Chapter 9: Legacy of Ice
"L…"
"Lu…"
"Lucy!"
Lucy heard a voice calling out to her. She had trouble making out what it was trying to say, but she didn't care. Lucy didn't even know if she was alive. She slowly opened her good eye and everything was a blur.
After a few blinks Lucy could make out the blue blur in front of her. At first, she thought it might have been happy, but after she rubbed her eyes, she realized in was Aquarius hovering over her with a look of concern on her face.
"Aquarius?" Lucy looked around and saw she was on an island. She saw Natsu, Happy and Gray unconscious on the sand nearby. "W-where am I?"
"What the hell did you think you are doing?! You could have died!" Aquarius yelled.
Lucy flinched at Aquarius's words. It was the first time the mermaid spirit had ever raised her voice against her. In all the years she knew her as both her mother's spirit and her own she was always calm and kind.
Aquarius pulled Lucy into her warm embrace. Lucy instantly relaxed as she laid her head against the mermaid's soft breasts. Aquarius let the hug linger, knowing the girl needed it.
"I'm sorry, I'm not mad, I just don't want to lose you like I lost your mother." Aquarius said.
Lucy pulled away and had something she needed to ask her spirit. "Aquarius, how did you get here? I didn't summon you, the last thing I remember was blacking out as I was drowning."
"I let myself through my gate using my own magic power. You should be lucky we have a long history, not many spirits can do what I just did." Aquarius said as she swished her tail back and forth.
"Thank you so much Aquarius. For not only saving me but my friends too." Lucy said with another hug.
Aquarius gave Lucy a small smile. "We are family, I will always save you."
And with that she dissolved into golden light as she went back to the spirit world. Seconds later, Happy and Natsu woke up, shouting and screaming for what reason Lucy didn't know.
"Woah are we here? Galuna Island?!" Natsu shouted.
"Yes. We almost drowned but my spirit, Aquarius saved us and threw us ashore."
Happy started to drool at the mention of the mermaid's name. "You mean the fishy lady?!"
Lucy sighed, realizing that no matter how many times she told the blue cat, he would always call her a 'fish.' "Yes Happy, the fishy lady."
"Anyway, let's go! Let's go!" Natsu said, walking off into the distance, Lucy and Happy not far behind him.
"We should head for the village on the island. Presumably there is only one." Lucy said.
Gray groaned as he woke up. He rubbed his head, sand falling out of his hair like water. "Natsu! Lucy! Happy! Wait up!" He shouted to grab their attention.
Natsu and Lucy stopped walking and turned their heads to look back when they heard Gray's voice.
"What? Are you gonna try to stop us?!" Natsu yelled.
"No, I think I'll help out. I'm trapped here after all." Gray said with a sigh.
"Alright! Let's go!" Natsu happily yelled.
After walking through thick jungle for what Lucy felt like could be hours, they finally made their way to a large wooden gate with a fence that looked to surround what Lucy assumed must be a village.
Lucy saw the large, wooden 'keep out!' sign nailed into the gate and started walking back where she came.
"Where are you going, Luce? We just got here!" Natsu said.
Lucy pointed to the keep out sign. "It says to keep out and if we can't go in, we can't do our mission, so we have to leave."
"That's the stupidest reasoning I've ever heard." Gray said.
"Lushee is stupid!" Happy snickered, floating above the trio of wizards.
"Hey!" Lucy sent a glare the cat's way and he flew away crying crocodile tears.
"Lushee is mean!" Happy wailed as he flew into Natsu's arms.
"Yep, she sure is!" Natsu said with a smile.
"But what a creepy village though." Gray grumbled.
"How about we bust the door down?" Natsu said with a mischievous grin.
"I don't think that's the best idea, they might see us as a threat." Lucy said.
"Who's there?!" a guard shouted from atop the giant wooden gate.
"We are from the wizard guild Fairy Tail. We saw your request and came to help!" Lucy shouted loud enough for the guards to hear.
"'You 'came to help' yeah right!" Gray scoffed.
"Fairy Tail? Never heard of that guild." Another guard shouted back
"There must have been some delay in the reply getting to you." Gray shouted back.
