The train ride was pure torture for everyone involved. Natsu's sick moaning and racing to the open window to retch grated on the entire group's nerves.
"It's not like I asked to be here!" Natsu blubbered, barely understandable, when he noticed how annoyed Loke was. Gray had woken up, albeit with a headache, and translated Natsu's sentence into clear words for Loke.
During the trip, Erza disseminated all of the information she knew about the mission and the location it was in. The city, Calla, was largely important for water trade, as it sat on a small sea strait that connected to a larger ocean. As a result, Calla became wealthy and a major hotspot for merchant groups. As ships began getting destroyed, some of these merchant groups left the area, harshly dropping the city's revenue. The city sent out a small fleet to investigate the wreckages, finding signs of a struggle. The story got out to the press, which caused people to blame a sea monster. It's not confirmed, but they closed off the oceans to both commercial and private boats anyway. This dropped the city's revenue even further. Almost all of the traders have left the area. The Calla government is begging any wizards to find out why the ships were destroyed, and to eliminate the issue.
"I wonder if it really is a sea monster." Lucy questioned. "I mean, it really could've been anything."
"Whatever it is, we're gonna have to be the ones to deal with it." Gray commented with a shrug.
"I really don't want to deal with it." Lucy sighed. Happy laughed at her, who in turn got his cheeks pinched.
"Natsu! Natsu! Come back to earth, Lucy's being mean to me!" Happy shook Natsu's shoulders.
"The more you— Ugh… You're gonna make me hurl, Happy!" Natsu groaned. Happy flew up a foot into the air to avoid Natsu as he jumped to the window and, as he had warned, hurled. He collapsed back into his seat, his eyebrows pinched close together. He tried not to move for the rest of the trip. Gray laughed and lightly kicked Natsu's shins. Natsu did not retaliate.
The scenery outside the window, when not blocked by Natsu, gradually changed from dense forests to breezy seasides. Lucy was being pestered with requests to go on a romantic candle light dinner by Loke when the train rolled to a stop. They slowly shuffled out of the train car, dragging Natsu behind them, who was slowly recovering.
The second Natsu's feet touched solid ground he belted out a loud cheer. "Oh, thank god!" The others chuckled at his hyperactivity.
"Don't forget about the boats, moron." Gray reminded Natsu. He laughed and kept walking as he heard Natsu yelling profanities.
The group went to the city building in the town square to meet with the mission contractor, the mayor. He was a lean, old man with a fleshy nose and a kind smile. He met the group with a formal nod and a handshake to Erza.
"Thank you for coming," He began. "I'm sure you're all aware of the situation our city is in?" The group nodded in unison.
"Perfect. Then I won't waste any time with explanations. The bulk of the wreckages were found on our eastern port. I will send a guide to join you. She was a major part of the initial investigation, she will be very capable of answering any questions you have."
The mayor stepped behind the group and opened the door, calling out into the hallway.
"Fati! Come in!"
A petite young woman, perhaps twenty years old, walked into the room. She had many long braids, all assembled on top of her head into a bun. She stopped a few feet into the office.
"Hello! My name's Fati. I'll be your guide!" She grinned. Lucy was reminded of Levy. She immediately took a liking to her.
"Hey, Fati! I'm Lucy!" She pointed down the line, introducing all of her friends for them. Fati smiled and nodded in response to every name.
"Good luck, Fairy Tail. Return when the job is finished for your reward." The mayor said, signaling their cue to leave.
Fati led them outside the building, then through winding roads and different sections of the city. It was built oddly. The streets were rarely straight, residential and commercial sections were mashed together in unclear boundaries. Despite this, it was pleasant. A cool sea breeze regularly swept through the area, strong enough to feel, but not strong enough to be a nuisance. Greenspace was always visible, either in the form of equidistant sidewalk flower boxes or random lots of grass and trees. Murals, graffiti, and tags decorated almost every open surface, creating splashes of color that caught the eye. They saw a few people out, shopping or simply enjoying the weather.
"This is… a very odd layout for a major city." Lucy commented.
Fati laughed. "Yeah, it is. That's why you guys had to have a guide. I like it, though. Calla started out as a small and unplanned city until it started to grow rapidly. They built a lot in a short amount of time, so the whole thing is pretty… confusing. Most people navigate using landmarks, rather than actual street names."
