IMPORTANT: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE FAIRY TAIL CHARACTERS/PLOT: ALL CREDIT GOES TO THEIR RIGHTFUL OWNERS!
PROFANITY WARNING!
Now here's the final update of the Galuna Island Arc
- Beneath the Temple of Moon -
Gray watched with wide eyes as Natsu continued to stand in the path of destruction. Deliora's sinister red eyes gleamed as it winded its arm back, and the demon bared its sharp teeth at the Salamander's form as it let out an excruciatingly loud roar; shaking the entire island.
As the demon threw its arm forward, Natsu concentrated all of his magic into one hand and planted his feet firmly into the ground. Their fists cracked against each other causing an incredible tremor to ricochet throughout the building, further deteriorating it's already broken state, as sharp rocks and other rubble fell from the ceiling. The bright gleam from the Fire Dragon Slayer's flames, shining as brightly as his determination to finish everything in one blow, forced the remaining three wizards to shield their faces, lest they wanted to risk damaging their vision.
When the light finally died down, though, Gray and Lyon watched in complete disbelief as a spiral of cracks rushed up the great demon's arm, before branching off around his entire body. Like glass, Deliora's entire body shattered into a million tiny pieces until nothing was left except a pile of debris to be added to the pool of water that was once Ur.
The Cold Emperor choked as the demon's body finally disappeared. His throat started to constrict as his dream of ten years died before his very eyes, and for a second time, he was forced to watch as his world came crashing down around him. His body began to tremble as he considered all of the sacrifices he was forced to make to ensure Deliora's revival, only to find that the demon was dead, to begin with. How was that any fair? Ten years, ten whole years, of hard work, and for what?
Unable to control the sudden onslaught of emotions, Lyon couldn't stop himself and started to cry. His heartbreaking sobs bounced off the crumbling walls, into the water that led to the vast ocean, almost as if it were accepting his tears with open arms just like his mentor would.
Lyon cried for the time he wasted, for the dream he lost, and most of all, he cried for the woman he'd always dreamed he would surpass; the one who had killed the demon Deliora, even after death.
Natsu, meanwhile, smiled at his black haired friend as he left the Cold Emperor to finally grieve in peace like he should have as a child.
"You should feel really lucky, Gray. Your mentor really was an incredible wizard!"
The raven-haired boy nodded his head, his own eyes starting to burn as Ur's face lit up in the back of his mind.
"Yeah," he choked out, "She really was."
Lucy sighed in relief when her scarlet-haired friend finally finished poking at her injuries. Aside from a few small cuts and bruises, likely caused from being blown across the room into a sharp wall of rocks, the blonde Celestial Spirit Mage was virtually unscathed. Similarly, Natsu, Gray, and Lyon miraculously gathered little to none visible wounds, and Erza couldn't help but sigh in relief.
If anything, Natsu and Happy (at least) seemed to be better than they had been before, and somehow found the energy to jump and bounce around after everyone finally emerged from the Temple of Moon.
Even Lucy, in her exhausted, beat-up state, couldn't help but crack a grin at how everything had ended.
"I guess things could've been worse," She said with a small grin. "We didn't do too bad for our first S-class Mission, I don't think. Though, there were probably some better choices that all of us could have made in the end."
The Salamander agreed excitedly; his exuberant personality not dimming in the slightest. "Hell yeah! Who knows? Maybe Master Makarov will be so amazed at our success that he'll forget all about punishing us, and reward us instead!"
"That would be the ideal ending." Gray nodded his head.
Unlike the rest of her guildmates, Erza, on the other hand, was not content with everything that had happened, and scoffed loudly causing the temperature to drop at least ten degrees. Her eyes narrowed into a sharp glare, and her five companions started to shiver as they realized it was directed at them. Lyon, who was sitting farther back, couldn't help but pale slightly as well, and he inwardly thanked the gods that he wasn't on the receiving end of the woman's sudden fury.
"Have you already forgotten what you came here to do in the first place?" Titania sighed annoyedly. "As far as I remember, stopping Deliora's revival and meeting Lyon had nothing to do with it. Yet, here you are, celebrating as if you've already completed this stolen mission."
Natsu perked up at his friend's statement, and he turned around to look at her directly as he said: "But we defeated Deliora! I thought that meant that all of the villager's problems would be fixed by now."
