Ummmm…. Hi there, my readers. Ummm… the 3rd dragneel, coming back to this awesome story…
Okay, I'll be honest: it is really awkward coming back after so long. I'm sorry for the long wait, especially since the past few months were a bit hectic for me in terms of getting my license and other things. However, as I start to gain more and more job interviews, I will try my hardest to update my stories so none of you will get bored.
But enough about that. TO THE REVIEWS!
Messiah of authors: New powers… maybe a few. Not sure who'll get them or when they'll earn them, but it will happen.
Fpinheiro96: I can see Asta and Erza training with one another. Plus, yes. We WILL get more Natsu x Maki scenes cause I love that pairing.
Guest: Escanor… might be a bit much for the story.
DragonTamer1: Kazuma from Konosuba… NO.
CRUDEN: Oliver has dealt with arrogant jackasses in the past. Laxus is just another loud dog to him.
TheEmeraldMage: Glad you enjoyed the last chapter and I will try my best to change certain things for some of the arcs.
Zatil Hidayah Spensa: For sure. Hopefully, I can add something different for the arcs, even though I do enjoy a majority of them.
MBS41: I'll try.
A fan: I can't say if he will appear.
Avenger: Yeah, having Ben 10 would be cool. But at the same time, he has some overpowered aliens like Way Big.
BanRedfox: Glad to see you're hyped for Green Arrow vs Laxus cause it will happen later on in the story. And I have watched Dr Stone, Akudama Drive and only READ God of High School since the anime is a rushed mess.
Anonymous: I mean Yusei could duel later on. Just need to think of when.
Danny: Haven't seen Mob Psycho 100, so I can't add him. Sorry.
Odd-Eyes-Omega-dragon: Yeah… Ben 10 would be OP for this story with aliens like Way Big.
Prof. Bobo: Don't worry. I won't rush through Galuna. And I plan on reading Records of Ragnarok soon.
To recap: Things seemed to cool down after the Guild had learned of the fake trial. However, that changed when everyone, minus a few people, started to fall asleep due to a sleep from the S-Class wizard Mystogan. Mirajane then explained to team Natsu the importance of S-Class wizards after their rather rude introduction to Laxus Dreyar. Natsu and Happy then came up with a plan to take an S-Class quest, dragging Maki and Lucy with them. Gray attempted to stop them with Yusei and Oliver, but he was then taken by Natsu on a boat. But as team Natsu went to a boat with a man named Bobo, a tidal wave appeared and they were swept away.
What has happened to team Natsu? And will the rest of Fairy Tail be able to help them? Let's find out...
'Fairy Tail Guildhall, night'
"You couldn't find them at all?" Mirajane asked with a frown on her face as she gave Yusei and Oliver a glass of water. Both Champions had returned from their search in Hargeon, with neither Team Natsu or Gray with them.
"We asked everyone if they saw them, but when we asked the boatmen about Galuna, they just stopped talking." Yusei told her while drinking his water.
"Not only that, one of them mentioned someone who fit Natsu's description going on a boat to Galuna. There's a chance the person who took them was the same person who made the request." Oliver theorized with a hand on his chin. 'Not to mention Oracle hasn't come back. Hopefully, she's at least watching them.'
"This is troubling, indeed. But don't blame yourselves." Makarov said out loud as he drank from his mug. "You did your best to find them. I'm grateful."
"But what should we do now, Master? Even if they have Natsu and Gray, this is still an S-Class quest, meaning it's really dangerous." Mirajane questioned with heavy concern. If only she was able to use her magic again, she could go out and bring them back.
"We could try going back tomorrow, if that's alright." Oliver suggested as Makarov gave him a look.
"That may be for the best. However, I think there's one person besides Laxus and Mystogan who can bring them back." Makarov said before he looked at the doors of the Guildhall. "And I pray to the gods she returns soon…"
'Unknown island, the next morning'
"Lu…. Luc… Luc… WAKE UP!"
*Peck*Peck*Peck*
Lucy Heartfilia was someone who loved sleep. It was something she always enjoyed, especially when she did a job.
What she DIDN'T like was having a bird peck at her face.
"OWOWOWOW! OKAY! I'M AWAY!" Lucy screamed as she swatted at whatever was pecking her face. However, that jolt of pain was able to make Lucy realize where they were.
She was currently on a rather nice beach, with the sun shining brightly in the sky and birds flying overhead. What was out of place were the broken pieces of their boat scattered around.
"Where am I?" Lucy said to herself as she looked around, only for Oracle to land in front of her with an annoyed expression. "Oracle!"
"Yes, it's me. For someone who seems mildly normal compared to the others, you sleep rather deeply." Oracle bluntly told her.
"H-Hey! I just like sleeping!" Lucy defended herself, though the look on Oracle's face made her sweatdrop. "So, where are the others?"
