AN: So…Jurassic World. Before I get into this chapter, I just feel the need to talk about Jurassic World. Spoilers are ahead, so if you don't want me to ruin something for you, then just skip to the beginning of the chapter. Now, I am a huge fan of the first movie, I thought that the second was mediocre, and the third was crap. I especially hated what happened to the T-Rex in number three, they made the thing go down like a complete bitch, it barely lasted thirty seconds in that fight. So when I went into the theater to see the new one, I had very low expectations for the film. Overall, I think those expectations were correct. The movie had more ham than a Scooby Doo cartoon, the dialogue was so corny I thought that I had walked into a B movie. The CGI was overdone, I thought the dinosaurs looked far more realistic in the original movie. However, it is because of that kind of stuff that I thought the movie was terrific. I love B movie monster flicks, if anything I think they went too light on the carnage. The cheesy dialogue was hilarious, nobody talked like a real person; instead they were all just stereotypes. On top of the cheese, there were two scenes that I absolutely loved. The first is in the trailer, the scene where the pterodactyls go nuts in the park and terrorize the public. The very second the British nanny character came on screen I predicted her death, and I loved the part that proved me right. As for the other scene that I loved, damn the last twenty minutes were awesome. Velociraptors Vs super T-Rex velociraptor, was awesome, but any idiot could tell that the little guys were destined to loose. Then the idiot scientist lady says "we need more teeth." She runs off to one of the cages and yells for the computer geek to open the cage. He argues but eventually concedes, and as the cage is opening up she lights up a flare, just like the one from the first movie. A few giant footsteps later and this chick is running back towards the fight, chucking the flare at the giant super dino. The dino looks up with a look like 'huhhh?' Then, bursting through the skeleton of the fucking Spinosaurous, the mother fucking T-Rex. That was so freaking cool! I think that the fight between those two might have been worth the price of admittance by itself. So, I would say that this movie has surpassed the other two sequels, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good old fashion B monster movie. That was my third movie experience this summer, following Avengers: Age of Ultron and Mad Max. Next up I think is either Terminator or Ant-Man, not sure which one yet. For those of you who care, I'm a huge movie geek, so if anybody ever wants to chat with me about something like that then send me a PM. Now, on to the chapter!
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(My friend has made me aware that last chapter wasn't very clear on the timeline. So just to make it clear, my story is currently one day behind the timeline of the main series. The group actually spent a night camping, while in the main series they moved to the island at the fastest speed possible. So the group is a day behind, and that means that the final confrontation is happening this night. My reason for doing so? So I don't have to write about the stakeout bit or the bit about them sleeping in the demon town. I was just bored for that entire part, so I'm skipping it.)
Chapter 13: A Cold Reunion
Gray's eyes snapped open.
He had luckily washed up on the beach, the tide still brushing up against his torso as he groggily pulled his head from the sand. His shirt and jeans were long gone, leaving him in his spandex shorts. With a small smile he brought his hand up to the necklace still hanging over his chest and squeezed the gemstone. In a flash of light the clothing reappeared around his body, still completely soaked from its time in the ocean. That was one problem more or less solved.
Unbothered by the chill of the ocean breeze, Gray began to survey the beach for any sign of his companions. It seemed that he had landed on a particularly narrow portion of the beach, there was a cliff before him and nothing but rocky outcrops in either direction. The place was completely void of any life except for a few bits of foliage visible at the top of the rock formations and a forest off in the distance. The sun was lazily making its way across the sky, already a few hours past noon. The storm must have blown itself out.
Finally Gray spotted a plume of smoke wafting upwards in the distance. Seeing nothing else around, he shrugged to himself and began walking. There'd be people there, and the others would probably head there if they weren't already there. He didn't doubt that they were fine. Goku and Erza were too tough to be taken out by a storm and Levy could be pretty gritty too when she wanted to be.
So he'd meet up with them and figure out what to do from there.
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When Erza awoke, there was a fish in her face. She let out a started yelp, sending bubbles up towards the surface of the water. Startled the fish immediately swam away, vanishing from sight in the darkness of the ocean. She closed her eyes and tried to remember what had happened.
She remembered the storm, falling into the water. She had donned her Sea Empress armor in an effort to her friends. She remembered reaching Gray and giving him a push towards the shore. Then something had hit her in the back of the head, likely the raft. She hadn't been prepared for the blow, and the sea empress armor didn't cover the back of her head… nor did most of her armors, now that she thought about it. But now wasn't the time to consider investing in a helmet.
