"Hey, the inside ain't too bad either!" Natsu cheerfully set down his bags as he went inside one of the cabins. There were beds and a small kitchen area with a food pantry; the floor was made of wooden boards but had a large rug covering most of the interior. Numerous old paintings and decorations covered the wall as if some strange hoarder used to live here.
"Oh, now I recognize this place!" Lucy recalled after looking at all the paintings of the countryside, "We're on Nirvana Island, and this is the island lodge retreat Daddy built here."
"Nirvana?" Natsu turned back whilst holding a small statue. "Wait, your dad owns this retreat? How loaded is he?"
"Well, he usually leases this place out for tourists or students on holiday. But I've heard he still comes here now and then to relax."
Natsu seemed impressed at the kind of assets Lucy's father possessed. "That's awesome!" Then a light bulb turned on in his mind. "Wait! If that's the case, then maybe we can get help!" Natsu searched the corners of the cabin in search of something, "Doesn't this place have a phone?"
"I think there's only one main phone on the whole island; Daddy said he wanted it to be isolated from the world, but still have a way to get help if need be. It should be in one of these cabins," Lucy mentioned as she went back outside.
Once Natsu was alone he pulled out his mobile phone, only to reconfirm what he had already suspected.
No bars... Well, we're pretty much in the middle of nowhere then.
…
Chapter 3: Nasty Surprises
Lucy came out and noticed everyone had gathered into several groups. "Hey guys what's goin' on?"
Loki went over and gave Lucy a warm hug, "Sorry all this had to happen to your great cruise."
Lucy smiled and tried to shake her worries off, "Nah, this isn't all that bad; we just have to spend our week on an island instead of a boat. that's all."
"Yeah, but..." Loki cast away his gaze from Lucy's for a moment. "I just feel like I haven't done enough to protect you. I couldn't stand up to that brute Laxus, so what hope do I-"
Lucy's lips silenced Loki's inner doubts. She wrapped her arms around the back of his neck as the two lovebirds held onto each other for thirty glorious seconds. "We're gonna be fine Loki, trust me; we're gonna make the most of this place while we still can."
"Okay," Loki smiled as he gave Lucy another hug.
"So anyway, what's everyone up to?" Lucy poked her head around so she could see the groups discussing amongst themselves.
"Oh well it seems a few of us are keen to start exploring the island in case there's anyone or anything that might help us get back home," Loki quickly explained to his blonde girlfriend.
"Ooh, that's a great idea~!" Lucy regarded. Then she looked around at the haphazard piles of luggage strewn around the clearing, "But shouldn't we get our things organized first?"
Loki lifted his shades and laughed. "Sure thing, Lucy."
…
Jellal noticed the lifeless body of Hibiki as he remained skewered against the tree branch. His eye's had rolled far back into his head and his tongue hanged out of his mouth; his throat still squirted tiny sprays of blood as Jellal kept observing.
What a fool...These things are bound to happen when you run blindly into enemy territory...
With nothing left to do, Jellal retraced his footsteps on the way back to the main camp. "Now, where did she run off to?"
…
"We'll stay in this one Erza!" Lucy announced to her redhead friend as they entered the small cabin. "There are five cabins and six beds in each, so a few of the girls can sleep here with us."
"That's a good idea Lucy," Erza thought as she started changing into some fresher clothes, "I was worried you might mix us up with the boys for a second there."
"Hehehe. Well, there's no rule saying we can't visit other people's cabins at night..." Lucy spoke with a sly tone.
Erza had changed into a light green shirt and cargo shorts. Lucy had also changed into some fresher clothes: an orange singlet and tiny blue shorts and long boots.
"Looks like some of the boys are heading out," Erza noticed as she looked outside.
…
"Gray-sama, let Juvia come with you!" The watery-eyed girl kept strangling Gray's arm.
"It's alright Juvia, we won't be gone for long," Gray assured his very attached girlfriend.
"And you promise to come back quickly as well, right Lyon?" Sherry pleaded, pulling the same maneuver.
"Yeah, you girls rest up in your cabins for a while 'til we get back." Lyon gave them a quick wave as he went off with Gray towards one corner of the forest.
"Take care sis," Elfman gave his older sister a quick hug as he left with Natsu and Gajeel towards another path.
