5: time and space.
"Take off your jacket and your shirt," Lucy told Natsu the minute they arrived at the docs.
Just a few feet away from them and floating in the ocean was Galuna Island, their destination. The plan was simple: figure out what's causing time to stop and get Sagittarius' key. Currently, they were waiting for the boat to arrive so it could take them to the island.
Natsu complied with no hesitation. Lucy grabbed his arm and slapped on a sea sickness patch. Natsu flinched. "What did you just put on me!?"
"Relax. It's for your motion sickness. The last thing I need is for you to throw up into the ocean," Lucy answered.
Natsu stared at the patch on his arm as Lucy sat down on a nearby bench. "So this small thing won't make me motion sick?" Natsu asked, sitting with her.
"Yeah," Lucy answered.
"Whoa. Technology." Natsu was clearly fascinated by the sea sickness patch.
Lucy nudged his arm. "Put your shirt back on. People are staring." Like she said, there were people staring as they walked past them.
"I'm tired of wearing a suit though. Issa struggle," Natsu said.
Lucy took out her phone and looked at the time. "Well...I guess we have time to buy you another outfit."
"We'll buy you one first," Natsu said, tying his tie over his head.
"Why?" Lucy asked.
"You're going to an island wearing those shoes with the long sticks on them that make you taller," Natsu answered.
"What do you mean by the shoes with the..." Lucy caught onto what he meant. "High heels? I like high heels, though. They're pretty and they make me feel powerful."
Natsu looked down at her high heels. "They don't look comfortable though."
"Beauty is pain," Lucy simply answered.
Natsu got off the bench and crouched down in front of Lucy. One hand grabbed her leg and the other hand slid the high heel off. He did the same on the other foot. Once the high heels were off her feet, Natsu chucked them over the fence and into the ocean.
Lucy stood up. "Natsu! Bruh! What the fuck!?"
Natsu stood up and smirked. "Now you have to buy something comfortable!"
"Go trip over air or something," Lucy grumbled, grabbing her black purse and stomping away from Natsu. He ran after her to catch up. "Where're you going? Can I come?"
By the time the boat arrived, Natsu and Lucy, dressed in casual clothes, were running as they tried to make it on the boat in time.
"Safe!" Lucy cried once they made it to the boat.
Natsu looked over the railing so see the ocean. "This is the closest I've been to the ocean..."
"Wait, so you're some centuries old demon or something but you've never seen the ocean?" Lucy asked.
"I use fire. Water and fire don't like each other. I'm not taking any chances," Natsu answered. The minute the boat started moving, he gripped onto the railing and panic formed on his face.
Lucy laughed. "You good?"
Natsu noticed that Lucy was laughing at him. As a result, he quickly removed the look of panic on his face and stood straight. Through his eyes, though, you could still see that he was freaking out on the inside. As a way to completely calm him down, Lucy moved closer to him so their arms were touching.
"Galuna Island is part of an archipelago. There are other islands near it, forming some sort of chain, and Tenrou Island is part of that chain. Tenrou Island is a tourist attraction since the legend of Mavis Vermillion says she lives there. They say that if you put flowers where her grave is, she will give you good fortune," Lucy explained. Then, she quickly remembered that Natsu believes that Mavis is still alive.
"We should go to that island so I can show you that Mavis is still alive!" Natsu said.
Lucy sighed. "Fine." She decided she might as well take him to the island and prove him wrong.
Natsu grinned. "Sweet!"
Lucy made a mental note to buy things that deal with motion sickness after seeing how Natsu's coping.
The first island the boat arrived at was Tenrou Island. Almost everyone that was on the boat got off when the boat stopped.
"Damn, forgot how hot this island gets, even during the winter time," Lucy commented as she and Natsu walked down the steps of the boat.
Natsu noticed the couples taking pictures and pointed at them "How do we do that?"
"You use a phone. Oh yeah. Remind me to buy you a phone. It's hard to survive in this time period without owning a phone," Lucy answered.
It was obvious that Tenrou Island was a tourist site. The minute you get off the boat, you see gift shops all over the docs. Tour guides were meeting up with people as they gave background information on the island before beginning their tours.
"What was that?" Natsu asked when he heard screaming.
"There's an amusement park called Red Lizard here. You've just heard the screams of the kids on the roller coasters," Lucy answered as they approached a long line that didn't look like it was going to move anytime soon.
"What's this place for?" Natsu asked.
"You need to buy tickets to come in. Then you get searched. This is holy ground. They don't just let anyone in," Lucy explained.
"This is bullshit," Natsu said, grabbing Lucy's hand.
"What are you doing?" She asked.
"Getting us in," he said as he looked around for the security guards.
Lucy vigorously shook her head. "Are you crazy!?"
