"I didn't know the moon could be so creepy." Happy said as he looked up at the moon.
Vivi hummed in agreement as she was pulling down her tank top, which she'd be sleeping in. The villagers had given them a room to sleep in for the night, so they'd be rested up by tomorrow to start their investigation.
"Would you close the window?" Lucy asked. "You heard what the chief said. We've got to stay out of the moonlight. I don't know about you, but I don't want to turn into some freaky little monster."
Vivi shook her head then had Natsu scoot over in his chair, so she could sit next to him.
"I'm not so sure about this job, guys." Natsu said as he put his arm around Vivi.
She wasn't so sure about this at all either. What did Moka really think they could do?
"Do they really think we can destroy the moon?" Gray asked.
"I wonder how many punches it'll take." Natsu said. "Do you think I can handle it?"
Vivi let out a laugh that she tried to muffle by placing her hand over her mouth.
"Are you kidding me?!" Gray snapped then sighed. "Don't be stupid man."
"Natsu, there isn't a wizard alive who could pull that off." Vivi said. "Not even Master and his giant magic. Besides, I wasn't planning on destroying the moon in the first place."
Her friends look as her curiously as Vivi crossed one of her legs over the other.
"But, Vivi, we have to!" Natsu said. "It was the job we were hired to do. If we don't do it, Fairy Tail will look bad."
"What they're asking can't be done." Gray pointed out. "How do you think you're going to get to the moon anyway?"
"Happy." Natsu said matter-of-factly.
Vivi chuckled again as Happy said that wouldn't be happening. Happy may be able to fly, but not even he can go that high.
"Okay, we can't destroy the moon." Lucy said.
"Which is why tomorrow we're going to investigate." Vivi said. "If there was a spell cast on the moon then there has to be a way to undo the spell. We just have to find out everything we can."
Lucy nodded in agreement before gasping when a shirt hit her in the face. She pulled it off her face to see Gray was stripping down into his boxers.
"You kids, can do what you want." Gray said. "But after the day I've had, I need some shut eye."
Vivi frowned at Gray for calling them kids considering he was only a year older than them. Well, not Happy since he was like six, but that's beside the point. Actually, he wasn't even a full year older than Vivi.
"Please, don't take off anymore." Lucy begged.
"Okay, our investigation starts tomorrow morning." Natsu said then threw himself at one of the beds with Happy. "I'm hitting the sack."
"Me too." Happy said with his voice muffled.
"Sounds like a plan to me." Gray said falling down onto his bed.
Vivi smiled then took the bed on the right side of Natsu. She climbed under the covers as Lucy went to switch off the light.
"Okay, goodnight." Lucy said.
"Night, Lucy." Vivi said as she laid down. "Sweet dreams."
𖦹𖦹𖦹
"It's so early." Natsu complained as he yawned.
"Yeah, I'm never up at this time." Gray said.
Vivi chuckled in amusement as Lucy snapped at the boys because they had kept her up all night. Vivi was used to Natsu's loud snoring, so it hadn't been hard for her to fall asleep.
"Let's just get going." Vivi said as she grinned.
"Aye." The boys said with no enthusiasm at all.
Lucy then called forth one of her spirits, and Vivi blinked curiously when seeing it was a giant clock.
"The time is 7:48." It said once it appeared.
Vivi 'hmm'ed then shrugged her shoulders. Lucy stepped inside the clock, which had Vivi sweat-dropping. Was Lucy really not going to walk on her own? Vivi shook her head as she started walking into the jungle with everyone else following after her. They walked for a bit until they were so far into the jungle they couldn't even see the large village gates anymore.
"Do you really think we might find another way to lift the curse?" Natsu, who was feeling more awake, asked.
"We don't have much of a choice." Gray said. "The village might think that the moon is cursed, but everyone else likes it. And destroying it might really mess things up."
"You're right!" Natsu said. "If we didn't have the moon, the tides would get all crazy. And at night the sky would be pitch black!"
"Without it salmon could go extinct, and they're my favorite fish!" Happy said.
Vivi chuckled in amusement as she reached back to pat Happy on top of his furry head.
"'Would you guys keep it down?'" The clock, Horologium, asked for Lucy. "'We don't know what's lurking out here, so we shouldn't draw any attention' the lady demands impatiently."
Vivi and the boys turned back to look at Lucy who was sitting inside the walking clock.
"You should walk on your own." Natsu said.
