Chaos VIII


"Lord... Zeref…" The demon spoke. Everything froze. "I have found... my master." Deliora's gaze shifted to the Chaos Dragon, whose body was already wrapped in chaotic energy as he prepared for battle. The moment went unnoticed by most of the room, however, as Deliora immediately fell to the Earth and shattered into dust.

"What…"

"Huh, so he was already dead. What a waste..." Natsu scoffed, tugging his hood up and walking towards the caves exit.

"No!" Lyon shouted, suddenly rid of his stupor. Rushing over to the pile of ashes, he collapsed beside the demon's remains. "For a decade, its life force has been drained by Ur's magic. All I saw was its last moment." Lyon began trembling and mumbling as tears started to fall.

As Gray watched his former friend break down, he too couldn't help but to cry as well. "Thank you, master…"

"Gray!" Lucy burst into the cave, followed closely by Happy. "What happened here?"

"Nothing. Let's just get back." Gray trudged away from the scene with Happy in tow. Lucy glanced over at Lyon's pitiful state with a frown before deciding to engage.

"Lyon… right?" She placed a hand on the ice mage's back. "Everything's gonna be okay." Lyon looked at her with glassy eyes as she helped him to his feet. "Try and keep your head up, okay?" Lyon nodded as the blonde let go and ran off in the direction of her friends.


"What the hell are you talkin' about, huh? Are you dumb?" Lucy, Gray, and Happy returned to the village only to see Natsu chewing out the chief. Erza stood nearby as the villagers tried to hold back the annoyed dragon slayer.

Lucy rushed over, hoping to deescalate the situation. "What's going on?"

"The job we posted said to destroy the moon! You didn't do that, so we'll just post it again and give the reward to someone competent!"

"Wanna say that again?" Natsu's body began to radiate magic energy, causing a few villagers to step back.

"Stop it, Chaos. You realize your behavior is a direct reflection of our guild?"

"Maybe if these idiots would get it through their thick ass skulls that we can't just destroy the moon 'cause they think it's a curse."

"The moon is what transformed us into demons!"

"Do I have to tell you twice?" Natsu glared. "You aren't human. You never were. The scent isn't there."

"Blasphemy!"

Before the arguing could continue, Lucy stepped forward. "Natsu, maybe we should just destroy the moon. Or at least try, as we came all this way. It'd be a pity to leave without the reward." Lucy hoped Natsu would realize what she was doing, and it seems he did as his glare softened ever so slightly, and the chaotic energy around him began to diverge.

Erza picked up the idea as well, as she transformed into her Black Wing armour. "Lucy's right. For all this time these villagers have been suffering. And the culprit can be none other than this vile moon." The villagers parted as Erza walked past, requipping a large spear.

Natsu walked over to stand by Lucy as Erza leaped into the air. Using all her might, the redhaired knight hurled the spear towards the moon. Sure enough, a crack began to form in the purple haze.

The villagers trembled with excitement. Then the crack grew, and grew, until it had passed the radius of the moon and spread into the sky.

"What is that?!"

A dome surrounding the island shattered. The purple skies reverted to their natural white glow. Lucy beamed as Natsu scoffed, and Erza landed professionally in the centre of the village.

In the distance, a beat up Zalty watched as the trap he set was destroyed by Titania. With a mischievous smirk, he teleported away.

"I knew it! The moon drip released a gas, which crystallized and became this giant lens." Lucy explained. "Lyra told me about the gas."

"That's cool and all but… the villagers ain't turning back." Gray observed the villagers panicking that despite the clean skies, everyone's form was still that of a demon.

"Everything's back to normal." Natsu spoke. "They've always been demons, like I said."

"Really?" Lucy asked.

"The scary human is right." The village chief spoke up, all the villagers quieting. "With the curse gone, I remember. We have been given the false memory that we became demons during the night, when in truth we have always been demons!"

"Yes. We all have the power to change into humans," A woman said, horns and tail disappearing to turn her into a human appearance. "In that dome, we thought this was who we truly were." Soon enough all the villagers began changing into human forms, talking emotionally amongst each other as long lapsed memories began to flow back.

"All's well that ends well, then. I'm out of here." Natsu saluted to his guildmates before disappearing into a magic circle.

"Wahhh! Natsu left me again!" Happy cried out, flying into Lucy's chest.

"He's leaving again?"

"Chaos doesn't stick around long; you should know that by now."

"Please accept the reward." The village chief presented a chest filled to the brim with golden coins.

"We humbly decline." Erza stated. Gray and Lucy recoiled in surprise but were too afraid to protest. "Our guild did not officially accept this job; it was taken by a few idiots. We also did not technically complete the job as requested, as we did not destroy the moon.

"We'd feel terrible sending you off with nothing, you saved us all. If you won't accept the jewel… can this key be of any use to you?"

"Oh, yes!" Lucy jumped up quickly and claimed the celestial spirit key before Erza could decline again. "Thank you so much!"

"Can we offer you a trip back to the mainland as well?"

"No need. I have a ship ready." Erza said, as a giant pirate ship pulled up to the nearby dock.

"You hijacked a pirate ship…" Lucy deadpanned as Gray stood slack jawed.