She had lost consciousness and sunk to the bottom of the ocean, her water based armor the only thing keeping her from drowning. She must have been here for several hours; she could feel a distinct drop in her energy from using the armor's ability. If she had been trapped here for longer she may not have been left enough energy to escape.
But as it was, she did have the energy. The red haired knight shot off towards the surface, shifting into her Blackwing armor the moment she made contact with the air. Erza made her way upwards and took off towards the island in search of her friends. Once she reached the shores she began to circle like a hawk, looking for any signs of where her friends had landed. The village stood out clearly amongst the trees and would likely be a good place to start, however she held off from diving directly down. If any of her friends could see her from her position in the skies then they might be able to signal their locations. Sure enough, on her third loop around Erza caught sight of a thin red pole burst out from the trees and grow straight up into the sky. With a small grin she flared her wings and descended down through the foliage.
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Levy awoke upside down with something fuzzy brushing up against her face. She looked around in a haze, everything was moving around her, slowly bumping up and down as it passed by her. It her a few seconds to realize that her surroundings weren't moving, she was. And with that realization everything else began to swim into focus. She was on dry land again, her magic chain was no longer around her, and someone was carrying her over their shoulder. Finally, she noticed the orange gi top she was pressed up against.
"Goku?" she whispered. The motion stopped and Levy was whipped around so quickly that her stomach churned in protest. She found herself on her feet, a hand on her shoulder to keep her steady.
"Hey Levy, you're finally up! I was beginning to get worried, you've been out for a couple hours. I've been walking around trying to find the village for ages so I can get you to a doctor, but I got lost in the woods." The martial artist, his rapid-fire words drilling into Levy's skull and making her head swim. She held up a hand to ward off his verbal assault and massaged her head until it cooled to a dull throb.
"I'll be fine." She said. "My head's just a bit dizzy is all. What happened to the others? Can you sense where they are?" she paused, her brow furrowing. "Wait… how did you even get lost? You should be able to sense a village on an island this size no problem. So that means either something on this island is messing with your powers, or you're in really bad shape and you're trying to play it off to keep from scaring me. Which is it?" she asked, crossing her arms and staring at Goku. Goku shook his head, grinning at his friend's rapid deductions, but then his face turned grim.
"There's something on this island giving off massive amounts of energy, it's covering the entire area and all of the water around it in a giant dome. I think that's where the storm came from, and that's why I can't find anybody." Goku rubbed his forehead in annoyance. "It's like this buzzing sensation, its covering everyone's presence up and messing with everything else. I would bet that it's the source of the curse we were sent here to break. But…" Goku trailed off, glancing to the side before looking back. "It's strong Levy. Really strong. The only time I've ever felt anything even remotely like this was that one time Gildarts decided to fight me seriously."
Levy paled, remembering the incident. Goku had returned in a full body cast, barely breathing. The only thing that had kept her from losing her mind was the large grin on his face from having just received his S class certification. Gildarts had followed him into the Guild, apologizing profusely for overreacting so badly. But never before had Levy ever seen Goku so badly wounded, not even in the massive fight against his Grandfather. In fact, she had never seen a single member of Fairy Tail ever hurt that badly. And it hadn't even been intentional, just a minor slip of control. The thought alone was terrifying.
"What? That strong…?" Levy gulped, the tremor in her voice making Goku's expression soften. Levy took a deep breath. "Then we need to get out of here, we are completely outmatched. What about Nimbus? Nimbus can fly, what if we go over the storm? We could grab everyone, go back to the guild, and then you and Erza can come back, and you can bring Laxus or Mystogan, or one of our other heavy hitters!" Goku shook his head slowly, letting out a worried sigh.
"I've had Nimbus circling the island, looking for some way out of here, but it can't get past the barrier again, it was nearly destroyed getting us in here. It doesn't even have the strength to carry more than one person right now, it's completely spent. We're stuck here until this is over, whatever it is." Levy's pupils dilated into mere dots and she grabbed onto Goku like she was clutching a lifeline.
"That can't be right. I can't do something this big Goku, I told you I'm not ready! I'm not a fighter, I'm just a bookworm! I don't stand a chance here, I'm no fighter! How can I possibly do this, I don't want to die! What are we going to do?" Goku held the trembling girl and gave her a gentle shake, just enough to jolt her out of her panicked rambling.
