On the pier, Juvia, Natsu, and Lucy were still sulking over their failure to win over Prince Gray, when they heard a loud scream in the distance.
"JUVIA! NATSU! LUCY!" Looking up, they saw a frantic Happy descend in front of them. Out of breath, he began explaining what he had seen at the wedding ship, "Thanks goodness I found you. Listen up. I've got some really bad news."
Lucy grumbled, "Can't be worse than it already is."
Happy began, "Well, I was out flying…"
"Well, of course you were flying," Natsu said sarcastically.
Happy continued, "…and at the wedding ship, I saw the watch! I mean, the witch!"
Natsu just tapped his crab legs against the wooden deck, not amused by Happy's rambling and lack of self-control.
"The witch!" Happy corrected himself. "That's what I meant to say! The witch was watching the mirror, and she was singing with a stolen set of pipes!"
Juvia, Natsu, and Lucy looked blankly at Happy, who quickly became frustrated. He grabbed Natsu with his paws and yelled desperately, "DO YOU HEAR WHAT I'M TELLING YOU?!" He wacked the salmon crab against the wooden deck a few times for emphasis, "THE PRINCE! IS MARRYING! THE SEA WITCH! IN! DISGUISE!"
Juvia and her friends' faces widened in shock. Natsu rubbed his head and asked skeptically, "Wait, Kyôka is marrying Gray?"
"Are you sure about this?" Lucy asked.
"Of course I am!" Happy replied. "Have I ever been wrong? I mean, when it's important?" Seeing that Happy had a point, everyone started to worry.
"What are we gonna do?" Lucy asked worriedly. "How are we gonna stop her?"
Juvia stood up and looked out towards the wedding ship in the distance. Kyôka's voice echoed in her mind, taunting her as the sun sank lower in the sky, "…before the sun sets on the third day…"
That's when it all made sense; Kyôka never intended Juvia to make her deal. She tricked Juvia into signing herself over to her, knowing that she would do all in her power to prevent the kiss, to ensure the little mermaid remained a property of the sea witch. Juvia wasn't the sea witch's 'poor unfortunate soul'; she was just bait, a bartering chip to force her father to turn his entire sea kingdom over to Kyôka. After all, Kyôka harbored deep resentment for King Makarov since her banishment. And now, Juvia was used as the cog in the machine of her newest revenge scheme.
The young sapphire-haired girl's nose crinkled in disgust. Kyôka was trying to steal Gray – her beloved Gray – away from her. Well, not if she had anything to say about it! Determination burning in her eyes, she leapt off the pier and dove into the water. Resurfacing, she splashed around in the water, desperately trying to stay afloat.
Anxiously looking for something to help Juvia, Natsu noticed a stack of wooden barrels. Snipping the ropes holding them together with his claws, he let them tumble into the sea. He said, "Juvia, grab onto that!" He turned to Lucy, "Lucy, get her to that boat as fast as your fins can carry you! We gotta hurry and stop Kyôka before it's too late!"
Juvia clung to the barrel and handed a rope loop to Lucy, who allowed it to surround her small, yellow body. "We'll try!" Lucy nodded. The blonde fish started swimming with all her strength, leaving Natsu and Happy on the pier.
"I gotta get back to Fairylantica," Natsu suggested. "King Makarov has to know about this."
"Wait!" Happy stopped him. "What about me? What can I do?"
"You! Find a way to stall that wedding!" Natsu yelled, as he jumped into the water.
"Stall the wedding?" Happy said puzzled. "How am I supposed to... Wait! That's it!" Beaming with an idea, he flapped his wings and hovered just above the unsettled ocean. Reaching into his fur, he took out a small whistle he carried around and blew into it as hard as possible. The sound vibrated throughout the land and various creatures appeared. All forms of creatures from Exceeds to dolphins to seals to lobsters to birds heard the whistle, and gradually, they all started to follow Happy.
"C'mon, everybody! Let's go!" Happy urged. "We've got an emergency here!" Receiving several approving sounds, he turned for the wedding ship, proudly leading the flock of animals.
It was almost sunset, and an organ played beautifully across the deck of the wedding ship. Smoothing out her wedding dress, Kyôka, the elusive sea witch in disguise, emerged from the shadows and stepped onto the aisle with the mesmerized Prince Gray, smartly clad in his wedding attire, his arm around hers. The wedding guests turned to face the soon-to-be newlyweds, their eyes welcoming and filled with awe. As the two walked to the altar, Gray was enthralled by a tender fondness to marry Kyôka. In truth, the only reason he was so hopelessly in love with her was because of the spell she placed on him.
As she walked down the aisle, Kyôka heard the distinct sound of snarling. Sneaking a glance to the floor, she noticed Ur growling jealously at her. Thinking of the sheepdog as a mere annoyance, Kyôka kicked Ur aside, causing her to whimper.
