…
Ultimate Fairy
Chapter 5: Galuna Island
Part III
…
Ben groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. As he started to wake up, he let out a deep sigh. He had gone through the nightmares for the first time in several weeks. Ben was bewildered by this. Why had they suddenly popped up again?
'Maybe Lyra's song had something to do with it?' Ben thought, then letting out another sigh. 'Well…I've been through this before. I'll get through it again.'
Suddenly, any tiredness he had or concern for his nightmares quickly dissipated as the cavern began to shake.
"What's going on!?" the teen hero asked, bolting up from the flat rock he had been lying on.
"Is it night yet?" Natsu said, jumping up as well; however, he seemed more concerned with actually doing something than the possibility of being buried alive.
Instead of falling rocks, a violent magic circle appeared on the cavern's ceiling and a purple light flowed downward, covering the frozen form of Deliora.
"It's a beam of light!" Lucy shouted, wide-eyed.
"Shining down from the ceiling," Natsu concluded, equally shocked.
Ben narrowed his eyes at the purple light, and realized, "It looks like the cursed moonlight!"
"What's going on?" Happy fretted. "I'm getting scared here, guys."
"It's shining on Deliora!" Gray exclaimed.
"I don't think that's a coincidence," Natsu stated.
"Let's go!" Gray ordered, waving them towards the exit, "We need to find out where the light's coming from."
"Aye," Happy agreed.
The team ran to the temple and went up a flight of stairs, where they found another magic circle feeding more moonlight onto the floor, which was right above Deliora.
"Why would someone cast a magic circle inside this old temple?" Gray asked, confused.
"I don't know," Ben replied, "but let's check the roof. I'm sure we'll get some answers there."
The team headed up another flight of stairs, which exited on top of the temple. Once there, they found a circle of people, their features concealed by robes and masks. The robed people didn't notice the group as they were focused on chanting some strange words to bring the purple moonlight into a column, which was then being sent via magic circles to bathe the frozen demon below the temple.
The only thing that the wizards and hero couldn't figure out was what they were doing, and why they were doing it.
"The moon…" Gray said.
"It looks like those robed freaks are chanting some weird spell to collect the moonlight." Natsu deduced.
"And shine it on Deliora," Lucy concluded.
"Looks like it," said Ben, "question is, why?"
"It's an ancient spell, used to collect Moon Drip," Lyra explained. For some reason, she had not returned to the Spirit World.
"What are you still doing here?" Lucy whispered crossly.
"I see," Lyra said, ignoring Lucy, "so that's what they're trying to do."
"And that would be…" Ben gestured for the spirit to continue.
"They're using the Moon Drip to melt the ice surrounding that demon underground, so they can resurrect it." Lyra answered.
"Okay," Ben said as calmly as he could, "This is very bad then."
"What?" Natsu gaped.
"They can't!" Gray countered, baring his teeth, "The ice in an Iced Shell can't be melted!"
"I hate to say it, but that's not entirely true." Lyre explained. "While the Iced Shell is strong, it can be melted by the Moon Drip; focused moon-energy can break any spell."
"Oh no," Happy said frightfully.
"Those idiots!" Gray growled. "They've never witnessed the power of Deliora!"
"It's possible that what happened to the islanders is actually just a byproduct of this spell." Lyra continued. "They might not have been targeted intentionally."
"Accident or not," Ben said, reaching for the Omnitrix, "people have died because of this spell. This has to end!"
"Yeah!" Natsu said, starting to rise, "Let's make 'em pay!"
"Wait," Lucy whispered, dragging both boys back down. "Someone's coming this way."
Sure enough, another man was approaching the circle of chanters. His features and age were obscured by the demonic-looking helmet he wore. He had a blue outfit with a white cloak over it, and armored leggings. Walking behind were Yuka, Toby and Sherry, though they kept a respectful distance.
"If I had any money," Ben said, "I'd bet it all that this guy is the 'Cold Emperor' we heard about."
"Sucker's bet," Happy whispered, "no takers here."
"What a waste," Yuka said, "I lost so much sleep, and all for nothing. We searched all day for the intruders, but never found a trace of them."
"Maybe there wasn't any!" Toby yelled.
"I'm afraid I have some sad news, Cold Emperor," Sherry said to the masked man, "We thought we had intruders earlier today, but couldn't find them. We cannot speak of love in this kind of situation."
"Ha!" Ben whispered, "I so called it!"
"Shh!" Lucy shushed him.
"Intruders?" the Cold Emperor said in a flat voice.
Ben and Natsu both noticed Gray stiffen when he heard the voice.
"Has Deliora been awakened?" The Cold Emperor questioned.
"It should be either tonight or tomorrow," Sherry answered.
"Which one, girl?!" Toby asked impatiently.
For a moment, the Cold Emperor was silent.
"The time has almost come," he finally said. "If you see those intruders again, kill them. I don't want anyone getting in my way."
"It must have been the villagers." Sherry summarized. "They're the only other people on this island."
"Then destroy the village!" the Cold Emperor commanded.
"Yes, sir!" all three said as one, bowing before their master.
Ben felt as if ice had been poured into his veins. These people were going to wipe out an entire village of innocent people on the possibility that they saw a frozen monster!?
"What?" Natsu snapped angrily.
"B-but…" Lucy looked very worried, "but the villagers have nothing to do with this!"
"Yeah, we have to stop them." The pink-haired wizard asserted.
The Cold Emperor smirked. "It's a shame there has to be bloodshed."
