The next day came as Erza, Gray, and Lucy heads out of Fairy Tail and to Hargeon where they would need to rent a boat to get to the location of the S-class Quest.
"see ya in a few days!" said Lucy as she waved Levy and Cana goodbye.
"be careful! This is an S-Class mission after all!" exclaimed Levy as she prayed for her friends' safety.
"and be sure to grab some souvenirs for the two rascals too!" added Cana, knowing how Haruka and Haruo likes getting souvenirs from different places.
"we will!" replied Gray while waving a hand up as he is also naked with only boxers on.
"your clothes!" exclaimed Erza with a glare at Gray who squeaked in fear. Cana and Levy watched as Erza and the others left for Hargeon before they went back inside the guild. As Cana is about to head into the guild, she took one last glance at Erza and the others as she saw a fluffy yellow tail poking out from one of Erza's luggage before it went inside the luggage.
"could that be?" said Cana before sighing and shakes her head, she went back into the guild while crossing her arms under her chest. "probably some weird thing that Erza always takes with"
A few hours passed as Erza and the others arrived at Hargeon where they will find a boat to rent but all the ones with available boats for rent, don't want to bring them to Galuna nor want to hear the island's name.
"is the island really cursed?" Lucy asked while reading the paper of the request
"even the sailors are afraid of going there" said Gray while crossing his arms.
"let's just find another way to get to Galuna island" Erza said while pulling her luggage bag
"did you say Galuna?" a sailor man wearing a cloak said as he heard their conversation. Erza and the others look at him as the sailor man points a finger at them. "are you all mages who took their quest!?"
"yes, we are" Erza replied to him
"I will take you there!" The sailor exclaimed like he was excited about something
"really?" said Lucy while raising an eyebrow
The sailor nodded "please get on my ship!" he insisted on them as Erza and the other nodded in gratitude to him. they all followed the sailor as they brought along their luggage, for Erza's luggage however had three little hitchhikers inside
Natsu is at the Sakura Cave as the man is sitting on the middle branch of a Sakura tree while in some sort of meditation state. Natsu took in deep breathes and slowly exhaled them as his sheathed black katana laid on his lap. He stayed in his meditation pose before he slowly opens his eyes when he felt a warm breeze pass behind him as it made him look sideways.
"curious" said Natsu as he took hold of his sheathed katana before jumping down from the Sakura tree. He looks around while placing his sheathed katana to the strap on his waist and said "where are Haruka and Haruo?"
Natsu always know how his children loved the Sakura Caves as they would always play games inside when they have the chance, but they didn't show up in the caves nor at Fairy Tail as Natsu last saw them by their home.
Feeling a bit worried, Natsu started walking towards the exit of the cave while passing by Ash who is back home and is resting with his mate and eggs.
meanwhile, at Fairy Tail, the day is turning dark as the guild was closing up with everyone going back home for the day. But at some point of time, Mirajane, Lisanna, and Cana were looking around frantically for Haruka and Haruo.
"Haruo! Haruka come on out!" Lisanna shouted in the guild as she was trying to find the twins.
"where can those two be?" Mira said as she looks down under a table before standing up and looks around for any place that could hide the two.
"there not here nor at the Sakura cave" Cana said as she drinks a bottle of beer as she looks frustrated over finding the two.
"Kiara!" Lisanna then called out the Pop Fox as she waited for the usual "Kyuii" reply from her. But Kiara didn't reply as she was never there to begin with. "even Kiara isn't here"
"Haruka! Haruo! Kiara! It's time to go home!" Mira shouted so wherever the two kids were hiding at, they could hear her. "come on out or I will call Natsu!"
Usually, the mention of their father coming would make the children's playtime over but this time, they never came out from her warning.
"where are they!?" said Cana while scratching her head in annoyance.
"Nee-chan! everyone" Elfman called out as he was running into the guild while holding a piece of paper.