"There." Oracle answered while turning her head towards the others. Happy currently had his head buried in the sand as he tried to free himself. Gray was behind the talking cat, lying on his stomach. As for the other two…
"Ugh…" Natsu groaned as he started to regain his senses. Slowly, Natsu aimlessly reached out to grab the ground to push himself up.
Only… his right hand landed on something soft and… squishy?
"What the?" Natsu began squeezing whatever he was grabbing as he opened his eyes. He could barely see sand on the ground, palm trees, and something black under him. But the more he regained his vision, the more Natsu began to realize what, or rather, WHO he was lying on.
"Mmmmmm…" Underneath Natsu was the fire solider Maki Oze, who had her eyes closed as her cheeks began to reeden. "Not here… when we get back… to the house…" She moaned while moving a bit. Natsu's drowsiness was soon replaced with horror as he noticed his hand was on Maki's chest, groping her left breast.
'Oh crap…' Natsu thought as he prepared to stand up…
Only for Maki to open her eyes.
"Huh? What's going on?" Maki began to regain her senses, feeling a hand groping her. Looking at her stomach, Maki's eyes slowly widened as she realized who it was that was grabbing her.
"Ummmm… hi." Natsu greeted with a nervous grin as he quickly took his hand off her breast, hoping it would make things better.
"AAAAHHHHH!"
*SMACK*
The sound of Maki's knee hitting Natsu's family jewels rang through the beach, making Lucy and even Oracle cringe. Natsu let out a high pitch squeal as he rolled off of Maki, holding his lower region.
"Ouch…" Lucy muttered, feeling slightly sorry for Natsu.
"Why…. what did I do to deserve that?" Natsu asked in a very high pitched voice, shaking in pain as tears comedically ran down his eyes.
"Let's see: you and Happy took an S-Class quest without asking Gramps, you tricked Lucy and Maki into coming, AND you kidnapped me. Anything else?" Gray, not fully awake after hearing Natsu let out his scream, pointed out as he turned his head towards Natsu.
"I-I'm sorry!" Maki apologized, putting aside the fact that she was groped as she patted Natsu's back. "Y-You surprised me and I just… attacked."
"I… I… I can't feel anything…" Natsu whimpered, making Maki feel even more guilty.
"FREEDOM!" Happy shouted as he finally pulled his head out of the sand. The blue cat then looked around and noticed Natsu holding his crotch while crying. "Ummmm… did I miss something?"
"So, what should we do now? We barely got lucky and survived that way, IF you can call it luck." Gray said bitterly.
"I can't help but wonder what happened to the guy who brought us here." Lucy questioned in deep thought. "He was talking about the island and he just vanished."
"It can't be a coincidence. There has to be more to it." Maki added to the conversation. Natsu, having slightly recovered from the kneeing, stood up.
"Who… cares about… that?" Natsu said with a pant as he wobbled over to his pack, putting it on. "Let's… explore… a… little… it still hurts!" Unable to continue standing, Natsu fell on his knees and covered his family jewels once again.
"Want some fish?" Happy offered while taking out the fish.
"I don't think it'll help the way you think it will." Gray told the cat with a sweatdrop.
"We can't do that. Don't forget we're here on a mission." Lucy lightly scolded Natsu, who was being helped up by Maki.
"And I'm sure Yusei and Oliver have already told the Guild about your absence. Best case scenario: they'll come after you." Oracle informed them as she started to fly. "I'll scout ahead in the meanwhile."
"Thanks." Gray thanked the owl as she began to fly away. "Well, let's get going."
"Apparently, there's only one village on the whole island. But it's good to have Oracle look around." Lucy told everyone before she got her own bag.
"It shouldn't take us too long to find it." Maki added before she glanced at Natsu. "Can you hang in there?"
"Aye…" Natsu gave a thumbs up and a shaky grin.
Suddenly, he was feeling very sorry for the guys Maki beat up.
'Galuna Village, late afternoon'
"What took all of you so long?" Oracle asked the group with a deep frown, sitting on a log as she watched team Natsu making their way towards a large wooden gate that had a "KEEP OUT" sign on it.
"Sorry. It took longer than we wanted." Lucy apologized with a nervous smile.
"Blame Ashtray. He needed a break every few minutes. Plus, he and Happy wanted to go fishing." Gray nonchalantly jabbed a thumb at Natsu and Happy.
"You never know when we'll find more tasty fish!" Happy defended himself from Natsu's head, showing Gray his half eaten fish.
"Those are the same fish you eat every day." Oracle said with a deadpan expression.
"Hey, we're here, aren't we?" Natsu shot back with a frown before he looked at the gate. "So this is the village, huh?"
"It doesn't look like they want anyone inside." Maki pointed out.
"Is anyone home?!" Lucy called out with a loud enough voice, hoping to get the attention of those inside. "We came here to help you!"
