Starting this right from where we left off with Nero last time. So he caught Happy in the act and hopefully it won't end badly.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Previously on Devil Tail...
Nero remained in the main hall for a while longer, continuing to mull over everything that happened today. Eventually, he thought he might finally be able to get some sleep.
"Guess now would be a good time to head off," He muttered.
He was about to stand up and head off to the back section until he noticed something moving inside the guild hall. It was dark, but not so dark that he couldn't make things out. He looked up, to see Happy, floating close to the ceiling using his wings, clearly trying to be inconspicuous. He saw the blue feline fly to the upper floor of the guild hall, which immediately raised a flag in Nero's mind.
A few moments later, he spotted Happy flying away from the second floor towards an open window, carrying a piece of paper in his paws. He would've made it through said window had a giant hand suddenly grabbed the cat and pulled him, the feline letting out a startled squeak.
Coming to an abrupt halt, Happy looked at the one who was responsible to see Nero with narrowed eyes boring into his head.
"Nero!" yelped Happy.
"And where do you think you're going?" asked Nero rhetorically, his tone left the feline chuckling sheepishly as he continued to hold onto the S-Class quest Mirajane had spoken about earlier.
Devil Tail
Chapter 4: Galuna Island: Part 1
Lucy was, at the moment, returning to her apartment, walking down the streets of Magnolia. She was pretty giddy, having seen several very famous wizards in the last hour.
'Wow! Mystogan and Laxus! That is so cool. I can't believe how many famous wizards there are in Fairy Tail!' She grinned excitedly, "And I think I'm starting to figure out how everybody's ranked within the guild."
She continued to talk to herself, even as she entered her apartment complex, which in reality wasn't that different from an average household.
"Gotta start workin' my way to the top!" she proclaimed.
With that, Lucy turned the doorknob to her apartment and opened the door. However, what she found inside was unlike anything she expected, or had any want to. There, on her bed, was both Natsu and Happy, the fire-breather having abandoned his vest and was doing sit-ups and the blue feline lifting a large dumbbell, or at least proportionally.
"Welcome home!" Natsu greeted, doing sit-ups.
"Sup?" Happy resumed lifting his dumbbell.
"AAAAAAAAHHHH!" Lucy rushed over to Natsu and Happy and kicked them both out of her bed, much to their discomfort and pain, "YOU GUYS STINK!"
As Natsu and Happy got up off the floor, Lucy angrily pointed out the window, "Why don't you jerks work out at your own house?!"
Natsu grinned happily. "Now, Lucy, if we wanna work together like a team-" He pulled out a pink dumbbell, "-we gotta train like one!"
"We thought you'd like the pink dumbbell." Happy added.
"I DON'T CARE WHAT COLOR IT IS, I'M NOT LIFTING WEIGHTS WITH YOU!" Lucy yelled angrily.
Ignoring Lucy's angry outburst, Natsu and Happy then get on the floor and began doing pushups.
"We gotta kick it up a notch if we wanna beat Laxus and Erza. Nero too," claimed the firebreather.
Natsu and Happy then begin doing pushups at a faster rate, both of them now whispering as they talk, and picking up greater speed with their pushups by the second.
"Don't worry, we'll train quietly, Lucy!" Natsu whispered.
"Why does this kinda stuff always happen to me...?!" Lucy cried comically.
Natsu then ceased his pushups with Happy following his example. For a brief moment, everything was silent, until the fire wizard spoke, "I've made a decision..."
Lucy turned back to Natsu, a puzzled look on her face with Natsu turning up to look at her, wearing his usual confident grin.
"Our team is ready for the big time: S-Class!" he declared zealously.
With that, Happy hopped up onto Lucy's desk and held up a piece of paper that had a large, red circle stamped on it with a large "S" in the middle and the word "Class" next to it. The circle had a stylized pair of both angelic and demonic wings on it.
"Yeah! Check it out!" Happy said.
Upon seeing the flier for what was undoubtedly an S-Class quest, Lucy's eyes nearly bulged out of her head as she took an unconscious step back.
"HOW DID YOU GET THAT?!" Lucy cried, mortified. "I THOUGHT WE WEREN'T ALLOWED TO GO ON THE SECOND FLOOR!"
"Well, I just flew up to the top, and took it!" explained the blue cat, like it was the most normal thing in the world.
"YOU LITTLE CAT BURGLAR!" she yelled. A cheeky grin spread across Happy's face from Lucy's reaction. Natsu put his vest back on and approached the two.
"Since this is our first S-Class quest, we decided to go with the smallest reward we found on the board," He grinned happily and gave a thumbs-up, "But seven million is still a lot of Jewel!"
Lucy turned to Natsu and stated, "But we're not ready for it! If the Master knew we had this job request, he'd be furious!"
"Yeah, but I think he'll end up being proud of us if we actually pull it off," he retorted nonchalantly.
Lucy simply sighed in irritation as she sat down at her desk and crossed her legs, her palm resting on her cheek.
"You know," said Lucy, "this may be the dumbest thing you've ever done, Natsu. If you wanna rise up the ranks, you should try following the guild's rules."
"Geez, we're never gonna make S-Class with that kinda attitude," Natsu grumbled.
"You can handle this on your own. I'm staying right here," asserted Lucy.
Happy held up the flier and mentioned, "But the job is saving a tropical island!"
This caught Lucy's attention as she looked at the paper curiously, "Really?"
Natsu leaned on the desk as he and Happy both stare at the blond wizard silently for a moment until their expressions both grow intentionally darker. They spoke in the typical "ghostly" voice, thoroughly creeping Lucy out.
"It's the cursed island of Galuna...!" Natsu and Happy said simultaneously.
"No way! Definitely not going now!" Lucy freaked out.
"I'll give you half the fish I catch, Lucy...!" Happy goaded.
"WHAT KINDA INCENTIVE IS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE?!" the blonde yelled.
Lucy then calms herself and folds her arms, having had enough of her two friends' antics. "Hmph..."