"what's wrong, Elfman?" Mira asked as Elfman was holding his knees to catch his breath
"h-here!" Elfman then gives the paper to her as Mira folds it open and reads it
"dear, Mira-neechan. Me and Haruo and Kiara are going to the quest with Erza-neechan, Gray-niichan and Lucy-neechan. Love Haruka"
And that moment, the guild is filled with silence
"THEY WHAT!?" "THOSE TWO WENT ON THE QUEST WITH ERZA AND THE OTHERS!?" Lisanna and Mira exclaimed in shock and in worry
"WHY DID RED HEAD LET THEM JOIN!?" Mira shouted in shock
"Don't tell me…!?" Cana said with a shock of realization. She then had a flashback of Erza and the others leaving the guild as she saw a furry tail moving around in one of Erza's luggage before it disappeared into it
"this is bad" Mira said as she sweats in fear a bit
"if Natsu knows about this…." Mira and the others gulped in fear as Natsu appeared in an imagination bubble as he looks demonic while holding his katana.
"know what?" a voice spoke out as it scared them as they look behind and see Natsu standing in front of the door while holding his katana on his waist.
"N-N-Natsu!?" Mira stuttered in shock to his sudden appearance
"mind telling me where are Haruka and Haruo hiding at?" Natsu asked as he looks around the guild for his kids. "it is nearly night and they have to sleep"
"um? They? Uh" Mira stuttered out while trying to think up of a good excuse to tell him
"They…um! They are at our house for a slumber party! Yeah!" exclaimed Lisanna out loud.
"a slumber party at your house?" Natsu said to her while raising an eyebrow.
"it's true! Haruka and Haruo asked us for a slumber party at our house because they want to know what a slumber party feels like" Lisanna stated while frantically sweating behind her head.
"oh" Natsu said as he nodded in understanding before walking to the door "then I should check on them to see if they're asleep"
"w-w-w-wait!" Elfman stuttered out as he got in front of Natsu "H-H-Haruo asked me not to let you see them because t-t-they want to be able to sleep without you there!"
"huh?" Natsu said with a confused face
"y-yeah! you can't always check on them like when they were babies, Natsu!" Mira told Natsu while looking nervous but tried to not show it to Natsu "they need to learn to be on their own!"
"I see?" Natsu said with a raised eyebrow
"so, just let Mira and the others watch over them for the next two day, Natsu!" Cana said as she pushes his back with Lisanna. "you've been planning to take care of the Sakura trees, right?!"
"yeah! You should rest up for the day and go back to the Sakura caves tomorrow!" Lisanna added in with a nervous smile
"you've been working hard too much! So, just relax and let Mira and the others take care of them!" Cana said to him while laughing a bit
"okay?" Natsu said as he was out of the guild
"well then, good night Natsu" Cana said while waving her hand in goodbye to him with Mira and the others doing the same
"yeah, good night" Natsu said as he waves back and walks away towards the West Forest Cana and the others continued their waving for 30 seconds before sweating waterfalls behind their head.
'we've got to get them back!' They screamed in their mind while looking terrified
by the road, Natsu is walking to the Eastern Forest as he passes by some people who are walking by. Natsu keeps on walking while having a worried look on his face.
"maybe I should…" muttered Natsu as he turns to look back on the road before he shook his head and sighs "Cana and the others are right. they aren't babies anymore and they need to learn to be on their own"
He then turns back around and walks straight for the Eastern Forest then to the Sakura Caves as he plans to stay the night at the caves rather than in his home.
at the sea, Erza and the others were on their way to Galuna Island on a Sailor's ship as they have been sailing for a good 4 hours straight.
"we should be arriving there in a few more minutes" said the sailor as he stirred his ship.
"thank you for taking us to Galuna Island, Mr.?" said Lucy as she thanked the sailor for the ride but not one of them was told of the man's name.
"Bobo" stated the sailor as he introduced his name to Lucy and the others. Bobo stirred his ship before saying "I was once an inhabitant of Galuna Island"
"what? you were?" said Gray, hearing Bobo's statement.
"I was, but I fled from that cursed island" replied Bobo while having a frown on his face "when yo arrive there, misfortune will fall upon you all"
"what do you mean?" Erza asked Bobo
"that Island is cursed" said Bobo before he grabbed his cloak and revealed a demonic arm as Lucy gasped in surprise "by this demon curse"
"hey old man! That arm of yours!" exclaimed Gray while pointing at the demonic looking arm.
Bobo looks at his demonic arm before looking front as he pointed a finger towards the direction of where he is looking.