The guard atop the gate rubbed the stubble on his chin in thought. He turned to his fellow guard to ask him a question. "Do you think we should let them in?"
The other guard replied. "Make them show us their guild marks."
"Show us your guild marks!" The guard shouted back.
All four Fairy Tail mages showed the guards the different colored guild marks on the various parts of their bodies. With the guard's suspicions at ease, they lifted the giant wooden gate for them to come in.
The Fairy Tail wizards made their way to the center of the village where they were told by one of the guards, they would meet the village headman. After waiting around for a few minutes, they were greeted by a number of cloaked people.
Natsu nudged Lucy's shoulder with his arm to get her attention. "Look Lucy! You'd fit right in!"
Lucy was not amused in the slightest. She didn't know why these people kept their bodies covered with cloaks, but for Lucy it was much more than a fashion statement. For her it meant not being judged, not being hurt. It gave her peace and security.
A short, cloaked man holding a staff that looked like a crescent moon walked in front of the other cloaked figures and tapped his staff a few times before he spoke.
"I bid you welcome, my young wizards. I am the village headman Moka and I thank you for taking on this quest. But, before you start, there is something you need to see." Moka said.
Every cloaked figure threw off their cloaks to reveal normal looking humans… except for one thing. Everyone standing in the group had a limb or some part of their body transformed into a grotesque claw or animal like appendage.
Lucy put her left arm up to her face in shock. "These people…They look like me! Could I have the same curse? I need to find out!" Lucy thought to herself.
"I should have known." Gray mumbled to himself.
Natsu's jaw hung open at shock by the sight of the village headman. "Your sideburns are so huge!"
"Err, no… What I wanted you to notice was… my arm…" Moka said.
"Oh…" Natsu said. Finally noticing the deformed, clawed arm on the old man.
"As you can see, we are afflicted by this curse. It's not just us humans either, all living creatures from dogs to birds have the same deformities on their bodies.
"I don't mean to sound rude, but on what basis do you call this a 'curse?' It could be some kind of disease or something." Gray said.
"We have been seen my many doctors. There is no disease like this in the world. Besides, the reason we appear like this has something to do with the moon's magic." Moka explained.
Lucy listened on to what Moka had to say about the curse. It only reinforced the idea in her mind that her body's altered appearance might be connected to the island's curse. "The moon's magic?" Lucy said.
"Yes. Originally this island was known for gathering the moonlight and shining as beautiful as the moon itself, but three years back the moon suddenly turned a shade of purple." Moka said.
"I've never seen the moon turn purple before!" Natsu said.
"Me neither." Lucy said.
"Whenever the moon comes out, we begin to transform into hideous forms…" Moka said.
"Look! The moon's coming out!" Happy yelled when he noticed the moon started to gain in the sky as afternoon was slowly becoming evening.
"It's a pretty sickening color!" Gray said as he grimaced at the odd color of the moon.
"It really is purple!" Natsu yelled.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, some people dropped to the ground screaming, rolling around as if they were on fire, while others scratched at their bodies, leaving deep scratch marks on their skin. It looked as if they were trying to end their own lives instead of transform.
The Fairy Tail mages watched on in shock and horror at the scene before them. No one knew what to do, or if they should do anything at all, so they just stood there watching the poor villagers writhe in pain as they took on demonic appearances.
The village headman, Moka, and several other villagers pulled themselves off from the ground and slowly stood up. Moka took his staff and panted for a short while to catch his breath before he spoke to the Fairy Tail mages.
"I am sorry for frightening you all, but as you just saw we take on these demonic forms when the moon comes out." Moka said.
A mother comforted her child as he started to cry over his hideous ape like form. Others too started to cry, wishing they could be free from the curse.
"Once morning comes, we return to our original forms. But some of us never return and lose their souls. It is our law that anybody that changes into demon form and loses their soul should be put to death." Moka said.
Natsu was enraged at what he heard; he couldn't believe a village would just kill off of their own just because of some curse. "Why'd you do that?! They might be able to change back!" Natsu yelled at the village headman.