The boys began their exploration mission, splitting into four groups. Jet, Droy and Alzack formed another group and went towards the other end of the island, whilst three of the remaining Thunder Boyz searched in a different direction – leaving Freed behind to monitor the main camp
"I hope they'll all be alright..." Mirajane held her hands close to her chest as most of the boys set off for their search. The rest of the boys were left to protect the girls – though the type of boys remaining would ironically appear to be the least reliable for protecting even themselves.
"KEWL; I call the top bunk!" Jason had already ran off into his cabin in a hyper mood as always. Aries smiled at the hyper young man's antics and went to find her luggage.
"You're staying with us Shou?" Erza went over to the tanned blonde teenager.
"Yeah, I can't stand to part from dear Milliana for any more than a few seconds." He quickly nuzzled Milliana's cheek as she purred softly. "Besides, you know I can't let anything happen to her. ...You haven't already forgotten what happened five years ago, have you?"
Erza grit her teeth as she answered, "Of course not, how could I ever forget that?"
"AAAAAAGGGHH" The faint sound of screaming could be heard coming from one of the adjacent paths.
"What could that have been?" Loki reached for Lucy, "It didn't sound like an animal's scream."
Ren and Eve both looked at each other after scanning the clearing, "Hey, has anyone seen Hibiki since we arrived?"
Erza and the others leaned back as they suddenly realized one of the campers was missing. Erza also noticed a lack of blue hair in the group and mentioned "Jellal hasn't shown up either." She fought to keep a smile off her face at the realization of that small comfort.
"And what about that girl he's always hanging around with," Lucy had also been paying attention the whole time, "Those two are made for each other." She quickly digressed, "I bet they're having a good lay in the bushes somewhere..."
"WWWAAAAGGHHH" The screams were getting closer now, heading towards the camp.
"It sounds like a young girl screaming!" Levy spun her head around, worried about her two best mates.
"Someone's coming!" Erza braced herself as she stepped in front of Lucy and the others. With the strongest muscles of the group absent, she would take up the role as the main guardian of everyone else.
Two tiny feet ran out of the shrubs and stopped once they emerged from the forest. The campers were slightly relieved to discover the feet belonged to a tiny girl, maybe only eight or nine years old – maybe younger. She hid her face with scrunched hands, wiping away tears as she continued bawling her eyes out.
"Poor girl...are you all lost out here?" Lucy walked over and offered a hand to the girl. "Come on now, it's alright...My name's Lucy and we're gonna help you."
The young girl sniffed back her heavy sobs as she extended a hand – a hand which had been smeared in human paint.
"Oh my God! What happened?" Lucy shuddered before she leaned down and checked over the girl for any wounds. "This blood..."
Erza walked over whilst the others remained in shock. "I think she may have witnessed something we all fear the most..."
…
Azuma and two other Thunder Boyz were wading through thicker scrub as they descended a steep slope. Azuma turned to his two comrades, "I'm hoping we'll find Lacky somewhere on this Island."
"You serious bro? Those fuckwit Dragon-cunts murdered him; you saw that blood!" Erigor protested.
"Yeah, but there was no body," Azuma responded, "We still can't confirm what happened to him unless we find his body."
"Hey guys, why don't we just carve those fuckers up already and avenge 'im already?" Vidaldus growled.
"Yeah, Vid's right! We shouldn't let those cocksucking fucknuts get away with killing boss!"
Azuma rubbed his chin and tried to think of his next step. Without Laxus, he seemed to have assumed the new role as Thunder Boyz head honcho. He didn't share the same aggressive and impulsive strokes as his former boss. but with two angry and highly testosterone saturated (and possibly a whole other bunch of chemicals) lackeys by each of his ears, he wondered if he really had any other choice.
I suppose we'd better deal with those Dragonslayers...
…
"C'mon Gray, you're too slow!" Lyon hung his body by a tree trunk as better looked down at his twin brother.
"Dammit, what's the big rush anyway?" Gray clambered up a few moss covered rocks before Lyon helped him to the top with his free arm. "We'll probably be here for the long haul so let's not waste our strength."
Lyon smirked, "So you've already burnt out as soon as we came here?"