However, despite her yelling, they didn't get any response.
"Let's bust it down." Natsu suggested with a fist raised.
"Not happening!" Lucy immediately shot down.
"Oracle, are you sure anyone's in there?" Gray asked the owl. But before she could say anything…
"Who goes there?!" One of the gate guards called out from the top of the gate, getting everyone's attention.
"We're wizards from Fairy Tail and we came to help, per your request!" Maki answered, glad to see some people on the island.
"Then why weren't we notified that you accepted it?" The guard asked suspiciously, much to concern of everyone.
'Crap! That's right! We aren't actually doing this job officially!' Lucy thought as she and most of her group tried to think of a valid reason.
"Sorry. It probably got lost with the paperwork." Gray quickly answered, saving everyone's butts.
"Show me your emblems!" The guard then asked in a serious tone. As instructed, everyone showed the guard their emblems, making him nod. "Okay, it checks out. Open the gate!" And just like that, the gates began to rise. Standing on the other side of the gate were a large group of robed people, with masks covering their faces.
"On behalf of everyone here, I welcome you." One robed person, an old man and presumably the leader, greeted the Fairy Tail wizards, holding his staff with a crescent moon stone on top tightly. "Pleasantries aside, there is something you all need to see." He then looked at the rest of the village. "Now, my people!" With that, everyone began to remove their robes.
But what was underneath… The Fairy Tail group were horrified.
"Oh my god." Maki gasped with wide eyes.
The villagers, dressed in tribal clothes, revealed some rather disturbing changes to their bodies, From a purple arm to an extra appendage, everyone in the village seemed to have gone through a sudden transformation.
"It's just like what happened to the boat guy." Gray realized as he looked around.
"Holy crap! Your sideburns are crazy long!" Natsu shouted with a comedic expression as he looked at the chief's sideburns.
'That's not what's important, you idiot.' Oracle bluntly thought, tempted to fix the screw that was loose in Natsu's head.
"It's not that. I'm trying to show you what happened to my arm." The chief corrected Natsu while gesturing to his arm. "Everyone on the island has suffered horrible disfigurement because of the curse. Not even the animals are spared from this horrible curse."
"Not to sound rude, sir. But how do you know it's a curse?" Maki questioned softly. "Maybe it was just a spell someone put on everyone."
"Or it could just be a disease. Maybe we should bring a doctor." Gray added, agreeing with Maki's assumption.
"We've consulted with dozens of doctors, young man. This is no disease, nor is it a spell one wizard cast on us. You see, our symptoms began around the same time the moon fell under an evil spell."
"What kind of spell?" Lucy asked with a curious tone.
"Since ancient times, this island has absorbed the light of the moon, causing it to glow almost as beautifully as the moon." The chief started to explain before he pointed his staff at the moon. "However, several years ago, the moon's color suddenly changed to a mysterious purple. This color was cast upon the island and slowly, we had begun to change."
"So because the moon turned purple, you guys turned into… this?" Natsu asked with his arms crossed.
"Look! The moon's coming out of the clouds!" Happy pointed out, causing everyone to look up. Sure enough, the clouds began to part, revealing the purple moon.
"The curse… it's coming!" The chief shouted in fear. "Stand back! The change is about to begin!"
"Wait, t-this isn't the change?" Maki asked with a gulp. She thought just seeing everyone's transformed limbs was scary enough. But that was just the calm before the storm? Soon, the villagers all gasped before they began grabbing their limbs, with some falling on their knees.
"What's going on?!" Lucy shouted as she and the others took a step back. One by one, the villagers began to transform into full fledged monsters. It felt like the Fairy Tail group were in the middle of a horror movie.
"I'm scared…" Happy quickly jumped into Maki's arms, causing the fire soldier to hold him in fear as they both hid behind Natsu.
"Why is this happening to them?" Natsu asked, unable to hide the small shudder in his voice. Soon, all the villagers stood in front of the wizards, fully transformed and frowning in despair.
"I'm sorry if our appearance frightens you. That was not our intent." The chief told them with a genuine tone, his voice staying the same.
"It's okay. We're just really surprised. And a little confused, honestly." Gray reassured them as he and the others examined the villagers.
"You poor people…" Lucy said with a sympathetic tone.
"B-but… you aren't going to… eat us, are you?" Maki couldn't help but ask, getting looks from everyone. "Sorry. I couldn't help it… I'll shut up now."
"All of you…look…" Natsu took a step forward… before giving the villagers an excited face. "SO COOL!"
"... What?" All the villagers asked, clearly confused by Natsu's words.
"Come on! You guys look really awesome! With those horns and stuff, you guys are the coolest people I ever met! Well… besides Yusei… and Oliver… and Gildarts… but still! I'm so freaking jealous!"
"... And just when I thought he couldn't be any more of an idiot." Oracle sighed, giving up on Natsu entirely.