"He's right." Gray agreed. "You just summon your spirits because your lazy?"
"Lucy, how do you expect to get stronger if you don't exercise your body as well?" Vivi asked. "You're on the 'strongest' team ever, right? That means you've got to work to get as strong as ever. Being lazy isn't going to help."
The boys murmured in agreement as Lucy frowned at all of them. She wasn't lazy.
"'Listen, this curse is freaking me out. We have no idea what we're up against, and I'm scared,' she says nervously." Horologium said for her.
"Are you kidding me?!" Natsu asked as he threw his arms into the air. "This is awesome! S-class quests rule!"
"Yeah, I bet I could freeze that stupid curse." Gray said.
"What? No way, Gray." Vivi said. "You can't freeze a curse, stupid. Besides, I'll be the one to break the curse!"
"What?!" Gray asked. "Just because your brother knows what he's doing when it comes to the demonic doesn't mean you do. So stop trying to pretend to be some kind of expert!"
The two of them started arguing, which had Natsu laughing. Lucy looked at them wondering why she was stuck with them as teammates.
"'You three are idiots' she retorts desirably." Horologium said for his mistress.
"Aye." Happy agreed.
They went unheard since Vivi and Gray were still arguing. As Lucy watched them, she thought they were like an old married couple. Then there was a rumbling sound as heavy footfalls hit the ground. Gray and Vivi stopped arguing as they wondered what's going on.
"What's that sound?" Natsu asked.
The three of them turned around to see a large monstrous shape standing behind them. They all cried out.
"Whoa, what the—?" Natsu exclaimed.
"It's huge!" Gray said.
"Awesome!" Vivi said with stars in her eyes.
"'What are you waiting for? Beat it up, you three,' she yells frantically." Horologium said.
Gray immediately went to attack, and he used his ice-make magic to put up an ice wall. It didn't help much since the monster shot out some kind of gas. Vivi coughed as she covered her nose and mouth. Horologium disappeared in a puff of smoke, so Lucy and Happy, who had tried to sneak inside Horologium, got a whiff of the gas.
"Stinky!" They both cried.
"I've had enough of this." Vivi said as she snapped her fingers. "Flute!"
A flute immediately popped out, and Vivi didn't waste anytime in snatching it out of the air.
"Melody of the Gentle Breeze." Vivi said, then played a light cheerful tune.
A breeze blew in blowing all the foul-smelling gas away from their group who let out a breath of relief. Well, Natsu was knocked out, but at least now he'd have fresh air to breath. The creature that attacked them was also revealed as it let out a creepy cackle. Vivi's mouth dropped open when seeing it was teal-furred rat wearing frilly clothes.
"It's a rat!" Lucy shrieked.
"Come on, Natsu, get up, man!" Gray snapped.
Natsu only groaned as he continue laying on the ground. The gas had just been too much for him.
"The smell knocked him out." Happy said.
Vivi frowned then looked up at the rat as it got closer to them. Seriously, what is with this rat?
"Let's go!" Natsu, who suddenly got up, shouted.
Everyone was okay with that as they took off running with the large rat following them. The rat kept blowing out that putrid gas, which they all had to dodge. Gray growled getting tired of running.
"Ice-Make: Floor!" He said as he hit the ground with his hands.
The ice spread out across the ground, and the giant rat slipped on the ice onto its back. Everyone finally stopped running to look at the rat.
"You should have done that sooner." Natsu said.
"Shut-up, Natsu!" Gray snapped.
Vivi glared at the rat as her flute went away. She cracked her knuckles as she grit her teeth together in a not so friendly smile.
"Look, there's some kind of building over there." Lucy said as the boys stepped up beside Vivi looking just as angry. "We should go hide while we have the chance."
"We should kick its butt while we have the chance!" The boys and Vivi retorted as they attacked the rat.
Lucy sighed watching as the three of them punched and kicked the crying rat.
"Give me a break." Lucy said.
Once the rat was given a proper butt-kicking, everyone finally gave the temple their attention. They all even went over to it to walk inside.
"This place is massive." Lucy said.
"It's falling apart." Natsu said.
"I wonder how old it is." Gray said.
Vivi touched the stone wall in front of her as she looked up at the moon emblem above.
"Look at all the moons." Vivi said.
"Makes sense… since Galuna used to be known as the Island of the Moon." Gray said.
"A moon island, a moon curse, and all the moon symbols… is there a meaning to all of this?" Vivi murmured.