"you can see it now" said Bobo as Erza and the others looks at front and sees an island coming into view. "that is Galuna Island"
Erza and the others looks at the coming island as Lucy saw something shining on top of a mountain on the island but didn't know what could be making it.
"what is that?" said Lucy as she turns to look to Bobo and asked but the man was gone from the ship's steering wheel. "eh!? Where did he go!?"
"did he fall overboard?!" exclaimed Gray as he runs to the ship's edge and looks around in the sea for Bobo
"how he could have just disappeared?!" said Erza in surprise while running towards the ship's steer and took control.
Lucy looks around for Bobo in the sea before she heard something coming from behind the ship. She looks up and screams to see a large tsunami coming straight for them.
"TSUNAMI!" screamed Lucy as Erza and Gray turns and sees the giant wave of water coming straight at them.
"Grab hold of something and don't let go!" exclaimed Erza as she tried to steer the ship away from the tsunami, but it was too late as the ship got swallowed by the large wave and into the depths of the sea.
At the guild, Mira and Cana were trying to contact Erza and the others about Haruka and Haruo hitchhiking on their S-class Mission and to get them back before Natsu finds out.
"come on you piece of junk! Work!" exclaimed Cana while shaking the Lacrima orb up and down, to try and get it to work.
"I hope Erza realize that Haruka and Haruo are with them" said Lisanna with a worried look while cleaning a wet plate with a towel.
"that redhead better realized, or all our heads are going to be hanged up on the wall in Natsu's home!" said Mira while looking scared as there are certain rules in the guild and one of them is to never ever endanger Haruka and Haruo when Natsu is around.
"it's no good!" exclaimed Cana as she can't contact Erza and the others through the lacrima orb. "I can't reach Erza and the others!"
"what are we going to do, Neechan?" asked Elfman to his big sister.
Mira bit one of her fingernails as she tried to think of a plan on how to get Haruka and Haruo back into the guild before Natsu realized that they are no longer in Magnolia at all.
"I'll go and get them myself" said Mira to the others "while you guys try to contact redhead as hard as you can. I know that glutton face wouldn't realize something weird from the get-go"
on the next day, on Galuna Island.
Erza and the others are stranded as the ship that they were aboard on last night is gone to pieces and is everywhere on the sandy beach. Everyone was passed out before they slowly wake up, one by one.
"ow" Lucy groaned in pain while holding a hand to her head before slowly sitting up on the sandy beach. She looks up and squinted her eyes from the morning sunlight above "what happened?"
Lucy looks around and saw Gray and Erza already up while looking around the island that they were on
"you ok?" asked Gray to Lucy while helping her stand up. Lucy nodded before looking around.
"the ship is gone" said Lucy before looking to Erza "what do we do first, Erza?"
"the island is pretty wide. and we have no idea on the location of our client" said Erza as she grabs some luggage around them and piled them up nearby. "for now, let's collect our things and then head into the forest to find out client"
Lucy and Gray nodded as they started to find their belongings while helping Erza's as she brought more than themselves. Gray is picking up a few of Erza's luggage when he finds one large suitcase that is opened and had a fluffy yellow tail poking out.
"a tail?" said Gray as he went to the large suitcase and grabs the yellow tail then pulls it out to find Kiara in his grasp, the little Pop Fox had swirly eyes while knocked out. "Kiara?!"
Erza and Lucy heard Gray as they went to him and sees that he has Kiara in his grasp.
"why is Kiara here?" said Lucy as she looks at the Pop Fox who woke up and stares at Lucy.
"don't tell me" said Erza as she looks at the large suitcase nearby and grabs it before opening it to find Haruka and Haruo coming out with some of clothes.
"ow~!" Haruka and Haruo whined in pain as they slowly sit up and looks around before to Erza and the others who got shocked faces. The twins having nervous smiles and greeted the three "hi"
The scolding came as Erza, Gray, and Lucy started scolding them over and over because of how they hitchhike on their journey to an S-Class mission which is dangerous for young children like them.
"why did you two come here?!" exclaimed Lucy with a stern face while placing her hands on her hips.
"this is not a place for you kids!" said Gray as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "you two being here can get you in big time trouble!"