Seeing that their attempts to convince her were of no use, the Dragon Slayer and feline finally decided to leave. However, instead of opening the door to do so, they opened the window by Lucy's bed.
"Fine," relented Natsu, "We're outta here."
"Aye," Happy chimed.
"That's the best idea you've had all day," Lucy commented. She opened her eyes and saw the method in which Natsu and Happy were leaving. Happy sprouted his wings and flew out with Natsu grabbing onto the blue cat's tail as the two floated to the ground.
"Hold on...!" Lucy pointed angrily to the door, "For crying out loud, would you use the door?!"
Lucy then turned around, huffed, and placed her hands on her hips, seemingly exhausted simply by those two having been in her apartment. However, she then glanced to her right and noticed something. The S-Class flier was still lying on the floor!
"Oh no! They left the job request here!" Lucy placed her hands on her head in panic, "Now everybody's gonna think I'm the one who stole it! What'll I do?!"
Just then, Lucy's eyes widened when she looked at the flier again. She then picked it up and examined it more thoroughly; growing even more surprised once she'd done so, "Is this for real? On top of the giant reward, you also get a Gate Key?!"
On the flier right below the listed reward of seven million, there was the silhouette drawing of a key, which read "Gold" next to it. Lucy hummed in thought for a second before smiling slyly.
Natsu and Happy, the former of whom wearing what appeared to be a brown sleeping bag strapped over his arms, were walking over the bridge directly in front of Lucy's apartment building; though it looked like they were moving at a slower pace than they normally would have. They were simply biding their time, until...
"Wait up, you guys! I've decided to come along!" Lucy called out.
There she was, rushing to catch up with her two friends, and now wearing a sleeveless, orange, zip-up tank top with a white trim and white straps, as well as a blue jean skirt. She was carrying the S-Class flier, leading Natsu and Happy to grin, seeing now that their plan had worked. However, as they were leaving, Happy couldn't help but feel he was forgetting something.
-Later-
And with that, Lucy, Natsu, and Happy were off, walking through Magnolia with their spirits high in anticipation of this S-Class quest. Lucy may have objected at first, but with the promise of a Gold Gate Key, her objections practically vanished.
"So, it looks like we're off to Hargeon then!" Lucy said happily.
"Yep!" Natsu grinned. "Man, I'm so excited! This is gonna be awesome! Right, Happy?"
"Aye, sir!" Happy replied.
Lucy's eyes then widened slightly as a thought crossed her mind. She turned to Happy with a somewhat concerned expression, "So you're sure nobody saw you make off with this request?" she asked hesitantly.
Happy smiled and responded, "Positive!"
"Relax, Lucy!" Natsu assured, "Who would've seen him take it? It's not like people hang out at the guild overnight."
Lucy stopped walking as Natsu and Happy continued, staring at the two incredulously, "Seriously...? Did you idiots already forget that Nero is staying at the guild and that Master Makarov is staying there too?"
Natsu and Happy stopped dead in their tracks. The two then turned to each other with blank, wide-eyed expressions, clearly having forgotten all about Nero.
"Gotta admit, you would think you'd remember me," said a familiar voice, causing the Fairy Tail trio to nearly leap out of the skins, particularly Happy as he suddenly remembered what it was that he forgot.
They looked around wildly for the owner of the voice when footsteps began to echo around them. Lucy was finally able to pin down where the source of the footsteps and voice was and to her shock, as well as the shock of Natsu and the despair of Happy, Nero emerged from the shadows of a small alleyway. Resting on his shoulder was Red Queen as he came to a stop. His back facing them.
"NERO!?" cried out the three wizards.
Without saying a word, Nero turned to the group and began walking towards them. He came to a stop right in front of them and had to look down at the three, given he was about a solid foot and a half taller than them.
Natsu and Happy pulled themselves together well enough, but Lucy was still visibly shaking. She'd seen just how brutal Nero could be, especially with the treatment he gave Natsu, and she would understating that she didn't want to be in a fight with him.
"Nero...! Wh-what are you doing here?" Lucy asked nervously.
"Pretty sure I should be asking the three of you that," retorted the Demon Hunter, before glancing at Happy with a cold look that had the feline sweating nervously.
Not noticing the fearful look, because Lucy flinched because of the bluntness of the answer. His baby blue eyes seemed to drill into her soul, especially with the darkness of the night. Even the calmness of his voice put her on edge.
"Well... Y-you see, we were just-," Lucy stammered.
"Don't try to bullshit me," cut in Nero as he wasn't about to have any stories, "I know you got an S-Class job and are going to go try to complete it."
"How did you-"
"A little cat told me," Nero answered, interrupting the Celestial Wizard and glancing at Happy. Both Natsu and Lucy rounded at the winged feline.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU SCOUT THE GUILDHALL FIRST?!" shouted Lucy angrily.
"Seeing you here is pretty hypocritical, Lucy," stated Nero, getting Lucy's attention as he sheathed Red Queen and folded his arms across his chest, "'No amount of money is worth risking your life over', I believe those were your words."
Lucy shifted her gaze away timidly, "Well, you see, I..."
Natsu then stepped forward, his fists clenched and his face and overall features full of determination, "But it's not just about the money, man! We gotta do somethin' to prove ourselves! If we pull this thing off, then Gramps is sure to make us S-Class!"
"Or sure to get your asses thrown out of Fairy Tail," countered Nero sarcastically, figuring out that Makarov wouldn't mess around with jobs that are as dangerous as they sound.
Natsu was about to retort, but Nero just held up his left hand, stopping the Dragon Slayer before he could start. He hadn't known the Dragon Slayer for more than a day, but he already had a decent gauge of him. Natsu was the kind of person to break the rules, but only if he thought everything would work out in the end, and that nobody would get hurt. And he could relate to an extent.
Natsu cared about the people around him and wouldn't hurt them in any way, emotionally anyway. But from what he heard about S-Class quests from Mira, there's more than a chance he's in over his head with this.
