Is it just me, or did it feel like last week flew by without a care in the world? Oh well, here's a new chapter, I hope you all enjoy! :)
P.S. To the guest that pointed out the little mistake that I made to the recap in the last chapter as well as the ending of the chapter before it, thank you. I hate it when I do that. So, I thank you. :)
20
Recap:"Well, if there is anyplace that might have something to do with the moon curse, it would be here," Harry stated with the others voicing their agreements.
The wizard and his friends walked into the temple, and couldn't help but look at the walls in awe. There are more moon-shaped markings, and plants growing all around the place, making the temple look as ancient as it should be. Harry wondered why the villagers didn't come to this old building to take care of it. He hoped that the reason for the curse wasn't because they angered a god thanks to their neglect of its home.
Harry felt Fawkes pull lightly at a piece of black hair that was sticking out the closest to him, making him turn his attention to his familiar. {What are you thinking about?} the phoenix asked.
He sighed, "I'm just hoping that this curse isn't due to angering a god for not taking care of this place. Was there any gods that saw this place as home?"
Lucy heard him say that. "I hope the villagers didn't anger a GOD! We wouldn't be able to deal with that!" she shouted in fear and worry.
{This place was used for worship of the moon, but that happened so long ago that I doubt it's the reason for the curse,} Fawkes answered Harry's question.
"How long ago?"
{I think you can tell just by looking at this place. It hasn't seen another human being for centuries.}
Harry turned his Avada green eyes to his blond friend. "I don't think we have to worry about a god, Lucy. This place hasn't been taken care for a very long time, and this curse is kinda new in comparison." Lucy sighed in relief.
"Aww, that would have been awesome," Natsu whined. "I wanted to know how I would have done against fighting a god."
{Can he even beat his father?} Harry repeated the question to Natsu from Fawkes.
"No…" Natsu admitted hesitatingly.
"Then you have no chance at beating a god, Natsu," Harry pointed out, or rather he just repeated what his familiar said again.
Natsu mutter something under his breath, and then started stomping at the floor, making Harry sigh, and Lucy look worried all over again.
"Natsu, knock that off! What if the floor is…" She couldn't finish what she was going to say, because the floor did it for her by caving in.
"AHHHH!" Harry, Lucy, Natsu, and Gray all yelled in shock and fright as they fall down the giant hole that formed below them. They crashed into the hard, cold ground with a grunt sound coming out of them. They groan in pain, and started to sit up slowly.
"Is everyone okay?" Harry asked in worry for his friends.
"Yeah, I think we're fine," Lucy's voice replied.
"Good going, Natsu," Gray says in anger.
"How was I suppose to know that the ground would just give out!?" the Fire Dragon Slayer exclaimed.
Harry turned to him. "By hearing if the ground is unstable," he said in a matter-of-fact tone. "You have the best chance of knowing that since you have the best ears out of all of us." Fawkes nodded his head in agreement to his statement.
Natsu laughed and started to rub the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
Harry looked around to see where they ended up and saw that they fell in a tunnel. He looks up to the hole that they fell from only to realize that they have fallen quite a bit below the temple.
"Hey Happy, you think you could fly us back up there?" Natsu asked.
"No, it's too far. My magic wouldn't be able to make two trips," Happy replied.
Harry looked around, trying to see where Fawkes is. "Fawkes?" he called out, getting a trill as an answer. The trill made everyone calm down from whatever panic was about to rear its head out - mostly from Lucy - but made Harry look up to see his phoenix friend glide down toward him. "Where were you?" he asked.
Fawkes landed in front of him and pointed his beak upward. {I was up there, waiting for the dust cloud to go away,} he answered.
Harry glared at him. 'Of course he lets everyone fall while he's got wings to save him.' He sighed. "Do you think you could help get us out?" he asked while pointing at the hole above them.
Fawkes nodded to confirm. {I can carry you all up there in one trip. All you have to do is grab each others' ankles while you're holding onto me.}
"All right, we'll do that later. I feel like we need to check out this tunnel first; the answer to this curse might be down here," he said.
Gray must have been able to figure out what they've been saying, because he asked, "So we're going to check the tunnels first, and then use Fawkes to get out of here?" Harry nodded in answer.
"Let's go then!" Natsu said excitedly.
"Aye, sir!" Happy joined in.
