A/n: I didn't change a whole lot to this chapter from the previous version, since I liked it a lot. It was mostly some dialogue changed, and some extra scenes thrown into the mix. I've got quite a few chapters backed up that I wanna get uploaded.
Chapter Eight: The Cursed Island
A lot had happened since the Fairy Tail members time in Fairy Tail. They had come across a town on their way home and had been forced to eat monster meat, much to their dismay. Natsu had tried to fight Erza but their fight was cut short when she was arrested, though it was just a hoax. And finally Noelle had gotten to meet two other members of the guild; Mystogan, and Laxus.
Well, she had only gotten a glimpse of Mystogan before his sleep spell knocked her out, but he smelled very familiar to her, and she could have sworn she heard his voice before. Laxus on the other hand...Laxus made Noelle's skin crawl. Such an arrogant, cocky bastard that one is. He's not the type of person she ever expected to be a part of Fairy Tail. All in all it's been pretty calm, for the most part.
But how long with it stay that way?
Do you ever wake up feeling as if something is going to go wrong? As if something bad is going to happen, and you can't really explain it. That's how Noelle woke up feeling this very morning. Even with the bad lingering in the back of her mind, Noelle chose to ignore it and focus on the day ahead of her.
She had just finished getting dressed. She was dressed in a dark blue, sleeveless turtleneck dress that hugged her body. She wore a pair of black tights, and over her dress she wore a white vest, with tanned fur. On her feet she wore ankle-high brown boots, with white fur. She had combed out her hair and stuffed it under a light blue beret, with a white, snowflake pattern.
She tapped Marlow against the head and as expected her snapped at her. Noelle rolled her eyes and picked him up by scruff of his fur. He hissed and tried to claw at her, but Noelle held him at a distance and walked him over to their dresser.
Marlow glared at Noelle as he sat on the dresser with his arms stubbornly folded across his chest.
"Oh come on, stop acting like such a drama queen."
Again he hissed at her.
Noelle sighed and picked through Marlow's clothes. She decided on a dark blue jacket with brown fur, paired with a black shirt and dark grey shorts.
Marlow looked at the outfit and turned his nose up.
"If you attack me - you're dead." Noelle glared. "Arms up."
Marlow glared at Noelle for a moment before putting his arms up, the glare still on his face. Noelle still considered it a victory and she pulled the shirt over his head and smoothed it down.
"And now the jacket." She smiled.
Marlow growled lowly, but even so, he let her slip the jacket on.
"And finally, pants."
At this point Marlow snatched the clothing from her and tugged them on.
"You look so cute~" She giggled.
Marlow hissed at her and jumped off the desk. Noelle grinned though, seeing it as a win in her book.
Noelle peaked over at Lucy who was still asleep and smiled. She figured she'd let her sleep instead of waking her up. Noelle scooped up Marlow and stepped outside of her and Lucy's apartment. She hadn't gotten very far, when she was suddenly grabbed from behind, with a hand clamping down over her mouth.
She would have screamed, she would have fought back, if it weren't for the overwhelming smell of ash burning her nose. When she showed no sign of resistance the hand was removed from her mouth and Noelle spat out a hiss towards her assaulter.
"Natsu! What the hell are you doing!?"
"I came to get you! We're going on a job," Natsu grinned and released his hold on Noelle. "You, me, Lucy, Happy, and Marlow!" Natsu grinned, holding up a piece of paper.
Noelle's eyes were immediately drawn to the S-Class stamp on the bottom of the page. "That's an S-Class quest, Natsu. We aren't allowed to go on those, you know better," Noelle rolled her eyes and walked away but Natsu ran after her.
"Come on! We can totally handle an S-Class mission, look at what we did to that giant tree!"
"That wasn't an S-Class mission, Natsu. In fact, that wasn't even an official mission," Noelle sped her walking up. "I don't care what you do but you're not dragging me into it."
