I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does.
With Gray and the others
To say that he was petrified would be an understatement. He was frozen, exactly like his magic, at the sight of the demon that haunted his dreams. The demon who took his parents, the demon who his master had to sacrifice her life to seal away.
'Wasn't this thing locked up in Isvan? Deep in the mountains where Ur lived? How the hell did it get here?!' he was absolutely terrified.
"That's impossible! Why the hell is it here!" he screamed.
"Wait you've seen this thing before?" Wendy asked.
"It's Deliora, the demon of destruction. But what the hell is it doing here?"
Lucy was about to jump into the conversation, but Wendy quickly perked up "Everybody hide!" she whispered as she ran behind a thick cluster of rocks. The others following her as they saw two figures enter the cavern.
"The voices seem to be coming from down here." the blue haired one said while his partner growled. "I hate being awake at this time of the day." he said again trying to strike up conversation, his partner growled again though.
"So Toby, were you exposed to the Moon Drip? You've got those pointy ears after all." he said with a wide grin, pissing off his friend in the process.
"I already told you that it's just a fashion statement you jerk!" Toby yelled, not influencing his friend in the slightest.
"Relax, I was just teasing you."
"You don't have to be a prick about it…"
'The Moon Drip, is that what the curse is called?' she would have pondered on the subject further, but her thoughts were interrupted as another joined in on the conversation.
"Yuka, Toby. Something terrible has happened." a woman pitched in from the entrance that Toby and Yuka had come from.
"What now Sherry?" Yuka asked irritated.
"It's Angelica. She's been attacked and now I'm sad." ironically enough, she said that expressionlessly.
"You're sad because somebody beat up your stupid pet rat?!" yelled Toby.
"She's not a rat, she is love! A beautiful hunter who guards us in the forests below!"
Lucy sweatdropped, these people were as crazy as the people back at Fairy Tail.
"Intruder's huh?" asked Yuka, his irritation going away and his curiosity growing.
"It's almost time to be collecting Moonlight. It would displease the Cold Emperor if we did not deal with them before the ceremony, since they've seen Deliora, we must grant them eternal rest." she said as she clutched her hands to her heart, "We must grant them, Love."
"Uhh, you mean death right?"
Happy threw a rock towards the passage that they had fallen through, tricking the three undesirables into thinking that someone might be down there. After they left, the Fairy Tail Wizards retreated from their hiding spot.
"Nice trick Happy." Lucy sighed in relief.
"Aye, always gets them!"
Gray and Wendy went back to the ice-encased demon to investigate.
"Why is it encased in Ice?" asked the young Dragonslayer.
Gray's expression turned to a pained one, but he answered anyways "My master Ur sealed this demon using a spell called Iced-Shell. Even the most powerful fire spells wouldn't be able to affect this ice."
Wendy deadpanned "Is this your way of saying that Natsu's magic sucks? Cause he'd probably be able to melt this thing." she said before her face turned pale after sniffing the area around her.
A tick mark formed on Gray's head "Yeah fat chance at that happening! Besides, ash-for-breath isn't even here!"
"And let you take all the glory from lifting this curse? You know I'm not one for sitting on the sidelines Gray." a familiar voice called out from behind them.
They all froze as they heard his voice, Wendy was the first to recover as she recognized his scent "N-N-Natsu, please don't punish us!" she stammered.
Natsu laughed "Don't worry Wendy, that's Erza's job. And boy, guys is she pissed." he said calmly while cleaning his fingernails while leaning back on a rock, ignoring the paled faces of his comrades completely. He then looked at the encased demon and whistled "Sweet demon you got there Gray, mind introducing us?"
Gray was still frozen, his 'rival' had tracked them down "Natsu, why are you here?" he asked. The shock of the Fire Dragon Prince being there took hold over the obvious fact that he'd had come there to collect them.
"Well Gramps sent me to bring you guys back, but then as an extra he also sent Mira and Erza with me. In reality, I'm just here to watch the fireworks." he then looked to Happy and chuckled, "You ain't getting fish for a week."
As Happy cried comical tears, Natsu pointed to Lucy and Gray "You two are probably gonna get your asses kicked by Erza for stealing an S-Class request. I'll probably also give you two an ass kicking myself for taking Wendy along with you."
He then looked to Wendy finally, she was expecting her punishment to be the most severe because he was gonna call her out last. "You're fine. Big bad Titania won't get you."
