Chapter 8
The Emperors Minions
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
"Magic"
Flashback
Location / Date / Time Change
"Gray, do you think this thing has anything to do with the curse on the island?" Laki asked as she stared at the demon.
"I wouldn't be surprised if it did." Gray muttered. "This demon is still alive, even if it is encased in ice."
"Sweet." Natsu stepped forward and swung his arm as a warm up. "In that case, let me finish it off."
"Why is violence your only answer?" Lucy asked.
"Just let him be, Lucy." Laki told the blonde. "Natsu's always been like this. You can't just expect him to change."
"A little fire oughta do the trick." Natsu said. Gray shot Natsu a death glare before punching the pinkette in the face, knocking Natsu to the ground.
"Gray, what was that for!?" Laki shouted before running over to Natsu. "He's still a little weak from that rats breath. Natsu, you okay?"
"What the hell, Gray?" Natsu sat up holding his face. "What did you hit me for!?" He stopped shouting when he saw the rage in Gray's eyes.
"I don't want you or you flames anywhere near Deliora." Gray growled out. "If that ice melts and that monster gets revived, none of us can stop it."
"Come on." Natsu stood up, leaning on Laki for support. "Do you really thing a big chunk of ice like that can be melted easily?"
"No..." Gray muttered.
"Hey, you okay, Gray?" Lucy asked as she walked over to him.
"I'm the one who got hit for nothing!" Natsu shouted, earning a chuckle form Laki.
Gray let out a sigh before staring back at the demons blank eyes. "Many years ago, my master Ur cast a spell called Iced Shell." Gray explained. "It's unmeltable ice. Even the strongest flames from the strongest fire wizard can't melt this ice." His fist started shaking in rage. "It doesn't make any sense. If they knew the ice couldn't be melted, why'd they bring it here?"
"Maybe they didn't know." Lucy suggested. "Maybe they thought they could melt it."
"For what!?" Gray snapped at the blonde.
"I don't know." Lucy mumbled out in fear.
"I just don't get it." Gray turned back to the demon. "Who would bring Deliora here, and more importantly why?"
Natsu recovered from the blow and stood away from Laki. "The answer is easy. We find those guys and beat the answers out of them."
"Yeah, let's go." Lucy agreed as Laki nodded.
"No!" Gray protested. "We wait here. Until the moon rises."
"The moon!?" Natsu asked. "But it's the middle of the afternoon! No way. If I have to hang out here all day, I'll die of boredom."
"Why does the moon matter?" Lucy asked.
"Everything on this island, from the curse to Deliora, has something to do with the moon." Gray explained to the group. "Plus, those guys from earlier said something about collecting moonlight."
"I heard that too." Laki confessed.
"Me too." Lucy added. "I guess waiting till nightfall is the only way to figure this thing out."
"I'm not waiting!" Natus shouted, before starting to run towards some stairs. "We got work to..." He was cut off when Laki chopped the back of his neck, rendering him unconscious.
""That's all it took!?" Lucy asked, shocked at how easy it was for Laki.
"Aye!" Happy answered. "Laki figured it out a couple of years ago. She'll only use it as a final option."
"Wow." Lucy looked over to Laki, who had dragged Natsu over to some rocks. She then looked back at Gray, who was sitting in front of the demon.
"Ahhh..." Lucy groaned after a few minutes. "I know we agreed to wait, but it's so boring."
"Aye." Happy agreed with the blonde.
"Oh, I know!" Lucy clapped her hands together before pulling out a silver key. "Open, Gate of the Lyre Constellation - Lyra!" A magic seal appeared before it burst into pink smoke. The smoke faded, revaling a girl in a blue dress with a harp strapped to her back.
"I haven't seen you in ages, Lucy!" Lyra stepped forward to Lucy. "Why don't you call me more? It's not fair. You keep ignoring me, you meanie."
"Meanie, huh?" Lucy looked back at the spirit. "Who told me that they were only available three days a month?"
"Are you sure it was me?" Lyra asked, while Happy sighed at the apparence of a new 'weirdo'. "Well, anyway, what would you like to hear?"
"Whatever you want." Lucy told her spirit before leaning down to Happy. "Lyra has the best singing voice I've ever heard."
"Know any songs about fish?" Happy asked.
The spirit ignored the cat and placed her instrument in front of her. She strummed her harp and sang with a voice that would put an angels it shame. The wizards closed their eyes and let the tune envelop them. Even Natsu, unconscious and snoring, smiled as the song played.
The effect, however, wasn't the same for Gray. The song made him flashback to training with his master. Those memories triggered something inside him to snap, and Gray began crying. Lyra stopped singing and everyone looked over to the ice wizard in surprise.
"Hey, Gray, what's wrong?" Lucy asked.
"Nothing. I'm fine." Gray said back, trying to sound tough.
"Was it the song?" Happy asked.
"Makes sense." Lucy mumbled. "One of Lyra's talents is singing about what her audience is feeling."
"So you did cry." Happy stated, infuriating Gray.
"Shut up. I did not." Gray muttered back.
"Can you sing something a little more, I don't know, cheerful, Lyra?" Lucy turned back to her spirit. "Maybe a love song or something?"
"Why didn't you just say so from the beginning?" Lyra asked back.
"Maybe we should skip the songs." Gray suggested in a serious tone. "We need to stay quiet. We don't wanna be found out."
8 Hours Later
The group had fallen asleep waiting, except for Gray, who stared at the demon inside the ice. The cave then began to shake violently, waking them all up.
"Is it night yet?" Natsu asked as he popped up from next to Laki.
"Um, guys..." Laki pointed up at the ceiling of the cave and everyone followed her finger. A purple magic seal appeared and let out eerie humming as it concentrated a beam of dark purple light onto Deliora. "It's a beam of light!"