Gray continued to stare at the demonic-masked villain in shock. "That voice…" he murmured, "no…it can't be…"
"I've had enough of this sneaking around business!" everyone turned to see Natsu standing on top of the boulder he'd been hiding behind. Natsu's cheeks swelled up far larger than any normal humans before he looked up and exhaled a powerful torrent of fire into the air. "IT'S NOT THE VILLAGERS! WE'RE THE INTRUDERS YOU'RE AFTER!"
'Well, the Big Bad is here,' Ben thought, as he stood next to the Dragon Slayer, 'this looks like a good chance to finish everything quickly.'
"Sorry about crashing the party," Ben said, activating the Omnitrix, "but my loud friend here is right. The villagers didn't do anything to you. We're the ones you want."
"Geez…" Lucy groaned, standing up, "guess there's no turning back now, huh?"
"Aye," Happy agreed.
"Ooh, I want to help out too." Lyra requested nicely, standing behind Lucy. "Want me to sing?"
"No," a vein throbbed on Lucy's head, "I want you to go back." She deadpanned.
"Ahh…you're no fun…" Lyra said, holding her cheeks. In a puff of pink smoke, she vanished and returned to the Spirit World.
As the villains eyed their now-revealed enemies, Sherry spotted Natsu's guild mark.
"I know that mark," she said to her comrades, "they're from Fairy Tail!"
"They are," Ben said, gesturing to the others, "I'm not."
"Then who are you?" Toby demanded.
Ben grinned. "Just your average, run-of-the-mill superhero."
"Interesting, those villagers must've gone to the magical guilds for help." Yuka commented, "Although I can't believe anyone would have the arrogance to call themselves a super-hero."
"This coming from a guy whose boss calls himself 'The Cold Emperor'?" Ben shot back.
"Don't worry about them." The Cold Emperor replied calmly. "Go eradicate the village."
"What!?" Lucy gasped.
"But why?" Natsu asked, equally surprised.
"Anyone who stands in my way either deliberately or not is my enemy." The masked villain stated, clenching his right fist for emphasis.
"Say WHAT?!" Natsu shouted, appalled.
"Okay, that's it." Ben quickly activated the Omnitrix. "It's Hero time!"
After he selected an icon and the plate slid back, he slammed down the dial and disappeared in a flash of green light. In Ben's place stood what looked like an old-fashioned stove with arms and legs. The metal was iron-colored and a dull shade of green. An orange glow illuminated from the grille on the front of its head. The Omnitrix dial was positioned on the dull shaded green lock on its chest.
"NRG!" he called out in a Russian accent, then charged forward, "Come on, guys, let's take 'em down!"
Natsu ran alongside the alien while Gray jumped into the air.
"Stop this crazy ceremony right now!" Gray cried. As he landed, he slammed his hands into the ground and created a shockwave of ice that forced the Emperor's lackeys to jump out of the way.
The Emperor, however, summoned an icy-blue magical circle in his right hand. When he landed, he slammed his right palm against the stone ground, creating a wave of his own that was equally as powerful as Gray's. The two ice-walls met head-on and canceled each other out before shattering into tiny fragments.
"He's an ice wizard too?!" Happy shouted, shocked.
Gray stepped back as glared daggers at the masked villains. "Lyon," he growled dangerously.
Natsu and Lucy both gasped while NRG, who had stopped to watch the display, was befuddled.
"Lyon?" Lucy repeated.
"Uh…who's Lyon?" NRG asked, bemused.
"Lyon," Gray continued; his voice hoarse with frustration and anger, "how could you? Do you have any idea what you're doing?!"
"Oh, Gray," the Cold Emperor, now identified as Lyon, said nonchalantly. "It's been quite a while, hasn't it?"
Lucy and Happy both gasped, surprised that Gray and Lyon actually knew each other.
"Why would you revive Deliora!?" Gray demanded.
"To think that you were one of the wizards called to this island to help those poor villagers." Lyon said, ignoring Gray's question. "Did you come knowing that you would find me? Or is this just mere coincidence? Not that it makes any difference to me."
"An acquaintance of yours, Cold Emperor?" Yuka asked.
"Do as you were ordered," Lyon replied, though NRG noted that he didn't answer the question either. "I'll handle the intruders on my own."
"Yes, sir!" all three shouted, before dashing off in different directions.
"Hey, come back here!" Natsu yelled, running around Lyon.
"No! Natsu, don't get near him!" Gray had a panicked look in his eye again.
Lyon didn't even glance at Natsu. He merely held out his hand, and a sphere of spiked ice engulfed the Dragon Slayer's torso, upper arms and thighs.
"Natsu!" Lucy cried out.
"Happy, get Lucy out of here!" Gray yelled.
"Aye!" the blue cat sprouted his wings and grabbed Lucy by the back of her shirt, lifting her into the air, despite her protests.
Gray held out his arms and fired a wave of ice at Lyon. The masked wizard simply held out his right arm and created a domed shield, which blocked Gray's attack.
NRG glanced back and called out, "Happy! Take Lucy and warn the village! Natsu, Gray, and I will try to stop them, but should be ready just in case!"
"Aye!" Happy shouted, and then flew off toward the village.
"Be careful!" Lucy yelled, before they disappeared in the distance.
"Okay," NRG turned his attention back to Lyon, "my turn!" He charged the masked wizard, who merely held out his hand and froze the Omnitrix bearer in a similar manner he did Natsu.
"No matter what kind of strange creature you are," Lyon said; his tone emotionless, "nothing can get out of my ice."
