[ Sub-Zero Emperor Lyon Arc {2} ]
-L-H-
Everyone looked towards the disfiguration of Bobo, with his demonic looking arm and his forlorn look on his face as he begged for help. Even Natsu took a pause as he wheezed out a breath before turning to look towards Bobo for a brief moment. Lucy gulped in a small dose of fear at what awaited them on Galuna Island, while Gray's eyes hardened at the sight as he stared at his arm.
"A curse…" Bobo whispered as he walked back down towards the lower deck, walking past Natsu and Lucy. Despite being in rough shape, Natsu stuck his arm out and grabbed Bobo's cloak, giving him a serious but determined look as he muttered quietly.
"We'll help your people."
He had dried drool on his chin, was recovering from a dry heave and could barely stop his body from shaking. But his eyes were fierce with determination that was so strong, that Bobo had no chance but to believe him as he stared. Even Lucy was in awe a little bit as she looked down at the teen in her arms, pressed against her as he tried to seek comfort. Where does he get this strength from? Lucy was curious, because even at his worst moments, Natsu always seemed to be the one with the strongest will to do good.
Bobo ended up giving them a reluctant nod before heading back down below, leaving Team Haluna and a bounded Gray on the deck as they thought about their next move. Quickly realizing that the situation has changed, Lucy got up to untie Gray. He let out a small grunt once his wrists were unbound and he rubbed the sore skin as he got up to look at the island that they were sailing too.
The further along they were on their journey, the darker the skies were becoming. It gave Gray a sense of foreshadow, a bad one. Goosebumps began to erupt all over his skin if he stared at the island for too long, his usual frown on his face turning into something deeper as he looked away. What exactly..was on Galuna Island?
For the sake of the residents, he hopes nothing too heinous.
"Deep breaths, Natsu," Lucy said softly as she gave him comfort, before getting up to grab one of her keys. Gray looks at her in slight interest, because he doesn't recall ever seeing her use her magic before. All he knew was that she was a celestial spirit mage and could summon spirits, but what did that even look like?
His answer in the form of a gorgeous mermaid that stepped out of a golden gate with a resting snarky bitch face as she immediately looked around their vicinity, looking quite unamused. Gray eyes shun with small amusement as he watched the mermaid scowl Lucy, who looked a little sheepish but she seemed to be smiling all the same.
Aquarius furrowed her brow at the sight of the island ahead, before giving Lucy a distinctive look.
"...I'm not quite sure what I feel on that island, but I'm gonna warn you anyways. There is something there, that I do know." Her voice was low as Lucy nodded at her words, she had suspected that much already. The spirit's gaze flickered towards Natsu, giving him a look that Lucy has never seen before. She also looked at Natsu, wondering why Aquarius was looking at him to intently, but found that nothing was out of the ordinary.
"What is it, Aquarius?"
Aquarius just looked back at her, and hesitantly opened her mouth to say something before deciding against it. She just huffed and shook her head before walking over towards the edge of the boat, standing on top of the railings with pristine balance. She spun and cocked her hip, effectively changing the conversation.
"So whaddya want from me?"
"Take watch of us from below the water, you never know might come after us even before we reach the shore. You're the best spirit for the job!"
Aquarius wasn't phased by the praise, "Brat, I'm the only spirit for the job. Nobody else can handle water terrain except me."
"That just means you're naturally number one then, right?" Lucy smiled without skipping a beat as Aquarius hmphed, sticking her nose in the air as she looked off to the side. Gray huffed out a small laugh at the exchange as Aquarius turns back around to get ready to jump into the water.
"Whatever, I'll recon and protect you three flimsy humans."
Gray immediately harped onto her words, taking note that she said three. Natsu, Lucy, and Gray counted as three, but what about the sailor who was manning the boat? Sure he might be having demonic stuff going on with his body but his spirit was still human, right? "Wait. Just three?"