"Shining down from the sealing!" Natsu finished her thought.
"So why is it purple?" Gray asked taking a step back soon he looked up. "Is it moon light?" He followed the beam down to Deliora, and the saw that the ice began to glow purple. "It's hitting Deliora!"
"So it's not a coincidence, then?" Laki asked, still shocked at what she was seeing.
"Let's go!" Gray turned around and shouted at his teammates. "We have to find out where that light is coming from!" He ran off and the others sprinted after him.
They ran up flight after flight of stairs, each level finding a similar magic seal on the ceilings and floors. Soon enough, they reached the top of the temple and gasped in shock.
Standing in a circle was a group of masked cultists, chanting in some sort of langue as a beam of moonlight was channeled in the center.
"What are they doing?" Natsu asked as they hid behind an old stone wall.
"Quiet." Lucy hushed as the cultists kept chanting, intensifying the moon light. Team Natsu looked up and found seal after seal leading up to the moon, with more moonlight passing through each seal.
"Are they gathering moonlight?" Natsu asked Laki.
"Yeah, and then shining it down on Deliora." Laki nodded. "But I want to know how, and why."
"It's a Belianese spell called the Moon Drip." Everyone looked over to see Lyra crouched next to Lucy.
"What are you doing here?" Lucy asked her spirit.
"I get it. So that's their end game." Lyra said as she stared at group of cultists. "They're using the Moon Drip spell to melt the ice and revive that demon underneath the temple."
"Impossible!" Gray snapped at the spirit. "The ice used in an Iced Shell can't be melted!"
"That's not entirely true." Lyra confessed. "See, while the Iced Shell is strong, it can be melted using the Moon Drip. Focused moon energy can break any magic."
"Not good..." Happy mumbled in fear.
"Imbeciles!" Gray mumbled. "They don't know how gruesome Deliora can be!"
"Whatever the islanders call a curse may just be a side effect from the Moon Drip." Lyra continued. "Any large amount of magic gathered in one place is so strong, it can negatively affect the human body."
"I'll make them pay." Natsu was about to jump out, when Laki elbowed him in the neck.
"Quiet. Someone's coming." Laki whispered to the unconscious pinkette.
The group looked over to the sound of metal boots hitting stone. They followed up the body and saw the person had a white cloak and a helmet that looked like a monsters head, with a purple helmet plume going down to the back of his neck. Walking behind them was Sherry, Yuka and Toby.
"What a waste." Yuka mumbled to himself. "We searched all day, but couldn't find the intruders."
"Maybe there wasn't any!" Toby shouted to his eyebrowed associate.
The group stopped as they neared the cultists circle. "I have unfortunate news, Cold Emperor." Sherry spoke up. "There were intruders during the day, but we couldn't find them. I cannot speak of love in this situation."
"Intruders, you say?" The Emperor spoke in a voice that seemed to shock Gray.
"So, that's the Cold Emperor, huh?" Laki asked.
"He's trying to act all high and mighty, wearing a stupid mask." Lucy muttered.
"I don't know, I think it's kinda cool." Natsu told the blonde.
"Has Deliora awaken yet?" The Emperor asked Sherry.
"It should be tonight or tomorrow." Sherry told him.
"We're almost there, the time is nearly upon us." The Emperors voice continued to stun Gray. "If those intruders show their faces again, I want you to kill them. No will get in my way."
"They might have been some of the villagers." Sherry reasoned. "They're the only other people on this island."
"Then go, and destroy that village." The Emperor ordered. His subordinates ran off in obedience. "I don't prefer blood, but it's the only way."
"What!?" Laki was shocked at the callus order. "The villagers did nothing. We have to stop them. Wait, Natsu..."
Natsu had climbed onto the wall they were hiding behind. "I've had it with this sneaking around crap!" Natsu gathered his magic and spewed out a torrent of flames. "It's us you want, not the villagers!"
The group of enemies looked over and stared at the pinkette.
"Geez, so much for subtlety." Lucy muttered as she closed Lyra's gate.
"It never was his strongest attribute." Laki said as the rest of the team rose from the hiding spot.
"That mark..." Sherry mumbled to her allies. "They're from the Fairy Tail guild."
"Well what do ya know? Looks like the townspeople contacted a guild for help." Yuka summarized.
"What are you still doing here?" The Emperor asked annoyed. "Go and obliterate that village."
"What, why!?" Natsu asked enraged.
"Anyone who gets in my way, intentionally or not, is my enemy." The masked man said, clenching his fist.
"That's it!" Natsu began sprinting over, but Gray quickly overpassed him.
"Why you!" Gray channeled his magic into his hands as he ran towards the Cold Emperor. "Stop this useless ceremony, right now!" He slammed hands to the ground, creating a spiked version of his Floor spell that raced to the masked leader.
Sherry, Yuka and Toby jumped out of the way, while the Cold Emperor slammed his hand to the ground, creating his own version of the spell, albeit in a green tinted ice. The two spells collided and climbed each other, resulting in a spiky pillar that soon shattered.
"Another ice wizard!?" Happy asked shocked.
"Lyon..." Gray growled out, shocking his teammates. "How could you? What the hell do you think you're doing!?"
"Hello, Gray." The emperor smirked at the name. "How long has it been since I've seen you?"
"Answer the question!" Gray shouted. "Why would you revive Deliora!?"
"I'd never imagine that one of the wizards called here would be you." Lyon said, infuriating Gray for not answering the question. "Did you come knowing you'd find me, or is this just fate? Either way, it doesn't matter."
"An old acquaintance, Cold Emperor?" Yuka asked from the sidelines.