Lucy put her left hand on Natsu's shoulder. "Natsu…" She said as she shook her head.
"If we let them, be they would kill us all! We have tried confinement but they just break out. Believe me boy when I say I wish we had another option." Moka said as he fished out a photo of his pockets in his pants.
With teary eyes and shaky hands, Moka held up a small photo of his son to the Fairy Tail mages. "I even had to murder my own son, who became a demon down to his very own soul…"
"No way! It can't be…" Lucy was about to say more when Gray shooshed her from speaking.
"Don't." Gray said.
Lucy tried to talk, But Gray wouldn't allow her. "But… Yesterday we… The boat…"
"Shh! I finally understand why he disappeared… He just couldn't rest in peace." Gray said.
Lucy stood there in shock, trying to process what she knew Gray was insinuating. "A ghost?!"
Moka bowed at the wizards as tears fell from his eyes. "Thank you… Wizards of renowned. I beg of you please save this island, before we all turn into demons… and loose our souls."
"We'll never let that happen!" Natsu yelled with determination.
Moka stood up and wiped the tears from his face. "There is only one way to stop the curse! And that is to destroy the moon!"
After the village headman had calmed down from pleading the Fairy Tail mages to help them, he showed them to the small hut they would be staying in until they could rid the island of the curse.
Natsu, Happy and Gray looked inside the small hut, checking everything out inside. When she knew them to be distracted, Lucy shut the door and motioned to Moka that she wanted to talk elsewhere.
"What is it, Mage?" Moka asked.
"Village headman, Moka, I ask of you that I can see a healer." Lucy said.
"Hmm. May I ask why?" Moka said.
Lucy was hesitant. She still didn't want others knowing about her appearance, but if she knew that if she didn't do this, she would still be in the dark about what she is. She had to take the chance.
"This!" Lucy said as she removed her right arm from her pink cloak. The arm that had diamond like scales running from her elbow to her hand. Her fingers looked like they were fused together, resembling claws more than fingers.
"You! You suffer from the curse of the moon as well?" Moka said.
"I really don't know, that is why I need to see a healer. It will bring me one step closer to figuring out what I am." Lucy said.
"Very well then. Come this way." Moka said.
Natsu was standing nearby, watching the conversation take place. "Oi Luce! watcha need a doctor for?"
Lucy's eyes darted to Natsu; she didn't expect him to be standing nearby hearing everything. Lucy brushed off Natsu's concerns and told him a lie. Well, she really didn't think it was a lie, she was getting a checkup but just for another reason.
"It is nothing to worry about, Natsu. Just a checkup." Lucy said.
"Then I'll go with ya!" Natsu said.
"No Natsu." Lucy replied.
"Luce! We're partners! Come one." Natsu protested.
"I know but…" Lucy gave Natsu a sad look. "…This is a private matter, and I need you to trust me, so can you please stay at our accommodation?" Lucy asked.
Natsu sighed but eventually gave in. "Okay, sure."
"Thank you Natsu." Lucy said as she gave him a brief hug.
Lucy found herself sitting inside a hut on a makeshift medical table made from bamboo and cloth. She heard a rustling sound and saw someone enter the small medical facility.
A middle-aged man greeted Lucy. His body type reminded her a lot of her father, except this man was slightly bald and was much more fit than what someone would presumably look like if they sat at a desk for 18 hours a day. And of course, the giant horn protruding from his forehead.
"Hello. My name Is Doctor Weiss. I hear from the village headman that your one of the mages sent to free us of the curse, is this true?" The doctor said.
Lucy shook her head. "Yes, it is true. Although I have come to see you for a different reason."
"Yes, I know. Apparently, you suffer from the curse of the moon too. I have never seen an outsider with our curse though." Doctor Weiss said.
Doctor Weiss walked over to a small sink, washed his hands and put a pair of latex gloves on. As that was happening Lucy looked out the window near her and thought for a second, she saw a head of pink hair hiding behind a bush.
"No, it's not Natsu. He said he would be waiting for me at our accommodation, my mind must be playing tricks on me." Lucy thought, just before returning her focus back to the healer who was making his way back over to her.