Erza shook her head. "Right now all of you are assuming that Deliora itself was what caused the villagers to take on these demonized forms when in reality it's not. My best guess would be that because these people have been exposed to the concentrated magic of the Moon Drip Ceremony for so long, it started to cause unearthly changes to their bodies which resulted in these painful transformations when the moon comes out."
"That doesn't make any sense," Lyon surprisingly interjected, "Everyone involved in my project has been exposed to the magic from the Moon Drip Ceremony for at least three years, yet none of us have experienced any changed in our appearance because of it. Neither has your blonde friend, might I add, who has stood directly under its light twice. If what you're saying is true, then all of us would have taken on different forms by now."
Lucy frowned at the turn of events. She agreed with what both Lyon and Erza had said, as both claims made perfect sense, yet still led them to a dead end. If the Moon Drip wasn't causing the villagers to take on demonized forms, and Deliora had nothing to do with it, then what was causing the change to happen in the first place?
"Is it possible that because they're natives of this location, when the Moon Drip was suddenly introduced to their environment, it could have caused an unbalance within the island? After all, they were here before you and your followers came in, yet the change only started to occur after you showed up." The Stellar Spirit Mage sharply pointed out.
Again, Lyon disagreed with what the wizard said. "As I've already mentioned before, I do not think that the Moon Drip has anything to do with it. To even be affected by the concentrated magic from the ceremony, you have to be within a certain distance of it. The village itself is too far away to be in the magics range, and for the three years that we've been here, none of the natives have ever even come close to the Temple." Snarkily, he added as he tossed his head to the left, "Though, I'm sure you guild wizards will figure it out just fine on your own. I've already told you everything I know."
Glancing at each other, Lucy and Erza seemed to be on the same page with one another and silently came to an agreement. The last bit of information needed to piece the puzzle together would have to come from the villagers themselves.
Seizing the Salamander by his signature white scarf, the two female wizards dragged the pink-haired boy off in the other direction with two multi-colored exceeds in tow. Leaving Gray alone to speak with his long lost friend privately, they set on the path bound for the village on the other side of the island.
It was time that they finally started getting some answers.
- Several Moments Later : At the Village -
When the group of Faries finally arrived at their desired location, Natsu looked around in confusion as he realized everything was as it should be. Rather than the desolate, gaping crater that should have been there after the giant rat Angelica dropped a bucket of poison jelly everywhere, the village stood in its place in all of its glory. Houses were completely rebuilt without a single trace of conflict to be seen, and the demonized villagers pranced around happily as all of their precious belongings were restored.
The Fire Dragon Slayer grabbed onto whoever was close; his bewilderment evident by the expression tugging at the corners of his face. "But... This place was completely empty the last time we were here! Who rebuilt everything?"
The scale-covered man shrugged his shoulders, not entirely sure who did it himself. "You mean you guys weren't behind this? We figured Lucy-san's maid spirit fixed everything! Either way, the Village is back to normal, so I'm not going to question it." He laughed.
Right away, Lucy knew Virgo had nothing to do with the sudden reconstruction of the village, and immediately ruled it out as a possibility. (After all, if the pink-haired spirit really had been behind this sudden act of kindness, she surely would have asked for some form of punishment, which hadn't happened since the first time her Master summoned her to dig the pitfall trap.)
"Lucy, are you coming?"
Erza's voice snapped the blonde out of her thoughts, and she quickly jogged to catch back up with the red-haired woman. Ignoring her questioning gaze, Lucy waved it off as she looked around for the Village Chief. Under her breath, she muttered, "It's nothing" and they continued on their way.
They had more important things to be worrying about than who rebuilt everything.
It wasn't difficult to find the Village Cheif. With his distinguishable dark blue skin, and giant sideburns dragging on the ground on either side of him, the two women found him within minutes of searching. Moka, having spotted the group of wizards just as fast as they spotted him, waddled up to them with a serious expression.
"Tell me, have you finalized your plans for destroying the moon? I think my people have been suffering long enough."
Erza glared as Natsu and Happy snickered in the background about something stupid, effectively shutting them up, before casually returning to her usual collected state. Calmly, she smiled and patted Lucy on the back with a little bit too much force.
"Yes, actually. I was just asking my dear friend what she thought we should do." Titania explained causing the group behind her to choke.
"You were?!"
"Yes," Erza insisted, "We were. However, I'd like to make sure that my friend and I have all of the correct information before we put our plan into action. Is that alright with you?"