"Oh come on! The mission involves going to an island," he grinned, hoping that would persuade her. It didn't. "What are you afraid of?" he frowned.
'A lot of things.'
Noelle sighed.
"If we were to take that mission we risk getting kicked out of the guild, and that's not something I want to happen." Noelle thought about Lucy, and how long she'd been waiting to become a part of this guild. She wasn't willing to risk getting thrown out for Natsu's selfish desires.
"Yeah but if we complete it Gramps will have no choice but to promote us to S-Class! Come on Noelle, live a little!" The Dragon Slayer pouted.
"I don't have any interest in becoming an S-Class wizard." Noelle frowned, and looked away from Natsu.
Noelle's eye twitched. There was no way she was falling for that...even if he did look adorable.
"Stop looking at me like that. I'm not going." he stuck his lip out more. "Knock it off Natsu." his eyes got bigger. "I mean it..." Marlow and Happy joined in.
'I can't believe what I'm about to say.'
"FINE! OKAY! Are you happy!? Stop making those faces, you look dumb," Noelle huffed, her cheeks very pink. "I can't believe I fell for the puppy-dog eyes. What's happened to me?"
Marlow chuckled and snuggled down in her hood. "You've gotten soft."
"Shut it."
"SWEET! S-CLASS HERE I COME!" Natsu cheered loudly.
"But," Noelle held up a finger. "You have to convince Lucy." She smirked and poked Natsu in the chest. "Good luck!"
Noelle couldn't actually believe that Lucy had agreed to come. They must have bribed her with money; it was her weakness. Noelle hunger her head low as Natsu guided her and Lucy throughout the port, looking for someone, anyone, willing to take them to Galuna Island; everyone denied. They all seemed to be terrified of the island, for some reason.
"Galuna Island? I ain't going anywhere near there!"
"What? Haven't you heard? That islands cursed!"
"Go to hell ya brats! Ain't no way in hell I'm going near that island! You can swim for all I care!"
Noelle didn't mind swimming, she sure as hell wasn't about get in a boat, everyone knows they are the devil of transportation. It really didn't matter because no one seemed to be willing to take them to Galuna Island, or the "Cursed Island", as everyone else had been calling. A cursed island? Get real. Curses aren't real, it's probably some fisherman tale that got out of hand.
"Hey Mister!" Natsu yelled to a man in a boat, he was wearing a large white coat and a black hat. He gave Natsu a curious glance. "Can you take us to Galuna Island?" Natsu asked hopefully.
"Feel free to say no." Noelle deadpanned.
"Galuna Island?" The mans asks, "Don't know why you'd want to go there, that islands cursed. Not even pirates will go near that place."
Noelle groaned. "There's no such thing as curses! Look, will you take us or not?" she was becoming agitated. She really didn't want to be here, but the more she thought about Natsu and Lucy running off on their own, the more she felt she needed to be here. Natsu isn't exactly...responsibly and Lucy, well, she's not the bravest of wizards, is she? And they're both a bit, well more than a bit, danger prone.
"Looks like we are going to swimming after all!" Natsu said happily, obviously not wanting to get on the boat. Noelle couldn't blame him - she wanted nowhere near that thing either.
"We are not swimming Natsu!" Lucy said.
"I found yooooouuu."
Natsu, Lucy, Noelle, and Happy and Marlow all jumped at the sound of Gray's voice. Noelle was so startled that she teetered backwards and nearly fell into the water, but muscular arms circled around her waist had stopped her from falling. She blushed seeing it had been Gray to save her from the fall.
He did that a lot, didn't he?
"Um, thanks," Noelle wiggled out of his grip and backed away some.
"What are you doing here?!" Natsu demanded, not at all pleased with Gray's sudden appearance.
Gray smirked. "Gramps found out about your hair brained scheme and sent me to bring you back."
"But why?! We're not in danger yet!"
"Yet." Noelle groaned. She just knew this was going to be a disaster.