"Hey, we'll be fine okay?" he reassured, "Erza and I are two of the strongest mages in the whole guild, and Gray is one of the best fighters. We can protect you if you really think you need it, but I think you're just underestimating yourself. You've been training with all of us since we were little kids, you can hold your own in a fight. We can do this, we just have to find everyone and stay calm. As long as we do that we should be able to take care of this little curse no problem. Just trust me okay? I'll make sure we get out!"
"How? If we really do have to fight something on the same level as Gildarts, we don't stand a chance. If I'm underestimating myself, then you're overestimating yourself."
"None of us can beat whatever it is alone. But every fighter has there weakness, even someone of Gildarts level. We don't need to out muscle whatever is trapping us here, we just need to out think it. Heck, it might not even be a mage; it might just be the curse itself. Then all we would have to do is unravel it and we are home free. Use our heads, you taught me that." Levy closed her eyes and took a handful of deep breaths. When her eyes opened once more they were clearer, the fear was still there but now it was under control. No longer the paralyzing fear, but the kind of fear that motivates you into action.
"Yeah, I did didn't I?" she smiled weakly. "Alright then, first order of business is that we need to find Gray and Erza. We're going to need everything we got if we want to pull this off. Next we'll have to find the village so we can let them know we are here and get as much information as we can about what we are up against. We'll have to be careful, we don't want to draw the attention of whatever is behind this until we are ready, if it's an actual curse and not a mage then we have to avoid triggering it. So we should stay on the ground and avoid flying, and we should travel through the woods rather than through any open areas. So, how do we find the others?" Goku was looking over Levy's shoulder now, staring off into the sky.
"I don't think we need to worry about finding Erza anymore." Levy turned and scanned upwards, eventually catching sight of the streak of scarlet and ebony soaring around the island. Goku carefully studied her speed and prepared a small energy ball in his hand.
"I'll flag her down." Levy's eyes widened and she jumped in front of Goku's line of fire to prevent the orb from launching.
"I literally just said we're doing this stealthily! Shooting explosives into the sky is not stealthy." She deadpanned. "You'll let every living thing on the island know where we are! Give me that Power Pole, I'll signal her."
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The villagers had no clue what was going on. Gray had spent a half hour in the village asking for information about the job and about his missing friends. When he had trudged into the village, the locals had greeted him and not much else. He questioned them as much as they could, but they just wound up confused. They had spent most of the time complaining about one of their fallen islanders and how they wanted him to try and take out the moon. The only mage alive who might have a chance at that was Gildarts, and that was only if he somehow managed to get high up enough to actually lay a hand on the thing.
Instead Gray had questioned the cursed villagers on the strange happenings around the island and had barely been able to contain himself from flash freezing the idiotic village elder. A strange light going up for three straight years around their mountain that prevented any of them from being able to gain access. They should have called for help ages ago, then maybe things wouldn't have gotten so bad. So with no sign of his friends Gray had decided to head up to the mountain himself to see if he could figure out the problem himself.
"I bet the only reason this is even an S rank is because they were hoping to get someone powerful enough to actually pull of their idiotic idea with the moon. Just because the moon glows weird on this island it doesn't mean blowing it up will do anything. Only someone as dumb as Natsu would think that was a good idea." Gray grumbled as he slowly trudged up the mountain path towards the peak. The villagers had said that the light started up at roughly the same time every day, so chances are the others would see it too. If they went up to investigate then chances were that they would into one another.
As the teen made his way uphill, he was completely unaware of the fact that he was being watched. A large group of people hid just within the edge of the woods, lined all along the trail. They silently signaled to one another, sending a message up the mountain far faster than Gray was walking. The message reached its destination when it come to the top of the pathway and was delivered to a masked man and his compatriots. The rest of the group dismissed the possibility of a single intruder being anything more than a nuisance and went back to preparing their ritual. The masked man stepped away from his comrades, forming a delicate icy telescope in his hand. As he reached the edge of the mountain he raised the device up to his eye. What he saw brought a slow smirk to his face.
"Gray."
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Once the situation had been explained to Erza, it had taken a good amount of convincing to keep the girl from going back up into the sky to try and locate Gray. She loathed that her friend was endanger, but no one could figure out how they could safely track him down. Already in a bad mood before, the teen had become waspish, and the other two were struggling to deal with her as they scoured the island for their friend. However, she was not the only one annoyed.