"That's kind of adorable! Magnolia is built off of a grid system, so It's pretty easy to understand, but the only pretty areas are in the few parks. Also, it takes forever to get to a different section! All the shops are so far from the apartments." Lucy complained.
"That's another good thing about Calla! You can find a corporate office, restaurant, market, park, and apartment complex all in the same square mile. You can walk to one kind of anything in a few minutes."
"Maybe I should move here." Lucy joked. "How's the rent?"
"High."
"Maybe not, then."
They continued, marveling at all that the city had to offer. The buildings soon cleared away, revealing a sprawling coastline with hazy land visible on the far horizon. They walked onto the pier. All of the people they had seen while walking through the streets didn't dare come to the coast, which gave the beach a lonely feel. Waves lapped at the dock with a relaxing rhythm.
With a tight look in her eyes, Fati pointed out to the water. A half-floating ship was bobbing some distance from the docks, giant chunks taken out of her hull. That was the most intact ship. Everything else was nothing more than scrap material: ripped planks fighting the current, steel beams sticking out of the sand bank, ropes and rigging twisted around anything it could get a hold on.
Catching the group's looks, Fati hastily said, "Don't worry, nobody died. The boats were unoccupied." That question was obviously on everybody's mind, as they all heaved a collective sigh of relief. "We're gonna be taking a small rowboat out to investigate. It's not far from here."
They all followed Fati to a small seaside shack. There were ranges of boats tied to the posts of the dock, most of them small. The one that Fati showed to them was comically tiny and dingy.
Gray was the first to say, "I don't think we're all gonna fit in that." He glanced accusingly at Loke. "You don't even need to be here, man. Head back to the Spirit World and we'd fit."
"What? No! Have Natsu stay back, he's no good on boats, anyway." Loke protested. Natsu nodded enthusiastically.
"As annoying as he is on transportation, Natsu needs to be here. I'm not splitting any of the pay with him if he's not with us." Gray said with a note of finality. Natsu now looked conflicted.
Lucy sighed. "Loke, will you please go home? Don't make me force-close your gate."
"I came here on my own, princess. You can't close my gate. But if it's for you, I'll gladly leave." He blew a kiss towards Lucy before dissolving into a bright light and fizzling into nothing.
"Now when I ask him to leave, he does. Scoundrel." Lucy scoffed.
The now-smaller group filed into the rowboat. Fati took one set of oars, Erza the other. The two took on a slow rhythm and glided out of the calm water. Natsu almost immediately dropped to the bottom of the hull, groaning in discomfort. Gray used him as a footrest.
The boat rocked as they went out further, towards the half-destroyed ship. As they got closer, the image of the wreck cleared. Water lapped at the inside of the hull, already causing slight discoloration at the waterline. They could see gashes in the wood, similar to giant claw or teeth marks. Despite so often being the cause of such large scale destruction, the group felt worried.
The boat stopped a few feet from the wreckage. Natsu immediately jumped out of the boat and floated on his back. The rest stayed inside, deliberating their next move. Ultimately, all they could do was investigate. Gray made a little ice platform and they all scooted across it, sitting, as they did not want to fall.
The group did not discover anything more than the first investigative group did. They debated what else they could do.
"Could we trick whatever it is?" Proposed Lucy. "Sail out in a large ship, wait to be attacked, then retaliate?"
"Sure, but we don't know when, or where, the next attack will happen." Gray rationalized.
"When was the last attack?" Erza asked Fati.
"Three days ago. A commercial fishing boat went out, against the restrictions, at night. Three life rafts with all of the crew came to shore and they said what happened."
Happy's stomach growled. "Fishing boats! Can we fish here?"
"Not if you don't want to get jumped by a sea monster." Laughed Gray. Happy looked very disappointed.
"Wait, why weren't the rafts attacked? That monster would be close enough." Natsu asked, still floating in the water.
"Maybe it was eating the caught fish? We really don't know." Fati responded with a shrug.
"That is certainly odd," Said Erza, "But likely unimportant. It is decided, then. We will set up a trap for the beast. Fati, get us a large ship as soon as you can. We're heading back now."
"I will."
They reboarded the rowboat, much to Natsu's dismay. They all considered the facts, and potential outcomes, of the mission as the boat rocked back to shore.