"Do as you were ordered." Lyon told them, and they ran off to destroy the village.
"I won't let you!" Natsu shouted as he ran after the three. "Come back here!"
"No, Natsu, don't go near him!" Gray tried to warn him, but it was too late. Lyon held out his hand and an ice whirlwind surrounded Natsu, before it stuck to his skin and began layering up.
"Natsu!" Laki shouted in concern.
"Happy!" Gray shouted to the cat. "Get Lucy out of here! You too, Laki!"
"Aye!" Happy saluted before grabbing Lucy by the back of her shirt and lifting her up into the sky.
"Gray, are you sure about this?" Laki asked, only to get a glare back from Gray. "Alright. I trust you." She gathered her magic before slamming her hands into the ground. "Wood-Make: The Distance Between the Two is Forever!" A giant wooden foot shot up and carried her over the temple.
"Wait, Happy" Lucy shouted in protest but to no avail.
Lyon looked up and was about to shoot them but Gray distracted him by shooting a beam of ice at the masked man. Lyon held out his hand and an ice shield blocked the blast.
"I can't move!..." Natsu shouted as the ice stopped building up, leaving him in a frozen prison.
"We can't just leave Natsu like that." Lucy protested.
"He was hit with ice magic that freezes the air." Happy explained. "If we'd stayed there, we would have been frozen as well."
"But, what about him?" Lucy asked concerned.
"If we all get turned into ice, who's gonna save the village?" Happy asked as tears escaped his eyes.
Lucy looked up and instantly felt regret. "I'm sorry. It must be taking everything you have not to go back and rescue Natsu." Happy nodded as they kept flying. "I'm sure he'll be fine. No ice can hold a Salamander, right?"
"Ayeeeeee!" Happy said before groaning in pain. "Hey, Lucy, did you put on some extra weight or something?"
"How dare you!" Lucy shouted back before noticing Happys tail was lower. She followed it and found Laki hang from it. "Laki!? What are you doing!?"
"Sorry." Laki said. "My spell got caught in the ice storm and froze. I had to jump and Happy was the closest thing I could grab."
"Lucy, you may have to lay of the sweets for a bit." Happy gasped out. "I don't know how much farther I can carry you."
"Shut up, cat! You're carrying two!" Lucy shouted to the cat, sparking an argument over who should be dropped off.
"You distracted me so they could escape. How predictably chivalrous." Lyon chuckled out. "It doesn't matter, though. It's inconsivable that those three would be able to stop Sherry and the others."
"Don't ever underestimate Fairy Tail!" Natsu tried to sound tough, but Gray quickly kicked him, sending him rolling down the temple. "What are you doing, Gray!?"
"Still as reckless as ever, I see." Lyon observed. "Isn't he your guildmate?"
"We both know that with one spell you could have blown Natsu into pieces." Gray said back. "I'm not gonna let that happen."
"So you kicked him down the range of my magic instead?" Lyon asked. "Very clever, Gray."
"Quit acting like you're my damn senior." Gray growled out. "We're not Ur's students anymore!"
"Yes, I know that all too well." Lyon said as he took his helmet off, revealing spiky silver hair. "Our beloved teacher is no longer among the living."
"She gave her life to seal that monster away! Are you so callus you would destroy our masters legacy!?" Gray asked enraged.
"Don't delude yourself." Lyon said with cold eyes. "You're the one who killed Ur, we both know it." Lyons words caused a sea of anger and guilt to rise in Gray. "You don't have the right to speak her name!" Lyon held out his hand and a ball of ice shaped like a pufferfish shot forward and slammed into Gray, sending him crashing into a wall.
"Lyon..." Gray muttered as he struggled to stand.
"What's wrong?" Lyon mockingly asked. "Feeling too guilty to fight back? I'm warning you, do not interfere. Whether you like it or not, I'm reviving Deliora."
"Like hell you are!" Gray snarled out.
Lyon smirked and dropped his helmet, preparing for battle. "That's the spirit. It's been a while, and I've grown much stronger since then." He held out his hand and a green mist manifested. "Ice-Make: Eagle!" A magic seal appeared and shot out dozens of birds made of ice.
"Ice-Make: Shield!" Gray crafted his defense, but the birds flew around it and struck him.
"All you're good at is Static Ice-Make." Lyon mocked. "Inanimate objects, materials. My specialty has always been Dynamic Ice-Make, living things. After all these years, did you forget my ice can move?" He sent another wave of eagles, but Gray managed to avoid them.
"Ice-Make: Hammer!" Gray brought his hands together and created a large hammer of ice that flew towards Lyon.
"Ice-Make: Ape!" Lyon held up his hand and summoned an ice ape that took the blow for him. "How pathetic. You still use two hands for your Ice-Make spells."
"Cause that's what Ur taught us." Gray retorted back. "Single handed spell casting is sloppy and unbalanced."
"I'm the exception to that rule." Lyon countered. "I surpassed her level a long time ago."
"Shut your mouth..." Gray snarled at his opponent.
"It doesn't matter." Lyon said. "Ever since we were kids, you could never hit me even once."
"I'm a lot stronger now then I was back then!" Gray said as he brought his hands back. "Ice-Make: Ice Geyser!" He slammed his hands into the ground, trapping Lyon in a pillar of ice. As the cultists fled, Lyon calmly broke the ice around him.
"Nothing has changed." Lyon said as ice shards fell around him. "I was the senior student, and that makes me stronger than you. I could use single handed Ice-Make magic, but you couldn't. It's just like the old days. We might have chosen differing paths, but our rankings as wizards never changed." He held up his hand as a magic seal appeared above it.