After a few minutes of walking, Harry and the others saw a light at the end of the tunnel. They go through the opening and stopped dead. They're eyes widened to the size of dinner plates with their mouths opened agape. In front of them was a giant glacier with a monster inside it.
"What…is that…?" Lucy asked in fear.
{This is what I felt on the way here. The one that felt like it was dying,} Fawkes chirped quietly.
Harry was about to comment of what his familiar said when he noticed that Gray started to move toward the ice with a look of disbelief. "No…it can't be. That's impossible! Why is it here?!" he demanded to no one.
"Gray, you know this creature?" Harry asked in surprise.
Before the ice mage could answer, Natsu turns his head to the way that they came from, and then whipped back to everyone. "Guys, I hear two people coming," he reported to them quietly, but urgently.
Lucy grabbed the fire mage before he could go and attack them, and Harry grabbed Gray, and they dragged them to hide behind a boulder followed by Happy and Fawkes.
Two men came out from the tunnel, one with really big eye brows, and the other with a dog face and ears. "I'm telling you, I heard voices," said the dog man.
"I know, but you said that a hundred times now, and I don't see anyone here," the one with the big eyebrow replied. "I'm tired." The dog man whined, making bushy-brows look at him. "Did you get any moon drip on you?"
The dog-faced man snapped, "I DID NOT!"
"I'm just teasing you. Calm down," bushy-brows chuckled.
Lucy and Harry look to each other. "Moon drip? Do you think that that is the name of the curse?" she asked him, and he shrugged as a reply.
Another person walked in, and it was a woman with pink hair, but a darker shade to Natsu's. "Yuka, Toby, I have sad news," the woman said sadly.
The other two that were talking, now named Yuka and Toby, turn to her. "What is it, Sherry?" Yuka asked.
"Someone has hurt Angelica really badly," The pink-haired woman, Sherry, reported.
"It's just a RAT!" Toby exclaimed.
"She's not just a rat. She's a hunter that prowls in the darkness. She is…love." Harry and the other looked to each other with expressions on their faces that ask if this Sherry woman is for real.
"There is something wrong about her," Lucy whispered.
Natsu sniffed the air. "They're not from this island. They're scent is different," he told them.
"They don't seem to be cursed either," Happy pointed out. "I'm not too sure about the guy with the ears though."
{He doesn't feel demonic,} Fawkes said.
"He was probably born that way," Harry said softly, but they all returned their attention back to the three people in front of the monster when they heard the word: intruders.
"Yes, Toby said something about hearing voices down here. It could have been them," said Yuka. "But they aren't here anymore."
"They mustn't have gotten far," Sherry started. "They must still be around here somewhere." She looked up toward the ceiling. "Moonlight will be gathering soon." She turned back to her two male companions. "We need to kill them before the Cold Emperor finds out."
"I agree. Since they saw Deliora, we can't let them go back to wherever they came from alive," Yuka muttered almost sadly.
"Eternal sleep for the intruders; in other words, love," Sherry said.
"We're talking about DEATH woman, not love!" Toby yelled, and the three of them left.
Harry, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Happy, and Fawkes came out of their hiding spots. "Deliora…is that the name of the monster?" Harry asked.
Gray nodded. "Yes, it is," he answered with repressed anger.
"How do you know of it?" Happy asked.
"It's known as the demon of destruction," he replied darkly.
"That doesn't sound too good," Harry muttered in a similar tone to Gray's.
"But how to they even find where it was sealed?!" Gray demanded.
"Sealed?" Lucy asked.
"It was sealed away in an iceberg on the northern continent," he answered. "It's an immortal demon that whipped out the Isbin area 10 years ago. It's a devil that my magic teacher, Ur, sealed away at the cost of her own life." Harry, Natsu, Lucy, and the two animals in the cavern all had looks of shock and horror on their faces. "I don't know how it could be part of the island's curse, but I do know that it shouldn't be here. Whoever you are, Cold Emperor, I won't let you get away with disgracing Ur's name!" Gray shouted in rage.
After everything calmed down, not with just Gray wanting to kill someone, but Natsu tried to destroy the ice that keeps Deliora trapped, making the ice mage slam him in the gut just to stop him. Natsu did point out that he wasn't even sure it would have worked, because it a seal, not normal ice. Gray admitted that nothing could melt the ice, it was impossible; not even the hottest of flames could do it.