"Now if you would please show me where the curse has affected your body that would be greatly appreciated." Doctor Weiss said.
With hesitation Lucy pulled off her pink cloak and unfurled the one wing on her back. She braced herself for the taunting she knew she would receive, but released a deep breathe she didn't realize she was holding when the doctor said nothing.
Doctor Weiss poked and prodded the wing on her back and her scaled right arm.
"If you don't mind, I would like to get a sample of one of your scales for testing." Doctor Weiss said.
"Sure." Lucy said.
Doctor Weiss took out what Lucy thought to be some sort of makeshift scalpel, A broken blade tied to a piece of bamboo.
"Tell me if this hurts you." The doctor said.
Lucy nodded her head and watched as the doctor carefully scrapped off a few of the scales from her arm. To Lucy's surprise it hardly hurt a bit, in fact it felt kind of nice. She thought it was similar to the feeling of scraping dead skin off her feet.
"I've noticed that the curse seems to affect more of your body." He said, pointing towards the scales just above the cleavage of her right breast.
Lucy knew she might have to talk about that, but she wasn't sure if she was ready yet.
"Now I won't do anything that will make you uncomfortable, but I need to see the full extent of your curse so I can give you your diagnosis. If you want, I could get a nurse to accompany us if that would make you more comfortable." Doctor Weiss said.
"Um…yes, I would like that." Lucy said quietly.
Lucy heard the doctor yell a girl's name and heard footsteps approaching from outside.
"This is my daughter, Rebecca." Doctor Weiss said. Lucy looked around and saw a short young woman with long brown hair enter the room.
"Hello. I'm the nurse here. I will be happy to assist you today." Rebecca said with a short bow.
"Thank you. My name is Lucy." Lucy replied.
Lucy saw the doctor whisper something to his daughter and then saw both Doctor Weiss and Rebecca walk out of the room, which Lucy thought was to give her some privacy when she undressed. Although if she was being honest, she didn't exactly realize why because they would be seeing her in her birthday suit momentarily.
With great hesitation Lucy stripped off her clothes and sat back down on the makeshift cot, waiting for the doctor and nurse to return. As she sat on the cot, she was starting to have second thoughts about the examination and a wave of panic washed over her. "Why am I doing this? Why am I sitting here naked? This is ridiculous!" Lucy thought.
Lucy took in deep breaths and managed to calm herself. "No! I have to do this! If my body is like this because of the curse then…" Lucy glanced down at her right arm with a tinge of disgust. "…Then I might be cured when the curse is lifted. I can go back to way things were before."
Rebecca walked in now wearing white, latex gloves.
"My father doesn't want to look at a naked woman, he feels like he would be disrespecting his late wife, and my mother." Rebecca explained.
"I'm so sorry." Lucy said as she put her left hand to her mouth in slight shock.
Rebecca waved her off. "It's alright, he's just old fashioned like that. In fact, I am being trained by him to be the next village healer."
"Congratulations!" Lucy said with a smile.
"Thank you. Now please, if you would stand up straight." Rebecca said.
Lucy stood up straight just as Rebecca commanded. Rebecca started to inspect Lucy's body by poking and prodding at her scaled portion of her stomach. She trailed a finger down from her right breast to her thigh and proceeded to scrape off a few scales on her breast, stomach and thigh.
"The scales on your body are the same ones that are on your right wing and on your right arm as well. If this is the curse it's strange how it only affects one side of your body, since I presume, you're in your demonic from right now." Rebecca explained.
"What does that all mean? Am I not affected by the curse?" Lucy asked.
Rebecca shook her head. "I simply cannot know until a few tests are run. But, besides the curse, I am happy to announce that your completely healthy."
Lucy hung her head in disappointment. "So, they know nothing about my body. I was too naïve thinking they would know." Lucy thought.
"The examination done, so I'll give you some privacy to get dressed. Afterwards head to the second door on the right." Rebecca said.
"Sure." Lucy murmured.
Lucy made her way to the required room and saw Doctor Weiss throwing her scales into a large, black, cauldron. She saw him throw in a few potions he grabbed from a shelf above his head.
