Disclaimer: I don't own Danganronpa or Fairy Tail. However, I own my own character(s).
Chapter 11: The Cursed Island
Contrary to popular belief, mornings at Fairy Tail did not always start with destruction and chaos—there were occasional days when this happened, but mostly it was scheduled to start around lunchtime. Even so, it was rare to get through any morning without there being some mention of fights. Considering what happened the day before, there was one particular event on everyone's mind.
"I didn't think Makoto had it in him," Macao said and raised his mug to his lips.
His partner Wakaba fiddled with the cigarette in his mouth. "Gotta agree with you there. He seems like the type who'd forgive and make friends with someone robbing him."
Overhearing the two from a table nearby, Cana added in her own two cents. "Face it; we've all been itching to give that jerk a piece of our minds." She fell silent for a moment as she resumed her drinking. "Can't believe Makoto was the one to finally work up the nerve, though."
Gray, who was sitting next to her—in a manner of speaking, since she was atop the table—said, "I've never seen him so pissed. It was kind of like he'd turned into Flame-brain for a moment there."
Cana turned her gaze to the front entrance, as if she was expecting the brown-haired wizard to walk in at that moment. "Kinda makes you wonder why, though. He stormed out the guild hall and everything."
That same question was currently plaguing Makarov's mind as well. From his seat on top of the bar, he could hear quite a few of the conversations around him, including Cana's—and the popular topic this morning was Makoto's outburst at Laxus yesterday.
The old man closed his eyes. His grandson's condescending bragging wasn't anything unusual, unfortunately, but Makoto's actions were completely out of character, he felt. He had no idea what would make the Dragon Slayer act out like he did. Thinking about it, Makarov didn't actually know that much about the boy; just that he'd been raised by a dragon and had traveled since then until meeting Maya, Natsu, and Lucy in Hargeon.
But based on the things Makoto had said, Makarov doubted he'd been talking about his dragon. After all, he'd said 'them'—as in, multiple people. But what caught his attention more was the expression Makoto displayed for a brief moment: sadness and pain. That was the most concerning thing to him. Makarov took a drink of his coffee.
"Master, this is terrible! One of the S-Class quests has gone missing!"
Perhaps he should have another chat with Makoto. It wasn't something he particularly wanted to pry about, especially if it was a difficult memory the boy was thinking of. However, Makarov saw all the guild members as his little brats, so if there was some way he could help then—
Makarov spat out his coffee immediately as he finally registered Mira's panicked announcement.
The rest of the guild hall was relatively quiet when Mira called out, and so the other wizards naturally overheard the alarming news. "What? One of the jobs from the second floor is missing?" Wakaba repeated incredulously.
"But the jobs up there are S-Class quests," Macao said. "Anyone know who took off with it?"
One of Fairy Tail's other wizards, a purple-haired girl called Laki, shook her head. "Well, it's either someone really strong or really stupid."
"I know," a condescending voice rang out from the second floor. Everyone turned their heads and saw Laxus sitting at one of the tables nearest to the railing. His feet were kicked up and he was acting way too relaxed for the situation. He smirked. "A little blue cat came up and ripped it off the board."
Mira whirled around. "Was it Happy or Maya?"
Laxus gave an uncaring shrug. "Who knows? I didn't even know Fairy Tail had a second fleabag."
"Then the ones who have the quest are probably Natsu and Lucy, or Makoto!" Wakaba shouted.
"Would Makoto really take it, though?" Macao argued. "The kid's got a good head on his shoulders. I don't see him breaking the guild rules so easily."
"He could still be fired up from yesterday. Plus, he hasn't turned up at the guild hall today." Wakaba paused for a moment. "Come to think of it, Natsu and Lucy haven't shown up either."
"Think they all went together?"
Alzack grimaced. "They've got some nerve, taking on an S-Class quest."
"I don't know if I'd call it 'nerve'," Bisca said from beside him. "But it's definitely dumb."
"That's a serious breach of the rules," Laxus said arrogantly. "Hey, Gramps! A stunt like that'll get you kicked out of the guild, am I right?" He scoffed. "Not that it matters, anyway. There's no way those morons are coming back alive from an S-Class quest."
"Laxus!" The blonde S-Class wizard turned to see Mira standing in front of the table. The bartender had her hands placed on her hips disapprovingly. "If you knew about it, why didn't you stop them?!"
"Oh, lighten up. All I saw was a blue cat flying off with a piece of paper in its mouth, trying to look all sneaky. I had no idea it was Happy or that other cat," Laxus said 'innocently'. The entertained grin only helped ruin the act. "Besides, Natsu's not cleared for S-Class. I never dreamed he'd break the rules."
Laxus looked up—and was met with a terrifying glare on Mira's face. He simply huffed in amusement.
"Wow. You haven't given me that look in a while."
Down on the first floor, Makarov sighed to himself. It was barely eight in the morning, and he already had to deal with his guild's shenanigans. Unfortunately, it was more than just a petty brawl this time. That would've been much more preferable to this situation. "This isn't good…" He raised his voice to Mira. "Well? Which job was it?"
Mira frowned, her eyes never leaving Laxus' smirking face. "For lifting the curse on… Galuna Island."
Makarov's eyes widened. "What?!"
"Galuna Island?!"
"Are they insane?!"
"They're even dumber than we thought!" the rest of the wizards yelled in shock.