Natsu smirked once he was certain the security guards were occupied with something else and won't be looking at them. Dragging Lucy with him, he ran out of the line and hid in the bushes that were in front of the fence that blocked them from entering. "Should I go up first or you?"
"How about none of us?" Lucy asked.
"Nice answer," Natsu said before climbing the wall that separated them from the rest of the island.
Lucy kept on looking around to see if anyone had just seen that. Natsu was sitting on the top. "I'll help you up," he said, reaching down so he could grab Lucy's hands.
"What if we get caught!?" Lucy cried.
"What if we don't get caught?" Natsu asked.
"You're not gonna change your mind, are you?" Lucy asked.
"Nope!" Natsu answered.
Lucy sighed as she grabbed his hands. "Just so you know, I still don't agree with this whole thing."
Once she was sitting on the top of the wall, Natsu jumped down to the other side and held his arms out. "Jump! I'll catch you!"
Lucy highly doubted he would actually catch her but she jumped anyway. To her surprise, Natsu caught her.
"Ready to see the goddess of life?" Natsu asked as he put her down.
"Sure. Whatever you say," Lucy answered.
They walked out of the bushes and found that they had climbed over to the amusement park Red Lizard.
Someone dressed in a cartoon-version of a red lizard came up to them. Natsu flinched. Lucy laughed. "It's nothing dangerous!"
"I don't trust it anyway!" Natsu cried, quickly dragging Lucy away.
They walked further into the park and soon they began to see the games where you could earn prizes if you won.
"You want anything?" Natsu asked.
Lucy looked around and saw a plush of some white creature with a carrot nose. She gasped. "Is that a Plue!? Awwww, it's so cute!"
"Good answer," Natsu answered, walking over to the stand.
"Come one, come all! Who will be the lucky winner!?" The vendor yelled from the stand where a bunch of Plues were hanging.
"Are you really gonna win me a Plue?" Lucy asked.
"Duh," Natsu answered.
Satisfied, Lucy dug into her wallet to pay the vendor.
"Hiya! The goal is to hit the targets without missing the bullseye. It must hit the bullseye is you want to win a prize!" The vendor explained as he handed Natsu a bow and arrow.
"Got it," Natsu said, drawing back the bow and carefully aiming at the target that was quickly moving left and right. With ease, he hit the bullseye three times.
"No way...someone actually hit the bullseye three times...?" The vendor mumbled.
"Gimme the Plue," Natsu said.
Still taken by surprise, the vendor got the Plue down and handed it to Natsu. Lucy happily took the Plue and hugged it.
"Okay. Good to know," Natsu said as he watched Lucy hug the prize.
"What do you mean?" Lucy asked him.
"I need more money," Natsu answered.
"Okay...wait..." Lucy said as she dug into her purse for her wallet.
Once she found her wallet, she gave Natsu more money and he put it on the counter. "I'm gonna win all of these Plues!"
Lucy blinked. "What!? No, don't do that!"
"There's no way you could make 3 bullseyes again. You were just lucky that time!" The vendor cried with a smile on his face.
Natsu simply smirked. "They called me the god of war back in the day. Watch me."
Minutes later, Lucy and Natsu were walking around the park with a whole wagon of Plues being pulled behind them.
"I only wanted one Plue. Why'd you get all of the Plues?" Lucy asked.
"Cuz you liked your Plue so much," Natsu answered as he pulled the wagon.
Lucy sighed. "I'll never understand your logic."
"I don't get your logic either. How come you hug Gray as if it's nothing but you never hug me?" Natsu asked.
"I hug Gray? I didn't realize I did that. No wonder Juvia calls me her love rival whenever we're with Gray," Lucy confessed.
"Wait, so you don't realize you do that!?" Natsu cried. Lucy nodded.
"Bro, how come you didn't hug me when I won you that Plue anyway? Or the rest of the Plues?" Natsu asked.
"Cuz I don't know you like that," Lucy answered.
"Yes you do," Natsu protested before frowning. "You just don't remember."
Lucy didn't say anything.
"Mommy! I want a Plue!" A kid whined, pulling on his mother's arm.
"No, Jimmy. There are no more Plues..." The mother and little Jimmy saw the wagon of Plues Natsu was pulling.
"Plue!" Jimmy yelled, running to the wagon. Some other kids noticed the wagon and ran towards it as well. The kids, who wanted the popular toy, fought each other as they tried to grab one.
"What are they doing!? Those are yours! I'm gonna fight them!" Natsu cried.
"Just let them. I'm happy with just one Plue," Lucy told him, referring to the Plue she was holding in her arms.
"Why do you people like those things so much?" Natsu asked as they walked away.