"Yeah, it has to make you wonder what all this means." Lucy said.
Vivi nodded in agreement as she let her hand drop from the wall back to her side.
"This place is a wreck." Natsu said as he stomped on the stone. "This floor doesn't even look safe to walk on."
"Then don't go stomping on it!" Lucy said.
It was too late because the ground decided to break right then. Vivi screamed with the others as they started falling down a deep shaft.
"Natsu, you idiot!" Gray snapped. "Look what you did!"
He then saw Vivi getting dangerously close to the shaft's wall, so he put his arms around her to pull her close. He tucked her head into his chest as they all fell farther. They hit the ground with Gray taking the fall for him and Vivi. He grunted in pain as Natsu broke out of some rumble that had fallen on him.
"You guys okay?" Natsu asked.
"I would have been better if you hadn't knocked out the floor." Lucy complained.
"Here's a thought, maybe if you'd think before you act, you wouldn't cause so much destruction!" Gray snapped.
Vivi only groaned sitting up while rubbing her head. Gray's eyes widened as they turned onto Vivi who was currently straddling his waist.
"That hurt." She whined.
"Uh, Vivi…" Lucy began.
Vivi blinked looking at Lucy, who was blushing a bit, before looking to where Lucy was pointing. Vivi looked down seeing Gray looking up at her from where she was sitting on him with her thighs on either side of his waist. Vivi blushed deeply as she squeaked in surprise as she quickly jumped off of Gray.
"What were you trying to do, Pervert?!" Vivi demanded.
"Huh?!" Gray exclaimed. "If it wasn't for me, you would have hit the wall and scratched yourself up!"
Vivi blinked remembering that Gray had grabbed her when she had went to close to the wall. She blushed a bit more as she turned her head away.
"…Thanks…" She said bashfully.
Gray blinked seeming a bit surprised that she was thanking him. Lucy smiled thinking it was all pretty cute. She can't wait to tell Mirajane when they get back to Fairy Tail. Natsu just blinked wondering why his friend was acting so weird.
"So… can you fly us out, Happy?" Lucy asked.
"No, sorry." Happy said.
"We're underneath the temple." Gray said.
"Wow, it's a secret cave!" Natsu cheered like a little kid. "This is so cool. Let's check it out."
He grabbed Vivi's hand to pull her along while ignoring Gray who shouted after them. Vivi easily kept up with Natsu as they got to the end of the cave. Both of their eyes widened when seeing what was in front of them.
"Whoa." They said in unison.
Lucy, Happy, and Gray caught up to them while immediately noticing their expressions.
"Natsu, Vivi." Lucy murmured.
"What, is something wrong?" Gray asked.
"Hey, guys, what's that?" Natsu asked.
The others looked seeing what had gotten their attention, and they gasped as well. In front of them was a large monstrous figure frozen in an even large sphere of ice.
"That's impossible." Gray said.
Vivi frowned when seeing the freaked out expression on his face as his body shook.
"It's Deliora." Gray said as he walked forward. "But how? How could this happen? Why is it here? What the hell is it doing on Galuna Island?!"
His guildmates looked at him in worry when seeing how bothered he was by all of this.
"You've seen this thing before?" Natsu asked.
"There's…bthere's just no way." Gray said."
Gray shook as he continued to stare at Deliora. Vivi looked at him in concern. He might get on her nerves, but seeing him this worked up, really scared her. As he continued to stare at the demon blindly, Vivi stepped towards him. He didn't snap out of his thoughts until Vivi put her arms around him.
"Shh, just take a deep breath." She said softly. "It's alright. Just try to calm down."
Gray took a few deep breaths as his hand came up to grip the wrist of Vivi's hand that cupped the back of his neck as she was holding him. He held it tightly for comfort as Vivi looked at him worriedly. She's never seen him like this before.
"Can you tell us about it now?" Lucy asked hesitantly.
Gray took a deep breath while keeping Vivi close since her presence was keeping him anchored to the present at the moment, and not those horrible memories in the past.
"It's Deliora the Demon of Destruction." Gray said.
"Demon of Construction?" Natsu asked.
"Destruction." Happy corrected.
Gray gave another shake, which had Vivi worried. She didn't like seeing him like this.
"But why is it here?" Gray asked. "It doesn't make any sense."
