Chapter 11: Moon Drip
The underground cavern of Galuna Island
The group continues to look up at the frozen body of Deliora.
"Deliora…" Gray says in anger.
"A demon your teacher sealed?" Natsu asks.
"Yes, it's Deliora all right."
"So it was transported from the Northern Continent to here?" Happy says.
"Maybe the island's curse has to do with this demon?" Lucy asks
"Seems like the obvious conclusion. This demon is still alive, after all." Gray says and Natsu runs up next to him.
"All righty then! All we've gotta do is bust up this demon!" Natsu says as he begins swinging his right arm around and is preparing to attack it.
"Is force your only solution to every problem?" Lucy asks.
"Natsu, Gray just said this thing was immortal. What makes you think you can beat this if Gray's teacher wasn't able to do?" Sakura asks.
"Just watch me!" Natsu says confidently.
Gray looks angrily towards Natsu as Natsu looks at Gray before he throws a punch straight into Natsu's face which sends him right to the ground.
Gray hit him!" Happy yells in shock as he, Lucy, and Sakura look on with worried looks.
"That's not really uncommon but…" Lucy trails off.
"Hey! What's the big idea!?" Natsu yells as he recovers and looks at Gray and notices the serious look on Gray's face.
"Don't get near it, you Fire Wizard! If that ice melts, and it's freed, no one would be able to stop it!" Gray says.
"What? Would that ice really melt all that easily?" Natsu asks angrily at the punch as Gray looks at him to says something but looks back down at the ground, lost for words as the others continue to watch the two.
"No…" Gray says quietly.
"Are you okay?' Lucy asks as she walks up to Gray and puts a hand on his back.
"Hey! I'm the one who got punched! You're a barbarian!" Natsu yells angrily.
"Says Natsu." Happy says as he slides beside him.
"My master Ul encased the demon using an Iced Shell spell. That's the ice that can't melt. No matter what kind of magical fire you use, you couldn't melt the ice. If they knew they couldn't melt it, then why move it here?" Gray questions.
"I don't know, but maybe they're trying to melt it somehow?" Lucy says.
"But why?!" Gray questions in anger as his eyes dart towards Lucy who is frightened by his look.
"I-I-I don't know!" Lucy replies in a scared tone.
"Something isn't right here. Who brought Deliora here, and for what reason?"
"Maybe those three from earlier know about this." Sakura says.
"Sakura's right. We should just chase after those guys from before." Natsu says.
"Yeah." Lucy agrees.
"No." Gray says catching everyone's attention. "We wait here."
"For what?" Happy asks.
"We wait until the moon comes out." Gray says.
"The moon?! But it's still noon! No way, no how! I'd be bored to death!" Natsu yells.
"Gray, what are you talking about?" Lucy asks.
"I think this island's curse and Deliora are both connected somehow with the moon. And those guys also said, 'Soon we'll have collected enough moonlight.'" Gray says.
"I see. I am curious about what'll happen and what they're up to."
"Yeah. It's possible they'll come back here tonight before we attack them." Sakura says.
"I can't stand it! I'm going after them!" Natsu yells in anger, but immediately, he falls asleep as he snores loudly.
"That was fast." Lucy says.
"Aye." Happy agrees.
Lucy then sits down beside Natsu on a small rock as Happy jumps onto a medium size rock beside her and Sakura sitting on the ground as she stroking Latias.
"This guy really just lives on instinct, you know?" Lucy says.
"Aye. That's Natsu for you." Happy says.
"I'm almost kind of jealous." Lucy adds and Sakura giggles. Then Lucy looks over at Gray, noticing how deep in thought he is as she let out a sigh due to how bored she is. "Waiting is pretty boring."
"Aye." Happy agrees.
"That's it!" Lucy yells suddenly catching Happy's, Sakura's, and Latias' attention. She stands up and grabs one of her silver keys. "Gate of the Harp, I open thee! Lyra!"
A silver magic circle appears in front of Lucy and a pink smoke coming out from is as a Celestial Spirit Lyra, a young girl with waist length strawberry blonde hair that curls at the end and wears a pink bonnet, a long blue dress with heart prints by her waist and leather shoes. She has round blush marks on her cheeks and has small white wings on her back which helps her levitate in the air and on her back is a large turquoise harp.
Lyra waves her right hand crazy in front of Lucy.
"Heya! Long time no see, Lucy!" She yells in joy.
"Hi, Lyra." Lucy replies.
"Why don't you call me often? I want to be lots more helpful to you! Lucy, you're such a meanie!"
"A meanie? But I can only call you three says a month!" Lucy replies calmly which the last part surprised Lyra.
"Oh, really?"
"We got another weirdo here." Happy says with his eyes closed.
"So, what kind of song you like me to sing today?" Lyra asks.
"Whatever you want. Your choice." Lucy replies.
"I'd like a song about fish!" Happy requests.
"Then I'll play whatever comes to mind!" Lyra says in happiness as she gives a thumb up.
"Lyra is very good at singing." Lucy says.
"Mira is also a good singer. She sings me songs about fish too." Happy says.
"I wonder what kind of song Lyra is going to play?" Sakura says.