Lucy leaned over Doctor Weiss's shoulder and peered into the cauldron. "What are you doing?"
"Ahh!" Doctor Weiss yelled as he dropped a potion and its green contents spilled onto the floor.
"Are you okay?" Lucy asked.
Doctor Weiss span around on his chair and saw Lucy. "Thank goodness it's just you. You almost gave me a heart attack."
"I am sorry about that." Lucy apologized.
Doctor Weiss waved off her concerns. "Don't worry girl. I'm just an old man. Anyway, what was it you wanted to ask me?"
"I wanted to know what you were doing." Lucy said.
Doctor Weiss cleared his throat before speaking. "Well, I was just in the middle of getting your results back, if you are indeed suffering from the same curse as us."
Doctor Weiss ripped out a single strand of hair from her head and sat back on his chair.
"Hey! What was that for!" Lucy yelled.
"It's for the results, child." The doctor said.
Lucy watched as the doctor span around on his chair to face his cauldron. He threw in a few more of her scales, mixed in with some fish eyes and a single strand of her own hair.
Suddenly a chemical reaction took place and seconds later the room was filled with a green, hazy smoke.
"Just what is this?!" Lucy yelled as she covered her mouth with her cloak, trying not to breath in anything.
"Open the windows!" Doctor Weiss said as she pushed a few open.
"Do you mind explaining to me what that was?" Lucy asked as she opened a window. Mad that she might have inhaled some toxic poison.
"Ahh, don't worry. It's just a simple potion after affect. It's nonpoisonous so don't worry.
Doctor Weiss pulled out a small piece of paper out of the now empty cauldron.
"All that for just a bit of paper? Surely there is a more efficient way to get your information?" Lucy said.
Doctor Weiss smiled at Lucy. "There is, but this way is much more fun." He showed Lucy the paper which showed all her medical information, down from her blood type to the amount of brain cells she has.
"As you can see here." Doctor Weiss tapped the paper and magically a few images appeared on it. "On the left is your DNA, and on the right is Rebecca's. Now as you can see, your DNA does not contain the strange aberration that is in every person and animal that is suffering from the curse on the island. What it does contain is something entirely different, however. I'm not sure what it is but I know for a fact that it's what is affecting your appearance.
Lucy sighed in disappointment. She knew an outcome like this might happen but she just got so wrapped up in the possibility that her life could be normal again she didn't consider it.
"I see. Thank you for the treatment. I'm sorry but I do not have any money right now." Lucy said.
"It's fine. You can pay me by freeing us from this evil curse." Doctor Weiss said.
"Thank you, Doctor Weiss, Rebecca." Lucy said just before she walked out the door.
"That girl…she is suffering from something far more terrible than this curse." Doctor Weiss said.
"What do you mean, grandpa?" Rebecca asked.
Doctor Weiss rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration and worry. "Her heritage…It's something ancient and dangerous."
By the time Lucy made it back to the hut she and her fellow mages were staying at for the duration of their job, the sun had already fully set and an ominous looking purple moon was high in the sky.
When she opened the door to the hut, she was greeted by a shirtless Gray, a snoring Natsu, and Happy flipping his tail back and forth as he stared at the moon.
"The more I see of it, the creepier that moon looks." Happy said, gazing out a window.
"Happy! Hurry up and shut that window! Didn't you hear what the village headman said?" Lucy said.
"Said about what?" Happy asked.
"That if we're exposed to that moon too much, we will turn into demons, too!" Lucy said.
"Okay, I'm tired anyway." Happy said as he yawned.
"Yeah, I am getting sleepy too, let's go to bed." Lucy said as she rubbed her eyes.
Lucy laid down on the only free fabric matt that was in between a naked Gray to her left, and a snoring Natsu to her right. As she closed her eyes, she felt a thump on her chest and she opened them to see Happy snuggling into her chest.
The morning sun shined down on the Fairy Tail mages as they trekked through the thick tropical jungle on the island.
"I still don't know about this whole destroying the moon business. Aside from it being impossible, we'd never be able to have moon viewing parties again." Gray said.