It was taking everything Goku had to not run off to find the source of the power, to challenge it. Goku cared for his friends and their safety, he really did, it would always be one of his main priorities, but one indisputable fact about the teen is that he is a warrior. Hiding, sneaking around, trying to stay out of a fight, everything about his current actions went against his very DNA. His blood was screaming out at him to battle, causing his tail to constantly fidget behind him as he searched around him, hoping to catch a glimpse of the monstrous power.
Levy's mind had cleared from her previous panic and now her analytical mind was working on overdrive. She desperately hoped that this power was just coming from a curse. Curses, even the one backed up by this much power, were just complexly woven spells. They could always be unraveled, and that was one of her specialties. The Shadow Gears were whom the Fairies called when the problem couldn't be solved by punching it or blowing it up. It would just be a matter of figuring out where the threads of magic tied the curse together and unraveling them. Easy enough provided you avoided the curses effect, which could range from making you sneeze to melting your bones. If it was a curse, she could focus on breaking it while the other three protected her from the more aggressive effects.
Oh course, she had to admit that it was more likely to be a fight. That tended to be what the Fairies found wherever they went. That would be bad, but not insurmountable. Like Goku had just reminded her, every single being on the planet had some sort of weakness. While she didn't know her opponent's, the bluenette did know the weaknesses of her friends. Different scenarios were playing through her head as she mixed and matched the team, trying to determine the best possible plan and tactics they could implement with what they had available to them. Erza was a walking tank combined with an arsenal of offensive magic. However her ranged game was rather limited and her mobility depended largely on what armor she was using. Overall she had the best, most diverse combat oriented skillset of the group, however each one of her suits had its own weakness to go with the boosted strengths. She also had a tactical mind that would be vastly helpful when confronting an overwhelmingly stronger opponent.
Goku was better at a range than Erza, however his close quarter's game was less lethal than that of his scarlet haired friend. His energy blasts made up for that though, the Kamehameha was likely the single most powerful attack the group had to offer. His agility was the best of the group, with the only possible contender being Erza's Flight Armor. Goku also had the most obvious weakness though, that being his tail. A single unfortunate hit would be all it would take to expose it, and then the teen would be severely hindered up close. Plus, despite his vast improvement, he was still lacking in the ability to think tactically as a team. She could tell he still had trouble to resist charging in and attacking whatever it was that he was sensing.
Gray and Levy shared a flaw; they were lacking in close range fighting. However this issue was far less noticeable with Gray, as he could summon a wide array of weapons to aid him and his body was far more physically strong then hers. Gray was likely the strongest of the ranged fighters of the group thanks to his superior versatility when compared to Goku, and he was the best at keeping his cool in a fight.
As for Levy herself, the bluenette had admitted to herself long ago that she did not have a magic well suited for a drawn out battle. As Goku had found in their training sessions, her stamina would never be able to match that of many of the other wizards in the guild. On top of that, the majority of her strongest spells took time to use, she would have to write out the word to give it life. The spells that she could use instantly were a lot weaker, generally just stalling tricks more than anything else. Thankfully that was not the limit of her arsenal. She still had the 'extra' training skills that Goku had forced into her to fall back on, to say nothing of her trump card.
Since she couldn't predict exactly what they would be going up against, she was comparing the group to the next best thing, Gildarts himself. To her quiet amazement, it looked like they could actually win. They would need to fight strategically and avoid a slugfest with him, but more often than not they could win. That, more than anything else, gave her hope that they would survive.
There were tons of ways that this could end. Lots of them horrible, but… Levy grinned to herself. Being too stubborn to realize you don't stand a chance is how Fairy Tail usually won.
"I believe it is time we investigate the mountain." Erza's tone was harsh and brokered no compromise whatsoever. Goku looked towards the peak in silent approval, but Levy was in disagreement.
"Why would we head that way? You said you saw the village in this direction right? We need to keep going, it's our best chance of finding Gray!"
"Gray is not one to wait around for us to find him. He will undoubtedly be looking into the disturbance himself by now, and he is completely unaware of the danger that he is in. The mountain is the center most location of the island, as well as its biggest feature. The chances are good that somewhere on that mountain our opponent is working to complete his scheme, and it is equally likely that Gray would pick that mountain as his destination. So we shall go there, and we shall do our best to assist him if he has gotten himself into danger. Then we will retreat to the village to gather information." Levy saw the determination in the red head's eyes and just gave a soft nod.
"Alright then, let's go find him."
