals her Dragonoid and tells Erza and Lucy that the Dragonoid is absorbing Natsu's magic power. Wendy tells Erza and Lucy that Gray set the whole thing up. Gray is then seen on top of Dragonoid while Erza and Lucy look on in shock.

Fairies and Dragons: Fairy Tail vs. Daphne
Erza asks Gray the reason for his betrayal, but Gray simply replies that he doesn't have one. Erza then orders Daphne to return Natsu to them, but Daphne refuses. Meanwhile, Natsu continues to struggle inside the Dragonoid but he gets electrocuted every time he tries. Daphne then explains that she has been trying to create an artificial dragon for a long time already. She started by hatching artificial dragons from eggs and letting them lose on the city she lived in. But the people in the city all knew how to use Hidden, so Daphne made it so that they couldn't dispel their magic, thus the people became permanently invisible. From then on, that city became known as the City Without Sound.

Daphne then tries to check the mobility of her Dragonoid, which almost crushes Lucy and Wendy. Suddenly, Elfman, Wakaba, and Macao arrive in their Magic Four Wheeled Vehicle. Elfman then knocks out Gray with a punch to the stomach while Macao informs Erza that the master ordered them to capture Gray in order for him to be interrogated. The Dragonoid's wings start to glow and it flies into the air, heading straight for Magnolia. Erza, Macao, Elfman, and Wakaba then use the vehicle to try to chase the Dragonoid while Lucy and Wendy are carried by Happy and Charle back to town. Once the vehicle is under the Dragonoid, Erza then tries to jump onto the Dragonoid but is stopped by a Lizardman. She quickly gets rid of it using her Black Wing Armor, but when she gets on top of the Dragonoid she is met up by five of the Lizardmen who each have a different attribute of Erza's armor. Meanwhile, the vehicle is stopped by three Lizardmen which have the same powers as Elfman, Wakaba, and Macao.

Back in Magnolia, Lucy, Wendy, and the rest of the guild are trying to bring all the citizens of Magnolia into the safety of the Fairy Tail guild. They then catch sight of the Dragonoid coming to Magnolia. Elsewhere, Elfman, Wakaba, and Macao begin their fights against their respective Lizardman. Wakaba is quickly beaten and Macao is on the brink of defeat when Elfman uses his  Beast Soul to try to protect them all. Meanwhile, Erza is having difficulty beating the Lizardmen. While inside the Dragonoid, Natsu hears the voice of someone familiar to him. He then remembers the promise he made to the people of the City Without Sound, he must defeat the one who controls the dragons. Natsu then begins to release a lot of magic energy to try to get out. The Dragonoid shakes a bit, but Daphne just reconfigures her Dragonoid to suck up Natsu's magic power at a more reasonable pace.

Back at the guild, Elfman and the others have returned but are injured. Elfman then asks his sister to help Natsu, and then collapses. Cana gets mad at Gray but Juvia defends him saying Gray would never betray Fairy Tail. Gray tells her to stop and is then escorted by Alzack and Bisca to the master while Wendy uses her Sky Magic to heal Elfman. The whole Fairy Tail then decides to do their best to save Natsu, but Makarov tells them that they should prioritize saving Magnolia first.

Meanwhile, Erza continues her fight with the Lizardmen. She then tells Natsu that he is not the type of wizard that would lose to the likes of Daphne. Erza then uses her Sword Magic and vows to bring Natsu back with her. Erza defeats her opponents and attempts to go after Daphne, but she is too late and the Dragonoid lands in Magnolia. She then falls off the Dragonoid and is about to be stopped on but is saved by the members of the guild. Meanwhile, Makarov confronts Gray as to why he betrayed Fairy Tail, but Gray merely states that only Natsu can defeat the Dragonoid. Erza is then told about the situation and informs Natsu that the master ordered them to destroy the Dragonoid at all costs. Natsu then tells Erza to destroy the Dragonoid along with him.

War at Magnolia
In the Fairy Tail Guild, Makarov interrogates Gray about why he suddenly attacked Natsu. Gray then explains that Daphne told Gray that she was going to capture Natsu and planned to use him as the Dragonoid's power source. He heard that this Dragonoid can only be destroyed by a Dragon Slayer from the inside. Makarov understands, but disagrees with handing Natsu over to Daphne because if Gray hadn't handed Natsu over to Daphne the Dragonoid would never been activated.

Gray states that when they were young, Natsu went to the City without Sound, but has been forgotten the promise he made to the people there. It turns out that young Gray had followed Natsu there before and knows all about it. Gray then continues saying that Natsu had forgotten everything because he only was thinking about Igneel but admits that he can't surpass Ur while Natsu can surpass anyone, even Igneel. Before Gray leaves, Makarov gives him the plan.