Moka's eyes lit up excitedly. "Really? Is it really true? You're going to destroy the moon?"
When the scarlet-haired woman nudged her side, Lucy nodded her head even though she hadn't the slightest clue what was going on. "Yes, sir. Erza has a really neat plan in mind that I think will help solve all of your problems. So long as you answer all of her questions, of course."
"Absolutely!" Moka cried. "We'll tell you whatever you want to know."
Erza patiently waited for all of the villagers to gather while Lucy awkwardly waited by her side, not exactly sure what role she was supposed to be playing in the mini-interrogation. Titania seemed to know what she was doing, though, so the blonde opted to keep her mouth shut and wait patiently.
Eventually, Lucy would know what was going on. She always had a habit of catching on quick, even when they were kids.
The scarlet-haired woman gently cleared her throat, gathering everyone's attention, and a collective hush settled upon the crowd. "So, to be clear, around three years ago the moon took on a mysterious purple glow which was around the same time that everyone here started to take on these demonized forms. In addition, every night for the past three years everyone here has seen an identical purple light from the Temple several miles into the forest. Is this correct?"
A small burst of murmuring broke out in the crowd in response to Titania's question, and the Village Chief had to raise his hand in order to silence them again.
"Yes, you are correct. But to reiterate, for the past three years, everytime the sun goes down we are forced to take on these inhuman forms. No one has gone to investigate the strange light coming from that Temple because the ancient philosophy of our Village prevents us from doing so. I was concerned that if we went against our elder's beliefs, it would enhance these inhuman forms, so I have prevented any of my people from traveling there."
Lucy faltered slightly; the Village Cheif's claims not making much sense. "But you obviously knew that whatever was going on at the Temple had something to do with your conditions, so why didn't you tell us about it when we first arrived here? Is there something that you've been trying to hide?"
Moka gulped and glanced down at his feet guiltily. "You see, we have tried investigating what goes on in that building, yet after so many failed attempts we eventually gave up looking. It doesn't make much sense, but every time we would venture out into the forest and get close enough to see the Temple, we would suddenly find ourselves standing back at the Village Gate's with no explanation of how we got there." He confessed. "I was worried we wouldn't sound credible due to a lack of evidence, so I told my people not to bring it up when you all arrived."
"I see. I think I'm starting to finally understand what the cause of your problem is, " Erza suddenly exclaimed causing everyone to look in her direction. "Natsu, Lucy, please come with me. I'll be needing your help with this."
Slightly annoyed at being left in the dark for so long, Lucy sighed tiredly as she ran a hand through her messy hair. "This better be the last thing we have to deal with, Erza. I'm tired of acting like I know what you're saying."
Titania smirked. "Oh, don't worry. I'm one-hundred percent sure it will be."
Equipped with her Giant Armor, Erza glanced at the two Dragon Slayers behind her to make sure they knew what they were doing. High up on one of the watch towers in the center of the Village, Lucy leaned casually against one of the walls as she looked down at all of the people on the ground. Even from way up there, several feet into the air, she could hear the villagers excited screams.
"Right. Are you both ready to finish this?" Erza questioned.
Lucy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. All we have to do is hit the back of your spear, right? It's not exactly rocket science."
Natsu agreed. "We got this Erza! Let's hurry up and do this thing."
"Alright. Since the two of you are ready, here we go!"
Erza shifted her feet. She drew her right leg backward to keep her balance as she winded the giant spear backward. Feeling the magic from her Giant Armor start to take its effect and seep into her bones, she threw her arm forward with all of her might.
Natsu and Lucy both simultaneously gathered their magic into their arms, causing their fists to light up with their respected elements. Together, they hit the butt of the spear with a "Celestial Fire Dragon Iron Fist" unison raid and launched the weapon out of Titania's hands.
The combination of the two attacks, plus the added strength from Erza's armor, was enough to send the spear spiraling into the sky. And then, something incredible happened.
Rather than hitting the moon like Moka and all of the villagers thought was going to happen, the spear hit an invisible barrier causing a shockwave of cracks to litter across the star-filled sky. A gaping hole opened up, shattering the faux-image of a purple moon, revealing the normal one sitting directly behind it, as glittering purple specks rained down from the sky.
Curiously, Lucy stuck her hand out to catch a few of the shimmering spots descending from high above her. Her eyes widened when a distinct magic that she recognized as the product of the Moon Drip ceremony sunk into her skin, and she turned to look at Titania Erza; completely amazed.