"He really thinks we look cool?" One of the villagers asked with a question mark above their head.
"No one's ever said that about us before." Another villager admitted.
"Natsu, you're being insensitive!" Lucy berated Natsu, not wanting to insult the villagers' condition. "They obviously don't WANT to look like this! Didn't you hear them?"
"Oh… my bad." Natsu apologized while scratching the back of his head. "Guess we should help them change back, huh?"
"That IS why we're here, remember?" Happy reminded Natsu.
"Obviously, he would forget. He is a moron." Gray insulted the Dragon Slayer with a sigh.
"Anyway, as you witnessed, whenever the moon turns purple and shows itself to us, everyone in the village takes this horrific demonic form." The chief explained as he looked at his arm. "If it isn't a curse, then what else could it possibly be?" Some of the villagers, including the children, all began to cry, hating how horrible they looked. "Once the sun rises, we transform back to normal. However, there are some poor souls who can no longer switch back to their human forms due to their loss of humanity." The chief looked down in sadness. "The fate of them… these unfortunate souls in the grip of madness… we had no choice but to put them down for good."
"WHAT?!" The Fairy Tail group exclaimed in true shock.
"Why the hell would you do that?! They could've changed back any day!" Natsu tried to reason.
"But if we waited for that long, those monsters could have surely killed us." The chief tried to defend the killings, though from the look in his face, it was clear he didn't want to do it. "We've tried capturing them, but they always break free. It's no use." Tears began to fall down the chief's eyes as he took out a picture. "Once it takes hold, there's no way to save them. I even had to kill my own son…"
"Wait, that's the guy from the boat!" Lucy realized once she and the others looked at the picture. "We just saw him yest-"
"Shhhh." Gray quickly shushed Lucy. "Now I understand why he disappeared from the boat before the tidal wave. He's dead, but his soul can't be put to rest."
"W-Wait…" Maki spoke up while shaking like a leaf, unconsciously squeezing Happy. "I-If that's his son… and he disappeared… and he's d-dead… then we were talking TO A GHOST?!" Once she yelled that word, Maki squeezed Happy so hard, his eyes were close to shooting out of his eyes.
"Help… me…" Happy wheezed, feeling his soul coming out of his body.
"C-Can we just go home, please?!" Maki asked everyone while shivering, not realizing what she was doing to the blue cat.
"Please, don't go." The chief begged while bowing his head. "We need you to lift the curse from our island so no more innocent souls will be lost. For all we know, we could fall victim to the madness if this continues!"
"We won't let that happen!" Natsu declared with a serious tone. "We can fix this. I promise no more people will die."
"Thank you… thank you…" The chief said with a grateful tone as he bowed his head once again. "There's only one way to lift this wretched curse. The moon." He then pointed to the sky, specifically towards the moon. "You must destroy the moon!"
"... Eh?"
'Several minutes later'
"So… they really want us to destroy the moon." Gray spoke up with a blunt tone as he leaned against the wall of the hut his group were currently in. The chief was kind enough to offer a hut for the wizards in order to rest for the night.
"That moon's really creepy." Happy admitted as he looked at the moon through the open window.
"Would you just close the window? You heard what the chief said about it." Lucy told the cat while taking her stuff out of her bag. "We've got to stay out of the moonlight. Who knows what might happen if we get exposed to it?"
"G-Ghost… I can't believe we talked to a ghost…" Maki, still shocked by their talk with Bobo the ghost boatman, muttered as she huddled in the corner.
"I'm not sure about this job, you guys." Natsu admitted lazily while sitting on a chair.
"Plus, there's no way we can actually destroy the moon." Gray added with a frown.
"How many punches do you think it'll take? A hundred?" Natsu asked, not realizing how insane he sounded.
"Are you serious, Natsu?! What did I just say?!" Gray said to his rival. "We can't do it, idiot."
"Even if you were able to find a way to fly, the moon is 238,900 miles away from Earthland. There's also the lack of oxygen, as well as the cold vacuum of space and even the chance of re-entry is very slim. In short, you would die before you would even get close to the moon. Not to mention the strong effects the destruction of the moon would cause to the planet and its population." Oracle logically pointed out while pecking at her feathers, getting looks from everyone. "What? It's basic logic."
"Okay…. Besides what Oracle just said…" Lucy commented while still trying to wrap her head around what Oracle said. "Natsu, there isn't a wizard alive who's strong enough to do that."
"But they ASKED us to do it. And if we can't do the job, then it would make Fairy Tail look bad." Natsu reasoned.
"What they're asking isn't possible. How would you even get to the moon?" Gray asked Natsu.
"Duh. With Happy." Natsu answered while looking at his feline friend. "Plus, we can use Maki's Takayo thing to help us fly higher. Problem solved!"