"Laxus!" Makarov shouted. "Go and fetch them at once!"
"Yeah, right. I got better things to do, Gramps!" he scoffed. "That kid from yesterday's with them, isn't he? Like I'm going to help out that insufferable brat. He should learn to respect those stronger than him. And besides, everyone in Fairy Tail is supposed to be able to take care of themselves." A sharp glint appeared in his eyes. "Right?"
"I don't care how you feel about Natsu and Makoto," Makarov yelled. "Erza left yesterday and won't be back for a while. The fact is: you're the only one strong enough to bring them back by force!"
The sound of a chair being scraped across the wooden floor caused him to turn around. Gray was on his feet, looking at the short man with disappointment and determination. "Sorry, Master. But I'm afraid I gotta disagree with you."
Lucy took in a deep breath of the morning air, standing in the middle of one of the many streets winding around Hargeon. She let out a happy sigh. "Wow, this brings back memories… It seems like only yesterday when we all met here for the first time."
"It practically was yesterday," Natsu grumbled. He was still grumpy from having to take the train again. At least they got some food after they left the train station. "You don't have to get all mushy."
"Yeah, you sound like an old lady!" Happy joked. He looked away nervously when Lucy shot him a glare.
"You're wrong, Natsu," Maya argued. She was sitting back in Makoto's hood, her tail hanging out and waving back and forth every few seconds. "It was like ages ago! Like 'once upon a time' ages ago! Like 'this would be a good prologue' ages ago!"
"You guys are both exaggerating," Makoto said. "It was just three weeks ago."
But Lucy had a point; it was incredibly nostalgic to be back in Hargeon. If someone had told him a month ago that he'd end up with magic and make friends with a fire breather and two flying cats, he'd have told them they were crazy. They all met by chance in Hargeon, complete strangers. And yet, here he was, on another wizard job with his team.
Very reluctantly, but it was the thought that counted.
"Well," Lucy interrupted, bringing them back on track. "Let's go find a boat that'll take us to Galuna!"
"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Natsu immediately shouted in protest. "Forget the boat; I just went through the nightmare of a train ride in the middle of the night! Why can't we all just swim for it?!"
"And you think I'm the one who's crazy…?"
"I'm no more enthusiastic about the boat than you are," Makoto said as they headed towards the water's edge. "But it's impossible to swim all the way. I'm sure someone will take us."
…
"Galuna Island? No way! Not for a million jewel!"
"Around here, it's bad luck to even mention that name."
…
"Sorry kids, but I don't think anyone here would be willing to take you."
"That island's cursed, so unless you've got a death wish, I'd stay far away."
…
"Don't know why you'd want to go there, but no sailor worth his salt will take you to Galuna. Not even pirates will go near that place."
"Are you serious?" Lucy asked the latest sailor they were talking to.
An entire pier's worth of sailors later, the three wizards were struggling to find anyone who wouldn't react to the words 'Galuna Island' with an expression of shock or alarm. Makoto groaned inwardly. He wished the job paper had some information about the supposed 'curse', but there wasn't any mention of anything that could suggest why everyone was so terrified of the place.
He looked up from the ocean to look at his teammates—and paled considerably. "Uh, guys…?"
Neither of them paid him any attention. Natsu had been gradually working up a grin after every failed attempt. After they got shot down by the sailor, he smiled broadly and said, "Looks like we're gonna be swimming after all!"
"Sure does!" Happy agreed.
"We're not swimming, Natsu!" Lucy shouted at him.
The blonde and pink duo jumped and screamed when a hand landed on their shoulders and someone said in a sing-song voice, "I found you!"
"Yeah, Gray's here, by the way," Makoto stated casually.
"What are you doing here?!" Natsu demanded when they whirled around.
"Gramps found out about your harebrained scheme and sent me to bring you back," Gray replied nonchalantly.
"Why? We're not in danger yet!" Natsu protested.
"If you come back now, you might avoid being kicked out of the guild," he informed them. His mouth twitched into a smirk. "Maybe."
"I knew this would be a bad idea…" Makoto complained.
"Why'd you go, then?" Gray asked as he faced him.
The Dragon Slayer shrugged. "You know Natsu better than I do. There was no convincing him otherwise, so I thought the best plan was to just come and make sure he didn't kill himself."
"That's right! I'm going on this S-Class quest and you can't stop me!" Natsu shouted.
Gray frowned in annoyance. "Man, you're way out of your league here. Just come home." His expression turned into one of fear as he continued, "When Erza finds out about this, she's gonna be so angry!"
At the mention of the redheaded wizard, Makoto watched everyone flinch in fear. ("I mean, I guess she's kinda scary, but she's just a normal person. Or, as normal as Fairy Tail wizards can get.")
If there was one thing anyone needed to know about Natsu, it was that he was unbelievably stubborn, and this could be either a good thing or a bad thing. Makoto felt that it was the worst thing in the world at the moment. "I've gotta prove my power to Erza, so like it or not, I'm doing this!"
"Master ordered me to bring you home!" Gray shouted back. "I'll drag you back to Fairy Tail if I have to! Don't make me hurt you, buddy!" Cold mist formed around his hand as a mound of ice appeared in it.
Natsu held out his hand and it ignited instantly. "I'd like to see you try!"