Lyra begins to play her harp, the soothing of it echoes throughout the cavern as she begins to sing.
"Words give birth… Words dying out… The words living on inside of you…" They close their eyes as they listen to the song. "Time seems to stand still, changes into courage… Now, step out… You'll become stronger than you were." As for Gray, he is still remembering his time with his master and about to break into tears. "Be lost no longer. Believe in those words back then." A tear comes down from his face as he begins to cry and lets out a weep. This catches the four and Lyra's attentions.
"Hey… Gray?" Lucy calls out to see if he's all right.
"Huh? What?" Gray asks.
"You're crying?" Happy asks.
"It's true that Lyra has the power to sing songs that reflect what's in people's hearts." Lucy says.
"Gray was crying."
"No I wasn't!" Gray denies.
"Gray…" Sakura mutters.
"Sing a happier song, Lyra!" Lucy says to her spirit.
"Oh! Then tell me that beforehand." Lyra says.
"Now that I think about it, what if someone comes along? Be quiet." Gray says.
~A few hours later~
Everyone, including Gray fell asleep and out of nowhere the entire cavern begins to shake violently. The noise of the rumbling wakes everyone up as a few small pieces of rock falling from the ceiling.
"What's that noise?" Lucy asks as she rubs her eyes.
"It's night?!" Natsu yells as he shoots straight up.
At the top of the cavern, a massive purple magic circle appears as purple light begins to shine down from it.
"Light's coming down from…"
"The ceiling!" Natsu yells finishing Lucy's sentence.
"Purple light! It's light from the moon!" Gray yells.
"What the heck?! What's going om?!" Happy cries out.
The bright purple light shines down the cavern, right onto the ice with the sealed Deliora inside.
"It's landing on Deliora!" Gray says.
"This ain't no coincidence!" Natsu says.
"Let's go to the top! There's has to be somewhere the light is coming from!" Sakura yells as the group quickly begin to run. They find a staircase and run up on it which takes them back to the inside of the temple and near them, another purple magic circle with the light coming from above it as well.
"A magic circle is spread over the center of the ruin!" Gray exclaims.
"It's farther above!" Natsu exclaims.
The group continue running, finding more stairs as they begin running upwards. Eventually, finding a doorway which leads outside to the rooftop of the ruins. Running outside, the group stop in their tracks as they see the source of the purple light, at the middle of the rooftop is a group of people garbed in purple cloaks, their faces all masked as they are chanting words and encircled where the purple light is shining down. Around them is a set of ruins with the pillars holding up some shape rocks which from the top made it look like a crescent moon.
The group sneak behind a destroyed and low wall to get a better look and listen to the people.
"What's that?" Natsu questions before Lucy shushes him to be quiet.
The cloaked people continue their chant as above them is an interconnecting line of purple magic circles with the purple light shining through all of them.
"The moon!" Gray says.
"They're really collecting the light from the moon." Natsu says.
"But how is that possible?" Sakura asks.
"What are they trying to do by shining it on Deliora?" Lucy questions.
"it's a spell in Belianese… Moon Drip!" The still present spirit Lyra says as she crouches down beside Lucy as the others notice her presence.
"Wait, you're still here?" Lucy says in shock.
"I see. So that's it." Lyra says as she seems to know something.
"What? What is it?"
"They're using Moon Drip to resurrect that demon!" Lyra says.
"What?!" Natsu says and Gray looks at Lyra with a shock expression on his face.
"You're kidding me! Iced Shell is ice that can't be melted!" Gray says.
"The magic that can melt it is the Moon Drip. The collected magic of the moon has the power to undo any magic." Lyra says.
"Oh no!" Happy says as he continues to look up.
"These guys don't know the horror of Deliora!" Gray says in anger.
"I think the curse that the people believe is on this island is a side-effect of the Moon Drip. The collected magic from the moon is contaminated their bodies That's just how powerful a magic it is." Lyra says.
"Damn them!" Natsu says in anger.
"Hold it!" Lucy says as she elbows Natsu before he does anything, knocking him to the ground. "Someone's coming!"
From a path leading the forest, the three mages from the afternoon appear along with a young man wearing a helmet resembling a skull covering his face except for his lower face as a line of sharp teeth beneath it. On the side of it are striped horns pointing frontwards and a large crest made of spikey fur falling onto his back. The man also wears a large white cape with a wide collar, golden edges and fur trimmings over the shoulders which held close by a belt. Below the cape, a blue high-collared tunic with golden edges and baggy dark pants tucked inside armored greaves and knee capes.
"Damn it. I'm all sleepy after waking up at noon." Yuka says and Toby falls asleep behind him as he still walking with his hands in his pocket. "And we never did find the intruders."
"If they even existed!' Toby yells as he wakes back up.
The four stop in their track as they look at the group of people.
"It is saddening, Reitei-sama. There seemed to be intruders around noon, but we failed to catch them. I cannot express my love like this." Sherry says.
"Intruders…" Reitei says and Gray gasps recognizing the voice.
"So that's Reitei." Natsu says.
"What a big shot... He's even wearing a funky mask." Lucy says.