"Natsu doesn't even know that you two hitchhiked on our journey here, does he?" said Erza while having a glare down at the twins who are hugging each other while shaking in fear.
After a few more scolding from Erza and the others, things calm down a bit as Haruka and Haruo hanged their head in shame, Lucy and Gray look over the two while Erza is getting a contact from Cana with a communication Lacrima Orb.
"Mira had just left the guild a few hours ago" said Cana in the Communication Lacrima. "but she might need a day to reach there"
Erza sighs before she glanced at Haruka and Haruo with Gray and Lucy before back to the communication lacrima.
"does Natsu know that they aren't at Magnolia anymore?" asked Erza as Cana shakes her head.
"if he did, he would already be on his way and get your head hanged up on the wall, Erza" said Cana as Erza is the leader of the team and that means her mistake can cause her own downfall, especially on how it took her so long to realize that there are two hitchhikers on their mission.
"y-yeah, sorry" said Erza while having a scared look as she remembered the last time, she did something wrong to Haruka and Haruo that resulted in her receiving the most gruesome and harshest training ever
"all that matters now, is for you guys to keep an eye on those two rascals until Mira gets them" said Cana as Erza nodded
"will do" replied Erza as the communication lacrima turned off before she turns to look at the twins. Erza sighs and rubs the bridge of her nose and prayed that Mira gets to Galuna Island as fast as she can.
at the Sakura caves, Natsu is currently sitting on the field of grass in the middle of maintaining his katana. he placed a piece of paper on the blade of the katana and folds it before wiping off any dirt or dust attached on his weapon.
Natsu lifts his weapon up as he looks at the glinting shine coming down from the katana's blade and down to its hilt. Feeling satisfied with his work, Natsu waved the sword down and then soaks its blade inside a large wooden barrel filled with Sake.
"that should satisfy you" said Natsu as he eyed the katana's blade, seeing a shadowed skeletal figure in the metal reflection before it disappeared.
Natsu looks at his katana before he sighs and laid down on the soft grass. He closed his eyes and just stayed in his position for as long as he wants.
"I always had a more peaceful time when I do not need to take care of Haruka and Haruo, huh?" said Natsu in a low voice before he opens his eyes and sees the moving Sakura tree branches as a few petals dropped down to his chest.
Natsu heard the sound of small bells ringing as he sat up and looks to the side, by a small river stream that flows into the cave and out to a nearby lake, Natsu saw three petals flowing down the water while being followed by three littler ones.
The quite strange yet unique sight interested Natsu as he looks at the Sakura petals before seeing them disappearing out into the open and they were gone. Natsu then looks at the Sakura Trees as the branches were swaying back and forth from the wind.
Natsu squinted his eyes as a rain of Sakura petals came down upon him before a few petals landed in Natsu's open palm. He looks at the petals before he formed a clenched fist.
"those two" said Natsu as his eyes turned into a dangerous glare.
At Fairy Tail, Cana, and Lisanna were at the bar together as both are still waiting for Mira to arrive at Galuna Island and get back to Fairy Tail before Natsu realizes that he had been lied to.
"we're lucky that Master is out and Natsu believed in our little lie" said Cana while feeling scared and nervous. "is Mira there yet or not!?"
"just calm down, Cana" said Lisanna to Cana while cleaning up the bar table with a table cloth "it takes nearly a day for Mira-nee to get there, even for her at the top speed she is going too"
"yeah, that many hours is just as much for Natsu to realize it" said Cana as Natsu isn't one to be told a lie about anything, especially his own children.
Moments later, Elfman went flying into the guild and right through a wall as the large man is knocked out and bruised up.
"what the?!" "what happened?!" "it's Elfman?!" "what happened to him!?" "he got so beaten up!" "who did this to him?!" said nearby guild members who went near Elfman and sees just how badly injured he is.
"Elfman!?" "Elf-niichan!" exclaimed Cana and Lisanna as the two went to Elfman who looks to be knocked out with a terrified face.
Everyone in the guild soon went silent as they felt an ominous raging presence coming inside, the sensation felt like the gravity around the world is focused on the building itself.
"I can't move nor speak!?" Cana's eyes quiver as there can only be one person whose power rivals that of any Fairy Tail S-Class Mage and Makarov himself.