Aquarius flashed him a sneer and a look that screamed 'Why the fuck is this random talking to me?' but closed her eyes anyways as she surveyed the boat. Feeling and counting the spirits that she had felt, her blue eyes snapped opened. "Three plus the cat."
She jumped in the water without a second thought as Gray immediately jogged towards the entrance to the lower deck, twisting and yanking the handle open as he shouted, "Bobo? Bobo!"
Silence was all he heard in return as Gray swore before jumping down into below deck without a second thought, only to see that it was just a big room with a could barrels but nothing else. It was completely barren, even when Gray opened each and every barrel that was underneath. Absolute nothing was down here, and Gray scowled darkly as he climbed back up the ladder to head back to where the rest were.
"We have a problem," Gray sighed as he captured everyone's attention. Lucy bit her lip.
"Bobo's missing?"
"Yep."
"Crap.." Lucy sighed as she crossed her arms. Gray ran a hand through his hair as he clenched his jaw, he was pissed at possibly being swindled by Bobo. Why did he suddenly disappear? How did he suddenly disappear, in fact? Because as far as Gray was concerned, there had been nothing but salty water for miles now.
"We don't have a choice but to go to the island now," Happy chirped as he walked around the deck.
No one said anything for a while, because the exceed was right.
There was nothing they could do as they drifted towards Galuna island.
-L-H-
The shores of Galuna Island were sandy with large rocks here and there. Looking past the beach portion of the island laid a tropical jungle that seemed to go for miles, the closer Natsu looked after he kissed the ground for joy. Lucy just rolled her eyes as she got off the boat next, with Gray following her to make sure that Bobo was actually gone and didn't jump out to fuck them over even more.
A cautious type indeed, Lucy noted as she saw Gray's darkened eyes alert despite his natural sleep-deprived state. Gray eventually was satisfied in his findings and jumped down from the boat, as the trio plus Happy began to walk on aimlessly on the island. Despite the circumstances and the overall eeriness of this S-Class mission so far, Lucy would be lying if she said that she wasn't intrigued by the island.
Happy had already swooped up to take some fruit that seemed to be growing from the top of the trees. It was really sweet he said, and sure enough everyone was munching on the sweet orange fruit that tasted really good.
Was it poison? Who knows! Lucy was hungry, and so were the rest of them.
"If a fruit takes me out right here and now then, at least I died eating something tasty," Gray snorted as he took another bite while Lucy laughed.
In the distance however, Natsu pointed out that he smelled something interesting and used Happy to get a bird's eye view in the direction he smelt the scents. Narrowing his eyes as he squinted in the dark a bit, his eyes widened at the sight of man-made structures and that's when he let out a cheer and told the others the good news.
"I think I saw a village over there!" Natsu grinned as he pointed in the north-east direction. It turns out that he was correct, there was in fact a village of people that seemed to be in the same situation as Bobo, considering their altered limbs that varied in colors and sizes. It made Team Haluna get serious immediately at the sight, but it was clear that Bobo wasn't lying after all. These people seemed to have a serious problem. The residents of Galuna Island immediately spotted them, and eagerly greeted them once they realized that they had to be from the mainland due to their un-altered forms.
"Hello!"
"Thank you for coming!"
"Wow, someone really came!" Natsu's heart hurt a bit at the one.
"Thank the spirits!"
They were crowded immediately, with Gray taking a step back with a small, subtle grimace while Lucy and Natsu were chuckling with surprise at the children that ran around them with chicken feet! The people were still people, Lucy reminded herself, despite the demonic limbs. Eventually, the residents settled down when an elder man walking with a cane came over, introducing himself as Moka, chief of the village.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Moka." Lucy said with a polite nod and a firm handshake. Being the designated leader of Team Haluna meant that she took it upon herself to handle the diplomatic situations and took the reign of introductions. It was something that she was used to doing after learning business due to her father's tutors. It was the few things that she was proud of. At least if being a traveller and a guild-member ever failed, Lucy knew she had the basic intellect to manage businesses.