"If you come back now you might avoid being kicked out of the guild, maybe." Gray said with he same smirk plastered on his face.
"Kicked out!?"
"Calm down Lucy. You aren't going to be kicked out." Noelle said, though she had her doubts. What they were about to do was a serious risk and there would no doubt be a punishment befitting of it.
"I don't care! I'm going on this S-Class quest!" Natsu declared angrily. There was really was no changing his mind.
"Man you're way out your league here! Just come home. When Erza finds out about this she's going to be so angry." Gray said with white eyes and mortified face.
Noelle shivered at the thought of Erza's rage being directed at her. Meanwhile, Marlow was giggling deviously, thinking of all the ways that Erza could maim and torment them.
"Please Gray you gotta save us! We told them it was a bad idea but they forced us to come along!" Happy "cried"
Marlow sniffled and hugged his leg. "Y-yeah! We had no idea it was an S-Class mission, I would have never come if I had known. This is all Noelle's fault!"
"You dirty lying fleabag!"
Natsu smirked. "Whether you like it or not I'm doing this! How else am I going to prove my power to Erza!?"
"Master ordered me to bring you home! I'll drag you back to Fairy Tail if I have to!" Gray yelled as iced formed in his hands, "Don't make me hurt you buddy."
Noelle sighed. "Here we go..."
"I'd like to see you try!" Natsu yelled with fire swirling his hand.
"Excuse me," The man with the boat said, "But are you wizards?" He asked in amazement. "Have you come to lift the curse on the island?"
"Again, there's no such thing as a curse." Noelle sighed.
"You bet we are!" Natsu grinned.
Lucy was more bashful. "Well, yeah..."
"Not gonna happen!" Gray growled
The man stared at them in shock for a moment before pointing to his boat. "Get in."
"What?" Lucy gasped.
"S-Seriously?!" Noelle looked fearfully at the boat. "I think I'd rather not!"
"No way!" Gray yelled. He was very adamant about taking them back to the guild.
Natsu suddenly grinned evilly and delivered a flying kick to Gray's face, knocking him out cold.
"Was that really necessary?" Noelle sweatdropped.
"Are you sure we should bring him with us?" Lucy asked with doubt in her voice.
"Why not? If we don't he'll just run back to the Master and snitch on us."
"Yeah and then the next person they'll send is Erza!" Happy cried.
They all shivered fearfully.
If there was one thing Noelle detested the most in this world it was boats. She hated boats with a passion. She hated the way they were constantly rocking back and forth, trying to scramble her insides around, and she hated how slow they move.
It had been a while since they left Hargeon and nigh that fallen on them, twisting the sky with shades of black and grey, creating a rather ominous feeling around them.
"Okay now I'm starting to get scared." Lucy whispered in fright. The blondes eye's darted from the thick fog to the dark waters below them. Lucy pouted and subconsciously scooted closer to Natsu, who was lurched over the side of the boat ready puke his guts up.
"Well look on the bright side," Gray said getting their attention. He was currently restrained with a thick rope and wasn't very happy about it, "At least you're not tied up! This is your fault too buddy," He glared at the man. "Why'd you decide to let us on?"
"The name is Bobo and if you must know I used to be a citizen of Galuna Island." Bobo said as he turned to face them. "I had to flee though.. I just couldn't take it it anymore."
"Couldn't take what?" Marlow asked. The little cat was sitting by Noelle, patting her back as she hung of the side of the boat. Her face was a pale green color, masked by her hair framing her face. The ice wizard moan pitifully and ran a hand trough her snowy white hair, trying her best to choke back the vomit that threatened to spill out of her mouth.
Noelle was thankful Marlow was trying to help her instead of teasing her. How long would that last? Not even she knew the answer to that. But she knew to appreciate it while it lasted.