"I don't think so." Happy shot down. He could carry Natsu for a certain amount of time, but trying to go over 200,000 miles in the sky was way too much for him.
"Okay, we can't destroy the moon." Lucy thought out loud while rubbing her chin. "But maybe there's something going on down here that's causing the moon to change."
"T-That sounds like a good idea. B-But promise we won't see any o-other ghosts…" Maki finally said to the group, still shivering a bit at the thought of seeing a ghost.
"If there are, I'll warn you." Oracle told Maki sarcastically. However, her little joke was cut short when Maki suddenly scooped her in her arms.
"THANK YOU, ORACLE!" Maki cried out as she hugged the owl tightly.
"IT… WAS… A JOKE!" Oracle tried to cough out while trying to free herself.
"Well, you kids can do whatever you want." Gray nonchalantly said as he began to remove his clothes, leaving only his boxers on. "After the day I had, I need some shut-eye."
"Please don't take anything else off." Lucy begged with a sweatdrop.
"Okay, it's settled! We'll start the investigation tomorrow!" Natsu declared with a grin before he jumped onto his sleeping bag. "Goodnight!"
"Goodnight!" Happy jumped next to Natsu.
"Sounds like a plan." Gray also jumped on his sleeping bag. Lucy merely smiled as she and Maki(who thankfully let Oracle go) laid on their sleeping bags, ready to go to sleep.
However… they failed to notice a pair of eyes watching them.
A lone bat was hanging upside down from a lone tree near the hut, watching the Fairy Tail gang with glowing red eyes. It tilted its head before it started to fly away. After a few minutes of flying, the bat flew into a lone cave, with the purple moon's light lighting the cave.
"Ahhhhhhh…" Inside the cave, a man, covered in cuts and cruises, gasped for breath as a hand squeezed his neck. However, what was different was the fact the hand choking the man was glowing red, with the choking man's veins glowing the same color. Once the glowing on the man's veins died out, the choker released the man, allowing him to fall on the ground, lifeless.
"Hmmm… not much in the way of magic. But, it's a decent snack. So thanks." The choker told the body, only to get no response. "Oh, that's right. Nevermind then."
The bat flew towards the choker, landing on their shoulder.
"Oh, hi friend. How was your night stroll?" The choker asked the bat. The bat then moved close to their ear, chirping something. "Oh? I see… interesting… really?... Well, we'll need to tell the Cold Emperor, now don't we?" With a small chuckle, the choker began to walk away, leaving the corpse of their latest victim behind.
'The next morning'
The Fairy Tail group trekked through the forest of Galuna, though the males of the group were struggling to keep up with the girls.
"It's way too early." Natsu complained.
"No kidding. I'm never up this early." Gray added with a yawn.
"You two kept us up all night with your snoring. Don't even try to make me feel guilty." Lucy shot back with an annoyed look.
"Actually, I slept fine." Maki admitted. Given how she grew up in the military, she was used to loud snoring. If anything, Natsu and Gray gave her a bit of nostalgia.
"Well that's one. But we're still going, so stop your whining!" Lucy declared with a smile as she started to walk ahead again, with Maki following suit.
"... Should we just leave her?" Natsu asked Gray.
"... Maybe." Gray agreed as the two shook hands before running to catch up to their friends.
"Open, gate of the Clock Constellation! Horologium!" Lucy took out one of her silver keys, causing a magic circle to appear.
*Ding*Dong*
A large object fell from the sky before landing in front of the group, revealing it to be Lucy's clock spirit, Horologium.
"The time is 7:48 in the morning." Horologium said out loud while waving at everyone. Lucy then entered Horologium, getting comfy. "Come on! We're burning daylight, she says with gusto."
"Talk about lazy." Gray sighed as the group continued to walk.
"You really think we'll be able to find another way to lift the curse? I could still blow up the moon." Natsu asked out loud.
"Still no, moron." Gray told him with a frown. "Besides, we don't really have much of a choice. The village may think the moon's cursed, but everyone else likes it."
"Not to mention Oracle was right about the consequences of destroying it." Maki added.
*THUMP*THUMP*
However, everyone stopped their conversation when the ground began to shake a bit, followed by the sound of large feet stomping.
"What the hell's that?" Natsu asked in confusion. Oracle perked up and turned her head, only to widen her eyes.
"RUN!" Oracle warned everyone before she started to fly in the air. Everyone was a bit confused by this… only to gasp in shock.
Towering over the group with glowing yellow eyes was a very large green rat, wearing a black corset-style top with pink frilly edges which is tied up the front with black strings and a white lace headband and a red ribbon tied across its chest.
"What is that?!" Maki asked with wide eyes.
"It's huge!" Gray also yelled with a bit of sweat running down his head.
"What are you waiting for? Take that thing out! She yells frantically." Horologium translated for Lucy as the giant rat laughed at them.