"Thank you, mages! As you can see, my people and I have a serious problem on our hands," Moka said with a grave voice that has cracked with age. In the back of her mind, Lucy comically thought about the difference in voices that Moka and Makarov had. Maybe Makarov wasn't as old as she thought he was.
"Could you please give us more information about what has happened?" Moka nodded in agreement and they found themselves settled in the guest hut that they were going to stay in for the night, before heading out in the morning to investigate. Moka had someone pour tea for them, and they all sipped it as they talked. Lucy had to secretly smack Natsu from making a face at the smell of it though, but his tune quickly changed when he realized that it tasted better than it smelt.
"It is a curse -" Moka begins and it reminds Gray of Bobo for some reason. "-that began when the moon turned purple a couple years again. The magic power ended up turning us into demons in the night. Most of the time, we can revert back to normal in the day-time but I am afraid that more and more are unable to turn back as time goes on. We…"
Moka took a long sip of his tea as he let out a deep, sad sigh. Whatever he was going to say was painful to admit, Lucy realized. Something that Moka knows must be done deep down and there was a resignation inside of him that reflected that. A leader's peril is what she found herself looking at.
"...We have to kill those who fully turn, for they lose control and attack anyone in sight. We've lost some along the years, including my son, Bobo." Moka said mournfully. Team Haluna gasped mutely and quickly looked at each other as Moka reflected for a brief moment. Bobo was supposed to be death? Lucy suddenly paled, did she just see and talk to a ghost ?
Natsu was a bit confused because he was almost positive that he managed to grab his coat before telling Bobo that they would help his island. Natsu's eyes suddenly widened in excitement, was he a Ghost-Slayer now too?!
"Psst, Luce!" Natsu whispered loudly to the blonde who turned and looked at him, "I think I'm a ghost slayer!"
Gray couldn't stop the small snort that escaped him as he quickly looked away when Lucy snapped her eyes at him before she turned towards Natsu, "What?! This is not the time for jokes, baka!"
She got a big pout after that but she ignored it as she continued to converse with Moka.
Yeah, Gray doesn't know what to make of them just yet.
"Dispel the curse. That's our mission, correct?"
"Indeed, and the only way to do it is to destroy the moon."
Team Haluna was left baffled the rest of the night as they took in Moka's parting words. Destroy the moon? Is that even possible ? Wasn't the moon millions of miles away from Earth Land? Lucy hoped that that was simply a mysterious metaphor for something else, but secretly had a suspicious gut feeling that Moka's words were true.
If that was the case, then that only made her feel worse.
With muddled spirits at the revelations of the night, Team Haluna turned in as they fell asleep dreaming about what's to come. And if they woke up feeling stressed and stiff, well no one could blame them.
Galuna Island hasn't slept well in years, either.
-G-F-
There's a feeling in the air sometimes, that gets a person stiff and anxious. The moment Gray had stepped upon the island, there was something that lingered in the atmosphere. He understands that he is a naturally cautious person, and that paranoia could crept in every now and then. Maybe the lack of sleep was getting to him, he thought for a moment as he found himself wallowing in a deep discomfort. So much so that even the flamed idiot had gave him a small look of concern as they walked through the tropics.
Gray made sure to steel his face after that. What if he was worrying over nothing?
He wasn't.
Because the further they walked away from the outskirts and the village, the more he realized that they've heard less and less sounds of nature. Even insects were growing quieter as they ventured deeper into the unknown, and Gray's nerves felt like lava underneath his skin as they continued to walk.
Quickly, Lucy pauses and raises a hand up and Natsu is immediately alert. She looks around as everyone stood in silence, wondering where the source of incoming magic is coming from. "Gray, to your right."
Without even hesitating, Gray summoned an Ice-Make Hammer and held it in his hands as he pivoted, hearing rushing footsteps from Lucy's call out. With accurate timing, he swung the hammer upwards and connected it with the face of a large figure who let out a strangled screech before knocking out. Gray immediately stomped on the ground to freeze the enemy afterwards, ice shooting from his feet to enclose what appeared to be a…giant rat?