Everyone heard footsteps in the guild as they all turned their head to the direction of the sound, none making a single word as they see Natsu coming in.
"where are they?" said Natsu in a low voice while his eyes glows red. Natsu placed his right hand on his sheathed katana as he slowly pulls the weapon out. "you only have 1 second to answer"
Cana and Lisanna hug each other in tears as they should've told the truth in the first place
"aaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh~~" screams of fear filled the guild as the guild shook from an unknown force
above the sea, Mira is flying in her satan soul at full speed as she is going to Galuna Island and get Haruka and Haruo back to the guild before Natsu realizes. While she is flying, she felt cold chills and goosebumps all over her body as it made her stop in mid-air.
"W-What was that?" Mira said while holding her hands as she felt something bad is going to happen to her when she gets back to the guild. Mira quickly shook it off and focused on getting to Galuna island as fast as she could.
meanwhile at Galuna Island. The day had turned dark as Erza with the others are still walking in the forest to find the location of their client.
"how much farther?" said Haruo in a drowsy voice as Gray is carrying him on his back, the child's feet are tired and so is his entire body.
"just a bit more" replied Gray in an annoyed voice as Haruo has been asking the same question for over 10 minutes.
"we should be getting close to the place, right?" said Lucy while holding Haruka's hand as the child is still filled with energy unlike her twin brother.
"we should be" replied Erza who had Kiara riding on her shoulder as they keep on walking before arriving at a large wooden fence.
"we're here, but now what?" said Gray as everyone looks at the large wooden fence that had a sign that had 'Keep Out' written on it.
Erza looks around before she knocks on the large wooden fence a few times before yelling out "EXCUSE ME! OPEN THE GATE!"
After two seconds, two men appeared above the wooden fence and looks down at Erza and the others.
"who goes there?!" said one of the two men while holding a spear in hand.
"we are mages of the Guild Fairy Tail!" exclaimed Erza "our guild had accepted your request. So we have come to help! I am sure that our guild has notified the client, right!?"
"yes! We were told that someone had accepted our request!" said one of the two men "But we need confirmation that you are who you state that you are! All of you, show us your marks!"
Erza and the others complied as everyone showed the Fairy Tail Marks on their body to confirm that they are Fairy Tail members. The two guards looks at the Fairy Tail marks before they nodded.
"They're finally here!" the two men said in happiness and excitement as they got down and the gates opened.
"it's like a monster's mouth is opening" said Haruka as Lucy sweatdropped to hear her words.
"r-really?" said Lucy as she can't understand the Child's imagination sometimes.
Erza and her group were led by the guards into a village as they see many of its villagers wearing cloaks and hoods on, covering them all with the exception of their eyes.
"I'm Moka, the chief of this village." the one in the front introduced himself as the Mayor, "To begin, we've got something to show you. Villagers!" at his command, all of the villagers slowly stripped of their robes. Lucy gulped when she saw that each of the villagers had various demonic body parts.
"Scary" said Haruka as she hid behind Lucy as to see such demonic limbs.
"Everyone on this Island is affected by the curse, including dogs and birds, without exception." Explained Moka, his right arm is a demonic blueish purple claw.
"Not that I doubt what you're saying, but what makes you believe it's a curse? It may be an epidemic, right?" Erza asked. She already had some suspicions, but needed to confirm it first.
"We've consulted many doctors, but none of them knows what it is. So, this mutation must be linked to the moon's magical power." Moka answered, making them blink in confusion at his words.
"The moon's magical power?" Lucy questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Since ancient times this place has been subjected to its influence, and as a result, the Island was shining as beautiful as the moon itself. But, a few years ago, the moonlight suddenly turned violet." Moka informed the group.
"A violet moon?" said Erza in confusion
"People from the mainland all say that..." The Mayor sighed. "But in reality...the moon did turn purple on this island. After the purple moon showed up, our bodies started to change."
As he finished, the moon started to reveal itself in the night sky.
"The moon is appearing!" said Haruka as everyone turned their heads up to check out this purple moon. Lucy gasped and placed a hand over her mouth in shock.
"It's true! The moon is really purple..." Gray cringed at the moon's creepiness.
'I am sure that when I looked at the moon last night from the boat it was its normal colour. What's going on here?' Erza thought as she tried to understand the meaning of this.