"I don't know. It's something you just want when you're a kid. I remembered the first time I came here. I was with my mom and dad. I wanted a Plue so bad but we had to leave right when I was about to get one. Now whenever I see a Plue, I always feel like my mom's spirit is in it or something," Lucy explained.
"...I see," Natsu responded.
Lucy scrunched up her nose. "That's all you're gonna say?"
"What do you want me to say!?" Natsu asked as they laughed together.
After trying the attractions and the food of the park, they made their way to the grave of Mavis Vermillion. Before they entered, however, they had to stop by a large greenhouse to buy some flowers.
A tour guide was nearby. "Legend has it that Mavis Vermillion was born on this very island. There was a thriving civilization but they were all wiped out. All except one: Mavis. She dedicated her life to the study of magic and she worked to understand the meaning of life. As she did, the sacred Tenrou Jade was gathering some evil magic power until one day, it possessed a human and turned them into a dragon. Mavis was the one who was able to separate the dragon from the human using a spell only the gods could use. As a result, the great father of the gods Ankhseram bestowed her the power of a goddess and she soon become the goddess of life. She stays here on this island and writes the fates of every human in the world. If you put flowers on her grave and pay your respects, she will surly give you some good luck."
"That's the story they tell everyone?" Natsu asked.
"You mean it's not true in your world?" Lucy asked.
"What do you mean by my world?" Natsu asked.
"You just seem to strongly believe in all of these things that are obviously not true," Lucy answered.
Natsu didn't feel like arguing. "You'll see for yourself what I mean." He grabbed a random bouquet of magnolias. "Let's go."
It was nighttime when they were outside. Fireflies danced around the place as they walked down the path to Mavis' grave. When they arrived at the grave, Lucy put the flowers down, folded her ands, and closed her eyes.
Natsu watched her. "What are you doing?"
"Praying for luck, for peace, just for good things to happen and for things to stay good," Lucy answered.
"Natsu. You're here," a familiar voice said behind them.
Natsu turned around. "Been a while, hasn't it?"
The person who had called him out was Mavis Vermillion herself. She smiled. "Only you can see me since you're not from the human realm."
"Which means Lucy can't see you?" Natsu asked.
Mavis shook her head. "Unfortunately."
"Okay, then can you return her memories from her past life? I know she doesn't want them back but I want her to believe me. Is that being selfish?" Natsu asked.
"In a way," Mavis giggled.
Natsu sighed. "I'm just glad that after all these years, I can be with her again."
"Natsu. I'm happy that you've finally found her after all these years, but I think you should not be with her anymore," Mavis said, turning serious.
Natsu frowned. "Why would you think that?"
"She was supposed to live a long and peaceful life. However, now that you're here, her future does not look bright anymore. It's filled with suffering," Mavis said
"Suffering? So you're saying I'm the one who changed her fate?" Natsu asked.
Mavis nodded. "Also, her getting her memories back will make things even worse for her. You don't want to see her suffer, right?"
"I don't. Okay, I'll just take her to the heavenly realm. Nothing bad can happen to her there," Natsu said.
"You're forgetting that you're not a god anymore. You're a demon and not just any demon. You're END, king of the demons. You are no longer welcomed back into the heavenly realm," Mavis explained.
Natsu looked down at his hands. "Makes sense."
Another girl with brown hair ran over to Mavis. "Okay, you've had your break! Mavis, you have to get back to work!"
"In a minute, Zera," Mavis told the girl before facing Natsu again. "You might not want to hear what I have to say and I respect that...but you need to hear this. It is no longer possible for Lucy to live a good life. From now on, her life will be filled with suffering. But there are two options you can chose that affects the amount of suffering she goes through."
"Which option has her suffering the least?" Natsu asked.
"The option is you leaving her," Mavis answered.
Natsu grew silent.
"I understand you don't want that, but there is nothing I can do. Her future is currently being written and by the way things are looking for her so far, it's best if you leave," Mavis said before walking away with Zera. "I know you love her so you won't be selfish and you will do the right thing for her," Mavis' voice echoed in his head.
Lucy opened her eyes a second later. "Natsu? Why're you looking off into space?"
Natsu faked his smile. "Should we go to Galuna Island?"
"But it's night," Lucy said.
"Time is frozen there, right? So time won't pass if we're on the island," Natsu answered.
"I don't think it works like that," Lucy said.
"Still. I have to check something there," Natsu said.
Lucy eyed him suspiciously. "What's with the sudden interest?" But she shrugged and left the grave with Natsu anyway.
"Whoa...time is definitely frozen on this island..." Lucy said the minute they stepped off the boat when it arrived at Galuna Island. The clocks were stuck ay 9:21PM and the people on the docs weren't moving. Some items that were obviously falling were hanging in mid-air.
"Let's look around the village," Natsu told her. She nodded.