If anyone could see NRG's face through his helmet, they would see he had a smug grin. "Are you so sure?"
To both ice wizards' shock, NRG's armored suit began to glow orange as if the metal was melting; however, instead of the armor melting, the ice melted instead! Before Lyon could react, NRG walked over to Natsu and placed his glowing hand against the ice that was trapping him.
Ben knew Natsu could handle heat, being a Fire Dragon Slayer and all, but he wasn't sure how he would respond to radiation. So, he made sure to only melt the ice to where it was an inch thick, allowing Natsu to break out using his own strength.
"Hmm…" Lyon hummed, intrigued by how NRG could easily melt his ice, "interesting."
"There's more where that came from." NRG stated, charging up his hands with extreme heat.
"You distracted me long enough for the girl and the cat to escape. Chivalrous, but ultimately pointless," Lyon remarked. "There's no way those two could stop my minions."
"Seriously, you call them minions?" NRG shook his head. "Man, you've got the supervillain-style down, pat."
"Don't underestimate the power of Fairy Tail!" Natsu shouted, "Come on, we'll take you on!"
"Not us, Natsu," Gray retorted, not looking away from Lyon, "just me! You and Ben go after the other three."
"Oh, come on!" Natsu growled, but NRG grabbed his shoulder with his now-cooled hands.
"Natsu, we can't let innocent people get hurt because of us," the armored alien said, "and no, I'm not going without you because you'll just get frozen again." He then turned to Gray. "Can you take him?"
Gray nodded. "At the very least, I can fight him to a draw."
"Fair enough," NRG replied, "but make it fast. We might need all the help we can get."
As NRG and Natsu ran off into the forest, the Dragon Slayer stopped for a moment.
Without looking back, Natsu said, his tone serious, "Just don't die" He then left to catch up with Ben.
Gray remembered saying the same thing to Natsu during the Lullaby incident a week prior. He had thought that the Dragon Slayer hadn't heard him, but it was possible that he was wrong. He shouldn't be too surprised though since Dragon Slayers do have keen senses.
Lyon chuckled humorlessly. "You think you can fight me to a draw 'at the very least'? That's not just reckless; it's also arrogant, Gray."
"I don't understand why you're trying to pull this superior act with me, Lyon. You're not!" Gray exclaimed angrily. "We're not Ur's students anymore!"
"I'm well aware that we're not Ur's students," Lyon replied, removing his mask to reveal the face of a young man with spiky white hair. "After all, our beloved teacher is no longer among the living."
"Her final act was sealing that monster away. Are you really so callous that you would destroy our master's legacy?" accused Gray.
"Don't delude yourself," Lyon countered, "we both know that you're the one that killed Ur."
Gray's eyes went wide and his mouth twisted into a snarl.
"But you don't seem to have any guilt over that," Lyon continued, "how cruel."
…
Off the coast of Galuna Island, another danger was floating towards the shore. A massive ship, bearing the flag of pirates, was closing fast. However, the pirates weren't the ones who were dangerous; in fact, most of them were strewn about the deck, unconscious, severely beaten by the person who had hijacked their ship.
The captain of the ship, the only pirate still on his feet, and only because he was being forced to steer, glanced at the hijacker out of the corner of the one eye not covered in an eye patch.
"Why do you want to go to Galuna Island?" he asked nervously, "I mean, it's scary!"
"Just shut up and steer," the hijacker said in a commanding voice, as several of the pirates began to wake up.
"If you drop us off somewhere, you can have the boat!" the captain pleaded, "Please, I'm begging yah! I've heard that the island is cursed, and that anyone who sets foot on its soil gets turned into a demon!"
"I will take that chance," the hijacker responded.
"B-but why do you have to go there!?" the captain asked, panic in his voice.
The hijacker stepped out of the shadows, revealing herself to be a beautiful young woman with long scarlet hair and outfitted in armor; the mark of Fairy Tail was printed on the left side of her breastplate, while a yellow, asymmetrical cross was placed over that.
"When rules are broken," said Erza Scarlet, known as Titania, Queen of the Fairies, "the guilty must be punished. That is all I can tell you."
Despite being thoroughly crushed by her, the pirate crew found themselves warming up to the wizard; it didn't hurt that she was beautiful and they, being pirates, saw that as a bonus.
"We'll help you catch those guys," declared one pirate, despite not knowing who it was that they were chasing. Even the captain was inspired by Erza's courage in the face of the terror that was Galuna Island.
"All right, ya scallywags," he shouted, "get yer anchors outta yer pants and raise all sails; we're headed ta Galuna Island!"
As the pirates got to work, Erza reflected on why she'd needed to go to cursed island…
…
It wasn't unusual for the wizards of Fairy Tail to be anxious about something, though it was usually Natsu or Gray who were responsible, but as Erza entered the guild hall, she noticed neither wizard was present.
"Mirajane," she said evenly, "what has happened?"
"Oh, Erza, it's terrible!" Mirajane said from her usual place from behind the bar. "Natsu took on one of the S-Class quests!"
"By himself!?" Erza asked, but kept her face neutral.
"No, he took Lucy and Happy with him," Mira replied, "and Ben as well."
That was even more surprising to Erza. Lucy didn't seem the type to break the rules like that, and from what she'd heard, Ben wasn't technically a wizard, even if he could turn into creatures with incredible powers. Why had they done it?
"And there's more," Mirajane continued, "the Master sent Gray after them yesterday, but he should have been back by now. He might be hurt!"
"Or, knowing Gray, he went along with them," Erza said to herself, but Mirajane still heard it.