Daphne recalls her past when she was young. She was picking some flowers in the pasture while she was feeling a heavy wind. Daphne looked up and saw a big shadow of a dragon. She was impressed by the appearance of the dragon and hoped that it would come again, but it never arrived and so she decided to create her own. Natsu angrily berates her for going so far, stating that she wasn't the only one who wanted to see a dragon. He himself, Wendy and even Gajeel wanted to see their dragons but Daphne simply responds that the dragons are extinct. When she told people about the dragon, they never believed her. She then says that she finally has been able to create a dragon and wants to show it to everyone. Daphne declares that she will crush the city and then fly around the continent.

She starts attacking Magnolia Town with her Dragonoid at the expense of Natsu's powers while Gray arrives and gives everyone an outline of what he did and that they are free to believe him or not. Juvia eagerly believes him. Gray then proceeds to say that they need to do something about Dragonoid first. Suddenly, Daphne activates her Lizardmen 3.1 to attack the Mages. Erza has already figured out the plan laid by Makarov to Gray and so she proceeds to confront the Dragonoid in her Heaven's Wheel Armor while the Mages battle the Lizardmen. Gray then leaves to go somewhere and asks Juvia to follow him.

On the Toy World's rooftop, Gray asks Juvia to lend him her power so they can help cover Erza by destroying the Lizardmen. She agrees and they fuse their Magic together, creating a Unison Raid of water and ice that effectively destroys Daphne's Lizardmen. Natsu, still inside Dragonoid, starts getting irritated with what seems to be two miniature Natsus who are arguing. Gray, from outside, also contributes to Natsu's irritation by telling him that he is helpless. Happy, Lucy and Erza also join in saying harsh words to him so that he may activate and use the Flames of Emotion.

Erza and Gajeel then attack the Dragonoid's core in order to break it so Natsu may be released. The other Fairy Tail Mages then use their own method of creating fire and sending it towards Natsu, with Lucy combining all of the spells to create a large fireball for Natsu, helping him recuperate his strength and Magic. Daphne, seeing that she can't absorb all the magical power, calls for a truce, leaving Natsu to defeat her and destroy the Dragonoid.

Night of the Rainbow Sakura
In the Fairy Tail guild, Makarov is lecturing his guild members about what it is to be a Fairy Tail Mage and to celebrate their work done for the past year, they will hold the long-awaited Hanami Party. A pre-celebration begins, and Mirajane tells everyone to take it easy. All over the guild, everyone is excited for the Hanami party and about the annual Bingo. There is a shortage of jobs since clients also know of Fairy Tail's resting period during the Sakura season. However, Team Natsu along with Wendy and Carla are gone since they accompanied Wendy on a job, much to Juvia's dismay.

Meanwhile, Team Natsu is walking down Mt. Hakobe, looking for an herb that can supposedly magnify the magical power of a Mage when eaten or drank as it is their job to collect a number of those. As they travel, Lucy and Wendy talk about the upcoming Hanami inside Horologium while the other three, Natsu, Gray and Erza, beat up the Vulcans that ambush them. While exploring, Natsu picks up the scent of the herbs and runs toward them, only to find a Blizzardvern there. It turns out that the Blizzardvern is a herbivore and its favorite food is the herb that they needed to collect. Natsu, Gray, and Erza then decide to draw its attention to them, leaving Lucy, Wendy, Happy and Carla to gather the herbs.

Natsu, Gray, and Erza attack and distract the Blizzardvern, and Lucy, Wendy, Happy, and Carla crawl towards the herbs. The Blizzardvern manages to reflect Natsu’s flame and Gray’s ice and even dodge Erza’s lightning. As they battle, Lucy gets her hands on some herbs when an avalanche suddenly starts. The avalanche sweeps them away but Lucy is successfully able to hold on to the herbs.

The next day is the day of the Hanami. Lucy caught a cold from being buried in the avalanche and so she isn't able to attend.. Natsu and Happy leaves Lucy’s house to let her rest. They feel bad for Lucy since she was really looking forward to the festival. Later, the festival starts. Everyone is having fun, drinking, eating, and laughing. Natsu explains Lucy's condition to the others. Happy suggests that Wendy should cast a healing spell on her but it turns out Wendy already did and Lucy should be fine by tomorrow. After a while, the traditional Hanami Bingo tournament begins. Everyone except Natsu is participating and attempting to win. Happy tries to persuade Natsu to play Bingo, but he refuses.