Bobo sighs and clears his throat, most likely to refocus their attention,"I should warn you, tragedy befalls anyone who steps on the island. There's no avoiding it. That is, unless you're able to lift the curse." The group - aside from Noelle and Natsu- gasped as Bobo tossed his cloak aside. The mans arm has been turned into that of a demons! "This vile demons curse.."
"Whoa! Your arm! What happened to it?" Gray asked.
"Is that the curse?" Lucy asked, sadness in her voice.
Bobo answered neither of their questions. "We're almost there. That's Galuna Island." Bobo pointed them to an island in the distance hidden in a cloud of fog. Though, there was a light that shone from the top of it.
"That's weird. Why is the mountain top glowing like that?" Lucy asked.
Their question had went unanswered as the man was no longer on the boat. Noelle widened her eyes and slowly forced herself into a sitting position.
"Where the hell did he go?" She asked, voicing the question on everyone's mind.
"Did he fall off?" Marlow asked looking over the side of the boat. "I can't imagine he would taste very good to the sharks."
Noelle sweatdropped. "Marlow what the hell is wrong with you?"
"It's like he disappeared into thin air!" Happy yelled.
Suddenly the boat started to violently rock back and forth and Noelle picked up a sound that made her heart drop to the bottom of her stomach.
"This cannot be happening!"
"What's that sound?" Lucy asked, unaware of the trouble they were about to be in.
"Uhh Lucy!"
Hearing the terror in Gray's voice Noelle turned and sweatdropped as a giant wave shadowed over them.
"You gotta be kidding me.." She sighed and braced herself for what was to come 'Note to self: Never go on a job with any of these people again.'
"Now hold on! Everyone don't panic!" Gray yelled.
Noelle sucked in a breath as the wave crashed down on them and sent them flying off the boat. "Just great!" Noelle yelled as she resurfaced. When she looked around she spotted Lucy, Happy, Marlow, and Natsu all holding onto the boat. "At least they're safe," she sighed thankfully. It wasn't until she noticed a certain Ice mage missing did she begin to panic. "Where's Gray!?" she yelled to the others. Marlow, having been the only one to hear here pointed to the water, causing a panic strained looked to fall over her face. "Shit!" she hissed and dove underwater. She immediately began to search for Gray for what felt like an eternity when she finally found him. Gray's eyes were sealed shut and his lips were zipped tight; he was struggling to free himself.
Noelle kicked her feet and swam as fast as she could. When she finally reached him she gently squeezed his shoulder so he wouldn't panic. Gray's eyes snapped open and a look of relief washed over his face. Noelle swam around his back and tugged on the ropes, but they didn't budge. She scowled at Natsu's impeccable knot tying abilities. Noelle's chest was beginning to hurt, but it was nothing compared to what Gray was most likely feeling. Noelle focused her magic into her hand and thought, "Ice Dragon: Frozen Claw!" her hand took the shape of an icy claw and Noelle quickly slashed the ropes away and grabbed Gray from under his arms, quickly swimming to the surface.
Once they breached the surface Noelle let out her breath and coughed violently. "My lungs are on fire." she hissed.
Gray too absorbed the air and coughed up water. "Thank you...Noelle..." he choked out, "I owe you." he leaned his head back against her chest and met her eyes.
Heat rose in Noelle's cheek making her look away quickly. "You don't owe me for saving your life, idiot," she frowned. "You're my friend, as if I'd let you die," Noelle scoffed, feeling a bit insulted. "Besides - you would have done the same for me, right? That's the kind of things friends do." she laughed a bit.
"I guess.." he answered. "Now what?"
Noelle didn't have the answer. Honestly, she hoped the worst was behind them, but that hope was quickly abandoned as another wave washed over them. The only thing Noelle could do was hold onto Gray and hold her breath.
This just proved her points that boats are the Devil's transportation.
Noelle wasn't sure how long it had been, but after the second wave had hit them, they had all blacked out and somehow awoken on a beach, soaked from their head to their toes. Noelle groaned and rubbed her head, hissing at the dull pain that thumped against her skull. Slowly, she sat up and choked up some water.