"What could make the moon turn this way?" Erza asked no one in particular as she looked up at the moon.
"This is the curse of the moon's 'Magical Power'." Suddenly, the whole village yelled in pain as their bodies started changing.
"Eh? W-What is going on?" said Lucy while protectively shielding Haruka who was trembling scared.
"I apologize if we've frightened you, especially the young ones." Moka spoke after everything was over. Him and all the villagers were completely turned into demons.
"How awful." Lucy whispered as she looked at a few villagers and saw a few of them were in tears.
"this is what happens to our bodies when the moon comes out." Moka continued his explanation. "If this isn't a curse, then what is it? Once it becomes morning, everyone turns back to their original form. However, recently, there are those who don't change back and lose their soul."
"So where are they? I doubt you kept them with the rest of the villagers." Asked Erza, her heart is regretting to ask her own question though, "Do you keep them locked somewhere until you break the curse?"
"That was what we tried in the beginning, but every time we tried, they would break out. So, we created a rule for those people…" Moka began to tear up as he spoke. "We must kill them, whoever become a mindless monster."
"you….what?!" said Gray in shock
"there could've still be a chance for them to return, right!?" exclaimed Erza, hardly believing the solution to stop those who had become fully demon is by killing them.
"even if we keep them in prison, they could break out of it!" said Moka "if we don't kill them, they will kill all of us!"
"but….how can you just?" said Lucy with a sad frown.
"I...I had to kill my own son. My own son who turned evil...I had no choice...I had to stop him from going berserk and killing everyone on this island...just like all those who turned into real demons." Said Moka while holding a photo in hand while in tears. Erza and the others saw Moka's son in the photo as it is the sailor who they had met and had taken them on his ship to Galuna Island.
"But, yesterday we-!" exclaimed Lucy but Gray stopped her.
"Shh!...I guess now we know why he just vanished. I'm sure...he can't rest in peace like that." Gray told her. Lucy's eyes widened in realization.
"A ghost?!" Lucy muttered out in fear as Haruka clings to her.
"Save this Island, I beg you! If it continues like this, we'll all turn into demons." Moka begged with tears in his eyes.
"Don't worry, Sir. We will save your Island." Erza said, getting nods from her friends.
"Thank you." Moka smiled as he wiped away his tears, before a serious look came to his face, "We've realized that there is only one way to lift the curse off our island." The Fairy Tail's mages looked at him waiting for him to finish as the mayor points at the moon with his staff. "And that is to destroy the moon."
"Eh?!" said everyone as the Mayor wanted them to destroy the very moon itself.
Erza and the others were in a hut provided by the villagers as they were staying in it for the night.
"it's kinda pretty" said Haruka who is wearing pink pajamas on, she stares at the violet moon with Kiara sitting on top of her head.
"Haruka-chan, get away from the window." Lucy called out to the child while helping Haruo change into his pajamas. "You heard what the chief said, the more exposed to the moonlight we are, the more of a chance we have of turning into demons."
Erza sat on a crate as she is currently thinking of something as she puts her thumb to her chin as she thinks.
"I'm still quiet trouble of the villager's solution on dealing with the situation" Erza commented as she looks to the moon
"can we even destroy the moon?" Gray asked while taking off his shirt "I mean it's not even something a mage can even do"
Erza then sighs as she transforms into her night clothes and sat on the bed
"let's just think of that tomorrow" Erza suggested and Lucy and Gray nodded
They then go to bed with Haruka and Haruo sticking between Gray and Lucy
Natsu stood at the port of Hargeon as he looks around for a boat to rent but there were none in sight.
"no boats, huh?" said Natsu as he looks around for anyone but since it was night, most people would be asleep by now. Natsu could've gone to Galuna Island with the help of Ash but the wyvern had just gone back home this morning from taking Mystogan wherever he was going to, so he had to stick on transportation.
Natsu sighs before he reached into his pocket and took out a red gem that is in the shape of a Dragon's head. He looks at the gem before he closed his palm and clenched it, the gem flashes a crimson light in his grasp before the sound of a thunderstorm appeared above and the sound of a loud roaring thunder came next.
That's a wrap!
Bye bye