"Got it!" Gray slammed his right fist on his left palm, causing an icy mist to come out of it. He then created a magic circle, aiming it at the rat. "Ice Make Shield!" A moment later, a large ice shield appeared in front of the group, shielding them from the rat's breath attack.
"Oh my god, that smells awful!" Maki gagged as she, Natsu and Gray covered their noses. Fortunately for Lucy and Happy, Horologium was able to shield them while Oracle was safe in the air.
"I can't… stay… here…" Horologium was unable to handle the breath attack and returned to the Spirit World, causing Lucy and Happy to take in the foul air.
"STINKY!" Lucy and Happy shouted in unison.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" To add salt to the wound, the rat began to cackle in amusement. She always loved seeing people suffer from her brea-
*SLAM*
However, the rat couldn't continue laughing as Maki's Tekkyo units slammed into both sides of the rat's face.
"That's enough out of you!" Maki shouted while aiming her arms at the rat to control Tekkyo. The rat fell on her back, holding her sore cheeks.
"Come on! Let's go while it's down!" Lucy urged the group as they began to run as far as they could from the rat.
"Here!" Oracle called out while flying towards what looked like a temple with a red crescent moon insignia on the walls.
'Temple of the Moon'
Despite looking rather normal outside, the interior of the Temple of the Moon was in a very broken state. Columns were broken, grass was growing in random patches and there were even vines that were spread around.
"This place is massive." Lucy confessed as she looked around the inside of the temple.
"And it's falling apart too." Natsu pointed out while kicking one of the rocks.
"Given how old the island is, it's possible this temple has been around since ancient times." Oracle called out as she flew over to the drawings on the wall, frowning as some of them were broken off. "A shame, really. The knowledge of this temple would have been useful."
"There's a lot of moon symbols around. Maybe the people who lived here before worshipped the moon." Maki said as she stared at another moon symbol.
"Galuna used to be called the island of the moon, so it makes sense they would have something like this." Gray pointed out next to Maki.
"A moon island, a moon curse and moon symbols… You gotta wonder what it all means." Lucy thought out loud. "Oracle, what do you-"
But when Lucy turned towards the walking owl… she seemed to be pecking at something on the ground. Oracle then turned to the group… with a mouse tail hanging from her mouth. She then slurped the mouth into her mouth, allowing her to fully consume the mouse with a content sigh. Oracle then noticed the looks everyone was giving her.
"What? Even I need to eat every now and then." Oracle defended herself. "Besides, all of you eat animals every day."
"Seriously, this place looks like it could fall apart any minute." Natsu said as he stomped on the ground.
"Natsu, I don't think that's a good idea." Maki told the Dragon Slayer, though he kept stomping on the floor…
*Crack*
… Which caused the entire floor to cave in.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" The Fairy Tail group screamed as they fell through the floor.
"NATSU, YOU DUMBASS!" Gray's scream echoed as he and the others continued to fall.
*THUD*
Luckily, they didn't fall for too long, though it didn't hurt any less, with the rubble surrounding them.
"And that is why you never try anything dangerous while inside an unstable temple." Oracle bluntly said as she calmly flew down the hole. Unlike Happy, she thought ahead. The group then burst out of the rocks, with only minor scratches.
"Is everyone okay?" Natsu asked out of concern.
"We would've been better if you hadn't knocked out the floor!" Lucy shouted in irritation.
"Here's a thought: maybe listen to what Oracle said and NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!" Gray yelled at Natsu while dusting himself off.
"It isn't like he wanted the floor to cave in." Maki defended Natsu, not wanting another fight to break out.
"Happy, can you fly us out of here?" Lucy asked the blue cat.
"It's pretty far up and I can't carry more than one person at a time. Sorry." Happy apologized.
"Cool! We're in a secret cave!" Natsu cheered as he noticed the path nearby. "Let's go see where it goes! Come on!" With that, Natsu ran down the path, leaving his friends behind.
"Would you stop running around like a crazy person?!" Gray yelled, though Natsu just kept going.
"There's no point in yelling and causing a cave in." Oracle berated Gray before she started to fly after Natsu, with the others following suit. Gray just sighed before he went with the others.
"Does anyone else feel cold?" Maki asked as she could feel a slightly cold draft brush against her. Natsu turned the corner and reached an open area, only to stop while gasping.
"Natsu?" Lucy and Happy turned the corner as well, only to gasp as well.
"What's up? Something wrong?" Gray and Maki soon joined them, and like the others, gasped.
"Guys… what's that?" Natsu asked, not taking his attention away from what was in front of him.
Standing in the middle of the open area was a MASSIVE block of ice, shining brightly while letting out a slight mist. But what caught their attention was what was INSIDE.
It looked to be a massive monster with sharp claws, sharp teeth, a long tail, and a V-shaped crown.
"No… it can't be… that's impossible…" Gray muttered with a shudder.
