Lucy treated the gang to another trip. As they flew over the ocean, they were about to pass over an island that had the statue of a creature that was part man and part panther. On this island was actually a tribe that heard the plane flying over and they all looked at it with curiosity. All five of them just sat back and enjoyed the flight.
"I can't believe you got us a trip to Costa Rica." Gray said.
"I don't make a big deal about being rich, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the merits." Lucy said. "It's more enjoyable when you got real friends to enjoy it with you."
"Lucy, you continue to amaze me." Natsu said as all of them were enjoying the flight.
"Hey, check out that island." Erza said as she spotted the island passing over. "I wonder what lives down there."
"People. I heard that island is actually inhabited." They all were greeted by a man that had purple hair with a white streak. "Miss Heartfilia, are you and your friends enjoying the flight?"
"Yes. Thank you, Hughes." Lucy said.
"Excuse me, but who is flying the plane?" Gray asked.
"That would be my sister, Mary." Hughes explained. "Our job is to make sure you all have the best experience on this flight until we land down. Hey, Mary, how are we looking in there?!"
"Things are like looking good." Mary called from the cockpit. "It should be totes smooth sailing from..." She didn't finish that as something was happening and the plane was going out of control and was heading down. "Oops! I spoke too soon. Something is totes wrong! Prepare for emergency landing! I'm going to try and land on that island!" All of them buckled up and hoped for the best. The plane went down until it reached the ground of the island and crashed down, but little damage was done to the plane and everyone was safe.
"Yikes. That was scary." Lucy said.
"Is everyone okay?" Hughes asked.
"I think so." Erza said.
"Speak for yourself." Natsu said in pain since Happy was digging his nails into Natsu. Everyone boarded off the plane and checked out the damage.
"Mary, what happened?" Hughes asked.
"I like don't know. The instruments just went out of control." Mary said.
"That's weird. We never had a problem like that before." Lucy said.
"Well, it doesn't look like there's too much damage." Hughes said. "Mary I will check around to see if we can get this birdie off the ground. Why don't you all have a look around and come back later."
"I'm not sure if that's a good idea." Mary said. "There's actually a tribe that lives on this island and they don't like outsiders. If they see us, they will be hostile. They say it's the way of the Panther Guardian."
"Panther Guardian?! What the heck is that?" Gray questioned.
"A guardian deity of this island that is a panther with the body of a man." Mary said. "In fact, they say that such a beast lives on this island."
"That's just silly. A creature like that doesn't exist." Lucy said.
"Let's just do some exploring and be careful on where we go." Erza said with the others agreeing on that. The five of them went to do some exploring while Mary and Hughes stayed behind to fix the plane. However, none of them fully understand the danger that lies in this jungle.
...
The Gang
All five of them had a look around the island. It was a beautiful place with some beautiful plants and creatures.
"Crashing here isn't so bad. This place looks amazing." Lucy said.
"You can say that again." Erza said.
"I don't know. It's a little hot for my liking." Gray said.
"What's the matter, Gray? Can't take the heat?" Natsu taunted. All of them were doing some exploring, but none of them knew was that something was watching them. While all of them were doing some exploring, Happy was playing around with some of the insects of the island. He tried catching a small grasshopper that kept hopping around. Happy kept trying to catch it until he hit something that looked like a foot. Happy looked up to see what he hit and saw what this Panther Guardian looked like. It really did look like a panther with the body of a man and wore green pants.
"Happy? Where'd you go?" Lucy said when they all noticed he was gone. They looked around until they found him and what appeared to be a statue. "There you are."
"Whoa! Check that out! Do you think that's the Panther Guardian?" Natsu said.
"No. I think it's the Easter Bunny." Gray mocked.
"So this is the creature." Erza said as she walked over to it and was amazed by it. "It certainly does seem like a fierce beast."
"Guys, if this thing is here, that could mean we're somewhere we shouldn't be. Remember what Mary said about those tribe people."
"Maybe she was overreacting." Erza said as she placed her hand on the beast, but she noticed something strange about how it felt. "Weird. This feels like actual fur, not some sort of statue." They all tried getting a better look at the thing and saw it blink.
"Did that thing just blinked?!" Natsu said. Suddenly, they saw it moving and it actually roared. "Yikes! That thing is alive!" Seeing that thing move actually made them nervous and they all ran for it. The beast chased after them through the jungle. As they all pushed through the plants, they hoped to lose the beast soon.