"Oh right! And we'd never be able to eat the limited time Fairy Tail moon viewing steam anymore!" Natsu said.
"And I couldn't eat the special moon viewing fish Mira makes for me!" Happy whined.
"That would be sad but I can assure you all that it is possible to destroy the moon." Lucy said.
"What really?!" All three boys yelled.
"Of course. You just need something with enough speed and power to shatter it." Lucy explained.
"Yeah, but where are we gonna get any of that?" Natsu said.
Lucy shrugged her shoulders. "That's the tricky thing. I have no idea."
As they continued to trek through the jungle, the mages of Fairy Tail didn't notice a rather large and dangerous creature following their every move.
"I think I smell rats." Happy said from atop Lucy's head, where he napped.
"Why would there be rats in the middle of the jungle?" Gray said.
Lucy felt a presence behind her and stopped walking to see it. To her shock she found s giant rat the size of palm trees towering over them wearing a maid uniform. "A maid uniform? Why is a rat wearing a maid uniform?!" Lucy mused.
"Um, guys. You might want to stop walking." Lucy said.
"What is it?" Gray grumbled.
"A rat?!" Natsu yelled.
"It's huge!" Gray yelled.
"I had no idea rats could grow that huge." Lucy said as she wiped drool from her mouth.
The giant rat began to inhale something as Its cheeks became bigger and bigger, like a chipmunk storing nuts for the winter.
"You thinking of throwing something at us?!" Natsu said. Lighting his fists on fire.
"Let's take it down!" Gray said, getting ready to use his ice make magic.
But before any of them could launch a spell, the giant rat breathed out a breath attack of something truly disgusting.
They all collapsed to the ground, coughing and trying to regain some fresh air before the giant rat launched themselves at them at top speeds.
"Let's get outta here!" Gray yelled as the mages ran from the beast.
Gray stopped running for a few seconds to launch a spell. "Ice make: Floor!" In an instant ice covered the jungle ground and the giant rat chasing them slipped on the cold substance and fell on its back.
"Nice!" Natsu grinned when he saw the rat flailing on the ground, trying to regain its balance.
"Let's break this thing's head in while we can!" Gray yelled, as him and Natsu began attacking the beast.
Lucy took one look at the giant rat in front of her and instantly knew what to do.
"Open! Gate of the golden bull: Taurus!" Lucy said as she summoned her trusty, if not sometimes perverted cow spirit.
"Heeellllooo miss Lucy! You're sporting a rocking bod as every!" The cow spirit said.
Lucy glared daggers into Taurus and he straightened up.
"You know what to do!" Lucy said as she pointed to the giant rat.
Taurus ran to the beast and swung his axe in every different direction, killing the giant rat. Chunks of finely cut meat landed in a neat and tidy pile next to the cow spirit.
Gray and Natsu could only look on in horror as Lucy picked up as much meat as she could and hid it away in her cloak.
"Have you ever eaten rat before?" Lucy asked.
"You eat rats?!" Natsu yelled. Horrified by the thought of it.
"Your just as bad as Natsu, shoving food in your clothes!" Gray said.
"Hey! I don't do that, icicle breath!" Natsu yelled.
"Totally do flame brain!" Gray yelled back.
"Hey! You never know When your next meal will come, so you take what you can get." Lucy said with a glint of happiness in her eyes.
As Lucy picked up the last of the meat chunks, she noticed the ancient looking temple not too far from where they were standing. "Hey guys! I think we should go explore in there."
As they entered the ancient temple, Lucy noticed the moss growing over the broken stone, the vines spread across and in between the floor of the temple, and the occasional brick falling from the ceiling.
"Just what age was this built in?" Gray said.
"It's already falling apart." Natsu said.
As Natsu and Gray were looking at a few marks etched into the walls that looks like the moon, something else caught Lucy's eye. It was a partially destroyed wall that had hieroglyphics etched into it.
Lucy brought her left hand up to the etchings to touch what looked like to be a dragon.
"Natsu, come over here!" Lucy shouted.
"What is it, Luce?" Natsu said, sounding bored.
"This! Can't you see?" Lucy said.