"Oh no! Please, Erza, you have to bring them back, especially Ben; he's never even been on a normal wizard job, let alone an S-Class one!"
"Erza, I'm glad you've arrived." Makarov said as he descended from the second floor of the guild hall. "I need you to fetch Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Gray and Ben from Galuna Island as soon as you can. They're out of their league."
"Understood, Master," Erza complied. "I'll head to Hargeon immediately."
Erza turned on her heel and walked out of the building, but not before hearing Makarov's comment to Mirajane.
"Though, if this information is correct, Ben might not see the point of coming back…"
…
While Erza had no idea what the Master meant by that, and while she didn't know what to do with Ben, since he wasn't a member of Fairy Tail, she did know that the other members of her team had broken important rules of the guild. If they were in danger, she would rescue them and allow them to recover before they were punished; if they were fine, then their punishment would come all the sooner.
From the Master's tone, however, whatever information awaited Ben would probably be punishment enough…
…
Back at the temple, the group of chanters had been watching the faceoff between Gray and Lyon; the latter remained calm and collected while the former was starting to tremble in anger.
"Enough of the games, Gray," Lyon said, "We both know that you're the one who murdered Ur, so just admit it."
When Gray didn't answer, Lyon's face finally showed emotion, his eyes going wide with near-mania.
"I'm surprised you have the gall to even speak her name!" Lyon held out his hand, and a spiked mace made of ice slammed into Gray, sending him flying back.
Gray struggled to his feet. "Lyon…"
"What's wrong?" Lyon asked mockingly. "Don't tell me the guilt is finally getting to you. I'm warning you, don't try to interfere; whether you like it or not, I am resurrecting Deliora."
"I won't let you!" Gray snarled.
Lyon stared at the onyx-haired teen for a tense moment before he tossed his demonic helmet to the ground.
"It's just like old times," Lyon smirked as ice gathered around his hand, "but I've grown much stronger since then." A icy-blue magical circle appeared in front of his hand. "Ice Make: Eagle!"
A flock of icy eagles soared out of the magical circle and headed straight for Gray, who put his fist on top of his palm and slammed his joined hands into the ground.
"Ice Make: Shield!"
However, instead of crashing against the fan-shaped shield, the eagles flew over and around it, slamming painfully into Gray.
"While your specialty is making inanimate objects, Static Ice Make Magic," Lyon said, "mine is creating living creatures, Active Ice Make Magic. Did you forget that my ice has the ability to move?"
Instead of answering, Gray jumped in the air and gathered his magic once again. "Ice Make: Hammer!"
A giant sledgehammer flew down at Lyon, who only pointed up with two fingers. "Ice Make: Ape!"
A large gorilla made of ice appeared and blocked the hammer, both ice structures shattering on impact.
"How pathetic," Lyon taunted. "You still use two hands when casting your Ice-Make spells."
"Yeah, because that's what Ur taught us," Gray disputed. "Single-handed spellcasting is incomplete and unbalanced!"
"Well, I'm the exception to that rule." Lyon boasted. "I surpassed Ur's skill a long time ago."
That statement really got under Gray's skin. "Shut your mouth!" he snarled dangerously.
"Regardless," Lyon continued, "ever since we were children, you've never been able to land a single hit on me."
Gray brought his hands together again. "I'm a lot stronger now than I used to be!" He slammed his hands against the ground again. "Ice Make: Geyser!"
A spiked column of ice erupted from the ground, engulfing Lyon, who didn't even flinch. At first, Gray thought that he had won, but then the ice cracked and shattered, revealing an unscathed Lyon.
"Nothing has changed," Lyon bragged, "I was always the superior student, and I'm still stronger than you. I was able to master single-handed Ice Make Magic, while you still rely on two hands. It's just like the old days; we may have chosen different paths, but we're frozen in time. Our rankings as wizards never changed."
Lyon raised his hand. "Ice Make: Ice Dragon!"
A giant ice dragon emerged from the ground that sent Gray flying into the air, and then slamming him back to earth rather painfully.
"That's why I'm restoring Deliora…to prove that I am more than Ur's star pupil." He didn't even glance at Gray's fallen form. "Even as a child, I only had one dream: to surpass Ur's abilities as a wizard. But you ruined it for me, Gray. After she died, I thought my lifelong dream of surpassing her had been dashed. But then I realized that there was still a way; if I can defeat Deliora, a demon so strong that not even Ur could vanquish it, then I will have exceeded her in power. My dream will finally become a reality!"
Clutching at his side, Gray stumbled to his feet. "Listen to me; that thing destroyed everything we ever cared about, and you want to bring it back just to prove how strong you are?! That's insane!"
Lyon's eye twitched.
"Please," Gray begged hoarsely, "you can't do this!"
Finally, Lyon's composure snapped as he sent dozens of smaller Ice Dragons at Gray from all angles, further injuring him.
"Please, you can't do this?" he echoed. "Really, is that the best you can do?" As Gray fell once again, Lyon continued, "Funny, that's the same thing we said to you that faithful day." He glared harder at his foe. "Surely you remember? It's because you challenged Deliora that Ur lost her life! I can't even stand you speaking her name in my presence; begone!"
With one final Ice Dragon, Lyon sent Gray careening up into the air. The battered Fairy Tail wizard let out an anguished cry as he fell to the ground. With a swish of his cloak, Lyon turned and walked away, not even bothering to look at his unconscious formal rival.
…
Natsu stopped running through the jungle, a strange chill going up his spine. He looked back at the temple, while NRG came to a halt when he noticed that Natsu wasn't moving.