Sighing, Nero turned to face Lucy. The young wizard looked at Nero for a moment in confusion and a little in fear. The hunter then extended his left hand, "Hand it over."
"But why...?" asked Happy, only to receive a cool glare from the demon hunter.
"So I can see just how half-assed you are and see how deep in shit you all are," answered Nero sharply.
Lucy, who was beginning to sweat from apprehension, looked at Natsu, who looked back at her with a serious expression and nodded, signaling her to hand the flier to Nero. Doing as she was told, Lucy handed the paper over to him, albeit, timidly. She was still incredibly nervous that he'd pull out either Red Queen or Blue Rose or whatever that spectral arm was and give her the same treatment as he gave Natsu in the afternoon.
Taking the paper from her, Nero began to read it over, immediately taking note of the bold "Help us" written right on the front. Below the words, a picture of an island with a few mountains was added. Beneath the picture was a description of the job itself, and if he was being honest, Nero was surprised and a bit concerned.
The job was a request for any wizard to come and lift the curse of a place called Galuna Island. There was a village on the island, and the people who resided in it had been afflicted by this curse for three whole years. A part of Nero thought that this wasn't any of his business, but a part of him couldn't let it go.
Something that had developed in his years spent with Kyrie; the need to help others who are in trouble. He couldn't find it in himself to ignore anyone who needed help, and these people had been suffering from this curse for a long time; longer than anyone should have to, that's for sure. Mirajane had informed him of how perilous these S-Class quests could be, and he still believed Natsu, Happy, and Lucy had no idea what they were getting into, but even so, he made a decision at that moment.
"Alright then..." said Nero as he closed his and let out a sigh.
"'Alright then'?" repeated Natsu, bewildered. He wasn't alone as Happy and Lucy looked at each other for a second before looking back at Nero.
"What's 'alright then'?" Happy questioned.
Lucy started trembling and squeaked, "Are you gonna try to take us back to the guild?"
"Contrary to what you might think, no I'm not taking you back..." stated Nero, as he opened his eyes and looked at the trio, "I'm going with you to that island."
For a moment, the only sound that could be heard was the chirping of crickets. Natsu, Lucy and Happy stared at Nero with blank expressions while his own serious look lessened into one of confusion. He thought they'd be relieved that he wasn't going to take them back. After all, he easily could. He retained this puzzled mien for a moment longer, until the trio's jaws dropped almost completely of their heads.
"WHAT?!" the trio shouted, shocked.
"Jeez, can you shout any louder?" snapped Nero as he held his ear, not appreciating the sudden cry of surprise. He wasn't prepared or did he expect them to react that way. Among the three of them, Lucy was the fastest to recover from the sudden shock.
"But why?" Lucy inquired, confused, "You're not even in a guild! Is that even allowed?"
"Little late to be asking that," retorted Nero before countering as he turned to her, "Besides, aren't you three breaking the rules by accepting this thing even though none of you are S-Class wizards?"
"I guess that's true." She admitted.
"Means the rule book has been thrown out, besides," continued Nero, "Not really me to ignore people who are suffering. I can be cold, but not that cold."
The three wizards looked at Nero with wide eyes. He looked at that job request, and immediately changed his attitude. However, what surprised them more was that it didn't seem like he even glanced at the reward, which was written in pretty big print at the bottom. Was he really only interested in this because he wanted to help the people of the island? That was what they wanted as well, but they still took note of what they'd receive in return.
"So you're not interested in the reward?" Happy asked.
Nero blinked, "Come again?"
The jaws of the wizarding team dropped yet again when they heard Nero say that. He really did only read the job description!
"Yeah, the reward! At the bottom! You really didn't see it?! It's huge!" Lucy yelled.
Nero looked back at the flier, his attention going right to the bottom of the page, "7 million Jewel." The Demon hybrid obviously, never heard of the currency used in Fiore, or this world as a whole. So he could only assume it was worth a lot.
He also noticed that underneath the reward was the drawing of a key that said "Gold" next to it. He could only assume that meant in addition to seven million Jewel, the responding wizard would also receive a Golden Gate Key, like the ones Lucy has. That must be why she agreed to go along with the job.
"Jewels ain't gonna be much good to me, seeing as how I'm gonna figure out a way home sooner or later. Won't need it back in my universe," explained Nero, "besides, not really sure I can use that key, so the only use I could have for the Zodiac Key is a glorified paperweight."
Natsu cocked a brow and folded his arms, "So, what, you just wanna help the Islanders?"
"Gotta entertain myself somehow," responded Nero sarcastically, "But to be honest, yeah. Would be nice to get paid, something of change compared to my old job where I was in constant debt, but right now, it doesn't matter. Helping people who are in need...that's what I find important."
'That's what she would think is important,' thought Nero, his left hand unconscious gripping Devil Bringer by his wrist.
Yet again, the three Fairy Tail members were somewhat surprised by Nero's answer. He mentioned before that he helped people in his own universe and was paid as well, kind of like they did here, but they were still a little taken aback. He knew just as well as they did that S-Class quests were no walk in the park, but he accepted without giving it so much as a second thought, and for nothing more than to help the people of Galuna Island.
Natsu quickly adorned his face with a wide, confident grin, walked over to Nero, and placed his hand on the Demon Hunter's left shoulder. "That's what I'm talkin' about! Welcome to the team!"
"Might as well enjoy the company," interjected Nero as he brushed off the hand, "it won't last long."
-The Next Day-
The next morning, in the Fairy Tail guild hall, Master Makarov sat down in his usual spot on top of the bar counter and was just about to start relaxing and enjoying his drink, when Mirajane came running down the stairs with an extremely worried look on her face.
"Master!" She folded her hands over her chest, "I don't know what's happened, but one of the S-Class quests is missing!"
For a moment, Makarov retained his calm and relaxed demeanor as he took a sip of his drink. However, he soon spat it out and spun around to face Mira in shock. "WHAT?!" he cried.
It was relatively quiet around the guild at this time of day, so just about everyone had heard what Mira just said, and all of them were surprised, to say the least.