An ice dragon appeared beneath Gray and knocked him into the air. "That's why I'm reviving Deliora. To walk down the path that was sealed off to me." Lyon explained as Gray crashed to the ground. "Ur was my goal. It was my dream to surpass her. But after she died I thought my dream of surpassing her was dead. Until I realized, if I can defeat Deliora, the thing even Ur couldn't beat, then I've surpassed her."
"Are you insane!?" Gray shouted as he struggled to his feet. "That thing destroyed everything we cared about, and you wanna bring it back just to prove how strong you are!? Please, don't do this."
Lyons eyes went wide in anger as he summoned ice snakes to strike Gray. "Please, don't do this." Lyon repeated, mocking Gray. "That's exactly what we told you back on that day!" He summoned more eagles that struck Gray. "Don't tell me you forgotten. You challenged Deliora and that's why Ur died!" He summoned another ice ape that uppercutted Gray into the air. "You don't have the right to speak her name! Begone!" Lyon crafted two more dragons that sent Gray crashing into the stone ground.
Gray layed on his stomach, bloodied, battered and bruised. He was unable to move as his mind flashed back to when he was training with Ur.
"Come on, Gray." Ur's voice rang in his head. "You're really gonna give up that easily? Get up, Gray. Get up, Gray."
Gray struggled to open his eyes, but he succeeded and found himself looking at a frozen Natsu. "Damn, he almost beat you to death."
"Natsu..." Gray struggled to talk. "What are you doing here...?"
"I wasn't sure where the village was, so I climbed back up to look for it." Natsu told his downed rival before grabbing Gray by the collar. "Come on, it's this way."
"Wait... Where's Lyon...?" Gray asked as he willed himself to his feet.
"Don't know." Natsu told him. "When I got back here, everyone was gone and that ritual thing was already over." He grabbed Gray when he couldn't stand before slinging him atop the ice cage. "Hold on. We gotta get back to the village before those goons do." He started walking as more memories flooded Gray's mind.
"Natsu..." Gray whispered. "I'm sorry I didn't believe in you. I'm no better than you..." A stray tear escaped Gray's eye.
"Don't go feeling sorry cause you lost a fight!" Natsu shouted as he came to a stop. "You're a member of Fairy Tail! We're from a guild that doesn't know when to stop. We won't survive if we don't move forward, so just put it behind you." He restarted his jog, albeit with more difficulty. "Shit, now it's even harder to run."
Galuna Village
"Listen, everyone!" Lucy had gathered everyone in the village at the center of town. Off to the side, Laki was holding a tired Happy. "The ones behind the curse that transformed you are on their way here. This might be our only chance to find out how to reverse this curse and turn you back to normal."
They entire village began to whisper in uneasy thoughts.
"One thing, Lucy." Laki walked up to the blonde. "I'm pretty sure those guys are wizards. We may have the numbers on our side, but we don't have the same amount of power."
"And with Natsu and Gray missing, you're the only one we've got." Lucy thought aloud. "Well, good luck."
"When did you lose your magic power!?" Laki asked.
"Wait..." Lucy smirked as she clapped her hands together. "I just had a brilliant idea..."
"What's going on here?" Moka asked as he walked over to the crowd.
"Please listen, the enemy will be here soon." Lucy hastily explained.
"Enemy?" The chief repeated confused.
"They've been hiding in old temple in the jungle." Laki explained in greater detail. "They're the ones responsible for transforming everyone's bodies."
"I don't care who's in the temple!" Moka shouted, waking Happy up. "Why haven't you destroyed the moon yet!?"
"Well, cause, it wasn't the moon that did this to you." Lucy tried to reason with the village leader. "But now that we know who is, we can find a way to stop them."
"Liars!" The chief shouted as two villagers grabbed his flailing arms. "I asked you to destroy the moon and that's what I want!" The two villagers began dragging their deranged leader away.
"Please don't mind him." A person turned red demon said. "He's been like this ever since Bobo died."
"Poor man..." Lucy said before turning to the man. "I know how to trap the enemy."
"We'll help anyway you need us." The man said, only to have Lucy chuckle.
"I'm the greatest Celestial wizard in Fairy Tail." Lucy bragged, knowing she was the greatest because she was the only Celestial spirit wizard in Fairy Tail. "Just leave it to me."
"Somebody's got an ego." Happy, now conscious, whispered to Laki.
"Open, Gate of the Maiden - Virgo!" Lucy pulled out her keys and summoned her maid spirit. "Virgo, here's what I need you to do..." Lucy whispered her plan to her spirit.
"Understood, princess." The spirit began digging a hole in front of the village gate. Once finished, she covered in grass. "Finished, princess."
"Good work, Virgo." Lucy praised the spirit. "My plan can't possible fail."
"Um, Lucy..." Happy spoke up. "I hate to break it to you, but I truly believe you're stupid."
"No need to be so kind." Lucy said sarcastically.
"I just don't see how anyone could fall for the oldest trick in the book." Happy said.
"I don't know, Happy." Laki interrupted. "It could work, if I put some spikes at the bottom."
"What is wrong with you?" Lucy asked, shocked by her friends suggestion. "It's a pit FALL trap, not a SPIKE pit trap. We're trying to catch them, not kill them."
"But, you can tell what it is just by looking at it." Happy stated the obvious.
"Does it really matter?" Lucy asked "There's only one way in to the village, so the enemy has no choice but to go over it."
"I still don't think they're gonna fall for it." Happy said.
"Me either." Laki confessed.
"I'm sorry, but I agree with them." The red demon said.
"Yes, I concur." Virgo said stone faced.
"Even you, Virgo!?" Lucy was shocked at the lack of support, even from her own spirit. "Just wait and see. It'll work."