The biggest wave of relief passed over Wendy in the form of a faint, luckily for her, Natsu was actually fast enough to close the gap towards the group. Lucy and Gray were still frozen, and Happy was still crying about not getting fish for a week.
"Why doesn't she get punished?!" Gray yelled.
"I got Erza to lay off of her when she gets here, obviously."
"Ain't that favoritism though?! What the hell man!"
"Congrats, you know what favoritism means." Natsu deadpanned.
Before Gray could attempt to strike Natsu, Lucy recovered "Wait, so where are Mira and Erza?".
He looked at Lucy with a grin plastered on his face, "They're a good few hours away from the Island. I wouldn't worry about them just yet though." he then looked to Gray, "You mind telling me what's up with big horns over there?" he asked curtly as he pointed to Deliora.
The Ice Make Wizard got over his surprise that his 'rival' had tracked them down so fast, at the mention of Deliora "It's the demon of destruction, Deliora."
His face then turned to one of anger "And I'll be damned if you even try to touch that ice with your flames!", his hands summoning his magical energy. Natsu smirked at Gray's accusation, he then gently put Wendy down and stood up to meet Gray.
"Now before you do anything too rash, please recognize that I didn't want to pull rank. Considering I'm the first S-Class Wizard on site, and since none of you are qualified for this, I'm in charge anyways." he dismissed Gray's threats easily before turning to the encased Demon.
"And secondly, I was joking Gray. I won't melt your master into the sea." he said calmly, leaving Gray to sigh in relief. Natsu then broke out a wicked smile "Although I won't deny that I'm curious to see how my fire does against it,"
Gray returned to his aggressive stance from before "You better not try anything Natsu!" he yelled at the Dragonslayer.
The Dragonslayer himself just laughed "Calm down Gray, don't get your panties in a twist." he mocked. Once he stopped laughing, his face turned to that of amusement "I happened to overhear everything that those goons said. Suffice to say, I don't plan to take you guys back anytime soon. We're needed on the Island, that's clear to see."
"Won't Erza or Mira have any objections? Or possibly both! Not even you could stop that firestorm!"
"I eat fire though…."
"You know what I mean!"
"You oughta worry more about that giant demon over there more than the two that are heading towards this Island currently." Natsu replied smugly before picking up Wendy and lying her down on a rock, promptly sitting next to her himself. He looked up a Gray "Besides, if the girls do get antsy, I'll deal with them."
Happy seemed to have calmed down, or more accurately fell asleep from the energy he exhausted from panicking. He was currently sleeping on Wendy, who was also sleeping next to Natsu. The older Dragonslayer sweatdropped at their antics, it seems his fun was over for now.
"Wait, so you aren't going to take us back?" Lucy inquired, the fact that Natsu had tracked them down so quickly still scared the shit out of her. She still didn't even know what kind of punishment that the S-Class Dragonslayer had in store for them.
He laughed "I flew here Lucy, I'm not in the mood to fly back carrying three idiots on my back."
"But aren't there four of us?" sighed Gray, trying to ignore the jab.
"I'm not counting Wendy, dumbass."
"Why you-"
"Relax popsicle, you two oughta get some rest. You all are lucky that I'm one of the fun S-Class Wizards who'd actually let you complete this thing." Natsu chuckled as he held up his hand to stop Gray from attacking him, his light tone seemed to also be commanding somehow, which caused Gray to prevent himself from throwing a punch at the Dragonslayer.
Lucy sighed in relief while Gray huffed, the Ice Wizard still being clearly annoyed at the Dragonslayer for his intrusion on their quest. But even through all his anger, he knew that Natsu was right when he said he'd let them complete it, he was laid back like that.
Lucy raised her hand to get Natsu's attention, making him raise an eyebrow in curiosity.
"What is it Lucy?"
"Would you mind if I have one of my spirit's play music for us while we wait?"
"Sure, knock yourself out."
Lucy was about to use one of her keys but she paused when Natsu spoke up again.
"Hey Lucy,"
"Y-Yeah?"
"I'm not a school teacher, there's no need to raise your hand with me. Just say what you gotta say." he chuckled at her expense, although jokingly.
"S-Sure Natsu." she blushed in embarrassment, making him chuckle again while she brought out the key she was looking for.
"OPEN: GATE OF THE HARP CONSTELLATION, LYRA!"