Lucy heard footsteps coming in behind them, which had her turning her head. Lucy quickly had the group hide behind some rocks. Vivi peeked over one of them to see a short man with blue hair and then one who had animal like features. There was also a third figure walking, but this one was a woman. She was taller than the blue-haired man. She had ginger colored hair and one visible green eye. The other eye was behind an eye-patch and there was scaring around it-burn scars. She also looked as if she was some kind of Robin Hood in the outfit she wore if Robin Hood had been in the Victoria Era and somehow been mixed in with modern punk fashion.
"The voices seem to come from down here." The blue-haired man said. "I hate being awake during the day."
The man with him just made a growling noise as they continued walking on past the group in hiding. The woman remained silent as well as she looked around.
"So, Toby, were you exposed to the moon drip?" The man asked. "You've got those pointy ears."
"I already told you! They're a fashion statement, you jerk!" Toby snapped.
"Oh, lighten up, I was just teasing you." Blueberry head said.
"You don't have to be so mean about it." Toby said.
"Yuka, Toby, both of you be quiet." The woman finally said. "If there is someone here we should be listening for them not talking."
"Sorry, Turiel." Yuka and Toby said in unison.
Vivi frowned when hearing about this 'moon drip'. Was it some kind of magic? She knew it had to have something to do with what was going on here. A fourth person then came into the room. It was a woman who looked a bit distraught.
"Yuka, Toby, Turiel, something terrible has happened." The woman said.
Turiel looked towards the other woman with a quirked brow.
"What now, Sherry?" Yuka asked as Toby growled.
By the sound of Yuka's tone, Sherry has come to them with many problems before.
"It's Angelica." Sherry said. "She's been attacked, and I'm sad."
"You're moping around because somebody beat up your stupid pet rat?!" Toby demanded.
"She's not a rat." Sherry said. "She's a brave hunter that prowls the jungle to protect us. She is… love."
Vivi sweat-dropped wondering what was with these people. There are weirdos in Fairy Tail, but these guys…were nutty.
"I don't know who these people are, but they're a bunch of weirdos." Lucy said. "Especially the girl with the pet rat."
Vivi nodded her head in agreement because she had been thinking the exact same thing.
"With the scent I picked up off them…they're not from the island." Natsu whispered.
"And they don't look like they've got the demon curse." Happy added.
And if they're behind all of this then they've been here as long as the curse has been going on. They should show some signs of the curse even if have happened to be careful all this time.
"Intruders you say?" Yuka asked getting their attention.
"And it's almost time to start collecting moonlight again." Sherry said. "All this makes me so sad. This news will displease the Cold Emperor. We should get rid of them before he finds out. Yes, we must find them before the moon's first light."
"Agreed." Yuka said as Toby growled.
"If we must." Turiel said with a sigh.
"Since they've seen Deliora, we can't allow them to live." Sherry said. "We'll give them the gift of eternal rest. We'll give them… love."
Vivi really wanted to hit her head against the rocks in the hopes of knocking herself out, so she wouldn't have to listen to this girl anymore.
"You mean death, right?" Toby asked.
Vivi shook her head then motioned for Happy to go create a distraction or something. Happy nodded knowing what she wanted, so he went to make some noise to get the people away from the area. After they were gone, Happy returned with Lucy telling him good job. He smiled glad to be of some help.
"Come on, we should have grabbed them and beat some answers out of them." Natsu said.
"Not yet." Lucy said. "We've got to do some investigating."
Vivi nodded even if she was more a person of action, she still knew they needed some more information before going straight to the source.
"Man, this job keeps getting more and more complicated." Natsu said.
"Yeah, like who is this Cold Emperor guy?" Happy asked.
Well, Vivi had no idea, but she planned to find out. Anyone who used magic for bad would have to answer to her. She made it her personal mission to stop all bad magic.
"Deliora." Gray said. "I still don't understand what anyone would want with it. And how the hell we're they even able to find it?"
Vivi looked at Gray with the worry from earlier returning, and her stomach churned along with the feeling.
"Was it hidden somewhere?" Lucy asked.
"It was sealed away." Gray said. "In a glacier in the Northern Continent. A decade ago this immortal demon ravaged Isvan. Countless people lost their lives. The woman, who taught me to use my magic, my master Ur, sacrificed everything to seal it away. I don't know if it has anything to do with the curse on this island, but I do know that it doesn't belong here. This Cold Emperor. We have to find out who it is. If they tarnish my master's legacy, they're going to regret the day they were born!"