"Ew…" Gray looked in small disgust at the giant rat as Lucy audibly gagged. Natsu scratched the back of his neck as he walked over to the frozen rat, taking a closer look at it with a small incredulous look on his face.
"Don't get too close to it!"
"S'okay Luce, Ice Stripper was actually useful for once and managed to knock it out!" Natsu chirped as he looked at the color of the rat. It was a bit weird to see it dressed up like a maid in a way, plus it's fur was bright blue with was also odd. It was pretty uncomfortable to look at for too long, and thus Lucy had the brilliant idea to move towards the direction the rat came from.
"You think this island has a bunch of those rats, guys?"
"Spirits help us all if they do," Lucy venomously muttered as she shivered in disgust. Gray let out a small chuckle.
"It wasn't that bad and if that's the case, then they don't seem super challenging to beat."
Natsu suddenly glared at Gray childishly, "I won't let you take the next rat!"
"If you're fast enough to defeat it, slowpoke."
"You only got to it first because Lucy said it was closest to you!"
"Guess I'm going to be the favorite soon, eh Flame Brain?"
Natsu visibly bristled at the retort and they both took a step towards each other with their magic flickering as Lucy pinched her nose, muttering for Happy to come with her as she left the rivals to beef alone behind her.
"Shut up, Pervert!"
"Make me, Flare Head."
"You-Fine. Most fight wins on this damn mission wins and gets to be Lucy's favorite!"
Lucy let out a small snort from further above, still in the hearing range albeit barely. "Please do not drag me into this."
"She said yes!" Natsu continued without missing a beat, and he spat into his hand to meet with Gray's as they glared at each other in with rivalric tension. They even tried to squeeze each other's hand harder, but it reached a stalemate pretty soon and for some reason, they both ran out of breath as they let go simultaneously. Meanwhile Lucy tripped a little bit on an exposed root, causing her to stumble out into an open area as she sucked in a startled breath after she regained her composure.
In front of her was a large pyramidish ruin that appeared to be incredibly worn down and old, but the sight of a new area to explore didn't deter Lucy who let out a gasp of delight and grinned. She ran back towards the boys who were making their way over towards her and urged them to hurry up with a light laugh as Happy cheered and flew around her.
The rivals just looked at each other before taking off at the same time, racing as they followed Lucy's pace running through the island. Eventually they reached the ruins and Natsu's eyes widened as he grinned at the thought of exploration. He talked animatedly with Happy as Lucy began to look around for an entrance, but all Gray could think was that the uncomfortable feeling that he had felt earlier, came back full force.
It was starting to scare him a bit. Just what was making him feel that way about this entire island?
"Guys! I found an entrance!" Lucy shouted as she waved them over, and the team began to make their way inside without a moment's notice. Natsu was taking the front as he walked aimlessly with Lucy in the middle, a little more cautious than the latter. Goosebumps had erupted all of Gray's skin once more so he found himself taking the rear end of the ground, looking around slowly as they walked.
"Natsu, for the last time, be careful! What if the walls crumble because of your big steps?!"
"These caves have been around for a long time, yeah? I'm sure it'll take more than walking around to make the walls crumble." Natsu chuckled.
"Natsu really is heavy footed today though," Happy noted as Lucy nodded in rapid agreement as they both cringed when Natsu's step caused the ground to shake for a moment. Natsu paused at them before looking down at the floor and back of them before he proceeded to jump up and down rapidly on the ground.
Lucy threw a fist in the air, "Natsu, I swear to Go- "
"See? I told you, everything is just fi-IIIIIIINEEEEE " Natsu screamed as the floor crumbled underneath the stress and he fell through the floor. Lucy, Gray, and Happy stood in disbelief and silence for a moment as the sound of Natsu's groans and coughs echoed through the cave. The look of disappointment was so grave on Lucy's face that no one dared to say a word once they reached were Natsu was, after he sheepishly told them that he thought he saw something in the distance down there.