"Madame!'

"We missed you!"

The Fairy Tail members prepared to return to Hargeon. Erza watched the quest thieves like a prison warden as they filed onto the ship and prepared for an hour-long lecture during the ride back.

Meanwhile, a group of mages sat on the edge of a cliff on another end of the island. Staring out at the ocean as they planned their next move.

"Reitei-sama…" Sherry approached the white-haired mage cautiously, unsure of his current state of mind. "Should we- "

"Forget it."

"But you can't even move."

"It doesn't matter. We will find a new goal."

"I-I'm not crying!" Toby wailed.

"Nobody asked you…" Yuka rolled his eyes.

"After you finally reunited with your childhood fellow pupil… love!" Sherry exclaimed.

"We have no reason to follow them. The battle was fair, I just need to accept it was all a waste." Lyon leaned back to look at the stars. "So… are guilds any fun?"


"Lucy!" The moment said girl stepped foot in the Fairy Tail guild hall alive and uninjured, the guild went crazy.

"You're still alive?"

"Are you injured? Do you need to go to the infirmary?"

"How bad did he hurt you?"

Lucy stood frozen in shock. Does the guild really think Natsu hurt me? Sure, maybe they didn't get along too well. But it was all in good fun. Natsu would never harm her.

"Natsu wouldn't dream of hurting me. He's really nice if you get to know him!" The silent guild stared at the girl in disbelief.

"Maybe she hit her head..."

"I didn't! Natsu is an angel-"

"Chaos is a monster." The guild quieted once again. Tensions rose steadily between Lucy and the fairies who surrounded her.

"How are you all still not past this…"

"I think," Gray spoke up as he entered the guild, voice sharp and cold. "We may have been too harsh. Chaos saved my life and defended the legacy of my teacher."

The guild quieted as people reflected on Gray's statement. No one said a word, however, as Master Makarov stepped foot out of his office. Gray and Lucy may have returned unharmed to the guild, but they had disregarded the rules.

"My children," Makarov approached Gray, Lucy, and Happy. The air thickened and tension rose as the guild awaited the master's words. "The rules of Fairy Tail are absolute. Those missions reserved for S-Class members are reserved for a reason. Every member of this guild is my child. No parent wants to see their child hurt, which is why these rules are set in stone."

Makarov turned around and jumped up onto the balcony to address the entire guild. The Galuna Island trio braced to hear their punishment.

"To the three who disobeyed the rules, you will be on cleaning duty for the next week." The entire guild had various reactions of surprise. No one expected such a mundane consequence. "We should all celebrate the safe return of our comrades. Who knows what tragedy could have befallen these three had Chaos and Erza not gone along?"

"I'm sorry, Master." Gray spoke first, bowing his head. Lucy followed the motion.

"I am too. Especially as a new member, I shouldn't have gone."

"Lift your heads, children. All that's important is your safe return. Please rest." Makarov hopped down from the railing as the guild's energy began to rise back to its usual level.

Lucy took a seat at the bar with a sigh. Mira appeared quickly with a strawberry milkshake for the girl. "So, how was the island? Did you swim in the ocean?" She smiled, hoping to lift the blonde's spirits.

"Oh, yes. Unwillingly. If only it was a nice calming vacation." Lucy whined as Mira laughed.

"I'm surprised Chaos allowed you to stay. Did you get to see him fight?"

"Yeah, somewhat. I still don't get his magic. He's a fire mage, right? With some kind of weird energy attribute?"

"Chaos is a little more than just a fire mage," Mira chucked. "He's a dragon slayer."

Lucy nearly spit out her drink, hitting her chest a few times so she didn't choke. "A dragon slayer? Seriously? How does that even work? Every book I've read said dragon slayer magic must be taught by a dragon, and I'm pretty one of those haven't been around in centuries."

"True, but one of the few remaining happened to be Chaos's father."

"He's half dragon?" Lucy sat up and shouted, sitting down embarrassed after drawing a few odd looks.

"Oh, no, he was adopted." Mira smiled reassuringly. "He was brought here to Fairy Tail after his dragons disappeared, and those times where he disappears for days or weeks… he's out looking for his family."

"Are we sure he's not just..." Lucy twirled her finger next to her ear. "A little cuckoo?"

"With his power we can't rule out the possibility completely. And he doesn't seem like the liar type, does he?"

"Well, no." Lucy sighed. Mira scrunched her nose in thought for a moment before speaking again.

"A few years ago, he scorched half the guild hall when a member claimed he was delusional and had never met a dragon," The barmaid looked down solemnly. "I think we all experienced true fear that day. We were exposed to power- power we had never seen before. True despair. We had seen him use fire, but the flames that burned through the guild that day were blue. His aura was pure black, and it was a demonstration of unseen strength meant to scare us all into submission- and that's exactly what it did. Never again did a guild member question Chaos and his history." Mira explained. Lucy's face was frozen in shock.

"That's…"

"Be cautious, Lucy. I know you spend a lot of time around him, and I won't tell you to stay away. Just mind your words, I can't lose another sister." A tear fell down the white-haired beauty's cheek as she turned around and disappeared into a back room.