"Anyone got any ideas as to how we can lose him?" Erza questioned. Happy looked around until he spotted a small insect that could help: a stinkbug. Happy grabbed it and threw it with it landing right on the beast's nose. Once it unleashed its stink, the beast snarled and acted like it was in pain from the bug's stench. It gave the others a chance to run off.
"What the heck just happened? There's no way that thing was for real." Gray said.
"Tell that to the thing that just roared in my ear." Erza said.
"We better hurry back to the plane and tell Hughes and Mary that we need to leave as soon as possible." Lucy said. Knowing they have to leave the island now, they hurried back as fast as they could to the plane.
...
The Plane
The gang hurried back to the plane. However, there wasn't anyone around. There was no sign of Mary or Hughes. It was like they both vanished.
"Mary?! Hughes?! Where are you?!" Lucy called.
"This doesn't look good. They're gone." Gray said.
"But where could they have gone. They're suppose to fix the plane, and we can't leave the island without them." Happy said.
"Maybe those pilots have their heads in the clouds." Natsu joked. "Get it, Happy? Pilots with heads in the clouds?" Happy did not get it, but there was no time for that as a spear flew past them and hit the plane. "Where the heck did that come from?!" All of them looked and saw the tribe that they were warned about with what appeared to be the chief of the tribe.
"Outsiders!" The chief called as he did not sound happy. "I knew there were outsiders here. You came to our island to plague our home."
"What? That's crazy." Gray said.
"It's not like that. We don't even want to be here. Our plane crashed and he had to land here. There was no other option." Lucy said, but none of them looked like they were in the mood to listen.
"The Panther Guardian has warned us of your arrival, and the danger you bring." The chief said. "You outsiders have already begun to claim our sacred land as your own, but we will not have it. We will not give up our home without a fight. Capture them!" The chief and his men charged right at them to take them away, but all of them ran out of there and into the jungle.
"Great. We didn't have enough to worry about with the giant cat and the missing pilots, but now we have a whole tribe after us." Gray complained.
"Complain about it later. Just keep running." Erza said as they were literally running for their lives. However, the tribe was starting to gain on them, but something helped them out. Just as the five of them ran by, a vine was pulled and caused all the hunters to trip and fall over. They all stopped for a moment and saw it with them wondering what happened.
"Over here!" They all looked and saw a girl about their age with tan skin and dark hair. She also appeared to be wearing the same kind of clothes the tribe wears. "This way! Quickly!" None of them knew her, but they weren't going to lick a gift horse in the mouth. They followed her and she showed the way through the jungle and were able to lose the hunters that were after them.
"I think we lost them." Natsu said.
"Thanks a lot for your help. You saved us back there." Lucy said.
"It was my pleasure. I see things differently from the rest of my tribe." The girl said.
"Again, thanks. Who are you?" Erza asked.
"My name is Chikila. I'm glad I was able to help. I am sorry about my people, but they do not trust outsiders."
"We've noticed. I'm Gray. That's Erza, Lucy, Natsu, and the cat is Happy."
"If you're part of that tribe, how come you're acting friendly towards us?" Lucy asked.
"I've always had an adventurous spirit." Chikila said. "I've always wanted to see what lies beyond our waters, but I was never given the chance. May I ask what all of you are doing on our island?"
"It's not like we had a choice." Natsu said. "It was either this or be lost our in the water and become a snack for sharks."
"Well, I suggest you leave as soon as possible. Now that the chief and others know that you are here, they will hunt you down and make you pay for trespassing." Chikila warned them.
"We didn't mean to trespass, but we can't leave." Lucy said. "There were two others with us and we need them to get off this island." Lucy tried explaining the situation to Chikila, but there was something else she wanted to know. "Chikila, what did the chief mean when he said that we already begun to claim your land?"
"It happened a days ago." Chikila explained. "We discovered a strange hut by the river, not one of our own. When no one knew what it was, we assumed someone from outside our island was beginning to claim our island as their own."
"A strange hut? Can you show us?" Erza said for seeing that hut might help them figure things out. Chikila showed the way as they made their way through the jungle.
"Chikila, what can you tell us about your Panther Guardian?" Lucy asked.
"The panther represents beauty, power, and ferocity to us." Chikila said. "We see it as our sacred deity that watches over and protect us."
"And you actually saw it, not just a statue?" Gray said.