"Excuse me, but are you wizards?" the sailor in the boat inquired as he stood up. Makoto blinked as he had completely forgotten about the bystander. "Have you come to lift the curse on the island?"
"Yeah!" Natsu laughed.
"Maybe…?" Lucy said uncertainly. Makoto shrugged, not knowing either.
"Not gonna happen!" Gray growled.
The cloaked sailor stared at the four of them in disbelief, unable to say a word. After a few seconds, he suddenly jerked a thumb towards his boat and said, "Get in."
"Seriously?" Natsu asked excitedly.
"No way!" Gray objected again.
Natsu grinned mischievously. Before anyone could react, he struck Gray from behind, knocking him out instantly. He slung the unconscious Gray over his shoulder, oblivious to the perturbed faces around him and said, "There we go! We're ready when you are, sir."
"You sure we should bring him with us…?" Lucy whispered.
"We can't let him go back and tell the guild." Natsu's face turned pale even though he wasn't on the boat yet. "'Cause the next person they'll send is Erza!"
Lucy squealed in terror and they all started piling into the boat. Makoto bit the inside of his lip and resigned himself to his fate.
("Guess there's no turning back now—Hmrpglghh!") Makoto almost lost his breakfast the moment he boarded the boat. He thought trains were bad—at least he could step in without throwing up instantly. ("Why did it have to be motion sickness?!")
"I hate you guys so much…" Makoto mumbled as Lucy grabbed some spare ropes lying around the boat. She tied Gray up with them, as per Natsu's request—because he was too busy being sick to do it himself. There was no telling what the Ice Make Wizard would do once he woke up.
Personally, Makoto felt tying him up was a bit much, but he wasn't in any position to make a coherent argument.
The boat ride was long and slow. The sun had long since set and they still hadn't arrived at the island yet. There was definitely no way they could've swum all the way to Galuna. Gray had woken up a while ago and was grumpily sitting on the boat. He tried getting himself out of his restraints earlier, but it didn't budge, and so he settled with giving all of his guildmates occasional glances of annoyance.
The darkness and silence were beginning to unsettle Lucy. She whined, "Okay, now I'm scared…"
"Look on the bright side; at least you're not tied up!" Gray yelled at her.
"At least your stomachs aren't about to murder you…" Makoto mumbled.
"Aye…" Natsu agreed weakly. Maya frowned and sympathetically patted Makoto's back.
"This is your fault too, buddy!" Gray yelled to the sailor who was taking them there. "Why'd you decide to let us on?!"
The man turned to face him. "The name is Bobo, and if you must know, I used to be a citizen of Galuna Island. But I had to flee. I just couldn't take it anymore. I should warn you: tragedy befalls anyone who steps foot on the island. There's no avoiding it. That is, unless you're able to lift the curse."
Bobo shifted his cloak and revealed his left arm, which had been obscured up until now. The Fairy Tail wizards recoiled as they took in the demonic appearance of his arm. "This vile demon's curse…"
"Whoa… Your arm…" Gray whispered. "What happened to it?"
"Is that… the curse…?" Lucy asked.
Bobo remained silent. He looked up at the horizon and they all spotted the silhouette of an island in the distance. "We're almost there. That's Galuna Island."
Maya blinked as she noticed something odd about the island. "Why's the mountain lighting up like a star?" When she received no answer she turned around and then screamed, "AHH! Mister Demon Arm is gone!"
"Did he fall out?!" Gray questioned, scanning the surface of the water. There was no sign of him anywhere.
Makoto blinked blearily as the water began rising up the side of the boat. He glanced up and his eyes widened considerably. "G-Guys…! Turn around…!"
Everyone turned in alarm and saw exactly what he was talking about—a massive, towering wave that threatened to send them to the bottom of the ocean.
"Everyone, hold onto the boat!" Gray yelled as the wave crashed down over them. Makoto strained to hold on to the edge of the boat, but the force was too great and sent them all into the sea.
Makoto groaned as he awoke to the painful feeling of all his limbs aching. When his eyes opened the sky above him was still black. The moon had vanished behind the clouds for now, so he couldn't tell whether it was higher in the sky than before, and therefore whether it was the same night or not. Pulling himself into a sitting position, he took in his surroundings.
He and his friends had washed up on a beach, presumably on Galuna Island, with the destroyed remains of their boat partially ashore and partially scattered in the ocean. Everyone was waking up and gradually coming to their senses again.
"Looks like we made it, you guys!" Natsu cheered, predictably oblivious to the fact that they were stranded.
"We're lucky that wave washed us ashore," Lucy noted.
"Perhaps, but it's unlucky that it destroyed our boat since now we have no way to get back to the mainland," Makoto pointed out.
Lucy folded her arms and said, "I can't help but wonder what happened to the guy that brought us here. Right after he told us about the curse, he vanished."
"Forget about that stuff for now!" Natsu yelled, looking around excitedly. "Let's go exploring!"
"Aye!" Happy cheered.
"We've been here for like, thirty seconds and you guys have already forgotten about the mission?" Lucy asked incredulously.
"Not to mention that it's still night right now," Makoto sighed. "Did that request notice say anything about a village or town we could head to?"
Lucy dug the wet request sheet from her pocket and smoothed it out to read it. "Apparently, there's only one village on the entire island. The village chief is the one who originally posted the request, so we need to find him. There's a map on here as well with directions to the village."
"Not so fast!" Everyone turned to look at Gray, who had gotten free of his bonds during the storm.
