Episode 277

Message of Fire is the 277th episode of the Fairy Tail anime, and the 102nd and final episode of the 2014 series.
Reunited after a year, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy catch up on what has happened since, with Lucy informing the duo that Fairy Tail has been disbanded. Aiming to gather all their comrades once again, the trio heads out on a new adventure after Natsu raises the beacon of Fairy Tail's revival.
==Summary==
After the Fire Dragon Slayer's shenanigans at the stadium, Natsu and Happy are brought to the Mercurius Palace of Crocus where they stand before the Royal Family. A soldier, with a great deal of surprise, asks if the duo is really supposed to be released and the king, Toma E. Fiore confirms it, with Hisui adding that Natsu has been a great help in solving several crises. As Natsu and Happy leave, they state that after their training, they should check in with the guild, much to everyone's surprise. Outside, Natsu and Happy meet up with Lucy again, questioning Fairy Tail's absence in the tournament, however, before Lucy can respond, the members of Scarmiglione appear, asking to be Natsu's underlings. The Fire Dragon Slayer finds their idea of making money shady, which scares them away, however, both Natsu and Happy suddenly fall down and a surprised Lucy hears that they are just hungry, offering them a meal, much to the duo's gratitude.
At a restaurant, as Natsu and Happy are getting their fill, Lucy asks about their year of training and Happy complains that Natsu didn't even have any plans when they set out for the journey, mentioning one more incident afterwards. At that time, Happy is seen running back to Natsu, crying that his fish got stolen, however, he finds Natsu in a weird state, eventually figuring out that Natsu has eaten some nearby mushrooms. In spite of that, Natsu rushes to the thieves' location, finding out that they are Mages that control this mountain, Mount Altana. A fight ensues and Natsu effortlessly defeats two of them, which scares the master. Seeing that those Mages are cowards, an angered Natsu attacks once more, with his flames covering an entire mountain, burning the fish and even Happy. Back in the present, Lucy laughs that this indeed sounds like Natsu, recalling that she has read about the melting of Mount Altana in the newspapers. As Natsu leaves to the toilet and Happy mentions that Natsu did that because the Mages didn't value their friends, Lucy is left visibly saddened, with Happy asking if something is wrong.
While Jason and his colleagues wonder where Lucy is at the moment, Natsu, Happy and Lucy wander through Crocus, with the first two finally learning that Fairy Tail has been disbanded. Shocked, they try to understand this, wondering if everyone else was fine with Makarov's decision and claiming that Laxus should've become the next master, when Lucy states that Natsu wasn't thinking about the guild either when he left for his training journey, not telling anyone beforehand. However, knowing that Natsu and Happy had a lot on their mind, she says that it must've been the same for everyone else in the guild. Afterwards, Lucy invites Natsu and Happy to her house, for which the two are yet again really grateful. Even though she warns them not to cause any trouble, Natsu and Happy already create a lot of mess in her room. Later, after Natsu gets a haircut thanks to Cancer and both he and Happy take a bath, Lucy listens to more of their stories, until Natsu points out that during their travels, they met up with Gildarts in a certain forest.
During that time, Natsu happens upon Gildarts as they hunt for food, with both of them surprised to see each other. They eventually end up fighting and, as Natsu tells Lucy, it ends up being 'painful'. However, as they begin a serious battle, Natsu is able to move Gildarts from his starting position with just one attack, making Gildarts happy to see Natsu grow this much. Suddenly, a huge animal appears and tries to eat Natsu, much to Gildarts' anger, who slams the ground with his Crush Magic, destroying an entire area, but saving Natsu as well. Afterwards, as Happy tells Lucy while laughing, Natsu and Gildarts end up switching their bags and part their ways. Once Gildarts finds out that his bag is full of food, he runs back to Natsu, whose bag is full of magazines with ladies in swimsuits. As Happy tells Lucy that Gildarts was very upset, Lucy wonders if a photo of Cana was in that bag as well.
Later during the night, as Natsu and Happy are lying on Lucy's couch, they wonder if the guild is really gone. This thought doesn't bother them for long as right after, Natsu gets up to scribble on Lucy's face while she's sleeping, with Happy exclaiming that he's got the markers. They enter Lucy's room and quietly approach her bed. However, before they can do anything, Natsu notices Lucy's notes of the Fairy Tail members and their whereabouts, realizing how she truly feels about the guild being no more. Next morning, Lucy suddenly notices that there are soldiers in front of her house. Natsu indirectly confirms that it's his fault as Lucy wonders who's behind this, but instead of answering, Natsu grabs Lucy and they escape through the window, with Lucy asking Natsu about his actions again. He reveals that the Mercurius Castle is burning with the message of Fairy Tail's revival and asks Lucy to come with him. She happily agrees and along with Happy, they all flee from the soldiers. As they finally leave the city, Lucy wonders how far they'll get today and with Happy mentioning a town on the other of the mountain and Lucy suggesting catching a lift there, Natsu protests against the idea of transportation. At that moment, Lucy realizes that her adventure goes on.
==Characters in Order of Appearance==
==Battles & Events ==
*Natsu Dragneel vs. Mount Altana Guild (flashback)
==Magic, Spells, and Abilities used==
===Magic used===
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**Iron-Make
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***Summoned the Giant Crab, Cancer
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===Spells used===
*Iron-Make: Needle Hammer
*Solid Script: Blizzard
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*
===Abilities used===
*Hand-to-Hand Combat
===Items used===
*Celestial Spirit Gate Keys
**Gate of the Giant Crab Key
==Manga & Anime Differences==
*The following parts occur only in the anime:
**Scarmiglione coming up to Natsu and asking to be taken under his wing after their humiliating defeat.
**Natsu, Lucy, and Happy all going out to eat, with Happy recalling the story of a shady Mage Guild the two encountered after the former stole Happy's fish.
**Jason and his staff wondering Lucy's whereabouts as they create the newest scoop for the Sorcerer Magazine.
**Hisui, Arcadios, and Darton joining the King when they all witness the flame message, with Arcadios calling the Garou Knights to punish Natsu for defiling the kingdom's castle.
*Hisui's attire differs between the two media.
*Scene of Natsu getting exonerated by the King is extended.
*Scene of Lucy telling Natsu and Happy of Fairy Tail's disbandment differs between the two media:
**In the manga, they are sitting on rocks, somewhere the city.
**In the anime, they are in the middle of the park with multiple citizens around them. 
*Added dialogue and scenes when Natsu and Happy arrive to Lucy's Crocus apartment, as well as them telling her of their previous encounters over the past year.
*The bathtub in Lucy's crocus apartment has a flat bottom instead of having claw feet like in the manga.
==Trivia==
*This is the final episode of the 2014 series of the Fairy Tail anime. During the ending minutes, MASAYUME CHASING plays over the end credits instead of Landscape, which references the first opening song of the 2014 series, while afterwards a remix of the original Main theme of Fairy Tail plays along a montage of all the previous arcs that are shown in chronological order in the outro.
==Navigation==
Category:Episodes