"Yes! You can imagine our surprise when our actual guardian came to us." Chikila said, but the rest of them thought it was rather suspicious. "There it is." They all arrived at the river and saw the strange hut she was talking about. All of them got a closer look as to what she was talking about and looked around. Nothing seem too strange until Happy spotted a shiny rock on a plate. He jumped up and even used a magnifying glass to study it better.
"What's that, little buddy?" Natsu questioned as they all saw it.
"I've never seen such a shiny rock before." Chikila said. Lucy took a hold of it and examined it herself.
"Unreal! It's silver! Pure and actual silver!" Lucy said.
"Silver! Are you sure it's the real thing?!" Gray questioned.
"I'm sure of it." Lucy said.
"Look here!" Erza said as she found a blanket covering something. She pulled it away and found buckets filled with silver. "More of it, but where did it all come from?" Lucy looked around at what they found and came up with a conclusion.
"It must be from the river." Lucy said.
"I never knew something like that was in there. We only pulled out fish from our river." Chikila said.
"And I have a feeling that Panther Guardian we ran into earlier has something to do with it." Lucy said. "I'm sorry, Chikila. Someone has been using your sacred deity as a cover for something rotten."
"No..." Chikila said as she too wanted to believe in the guardian, but hearing someone has been degrading it was quite offensive to her.
"You should hurry back and tell your people what we learned." Gray said. Chikila agreed and hurried off.
"Someone's been using the Panther Guardian to hide what they've really been doing, but who?" Erza said.
"And what about Hughes and Mary? We still need to find them." Lucy said.
"Maybe that phony cat got them. I like to see the big bad cat get us." Natsu said, but he soon got what he asked as they all heard a roar. They looked and spotted the Panther Guardian found them. That meant there was only one thing to do: run.
...
Chase Scene
Doo, doo, doo
Don't you go where darkness roams
That's what they call their home
Watch out for they have an axe to grind
Your fears is what you'll find
You can feel the glare of the evil eye
Here they come to make you scream and cry
YEOW
All of them ran from Panther Guardian chased after them. Gray and Erza tried disguising themselves as the local flora in the area as he ran by, but Panther Guardian came back around and went after them.
Twist to the left
Twist to the right
Don't get caught on a spooky night
Run and hide all you like, but you can't escape your frights
But you can't escape your frights
Panther Guardian chased after Lucy, but she held out her hand and stopped him for a moment when she reached the river. She carefully moved over rocks in the river until she made it to the other side. Panther Guardian tried going after her, but he ended up slipping.
Doo, doo, doo
Doo, doo, doo
Doo, doo, doo
Doo, doo, doo
Doo, doo, doo
Doo, doo, doo
Panther Guardian chased Natsu and Happy over a log that acted like a bridge over a set of cliffs, but Natsu started getting the log turning with his legs with the Panther Guardian loosing his balance and falling off.
Twist to the left
Twist to the right
Don't get caught on a spooky night
Run and hide all you like, but you can't escape your frights
But you can't escape your frights
All of them ran into a cave for cover, but ended up running out when they saw Panther Guardian was already there. However, Panther Guardian had to run himself when he saw a bear was there.
...
"I think we lost him." Gray said as they all tried catching their breaths. However, they weren't going to get much of a chance to rest when they heard rustling coming from the bushes.
"Not this time." Natsu said as he grabbed a branch. "We've got you now!" He shouted as she smashed the branch into the bushes with Happy pouncing inside, but it wasn't Panther Guardian. It ended up being the chief of the tribe. When he gave off a whistle, the hunters came in and grabbed a hold of Natsu and Happy. The others had no choice but to run.
"You trespassers shall pay for your crimes." The chief said as they all tied Natsu and Happy up and carried them away.
"Oh no!" Lucy said as she was scared for Natsu and Happy.
"We've got to save them." Gray said as they hurried to save their friends.
...
The Tribe
Natsu and Happy were taken back to the tribe's home. They were tied up, but they also saw that Hughes was there as well.
"Hughes! I'm glad to see you, but what happened to Mary?" Natsu said.
"I don't know. We were separated." Hughes said. The tribe was chanting as they were getting ready for their punishment. The chief stood with Panther Guardian himself. It was clear that the chief was listening to Panther Guardian, and that meant trouble for them. The three of them knew this was going to be trouble. Gray and the girls arrived, but they stayed out of sight.
"We need to do something." Erza said.
"Look! There's Chikila!" Lucy said as she saw Chikila coming their way.
"Chikila, what happened?" Gray questioned.