"Say what? One of the jobs from the second floor is missin'?" Wakaba said in disbelief.
"But the jobs up there are S-Class quests. Anyone know who took off with it?" Macao asked.
Just as surprised as the others, a young girl spoke up as well. She was slim and of average height, with bowl-cut, lavender hair, with her fringe covering part of her forehead. She wore a dark red bow on the top of her head. In addition, she wore a whitish-blue coat with light blue lines on the arms and chest, which reached down below her waist, and had another red bow positioned below her turned over collar. She also sported tight-fitting, dark pants that were tucked into a pair of light-colored boots with dark soles. To top it all off, she wore a pair of simple glasses with oval lenses. This was Laki Olietta.
"Well, it's either someone really strong or really stupid." Laki commented.
Just then, the guild heard an all-too-familiar voice speak up from the upper floor of the guild hall, "I know... A little blue cat flew up here and ripped it off the board."
Mirajane quickly turned to see Laxus on the second floor. He was sitting at a table with his feet propped up, his arms folded, and his eyes closed as he smirked to himself.
"It was Happy?" Mira gasped.
With Laxus's single remark, the entire guild began to mutter amongst themselves, some louder than others.
"He must've stolen it for Natsu and Lucy!" Wakaba realized.
"That's crazy! What're they thinking?!" Macao exclaimed.
There was a pair of other wizards amongst the crowd who were also upset with this recent development.
One of them was a young man of average height. He had mildly long black hair that covered the right part of his face. His attire mirrored that of a fictional cowboy, save for the hat. His outfit consisted of a long, brown coat resembling a poncho with tasseled edges, together with a shirt and torn pants with strips similar to the ones on his coat hanging from their edges. He also had a studded belt with a skull-shaped buckle.
This was Alzack Connell. He was currently sitting at a table with a distasteful look on his face.
The individual leaning against a pillar nearby him was a young woman with long, straight green hair that reached down to her upper back. She had a set of long bangs framing her face and wore red lipstick. Her attire was similar to that of a fictional cowgirl, with a tan, Western-style hat. Around her neck was a white scarf with large, yellow polka-dots. She also wore a plain blue, strapless, one-piece dress with white edges.
This was Bisca Mulan, and she too wore a distasteful mien.
"They've got some nerve, taking on an S-Class quest," Alzack commented.
"I dunno if I'd call it nerve, but it's definitely dumb," Bisca remarked.
Laxus smirked, "And it wasn't just him who wandered outta here last night. Our guild's esteemed guest strolled right on after him."
Everyone's eyes nearly bulged out of their heads with that bit of information. No wonder they hadn't seen him around this morning. He wasn't even here!
"Nero went with them, as well?!" yelled Makarov, his eyes as wide as dinner plates.
"Are you serious?!" Macao slapped his forehead, "Is that kid crazy?! He has no idea what kind of dangers an S-Class mission could have in store!"
"He doesn't even know anything about taking on regular jobs!" Laki mentioned.
"And he's going with Natsu and Lucy," Bisca inputted plainly.
"Who knows how many things could go wrong with that match-up," Alzack added.
"Takin' an S-Class quest without permission is a serious breach of the rules," Laxus smirked as he glanced down at Makarov, "Hey, Gramps! Stunt like that'll get yah kicked out of the guild, am I right?"
Makarov was simply standing on the bar counter with his arms folded, head lowered, and eyes closed, contemplating the situation as Laxus spoke.
"Not that it matters. It's not like those four losers are gonna make it back alive from an S-Class quest. One of 'em ain't even a member, to begin with," Laxus said nonchalantly.
Laxus's attention was drawn by Mirajane, who had climbed the stairs, and was staring angrily at the blond man with her hands placed firmly on her hips, "Which is all the more reason you should've stopped them!"
"Oh, lighten up," dismissed Laxus, "All I saw was a blue cat flyin' off with a piece of paper, tryin' to act all sneaky, before getting caught by the kid and questioned for about a minute before letting him go then following the cat. I had no idea it was Happy, and I figured there wasn't any trouble little Nero could get into wandering the town at night," he then turned to Mira, "Besides, Natsu's not cleared for S-Class. I never dreamed he'd break the rules."
That was a lie, and everyone present knew it. Natsu was always finding new ways to aggravate everyone in the guild. This was just the latest and most severe way yet.
It was bad enough that the arrogant S-Class wizard let Happy fly off with the job in the first place, knowing full-well where he was going, but to let a guest of the guild go along with him was even worse. All of them could very well die on that mission, and not stopping them from going despite knowing the danger, was inexcusable, which Mirajane let him know by giving him a dark, menacing glare that could probably make even Nero pause for a second.
However, Laxus didn't seem fazed by Mirajane's growing anger with him, and simply chuckled, "You haven't given me that look in a while..."
"This isn't good...," Makarov looked up at Mira. "Well, which job was it?"
Mirajane turned away from Laxus but was still glaring at him in her peripheral vision as she went on to answer Makarov's question, with Laxus giving her a snide smirk as she did so, "For lifting the curse on...Galuna Island..."
Makarov eyes widened from shock, "WHAT?!"
"Galuna Island?!" Macao and Wakaba shouted.
"Are they insane?!" Laki cried, alarmed.
"They're even dumber than we thought!" Alzack and Bisca remarked, just stunned as the others.
Everyone in the guild had begun to panic upon that revelation. None of the S-Class quests were particularly pleasant, but the Galuna Island job had been left untouched for a very good reason, with that reason being that no one who ever set out on that mission had ever returned from it.
Makarov hopped down from his seat on the bar counter and look up at Laxus, who simply sat there as he had been, practically carefree, "Laxus! Go and fetch them at once!"
"Yeah, right," Laxus replied, giving a dismissive wave, "I got better things to do, Gramps. And besides, everybody in Fairy Tail is supposed to be able to take care of themselves, right?"