"You mean that what we were seeing was nothing more than a film of magic that built over the island for the past three years?" She asked excitedly.
Erza laughed. "Sharp as ever, I see. You are correct; a thin layer of the Moon Drips magic, in the form of a gas, made a make-shift barrier over the island. Eventually, it hardened and took the shape of a shell, which is what made the moon appear to be purple."
Her face flushed a happy shade of pink, Lucy breathlessly responded: "That's amazing!"
Natsu snickered into his scarf, thinking to himself how pretty his new blonde friend looked with such a carefree smile on her face. Not one to admit such a thing out loud, though, the Salamander threw his arm around Lucy's shoulders and drew her in close.
"Only a weirdo like you would get excited about stuff like this!"
"S-shut up you idiot! At least I knew what was going on! You were just standing there!"
In the end, the villagers were so grateful for the help that they threw the group of Fairy Tail wizards a large feast before they had to depart from the island and head back home. After destroying the layer of magic surrounding Galuna Island, Erza explained what had been happening for the past three years.
As clearly as she could, the scarlet-haired woman revealed that the villagers had never been human, to begin with, but demons with the ability to take on human forms. The thin layer of magic that had gathered from the Moon Drip for three years slowly caused their memories to deteriorate, which led them to believe that they were humans being forced to take on demonized forms, when in fact, they were demons with the ability to take on human forms
Bobo, who was believed to be dead, also revealed himself and had some interesting information of his own. Having been the only one out of all of his people not to retain any memory loss, the man set out into the world to look for help and eventually came across the Fairy Tail wizards. Right away he knew that they would be the ones to free his people of the 'moons curse', resulting in him finally being able to return home.
Lucy was glad everyone was able to come to terms with what happened, including Sherry and Yuka, who had shown up in the middle of the celebration to apologize for all of the things they'd done. Knowing exactly what the effects of harboring hatred can do, the Stellar Spirit Mage was more relieved than she would let on when the two wizards explained that they had finally given up on getting their revenge against the great demon, Deliora. Apparently, they too were victims of the monsters destruction, which is why they joined forces with Lyon in the first place.
Of course, Natsu being the person he was, he immediately invited Sherry and her friend to join in on the celebration, and everyone partied late into the night.
Surprisingly, Sherry approached Lucy with a somewhat forced smile as she offered her, her hand. Lucy glanced at the offering with an unimpressed expression, and crossed her arms over her chest; refusing to reciprocate the gesture.
"I g-guess you're not as ugly as I made you out to be." The Marionette Magic wizard stuttered, still holding out her hand.
With a smirk, Lucy finally reached down and grabbed hold of it. "Yeah, you're not too bad yourself. I wouldn't wear any of those clothes, but I guess they suit somebody like you."
- The Following Morning -
Too busy groaning about the reward money they couldn't accept (or cheering in Lucy's case upon gaining another Zodiac Key; the Gate of the Archer, Sagittarius), Fairy Tail was completely unaware of the storm brewing directly under their nose as they sailed back toward Magnolia.
Two very different enemies were brewing up their own evil plans in the back, but both standing with similar intentions: to destroy Fairy Tail and everything it stood for, or rather, certain individuals inside of it.
Lyon, Toby, Yuka, Sherry, and the villagers all watched as the group of skilled wizards (and exceeds) sailed away in the boat Erza arrived in. The Cold Emperor thought back on what his 'brother' had to say and cracked a small smile as he imagined what it was like to join a guild.
Not wanting to be beaten so easily, he turned to Sherry to ask for her advice.
"Tell me. How was it when you were like one of them?"
A/N: And the Galuna Island Arc finally comes to an end. I apologize if this chapter wasn't very entertaining, I just felt the need to finally finish this portion of the story so we can all get into bigger and better things. I promise that I'll do my best to make the next upcoming chapters more enjoyable, as I understand that this one had a lot of dialogue with little happening in-between.
Thanks so much for all of the support all of you have left this story. I appreciate it so much!
-xxTheNightmareBeforexx
Also, this doesn't really have anything to do with this story, but I want to keep you guys updated with everything that's happening. As you guys probably already know, I'm in my high school's Marching Band, and my season has actually ended early this year because we're going to the Macy's Day Parade for this upcoming Thanksgiving. I'm gonna try to update as much as I can before I leave for New York, but I just want you guys to know that I won't be able to update for about a week when I leave.