"Natsu?" he asked, "Is something wrong?"
"I don't know." Natsu answered. "I just have this bad feeling about Gray. I think… I need to go back for him."
NRG looked at him for a moment, and then gave his best impression of a nod since his armored body didn't have a neck. "Go after him."
"Are you sure?" Natsu asked uncertain.
"Over the years, I've learned to trust my instincts," NRG replied, "and if yours are saying to go back, then you should go back. I'll take on those other guys, just go help Gray."
Natsu grinned and gave NRG a thumbs-up. "Thanks, man."
"Don't thank me," NRG said, pointing at the temple, "just run!"
Natsu dashed off back to the temple. NRG watched him for a moment before slapping the Omnitrix dial. In a flash of green, he had transformed into a blue and black velociraptor-like creature with spheres for feet and a mask-like visor over his face.
"XLR8!" Ben shouted in a raspy voice. "Okay, this is much better. I'll catch up to those guys in no time!"
In a blue blur, he rushed off, determined to stop Lyon's minions before it was too late.
…
At top of the temple, Gray was in so much pain that he could barely even blink. In his pain-ridden state, he saw the shadow of his teacher.
"Get up, Gray," she said, before the image resolved into Natsu, "I said, get up!"
"N-Natsu…" Gray whispered.
"Man, you got the snot kicked out of you, huh?" Natsu shook his head. "And you said you could fight him to a draw…"
"W-what are you… doing here?"
"I had a bad feeling, so I came back for yah." Natsu answered, and then started to haul Gray to his feet. "Come on; let's get you back to the village."
Gray shook off his hand. "I can walk, Natsu. Where's Lyon?"
"Dunno," Natsu told him, "After I found you, him and those chanting freaks had vanished."
Gray took a step forward, but it was all he managed before he began to fall again. He was stopped when Natsu caught him by the back of his shirt. Without speaking, Natsu hefted the ice wizard over his shoulder and began walking towards the village.
After a minute, Natsu spoke up. "Now, hang on. I'm sorry if this hurts, but I've gotta start running if we're gonna catch up to Ben and help him stop those guys."
Natsu took off at a brisk jog; it aggravated Gray's injuries, but he endured through the pain. During that time, Gray remembered back when Ur had warned him against challenging Deliora, and how he had tried to convince Natsu from going to Galuna Island; both situations were fairly similar.
"Hey," he said.
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry," Gray said, "I'm sorry for not believing in you and the others. I should have known better." Tears slid down his face, showing how ashamed he was for his lack of faith in his friends. Natsu stopped and looked at him.
"Quit feeling sorry for yourself because you lost a fight!" Natsu shouted. "You're a member of Fairy Tail, and we don't give up when times are tough. So put it behind you and keep moving forward!"
It was then that Gray realized that he had broken one of the guild's cardinal rules; not that he had taken an S-Class quest, but that he had been caught up in the past, instead of heading towards the future. Even as Natsu began running again, causing pain to flare across his battered body, Gray swore to never break that rule again.
…
XLR8 rushed through the jungle at super-speeds, heading towards the village. But along the way, he never spotted Lyon's goons. He was beginning to worry that they had already arrived at the village, but when he reached the gate, he found Lucy, Happy, the transformed villagers and a maid with pink hair and shackles around her wrists.
"Hey, Lucy," XLR8 called out as he zoomed in, "Is everything all right?"
"Ben!?" Lucy asked, seeing the Omnitrix symbol on his chest; all of his transformations seemed to have that. Then she noticed where exactly XLR8 was headed.
"Ben, wait! Don't come any closer!" the blond wizard freaked out. "STOP!"
"Why?" XLR8 skidded to a halt, right on top of a pile of palm leaves, which gave way and caused the alien fall right into a large hole.
"Ow…" he grunted.
"Wow, that trap actually worked." one of the villagers commented.
"Yeah," another villager said with a dumbfounded expression as he turned to Lucy, "sorry we doubted you."
XLR8 climbed out of the hole, then turned back to normal; much to the villagers' shock since they hadn't seen Ben transform before.
"Why was there a hole?" Ben asked, quirking a brow. He then noticed a pink-haired maid and pointed to her. "And who is that?"
"Um, in order," Lucy said, embarrassed, "I was trying to make a trap for Lyon's guys, and this is Virgo, one of my Zodiac Spirits. She used her power to dig the hole."
"Hello, sir," Virgo said, bowing politely.
"Um, hi." Ben looked back at the hole, which was at least ten feet deep. "You did that? Remind me to introduce you to Armodrillo sometime."
Before Virgo could respond, Natsu's voice rang out.
"Hey guys!" he jogged into the village with Gray on his shoulders, "Hey, what's with the hole?"
"Oh man, is Gray all right?" Ben asked, concerned.
"He got beat up pretty bad," Natsu replied.
"Lucy made a hole to trap Lyon's lackeys." Happy explained, answering Natsu's second question.
"That's dumb," Natsu remarked, handing Gray off to some of the villagers, who began applying first aid.
"Aye," Happy agreed.
"H-hey!" one of the villagers began pointing at the sky, "Look over there!"
Everyone looked in the direction the man was pointing and, to their shock, saw the giant rat flying in the air, using its tail as a propeller and holding a giant bucket. Yuka, Toby and Sherry could be seen on the rat's back.
"How the heck does that even work!?" Ben yelled, his brain trying and failing to figure out how the rat was flying.
"What?!" Lucy raged. "Now my pit fall trap is totally pointless!"