"Is that…" Maki started, though she didn't finish.
"A demon." Oracle informed them while landing on Maki's shoulder, glaring at the frozen creature.
"S-S-Seriously? ANOTHER ONE?!" Lucy shouted while taking a step back, even though the demon was completely frozen.
"DELIORA!" Gray suddenly bursted out, much to the surprise of everyone.
"Wait, you know this thing, Gray?" Maki questioned with a surprised expression. Gray ignored her and walked up to Deliora, a horrified expression still on his face.
"But… But how? It shouldn't… IT SHOULDN'T EVEN BE HERE!" Gray yelled once more, this time out of frustration. "WHAT THE HELL IS IT DOING ON GALUNA ISLAND!"
"Where did you see this thing before, Gray?" Natsu asked as he and the others walked over to the ice mage, concerned expressions on their faces.
"There's no… no way…" Gray looked at his shaking hands, trying to comprehend everything.
"Gray, please calm down." Lucy put a hand on Gray's shoulder in order to help him. This seemed to get to Gray as he started to let out ragged breaths. "Can you tell us what that thing is?"
"Deliora, the demon of destruction." Gray informed them with a growl. "But why the hell is it even here? It doesn't even make sense."
However, their attention was turned away from Deliora when the sound of footsteps echoed through the cave.
"Someone's coming!" Lucy whispered to the others. Quickly, the group rushed towards some rocks and hid behind them.
"The voices seemed to come from down here." Walking towards Deliora were three individuals.
The first was a short, slim young man distinguished by his extremely brushy, squared black eyebrows and upwards blue hair. He sported a green coat reaching down to his knees, sporting black section in correspondence to the sleeves's outer part and on the sides' lower parts, below the plain dark belt with a rectangular buckle which, together with the two vertically striped, overlapping hems placed on the front, kept the garment closed. His pants were dark and loose while his plain shoes were light-colored.
The second person was a lean-built, mildly muscular young man of average height with distinctive animal features: he has a pair of canine ears sitting on his head, a small dark nose and a lower face which is colored differently from the rest of his body, bearing resemblance to a canine muzzle. He has shoulder-length, straight brown hair, large round eyes with black pupils and dark eyebrows. Both of his biceps are adorned by tattoos: the right one bears the kana (hiragana) Sashimi (さしみ). He initially wore an extremely loose pair of pants with mildly torn hems, held up by a long belt covered in many rhombs, with the part left out from its plain rectangular buckle hanging down. Such pants bore a large, dark shield-shaped logo emblazoned on the right knee: this depicted a stylized skull, bearing ears similar to Toby's own ones, with a pair of bones crossed below it. The whole symbol was highly reminiscent of a Jolly Roger. Toby had a red collar covered in hollow studs circling his neck, and donned a pair of simple dark shoes, each adorned by a light, stylized footprint, similar to that of a cat, or maybe a small dog.
And the final person was the second tallest among them. They wore a long black cloak with grey outlines, baggy red pants, a brown vest with several tassels on it, metal gauntlets with bandages wrapped around them and black combat boots. In addition to that, their head was concealed in a white helmet with two lines that acted like eyeholes, several scratch marks on the cheek areas.
"Grrrr…" The dog-like male growled out while holding his stomach.
"I really hate being awake during the day." The blue haired male said to his comrades.
"I don't know. The night has always been where I work the best." The masked male added.
"Well, I suppose everyone has their preferences." The blue haired male said with a shrug. "So Toby, were you exposed to the Moon Drip? After all, you have those pointy ears."
"I ALREADY TOLD YOU THEY'RE A FASHION STATEMENT, YOU JERK!" The dog man known as Tobi shouted comedically. Tobi then turned towards the masked man, who seemed to be chuckling in response. "NOT YOU TOO, ROHA!"
"Lighten up. I'm just teasing you." The blue haired male calmly said.
"You don't have to be mean about it…" Tobi pouted.
"Yuki, be more understanding of Tobi." Roha told the blue haired male with a hand on his shoulder. "After all, special people like him rarely understand the difference."
"Thanks, Roha!" Tobi grinned happily, not realizing what Roha was implying.
"Moon Drip?" Lucy muttered to herself.
"Think it's the name of the curse?" Maki asked with narrowed eyes.
"Yuka, Tobi, Roha. Something terrible happened." The trio of males turned their heads as a new person entered the cave. It was a female with blue eyes, pink hair tied in pigtails, large breasts, and a curvaceous body. She had a choker tied into a ribbon, a purple and pink short spaghetti dress with light pink trimmings, black leggings, and high-heeled sandals. Her dress appears to have two long and thin wings at the back.
"What now, Sherry?" Yuka asked with an impatient tone.
"It's Angelica…" The girl named Sherry started while putting her hands over her heart. "She's been attacked and I'm sad."
"You're moping around because someone beat up your pet rat?!" Tobi shouted with the occasional bark.
