Reina's P. O. V:
Natsu and I wind up back at the temple because we'd kept running in circles. We find Gray, lying, unconscious, on the ground.
Worried, I run over to him and Natsu waddles close behind.
Natsu says, as I get in my knees beside Gray, "Get up, Gray! Man, you look rough! He beat the snot outta you, huh?"
"Are you alright?" I ask.
"Natsu? Rei? What are you doing here?" Gray asks.
Natsu replies, "I couldn't remember how to get to the village, so Rei and I climbed back up to look for it. I see it now. Come on, let's go!" Natsu grabs the back of Gray's black shirt as I step back and slings him over his shoulder.
"Wait! I can walk," Gray insists. "Where's Lyon?"
I say, "Dunno. By the time we made it back, everybody had vanished." My eyes fill with concern but Natsu doesn't even glance at him when Gray starts to collapse. Instead, he tightens his grip and hoists Gray over his shoulder.
Natsu says, "Now, hold on! We have to get back to the village before they do!"
As we resume walking, I see Gray gazing at Natsu as he murmurs, "Hey."
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry," Says Gray, bangs hiding his eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't believe in you. I wouldn't know better." I was surprised to see tears leaking down his cheeks.
Natsu abruptly shouts, "QUIT FEELING SORRY FOR YOURSELF 'CAUSE YOU LOST A FIGHT!! YOU'RE A MEMBER OF FAIRY TAIL!! And we don't give up when times are tough, so just put it behind you and keep moving forward!"
Gray stares at him with wide eyes, while I smile at Natsu.
Natsu grumbles as we resume running in the direction of the village, "Oh, great! Now it's even harder to run!"
I can't help but laugh at that.
Third Person's P. O. V:
Lucy and Happy have made it back to the village. They stand amid the gathered tribe.
She tells the villagers in a serious voice, one arm held outward, "Listen up! The people who've placed the curse on you are planning to attack the village!"
A man with dark maroon skin asks, "And they'll come down to the village to fight us...?"
Lucy says as she drops her arm, "Yeah, but I've gotta plan! Capture them and lock them up until they tell us how to change you back!"
Murmurs break out amongst the crowd at this.
"I don't know..." murmurs a civilian.
"Do you think it'll work...?"
"It doesn't hurt to try..."
"Only thing is," Happy states as Lucy places a hand on her chin thoughtfully, "I'm pretty sure those three are wizards. They're gonna be hard to catch."
"They may not look it," Momo says, "but I'm sure that they're formidable to an extent. So, we shouldn't underestimate them."
Hand on her chin thoughtfully, Lucy says, "You're right, and you're the only one we've got right now. Well, good luck!"
Happy's eyes jerk into wide animated white triangles in surprise. Gasping, Happy exclaims, "Last time I checked, you're a wizard, too!"
Lucy gasps as she claps her hands together once, "I just had a brilliant idea!"
Happy utters worriedly, "Nothing good can come of this!"
"What are you all doing out here?!" We look to see Chief Moka approach, his cane in his hand.
"Chief!" Greets a male civilian.
Lucy says to the Chief, "We don't have much time, Sir! The enemy's gonna attack any second, now!"
"Enemy...?"
"The ones responsible for the curse that transformed your people!" She says as she throws an arm at the people behind her. "They've been hiding out in the old temple in the jungle!"
"I DON'T CARE WHO'S IN THE TEMPLE!!" The Chief yells. "WHY HAVEN'T YOU DESTROYED THE MOON?!?!"
Lucy gasps as she jumps, startled by the Chief's sudden shout.
Lucy says, waving her hands about, "Well, you see, it wasn't the moon that did this to you, exactly, but now we know who did."
"YOU LIE!!" Moka denies strongly. "DO WHAT I ASKED OF YOU!!"
A blue skinned man and a green skinned man grabs hold of both the Chief's arms, holding him back from attacking us. The blue skinned man says to Moka, "Chief, please! You have to calm down."
The green skinned man says, "Come on, let's go."
Lucy sweat drops as she watches the Chief be dragged away.
"Hands off me!! Don't listen to them! They don't know what they're talking about...!"
A maroon skinned man comes up beside Lucy and says, "He doesn't mean it like that. He's just upset. He's been that way since Bobo died."
Lucy murmurs, "Poor man." She turns to the man. "I know how to trap the enemy."
"We'll be happy to help if you need us."
Lucy smirks cockily. "I'm the greatest celestial wizard Fairy Tail's got! So, why don't you just leave it to me? You don't have to worry! It'll be a piece of cake!"
His paw to his face in exasperation, Happy mutters, frowning, "Somebody's starting to get cocky!"
Lucy pulls out a gold key and calls, "Open, Gate of the Maiden, Virgo!" With a flash of golden light, the pink haired Celestial Spirit appears before us. She wears a maid's outfit with a white bonnet and her pink hair is shoulder length. Virgo also has shackles clasped to her wrists.