"Give it up, Gray!" Natsu groaned. "You can't bring us back to the guild now that our boat's been destroyed."
"That's right. I'm coming with you," he announced. Lucy and Natsu's eyes widened.
"You certainly changed your mind quick, yup yup," Maya commented.
"There's no way I'm going to let the three of you clowns make S-Class before I do," Gray said. "And if you were kicked out, the guild would be pretty boring. Gramps will be upset, but if we pull this off he won't stay mad at us for long."
"I feel like this has been poorly planned by everyone involved," Makoto mumbled to himself. He raised his voice with a smile and said, "Well, there's no going back, so we might as well get this S-Class quest started."
All of the Fairy Tail wizards grinned in anticipation. "Let's go!" Gray shouted.
"Aye!" everyone replied.
The directions took some time to get their head around since they washed up on a random beach, but once they got on track they quickly arrived at the village gates within an hour. Makoto was taken aback by the appearance of it. The gates were large and imposing, made solely from sharpened logs tied together and were at least several meters tall. A long fence of the same height spread out from the gate, also made of sharpened logs. Presumably, it went around the entire perimeter of the village. 'KEEP OUT' was written very clearly on the gate.
"Well, we found the village," Gray noted unnecessarily.
"Looks more like a fortress to me," Makoto remarked.
"Check out that gate," Natsu said. "When they say keep out, they mean it."
"Anyone home?!" Lucy called loudly. "We came here to help you!"
They waited for a response of any kind for a moment. Another moment went by.
"Let's bust in," Natsu suggested a little too eagerly.
"Let's not," Makoto sighed. By now, he was used to the pyro's destructive tendencies. Now if only there was a way to control it. Then they might get more money from their regular jobs…
"Who goes there?!"
The wizards looked up at the top of the gates. Two figures could barely be seen peeking out from behind the logs. The villagers had finally noticed their arrival.
"We're wizards from Fairy Tail, responding to your request!" Lucy announced.
"Why weren't we notified when you accepted the job?!" the villager shouted.
That caught them off guard. There was the slight snag that they were taking the request without permission from the guild. What sort of excuse could they give? Luckily, Gray was on top of everything and called, "Sorry, it was probably just a mix up with the paperwork!"
Both of the guards remained pretty unconvinced. One demanded, "Then let me see your emblems, right now!"
That was much easier to answer. They all complied, showing off the marks that proved them to be members of Fairy Tail.
"They're here… They're really here…!"
A few minutes later, the gate was lifted off the ground with a loud rumbling. Waiting just in front of the gate was a large group: the villagers of Galuna Island. The Fairy Tail wizards walked through the gate once it had come to a stop. Of course, Happy had to comment on its appearance.
"It's like we're walking into a giant monster's mouth!"
"Are you trying to freak me out?" Lucy hissed at him as they approached the throng of villagers. Those two arguing was about as predictable as Natsu and Gray getting into a fight. What did strike Makoto as odd was that all of the villagers were covered up in shawls and cloaks, leaving no part of their appearances visible.
Despite that, it was easy to tell which one of them was the chief they were looking for. He was the short man at the front of the crowd, holding a staff with some kind of moon ornament carved from stone on top.
"I'm Moka, the village chief," he introduced, his voice muffled by the cloak. "On behalf of everyone here I welcome you. Pleasantries aside, there's something you need to see. Now, my people!"
Makoto's eyes widened at what was revealed when the cloaks fell away. Arms, legs, chests, stomachs, faces, mouths… All of the villagers had at least some part of their body grotesquely transformed, whether it was covered in scales, sprouted horns, even grown a full tail. Everyone, from kids to adults to teenagers—no one was left unaffected.
Gray grimaced. "It's just like that guy on the boat…"
"Oh wow, your sideburns!" Natsu's priorities were elsewhere, it seemed. He gaped at the chief, whose sideburns were longer than even Lucy's hair. Makoto wasn't a violent person, but part of him wanted to smack Natsu for his obliviousness.
"Not that! I was trying to show you what happened to my arm!" Moka waved his scaly blue arm around as he talked. "Everyone on the island has suffered horrible disfigurement because of this curse. Not even the animals have been spared."
"Please excuse me for asking, but what makes you think it's a curse, sir?" Gray spoke up. "It could be some kind of infectious disease."
"We've consulted with dozens of doctors, young man, but they all agree no such disease exists!" Moka replied. "You see, our symptoms began around the same time the moon fell under an evil spell."
"What kind of spell?" Lucy inquired.
"Since ancient times, this island has absorbed the light of the moon, causing it to glow almost as beautifully as the moon itself." Moka's face grew grave as he continued, "However, several years ago, the moon's color began to change, and an eerie purple glow was cast upon the island."
"So the moon turned purple?" Natsu asked.
Happy glanced up and gasped, "It's coming out from behind the clouds…" Everyone looked up and watched the clouds in the sky drift over. The moon shone brightly like it usually did, but it instead glowed with an unnatural purple hue.
("It really is purple…") Makoto blinked in a stupor. ("But why only on the island…? I don't think it was purple on the boat. N-Not that I was paying attention much, but…")
"It's the curse…" Moka moaned as the purple moonlight shone down on the village. "Stand back. The change is about to begin."
What Makoto saw then would be burned into his memory forever.