"Miss Lucy!" The guard atop the gate shouted down. "It looks like someone's headed this way!"
"It's them. Open the gate!" Lucy shouted back. The guard pulled some levers and the gate began to rise. Everyone gathered around the gate and waited.
"Hey, guys, you okay!?" Natsu screamed as he ran out of the jungle with Gray on his back.
"Natsu, stay right there." Lucy screamed in panic. "Stop, please!"
Natsu skidded to a halt, just before the pit trap. "Okay, I'll stop." He looked down at the pile of grass. "What's with the grass?" He took one step and fell into the pit trap. His stupidity shocked the islanders and they apologized for not trusting Lucy.
"Ya know, I'm kinda glad I didn't put any spikes in there." Laki mumbled.
"Ha-ha-ha." Natsu laughed sarcastically from the pits bottom. "Very funny. Who pulls pranks at a time like this?"
"Don't look at me. It was Lucy's idea." Happy told his friend.
"It wasn't a joke, it was a trap!" Lucy nervously responded as Laki walked over to the edge of the pit.
"I'm glad you're okay, Natsu. I was starting to worry." Laki said before back pedaling. "H-how's Gray?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. But Gray's not gonna be much help for a while." Natsu told her.
"That masked freak beat him up that badly?" Lucy asked before Natsu noticed he could move his arms. He looked down and found himself freed from the cage.
"The ice is gone." Natsu said aloud. "I couldn't even melt it. It must have cracked when I fell."
"S-see. Just as I planned it." Lucy said trying to sound smart.
"Actually, I think the spell was broken when Natsu left that creeps range of magic." Laki explained the truth.
"I believe she is correct, Princess." Virgo added.
"Everyine hates me." Lucy said depressed as she hung her head in shame. Laki crafted her scythe and extend the handle so Natsu could climb on with Gray still on his shoulders. Once out of the pit, the villagers to Gray and layed him onto the ground.
"Hey, how come Lyon's lackeys haven't shown up?" Natsu asked his teammates.
"Good question." Laki mumbled. "We know they left before you, but you got here first."
"Plus with him in that ice prison and Gray on his shoulders, he must have been pretty slow." Lucy added. "This is our chance. Cover that hole again."
"They're not gonna fall that." Natsu told her.
"Look!" One villager pointed to the sky and all eyes followed. Flying above the village was the giant rat from earlier, carrying some kinda bucket.
"Flying in from the sky?" Lucy shouted in anger. "That means I wasted all my time on the pitfall trap!"
A small drop of the buckets contents splashed out and fell down. Laki looked up and saw it falling above her. "Jelly?"
"Laki!" Natsu charged forward and tackled Laki out of the way. The jelly hit a plant beneath her and dissolved it ally the way to the rocks it was growing out of. "I knew that stuff was deadly, just from the smell."
"Um, Natsu. Could you please let go of me?" Natsu turned around and saw that his hands where on her shoulder and hip like they were dancing, and a red hue on Laki's face.
"Oh, crap." Natsu quickly stood up and then offered her a hand. "Sorry, Laki." She took the hand and stood up, the blush still present but Natsu missed it. By now the entire village had burst into a panic, having put together what these wizards on the rat want to do to their village.
"Hideous..." Natsu's ears twitched as they picked up the sound from the people riding the rat. "Hard to believe that the Moon Drip spell had this effect on these humans. They've turned into beasts."
"They look like Deliora's children. How displeasing." An angry scowl crossed Natsu's face as he picked up a female voice. "Angelica, if you please."
The rat sloshed the bucket in a circle and the jelly began falling to the village.
"How can we protect ourselves from acid jelly!?" Lucy cried in a panic.
"Everyone, get to the center of the village, now!" Laki shouted as Natsu jumped into the air.
"Ready to fly, Happy?" Natsu's response came when Happy grabbed him and flew towards the jelly. Meanwhile, the entire village did as Laki ordered and began making their way to the center of the village. All except Moka, who refused to leave Bobo's grave.
Natus had reached the jelly and gathered his flames in his hands. "The flames on my right hand, and the flames on my left! Put them together..." He clapped his hands together and created a massive fire ball. "And you get Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame!" He flung his fire ball at the jelly and it exploded, creating a massive hole in the jelly where the center of town was.
The jelly began to rain down around the villagers. A large drop hit where Moka was and everyone began fearing the worst. As the mist began to fade, it revealed that Virgo had grabbed him and pulled him out of the way. More of the mist faded, showing nothing more than a few pieces of the wall that had survived the jelly.
Moka looked down and saw his sons grave still standing. A second later, someone kicked it down and Moka's eyes went wide.
"The cold emperor ordered us to eradicate the village and its people..." A female voice came from the mist as footsteps made their way to the villagers. "We were trying to make you deaths as quick and painless as possible, but now we've no choice but to resort to bloodshed." The mist finally faded, revaling Sherry, Yuka and Toby.
"Fifty villagers, three wizards. Shouldn't be more than fifteen minutes." Yuka calmly predicted as the Natsu and co prepared for battle.
"How dare they..." Moka spoke with enough venom to kill a hundred men. "Such disrespect." He was about to charge them when three other villagers held him back. "Put me down and let me teach them a lesson!"
The villagers ignored his request as they grabbed Gray and began running away.
"We're not leaving until everyone of you is dead." Sherry coldly said. "Angelica." The rat nodded and took of with Sherry in its grasp and flew by Natsu and the others.
"We're not gonna let you get away with this!" Lucy shouted as the rat flew by her. She opened her eyes and realized she had grabbed on to the rats foot. "Why did I grab on!?"
"See, she is stupid." Happy stated.