"I don't care how you feel about Natsu!" Makarov shouted, losing his patience, "None of them realize what they're getting themselves into, especially Nero! The fact is, you're the only one strong enough to bring them back by force!"
Just then, Gray, who had remained silent this whole time, stood up from his seat behind Master Makarov, and turned to him, drawing the elderly wizard's attention, "Sorry, Master...but I'm afraid I gotta disagree with you."
-Elsewhere-
With the new quartet, Nero, Natsu, Lucy and Happy had made good time, arriving at the seemingly picturesque and, in Nero's opinion, generic port town of Hargeon. It reminded Nero slightly of the docks back in Fortuna, if only more low tech. But it didn't really bother the demon hunter as they made their way through the town. Lucy had an unusually nostalgic smile on her face as they were walking.
"Wow, this brings back memories." Lucy commented. "It seems like only yesterday when we met here for the first time, Natsu."
That was fairly accurate. Along the way to Hargeon, Lucy had told Nero that she had been Fairy Tail's most recent addition, having joined about one to two weeks prior to his arrival.
She then told him the story of how she came to meet Natsu and Happy. A criminal named Bora was impersonating Natsu under the guise of the latter's epithet, "Salamander." This man was running a slave smuggling operation between Fiore and a country known as Bosco and had tricked Lucy into boarding his yacht that was bound for said country. She would've fallen victim to this illegal activity had Natsu and Happy, whom she'd met earlier that same day, not intervened.
Eventually, Natsu was revealed to be the real Salamander to both her and Bora, and the Dragon Slayer defeated the imposter, but not without destroying a large portion of the town in the process. Needless to say, Nero was a little surprised by the story, however, the end he totally expected.
"It practically was yesterday," Natsu retorted, "You don't have to get all mushy."
"Yeah, you sound like an old lady," Happy snickered.
Happy's comment earned him an angry glare from Lucy, though it did little to temper his internal laughter. It didn't take long for Lucy to resume her chipper attitude, however.
"Well, let's go find a boat that'll take us to Galuna," Lucy said.
Natsu instantly grew a panicked expression when he heard Lucy mention a boat, "ARE YOU CRAZY?! Forget the boat! Why can't we just swim for it?!"
"Because why swim nearly a hundred miles when we can take a boat which is faster," rebuked Nero, knowing the Dragon Slayer's crippling weakness was motion sickness. A boat, or any vessel for that matter, would almost instantly set off his sickness like it did yesterday on the train.
Lucy sighed, exasperated, "And you think I'm the one who's crazy?"
"Even if he did try, he wouldn't even find it," added the Demon Hunter, "Pretty sure none of us even knows where this island is. Plus, he'd drown before get anywhere close."
"Nero's right, Natsu," agreed Lucy, "Like it or not, we need someone to take us to the island, and a boat's the only way to do that."
Natsu simply sighed in defeat and followed Lucy and Nero as they made their way to the docks. It would appear that finding someone who was willing to take them to the island was easier said than done. All of the sailors and fishermen they had asked about it had instantly turned them down the moment they mentioned Galuna, with one man claiming it was bad luck to even mention the cursed island.
After some time, Lucy and Happy where beginning to lose hope and Nero was increasingly getting annoyed, all the while Natsu's grin had been growing ever so slowly after each failed attempt. Nero took notice of this and sent the Dragon Slayer a glare, but said nothing about it.
It appeared Natsu actually did want to swim to the island, as crazy as it sounded.
Eventually, the group came upon a sailor with black hair, who wore a blue cap on his head, and a pale green cloak with a white t-shirt underneath as well as dark pants. He had slightly darkish-colored skin and a mustache that descended around his mouth and chin. He was sitting in his boat when the team had asked him to take them to Galuna.
"Don't know why you'd wanna go there, but no sailor worthh his salt's gonna take ya to Galuna. Not even pirates'll go near that place."
The group had been asking sailors and fishermen all over Hargeon for half the day and was more than a little frustrated, save for Natsu and Happy, who simply folded his arms with a grin on his face.
"Are you serious...?" Lucy inquired, feeling completely defeated.
"All these sailors are a bunch spineless cowards," seethed Nero as he folded his arms.
"It looks like we're gonna be swimmin' after all!" Natsu grinned.
"Sure does!" Happy chimed.
Lucy spun around to Natsu and Happy angrily, "WE'RE NOT SWIMMING, NATSU!"
Just then, both Natsu and Lucy felt someone place their hands on their right and left shoulders respectively, "I found you...!" a voice said.
Upon hearing the familiar voice, Natsu and Lucy both jumped and spun around to face the owner while Nero turned calmly. Behind them with a triumphant smirk on his face was none other than Gray.
"It's Gray!" Lucy said, stunned.
"What're you doin' here?!" Natsu demanded, surprised and frustrated.
Gray turned to Natsu, annoyed, "Gramps found out about your harebrained scheme and sent me to bring yah back."
Natsu's eyes widen in shock, his jaw dropped, "Why?! We're not in danger yet!"
"If yah come back now, yah might avoid being kicked out of the guild. Maybe," Gray answered.
Upon hearing that, Lucy placed her hands on her face as she adorned an apprehensive mien. That was definitely not what she was expecting, nor was it something she wanted to hear.
"Kicked out?!" she shrieked.
Hearing Gray mention that Natsu and Lucy might get kicked out of the guild made Nero feel a twinge of guilt. Sure, he figured they might get into trouble for going on an S-Class quest, whilst lacking the proper qualification, but being kicked out? Even though he entertained the idea of getting thrown out, that seemed like a little much, plus, the way Makarov described Fairy Tail made it sound like a close family. Getting thrown out would basically be the equivalent of a parent disowning his or her own child.
"Didn't think the trouble you'd get into would be this steep," commented Nero as he folded his arms, "If I were you, I'd head back."
Natsu's expression became determined as he got into Gray's face. Though they all heard what Nero said, none of them seemed to notice that he never mentioned what he would do in that statement.
Natsu gritted his teeth and said, "I don't care! I'm goin' on this S-Class quest!"