During this time, Lucy lies in her bed at home, thinking about all the experiences she had since the day she met Natsu back at Hargeon Town. She wishes that she attended the Hanami. Before she falls asleep, she thanks Natsu and the entire guild for being there for her and concludes that she joined a really great guild. Later that night, Lucy wakes up due to a commotion outside.. Lucy opens the window to check what is going on and is surprised to see a Rainbow Sakura tree floating on a boat at the river right in front of her house.

The next day, Natsu and Happy are happy to hear that Lucy’s cold is cured. Makarov is asking who was responsible for digging up the Rainbow Sakura tree, saying that the Mayor is really mad about it. Lucy realizes that it was Natsu and Happy who were responsible and thanks and hugs them. Meanwhile, the people of Magnolia look in wonder at the Rainbow Sakura tree that seemed to be replanted.

Wendy's Blustery Day
Wendy and Carla are looking for a job at the guild request board. Wendy notes that though she has completed a few missions, all of them have been from Magnolia Town and so Gray tells her she could take a job outside the town. Mirajane suggests a job in Onibus Town to Wendy. The reward is not very high but it's a perfect first job for Wendy and it suits her abilities. It is from Labian, the man that Team Natsu helped stage the play "Frederick and Yanderica", and he is requesting a person to help heal his body and soul as his actors have abandoned him and his show. Despite warnings from other members, Wendy decides to accept the job. However, the Master is uncomfortable with her going out alone and asks Freed Justine and Happy to go with her.

While waititng at Magnolia Station, the team discovers that the train that would head to Onibus is not running due to a breakdown. Wendy decides to walk to Onibus despite Happy's protests, though Freed agrees with her. The team begins their trek on the top of the mountain, with Wendy determined to finish her job. Back at the guild, Lucy tells Erza about Wendy’s job. Erza begins her vocal exercises and lets Lucy knw that she is worried about Wendy and has decided to follow her. When Mirajane arrives and tells everyone that the train to Onibus isn’t running, a worried Erza, Lucy and Carla leave to follow Wendy.

Meanwhile, Wendy, Happy and Freed are walking together through the forest on their way to Onibus Town. Wendy apologizes to Freed for dragging him into this but Freed shrugs it off, saying that it's for his comrade. As Happy suggests the group takes a rest, Wendy notes that it's about to rain and so the three of them make a run for it. While Freed wonder whether to use his runes to create a safe area for them, Wendy calls to him from a nearby cave where the three take shelter. Erza, Lucy and Carla, who were pursuing the group, are forced to take shelter inside Horologium due to the rain. Back at the guild, Natsu is shocked to hear that Lucy and Erza went after Wendy's group and immediately heads for the station and reluctantly boards a train.

Later on, the rain stops but nightfall is approaching so Wendy decides that the team should camp for the night. While they can sleep in the cave they took shelter in, Happy notes that food will be a problem, though Freed says he knows what to do. Upon drawing runes, Winged Fish begin to fall from the sky. Though Happy states that the fish taste awful, Freed tells them he will show them the proper way to prepare the fish. Thorough use of his rapier, Freed skillfully dices the fish and presents it before Wendy and Happy. However, while Freed has no problem eating the fish, Wendy and Happy are not too fond of them. Elsewhere, Erza, Lucy and Carla are forced to eat the fish as well, lamenting over their poor taste.

Natsu, still on the train, has gone back and forth between Magnolia and Onibus several times and is still experiencing motion-sickness. Elsewhere, Wendy's Team is traveling through the desert. When Happy collapses from the heat, Wendy attempts to heal him but, seeing her kind nature, Freed steps in and draws a rune barrier to prevent Happy from feeling the heat. Though it seemingly works, Wendy notes it will be pointless when Happy leaves the barrier. Meanwhile, Erza falls into quicksand and so Lucy summons Virgo to help out. As Wendy's group walks along, a cursed sandstorm quickly approaches them, causing them to run away and find Lucy's group. As Virgo tries to lift Erza, she finds that she is unable to while the sandstorm is approaching. When Erza is rescued, it seems they cannot run from the sandstorm anymore and so Wendy unleashes her Sky Dragon's Roar to disperse it, earning her compliments from her companions.

As the two groups finally reach Onibus, Labian explains that he made up with his actors and that everything is okay, to everyone’s shock. Everyone, including the newly-arrived and motion-sick Natsu faints from the exhaustion of their long trips. Labian chastises the Fairy Tail Mages who pass out in front of his theater and orders Wendy to get rid of them, saying that he'll pay a large reward. At the end, Wendy is disappointed about her first big job, but Carla tells her that she should be proud because she did a good job and that even though everyone as worried about her, she was the one who helped them in the end.