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"Alright guys, I'll give you one chance to leave. You either walk down the path now, or I'll knock you down it." Gray was surrounded, over fifty armed men and woman dressed in cloaks cut off any possible path of escape. They were equipped with a variety of weapons, ranging from pickaxes to swords and sledgehammers, and one man in the back was carrying a very large fish. The mob ignored Gray's comment and began moving in, ready to rip him limb from limb.
"Well, I warned you. ICE MAKE: GLACIER!" Gray's hand slammed into the ground, summoning a massive ice structure that burst out towards the attackers. Suddenly more than half of the force found themselves frozen up to their necks, leaving them completely helpless. The few that managed to jump clear in time quickly fled, now realizing just how horrendously outmatched they were. Gray carefully stepped his way over his captives and continued on, walking the last couple of meters to reach the peak.
That was when the giant rat tried to eat him.
Gray barely dodged to the side in time to avoid the jaws snapping closed on his throat. He moved his hands to blast the creature back but before he could fire he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. An icy shield popped into existence, and a man, whose face was oddly reminiscent of a dog's, slammed against it. Another shield flared into existence a second later to block the rat as it came around once more. As the rat was deflected once more Gray expanded the shields to cover his head, blocking an energy blast from above. A young woman attacked next, launching a glob of jelly towards the ice mage. The goo burst on impact, scattering all over the ice and the ground around it. The woman smiled brightly when she saw the acid begin to smoke on the ground, but it turned into a scowl when she saw that the concoction had frozen solid upon contact with the barrier. The three humans and the monstrous mammal circled the teen, launching random attacks from every angle that kept him trapped and on the defensive. Eventually Gray cocooned himself in entirely, creating a massive icy dome over himself.
Not giving him a chance to breath, the group started hacking at the barrier. A bead of sweat rolled down Gray's face from the effort of continuously holding off the assault and his breathing was becoming labored. As his opponents closed, Gray smirked.
Gray had challenged Goku for the eighth time, and more so than any time in the past he was confident in his ability to win. Whenever the two fought Goku would find a method for victory and then keep using it until Gray found a way around it, upon which he would immediately switch to a new move. This time though, Gray figured that he could take his friend down before he got the chance to change tactics.
Goku rushed head on like he always did, vanishing in a burst of speed the instant Gray tried to attack. A series of afterimages surrounded the shirtless boy, each sporting a different stance as though they were preparing to attack. Gray knew better though. He swung his body sideways just in time to dodge a punch to the back of the head and fired off a single attack in the same moment.
"ICE MAKE: COLD SNAP!" A single icicle crashed against the arm that Goku rose to block, and that was all Gray needed. Rather than shattering like his normal ice, it spread rapidly across Goku's entire body, covering everything except for his head in a two feet thick sheet of ice in no more than three seconds. The spiky haired teen blinked bewilderedly from where he was pinned and cracked his friend a wide smile.
"Alright Gray, I'm stuck. I guess you win that one!"
It had been the very first original move that Gray had ever created, formed out of an overpowering desire to improve and reach the level of his friends. Compared to that moment as a kid though, Gray had only improved upon what he had made.
"ICE MAKE: DEEP FREEZE!" The ice dome shattered in to dozens of icicle spears that shot off like rockets, detonating upon impact with anything they touched. All four of Gray's attackers were hit along with the rest of the rocky landscape, and in a single moment Gray had turned the tropical island mountain into a Himalayan peak. The Fairy Tail mage looked around satisfied at his work, experimentally poking at the statue of the startled woman, left perfectly in stasis within her prison.
"I have to say Gray, you've surprised me with how much you've improved. Of course, it is still nothing compared to what I am capable now." Gray's head whipped around to see a masked figure approaching, however as he closed the distance he revealed his face to the stunned teen.
"Lyon? What the hell are you doing here? Are you behind that weird curse that hit the village?"
"A curse on the village? I know nothing of that, I haven't even interacted with any of the villagers since arriving on this island. Kind of surprising actually now that I think about it. We haven't really been hiding our presence, and the light of the Moon Drip Ritual can be seen from anywhere on the island. Is that why you are here then, someone hired you to help the villagers?"
"Yeah that's right. Now what the hell's a Moon Drip Ritual? Can that be what is turning the villagers into demons?"