"Not on your life!" Gray chased after his taunting brother who resumed the chasing game in the woods.
…
"Whoah! That's a big one!" Natsu cheered as he plucked out another large fish from the water. Gajeel and Elfman sat on the small beach as they observed their friend with the seemingly endless energy.
"This is great, we'll just let him take care of all the food," Gajeel turned to the white haired giant as he reclined back.
"Yeah, Natsu's really somethin' else."
"HAHAHA! Ow, this one bit me!" As Natsu continued his improvised fishing a lone shape was observing the small group, though it had drawn the attention of the two on the sand.
"Did ya' hear somethin'?" Gajeel leaned back and corked his upper body so he could see the bushes. He saw some slight movement but there didn't seem to be anyone there.
"Probably just a small animal," Elfman didn't seem as worried.
…
"DAMMIT LYON WAIT UP!" Gray panted as he tried keeping his pace with his fellow blood.
"Just admit it that I'm fitter and stronger than you!" Lyon shouted as he neared the crest of another incline. "My older brother must be nearing his retirement!"
"Why you!..." Gray couldn't help but laugh at his younger twin brother's remarks. Lyon still liked to play the rival game even at this age. "Alright, I'm gonna make you pay now!" Gray increased his pace as Lyon made his way over the hill.
"Just like you Gray, you never turn down a challenge!" Lyon called over as he continued with his head turned towards Gray. "You're just like-"
Lyon's voice seemed to trail off as soon as he went over the crest. Gray paused for a moment and called out to his brother. "Hey Lyon? You okay?" When he heard no response he sprinted towards the peak of the hill. "Hey you, why'd you just-"
Gray's words seemed to escape his throat, just as he looked towards his feet. A small but deep depression occupied the path where Lyon had crossed. Jutting rocks and branches filled the bottom, revealing a nasty fate for anyone unfortunate enough to fall into the pit.
Unfortunately for Lyon...He had stumbled into such a fate. His splattered skull with assorted grey matter sprawling across the rocky surface was a reminder of that.
Gray had lost his twin brother, his twin rival, and his best mate.
"LYOOOOOOON!"
...
"Did you hear that?" Natsu poked his head out of the water "It sounded like Gray."
"He could be in trouble...Let's go." Elfman, Gajeel and Natsu left the shore in pursuit of Gray's voice.
...
"What was that?" Erza and the rest of the group suddenly turned their ears towards the mysterious noise.
"I think one of them might be hurt," Ren thought. "Eve and I will go and check it out."
"Alright..." Erza didn't try and hold the two bachelor club boys back. She knew that they were probably equally concerned for their fellow club member who had still not returned to camp.
She looked down at the young girl who had just stumbled into their camp and held out her hand with a gentle smile, "Why don't we get you something to drink?"
…
Gray stood over the hole which his twin brother had tragically fallen into, his legs unable to stop shaking as his body struggled to hold his own weight. "L...Lyon...you..." As he fell to his knees he could hear the panting breaths of several people rushing over.
"Hey Gray, you alright?" Natsu sprinted over to the top of the hill with Gajeel and Elfman following a short distance behind, "We heard you shouting so we wanted to check what was going on." Natsu powered his legs up the hill as he noticed Gray was ignoring him. "Hey where's Ly-"
Natsu's throat was caught in silence as he gazed down at the impaled corpse of Lyon. "Fuck me..."
"Lyon..." Gray struggled to say his name as the tears rolled down his body.
"Gray..." Natsu spoke with a softer voice as he faced Gray.
"Hey what's wrong?" Gajeel and Elfman finally came up to see the situation. "What happened to Lyon?"
Natsu closed his eyes and shook his head, signaling the worst had indeed happened. "No... You mean-?"
"Yes," Natsu cut them off with his soft yet horridly serious tone, "Lyon's dead."
…
Eve and Ren continued back on the trail where the whole group had come from, retracing their steps in an effort to find Hibiki. Once the little girl had calmed down and they were sure she'd be alright they left in search of their missed confederate.
"I don't get it," Eve stated, "I mean, why would Hibiki just walk off this track all of a sudden? It's not like him to wander or take risks or anything."
"Hmm, you're right..." Ren rubbed his chin. "But you know he does let his chivalry get the better of him."