"More like insane!" Laki screamed as she watched the whole thing.
"Leave the villagers alone!" Lucy screamed as she punched the rats claw. "They didn't do anything to you!"
"What are you doing?" Sherry asked as she looked over her shoulder.
"How's this?" Lucy started tickling the rats foot.
"Try all you want, it's not going to work." No sooner than Sherry said that, Angelica started laughing like crazy. She stopped spinning her tail and they plummeted to the ground.
When they hit the ground, Laki flinched. "Oh, that's gotta hurt."
"Oh great, they'll be pissed." Yuka sighed out.
"I don't have to piss!" Toby shouted, thinking Yuka was talking about him.
"I hope Lucy's okay." Natsu wondered as he stared at the smoke coming from the crash site. "That big rat might have crushed her."
"If so, she's probably dead." Happy said as he summoned his wings. "I'll go check on her." He took off and headed to the crash site.
"So..." Laki turned around and faced Yuka and Toby, as did Natsu. "That leaves us with them." Both lunched forward at the opposition. Natsu head butted Toby to the ground while Laki brought her hands together. "Wood-Make: Violent Approach!" She launched her spike ball at Yuka, who ducked, only to look up as Natsu unleashed his breath attack.
As the two landed, the flames around Yuka faded revealing a blue, energy based shield around him. "A wizard who can breath fire... A girl who uses Wood-Make magic... I see." Yuka lowered his hand and the shield dissipated. "So you two are the Salamander and Green Woman of Fairy Tail, am I right?"
"You're right on both accounts, eyebrows." Laki answered as Toby kipped up.
"You know, we use to be members of a wizard guild ourselves." Yuka said, letting the comment slide. "We won't be beaten so easily. We were in the same guild as Iron Rock Jura."
"You were in Lamia Scale!?" Laki got out before Natsu blasted them with his fire.
"Bastard!" Yuka said as he deactivated the barrier again. "I wasn't done talking to you."
"It's not my buisness." Natsu stated as Toby put out the fire on him. "I don't care what guild your from or who your guild mates were. We came here to help the villagers and your the ones targeting them. That makes you Fairy Tails enemy, and that's a good enough reason to fight you."
Yuka glared at the two wizards before him. "Toby, stay out of this. I'll take of them myself." He then pointed his hand out. "Wave Surge!" The same blue energy shot towards the two.
"I'll tear it apart." Natsu declared before he realized his flames weren't working. Both wizards jumped out of the way as the energy tore up a chunk of the ground.
"Wood-Make: The Distance Between the Two is Forever!" Laki slammed her hands to the ground and a wooden foot shot towards Yuka.
"Wave Shield!" Yuka swiped his hand and the same shield appeared, disintegrating the foot as it approached the shield. "Each vibration I create defuses all magic. In short, it's magic that blocks other magic."
"So that's why our magic couldn't destroy his barriers." Natsu summarized as he wiped the dirt of his face. "I get it."
"In Lamia Scale, I specialized in anti-wizard magic." Yuka bragged as two seal appeared in front of his hands. "You know why? Because all the wizards out their are powerless against me! Wave Bullet!" He brought his hands forward and launched two orbs of the wave magic from his hand. Natsu and Laki jumped out of the way and the projectiles tore up the ground.
"Natsu, I know how to beat him." Laki said, making Yuka roll his eyes. "When I'm done, use your roar." She slammed her hands together and channeled her magic. "Wood-Make: Violent Approach!" She crafted half a dozen spiked balls that rolled towards Yuka, who just put up another barrier.
"Fire Dragon Roar!" Natsu unleashed his roar and ignited the balls. Yukas eyes went wide as he jumped out of the way as the balls crashed into the slope behind him. "Why'd he dodge?"
"Cause he can't nullify two different magics at once." Laki explained. "Each form of magic has its own unique vibrational pattern and mixing them results in a new pattern. Due to the infinite possibilities of combinations, it impossible to put out vibrations to cancel out the combinations."
Yuka growled in disgust. "Hey, Toby! Go after the girl!"
"But you said..." Toby tilted his head in confusion.
"Forget what I said!" Yuka shouted. "The girls obviously the brains of the two. Without her, the Salamander is just mindless lizard to be crushed."
"Okay." Toby held up his hands and his nails glowed brightly. The glow fade, revaling long nails that were now green. "Paralysis Claw: Mega Jellyfish!" He ran towards Laki with his nails swinging. "Guess what these bad boys can do?"
"Paralyze?" Laki asked, making Toby screech to a halt.
"How'd you know that?" Toby asked shocked. "You got ESP or something?"
"No." Laki said sweat dropping. "You're just... really dumb."
"Nobody calls me an idiot!" Toby shouted as he swung his claws. "Once touch and these claws will leave you frozen, waiting to die!"
"Wood-Make: Harvester of Souls!" Laki crafted her scythe and spun it in a circle front of her. Both combatants took turns swinging their weapons at each other before dodging.
"You can't dodge forever!" Toby shouted.
"Without friend, you're helpless against me! Wave Bullet!" Yuka shouted before firing two more bullets at Natsu.
"We'll see about that!" Natsu shouted as he launched forward with his fist in flames.
"Wave Shield!" Yuka held out his hand and blocked the attack. "You friend might have figured out the weakness in this magic, but without her, you're magic is useless against me."
"Then I just won't use magic then." Natsu smirked before punching his other hand into the wave shield. "See. Went right through." He soon regretted his decision as his began screaming in pain.
"You thrusted your bare in a vortex of magic energy. Not very smart, are you?" Yuka asked.
Natsu's screams soon turned into a twisted laugh as he shoved his head into the wave barrier. "Your wave can't block my brute strength. So what now?"