The tribe gets pink hearts in their eyes as they gaze at Virgo.
"She's cute!" Says a man.
Lucy mumbles, hand to her cheek, "She's not that cute..."
❄️❄️❄️
"Princess, I have completed the task," Virgo says awhile later, standing before us.
"Good work, Virgo. My plan is going to work perfectly!" Lucy says.
"I'm not so sure," Virgo says.
"What did you just say?!"
"Hey, Lucy," Happy addresses.
"Yeah, what is it?"
Beads of sweat dotting his face, Happy states bluntly, "I really hate to break it to you, but I think you might be.... Stupid!"
"Wow! Thanks a lot for the encouragement!"
Happy gains a deadpan look on his face as he says, "I just don't think anybody's gonna fall for your trap, 'cause it's the oldest trick in the book!"
Hand on her chin in a cocky manner, Lucy responds, eyes closed, "Now, don't be silly! A pitfall trap will get 'em every time!"
Happy says, still deadpanning, "But! You could tell what it is by looking at it."
Virgo had created a large hole in the ground right in front of the gate, and we'd covered it up with a very thick layering of dead grass.
Lucy replies, her arms crossed over her chest, "It doesn't matter because there's only one way into the village, and the enemy's gonna have to go over it if they want in."
Happy mutters, "Well, I still don't think there's anyway they're gonna fall for it!"
"Um, yeah, me neither!" Says a green skinned woman while holding up her hand.
The maroon skinned man says, "Yes, sorry, but I agree with them."
Virgo chimes, "Yes, I have to concur!"
"Not you, too!" Lucy exclaims. She then frowns at us. "Go ahead and doubt me, you'll see."
A male guard calls down from a watch tower at the gate, "Lucy-san! It looks like there's somebody headed this way!"
"That's gotta be them!" Lucy turns and points at the guard. "Open the gate!" The gate is pulled open. They stand before it, and Lucy says with her hands on her hips, "Now, come to mama!"
They see not the enemy running towards them, but Natsu, still trapped in Lyon's spell, with a passed out Gray draped over his shoulders, and Reina running beside them. Natsu shouts, "HEY, GUYS! ARE YOU OKAY?!"
Lucy screams in surprise. A few Galuna people exclaim, "NATSU?! REINA?!"
Waving her hands frantically, Lucy screams at Natsu, "STAY RIGHT THERE! DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!!"
"What?!" Natsu utters in confusion, as he continues to run toward them.
"NATSU!! STOP, PLEASE!!"
With a green anime question mark appearing beside his head, Natsu and Katsumi skid to a halt before the pitfall trap a just in time. Lucy breathes a mushroom shaped sigh of relief.
Natsu flicks his gaze down to the trap as he asks, "What's with the grass...?" Lucy gasps as Natsu raises his foot and goes to take a step forward. Lucy shivers visibly when Natsu steps onto the trap, and they all scream as he falls in.
Reina, who is smart enough to not step on the grass, peers over the edge of the trap curiously with a raised eyebrow, seeing both her teammates sprawled in the bottom.
"How's the view from down there, Pinky?" She asks, making Natsu scowl back at her.
The maroon skinned man murmurs in disbelief as they all stare at the trap, Happy perched on Lucy's shoulder, "He actually fell for it!"
A man with golden brown skin adds, "Yeah, sorry we ever doubted you!"
Her left shoulder slumping, Lucy mumbles, "It's ruined!"
Reina sighs, shaking her head in disbelief at the Fire Dragon Slayer.
From his spot in the hole, Natsu grumbles, "Very funny! But we don't have time to play practical jokes on each other!"
Peering over the edge, Happy tells him, "Don't talk to me, it was Lucy's dumb idea."
"Guh! I should've known!" Natsu says with a red tick mark on his head.
"It wasn't a practical joke, it was a trap!" Lucy cries, cupping her face and shaking her head.
"I'm glad you're okay! I was worried about you," Happy says to Natsu.
Reina notices Natsu's ice prison is gone.
Natsu replies, "Yeah, I'm fine! But Gray's down for the count!"
Lucy asks, resting her hands on her knees as she leans forwards, "The guy in the mask beat him up that badly?!"
Natsu says as he looks down at himself, "Huh? Hey, the ice is gone! It must've cracked when I fell!"
"See! I told you the pitfall would work!" Lucy says triumphantly.
Virgo says, "Excuse me, Princess, but I believe the spell broke when he left the range of the caster."
Natsu exclaims gleefully, "I'm free!"
A couple of the villagers helped them get Gray out of the hole after Natsu got out, and they gently laid him on the ground. Reina notices a deep-looking gash on his left temple that's bleeding freely.
Natsu watches as the blue haired girl moves over to Gray, her gaze filled with worry as she kneels down next to him and cradles his head in her lap. She gently strokes his soft black hair comfortingly, feeling her heart thump in worry.
"Gray..." Reina whispers worriedly.
Reina remains kneeling with Gray's head resting in her lap. She continues to stroke his black hair.