The bright glow in front of them faded to reveal a woman who was regally dressed with a harp on her back. Her dirty blonde hair being in curls that flowed down her back, she looked as if a smile could never leave her face.
"Hi Lucy! Long time no see huh?" Lyra smiled at the one who summoned her, "You know I'm really surprised that you don't summon me more often."
Lucy sweatdropped "Weren't you the one who said that their only available a few times in a month?"
"I said that?" Lyra genuinely looked surprised at her summoner's statement, confused as to how and when she said that.
Lyra looked around and checked out the rest of the group, Gray was sitting on an edge that overlooked Deliora while Happy and Wendy were sitting by Natsu.
Lyra blushed when she looked at the Fire Dragonslayer, she leaned over to Lucy "Who's that hunk over there? Is he single?"
Lucy blushed too while Natsu chuckled, he of course, had heard what the Spirit said. "I'm flattered by your compliment, Miss?" he asked with a charming smile on his face.
"Please, call me Lyra!" the Spirit replied quickly, batting her eyelashes at Natsu. He sent her another grin in return "That's a lovely name you have there Lyra, you may call me Natsu."
Lucy deadpanned, "Can you please not hit on any of my Spirits?".
Natsu scratched the back of his head in slight embarrassment "Force of habit I guess, but that doesn't mean that I can't meet any lovely ladies along the way," he laughed and broke out a smile at the end of his sentence.
"Oh you're too kind Natsu~" Lyra cooed, showing Natsu a seductive smile. She removed her harp from her back and looked to the Dragonslayer "What kind of song would you like me to play?" she asked him, her focus completely on Natsu and no longer on Lucy.
The Celestial Wizard herself just stared slack jawed at the scene before her, her Spirit had completely ignored her request and went right off to the Dragonslayer. Natsu pondered on his choice "Something… calm, soothing even."
"Alright!" Lyra exclaimed before she begun to play her harp, she picked a song that she knew Natsu- I mean they would enjoy.
Words are born into air
And quickly fade out in the wind
But they find their way inside you
Where they live on forevermore...
When skies are dark and full of rain
Look inside your heart
The light, so warm will and all aglow
Shining just like the sun.
You can see, just how much you've grown
How strong you are..
A love will open up to you
And it starts from the day that you,
first heard those words
Upon the end of her song, she smiled brightly when she saw Natsu clapping for her, he motioned for her to look at Wendy and Happy who both had soft smiles on their faces. Lyra always loved to bring joy to people with her songs, she blushed deeply when she heard Natsu's next comment.
"That was a lovely song Lyra, you have a beautiful voice might I add." he grinned, ignoring the glare that was being sent his way by Lucy. Natsu had only just met one of her Spirits and he was making Lyra melt already, Lucy didn't even want to know what would happen if he met Aquarius.
"T-T-Thank you N-Natsu." the Harp Spirit stuttered out before she went back to the Celestial Spirit World, her face the colour of Erza's hair and a large smile spread across her face.
Natsu looked over to Gray who looked to be tearing up from the song, he saw Lucy attempt to get up to walk over to the Ice Wizard but he stopped her. "Leave him be, he's got his own stuff to figure out." Natsu said calmly, Lucy complied and sat back down.
*Flashback*
In a small clearing that led to a snow covered field were two boys and a woman. One of the boys was on his knees while the other was standing a few meters behind him, the woman in front of both of them with her back facing them.
The boy who was on his knees had hair as dark as the night, so did the woman too. At first glance one might think them to be Mother and Son, however they actually Student and Master, despite the cold weather that the boy felt, the woman wore rather casual clothing. This was something that annoyed the boy to no end.
"Are you sure you want to train with me Gray? It could get quite tough you know." the woman said, her back still facing the boy.
There was a long silence between them before the boy gave his answer, it carried resolve and understanding.
"Yeah."
The woman turned around and looked down at the boy, a smile graced her face, she looked to her two students before her.
"Alright then. Let's get started boys,"
*Flashback end*
As Lucy and Gray settled down, Natsu decided to leave them be for a few hours, even though they were in trouble they should get some rest in case a fight happens.
Natsu chuckled again before he fell asleep, taking a nap never hurt after all right?
Sometime later
"Hey stripper, it's time to wake up." Natsu lightly kicked Gray, causing him to start grumbling as he woke from his sleep. Of course he stopped when Natsu motioned to the purple light that was hanging over Deliora.
He wasn't the only one entranced by it. Wendy, Lucy, and Happy easily took notice of the change of colour in the room.