"Turning them into demons? Jeez, I might need to do some more research on this place when I'm done, imagine the damage someone could cause with a spell that randomly turned people into demons. No, I'm here for one demon in particular, one that you are quite intimately familiar with. I mean, how could you possibly forget the creature that destroyed both your village and killed our beloved master?"
"Deliora? What's going on Lyon, what are you doing on this island?"
"Well you see, the Moon Drip Ritual can reverse the effects of any magic, and this island is the best possible place to preform it. You know of my goal, it has always been my greatest desire to surpass Ur and become the greatest ice mage to ever live! But because of you, I lost that chance. Ur is dead, and I will never know whether I could surpass her or not. At least, that was what I thought. But then I realized there was still one way that I could surpass her. I would have to accomplish the one thing she couldn't! I need to defeat Deliora!"
"Defeat…? Are you insane? We tried that remember? All three of us went after that thing right after it killed every other mage in that city and we didn't even phase it! Now you're telling me that you want to undo Ur's victory, her sacrifice, just in some petty attempt at satisfying your own ego?! Deloria will level this island and everyone on it, we wouldn't stand a chance! Once it gets free, how long will it be loose this time? How much damage will it cause? Everything that it does will be on you! Every corpse, every broken family, every shattered city, they'll all be on your head! Like hell I'm going to let that happen! I'll stop you if I have to kill you myself!"
"That's a bold claim. Can you really back it up though? You know I'm stronger than you, I always have been. Now since leaving your presence I have grown in leaps and bounds, and I have at long last surpassed Ur!"
"Bullshit, neither of us are anywhere close to the level Ur was. We couldn't compare to her then and we still can't now. Maybe if you got your head out of your ass and put your ego down for a second you could figure that out yourself."
"It doesn't matter now Gray, tonight is the night! Three years ago I had Deliora moved inside of this mountain for the ritual, and tonight's full moon shall finally give me the last bit of power needed to undo Ur's ice shell."
"NO LYON! You can't undo that magic! That's not Ur's ice, its Ur herself! She turned her body into a prison to contain Deliora, if you release him then you'll kill her!"
"Ur's already dead! She's been dead for years and it's all your fault! She died because you didn't listen to her, and you made her sacrifice herself. Your just deluding yourself because you want to dodge the guilt of knowing you are responsible to what happened to our teacher! But don't worry, I'll put you out of your misery right now! THAW!" With a snap of his fingers Lyon sent out a wave of magic that spread out over the entire peak. The ice that covered everything vanished just as quickly as Gray had made it appear, revealing Lyon's formerly entrapped followers.
"It's been nice catching up Gray, but it's time to finish you off. I'd like you out of the way before the moon comes up, so that we won't have any distractions. Say hello to Ur for me!" Once more Lyon's lackeys charged forwards, only to be forced back as a beam of blue light suddenly carved a giant trench between them and their target. Gray looked off to the side with a smile, the Calvary had come. Goku walked out onto the peak, the two girls flanking him on either side.
"You know, five on one isn't a fair fight. So you'll have to excuse us for cutting in."
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Sturm and Drang: Hey! Another Omake. Neat.
Monstrous moon.
S&DS&DS&DS&DS&DS&DS&DS&DS&DS&DS&DS&DS&DS&DS&DS&DS&DS&DS&D
Goku launched himself at his opponent, throwing all his weight into a single punch. His foe easily sidestepped though, and a moment later Goku felt a sharp rap on the back of his head. The blow, combined with his momentum sent him tumbling head over heels.
He landed hard on his back, sending the air rushing out of his lungs. He gasped for breath as his foe stood over him.
"I think that is enough." the man stated, folding his arms behind his back and straightening up.
"But grandpa, I almost had you that time!"
"No you didn't." Gohan chuckled, reaching down to help the boy to his feet. "You're still twenty years too early to think about beating me. Now come, it's time to call it a night."
"I want to keep going!"
"But I don't. It will be getting dark by the time we get back and I'm hungry." The mention of hunger set Goku's stomach rumbling, causing him to scowl at the older man's grin.
"Fine." the pair set off, moving down the familiar mountain trails. Goku breathed in the mountain air as they walked. He loved it up here, the cool winds blowing through his hair, the birds singing and flying all around unseen, and the way the land stretched out below the mountain, as though he could leap off the various cliffs and land wherever he wanted. It was such a peaceful place.
Now, if he could just land a hit on grandpa, life would be perfect.
Gohan glanced up at the sky; the sun was beginning to set. They needed to pick up the pace.