"Man, you're way out of your league here," stated Gray as he narrowed his eyes, but that look turned when his face became grave. A thought had entered his mind, which he didn't hesitate to share with the group," When Erza finds out about this, she's gonna be so angry..."
While the threat of being kicked out of Fairy Tail might not have frightened Natsu, the thought of an angry Erza most certainly did; so much so that the Dragon Slayer, Lucy, and Happy as well began to sweat in apprehension.
"Uh-oh..." was all the three wizards could say at the threat.
"Still don't get why everyone's afraid of her," muttered Nero to himself. She was one person.
On the way to Hargeon, Nero had asked Lucy and Happy about it while Natsu chucked his breakfast out of the train again. Only Happy was willing to tell him about her, strangely enough. He told him that Erza, as an S-Class wizard, was incredibly strong, but unlike the other S-Class wizards, she would actually get into fights with the other members on occasion like she did with Natsu a few days before Nero's arrival in this world.
He noted her magic as being pretty, saying that it makes her enemies "bleed, a lot," but never specified exactly what it was. He then concluded by explaining that she would almost always have to hold back during a fight with another member as she could very easily hurt them or damage other people's property by accident.
After hearing Happy's explanation, Nero was once again impressed by Erza. That meant that she could not only defeat just about every individual member in the guild, but she could hold back while doing it.
However, in his mind, that still didn't quite answer the question of why they were all so afraid of her. Sure, she was powerful, but that didn't mean shit to Nero. She seemed very pleasant during the short time they spoke.
The demon hunter was snapped out of his musings when Happy flew over behind Gray's shoulder. "Please, Gray, you gotta save me! I told them this was a bad idea but they forced me to come along!"
"YOU ARE SUCH A LIAR!" Lucy yelled furiously.
Natsu's determination was strengthening by the second as he glared at Gray, ignoring both Happy and Lucy, "I've gotta prove my power to Gramps!" He clenched his fists, "So, like it or not, I'm doin' this!"
Gray placed his hands on his hips, getting into Natsu's face, "Master ordered me to bring you home! I'll drag you back to Fairy Tail if I have to!"
With that, an icy mist began to form around Gray's hand, and a second later, a cluster of ice spikes grew around his hand; much to Nero's intrigue and wonder. It reminded him of a Frost's spiked knuckles, however, not as large. Since he'd arrived at Fairy Tail, he'd never seen Gray's magic before, nor had he heard what it was, surprisingly. He hadn't expected it to be ice-oriented.
"Don't make me hurt you, buddy!" Gray threatened.
Natsu quickly ignited his left fist in flames as he continued to glare at Gray, "I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY!" he challenged.
When the two wizards broke out their magic, the sailor on the boat looked surprised as he spoke to himself quietly, "Magic...?" Before any kind of fight could break out between the fire and ice wielders, the sailor stood up in his boat and spoke up, catching everyone's attention, "Excuse me, but are you wizards? Have you come to lift the curse on the island?"
Natsu, now distracted from his would-be fight with Gray, grinned confidently and put away his flames as he turned to the sailor. Lucy, however, was not quite as chipper as she was earlier, her confidence now wavering from the threat of being expelled from Fairy Tail. However, the second the sailor spoke, Nero had felt Devil Bringer begin to pulse, faintly.
"Yeah!" Natsu replied.
"Well, maybe..." Lucy said nervously.
"Not gonna happen!" Gray uttered through gritted teeth.
The sailor simply stared at the wizards and demon hunter for a second, a somewhat surprised and shocked expression on his face and in his eyes, but it didn't look disbelief. After a minute or so, the man composed himself before gesturing to his boat, "Get in."
"What?" the Celestial Spirit wizard said, surprised.
"Seriously?!" Natsu added.
The group was surprised the sailor had changed his mind so quickly upon learning they were there to save the island. However, Gray was not so much surprised as he was still angry with Natsu, "No way!" he exclaimed.
Gray moved in to grab Natsu, but the Dragon Slayer simply grinned devilishly and delivered a powerful backward kick to Gray's stomach, effectively knocking the wind out of him, and rendering him unable to move or speak. Natsu lifted the ice wizard up over his right shoulder and turned to the sailor with a smirk on his face.
"There we go. Ready when you are, sir," Natsu proclaimed.
"Would be easier to leave him here," suggested Nero, arching an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I'm not sure if bringing him with us is such a good idea." Lucy inputted.
Natsu turned to the Celestial Spirit mage and demon hunter, and countered, "We can't let him go back and tell the guild," He then began to tremble and sweat as his mien quickly became one of trepidation, "'Cause the next person they'll send is Erza!"
Under the threat of Erza coming for them, Lucy and Happy's demeanors practically mirrored Natsu's. Without another word, the Celestial Wizard and flying cat both piled into the boat with Natsu hopping in after tossing Gray in. Nero followed but was still left with the question of what exactly Erza was capable of.
"Still don't see why you're so afraid of her," said Nero under his breath as he boarded the boat, but he didn't forget that feeling Devil Bringer brought.
-1 hour later-
The first hour into their journey, aboard the boat, was spent in silence, the captain refusing to say a word until they were closer to their destination. By that time, the sun had gone down, and the night air had cooled and was starting to kick in. Also, around that time, Gray had recovered from Natsu's sudden attack but was tied up to prevent him from using his magic by the Dragon Slayer. Something Gray was none too pleased about.
Natsu, meanwhile, was emptying the contents of his stomach over the side railing, motion sickness being the culprit. Lucy was becoming a bit more confident as they progressed more into their trip. Happy as well, true to his name, happy.
As the minutes of silence ticked by, Nero was currently thinking to himself about one thing in particular, or more accurately, someone in particular: Erza Scarlet. After hearing so much about her, he was extremely curious as to what she was capable of. Having heard enough to know what everyone's else's abilities were on the supposed "strongest team in Fairy Tail," but so far, he hadn't heard anything about Erza's. But he kept that feeling he had back at the dock in the back of his head.