Reaching the altar, Kyôka and Gray stood in front of the elderly priest, Ooba Babasaama. Clearing her throat, she opened the wedding book and announced, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to bear witness to the union of our beloved prince with this fine maiden in holy matrimony."
Meanwhile at sea, Lucy splashed breathlessly in the waves, panting as she tried to pull Juvia through the open waters with the rope loop tied around her body. She panted, "Don't worry, Juvia. We're gonna make it. We're almost there…"
Juvia looked up at the wedding ship behind them, and back down at the small blonde fish, who tried to combine the speed and strength she quite clearly lacked. Lucy had been Juvia's best friend for as long as she could remember, and she would do anything to help her. But they had to be realistic; there was no way Lucy could get Juvia to the boat in time. Not on her own, that is.
Keeping a firm grip on the barrel, Juvia began kicking her legs furiously in an effort to help them move faster. Her actions made little difference at first, but she quickly developed a steady, rhythmic pattern in her kicks, and the two began closing in on the wedding ship.
Looking up from her book, Ooba turned to Gray, "Do you, Prince Gray, take this woman, Samantha, to be your lawfully-wedded wife for as long as you both shall live?"
"I do," Gray said monotonously.
Kyôka smirked to herself as she watched the sun sink lower into the horizon. It won't be long now. All she had to do now was to say 'I do' to complete the wedding, and then Juvia and all of Fairylantica will be hers…
"And do you, Samantha, take this man, our Prince Gray, to be your lawfully-wedded husband for as long as you both shall live?" Ooba asked, turning towards Kyôka.
Before she could respond, however, loud cries rang through the air as a flock of Exceeds led by Happy flew down towards the ship.
"LET'S CRASH THIS PARTY!" Happy yelled thunderously.
"AYE, SIR!" the Exceeds complied.
Kyôka quickly ducked to avoid the Exceeds, then started screaming and more Exceeds began dive bombing on her as well. People looked around in confusion, wondering where the animals came from and why they were behaving so oddly. Some tried to help Kyôka, but ended by being ambushed by the animals as well.
Things got even more chaotic as sea lions, dolphins, and birds joined the fray, sending all the guests into a mass panic. On the other hand, Ur was barking happily, glad to see that Kyôka got what she deserved, while Lyon tried to control her.
As Kyôka tried running away from the animal onslaught, a flock of pelicans bombarded her with water, seaweed, sand, and even a lobster which jumped onto her face and pinched her nose. Kyôka let out a howling scream but was quickly silenced as Happy and his Exceed brethren threw several starfish at her face and body.
"I must say, Happy, this is certainly the most fun I've had in years," said a white Exceed named Carla.
Happy laughed and grabbed a tray of creampuffs off the table, handing one to Carla, "Care for a creampuff, my dear?"
Carla smiled with a blush, "Thank you."
"Then by the power vested in me…" Ooba continued reading the wedding book, not paying attention to the chaos that unfolded.
"GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU SLIMY LITTLE—" Kyôka screeched, getting the starfish off her. All of a sudden, she felt herself thrown up into the air as the sea lions began tossing her around in a game of catch, until she crashed into the wedding cake. The rest of the crowd watched on, and no one noticed Juvia scrambling aboard.
In a fit of rage, Kyôka stood up with her wedding gown soaked by a mixture of cake and water. Just then, three dolphins leapt from the ocean and sprayed the imposter bride with water, and a seagull dove in front of her, giving a loud, ear-piercing squawk in front of her face.
"WHY, YOU LITTLE…" Kyôka screamed, grabbing the seagull's throat and swinging it around. Ur continued to watch the scene, still barking happily. At long last, she broke free of Lyon and charged behind the imposter bride. Opening her sharp fangs, she closed them and bit Kyôka's butt. With an agonizing scream, Kyôka jumped up into the air and fell onto the wooden deck, releasing her grip on the seagull.
Embarrassed and humiliated for the last time, Kyôka was about to vent her frustration on Gray's faithful sheepdog, until a voice caught her attention. "Hey, white horse!" She turned to see Happy, who held a small rock on his paw and threw it straight at her face. BAM! The hard throw knocked Kyôka onto the ground, unconscious. "Catch," Happy smirked.
Carla remarked, "Oh, Happy, you never cease to impress. You stood bravely against the evil Sea Witch. You've become the bravest Exceed ever!"
Happy cheered, "Aye, sir!"
"Here is something from me to you," Carla continued. And then, the unexpected happened. She kissed Happy on the cheek, which caused him to blush like crazy.
"Wow… That's some reward…" Happy said dreamily, before he fainted in love-throbbed exasperation.