They walked in silence as Natsu shoved his hands in his pockets as he let Lucy take the lead, with Gray biting back a small smirk at the sight of the scolded dragon slayer.
"Well if it isn't the consequences of my own actions," Gray quietly snarked at Natsu who rolled his eyes and grumbled for him to shut up in retort. The brief period of amusement ended quickly however as Gray felt as if it was taking alot of energy inside of him in order to push forwards. His palms began to get sweaty with anxiety, his stomach began to clench a bit tensely as he awaited their fate. What was waiting for them at the end of this path?
Hopefully, it wasn't something serious and Gray was just over-reacting. That his slowly building unease that he's been feeling the past two days was all for nothing.
It was Happy, ironically, who made that hope crash down all together as he announced that he saw a big figure in-caged in what appeared to be ice up ahead. Lucy and Natsu picked up their pace as they jogged to where Happy was, but Gray froze.
He's heard and seen such a description before.
But in the back of his mind, there was still hope. He just trapped a monster in ice just moments prior, after all. Maybe it wasn't anything as drastic and extreme as he thought. Maybe it wasn't that .
Gray entered the opened, rough terrain area and stopped almost immediately as his mind went blank as he stared at the massive imprisonment of the Ice Shell of Ur against the Demon of Disaster, Deliora .
What the fuc-
Gray's heart pounded as he stood before the massive block of ice that imprisoned something horrid, something beastly, something demonic. The feeling of repulsion and fear began to invade his senses as he took a faltering step back, his eyes widening to the point of erraticness as he began to breathe heavily, and in short spurts. It couldn't have been possible, how the hell was that here?
And suddenly he's transported back to the tundra village where he had learned his magic from his master, the memories flashing before his eyes as everything became a hazy daze. There was no way that the demon was here. The dark cave seemed to be closing in on Gray as he grasped his face in an action of pure disbelief, letting out a choked sound that caused Lucy's eyes to widened as she looked back from before the massive ice cage.
Lucy felt her heart drop immediately at the sight of a freaked-out Gray, who seemed to be one second away from vomiting on the floor out of incredulity and fear. "Gray…?"
She couldn't even bring herself to raise her voice above a whisper as Natsu turned around as well, only to see Gray in the middle of the beginnings of a panic attack. Natsu's eyes widened in alarm at the sight of his normally calm and sauve rival, feeling a bit tense at seeing him so utterly vulnerable. Was what he was witnessing even a panic attack? As strings of mounting curses and held-back tears came from Gray, he realized that this felt more like a breakdown he was watching.
Because he has never seen Gray look so tired and broken as he did in that moment.
Gray's heart raced out of control as he was bombarded with emotions at the sight of Ice Shell, his head began to throb painfully with such overwhelming feelings. It felt as if someone had ripped a piece of Gray, violently and abruptly, while he was left to deal with the lingering emotions of shock, fear, and sadness. He ran his fingers through his dark hair as he let out a shuttered breath that ended in a gag.
Seeing someone who she has began to get to know more and understand, so emotional was making Lucy emotional as well as she held back a small sudden sob of her own as she slowly walked towards Gray who she could only describe as losing his mind.
He was muttering, chanting things under his breath rapidly, 'Ur' 'Deliora' 'death'
Lucy had no idea what they mean, but it meant something to Gray. It meant something deeply .
Natsu felt a wave of discomfort from looking at Gray for too long. He quickly looked away, in fact, because he felt as if he shouldn't be watching this. Did he wish for Gray to suffer and to beat him up all of the time?
Yes.
Did he wish for Gray to suffer, truly?
No.
Because there was a limit, there's always an unspoken limit for rivalries like their own. They grew up together, they've rumbled and tussled in so many different ways, Natsu was sure that it was in the hundreds. But there was a level of respect that comes with such a relationship that blossoms like theirs, that only grows with time.
He wishes hell on Gray, but not for him to be in it.