"Really? I think it's cool." Happy says.
"Has Deliora been revived yet?" Reitei asks.
"At this rate… either today or tomorrow…" Sherry says.
"Which one is it?!" Toby yells.
"Finally… As for the intruders, I will brook no interference." Reitei says as Gray frozen in place with a stunned toon on his face. Sakura happens turns her head towards him looking at the expression.
"Gray?" Sakura calls.
"Yes. The only people here should be the village on the far side of the island." Sherry says.
"Destroy the village." Reitei orders.
"Yes."
"Understood." Yuka says as Toby snorts in agreement.
"What?" Natsu says as he and the others look on in shock.
"But the people in the village had nothing to do with it!" Lucy says.
"That's messed up!" Natsu says.
"I would rather avoid bloodshed, however…" Reitei says.
"That voice… it couldn't be…" Gray begins to say.
"I CAN'T STAND SNEAKIN' AROUND ANYMORE!" Natsu yells at the top of his lungs as he stands on the broken wall, shocking Lucy and Lyra whose eyes are wide open in shock, annoyed Gray as he squints his eyes at him, Sakura face-palm, and not affecting Latias and Happy who he smiles at Natsu. Natsu then closes his mouth as he exhales a massive blast of fire into the air. "Your 'interferers' are right here!" This causes the group of mages' attention as Natsu smiles and laughs at his action.
"Well, I guess we have to do this, now. Don't we?" Lucy says.
"How can I help? Want me to sing again?" Lyra asks as she seems eager and happy to do something.
"You, go back." Lucy says.
"Aw, you're no fun." Lyra says as she puts her hands on her cheeks before disappeared in a puff of pink smoke as Lucy turns back giving her an annoyed look and Sakura stands up as Latias floats beside her.
"That mark… They're from Fairy Tail." Sherry says as she and the others notices the Fairy Tail mark on Natsu's shoulder.
"I see. So the people from the village requested a guild to save them." Yuka says.
"What are you doing? Eliminate the village now." Reitei orders.
"What?" Lucy says.
"Why?" Natsu questions.
"Anyone who interferes or plots against me is my enemy. By requesting your presence here, they're now my enemy." Reitei says.
"WHAT?!" Natsu yells in anger as he starts running towards Reitei.
"Why you…" Gray yells as he joins up alongside Natsu but bursts ahead of him at incredible speed towards the other group. "I'll stop this crazy ritual of yours!" He yells as he prepares to cast a spell with a crazy look in his eyes as he launches himself forward and slams both of his hands into the ground, sending in increasing amount wave of sharp ice towards the four. As Yuka, Toby, and Sherry jumps away from the approaching ice, Reitei also jumps away and as he comes back down, he holds his left hand out as a lighter blue colored magic circle appears in his hand and slams it into the ground. Creating his own waves of even sharper ice as both waves of ice collide and stop each other before exploding. Seeing this shocks the others.
"He also used ice?" Happy says.
"That's means he's an Ice Wizards too." Sakura says.
"Lyon…" Gray calls.
"Huh?" Natsu gasps.
"Lyon?" Lucy repeats.
"You bastard… Do you have any idea what you're doing?" Gray questions.
"Heh, how long has it been Gray?" Reitei known as Lyon asks.
"What's the meaning of this?"
"I can't believe you were the wizards the villagers called here. Did you come knowingly? Or is it just a coincidence? Well, no matter."
"Reitei Lyon, you know him?" Yuka asks.
"Go now. I can handle things here myself." Lyon says as the three jump up and disappear.
"You think we'll let you go so easily?!" Natsu says after stumbling around a bit and begins chasing right after them.
"Stop, Natsu! Don't move!" Gray yells before it's too late, but Lyon extends his left hand and cold air appears from it. The cold air surrounds Natsu who is caught off guard begins yelling out in pain as spikes ice begin forming on his body.
"Natsu!" Lucy yells out.
"Happy! Take care of Lucy!" Gray yells at the cat.
"Aye!" Happy says as he picks up Lucy.
"Latias!" Sakura calls out and gets on her back before flying off with Happy.
"Hey!" Lucy says.
Lyon prepares to hit Happy and Latias, but Gray reacts quickly and fires a string of ice at him only to be blocked as Lyon puts up an ice shield.
"Damn it. I can't move!" Natsu says as the ice finishes forming into a giant ball which entraps Natsu's body except for his head, hands, and feet.
"Happy, are you abandoning Natsu?" Lucy asks.
"He got encased by magic that freezes air! At this rate, we'll be turned to ice next!" Happy explains.
"But what'll happen to Natsu?" Lucy asks.
"If we're all done in, who'll protect the village?!" Happy cries out as tears form at his eyes saddened that he has to leave his partner, Natsu behind which Lucy gasps in shock upon realizing.
"I'm sorry… It took a lot of effort to keep yourself from helping Natsu, didn't it? I'm sure Natsu'll be fine! You think ice'd work against the Salamander?" Lucy says trying to cheer Happy up.
"Aye!" Happy agrees.
"But for now, we need to go back to the village and think of a plan." Sakura says and both Lucy and Happy nod their heads as they fly back to the village.