"What can you do, Salamander?" Yuka asked nervously. "You can't use your magic inside my barrier."
"But I can still use it outside right?" Natsu asked with a twisted grin. "Thanks for the great idea." A magic seal appeared on the back of his right elbow. "Fire Dragon..."
"You're using your magic as a booster to increase your punching power!?" Yuka shouted in horror.
"Flame Elbow!" Natsus elbow erupted in flames, allowing him to push his fist through the wave shield and send Yuka flying a good twenty feet, knocking him out cold. Natsu turned to see Laki and Toby still fighting. "Laki, how long are you gonna keep playing with him?"
"Toying with me? What a joke." Toby swung his claws at Laki, who blocked it with her scythes blade, but the claws went through the wooden blade. "I've got the upper hand, not her."
"Hey, wait a second." Laki said rubbing her forehead. "You got a little something right here." To her disbelief, it worked. Toby scratched his forehead, causing him to paralyze himself. "Geez, and people call Natsu dumb." She walked over to Natsu, who was fixing Bobos grave.
"We're gonna find a way to turn your people back to normal, Bobo." Natsu spoke to the grave. "I know we will. We will avenge your death." Natsu rose up and turned to Laki. "Come on, Laki. I got a plan."
Angelica Crash site
"Oh, my head." Lucy groaned as she picked her self up from the crash site. In front of her she saw the rat unconscious on its back. "Wait, where'd that girl go?"
"I hope your happy now, girlie." Lucy looked up to a pile of rocks and found Sherry standing, with tears streaming down her face. "Now the Cold Emperor won't be able to trust me any more. He won't love me!"
"Love?" Lucy asked confused.
"On top of that, what you did to Angelica..." Sherry wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at Lucy with pure anger. "I won't let you live!"
"Bring it on!" Lucy shouted back.
Sherry held her hand out to the side and a pink magic seal glowed around her hand. "Wood Doll!" Lucy noticed a shadow behind her and turned around. Behind her was a tree walking on its roots with an evil look on its face.
"The tree's alive!?" Lucy asked as she jumped out of the way of its branch arm before pulling out a golden key. "Open, Gate of The Golden Bull - Taurus!" The cow spirit appeared and chopped the tree in half with ease.
"She's a Celestial wizard!?" Sherry asked shocked.
"Nice job, Taurus." Lucy said, praising her spirit.
"How about a smooooch as a reward?" Taurus asked, disgusting both girls.
"What kind of wizard makes her spirit talk in such a vulgar manner? You disgust me." Sherry said looking down on Lucy, both figuratively and literally.
"I don't make him say that!" Lucy shouted back. "I hate when he's pervy!"
"So that's your magic? How unfortunate, for you anyway..." Sherry smirked.
"Charge, Taurus!" Lucy ordered. The spirit charged forward only to stop before the pile of rocks. Lucy missed the smirk on Sherry's face before Taurus spun around and tried to chop her in half. "What's wrong with you?" Lucy failed to avoid the bulls axe complex and her shirt was destroyed.
"I can't... control... my body..." Taurus grunted out as he grabbed Lucy by the throat and started choking her.
"Marionette Attack magic. You like?" Sherry asked sarcastically as she waved her fingers around like a puppeteer. "It lets me control anything other than humans. That includes your celestial spirits."
"Please, let me go." Lucy gasped out.
"I'm sorry... But I can't... do anything... of my own... power..." Taurus grunted as his body increased the pressure on Lucy's throat.
"Close, Gate of the Golden Bull!" Lucy cried out, but Taurus stayed atop her.
"Remind me." Sherry taunted. "Don't your kind open and close gates upon both parties agreement? You can't close it one sided."
"Taurus, please! Close it!" Lucy begged.
"Oh, I just had a lovely idea." Sherry said as Taurus let go of Lucy's throat. "How about a game of Russain roulette punches? Close your eyes and keep punching until you hit something!" She waved her fingers and the spirit did just that. Lucy barely managed to doge the first one. "Fine then, let's see how long you can dodge."
Taurus threw a second punch that hit Lucys hair as she turned away. "Don't hit me!"
"I'm... trying not... to..." The spirit said as he brought his hands together into an axe handle and crushed the ground just above Lucy's head.
"Are all Fairy Tail wizards as weak as you?" Sherry asked. "If so, your friends should be dead already."
"Taurus, please!" Lucy shouted. "You said you'd promise to protect me! Snap out of it!"
Taurus roared as the memories flooded back to him. "If you make a contract with me, I'll do everything I can to protect you and your hot body."
"You promised you'd to protected me right? Well, you're about to breake that promise so please stop!" Lucy shouted as Taurus grabbed his head in pain.
"Enough of this fake love." Sherry barked out. "Just finish her off already." Taurus had no choice and pulled his fist back.
"You heard what she said!" Lucy shouted as the fist approached her. "We can send you back together, so fight it! Close, Gate of the Golden Bull!" Less than half an inch away, he stopped his fist. He smirked at Lucy as his body glowed in a golden light before dissipating completely.
"I did it..." Lucy mumbled as she stared at her hands. "I used forced gate closure. I've gotten stronger." She smirked as she stared at the mark on her hand before standing up and took out her whip. "That's right, I'm a member Fairy Tail. Don't ever doubt our strength!"
"You closed the gate, even when I was in control..." Sherry said as jumped down from her perch. "I don't know if I'd call you stronger. Forced Gate closure takes a lot of power, and my magic will always control your spirits."
Lucy calmly pulled out a silver key. "I wouldn't bet on it." She said confidently. "After all, I've got a few tricks up my sleeve." She held the key high. "Open, Gate of Canis Minor - Nicola!" Plue appeared, shaking as usual.