Ben glanced at the busty blond and gave her an incredulous look.
"What's it got in the bucket?" Natsu asked, deciding to ignore Ben's question, since it was going to hurt his brain.
As if in answer, a fist-sized drop of green goo flew out of the bucket and headed right at Lucy, who stared at it.
"Jelly?" she wondered as it got closer to her.
"Look out!" Natsu shouted, tackling her out of the way. Instead of hitting her, the jelly hit a plant that had been at her feet. When it made contact, both the plant and a few inches of earth beneath it sizzled and dissolved into nothingness.
"Whoa!" Ben backed away from the steaming hole in the ground. "It's some kind of acid!"
"I knew it smelled deadly," Natsu growled, helping Lucy to her feet.
"T-that rat has a whole bucket of that stuff!" a villager cried, "It's gonna drop it on the village!"
Above them, the rat Angelica threw the bucket over the village, releasing a wave of jelly large enough to cover the village and everyone in it.
"How do we stop that!?" Lucy screamed.
"I need everyone to get to the center of the village!" Natsu yelled as he started to run, "Let's go, Happy!"
"Aye, sir!" Happy flew in behind the Dragon Slayer and picked him up, flying straight at the jelly.
Ben, realizing what Natsu had planned, activated the Omnitrix and after finding the alien icon he wanted, he slammed down the core when it popped out. When the flash of light from his transformation faded, he had changed into a giant turtle with large flippers for arms and legs; he had holes in the front of his shell with the Omnitrix dial in the center.
"TERRASPIN!" He cried in a sleepy-sounding voice.
Terraspin withdrew his head into his shell and jumped into the air; his legs joined together into a single flipper, and all three began to spin around like the blades of a helicopter. Terraspin flew off in pursuit of Natsu, hovering just below him.
"Natsu!" he yelled, "Do what you're gonna do. I'll back you up!"
"Got it!" Natsu responded, then gathered fire around his hands, then put them together to create a massive ball of fire. "Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame!"
With a mighty heave, Natsu hurled fireball right at the center of the jelly, causing an explosion that scattered the goo, leaving a safe area around the center of the village. Knowing that it might not be enough, Terraspin righted himself and focused his power, shooting a tunnel of wind and spinning in a circle.
As the wind blew the jelly further away, one of the villagers noticed that Chief Moka wasn't with them; instead, he was kneeling at his son's grave, his arms wrapped around the headstone, and there was a jelly blob headed straight for him.
"Chief, run!" the villager cried.
"No!" the old man yelled stubbornly, "I won't leave Bobo's grave!"
All the villagers cried out in fear and grief as the jelly covered their leader. As the mist created by the acid dispersed, however, a figure strode out, carrying the shaken chief.
"Do you wish to punish him for not obeying you, Princess?"
"Virgo!" Lucy cried with a smile, glad that she hadn't sent the spirit back to the Spirit World.
In the wake of the acid attack, a giant donut-shaped hole was created; nearly the entire village had been dissolved away in the ring. Thankfully, all of the villagers were safe in the unaffected area in the center.
When Terraspin, Natsu and Happy landed, they were crowded by villagers who wanted to express their thanks and gratitude for saving their lives, even if most of the village had been destroyed. Virgo was also thanked for saving their leader's life until she disappeared back into the Spirit World. The only one who didn't speak to them was Moka, who stared at where he'd been only moments before.
"Bobo's grave is still standing," he whispered, relieved that the resting place of his son was undisturbed.
That changed, however, when Yuka's foot kicked the headstone over, causing the wizards and the superhero to glare at the man.
"The Cold Emperor has commanded us to eradicate the village and its people." Sherry said coldly as she, Yuka and Toby approached, Angelica right behind them. "We were trying to show mercy by making your deaths quick and painless. But since that didn't work, we'll have to resort to bloodshed."
"Hey, lady," Terraspin said angrily, "newsflash for yah: death by acid is not painless!"
Lyon's lackeys ignored him.
"Three wizards, a few dozen villagers," Yuka commented arrogantly, "This shouldn't take more than, oh, fifteen minutes."
"Ready to rock, guys?" Terraspin asked, gearing himself up.
"Yeah!" Natsu said.
"These creeps are going down." Lucy stated; her tone serious.
"Aye!" Happy shouted.
Gray slowly opened his eyes as he was starting to come to. The village chief, Moka, tightened his grip on his staff as he glared daggers at the three wizards who dared to desecrate his son's grave.
"How dare they," he snarled venomously, "such disrespect! THEY KICKED OVER BOBO'S GRAVE!" Several villagers quickly grabbed the raging Moka before he could attack Yuka, Sherry, and Toby.
"Calm down, chief." One villager said.
"We have to get outta here!" Another warned.
"Yeah," a third added, "we don't wanna get caught in the middle of a magic battle."
"HURRY UP AND GET HIM TO SAFETY!" a villager commanded. They quickly responded as they dragged a resisting Moka away from the inevitable battle.
Meanwhile, Gray had actually found the strength to return to his feet, albeit shakily. "Lemme help you…" he murmured painfully.
Terraspin, Lucy, Natsu and Happy turned back to the ice wizard. The former eyed him with a straight face, knowing full well that Gray was in no condition to fight. Apparently, Ben wasn't the only one who had come to this conclusion.
"Not gonna happen." Natsu rebuked. "We don't need your help."
Gray panted as he said, "Natsu…don't do this to me-" Whatever the raven-haired wizard was going to say next was interrupted as Natsu punched him in the gut.