Looking for an answer, he turned to Happy, who was sitting about right next to him, on the bow of the boat, making sure to keep his voice low and not disturb the captain, "Hey, Happy."
Happy turned to the teen hybrid demon, "Huh?"
"You talked about Erza's magic earlier..." began Nero.
The blue feline tilted his head in confusion. "What about it?"
"Didn't explain what it was to me," elaborated Nero, "Just curious to know who she makes her enemies 'bleed'."
"Oh! That's easy. Erza uses a type of magic called Re-Quip," She explained, "She can use it to pull all sorts of weapons out of her own pocket dimension, like swords and axes and stuff!"
"Huh," said Nero, a little intrigued, 'Guess that explains the 'bleeding' thing he said earlier... Kinda makes her like Pandora.'
"So, that's why everyone's always walking around on eggshells when she's around?" guessed Nero, picking up where he left off, "Because she can summon swords? I mean, Lucy can summon a giant cow-man with a battle ax and no one bats an eye at that."
Happy shook his head and clarified, "Nuh-uh. Lots of wizards can use Re-Quip Magic to change weapons, but Erza's biggest strength is that she can change her armor too! It's a unique ability that only she possesses. It's called 'The Knight'."
Nero was definitely surprised by this new information. He wondered why she was always decked out in armor, and now he understood. However, there was one question that Happy's explanation brought to the surface of Nero's mind.
"Her armors able to do anything?" he wondered, "Or are they just for show?"
"Yup!" the blue cat replied, "She has a bunch of different kinds of armor, and most of them give her special powers and magic!"
Nero thought about that for a second, before snorting in amusement. He made the joke that with all his weapons, Devil Arms, and seemingly bottomless pockets, that Dante was basically an armory that talks too much and is in constant debt. Something Trish, Patty, and Lady found funny, Dante not so much. Though, this did raise the question of how many of these armors she had.
He decided against asking Happy though. He highly doubted the blue feline would have an answer. He'd have to ask her himself some time.
After that, several more minutes went by in silence, and in that time, the sky had grown noticeably darker, which only made Lucy even more unsettled, "Okay, now I'm starting to get scared..." she said shakily.
"Well look on the bright side, at least you're not tied up!" Gray retorted. He then turned his attention to the captain of their little voyage, still angered and irritated by the fact that he was now tied up, but still equally angry about his friends' insistence on breaking the guild's rules, "This is your fault too, buddy! Why'd you decide to let us on?!"
The sailor, who had remained silent the entire trip and had been focusing on a small, glowing orb at the back of the boat, turned to Gray with a neutral expression, "The name is Bobo, and if you must know, I used to be a citizen of Galuna Island."
"Meaning..." cut in Nero, wanting an answer for what he meant by 'used to be'.
Bobo didn't respond to Nero for a moment, much to the hunter's confusion and annoyance. Bobo's expression grew darker as he turned to face the sea, "But I had to flee... I just couldn't take it anymore," He turned to the group, "I should warn you. Tragedy befalls anyone who sets foot on the island. There's no avoiding it. That is unless you're able to lift the curse."
After a second pause, Bobo shifted his cloak and exposed his left arm; however, it was unlike anything they had expected, especially Nero. It appeared to be covered in a bizarre, dark purple exoskeleton. Whatever it was, it clearly wasn't human.
"...This vile demon's curse," Bobo concluded.
"Woah, your arm..." Gray gasped.
"What happened to it?" Lucy asked, shocked.
Nero said nothing, his own arm going immediately to Devil Bringer. His expression portraying total shock. He never thought he'd see something like this. For as long as he knew, only he had that trait, being the only quarter demon-human hybrid. To see this... it threw him completely through a loop.
Again, without replying, the cursed sailor took a look ahead of the boat and saw an island coming into view, "We're almost there. That's Galuna Island..."
For a second, the wizards and superhero gawked at the island in curiosity and minor apprehension, until Lucy broke the silence by asking the question that was on everybody's mind.
"That's weird. Why's the mountaintop glowing like that?" she observed.
Sure enough, Lucy was right. The mountain on the island had a golden, yet ominous glow shining from it. Simply looking at it made Nero's expression harden, and if he was being honest, Devil Bringer began pulsing more. The entire island, it felt unnatural, like something on it was off. Then again, living there had given poor Bobo the arm of some kind of humanoid insect, so there was undoubtedly something sinister there.
Nero held his wrist. He needed more answers. Turning back around to Bobo, the demon hunter was about to ask more. However, when he did look back, the cursed man had vanished.
"What the hell!?" shouted Nero, his voicing portraying alarm.
Everyone turned to see what the commotion was about, only to be just as shocked as Nero by their guide's disappearance.
"Where'd he go?!" Lucy said fearfully.
"Did he fall out?" Gray wondered, equally confused as the others.
"It's like he disappeared into thin air!" Happy remarked.
As Natsu gurgled from motion sickness, unaware of the current situation, Lucy began to hear something as she looked over the edge of the boat, but couldn't place her finger on what it was, "What's that sound?" she voiced.
Nero heard it as well but came to quicker conclusion that whatever it was, it was coming up from behind them. Spinning around, Nero saw what it was, but immediately adopted a shocked expression by what it was: a titanic sized rogue wave was heading right for them.
"We've got a problem!" shouted the hunter.
Everyone turned to Nero, but their eyes widened in shock and fear upon seeing the massive wave. Even Natsu, who was still visibly sick, looked startled by the incoming wave.
"AAAAAHHH! TSUNAMIII!" cried Lucy.
"Now don't panic! Just hold on!" Gray yelled.
The group grew more fearful by the second as the wave began to come down on them, forming a whirlpool beneath all the while.
"Happy! Can't you grab onto the boat and fly?!" Lucy asked in the midst of her panic.
"I'M NOT STRONG ENOUGH!" Happy replied.
"Well shit," deadpanned Nero, a not a second later, the rogue wave broke over them, smashing into the small wooden boat and casting everyone into the whirlpool just below.