"How cute!" Sherry went gaga over the spirit. "He's so lovely!"
"Quit talking about love." Lucy said. "It's freaking me out."
"If you insist..." Sherry held out her hands and two magic seals appeared. "Marionette Attack: Puppetter! Now you're my slave!" Plues eyes glowed as he turned around and hit Lucys boots, not doing a lot of damage. "What the!?"
"Hook, line, and sinker!" Lucy shouted as she swung her whip at Sherry, who jumped out of the way.
"You summoned a weaker spirit on purpose!" Sherry shouted as Plue tried biting Lucys boot. "Geez! Cancel Manipulation!" Plue returned to normal and bowed before Lucy sent him back to the spirit world. "Marionette Attack: Rock Doll!" Rocks began to build up behind her as she activated her magic.
"It's useless." Lucy said, unaware of what was happening. "I'll summon a spirit to break your toy, you'll take control of them and I'll send them back." She stared in horror at the massive rock golem Sherry was riding.
"This is a game of cat and mouse." Sherry said from atop the golems head. "My favorite game. Let's see what you can do, little mousey. Think any of your spirits can break my rock doll?" The golem raised its fist and slammed it down where Lucy was. Lucy dodged before she ran thought the woods with the rock monster on her tail. "Don't let her escape, rock doll. Teach this brat a lesson.?"
"Who you calling a brat?" Lucy asked as she ran from the golem. "We're the same age. Heck, I might be a little older than you."
"If I were you, I'd focus more on running and less on talking." Sherry taunted. "You'd better hurry, if you don't want us to catch you."
They left the jungle and found themselves on a cliff overlooking the ocean. The golem raised it foot and slammed it down, forcing Lucy back to the edge. The cliff cracked and Lucy fell to the beach beneath it. The golem jumped down, aiming to crush Lucy, but she ran out of the way before stopping at the waters edge.
"The sea..." Lucy mumble to herself. "I could summon Aquarius." She turned around and saw the golem walking closer and closer towards her. "Water can't break rock... Plus, Aquarius just washes me away too... Wait, that's it."
The golem reached Lucy and slammed its hand down, making Lucy jump into the shallow water. Lucy pulled out the key she needed and slammed it into the saltwater. "Open, Gate of The Water Bearer - Aquarius!" A column of water shot up, and the mermaid appeared.
"Aquarius!?" Sherry asked from her perch. "How does a runt like you have a spirit as strong as this one!? It's not fair!"
"That girl's the enemy!" Lucy shouted as she pointed to Sherry. "Go get her." Aquarius just stared at Lucy and scoffed. "Now is not the time to deal with your bad attitude! Just take her out!"
"Still as annoying as ever." Aquarius said looking at Lucy. "It's no wonder you're still single."
"My issue right now is not my love life!" Lucy shouted at the spirit.
"Marionette Attack: Puppetter!" Sherry cast her spell. "You will now follow my orders!"
"What?" Aquarius asked annoyed.
"You can't use Aquarius anymore." Sherry bragged, missing the smirk on Lucys face. "Time to say good bye. Aquarius, drown this pathetic child!"
"What!?" Water was sucked into Aquarius' urn. "I was already planning on it!" She spun in a circular motion before a massive tidal wave approached the shore and washed Lucy away.
"Say goodbye, little girl... Ahhh!" Sherry started before she was dragged into the current as well.
Aquarius stared at the sight and chuckled a bit. "I guess the blonde is smarter than I thought. She knew I could close my own gate and let me wash her away. On second thought, she's still stupid. Bye-Bye!" She faded away to the spirit world.
The wave receded, show both Lucy and Sherry on the sand before Lucy pushed herself up. "I knew Aquarius would hit friend and foe alike." She said staggering.
"Uhh..." Sherry groaned as she pulled herself up as well. "How could I fall for something so stupid? But in the end, you still couldn't beat my rock doll."
"I wasn't aiming for the doll, I was aiming for you." Lucy said as the two backed into each other. "It's just a pile of rocks without anyone to control it, and now you're to dizzy to walk a straight line" The started what looked like a fight between drunk girls.
"I can't believe you'd settle with a tie." Sherry said as she dizzy pummeled Lucy. "You're staggering just as much as I am."
"Then how about this?!" Lucy pulled herself together and clotheslined Sherry to the ground. The golem collapsed into a heap of rocks as the the sun rose.
"Angelica... avenge me..." Sherry gasped out before she passed out. From the jungle, the rat jumped up.
"That things not a doll!?" Lucy shouted as her knees collapsed. The belly flopping rat fell closer and closer, but just before it struck, Erza sliced the rat along its body. The rat fell beside Sherry defeated. "Erza!" Lucy shouted in joy before Erza shot her a death glare. 'Oh, right. We kinda broke guild regulations.'
"You know why I'm here, right?" Erza asked, sword still in her hand.
"Um..." Lucy was too terrified to speak.
"Lucy!" The blonde looked over to see Happy flying towards her. "I've been looking all over for you..." The car stopped talk when he saw Erza and tried to fly away, but Erza grabbed him by the tail.
"Where's Natsu?" Erza asked as she held an upside down Happy.
"Wait, Erza!" Lucy shouted. "Listen to me." Lucy explained the whole situation to a stone faced Erza. "Please, the people here need our help. Let us finish the job-" She was cut off when Erza held a sword to the blondes throat.
"This isn't a job." Erza told her. "You guys betrayed the masters trust. You'll be lucky if you walk away with you lives."
Longest chapter to date done! Sorry it took so long.
Little side note, working on a new oneshot, you all have that to look forward to. Props to my beta reader, the one and only digemsmack