Chapter 4:

Erza heard it first— Gray in panic, shouting like a maniac. She had never heard her friend this distraught before; it was unusual for him to even speak if it didn't involve antagonizing Natsu. It must've been a ways away for how faint is sounded— On starboard side, maybe the port… wherever it was, it sounded serious.

But it was Levy and Lucy who were on their feet first, running off to the source of the sound. Ezra followed in suit closely behind.

There, on the quarterdeck, starboard side, they found him in complete disarray, clinging tightly to an unconscious Juvia who folded limply into him. She was paler than usual— a sickly white covered everywhere eyes could see skin.

"Gray! I heard the commotion. Is something amiss?" The black-haired boy whipped his head at the sound of the change mage. Erza was right— his face said it all, lost like an injured animal who had lost its pack; aghast like he just had the biggest fright of his life. The poor boy could hardly speak.

"W-We were just looking out at the water when she... I don't know exactly what happened."

"Lay her down." Levy ordered Gray; she kneeled over the frail body to inspect. "Unconscious, but hot." she said with a hand held underneath her nose, "breathing is shallow too."

With her wits about her, Erza took control and formulated. "Get her inside immediately. Since we don't have Wendy see if any of the crewman are doctors. If not, keep her safe and give her plenty of water."

He nodded tersely. With a wave of his hand he briefly explained everything he could in the short span of time he had. Everything to their suspicions of Howser right down to Juvia's concern of the currents. Then Juvia's nose started to leak again and he rushed down to the cabin where he could watch over her safely.

"She's right. Juvia, I mean." Lucy concurred. She had stepped away to observe the vessel, particularly the sides of it. "With the way the water is moving, I think swaying is the least of our problems. It's only going to get rockier from here. Do… Do you think it's…"

"No. Not Dyallicus. It's not even a something." Erza couldn't sense anything wrong with the water, no magical presence whatsoever— just waves drastically picking up and hitting the sides naturally. It was the only reason she believed it couldn't be Dyallicus.

When a sudden wave struck the boat, Lucy took a tumble to the ship floor, instinctually putting out her hands first. Startled by the fact her head was inches from hitting the steering wheel, she kept eerily still and blinked. She was glad that she didn't fall the other way, really glad. "Then what could it be?"

"Erza! Look!" Levy shouted.

And what she brought to their attention completely baffled all six of their eyes'.

"No. That's impossible."

"Holy shit."

It was Mosewa. Hardly fifteen miles away.

Erza couldn't peel her eyes away. "We've only been sailing for an hour or two… It was supposed to be a days time. How are we already at Mosewa?"

Meanwhile, Levy had disregarded Erza's concern as all her focus was towards something else entirely. "I'm as clueless as you are. But anyone else wanna tell me what in Mavis' name is that ring thing?" With her yellow painted index finger, she thrusted it in the direction of the island.

What Levy had seen was undoubtedly a ring; a clear ring that circled the entire island and domed at the top, like a half circle. The term barrier would be more exact.

"T-This can't be." Erza stammered. "We should be hundreds of miles from it, but I'm certain that's… Mosewa. I can sense a magical presence that I hadn't felt seconds before… It's… Unfathomable."

Waves started to form more fierce and frequent; smashing against the ship's topsides at a staggeringly rapid pace— slamming the left side, then shifting over to the right, then simultaneously on both sides, almost like it was guiding them somewhere in a hurry. Erza and Levy swerved hard and hit the deck— the requip mage falling beside Lucy on a pile of thick rope, the small script mage falling towards the back of the ship where gravity forced her to sit up properly as is she were strapped into a chair or being plastered to Erza's magical vehicle seat cushions as she drove over the speed limit.

"Lucy, these waves are turning tidal! If they pulls us in any further the boat is going to crash. Can't you use Aquarius?"

"Good thinking, Levy!" Turning over on her back, she pulled Aquarius's key from her hip pouch and began to chant. "I summon the water bearer, Aquarius!" And in a ray of ethereal light, she appeared before them in her aquatic form.

"It's about time you brought me out here! I was beginning to think that little brain of yours forgot how to function."

Lucy groaned. She knew this was coming. "Insulting me right now really isn't going to get us anywhere. I'm begging you to help us!"

"Your lucky you caught me at a good time. Scorpio's on a day trip so I suppose I can help you floozies out."

Lucy sighed out in relief. Aquarius had always been a stubborn one; there always had to be some form of bribery, like begging or accepting a punishment. Matter of fact, Lucy remembered last time she had to beg Aquarius for something— it ended up with her being lectured, like teacher to student, for four hours on why she'll never get a boyfriend. She shuddered at the thought. Not wanting to go into more humiliating details than that, she dropped all relevant thoughts and decided to watch as the water bearer worked her magic against the waves.

To her surprise, Aquarius was no longer around.

"She-"

"She vanished as soon as she pulled out her urn. It didn't seem by choice though." Erza explained. Thinking it was her turn at an attempt, she rolled to her side mentally organizing a strategy. Now was the perfect time for her to test out a new suit that allowed her to direct all flowing substances with a triton much like Poseidon's— she called it Goddess of the Sea. It would work perfectly against the currents, she just needed to muster up her strength and fight. But before she could lift up to a striking position, an ear-piercing screech resounded from all general directions. Much like a cry when someone was in pain or anger, a woman in pain or anger.