All at once, all of the villagers began screaming, clutching their heads in agony. Their bodies changed right in front of his eyes. Their skin toughened and changed color to form scales or become leather-like. Faces were reconstructed entirely and long horns grew. Their fingernails lengthened to claws while teeth sharpened to fangs.
And before long, all that stood before the Fairy Tail wizards were demons.
Makoto's jaw dropped. "What… What the heck is happening…?"
"I'm sorry if our appearance frightens you…" Moka said quietly once the transformation was over.
"N-No, that's not it," he assured quickly. "Sorry, I was just… surprised."
"And completely confused," Gray added.
"You poor people…" Lucy murmured sympathetically.
"Oh man, you guys…" Natsu muttered quietly before he gained a glint in his eyes and he grinned. "Look so cool!"
Everyone was silent.
"Huh?"
"It's awesome!" Natsu gushed, oblivious to the disbelieving looks from everyone around him. "You've got horns and stuff! I'm so jealous!"
The villagers stared at him and then exchanged uncertain glances.
"He thinks we look cool…?"
"Nobody's ever said that to us before…"
"Natsu wants horns?" Maya tilted her head, actually giving it some thought. "It could suit him, yup yup."
"Natsu!" The pink-haired wizard blinked as he suddenly found Lucy glaring in his face. "You're being insensitive. They don't want to look like this!"
"Seriously?" he questioned honestly. He gave a laugh. "My bad. I guess we should help them out."
"Obviously, Natsu," Makoto said, giving his cheek an embarrassed scratch.
"That is why we're here," Happy pointed out.
Gray sighed. "Get a clue, man…"
"Anyway," the chief said, getting them back on track. "As you've witnessed, whenever the purple moon shows its face in the sky everyone in the village takes on a horrific demon form. If it isn't a curse, then what else could it possibly be?!"
The villagers sobbed as tears ran down their scaled faces. Makoto felt all his remaining surprise replaced by an aching feeling in his heart. What did it matter what they looked like? They were suffering terribly and their despair was clear.
"We'll return to normal once the morning comes and the sun has risen. However," Moka's face dropped and his voice grew somber. "There are some poor souls who can no longer switch back to their human form for they have lost their minds. The fate for them, these unfortunate souls in the grip of madness… We've no choice but to put them to death."
The wizards gasped. "But they might change back to normal someday!" Natsu argued.
"If we wait for that to happen, the monsters will surely kill us all!" Moka reasoned. "We've tried capturing them, but they always broke free." His voice cracked as he spoke. "It's no use. Once it takes hold, there's no way to save them. I should know; I was forced to kill my very own son."
He took out a picture and the wizards couldn't hold back their shocked reactions at Moka's son's appearance. He was identical to the sailor who brought them to Galuna Island—Bobo.
"That's the guy from the boat," Lucy gasped. "But we just saw him yesterday, he—"
Gray hushed her before they could overhear her. "Now I understand why he disappeared on us like that. He's dead, but his soul can't rest in peace."
Moka bowed down his head. "Please lift this evil curse from our island. If this goes on much longer, we may all fall victim to it. We'll die."
"We're not gonna let that happen!"
The chief looked up to a serious Natsu, his dark eyes shining with determination. "We'll fix this, I promise you."
Makoto nodded in agreement. He was only there to make sure Natsu didn't mess things up to begin with, but now all his doubts about joining in on the quest had vanished. Makoto would do everything in his power to help the villagers of Galuna.
"There's only one way this wretched curse can be lifted." Moka lifted his staff and pointed straight upwards, the wizards' eyes following it to the bright rock hanging above them. "The moon… The moon must be wiped from the sky!"
"I never knew the moon could be so creepy," Happy said as he stood by the open window, gazing up at the harsh purple glow of the moon.
"Hurry and close the window!" Lucy shouted at him as she paused in her rummaging through her bag. "You heard what the chief said! We gotta stay out of the moonlight. You may not care, but I don't want to risk turning into some freaky-looking monster!"
They were all settling in for the night, staying in an empty house in the village. It was too dangerous for them to stay out at night, with the purple moon in full view, so they would sleep for the night and get on with the job in the morning. Speaking of said job…
"I'm not so sure about this job, guys," Natsu said.
"Do these people really think we can destroy the moon?" Gray asked.
"I wonder how many punches it'll take," Natsu predictably said. "You think I can handle it?"
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Gray relaxed a little and added, "Don't be stupid, man."
"Natsu, there's not a wizard alive who's strong enough to do that," Lucy sighed.
"But that's the job we were hired to do, isn't it?" Natsu said. "We can't take a job and then back out, 'cause that would make Fairy Tail look bad."
"Sure, but destroying the moon would cause a lot of problems for other people as well," Makoto pointed out, speaking up for the first time in a while. "A lot of the things we take for granted are because of the moon, like the tides and even the seasons. Things could get seriously out of whack if we do that."
"You've been quiet for a while," Maya noted.
"Just thinking about the whole situation and trying to sort out the info," he explained. And he was still trying to wrap his head around the whole 'demon curse' thing. It was shocking and bizarre to him, but he had to keep reminding himself that Earthland evidently didn't play by the same rules he was used to. "There's still something that's bugging me about this curse, though."
"And what's that?" Lucy asked.