The Race to Escape a Horrible Fate
It is time for Fairy Tail's annual 24-Hour Endurance race and everyone in the guild gets ready for it. Jet, the winner of the previous year's race, plans on winning again in order to impress Levy. Makarov describes the race's route. Fairy Tail members have to run to the mountain to get a Wyvern Scale and return to Magnolia's South Gate Park within 24 hours. Whoever comes in last place will receive "the punishment". Happy and Evergreen planned on flying in order to win, but Master Makarov, thanks to complaints received over the past years, comes up with a new rule: No flying. The race then begins and everyone, with the intention to avoid losing, takes off.

Jason from Sorcerer Magazine comes to watch and commentate the race. When the race starts, Jet's High Speed Magic initially puts him far ahead of his competitors as he takes off quickly, leaving them in the dust. Natsu, however, uses his Fire Dragon's Iron Fist to give himself a speed boost. With that, the rest of the guild takes off as well, including Wendy and Carla, who apologize to Lucy and Levy, who have not left, for leaving them behind. When Makarov reminds them of the awaiting punishment, the girls are quick to get going as well. Along with Jason reporting, Mirajane and Makarov take note of where everyone in the race is, though Mirajane realizes that Jet is so fast they, can't film him.

While running in the race, Reedus uses his Pict Magic to make a hole in front of him, which Warren and Droy fall into. As he tries to repeat the process, he is passed and knocked into his own hole by Gajeel. In an attempt to take the lead, Gray creates an Ice Make: Floor, which causes Vijeeter, Nab and many others to lose their balance and fall down. As Gray attempts to get in the lead, Elfman uses his Beast Arm: Iron Bull to knock him back, to Juvia's surprise. Elsewhere, Cana Alberona and Wakaba are neck-and-neck, both commenting on how the other is having trouble running, at which point Macao shows up and passes both of them.

Near the mountains, Evergreen steps on a trap set by Freed Justine and actives his rune trap, inadvertantly trapping Bisca and Max along with her. As Evergreen gets angry at her fellow Thunder God Tribe member, Freed himself appears as a number of textbooks materialize. He states that to exit the trap, they need to answer some questions and get all of them correct, much to their anger. Later on the mountain, Erza narrowly avoids one of Freed's traps and surrounds him with her swords as punishment for ruining her running rhythm.

Meanwhile, Jet manages to secure a wyvern scale for himself far before anyone else can do so and heads back down the mountain and back to Magnolia, with the commentators expressing their opinions on his speed.Meanwhile, Wendy, Carla and Gray are wondering where Juvia disappeared to. It's revealed that she has merged with the water as she sadly watches Gray pass her by. On the mountain, night has fallen and Natsu is running low on magical energy, meaning he can't use his power for a boost any longer. Luckily, after being passed and knocked away by Gajeel, Natsu comes across some campers and asks to eat their fire. Elsewhere, numerous members have managed to secure their Wyvern scales and begin the trip down the mountain and back to the park. However, Happy is unable to obtain a scale due to his short stature and the restriction on flight. However, Natsu hands him a scale and the two head back down.

The second half of the race gets underway with the with Jet in the lead, Erza following behind followed by Gray, Lucy and Gajeel and another pack of wizards who are futher back, determined not to lose. However, Jet decides to take a nap to make things more interesting. A while later, he is found and woken up by Happy, who makes him realize he overslept, resulting in him taking off at full speed. As Magnolia gets closer, Erza, Gray, Natsu and Gajeel are hastily making their way into town.

As they get closer, Jet, running at full speed, shows up and eagerly attempts to overtake them, surprising everyone who believed he had been in the lead. With his arrival, the five racers eagerly attempt to overtake one another, all with little success. Just as they approach the finish line, but Natsu trips and makes the other four trip over right him in front of the finishing line. Happy is seen in the distance running towards the finish line. Happy crosses the line followed by Wendy and Carla. Happy wins first place place followed by Wendy who wins second place and then Carla who is third. While Erza, Gajeel, Natsu, Gray and Jet who fell stares at them, the rest of Fairy Tail quickly crosses the finishing line along with Erza who quickly recovered.

In the end, it is Gray, Natsu, Jet and Gajeel who are the only ones left. Jet realizes this and gets back up and runs off. Gray, Natsu and Gajeel grab onto Jet and cross with him, making the end a tie! Makarov reveals that since it's a tie, all of them must share the punishment. The punishment is that they must dress up like girls and have an interview and a photo spread printed in the Weekly Sorcerer Magazine. Gray, Natsu, Gajeel and Jet are all shocked and refuse to do such a thing, running off into the distance with Jason running after them. Meanwhile, Happy asks what his prize is, to which Makarov replies that his prize is the admiration of his fellow guild mates, much to his disappointment.