"So…what do we do now?" Lucy asked.
"That's simple, we follow them and get answers," Natsu said while pointing in the direction of Yuka, Toby, and Sherry.
"No," Gray said, "we wait here."
Harry nodded. "I agree. They said something about gathering moonlight. We'll wait here till the moon is up."
Gray turned to him with a smirk. "Glad to see we're on the same page, Harry."
"I just didn't want to get into a fight right now. Let's face it, they wouldn't tell us anyway if we just went up and asked, they would fight us first," he said. "Besides, don't good things happen to those who wait?"
Fawkes nodded. {That is true. I'm glad that you're using your head.}
"AW! I don't want to wait! Who knows when the moon will be up!" Natsu complained, but not long after saying it, he fell asleep.
Lucy and Harry stared at the fire mage impressed. "He's out like a light," she said with a sigh, and Harry nodded in agreement.
"Now, what are we going to do to pass the time?" Harry asked.
Lucy mused for a moment, and then her eyes lit up. She pulled out one of her silver keys. "I know what we can do!" She held the Key up and opened the gates to the spirit.
The spirit appeared and she looked really happy to be there. Harry doesn't know his stars, but he can tell that this spirit plays music if the harp is anything to go by. "Hey Lucy, I haven't seen you in ages!" the spirit, Lyra, said. "You hardly ever summon me."
"That's because I can only summon you only three times a month," Lucy reminded her.
'If that's the case then the spirit really shouldn't be complaining,' Harry thought with a sigh.
"So, what do you want me to sing today?" Lyra asked.
"I think I'll let you choose," replied Lucy.
"Do you know any song about fish?" Happy asked, but it didn't seem the spirit really heard him.
"Okay, I know just the song! You'll love it, Lucy."
Lyra started to play her harp, and it was the most beautiful sound Harry has heard in a long time. He listened to the words the best he could and relaxed, but then, a memory that he only saw parts of before came to the forefront of his mind in great detail.
"Lily, run! He's here! Take Harry and go!"
"But James!" Lily tried to protest.
"Just go! I'll hold him off!" Harry's father, James, shouted.
Lily ran upstairs with Harry, most likely to grab something, Harry thought, but she placed him into his crib and stared saying to him how much both she and his father loves him, and he could feel some kind of magic in the air around her.
The door to his nursery was blasted open, and in came a man in a black cloak, with red, snake-like eyes. "Move aside girl," the man hissed.
"No, not Harry. Please not Harry. Take me instead!" Lily begged the man.
"Move out of the way, silly girl!" he hissed again.
"Please not Harry. You can kill me, just please spare my son!"
"I won't ask again!" the man shouted. "Move ASIDED!"
"I won't!"
"So be it… Avada Kedavra!" The man, that Harry knows is Voldemort, cast the killing curse at Lily. She screamed Harry's name before dropping to the floor dead. Voldemort walked over to baby Harry and pointed his wand at him, and said the killing curse again, but this time, the bright, green light bounced off and hit the dark lord. Voldemort screamed in pain, and his body was destroyed, and Harry thought he saw a piece of the black smoke that is now Voldemort, dash to him and slam into his head, making it hurt and bleed into the lightning bolt-shaped scar that he is known for.
Harry started to cry at reliving the memory that he knows, deep down, is his worst one. But he wasn't the only one crying though, Gray was also. The music stopped playing when the others saw the two crying.
"Harry, Gray, what's wrong? Why are crying?" Happy asked worriedly.
"I'm fine!" Gray snapped in denial.
Harry whipped his eyes. "I'm fine," he said much calmer than Gray. "I just relived the day my parents were murdered by the Dark Lord in my time," he explained.
Gray looked surprised at this, not knowing how Harry lost his family, but everyone in Fairy Tail knew already about him not being from their time.
Lucy look sadden. "How can you remember something from that young?" she asked mostly to herself. Harry shook his head, not knowing how he could either. "I'm sorry, you two. I should have thought about that. Lyra's songs are to bring out the person's feelings."
{That would explain it,} Fawkes said. {From what I could tell, you and Gray lost you parents in the same way. At least I assume that Gray lost his family to this demon anyway. Let's face it, Tom is as much, if not worse, than the demon that is in front of us.}
Harry didn't say anything, but he did let Fawkes, Happy, and Lucy comfort him. Gray refused the latter two's attempt at comforting him, making Harry roll his eyes and thinking of how much of an ice prince he can be.