-Later-
"Shit...," groaned Nero as he felt his eyes began to flicker open, the sounds of birds chirping entering his ears. Upon opening his eyes, Nero raised his hand to shield them from the bright sun. Giving his eyes time to adjust, he sat up before looking around, still dazed to an extent, but was able to figure out he was on some sort of beach, "What the hell happened?"
Taking a second to collect himself, Nero stood up and began brushing the sand off. It was daytime, he must've been knocked unconscious for a while. However, it didn't take him long to realize he was alone; Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and Happy were nowhere to be found.
"Wait...," he said to himself, looking up and down the beach, "where is everyone?"
Standing there for a moment, he began to remember the events prior to his awakening here on the beach. How he and the others got blindsided by a massive rogue wave.
'Rogue wave comes out of nowhere...,' thought Nero grimly, 'Yeah, there's something definitely wrong with this place...'
"In more ways than one," said Nero aloud to himself, looking down at Devil Bringer. His glove was still on, but his fingertips were exposed, and he could definitely see that it was reacting to something here. That being said, the chance of demons was much higher, the only question was, are they like his demons, or are they something different?
One way or another, standing around wasn't going to help find his friends. If he was lucky, they might be close by. Or at least that's what he hoped.
"Well, not gonna accomplish anything standing here," stated Nero as he picked a random direction along the beach and began to head up. Since he was part demon, he recovered much faster, so if Natsu or the others had been washed up, he'd find them unconscious along the beach.
As he was walking, Nero felt Devil Bringer pulse again, like it was trying to tell him something. But what?
-Elsewhere-
There she was; Lucy, lying unconscious on a beach. Her eyes began to flutter open slowly at the sound of a voice. At first, she didn't recognize it; not Natsu's, not Gray's, and definitely not Happy's.
"Lucy!" shouted the voice, it sounded vaguely familiar.
'Wait...is that...' thought Lucy, though somewhat still dazed.
"Anyone?!" shouted the voice again.
'Nero...?' she wondered, forcing herself to try and wake up faster.
"Hello?!" With all the shouting, Lucy was finally able to get enough awareness.
She finally opened her eyes, and more or less, propped herself up on her elbows and angled her head up. She was still more or less out of it, but elevating herself did catch the attention of the owner of the voice.
"Lucy!" shouted the voice, much closer.
"N-Nero?" asked the blonde as she cleared some blurriness from her eyes. Upon doing so, she saw the silver-haired young adult jogging over to her and knelt down beside her to help her up
"You good?" asked the hunter as he helped her to her feet, extending a hand.
"Yeah, I think so..." Lucy accepted Nero's hand and used it to pull herself off the ground.
"Good to hear," said Nero in some relief, "You know where the others are?"
"I don't know...," Lucy replied. She then took a look around. After a few moments had passed, Lucy looked over Nero's shoulder, and saw something, "Wait..."
Following her gaze, Nero saw where she was looking. It appeared to be three figures; two of them lying on the ground unconscious, and the other, smaller one, with its rear end and its furry, blue tail sticking out of the sand. He immediately recognized the trio as Natsu, Gray, and Happy. The wreckage of the boat they had been traveling in could be seen strewn about the beach.
"What a mess...," Lucy muttered as she and Nero made their way to their friends, who each had already begun coming around and were waking up.
After several minutes, Natsu and Gray were fully awake, and the latter had helped Happy get his head out of the sand, and proceeded to pick up his backpack and sleeping bag. Nero just closed his eyes and took a deep breath, he wasn't a fan of watching people get hurt, especially when he was around, so finding out that everyone was more or less okay took some weight from his shoulders.
"Looks like we made it, you guys!" Natsu noted; an excited grin on his face.
"We're lucky that wave washed us ashore," Lucy added.
"Well, I don't know if I would call it lucky," Gray commented sourly.
"So you'd prefer to be dead?" deadpanned Nero sarcastically, earning a glare from Gray.
"I can't help but wonder what happened to the guy who brought us here..." Lucy stated, worried about the sailor.
"Yeah. Right after Bobo told us about the curse, he vanished..." picked up Nero, recalling what happened.
"Forget about that stuff for now and let's go exploring!" Natsu yelled, flailing his arms in the air excitedly.
"Aye!" Happy chirped.
Lucy could only sweat drop at her two friends' attitudes. "We've been here like thirty seconds, and you guys have already forgotten about the mission?"
Nero just growled. They were on a job, they needed to be focused.
After a moment, Lucy proceeded to pull out the job request that brought them here in the first place. Natsu and Happy regained their composure and began to focus on the task at hand once again.
"Apparently there's only one village on the entire island. The village chief is the one who originally put in the request. So I guess we need to try and find him."
"Not so fast...," Everyone turned to see Gray, staring at them with a serious expression.
"You serious thinking of taking these guys back to the guild?" demanded Nero incredulously, "I don't know if it's escaped your notice, but in order to do that, you need a boat. And the only one we had is in a thousand pieces along the beach."
"You're right...," Gray said, "I'm comin' with you."
That was a surprise for everyone, especially for Natsu, Happy, and Lucy. First Nero had agreed to tag along, and now Gray?
"There's no way I'm gonna let the two of you clowns make S-Class before I do." Gray stated plainly, "And if you were kicked out, the guild would be pretty boring. Gramps'll be upset, but if we pull this off, he won't stay mad at us for long."
"Anything about me?" asked Nero, folding his arms and narrowing his eyes.
Gray shrugged. "He thinks you have no idea how to handle this world, but seein' how you took down flame-brain over there, and the fact that you obviously got experience under your belt, I think you can handle a cursed island."
The Ice-Make wizard grinned confidently, "Let's go."
Natsu and Lucy smiled while Happy jumped in excitement. "Yeah!" shouted the former two, while their blue, feline companion yelled, "Aye!"
"About time you guys agreed on something," commented Nero as a grin formed, "We better get moving."
To Be Continued...