"See what? All I see is an old wall." Natsu said.
Gray walked over and smacked Natsu on the back of his head. "She means the pictures in the wall you moron!"
"Hey!" Natsu said as he glared at Gray.
Natsu took a closer look and saw what looked like dragons fighting people. "Wow." Was all that left his mouth.
"Look over here, Natsu." Lucy pointed to a section of the wall that showed dragons fighting dragons.
"Why would be dragons be fighting each other, Natsu?" Happy said.
"I don't know but I don't like it." Natsu grumbled as he walked off.
Lucy was about join her friends who were exploring another part of the temple when a certain carving sent shivers down her spine. It was a horned man with a creepy smile that held the severed head of a blonde woman.
With that Lucy ran to her friends, not wanting to stay a second more. When she caught up with them, she saw Natsu stomping on the ground.
"Natsu, I don't think that is a good idea." Lucy said. But before Natsu even turned his head to acknowledge Lucy's presence, the floor caved in.
With a thump they all landed in a pile of limbs, tangled between one another.
"Get off me Flame brain!" Gray complained when he saw Natsu's butt in his face.
"You get off too!" Lucy shouted as she threw Natsu off herself.
Lucy got up and stood a short distance away. "I cannot believe it! Natsu's face was in my…my…breasts…" Lucy turned a scarlet red at the thought alone.
"It's okay, It's okay, Lucy. It was just an accident. No one could help it." Lucy thought.
Lucy calmed down as she looked around and realized she was no longer at the temple. "Say, where are we anyway?" Lucy said.
"It looks like we're in the basement of the ruins we were searching." Gray said, as he arched is head straight up to look at the hole in the floor where light was seeping though.
"Oh, I see." Lucy hummed.
Natsu's face split into a grin. "Secret, hidden caves! Let's check it out!"
Natsu ran running off further into the cave only to stop right in his tracks when his eyes met something demonic.
"What's up?" Gray asked.
"Just what is that?" Natsu said.
"What is it, Natsu?" Lucy asked.
"What?!" Happy screeched.
Their eyes met what could only be described as a demon frozen in ice. It was countless stories tall, with a grotesque body with arms and legs too long to support its body.
Gray was in shock. He saw what he thought to be long dead. The demon of his past that destroyed the boy that he was, and rebirthed him as the man he is today.
"Deliora?! That's impossible! Why would he be here?!" Gray yelled. Beads of sweat falling from his forehead.
"Deli-what? You're saying you know this thing?" Natsu said.
"There's no way it could be in a place like this! H-how could it?!" Gray said hysterically, his voice becoming louder and more frantic the longer he stared at the creature in ice.
Lucy walked up to Gray and placed her left hand on his shoulder for comfort. Lucy wasn't sure what to do. When she got worked up like Gray, she didn't know how to calm herself down let alone someone else.
"Gray, are you okay? Just what is that creature?" Lucy asked.
"It's the demon of disaster!" Gray said with a grimace.
"The demon of what?" Natsu said.
As Gray was rambling on about Deliora, Lucy heard what she thought to be footsteps in the distance coming closer, and people talking. The voices were too far away for her to make anything out.
"Gray! Natsu! Someone is coming here. We need to hide." Lucy said.
"Hide? For what?" Natsu complained.
"Never mind what, just do it!" Happy said as he pushed Natsu behind a few large rocks.
Lucy did the same and pulled Gray behind the same rocks.
Lucy peered just slightly over the rocks in front of her, just enough that she could see but not be seen by others. She heard footsteps come closer and two men came into view. Well, one man and what Lucy thought was something just as hideous as the monster incased in ice.
One of the men had bright blue hair and thick, bushy eyebrows. The other man was wearing baggy shorts, looked like he had dog ears sprouting from the top of his head, and was wearing a dog collar?
"Why would he be wearing a dog collar?" Lucy thought.
"This is where the voices came from." The man with the bushy eyebrows said.
"Uh huh." The man with the dog like ears grunted as he scratched his chest.
Lucy watched as the two strange men walked around for a few minutes, inspecting the cave for possible intruders.