"Where...are we?" she whispered, looking around. "Marlow?" She mumbled, spotting an orange blur in the distance, lying face down in the sand. "Marlow!" Noelle yelled running to the cat, and fiercely shaking him, "Hey! Are you okay!? Answer me damn it!"
"Noelle I'm not a maraca, so can you please stop shaking me!" Marlow hissed out.
Noelle sighed and crushed him against her chest. "You had me so worried, idiot."
"You're finally awake. How are you feeling?"
Noelle squinted her eyes at the figure, "Gray," she sighed. "Where are the others?" she tried to stand but ended up falling back down from dizziness. "My head won't stop throbbing." she groaned, rubbing her head.
"They're waiting for us," Gray grabbed Noelle's hand and helped her to her feet, "Better not keep them waiting," he smiled and pulled her along.
Noelle hid her blush behind her hair.
Why did he always make her blush?
With everyone back together the group decided to over their next course of action. Noelle held Marlow in her arms and was trying her best to pay attention but the throbbing in her head was making it difficult. She sighed, "I regret ever agreeing to this." Noelle glared at Natsu.
"If you hadn't come I probably would be here," Gray kicked at the sand. "So, for what it's worth," he smiled at her. "I'm glad you did." he said with honesty.
Noelle felt butterflies in her stomach. "Y-you're welcome.." she squeaked and spun away from him.
"Looks like we made it you guys!" Natsu yelled bolting to a standing position. He was way too excited considering they just had a near death experience.
"We almost died you freaking moron!" Noelle yelled at him.
"We're lucky that wave washed us ashore." Lucy said ringing out her hair. "Or else we would be goners."
"I wouldn't call that lucky." Gray sweatdropped.
"I can't help but wonder what happened to the guy who brought us here," Lucy said ignoring Gray, "Right after he told us about the curse he vanished."
"Probably setting us up for murder." Noelle frowned.
"Maybe he was a ghost!" Marlow yelled excitedly.
"A ghost?!" Happy yelled in panic.
Noelle slapped her face, "There are no such thing as ghost, or curses."
Natsu quickly intervened, a smile plastered on his face. "Forget about that stuff for now! It's time go exploring."
"Aye!" Happy chimed in.
Lucy sighed at them. "We haven't even been here that long and you've already gone and forgotten about the mission."
"Apparently there only one village on this entire island," Lucy said as she read over the job request. "The village Chief is the one who originally put in the quest. So I guess we need to try and find him."
"Not so fast." Gray said, causing them to all look at him.
"Give it up Gray. You can't take us back to the guild now that our boats been destroyed." Natsu said in all seriousness.
"You're right. I'm coming with you." Gray smirked. "There's no way I'm going to let the two of you clowns make S-Class before I do, and if you were kicked out the guild would be pretty boring. Gramps will be upset, but if we pull this off he's won't be mad at us for long."
Natsu and Lucy grinned and then set their eyes on Noelle.
"Well Noelle? Are you in? It's a pretty far swim back to the guild." Natsu snickered already knowing her answer.
"Idiot!" Noelle flicked him in the head, "You really think I'd just leave after all that? Use your head fire gut!"
"Ow! You wanna go frosty freeze!?"
"I'm not scared of you, ya fire breathing idiot!"
"Enough," Lucy pushed the Slayers away from one another, "The mission, remember?"
Natsu grinned and pumped a fist in the air, "Let's go!"
"Yeah!"
Noelle stared off at the island with a bad feeling brewing in the pit of her stomach. Something wasn't right, the smell of the air made her nervous, it was there, so familiar, but she couldn't place her finger on it. Even though Noelle was smiling she couldn't help but feel worried, something was very off, that much she was sure of.
Ever since they've taken this job they've been hit with back luck. She couldn't even imagine what was to come next.
One thing was for sure...
It wasn't good.