Walking through a village that was frozen in time during the night was creepier than it sounds. There was life in the villagers' eyes but they had no idea that they were trapped in a void where time didn't exist. Everywhere was quiet as the wind blew gently in the silence. It was like a ghost town.
"Any idea on how this happened?" Lucy asked Natsu.
She got no answer. When she turned around, she was surprised to see that he was gone. Or maybe he was nearby. She couldn't really tell since mist was settling in, causing Lucy to not be able to see anything.
What's up with this crazy mist? She wondered as she squinted her eyes. That was when she noticed a figure walking through the mist towards her. "Natsu, where were you?"
"It's Dimaria Yesta, actually," a female voice said.
Lucy realized that the figure was indeed not Natsu. It was a female, most likely Dimaria.
"Sorry, I had you mistaken for someone else," Lucy said, bowing.
"It's all good," Dimaria said. As she came closer, she became more visible. Soon, she was standing face to face with Lucy and she was completely visible. "I chose the perfect bait to lure in a runaway. She's a journalist who's looking for the hottest news right now to report on and a Celestial wizard who's trying to get all 12 Zodiac keys. This island already had the key. All I had to do was make this place even more interesting and look! The runaway has arrived just as planned!"
"Runaway?" Lucy asked.
"Yep. I'm under orders to drag you back home. Nothing personal," Dimaria said with a shrug.
Lucy narrowed her eyes at her. "Jude Heartfilia sent you, didn't he?"
"What!?" Dimaria cried before laughing hugging her stomach. "Damn! That's rich! I only serve one man and that's the god of death!"
"Natsu's brother?" Lucy asked, tripping onto the ground.
"Correct! The one and only Zeref Dragneel! Now that you've released END from his book, the god of death wants you back in the Underworld. It's your fault, really. If you hadn't opened the book, you could have lived longer. Oh well. Humans are dumb like that. It's END's fault for being weak. Honestly, if he was really the all powerful monster like the stories said, then we wouldn't even be in this situation in the first place," Dimaria said as she slowly made her way towards Lucy.
"What?" She responded.
"Well, I was told that you don't have any memories from the past. It must suck finding out that you were actually alive at one point but died. Now look at you having to die again, even after you demon boyfriend caused hell all over and made a deal with my boss for you to stay alive," Dimaria answered before shaking her head. "Ungrateful little bitch."
Was Natsu's story true the whole time? Lucy wondered as she fearlessly glared at Dimaria.
Dimaria crouched down in front of Lucy and slid a dagger out of her trendy boots. "You dare to glare at me? So be it. Before I take you to the Underworld, I'll take those pretty eyes out of them eye sockets myself. You won't even know what I did!"
The second Lucy blinked, however, everyone was moving as if time wasn't frozen a second ago.
Then there was Dimaria. She was sitting against the wall of a nearby house. She was shaking like crazy as she sobbed like a child. Her clothes were in pieces and she was missing an eye. Her skin looked burnt as blood flowed out of the cuts that were suddenly on her body, Judging by the way her arms hung, they were broken. "Y-Y-Y-Y-You could walk perfectly fine when I froze time...!?"
"Damn right I could," Lucy heard a voice say next to her. She turned around and saw Natsu. She was about to demand where he was when she saw there was blood covering his hands and dripping onto the floor.
Natsu walked towards Dimaria who only sobbed louder. "Get away! Monster! Monster! Please! Don't kill me!"
Natsu crouched down in front of her and buried his fingers into her hair. He yanked her head closer to him so he could whisper into her ear. "You called END weak. Bet. I've shown you that I ain't so weak after all. I'm only letting you live cuz the pain you're feeling is very delicious and so you can pass my brother a message. I'm not letting him take Lucy. If he tries to do it again, I won't hesitate to kill him and anyone he sends. I've killed a god before. My own beloved brother ain't any different. Pass on the message."
Random Fact: I've recently discovered that there is a society called "The Earth Is Flat Society" in the city I live in and they genuinely believe the Earth is flat. You literally go up to them and they explain their theories
Wassup!? It's ya gurl sugarsugarrush!
So, Christmas is coming! Yayyyyy! But that means y'all are gonna miss me for 3 weeks. Next week, I have finals and my dad's traditional Igbo funeral and traditional Igbo funerals lasts for days. Then the week after that is Christmas week which means crackhead hours. After that week is New Years week and that means more crackhead hours. Basically, for the next 3 weeks, ima be busy having a life so I'll go back to doing daily updates at the beginning of next year. Yo, it sounds so far away but it's actually only 3 weeks away...
Reviews:
Lovesmutbabe- Thank you so much!
Amanny- Thank you so much!
I gotta Zoom class so ima close this chapter. Don't forget to PM me or leave me a review! Later, yo!
Edited: 05/10/21