"I can't say much about what it might mean," Makoto admitted. "But I have my suspicions about the moon's connection. Back in Magnolia, we know for a fact that the moon is still white and shining and not turning all of the people into demons. Surely if the curse was due to the moon, it would affect more than just the citizens of Galuna Island."
"But they said the curse started when the moon turned purple!" Natsu argued. "So it can't be unrelated!"
"I never said it was." Makoto shook his head. "But it's all still just a theory. We need more information."
"How do you think you're going to get to the moon anyway?" Gray asked the pyro.
"With Happy."
"Ah—I don't think so," Happy said disbelievingly at Natsu's simple answer.
"Okay, we can't destroy the moon," Lucy said. "But Makoto's got a point. If we do some investigating, we might be able to find a different way to lift the curse from the island." She flinched as something struck her face, and looked over to see Gray already in his underwear.
"You kids can do what you want, but after the day I've had, I need some shuteye." He finished by pulling off his sock. Lucy sweatdropped.
"Please don't take off any more."
"Okay, our investigation starts tomorrow morning!" Natsu declared and then flopped himself onto the bed laid out. "I'm hitting the sack!"
"Me too!" Happy added.
"Sounds like a plan to me," Gray said as his head hit the pillow.
"Okay then. I'm pretty sleepy too…" She rubbed at her eyes. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight…" Makoto mumbled. Maya was already fast asleep. He wished he could fall asleep that fast. Between the snores from Natsu and Gray as well as any nightmares that could come his way, he was doubtful he'd get much sleep anyway.
Makoto stepped out of the house into the fresh air, stretching in the morning sunlight. As he'd expected, the majority of the night had been spent awake due to snores. It was a good idea to catch up on some sleep with the others gone. His extended nap wasn't the greatest, but at least he wasn't plagued by nightmares again. For now.
He caught sight of one of the villagers passing by and jogged over to him. "Good morning!" he greeted cheerfully.
"Oh, you're still here?" the man greeted with surprise. He seemed to have forgone a shirt, dressed in only baggy white trousers. His face was covered in a thick, bristly beard. The demon curse left him with large white horns protruding from the edges of his forehead. "Your guild friends left the village a while ago."
"I know," Makoto nodded to him. They'd left soon after daybreak and the sun was currently almost above them. Makoto guessed it was probably around eleven in the morning. "They're going to investigate the rest of the island for any clues. I decided to stay back in the village to ask around here."
"I just wanna nap," Maya commented blearily, spread out on Makoto's head. "They're so noisyyy…"
The villager frowned. "But didn't the chief ask you to destroy the moon? What point would there be to looking around the island?"
And there was the big question. Explaining their decision to the villagers would be difficult. They might assume they'd given up on lifting the curse, which couldn't be further from the truth. They just wanted to go about it a different way than what was suggested to them.
Makoto bit his lip. There was no use in remaining silent. "To be honest… Destroying the moon is a last resort. The moon's responsible for a lot of things in our world. Getting rid of it could seriously mess with life as we know it."
("Not to mention, it's pretty much impossible.")
"So we're trying to figure out what's causing the curse to begin with," he continued. "If we know that, we're a lot closer to understanding how the curse works and, most importantly, the best way to stop it."
The man raised an eyebrow. "So you're just doing things your way?"
Makoto chuckled nervously. "Heh, uh… I guess you could say it's what Fairy Tail does."
The villager frowned again. He looked around for anyone close enough to listen in, leaned towards Makoto and—to his surprise—muttered, "I'll admit, I gotta agree with you, kid."
"You… do?"
"The chief's plan is a little… crazy," he reluctantly admitted. "But you gotta understand, we're all desperate. After three years of this nightmare, the village is falling apart at the seams. We've lost a lot of friends, family, and the chief lost his own son on top of that…"
"Of course. To watch your friends die around you and being unable to do anything about it…" Makoto paused and took a deep breath. "No one should have to go through something like that. We want to help. But we also don't want it to have to be at the expense of the rest of the world. That's why we need to investigate to find a better option."
"I understand, kid. Do you need to talk to the chief?"
"Yeah," Makoto nodded. "I want to ask him some questions and see if it's okay to do the same with the other villagers."
"I'm sure you're free to talk to the others, but I'll take you to him if you'd like," the man offered.
He beamed. "Thank you, sir!"
"Call me Tano."
On another part of the island, Natsu dug himself out of a pile of rubble. He gasped for breath and looked around rapidly. "Hey! Is everybody okay?!"
"I'd be better if you hadn't knocked out the floor," Lucy furiously said.
"Here's a thought: if you think before you act, maybe you wouldn't cause so much destruction!" Gray shouted.
Their scolding over, the three wizards glanced up. The cave they were in stretched upwards almost endlessly, if it wasn't for the small circle of light at the top that led back into the temple. While they were exploring the island, they'd found themselves under attack from a giant blue rat. They hid away inside an old temple, which turned out to have lots of references to the moon. The building had clearly been neglected a fair bit, as even the floors didn't look stable.
Add Natsu into the mix, and the wizards were experiencing the end result.
"So, can you fly us out of here, Happy?"
"No," he answered Lucy quietly. "Sorry."
"We're underneath the temple," Gray said, surprised that there was anything beneath them, let alone a cave.
"Wow! It's a secret cave!" Natsu cheered as he happily ran off down one of the tunnels. "This is so cool! Let's go check it out!"