Above Deliora at the top of the cavern, a magic circle appeared, emitting a purple beam that was shining downwards onto the demon.
"What the hell is that?" he asked.
"Let's go find out what it is, hopefully there'll be something that I'm legally allowed to punch." Natsu joked. He hasn't had a drink in days, not that he was an alcoholic but dealing with two women who constantly fight each other will do that to you, so hitting something or someone will have to do instead.
The rest of the group nodded as they all got up to follow the pink haired Dragonslayer, they walked up the narrow stairs that led back up into the temple. They went up a floor in the temple and saw a circle on the ceiling above them on this floor as well. The two circles aligned perfectly.
"What the hell is going on with these magic circles?" Gray asked as he looked to Natsu for an answer, but Natsu seemed to be just as confused as he was.
"I don't know, but I think whatever it is, it must be coming from the top of the temple. Let's start there." The older Dragonslayer figured as he started running to the next set of stairs, making the ground below him rumble with each step he took. This made the others slightly unsettled of course.
They found the last flight of stairs and ran upwards, Natsu and Wendy perked their ears at the sound of chanting. As soon as they exited the temple, they found themselves at the mountaintop of the Island, it was almost as if the Moon was aligned with the temple itself.
Natsu put a finger to his lips as they crouched down to find a spot to hide behind a short stone wall, and observed. Lucy was the first to speak up, albeit quietly. "What are they doing?" she whispered, the group of people chanting in a circle surrounding the middle of the mountaintop was weird enough.
"Some kind of ritual it looks like, it seems the magic used on Deliora is being drawn from the Moon." Natsu said quietly, he still didn't know exactly what the magic was though.
"That's the Moon Drip." a familiar voice answered.
Everyone turned around to see Lyra, apparently she had returned at a not so good time. Natsu recovered quickly "Why are they using it?", he asked inquisitively, he had never seen this spell before.
"They're going to the Moon Drip to melt the Ice around that Demon in the cavern."
"What?! They can't! The Ice used in an Iced Shell can't be melted!" Gray spoke up this time, worry clearly heard in his voice.
"That's not entirely true, Moon Drip can melt it because it's a spell that uses focused moon energy."
"Idiots! They've never faced the wrath of Deliora! Let's get 'em!"
Natsu grabbed Gray before he could jump out and cause a scene. Gray huffed at his situation "Why aren't we out there interrupting this! They're gonna wake up Deliora so we have to stop them!"
Natsu simply put his finger to his lips and motioned towards a few approaching figures, making Gray shut his mouth.
Four figures approached the ritual at hand, the three from before being Yuka, Toby, and Sherry. But the fourth was a rather tall man with an off putting helmet adorned with fur and horns, he wore a white cloak and a blue jacket underneath.
"I lost so much precious sleep for nothing, there was not a single trace of any intruders at all." Yuka wallowed.
"MAYBE BECAUSE THERE WEREN'T ANY!" Toby yelled at Yuka.
Sherry ignored the other two and walked up to the man leading them, "I'm afraid that I have some sad news Cold Emperor, we thought we had intruders during the day, but we couldn't find them. I cannot speak of love in this situation."
The Cold Emperor seemed to acknowledge her words before turning back to her, "Has Deliora been awakened yet?".
"It should be awake later tonight or tomorrow night my lord," she answered.
The Cold Emperor paused before giving a response, "The time has almost come, if you happen to come upon any of those intruders again, kill them. I don't anyone getting in my way."
Sherry looked down at the ground, her reply deeply saddened her "They must have been villagers, they are the only other people on this Island."
"Then eradicate the villagers."
Gray immediately felt Natsu's grip on him lessen at the Cold Emperor's statement, the Dragonslayer let him go entirely and turned back to his allies.
"Gray, you and I will stay here to make sure this thing doesn't go to shit." his voice carrying a commanding tone now, the Ice Make Wizard nodded his head in agreement. Natsu then looked to Wendy and Lucy.
"Wendy, Lucy, and Happy will go to the village and make sure it's safe, Mira and Erza should be here soon so they'll help you out when they get there."
He then looked at Lyra "Thanks for the tip Lyra, but I'm afraid you've got to be going now." he winked at her before turning to Gray. "Follow my lead." he said as he walked out from behind their cover, Gray following close behind. The others slipped away and started to head back to the village.
Damn was this going to be a pain in the ass.