"Goku, I bet I can beat you back to house."
"No way!" Goku broke into a run, with Gohan trailing behind with a smile.
The pair blitz downed the trails, leaping over the streams and running down the hills until they reached the shack. Goku put on a burst of speed and leapt, slamming the door open and sailing through.
"Ha! I win." he declared as Gohan walked in behind him, shutting the door gently.
"Well done." Gohan smiled, glancing through the window just in time to see the sun slip beneath the horizon. He smiled with relief and closed the blinds,
"Grandpa?"
"Yes, my boy?"
"Why do you want to be back at the house before dark? Didn't say you would train me to fight in the dark?"
Gohan chuckled, patting the boy on his head. "And I will Goku, but not tonight. It's a full moon tonight. Remember what I've told you."
"Oh yeah… the monster of the mountain."
"Yes." Grandpa started to hum to himself, reciting that little rhyme of his. "Beware, beware, the monster's out there. When the full moon sends out its heavenly light,"
"Close the door and shut out the night." Goku finished, sighing. "But grandpa, if it's so dangerous, why don't you beat it up. I've seen you beat every other monster that lives around here, they can't even touch you."
"This monster is not like the dinosaurs we hunt, Goku. It is best left alone. Now, I'm going to go collect some fish for dinner. You stay here, and do not leave the house, nor look outside. If the monster sees you, it will eat you."
"How come you get to go outside?" Goku whined, arms crossed.
"Because I'm strong enough to escape the monster." Gohan opened the door and left. "I'll be back in an hour." He shut the door, leaving Goku inside.
Goku sighed, flopping down on his sleeping mat. It wasn't fair, he was strong. He beat up one of the spiky dinosaurs all by himself just the other day. So why didn't Grandpa think he could handle this monster? He wouldn't even say what it looked like! Gou's tail started twitching as he frowned to himself. He wasn't sure this monster was even real. He'd explored every inch of the mountain and never found a single sign of any mysterious monster, and he'd stay up on full moon nights, listening. But he never heard anything unusual. No roars or screams that he didn't recognize. If there actually was a monster, it had to be really quiet.
Or it didn't actually exist.
Goku glanced at the door. Grandpa had only been gone for a few minutes, it would take him at least twenty to get to the stream, get the fish, and then haul them back here. Plenty of time for someone to go outside for a minute to go to the bathroom or something, and if that person just so happened to spot a monster… well they'd have to defend themselves wouldn't they?
And if he didn't see anything, grandpa would never have to know.
Goku grinned to himself. This was a great plan. He slowly eased the door open and peeked outside. No grandpa in sight and a monster hadn't ripped off his face either. So far, so good. He opened it further and slipped outside, pausing for a moment to enjoy the cool night air.
It was pretty cloudy out, so it was kind of hard to see very far. Goku focused, trying to see if he could hear anything out of the ordinary. Crickets chirping, the occasional nighttime birdsong, the hoot of an owl but nothing unusual. Just normal mountain sounds. Suddenly the clouds parted, flooding the area with moonlight. Goku grinned at the sudden bright light.
And looked up.
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Gohan hauled the third fish out of the stream, it was twice his size and struggled desperately in his grasp. The marital artist merely tightened his grip and raised his fist to dispatch it. Then he froze as a sudden roar shook the mountain. The fish wriggled out of his numb grip and splashed back into the water as the martial artist gazed in horror towards the source of the roar.
"Goku."
Gohan blitzed back towards the cabin, snarling at his own stupidity. Telling Goku he couldn't handle something was like inviting him to try. He knew this. He shook his head again. There was no point worrying about that now, he needed to deal stop Goku before he destroyed the mountain. Gohan steeled himself as the shack came into view.
The giant hairy monkey that towered against the skyline, shaking the Earth with each stop it took. Goku was beating his chest as he roared his fury to the heavens. Gohan sighed, and closed his eyes.
This was going to be difficult.
The roaring stopped. The Giant monkey had spotted him and fallen silent, regarding the old man with a quizzical look. For a moment Gohan hope soared, If Goku recognized him… then maybe…
But it wasn't to be. The monsters eyes began to burn with rage and it threw itself at him, its renewed roars splitting the night sky. Gohan leapt into the air and ran up the monster's arm. Goku was far too big for any normal methods. But it was not hopeless. Everything had a weak point. He dodged around the groping hand and reached the monkeys shoulder.