"Yeah but..." Eve scrunched his eyebrows, "That still wouldn't explain why he left us."
The two of them continued walking for a while until a light bulb sparked inside of Ren. "That girl!"
"The one that just ran into our camp?" Eve wanted to verify.
"Yeah!" Ren clicked his fingers, "He might've been looking for her because she was in trouble or something."
"Then she might be able to tell us Hibiki's whereabouts!" Eve concluded as the two of them decided to make a quick dash back to the main camp.
Running right past the bloodied spike branch were Hibiki's body once resided...
…
"You were dumped in the sea!?" Erza was clearly shocked to hear this little child's story.
"Yeah, it was really cold and lonely," The little blue haired child mentioned as she held a Styrofoam cup of hot chocolate on her lap. "I don't really remember much else before I woke up here, but I must have been a bad girl to be thrown away like that..." she made herself believe as she took another sip.
"What kind of-" Erza nearly bit her tongue in anger. The thought of somebody neglecting their own child boiled her very veins.
"Do recall who might've done this to you?" the gentle blonde, Lucy, inquired as she sat next to the girl.
"Well, um..."
…
"Hey watch out Jet!" Droy caught his mate's jacket just as he began slipping down a steep incline.
As the trio continued down the hill, Alzack suddenly stirred up conversation. "Hey guys. Did you hear about the psychopath who lives on this island?"
"Psychopath?"
"What a load of shit," Jet spat on the ground. "Why the fuck would a psychopath live on an uninhabited island?"
"Because it's the perfect set up; he waits for his victims to stray onto the island before he picks them off one by one until they're all dead, forever remaining on the missing person's records..."
"So then what does he do while he waits however long between killings? Besides, if anybody's gonna be causing trouble, it's those feral gangsters in our class," Jet snorted as he leaned his back on a thick tree. "Those douches will probably kill each other or eat each other or something."
"Hehe – yeah, those fuckin' dickheads must have all been born from the same test tube, right!" Droy laughed as he slapped his best mate on the shoulder. "Their parents were probably each other's brother and sister...Fuckin' inbred dogs were made to maul each other."
"Yeah, I hope your legendary psychopath hangs their skin up to dry somewhere!" Alzack joined in the insane laughter. Their banter and laughter had generated quite a lot of noise which would have echoed throughout the forest.
The three nerdier students of Fairy Tail Academy continued their laughter, immersed in their own dark and twisted humor.
...Some rustling in the grass would never have come across their ears.
…
"Lyon was my best fucking mate," Gray sobbed as Natsu carried his arm over his shoulder. Elfman and Gajeel were left to carry Lyon's corpse after piling his innards back inside his gut.
"I know man...I fucking know; just take it easy for a sec while we work this out." The fiery Natsu was still trying to piece together what could have possibly happened. He'd watched plenty of gory horror films in the past; so seeing a dead body shouldn't have been new to him...But in reality, it was quite frightening to see someone you knew well, let alone see anyone at all in such a state...Very much just like those horror movies. "Shit...what are we going to say to Sherry?"
"Oh Man," Elfman suddenly stopped. "We've all just touched his body right now you know."
Gajeel suddenly snapped when he heard those words. "Fuck you're right! Fingerprints man, the cops will be onto us now!"
"How could we do something so stupid?" Elfman began freaking out. "Look, there's blood all over my hands and-"
"Just shut the fuck up for a second guys!" Natsu tried to calm down his hotheaded Dragonslayers. "Look, we're all witnesses right? And we know Gray's innocent."
"But we weren't there when we found his body," Elfman explained.
"Yeah, but Gray had nothing to do with his brother's death, right Gray?"
"Well-" Before Gray could answer, some more witnesses emerged through the bushes.
"Fuck what happened to Lyon?" The Thunder Boyz seemed more fascinated rather than shocked with the sight of a dead body.
"GHYAAAH" Gray suddenly tackled one of the Thunder Boyz to the ground, "FUCKING BASTARDS I'LL KILL YOU!"
"Gray back off! Settle down!" Natsu tried desperately to pull his best mate off of Erigor as the icy teenager continued hissing with psycho rage.