Natsu's eyes darkened as his eyes pierced the cave wall as he heard Lucy begin to tearfully console Gray, who was probably shaking as violently as Natsu last saw him. A lip trembled very quickly in Natsu, before he turned to face the ice prison in front of him with a growl in his chest.
That ice was the reason why Gray was freaking out right?
'Don't worry. I'm going to take care of it' , Natsu thought with spite as he charged his fist with flames, his will to destroy the very thing in front of him was powering his magic to lengths that he didn't know he was capable of. He let out a snarl as he made the motion to destroy the ice shell, when Gray's desperate shout made him pause half-way.
" DON'T! " Gray shouted wildly, trying to fight against Lucy who was holding him back as he weakly fought against her. It was the angst in his voice that startles Natsu, who's flames instantly went out at the sound of it. He couldn't help it. He snapped his eyes back towards Gray who was crying now, softly.
He didn't scream or through a tantrum everywhere.
He didn't fight Lucy anymore either, after noticing how Natsu stopped immediately.
He just slumped against her tiredly as he quietly sobbed, Lucy holding him tightly.
"Y-You can't ." Gray cried against Lucy, who stood there with a couple of tears rolling down her face as well. She swallowed harshly, "Gray..we can't what? Destroy the ice?"
But Gray wasn't coherent anymore as he sobbed even harder at her words. They couldn't destroy the ice, they couldn't . He can't handle the thought at all.
Lucy casted Natsu a look so full of worry and sorrow that he had a swallow down a harsh breath himself, before taking control of the situation. It was clear that they had to talk about something, and he was the only one other than Happy who was in a decent mindset-
Natsu's eyes sharpened as he snapped his head towards another entrance within the cave. He tuned his ears in, only to hear footsteps coming with the sound of voices. Natsu tensed as he moved defensively, quickly rushing towards Lucy and Gray.
"We have to move; people are coming, and I don't recognize their smell nor voices."
Lucy tried to get Gray to move, but it was hard when he was practically laying his entire body weight on her as he spiraled. Natsu let out a small curse before throwing Gray over his shoulder and grabbing Lucy by the hand as he ran towards a larger area of rocks that could provide decent cover. He called out for Happy who flew over and laid Gray gently down, as his sniffles turned into a blank daze as he laid motionless against the rock wall.
Natsu's jaw clenched at the sight, and he quickly looked away at the sight once more as he opted to keep watch. Lucy was wiping her tears with her free hand as the other remained with Natsu's hand, who didn't dare let go.
"Gray?"
The depressed blue eyes that stared back at her made Lucy shiver slightly as she reached over to grab Gray's hand with her remaining one. Together, Team Haluna sat enclasped and in silence as the mystery people came over towards the ice prison that had shattered Gray momentarily. Natsu placed a finger over his lips the moment he saw someone walk in, and they didn't dare to move an inch as they began to listen.
"The Moon Drip ritual will be finished soon, Reitei."
"Excellent. We all remember the plan, yes?" Presumably Reitei answered that question, but Gray's eyes blinked with a little bit of life once he felt as if he recognized that voice. He was still in a bit of a daze however and couldn't find it in himself to focus as the combination of insomnia and the aftermaths of a breakdown made for an extremely tired person as a result.
"Yeah. To purge all the intruders, yadda yadda."
"Don't be an arse. We'll removed everyone and then begin the real objective once the ritual in complete. Is that right, Reitei?"
"That's correct. Once this blasted ice melts, then it will be time."
That's all Gray had to hear when a rush of pure rage envelops him, causing him to sit up sharply as his magic began to activate at the extreme rush of emotions. Blasted ice? Did this Reitei fucker even know what was sacrificed in order to contain that monster that was inside of it? Did they even know the history of the incident, and how-
Gray faltered once more at the thought of Ur before his eyes set into a cold fury.
He won't let them get away with this, not without his own blood, sweat and tears.
How dare this Reitei bastard soil and dismiss his second mother's sacrifice and name?