The martial artist launched himself at the monstrous face, channeled his ki into his fist, and slammed it into the beasts lower jaw. The punch created a shockwave the shook the trees for miles around, causing the beast's head to snap to the side. Gohan landed lightly on his feet and eyed the monster. Goku was swaying drunkenly.
It didn't matter how big you were, if your head jerked hard enough, the brain would rock within the skull.
The monkey shook its head a few more times and snapped its eyes back to him, looking angrier than ever. Gohan sighed, Goku had always possessed a hard head. He leapt aside as the monster lunged desperately trying to grab onto the nimbler martial artist, sending chunks of the mountainside flying into the air with every miss.
The few other hits Gohan had been able to get in had been shaken off, and Goku was being more wary, not letting the martial artist get anywhere near his head. It was just too much, Gohan couldn't let Goku rampage any longer.
There was only one option left.
When Goku lunged once more Gohan leapt aside, causing Goku to stumble. Gohan lunged and slammed into the monkey's leg causing tripping it to the ground. Goku fell heavily roaring with rage all the way. The martial artist stepped backwards and put his hands together, tightening his focus.
"Ka."
Goku roared once more, his rage soaring to even greater heights.
"Me."
The monkey forced itself to its feet, turning to squash the little fighter that was infuriating it so.
"Ha."
Light began to gather in the martial artists hands, the monkey stopped, mesmerized at the familiar light.
"Me."
Gohan paused, looking up at the transfixed monkey. This would kill Goku. He knew it would, but it had to be done. Goku was dangerous when he was like this, he could level entire cities with ease. But… he was just standing there looking for all the world like he did whenever he was shown a new fighting technique.
Goku, his son, was watching in wonder, as his grandfather prepared to kill him.
"…No."
Gohan closed his eyes. As the light began to fade from his hands, he couldn't finish it, he just couldn't. The monster stirred, the spell of the light broken.
The monster struck.
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Goku groaned, opening his eyes to the morning sun. He got to his feet and stretched, his body felt so tired for some reason, especially his jaw. He looked around.
"Woah! What happened here?" he was sitting naked in the bottom of a crater. He crawled up the side and pulled himself over the edge, groaning as he moved. He was surrounded by a swathe of destruction, broken trees, shattered rocks and pulverized animals were scattered everywhere.
"What the heck happened last night?" Goku asked, scratching his head. He remembered going outside, trying to spot the full moon monster…
The monster.
It must have attacked him; it was the only thing that made sense. But… where was grandpa? Goku looked around, he could see a trail of destruction cutting back across the mountains towards…
The house!
Goku was off like a bullet, jumping crater, broken trees, and ravines as he hurried back home. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the house was intact, despite the concentrated amount of destruction around it. But… where was grandpa?
Goku stumbled over a scrap of cloth. He picked it up for closer inspection and froze… the symbol. This was part of Grandpa's gi! It was ragged and torn, but he'd recognize it anywhere. Goku tried to push down an unsettling feeling as he searched for the rest.
Grandpa was fine. He had to be. He probably met the monster, but he would be able to handle it. If he couldn't, why would he be willing to go out on the full moon nights? Goku began to move faster desperately searching each of the craters.
He froze. At the bottom of one of them, he could see a pile red and scraps of cloth.
"GRANDPA!"
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Goku tied the scrap of clothing around the stick. He didn't really know what else to do. He couldn't bear to move what was left of his grandpa, so he just filled in the hole with dirt.
Goku pressed his head against the lonely stick marking the grave of the world's greatest martial artist.
"I swear Grandpa." Goku whispered, tears sprinkling the ground beneath him. "I'll keep training until I'm the strongest there ever was."
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DRAGON BALL Z EPIC ANNOUNCER MAN VOICE MAN: NEXT TIME ON ESCALATION! THE BATTLE OF GALUNA ARC BEGINS, AND THE MAGES SQUARE OFF. BUT AN UNEXPECTED INTERRUPTION OCCURS, AND THE DEMON BREAKS LOOSE! WILL OUR HEROES BE ABLE TO WITHSTAND THE FULL MIGHT OF ONE OF ZEREF'S MIGHTIEST DEMONS? CAN GRAY UPHOLD HIS TEACHER'S LEGACY? FIND OUT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER: DELIORA REBORN!
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The first episode of Dragon Ball Super aired on my birthday, and Beerus blew up another planet! Goku was a farmer! Hercule had a butt load of money! EXCITEMENT!