"I tried talking to my people, but they still refuse to listen." Chikila said. "They still believe you are to blame for what has happened. They're only judging you because they don't know you."
"It looks like the only ones they'll listen to is Panther Guardian. That's a problem for us." Gray said. They saw something happened as Panther Guardian took Hughes, but Natsu and Happy were placed on a raft and being carried down river with the tribe people following them.
"Oh no. They're being sent down river. There's a waterfall at the end!" Chikila said.
"That's weird. Why them and not Hughes?" Erza questioned.
"No time to waste!" Gray said as the four of them hurried after Natsu and Happy. They were carried down the river and the waterfall was soon coming. With them being tied up, there isn't much they can do.
"Good thing you like fish, Happy, because we're about to be swimming with them." Natsu said.
"We've got to do something fast." Gray said.
"I know something that never fails." Lucy said as she pulled out a bag of fishy treats. "Happy!" She called and got his attention. "A whole bag for you! Just get out of there!" That gave Happy the motivation he needed. Happy got aroused and started using his teeth to cut through the ropes that held Natsu. Once he got Natsu, Natsu grabbed Happy and they jumped off the raft just in time and regrouped with the others.
"Nice save." Erza said as Happy helped himself to the treats. "That's one way to motivate a cat."
"It's not over!" Gray said as they saw Panther Guardian coming at them. By just acting, Gray held out his leg and caused Panther Guardian to trip, but the girls grabbed Hughes before Panther Guardian went over the edge. "Sure hope that cat can land on its feet."
"How dare you treat our sacred guardian with such disrespect!" The chief said as he and his people showed themselves. "You will pay dearly!"
"Chief, please just stop and listen!" Chikila pleaded, but none of it was looking good.
"Help!" They heard someone call for help and saw it was Panther Guardian holding on for dear life. "Someone like get me out of here!"
"He can talk!" Gray said.
"I know that voice!" Lucy said as she reached down and pulled Panther Guardian up enough to unmask him. "Nice mask...Mary!" She said as she ripped the mask off and showed Mary.
"Mary?!" Hughes said as he was shocked that it was his sister, and the tribe was shocked that it was a fake guardian.
"What is the meaning of this?!" The chief said as he demanded answers.
"Chief, we didn't come here to cause trouble. We all just became pawns in Mary's wicked scheme." Lucy said. "Mary's been to this island before and knew there was silver in the river, but she knew Chikila's tribe didn't like outsiders."
"So she disguised herself as the Panther Guardian to keep them out of the way while she excavated for that silver." Gray said as it was all starting to make sense.
"But what about the plane crashing?" Natsu questioned.
"There was no problem with the plane at all." Lucy said. "Mary just made it look like we crashed. Her plan was to use us as a distraction for these people, and sacrifice us, while she took all the silver."
"You were going to sacrifice me?!" Hughes said.
"Not you, bro. Just these meddling kids." Mary said. "I was totes going to save you."
"Well, you failed." Erza said and turned to the tribe. "We apologize for what Mary has done. We'll take her and leave the island."
"Chief, please let them go. They just exposed someone who pretended to be our sacred guardian, someone who was using us." Chikila claimed. "They will not harm us." The chief was a little distrustful towards outsiders, but it seems like he was going to give them the benefit of the doubt since they did just expose a fraud and saved them from someone's selfish ambitions.
...
The Plane
Since Mary is now tied up, Hughes was able to get the plane running. Now that all is well, the gang was parting ways with Chikila.
"Thank you for helping us, Chikila, but are you sure you're okay with us taking the silver?" Lucy asked.
"Of course. What would we need it for?" Chikila questioned. "Besides, if that awful woman did all of this for that, it probably is best."
"Well, we do appreciate you helping us out. Maybe we'll meet again one day." Erza said.
"I hope so myself." Chikila said. All of them boarded the plane and it started to take off. Chikila saw them off as they took to the sky. When they got into the sky, Lucy looked out the window and saw something.
"Look at this!" Lucy said as she pointed out the window and they all saw all the tribe seeing them off. Certainly a nice sight after how hostile they were.
"Nice place, but I'm not sure I want to visit again." Natsu said. "Just imagine if that panther was for real." Just when he said that, the head of the Panther Guardian showed itself and started growling. Natsu got a little spooked until he saw it was just Happy wearing the mask. "Happy!" He called with annoyance. The Panther Guardian might be vicious, but Happy is certainly a nutty kitty.