On instinct, the girls covered their ears and shut their eyes tightly. It was hard to move momentarily with all the commotion around— the waves, the rocking, the blood-curdling scream that never seized, the possibility of capsizing. Against it all, Erza fought knowing she had to do something to protect her friends. With hands firmly held against her ears, she staggered to her feet using the muscles from her legs and ordered her friends to do the same. "It's not safe here. I'm going to fight it with the Goddess of the Sea. Alone. As for the both of you, keep your ears covered and head to the cabin."

Lucy was baffled at the idea. They fought as a team, didn't they? Because it made them stronger.

"But-"

"That's an order, Lucy!"

Not wanting to disrespect her, she took off towards the stairwell in hopes of finding her friends safe and out of harm's way. If she couldn't protect Erza, she's do her best to protect the others.

Levy, on the other hand, was having a hard time coming to terms with her decision. Although, in her defense, she needed some time to compose herself as she hit her back hard against the ship's side, she still couldn't find any reason in her mind to pick up the pace and follow Lucy. She didn't care if she hurt Erza's pride or even discredited her honor, she was going to help her even if the ship plummeted to the bottom of the ocean.

Knowing Levy to be strong willed in her nature, Erza saw right through the fake grunts and groans and threw her a stern look. Thinking nothing of the havoc around them she grabbed the stubborn script mages hand and forced her away from the quarterdeck and down to the galley.

But in doing that she had made the grave mistake of letting her ears be exposed to the sound.

"Erza?"

Erza stood stock still; frozen like a statue.

"Erza."

She did not respond again.

Despite the passivity Levy wanted to hold onto, it ebbed quickly by the unconventional behavior of her friend. Searching for some kind of reaction she started pushing on the solidity of the woman— elbows, feet, and shoulders, as she continued to cover her ears, were digging fiercely into the woman's forearms, concaving the skin. Then she tried two more tactics: to the stomach and back; both resulting in nothing. Then a blow to her head just for good measure. Still nothing. With zero achievements, she started to believe Erza's body was just built like a stubborn mule— even a two ton truck couldn't move her.

With all her might she gathered Erza's midsection in both her hands and hoisted upwards as a last resort. But quite stupidly, Levy also left herself wide open to the call.

She stood stock still; frozen like a statue.


"Where are we?" Erza asked.

"I don't know. What were we doing again?" Levy asked.

"I don't know."


Downstairs, Lucy was relieved to find the shrieking had faded away. Finally her mind could focus on much more important things, like finding her friends… or anyone for that matter.

If she hadn't known there were people here prior she would've believed it to have been abandoned from how lifeless it now looked. No sailors, no friends; not even a creaky floorboard that would be so typical in a moment like that. Just emptiness. She deduced the situation easily for her friends; Gray must've moved them somewhere away from danger when he brought down Juvia. But as for the sailors, it was odd that she hadn't at least come across one body— alive or not. Regardless of all her suspicions, it didn't stop her from her search.

Up and down she went each aisle looking for clues or any type of hint as to where everyone ran off to. She thought about checking the galley again, but seconded it as it would only waste her time. So she continued on and, to her frustration, found nothing but bags and other belongings stored above the seats. It wasn't until the last aisle, on the lowest floor, where she finally found something, or someone that is.

Extremely close to a window, she found Natsu and Happy huddled together in a fetal position. She sighed out in relief.

"Natsu! There you are. What are you doing here? And where are the others?"

Hearing the unexpected sound, Natsu and Happy looked up at the blonde. Happy extremely surprised to see her, ran right to her legs and clung tightly. Natsu on the other hand looked… perplexed.

"Gray found a secret compartment down below the cabin," Happy said smashing his face closer to her calf. "But boy am I glad to see you! I couldn't get this lug to move so I'll need your help."

The lug he was referring to was Natsu. Having heard the cat speak, he moved his complex expression to him.

"Lug?"

Having enough of his foolishness, she grabbed his hand and pulled him up. "Natsu, c'mon. We gotta go!"

But the boy didn't budge. Not even a flinch to her sharp, scolding tone.

She tried a second time to no avail; it felt like she was trying to move a boulder with the amount of strength her had. Or maybe a statue….

Stock still and permanently frozen. That's what he was.

"Who… Who are you?" He asked.

Lucy looked at him quizzically checking to make sure he hadn't just grown another head. Natsu was an idiot, sure, but his confusion was usually limited to when she used big words on him. He had never looked this muddled before. Furthermore Natsu never talked that way either; all dull and emotionless like a robot. Whether it's about food or family, he always spoke like each word had a purpose.

Then that's when something hit her:

Natsu didn't know who she was.

Natsu didn't know who he was.

Natsu didn't have any motion sickness.

…And what happened to the waves that had been thrashing the boat around? She hadn't noticed, but the swaying oscillation of the waves had ceased moments ago, maybe even longer than that.

Was it all over?

Nope.

As if her body sensed the presence of something before it arrived, her skin started to crawl and the hairs at the back of her neck saluted the ceiling. She recognized this as the calm before the storm. And when it erupted, it wasn't going to stop.

All at once, everything fell into chaos at the hand of a mighty hydro-like tentacle. In it came—shooting through the vessel like a torrent and out the other side of the cabin flooding it fast. Crashing, banging, slamming, whooshing; making every sort of ruckus possible. Water was pulsing through like a geyser; forceful and impossible to stop.

Another blast came careening through the ship. Much like the first only this time nearly taking out the blonde's legs from under her.

Then another. And another. Water flowing in. Nothing coming out. New punctures taking the ship further and further under.

First her knees felt the cold rush of saltwater, then to her hips and all the way to the top of her head. Within all of this madness and water-panic she had one fleeting thought before consciousness left her body and darkness shrouded her being:

...

Dyallicus.

You are real.