"WOULD YOU QUIT RUNNING AROUND LIKE A CRAZY PERSON?!" Gray yelled. Reluctantly, they followed after the excitable Fire Wizard. They almost lost track of him as he turned the corner, but when they followed they saw him standing at the entrance of a large and open chamber.
"Natsu?" Lucy called.
"What? Something wrong?" Gray inquired.
"Hey, guys?" Natsu said. "What's that?"
They walked further into the chamber—and both froze when they saw what Natsu was referring to.
The only—and most notable—thing in the chamber was a giant block of ice, reaching a height of at least ten stories, and that wasn't counting the ice beneath the ledge they stood on. But the more important aspect was what was inside the ice. It was a monster as large as the ice was, with sharp claws, teeth, and a ferocious snarl frozen on its terrifying face.
"That's impossible…" Gray whispered, trembling in fear. "It's Deliora… But how…? How could this happen? Why is it here? What the hell is it doing on Galuna Island?!"
"You've seen this thing before?" Natsu questioned.
"There's no… no way…" he breathed.
"Gray, try to calm down," Lucy murmured as she placed a hand on his shoulder. In response, he took a few deep, shuddering breaths. The blonde waited a moment before she added, "Can you tell us about it?"
"…It's Deliora," he answered after a pause. "The demon of destruction."
"Demon of construction?"
"Destruction," Happy corrected the Dragon Slayer.
"But why is it… here?" Gray asked. "It doesn't make any sense!"
The Fairy Tail wizards were interrupted when the sound of footsteps echoed around them. They quickly rushed for cover behind a pile of rocks nearby as two men exited the tunnel they'd just come from. One had blue hair that defied gravity and stood upright, as well as massive eyebrows. The other had dog ears and a flat muzzle, wearing nothing but a pair of trousers.
"The voices seem to come from down here," the one with massive eyebrows said. His companion growled. The eyebrow guy sighed. "I hate being awake during the day." The other guy growled again in agreement.
Grinning at his friend's silence, the eyebrow guy said, "So Toby, were you exposed to the Moon Drip? You've got those pointy ears."
That finally got a reaction from the dog man. He exploded and yelled, "I ALREADY TOLD YOU, THEY'RE A FASHION STATEMENT, YOU JERK!"
"Lighten up, I was just teasing you."
"You don't have to be so mean about it…" the dog, Toby, mumbled.
"The Moon Drip…" Lucy whispered to herself from her hiding spot. "Could that be the name of the curse…?" Her attention shifted immediately at another pair of footsteps.
"Yuka, Toby." The two men turned to face their new companion: a pink-haired pigtailed girl wearing a black dress with two long feathers trailing behind her. "Something terrible has happened."
"What now, Sherry?" Yuka, the one with eyebrows, asked in an irritated tone.
"It's Angelica," Sherry replied. "She's been attacked and I'm sad."
"You're moping around because someone beat up your stupid pet rat?!" Toby yelled.
"She's not a rat!" Sherry argued while keeping her soft speaking tone. "She's a brave hunter prowling the jungle to protect us. She is… love."
"I don't know who these people are, but talk about a bunch of weirdos," Lucy murmured. "Especially the chick with the pet rat."
"Judging by the scent I picked up off 'em, they're not from the island," Natsu commented.
"And they don't look like they have the demon curse," Happy added. They quieted down quickly as the strange trio began speaking again.
"Intruders, you say?"
Sherry sighed after Yuka spoke. "And it's almost time to begin collecting moonlight again. Oh, this makes me so sad. This news would displease the Cold Emperor. We should get rid of them before he finds out. Yes… We must find them before the moon's first light."
"Agreed," Yuka said with a sinister grin. Toby grunted.
"Since they've seen Deliora, we can't allow them to live," Sherry continued. "We'll give them the gift of eternal rest. We'll give them… love."
"You're talking about death, right?" a confused Toby asked. They all turned when the sound of rocks clattering echoed around the cavern.
"What was that?"
"Over there." They all ran down the tunnel, heading towards the source of the sound.
Once they were gone, the Fairy Tail wizards stood up from their hiding place. Lucy gave a flying Happy a smile. "Nice job, cat."
"Aye."
"Come on," Natsu complained. "We should've grabbed them and beat some answers out of 'em."
"Not yet," Lucy said. "We've gotta do some investigating."
The Dragon Slayer sighed. "Man… This job keeps getting more and more complicated."
"Right?" Happy said. "Like who's this 'Cold Emperor' guy?"
"Deliora…" Gray muttered. "I still don't understand what anyone would want with it. And how the hell were they even able to find it?"
"Was it hidden somewhere?" Lucy asked.
"…It was sealed away," he answered after a moment. "Inside a glacier on the Northern Continent. A decade ago, this immortal demon ravaged Isvan. Countless people lost their lives. The woman who taught me how to use my magic—my master, Ur—sacrificed everything to seal it away."
He clenched his fist tighter and an icy mist began forming around it. "I don't know if it has anything to do with the curse on this island, but I do know that it doesn't belong here. This 'Cold Emperor'… We have to find out who it is!"
Gray gritted his teeth, his anger clear on his face.
"If they tarnish my master's legacy, they're gonna regret the day they were born!"
Oh hey look, a new chapter.
AND OHMYGOD THE ANIME COMES OUT IN LITERALLY IN A WEEK'S TIME. SEVEN DAYS (or is it eight for the subs…?). THE HYPE IS SO REAL.