While Kyôka was unconscious, the small gem on her forehead began to crack. The crack continued to intensify, until it unexpectedly affected her entire face. With a single crash, Kyôka's face cracked open to reveal her true face – without wearing her white helmet, she has two wing-like scales on her forehead, two pointy ears, and freely flowing green hair. She still retained the wing-like hair protrudes on the left and right side of her face, though.
As Kyôka regained consciousness, she paused to take a look at the pieces scattered on the wooden deck. That's when it struck her, "My gem! My helmet!" Her eyes widened with absolute shock, "MY VOICE!"
True enough, with Kyôka's gem destroyed, the bright glowing light representing Juvia's voice floated freely in the air. A harsh gasp gushed from Gray's body as his senses came flooding back, free from Kyôka's brainwashing. Moaning, his eyes instantly fell on Juvia. Everyone watched as the glowing light carried Juvia's voice back into her throat where it belonged.
Gray's eyes lit up at the sound of her voice – the voice…
"Juvia?"
"Gray!" Juvia spoke happily to him for the first time. Ur then ran over her shoulder and licked her cheek, making her laugh.
Gray asked dumbfounded, "You… you can talk?"
"I can now," Juvia replied, going up to him and taking his hands into hers.
As she looked up at him with her ocean blue eyes, the realization hit Gray like a ton of bricks. He exclaimed, squeezing Juvia's hands. "It's you! You're the one! The one who saved me! The one I've been looking for this whole time!" He then pulled her into a hug, "I'm sorry I didn't realize sooner." Juvia leaned her head on his chest and hugged back.
"Gray! Get away from her!" Kyôka shouted, but discovering that her old voice had returned, she quickly covered her mouth.
On the other hand, it was loud enough for Juvia to hear. Turning her attention to the Sea Witch, she pulled away from her hug with Gray and walked towards Kyôka with a fierce glare in her eyes. She said, "Well, well, well. What do we have here?"
"Uh, Juvia, honey, sweetie…" Kyôka chuckled nervously. "I-I-I can explain. It's not what you think…"
Juvia angrily grabbed Kyôka and shouted, "You tried to take my beloved Gray away from me! Even worse, you tried to make him forget about me! I'm going to make sure you'll never do anything like that again!" Clenching her fist, she threw it straight to Kyôka's face, causing her to collapse back to the floor. Groaning, Kyôka wiped her face and noticed that her nose was bleeding. Satisfied, Juvia turned her back from the Sea Witch and returned to Gray.
Enraged by this insult, Kyôka growled spitefully, "I'll make you pay for this, you… YOU…" Juvia ignored her, falling once again into the arms of the man of her dreams. Everyone on the wedding ship watched happily as the two embraced again, including Happy and Carla, who were holding hands.
Gray pulled again and looked at Juvia, "I can't believe you were in front of me this whole time and I didn't know. It makes me feel dumb than when I didn't know your name."
Kyôka protested, "No! Don't do this!"
"Oh, my dear Gray," Juvia sighed with a smile. "I wanted to tell you…" Gray smiled back at the sapphire-haired beauty and gently stroked her cheek as he leaned over to kiss her.
Kyôka screamed, "GRAY, NO!" Their lips were just inches away…
Then the sun was set. Juvia groaned in pain and collapsed into her prince's arms. Her navy blue coat swirled in the sudden wind, wrapping itself tightly around her as it transformed into nothing more than a bright, lavender aura of glowing light; a light that faded moments later, revealing her mermaid form.
All eyes were glued on Juvia's true form in disbelief. Everyone heard legends of merpeople living in an undersea kingdom beneath the ocean, but only a few like Sting and Rouge believed them to be true. No one ever thought it was possible that one of them exists!
Prince Gray watched on, finally realizing who his mysterious angel really was. He whispered, "I knew it…"
"You're too late!" Kyôka cackled triumphantly. "YOU'RE TOO LATE!" she screamed to the skies as lightning began crashing from below. With the lightning striking her directly, Kyôka bursts out of her fake body and returned back to her original form. The wedding guests screamed in horror and jumped out of the way as the avian purple octopus-woman crawled down the aisle with incredible speed and grabbed Juvia around the waist.
Heaving herself onto the railing, Kyôka said mockingly, "So long, lover boy." She blew a kiss at Gray, below yanking herself and Juvia back into the ocean.
"Juvia!" Gray cried, leaning over the railing to scan where Juvia had gone. Finding no trace of her, he raced to the deck below. "Lower a lifeboat!"
"Yes, Your Highness!" Toby saluted.
The sailors Sting and Rouge stood beside Lyon, who was extremely shocked at this turn of events. Sting shouted proudly at him, "Ha! We told you merpeople are real!"