All of a sudden, the cave started to rubble a little, waking Natsu up somehow. "What's that sound?" he asked alert. Everyone looked up and saw a purple light come through the ceiling and right onto Deliora.
"What is that light?" Happy questioned.
"And why is it shining on Deliora?" Gray demanded.
Harry got up from the ground and looked to Fawkes, who is still on his shoulders. "Do you know where it's coming from?"
The phoenix nodded. {I sense a lot of life all the way to the top of this temple. Just enough for some kind of ritual,} he replied.
Harry told the others of his team, and they run back to the hole they fell through. Fawkes carried them up, and they took off up the stairs, not wanting to use Fawkes' teleportation to get to the top in fear that they would be seen.
They make it to the roof of the temple, and saw a group of people around a magic circle that the light is also shining down from. Harry looked up to see where the light was coming from and saw that the source is coming from the moon.
He turns to the others and says, "I think this is what they meant when they said, 'gathering moonlight'."
"But why is it purple? And what are they doing with it?" Lucy asked.
"That's the moon drip," Lyra's voice answered, startling the others.
"You're still here?" the Celestial Spirit mage asked is slight surprise. "Wait, you know what this is?"
Harry turned to the spirit. "Can you please tell us?" he asked politely.
"I know more than just that. I know what they're doing with it too," Lyra said. "They're using the moon drip to melt the ice off the demon underground."
Gray whipped his head to face her. "That's impossible!" he hissed. "There is nothing that can melt Ice Shell."
"Normally yes; however, moon drip is a spell that is made to melt that kind of ice," Lyra explained. "Not only melt ice that is next to impossible, but any spell can be broken with it."
Harry's eyes widen. "Any spell can be broken? Who in Merlin's name came up with such a spell?" he asked.
"No one knows. It was created a long time ago," the song spirit replied.
{Does she know how long ago?} Fawkes asked. Harry repeated the question, but Lyra shook her head no.
"Though, I have a guess. Around four to five hundred years ago," she said. "That's the closest I know."
"Can we get back to what's going on now?" Gray asked impatiently.
"What the island's people think is a curse, is most likely just the moon drip. The moon's magical power gathered into one place for so long that it might have contaminated they're bodies. Although, I don't know how since these people seem to be fine," Lyra explained some more.
{I agree with her. They all still feel human to me,} Fawkes stated.
Natsu didn't seem to care if that was the case or not, because he was about to get up and attack the group of people like he himself is a demon, but Lucy stopped him in his tracks. "Wait, someone's coming," she said.
Harry looked over and saw that she's right. A young man wearing a mask is walking closer to the people doing the moon drip spell with the three they saw earlier.
"Darn, I didn't get any sleep today," Yuka complained. "All because we couldn't find the intruders."
"Are we even sure there were any?!" Toby exclaimed.
Sherry walked up to the new man. "I have sad new, Cold Emperor. There were intruders today, but they got away. I can't even speak of love because of this," she reported.
Harry leaned over to Lucy. "You're right, there is something seriously wrong with that girl," he whispered.
"Intruders, you say?" the Cold Emperor questioned, but Harry heard a slight quick intake of breath from Gray.
'I wonder what's up with him?' he thought.
"So that guy is the Cold Emperor?" Natsu asked.
"He's got to be. He's acting too high and mighty not to be. Not only that, but that mask says it all," Lucy pointed out.
"Really…? I think the mask looks cool," Happy complemented.
"Has Deliora been revived yet?" Cold Emperor asked.
"Maybe sometime today, if not then tomorrow," Sherry answered.
The man smirked in triumph. "It's almost time."
TBC
Harry didn't know the details of his parents' death before, but now he does. I had that part planned out for a while now. :)
Harry: That is not something to be smiling about. -_-
Enj/Dark: I know, sorry… :'(
Voldy: I'm not! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! X'D
Enj/Dark: *glares and turns Voldy into a Magikarp*
Voldy: *Magikarp* WHAT IS THIS?! *Magikarp karp*
Enj&Natsu&Harry: Muhahahahahahahahaha! XD
Zeref: o.O she turned him into the weakest pokemon known to mankind. Someone please remind me to never make her angry. :(
Natsu: Sure thing! ;)
Harry: Please review! :)