And of course, summer is here so hopefully this means more time I can dedicate to writing these chapters! We'll see how well this works out.
Also Happy 4th of July to you Americans out there! (Or anyone else who celebrates it idk)
Also 151 reviews? Like 151 original Pokemon? Gotta catch em all ;)
REVIEW TIME
Soijin: I haven't planned anything with Ultimate Despair yet, but as always, plot development is subject to change, so I can't say for certain.
Mollie (Guest): I feel bad for Makoto, but seriously all that shit he went through, there's definitely going to be some PTSD-like moments. No yeah that makes sense, I'll admit, sweatdrop is definitely a lazy word for me to use because Idk how else to explain the moment. Fun fact, each chapter uses sweatdrop at least once, but never more than three times.
Amvmaster: Japan size would make sense, I guess. I had some country in my mind when writing last chapter, but now I can't remember it whoops :P
Tatsurian: Wow, you've really been thinking about this idea a lot XD Idk, I'll put it in my idea box and see what happens.
Really? Oh wow that's interesting, I never knew that. Oh and that'll go in the idea box, thanks for the suggestion.
Sigma73 (Guest): Yep, it was Sakura and Chihiro. Chihiro's quote wasn't specifically said to Makoto, but I thought it showed Chihiro's moment of strength best while still making it clear whose quote it was. F-Favourite fic…? Gosh you're embarrassing me… Tbh I liked them both, Makoto is really sweet but Hajime was just a bit more snarky. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Outcast247: Out of anything, I was honestly not expecting Australia. I mean, its an entire continent and even in the intro the narrator is like "it's a small nation/country" (I forget exactly). Ehhh, we might get to that topic eventually.
WanderingWatermelon: It is totally how Makoto would win, though. And Maya is so precious protect her :3
Guest(1): It was too good of an opportunity to miss out on, plus people have been wondering where the catchphrase has been recently. Remember, Makoto's not that powerful at the moment. Beating the boss of the Battle of Fairy Tail arc this early on is just a bit… um… idk what the word is, but it's too early.
Hero 22: I keep hearing about this same story because of this chapter XD Not that it surprises me, what with its portrayal of the aftereffects of the killing game on Makoto. OH WAIT SHIT I FORGOT ABOUT THAT. POOR MAKOTO NO WHY MUST YOU GO THROUGH SO MUCH.
Jayyefire: Thanks a lot, friend! Hope you stick around for the rest of the story!
Archsage328: There isn't much else to say besides what I said before… Except hype for this chapter, hype for this arc, HYPE FOR THE ANIME ITS COMING IM SO EXCITED.
Dragon17 (Guest): Least favourite as in you hate it, or the other arcs are just better? For me, the latter half of the arc established what the future sad scenes in FT were going to be like, and boy did it deliver. Watching back on the episodes have def given me another case of the feels. And uh, who are you hoping to be in Phantom Lord arc?
RandomUsername (Guest): We're both right, in a sense. I'm assuming by this comment that you've only experienced the localized version of DR1. There's a fan translation, Zetsubou Project I think it's called, where his catchphrase was translated as "You've got that wrong!". In this instance I felt this version was better, but I might use "No, that's wrong!" in future.
RoboVolcano4: I've been itching for an opportunity for Makoto to use his catchphrase, and I saw my chance and took it. Makoto needs a hug, poor guy. XD I KNOW YOU'RE WAITING. I really want to introduce them too, but I'm super set on when the first survivor is being introduced and they're going to be the first and I'm not moving their debut so… Yeah sosz.
RandomGuyonthestreet13: I haven't given the Phantom Lord arc much attention recently 'cause I've been trying to plan Galuna, but it'll go in my idea box (because that's what I'm calling it apparently).
Reader-of-Reading-ness: Haha thanks! Yep, all the survivors are making an appearance eventually. I haven't given AE much thought… Maybe I should start thinking about whether I can incorporate it or whether it's too much trouble…
Guest(2): That's okay, but I can't really give an answer on that. Haven't thought about Makoto's Dragon Force yet. (Christ, replying to these has made me realize there are a lot of things I haven't thought about yet)
Fallenstreet01: You know exactly how I feel about that manga chapter.
Sonoka12 (Guest): Didn't Chapter 6 have Makarov's POV at the beginning? Did you not count that? Thanks for the criticism though, I'll try to take that onboard for the future. Especially with the focus on Makoto, I think that's just something I need to experiment with a bit to get that balance. SURVIVORS ARE COMING DON'T WORRY. It's just going to be a long time im sorry. Thanks for the review, Sonoka!
AND THE DR3 ANIME HYPE IS SO REAL YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW EXCITED I AM.
Little Kitty Snow: Thanks :D Hope you enjoy this chapter and the ones to come!
Curious question!
Occasionally, I realize this reply section gets a bit long. With that in mind, do you guys still want me to leave replies? If there's a topic being asked/discussed by multiple people, I'll address it in my notes above. Or should it remain this way, or should I PM members and leave this only for guest reviews?
Three choices: 1. No replies, but possibly a general response in the AN, 2. Replies only for guests and PM member reviews, 3. Keep it as is.
Just because Idk if it bothers people for it to be so long. Also sometimes I want to answer your questions but I don't want to leave spoilers.
Keep smiling, readers!