"This is no laughing matter, "Azuma seemed to come through as a tamer of his wild herd. "It was just an accident, wasn't it?"
"Lyon..." Anger turned back to pure devastating for Gray as he dug his nails into the dirt.
"It looked like a game trap," Elfman noted after he recalled recovering the corpse, "There were all spikes jutting out and..."
"Hey, just forget about it, 'kay?" Erigor suggested with a slap on the Elfman's back. "It was just a really bad accident 'kay...Just like what happened to Lacky."
"You guys seem awfully calm about this..." Natsu's eyes rolled up towards his Thunder counterparts.
"We're just saying is all..." Erigor raised his arms in mock surrender. "Bad shit can often come flying back at you, you know..."
…
Ultear finally returned to the camp, sighing to herself as she waited for her crush to return from his little detour. He's taking too long...I knew I couldn't rely on him...
"Oh hey Ultear," Levy called to the mysterious girl as she came hopping outside. "Are you worried about the others too?"
"Not really," she turned away from the bright and cheerful girl, "I just couldn't be bothered standing in there with all the annoying fairy princesses."
It was all she could do to keep the loathing malice out of her every syllable.
"Mmm..." Levy frowned a little, though thankfully she didn't take the goth girl's not so subtle jab to heart. "Well I thought I might go help out Jet and Droy; I'd feel better doing that than just sitting around doing nothing. Just wanted to let everyone before before I took off. Bye!" And with that she headed off after her fan club.
As the bubbly blue haired girl ran down one of the animal trails Ultear scowled. Stupid brat...
…
"Those boys sure love taking their time," Mirajane sighed as she gazed outside the cabin window. "I hope they found something to eat..."
"It looks like it's almost sundown," Erza noted, walking over to the window. "We'd better light a bonfire in case they don't make it back before dark."
"Or we could just get Lucy to scream," Loki added with some laughter. "If so, then I know how to get the best results..."
"Hey!" Lucy growled. "Whatever the case, we should cook up a huge barbecue with whatever Natsu and the others come back with, put a little fun back into this trip!"
"That sounds like a wonderful idea Lucy," Erza smiled, "We should also be able to use whatever supplies we brought over from the ship if they're unlucky."
"I suppose... Oh, that reminds me," Lucy got up off the old couch and headed outside, "I should go and find the main phone."
When Lucy left the room, Erza turned back to the newly discovered child, who was now taking a well needed nap on the lounge. Just who is she? And more importantly, what's she doing alone on an deserted island?...
…
"Eeew, cob webs!" Lucy shuddered to herself as she peered into the small shed where the landline was located. She noticed the phone fixed on a table at the back of the little shed. "Yes, there it is! Now let's see..." When she reached over for the phone, she suddenly looked more quizzically at the device... "That's strange, the phone has-"
"KYAAAAAAAHHHH!"
"What was that?"
Erza, Loki, Bisca and a few others quickly rushed out of the cabins. "That sounded like Levy."
…
When the small group led by Erza finally caught up to the source of the scream, they found the short, blue-haired girl lying in a crumpled mess at the base of a large tree. "Levy, what's going on here?"
The distraught girl kept her head down, sobbing frenetically with her shoulders convulsing likewise. As the redhead walked closer to her she began hearing a few faint dripping noises. Looking over Levy's shoulder she could see a large puddle forming in front of her legs. ...And when she traced her eyes up to the source of the dripping trail, she soon discovered it was definitely not sap making this young girl so upset.
Somehow, Erza knew from the first sight to block the others from getting any closer. She fanned out her arms, keeping them back to prevent them being exposed to the sheer gruesome display hanging above the lower tree branches.
"What is it Erza?" Bisca suddenly pushed right against the redhead's arm barrier. "What's gotten Levy-chan so- HOLY SHIT, ALZACK!"
Erza had failed to stop the only other person she really dreaded would discover this sight the most. As Bisca instantly fell to her knees throwing up on the ground, Erza's eyes remained locked above, taking in the reality that had suddenly befallen her – a reality which had befallen everyone on this island.
Jet.
Droy.
Alzack.
One...Two...Three...
Their hides dangling above the treetops like clothes waiting to dry in the sun...
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
And this is where Themulchmeister got before he stopped. From here on out it's all me, baby!