"Just lie down and get some rest." ordered Natsu.
Gray grabbed onto Natsu's scarf, but then went limp as he reentered unconsciousness; Natsu caught him to keep him from falling to the ground.
Terraspin nodded in agreement. He was thankful that Natsu knew when it was time to get serious.
"But why?" Lucy asked softly.
"Isn't it obvious?" Terraspin commented.
"Gray's getting some tough love." Happy explained. "Natsu knows he's in no condition to fight, so he had to stop him."
Lucy looked at the pink-haired wizard with a thoughtful expression. "That means…deep down they really do care." She whispered.
A villager came up and heaved Gray over his shoulder carefully and followed the rest of the villagers to safety. The remaining wizards and superhero then turned their attention back on Lyon's minions.
"Okay, I'll take dog-boy over there," said Terraspin, "Natsu, take eyebrows. Lucy, go after rat-girl."
The wizards and cat nodded, but their enemies were clearly offended.
"I'm not a dog!" Toby yelled.
"Eyebrows?" Yuka repeated, his hand going to his forehead.
"R-rat-girl!? Oh, you are so dead!" Sherry screeched. She then regained her composure, and continued, "We won't stop until everyone in this village is dead. Right, Angelica?"
The rat hissed maliciously, and then spun her tail, taking off right after Sherry hopped onto her back.
"I'm not going to let you get away with this!" Lucy yelled, leaping at the rat and grabbing one of its claws. Then, she realized what she had just done. "Oh no! I got too excited and jumped on!"
"Oh, for crying out loud," Terraspin groaned, holding one flipper against his face.
"Yep, she's stupid," Happy commented.
"Or insane!" Natsu added.
Lucy, deciding to make the best of the situation, was doing what she could to stop Sherry and her rat; of course, the only thing she could do was punch ineffectually at the claw she held onto. When that didn't work, she tried tickling the rat's foot; to everyone's shock, not only was Angelica ticklish, but she was so much so that she lost control and crashed in the distance!
"Wow," Yuka commented, "she's going to be ticked."
"I don't have any ticks!" Toby yelled.
"I wasn't talking to you," Yuka replied, exasperated.
"I hope she's okay," Terraspin worried.
"I'll go check on her," Happy replied, sprouting his wings and flying off.
"Hey Ben," Natsu said, "After we finish with these guys, could you go after him?"
"Sure," Terraspin responded, "let's make this quick."
The turtle-alien spun his flippers once again and launched himself at Toby, both of them skidding across the ground, while Natsu hopped over Yuka's head and shot a breath of fire at him. Yuka only barely blocked it with a blue barrier.
"A wizard that breathes fire?" Yuka asked, "Don't tell me that you're the Salamander of Fairy Tail I've heard so much about?"
Natsu didn't reply, but he glanced out of the corner of his eye to see Terraspin rise, then slapped the Omnitrix dial. In a flash of green light, he was replaced by a tall alien with a turquoise colored crystal body with two spikes jutting out from its back and wore black pants and a green sleeveless shirt with a black stripe going down the center. The Omnitrix dial was in the center of a green and white belt around his its waist.
"Diamondhead!"
Toby hopped to his feet with a cocky smile. "I'm good!"
"You know," Yuka said, drawing Natsu's attention back to him, "we used to be in a famous guild ourselves, so neither of you should blow us off. In fact, the famous Iron Rock Jura is from the same guild; surely, you've heard of Lamia Scale?"
"Nope," Diamondhead answered nonchalantly, causing Toby's jaw to drop, "Never heard of Iron-whoever, either."
Natsu didn't even give a snarky reply, instead shooting another blast of fire at Yuka's face, which was blocked by another barrier.
"Hey, cut it out!" Yuka shouted, "Listen when I'm talking to you!"
"Why?" Natsu asked, "You think I care what guild you're from, or who the other members are? We came here to help these people and you're the ones who put them in danger in the first place! That makes you Fairy Tail's enemy, and that gives me more than enough reason to fight you."
"As for me," Diamondhead stated, "I might not be in a guild, but I know the difference between right and wrong, and I know that you guys are definitely not in the right!"
"Toby," Yuka said calmly, "take out the Take-Over wizard. I'll handle the Salamander."
Toby growled and leaped at Diamondhead, who caught his fist with one hand.
"Bad doggy," Diamondhead taunted with a smirk, "no biscuit!"
"I'm not a d—ooph!" Toby was interrupted by Diamondhead's fist going into his jaw, knocking him back.
"By the way," Diamondhead added, "I'm not a wizard!"
Toby hopped back to his feet and lunged at Diamondhead, grabbing him in a headlock with one arm and punching him in the side of the head with the other. However, since he was called Diamondhead for a reason, all Toby got was a bruised fist. The dog-like man jumped off and growled.
"You know," he said, "your friend over there is lucky. Yuka is tough, but I'm even stronger!" his fingernails then turned green and extended several inches. "These are my Mega-Jellyfish Paralyzing Claws! You'll never guess what they do!"
"Um, paralyze you?" Diamondhead asked sardonically.
Toby's jaw dropped in shock.
"How did you know that?" he gasped, "Hey…you got ESP or something?"
"No, you're just stupid." The Petrosapien retorted.
"No one talks to me like that!" Toby yelled, swiping at Diamondhead, who jumped back out of reflex. "With one swipe from my claws, you'll be frozen, just waiting to die!"
Toby tried slashing him again, but instead on dodging, Ben held up his crystal arm to block. Had his arm been made of flesh, Diamondhead would have been in trouble; as it was, Toby's nails shattered.