"Tobi, shame on you." Roha scolded Tobi before he walked over to Sherry, lifting her chin up. "Can't you see our comrade is upset?"
"Oh Roha. You're so kind…" Sherry said to Roha with a small blush. "Angelica's a brave warrior, prowling the jungle to protect us. She… she is love!" With that, Sherry embraced Roha as hard as she could, making him return the hug.
"Shhhhhh, there there. Everything will be alright, dear Sherry." Roha calmly told her, getting awkward looks from their allies.
"I don't know who these people are, but they're a bunch of weirdos." Lucy whispered to everyone. "Especially that chick with the pet rat."
"Judging from the scent I'm picking up from them, they're not from the island." Natsu told everyone while peeking his head out a bit.
"And they don't look like they have the demon curse." Happy added, noticing how normal they seemed. "Well… besides that guy with the cloak."
"Intruders, you say?" Yuka asked with interest.
"And it's almost time to collect Moonlight again." Sherry reminded them while ending her embrace. "Oh, it makes me so sad."
"We won't need to worry about them. Though, from what my pet told me, they're wizards." Roha explained, much to the horror of the Fairy Tail group.
"He knows?" Maki whispered in horror.
"Official wizards?! That's really bad!" Tobi cried out while scratching his head.
"This news will displease the Cold Emperor." Sherry said out loud. "We should get rid of them soon."
"Good idea. We should find them before the first moon's light." Roha told them, making the others nod in agreement.
"It's possible the intruders have seen Deliora." Yuka said with a hand on his chin. "Then we will need to eliminate them once we find them."
"Of course. I don't mind if-" Roha stopped talking as he turned his head towards the rocks the Fairy Tail group were hiding in. He snapped his fingers on his right hand, causing several strange letters to glow on his arm. Slowly, a crimson light began to glow from his hand, taking the shape of a dagger. The Fairy Tail group tried their best to stay quiet, though it didn't stop the sweat from running down their heads.
And then… Roha threw the energy dagger.
Lucy was close to letting out a yelp as the dagger stabbed the rock she was hiding behind.
'Oh no… please don't look over here. Please don't look over here…' Lucy thought as she covered her mouth while Roha walked towards the rocks.
"What was that for?" Tobi asked in confusion. The closer Roha got to the rocks, the more the Fairy Tail group felt nervous. Natsu, Gray and Maki prepared themselves to leap out in the event Roha found them. Roha reached out and grabbed his dagger… allowed the centipede that was stabbed by the energy weapon to fall on the floor.
"Sorry. I have… a distaste for bugs." Roha said to his allies as the energy dagger disappeared. "Especially cockroaches. They always tend to move where they're not wanted."
"Hmmm, I see. Well, we should go back to the Cold Emperor." Yuka informed them as the group began to exit the cave.
"That was really close." Maki was the first to speak with a big sigh.
"No kidding. I thought we were busted." Gray said while wiping away the sweat.
"We should've just grabbed them when we had the chance." Natsu told them with a disappointed frown. "They could've told us all we wanted."
"Not yet. We should still do some investigating." Lucy countered.
"And none of you would have been able to stop that Roha man." Oracle spoke up as she glared at the cave path. "There's something… irregular about him. It would be wise not to fight him alone."
"I can still take him." Natsu reasoned with his arms crossed. "Man, this job keeps getting more and more complicated."
"Like, who is this Cold Emperor guy?" Happy questioned.
"Deliora… I still don't understand what anyone would want with something like it." Gray said to himself, trying to piece together what was going on. "And how were they even able to find it?"
"Was it hidden somewhere?" Lucy asked Gray.
"It was sealed away inside a glacier on the northern continent." Gray started to explain. "A decade ago, this immortal demon ravaged Isvan. Countless people lost their lives." He stopped to look at Deliora once again with a glare. "The woman who taught me ice magic, my master Ur, sacrificed everything to seal it away. I don't know if it had anything to do with the curse, but…" Gray's clenched hand began to emit an icy mist. "I do know that it doesn't belong here. This Cold Emperor bastard, we have to find out who it is. If they tarnish my master's legacy…" He raised his head with a look of pure rage in his eyes. "They're gonna regret the day they were born!"
Man, it is good to return to this story after a long hiatus. Seriously, I think part of the reason I enjoy this story is because I get to relive Fairy Tail and think how it went downhill so badly. Still, even with the ending, Fairy Tail still has a special place in my heart.
I know this chapter was a retelling of the Galuna Island arc, but with a few new scenes that were honestly a lot of fun. Don't worry, there will be plenty more excitement in the next chapter, especially with the mysterious Roha. Yes, he is an OC. But I will make it so that he isn't too overpowered.
Anyways, I hope to get a few more chapters in the next few months while I look for a job.
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Next time: Pain of Deliora