"Hey, have you been bathed in moon drip? Those ears of yours…" The man with bushy eyebrows said.
"It's fashion!" The dog-man yelled at his companion.
"Moon drip? Could that be related to the curse?" Lucy mused.
"Uh huh. Whatever you say." Said the man with blue hair.
"I was just pulling your leg, you idiot." The bushy eyebrowed man said with a sigh.
"Uh huh." The dog-man grunted in response.
A woman with bright pink hair tied into two pigtails was running rather daintily towards the two men in the cave. "Toby! Yuka! Something terrible has happened!"
"Oh, Sherry?" The man with bushy eyebrows now known as Yuka said.
"Hi." The man with dog ears now known as Toby replied.
"Who's that woman?" Natsu said.
"Shh!" Happy shushed his friend.
"Some devil went and killed Angelica!" The woman with pink hair now known as Sherry cried.
"Oh, the rat?" Yuka said.
"Angelica is not a rat…she is a beautiful huntress. But someone cut her up into a million pieces. I found a…a chunk of her with a part of her shredded maid uniform on it." Sherry cried.
"Don't worry, Sherry. We'll get revenge for your rat." Yuka said.
Happy, Natsu and Gray turned their heads to glare at Lucy.
"What did I do?" Lucy murmured, completely oblivious to the situation.
"These people smell different. They're not from the island." Natsu explained.
"Aye! And they don't look cursed too," Happy replied.
Yuka had his hands behind his back, thinking. "So, we have intruders?"
"And it's almost time for the moonlight to be gathered. Why did such a sad thing have to happen now?!" Sherry wailed.
"We should beat em up!" Toby yelled.
"Yes, we should drive them out before Reitei-Sama heard about this." Sherry said.
"Uh huh." Toby grunted.
"They have seen Deliora so they cannot be allowed to live." Yuka said.
"Yes! We shall treat them to eternal love in an endless sleep!" Sherry declared.
"These people are insane! They plan to kill us!" Happy whisper shouted.
After a few more minutes of waiting, the three people left the cave, and Lucy and co moved out from behind the rocks.
"What's with you? We could have caught them and gotten information!" Natsu yelled.
Lucy sighed. "Natsu, we need to wait a little bit longer and check out the situation."
"Who were those people?" Happy said.
"It looks like we got caught up in something complicated.' Natsu grumbled, for anything complicated is what Natsu hated the most.
"Another question is how did they find the place where Deliora was sealed up." Gray said as he clenched his fists in frustration.
"Sealed up?" Natsu said.
'He was sealed up in a glacier on the northern continent." Gray replied.
"Why would the monster be sealed?" Lucy mused.
"Ten years ago…the deathless demon appeared somewhere near Isvan, and my master who taught me magic, Ur, placed her life on the line to seal it up!" Gray said.
Lucy's eyes went wide with shock when she heard the name 'Ur' pass though her ears.
Icy cold mist started to form around both of Gray's hands as he clenched them tighter and tighter in frustration. "I don't know what this has to do with the curse on this island, but somebody is planning something that is forbidden! I won't let this Reitei-sama disgrace the name of Ur!"
"No, it can't be! Gray couldn't possible be one of the people who destroyed 'her' life!" Lucy thought. Lucy tried to reign in her emotions, she didn't want to let them get the better of her, but hearing 'that name' infuriated Lucy.
Lucy gritted her teeth and clenched her fists in anger as she remembered the horror story 'she' told her that day in the blinding white room.
"…and then she took in two pupils…"
"…I was never good enough for her love…"
"…does anyone even love us?"
"Do you mean…Ur…as in the… ice make mage, Ur?" Lucy asked, voice trembling with anger.
Gray was utterly shocked. "You know Ur? How?!"
Lucy could feel the blood dripping down her clenched fists from where her nails pierced her flesh.
"Ur was the woman who abandoned and betrayed my…"
"My sister!"
Hello all! I hope you like this chapter! This was a cliffhanger what i wanted to use since the start of the story. As always, thank you to everyone who reads, reviews and faves the story! Your continued support means so much to me and gives me motivation to continue on! Until next time, See ya!