"OW!" Toby cradled his wounded hand, and then glared at the alien. "I'm gonna kill you for that!"
"Hey, wait a minute," the Petrosapien said, then held a hand to his forehead, "You got something on your face, right about here?"
"What is it?" Toby asked, pressing his fingers against his own head. Unfortunately for him, the hand he used was the one with undamaged claws; as a result, he had ended up paralyzing himself. As he fell to the ground, Diamondhead burst out laughing.
"Oh, man! I can't believe he fell for that," He grinned widely, "funniest fight ever!"
Once he recovered from his bout of hilarity, he looked over at Natsu's fight, which was still ongoing. The Dragon Slayer kept shooting blast of fire, but each attack was blocked by the same blue barrier.
"It's useless," Yuka commented, then pointed two of his fingers like a gun, "Wave!"
A blue blast of energy shot forth, narrowly missing Natsu, who shot out more fire, which was easily stopped.
"The energy that I use disrupts all types of magic," Yuka explained smugly, "which means that none of your spells will work against me!"
"So that's why my fire couldn't break down his barrier." Natsu said, understanding.
"I specialize in Anti-Wizard Magic," Yuka continued, "something I was known quite well for in Lamia Scale. For you see, all wizards are helpless before me; even you!" he held out his hand again.
"Wave!"
Natsu dodged another blast, the charged forward, his fists wreathed in fire, but his punch was stopped yet again by Yuka's barrier; his flames instantly extinguished.
"Don't you have any other moves?" Diamondhead demanded, not sure if he should help or not.
"It doesn't matter what he can do, I'm not going to let him off the hook that easily!" Natsu declared.
With that, he punched his forearm clean through the barrier, inches away from Yuka's face.
'Guess it only stops his arm when he's using magic,' Diamondhead thought.
The Petrosapien was then startled when Natsu started to scream in pain; his arm, still inside the barrier, was rippling like it was an image distorted by water.
"You put your bare arm inside of a vortex of magical energy… not smart." Yuka commented impassively.
Instead of answering, Natsu smashed forward, shoving his head and part of his torso into the barrier.
"Your magic is no match for my brute strength!" he yelled, clearly in pain, but forcing past it.
Diamondhead wasn't sure if he should be impressed with the Dragon Slayer's tenacity, or worried that he was going to die.
"It doesn't matter," Yuka said, though his composure was clearly broken, "Your flames are useless inside the vortex!"
"But I can still use them outside," Natsu grinned roguishly "and that gives me a great idea!"
A jet of fire shot out of his elbow, acting as a booster to force his fist towards Yuka's face.
"Fire Dragon Flame Elbow!"
The force of the punch was enough to send a stunned Yuka flying. When he hit the ground, he didn't get up again. Natsu wiped his hands, and then noticed that Ben had won his fight.
"Nice job, Ben. How'd you beat dog-boy?"
Diamondhead shrugged. "Tricked him into paralyzing himself."
Natsu laughed. "Ha! That's hilarious; I wish I'd seen that!"
"You didn't do too bad yourself," Diamondhead replied, and then crossed his arms, "But seriously, did you just make up that flame elbow move? Because, honestly, I can't believe you already knew a move like that."
Natsu looked away. "Well, it worked, didn't it? Besides, those guys were a joke, anyway."
"Yeah, I guarantee either of us could have taken on both of them by ourselves." Diamondhead agreed.
Natsu then walked over to Bobo's headstone and placed it back up in its rightful place. "Here we go." Then he kneeled by it. "We're gonna find a way to change your people back to normal, Bobo. I know we will. And I promise you…we will avenge your death."
Diamondhead nodded in agreement. "Yeah…we will."
"Hey, Ben," Natsu stood up and turned back to him, "weren't we going to go after Happy and Lucy?"
Diamondhead smacked his forehead. "I'm such an idiot! I forgot!"
"Okay, you go after them." Natsu said. "I've got an idea about what to do with that frozen demon."
"Really?" Diamondhead asked, and then narrowed his eyes. "Your plan is more than just punching it, right?"
"Yes, I have an actual plan!" Natsu yelled indignantly. "Now go help Happy and Lucy!"
"All right, all right!" Diamondhead ran off in the direction he'd seen Angelica fall. "Just be careful, okay?"
"Yeah, I will!" Natsu watched the Petrosapien leave, and then looked around. "Now, which way was the temple, again?"
…
As Ben ran through the forest, he transformed back to human to conserve power on the Omnitrix. When the teen hero reached his destination, he found that the giant rat had gotten out of the crater it had created when it crashed; thankfully, it had left large tracks for him to follow. He eventually made his way to the beach, where he found Angelica unconscious, lying next to Sherry, who was also out cold.
"Wow," Ben said to himself, "did Lucy do all this?" He didn't know that the blond girl was so powerful; either that, or Sherry was just as weak as Toby and Yuka.
"Ben!" Happy's voice cried out, "Run for your life!"
Ben turned around, only to find a sword pointed at his throat; his eyes followed the blade to the armored arm that held it, and then to that arm's owner.
"Oh…hey, Erza" Ben smiled weakly.
The Fairy Queen only gave Ben a hard stare, causing him to laugh nervously.
"Um, I can explain?"
…
A/N: One more chapter to edit! Yes, for some of you wondering, Diamondhead is wearing the outfit from Omniverse because I liked it. Another thing, NRG looks like he did from Ultimate Alien. Not that there were really any serious design changes to him in Omniverse, I just thought it was pointless putting that handle on his head.