Natsu asks in confusion, "So, how come Lyon's lackeys haven't made it here, yet?"
"You know, that's a good question," Lucy responds, just as confused. She puts her hand on her chin thoughtfully. "They left for the village before you, but you got here first. I wonder what's taking them so long..."
"Yeah. And with Gray and that giant ice cube, I was pretty slow."
Clenching her left fist, Lucy says determinedly, "Okay, guys! Hurry and cover that hole!"
With a deadpan expression, Natsu mutters pointedly, "They're not gonna fall for that."
The maroon skinned man suddenly looks up as he says, Ponting to the night sky, "Huh...? Over there!" We all look up to where he's pointing. "It's a giant flying rat!"
The Walker's eyes widen as she recognises the same rat from earlier. She's flying in the air by spinning the tip of her tail rapidly, while carrying something in her front claws.
"It's carrying a bucket!" The man adds.
Her eyes turning to angry white triangles, Lucy exclaims in disbelief, "What?! But now my pitfall trap's totally pointless!"
"I never realised the Demon Poison Jelly took so long to prepare," Sherry says with her arms crossed.
Yuka states, "We've timed it perfectly. Those wizards were able to make it back to the village."
Toby makes woof sound of agreement.
"We cannot rest until the demon Deliora has been revived for the Cold Emperor," the pinkette continues. "Anyone who dares stand in our way, must die."
As Sherry, Toby and Yuka fly over he village on the giant rat, a big globe of what looks like green jelly falls from the bucket in the rats' claws, towards Lucy. She stands there, watching it fall with her hands held outward.
"Watch out!!" Natsu cries as he tackles Lucy to the ground right before the green glob could land on her. They hit the ground just as the glob struck the spot Lucy had been standing in a second ago. Reina stares with wide eyes as the jelly creates a hole in the ground, like acid, steam rising from it with a hiss.
Lucy squeals as she stares at the hole with wide eyes. Hovering over her, peering under his arm, Natsu growls, "That smell! I knew that stuff was deadly!"
"That big giant rat has a bucket full of it!" A man yells fearfully.
"They're gonna dump it right on us...!" Adds another.
"Hideous," Yuka comments, making Natsu and Reina frown up at them. "Who would've thought the Moon Drip would turn people into these beasts...?"
"They look like... The demon children of Deliora!" Sherry murmurs displeasingly.
Toby woofs.
"Angelica. Would you do the honours?" Sherry asks the rat.
The rat makes a sound of agreement before she swings the bucket wide, causing the jelly to spill out, over the village.
Cupping her face, Lucy screams, "HOW ARE WE GONNA PROTECT OURSELVES FROM ACID JELLY?!?!"
Running in a direction, Natsu orders everyone, "I want everyone to get into the centre of the village!"
"Ready to fly, Happy?!" Natsu asks as he jumps into the air.
"Aye!" Happy cries as he catches Natsu easily.
As they soar into the sky, everyone else on the ground starts running for the centre of the village. A couple of the villagers crossed Gray's hands over his stomach, picked him up, and made for the centre, too. Reina stands up and follows close behind.
She hears the Chief yell as he kneels in front of Bobo's grave, clutching at it with his head bent, "I'm not going! I won't leave Bobo's grave!!"
The maroon skinned man looks back at Moka over his shoulder as he calls back, "But, Chief! That jelly's gonna get ya...!"
Reaching the centre, Reina stops and whirls around to look up at Natsu and the cat.
Natsu throws out his hands as he calls, "The flames of my left hand, and the flames of my right... You put them together, and you get... FIRE DRAGON: BRILLIANT FLAME!!" Slamming his hands together, Natsu enlarge's the fireball right before he throws it over his head.
As the flames from Natsu's attack nears the acid jelly, the flames begin to take on the form of a giant fireball. The fireball hits the jelly, causing it to explode.
Yuka says in surprise, "He just burst it!"
Sherry gasps, "That boy is a fire wizard?!"
Globs and droplets of the jelly rain down on the village.
A large glob of the jelly lands on the Chief who is still kneeling in front of his son's grave. "No, Chief...!" A man from Galuna Island shouts. They stare, stunned, and Lucy gasps.
"Oh, no!" Reina exclaims, her blue eyes wide.
The reflection mage feels relieved when Virgo appears a heartbeat later through the steam, holding the blue skinned Chief in her arms by his waist. Virgo asks Lucy, "You wish to punish him for disobeying you?"
"Virgo!" Lucy exclaims happily.
Reina says, smiling in relief, "Nice save, Virgo!"
Steam hisses from a circular crater that was formed around the centre of the village.
A man says, "The village has been completely dissolved! This is terrible!"
"Is anybody hurt?" Another asks as Reina gazes around. It didn't look like anyone was hurt. Gray is still unconscious.
The Walker sees Bobo's grave is still intact. Moka states in immense relief, "Bobo's grave is still standing!"
Lyon's three minions approach us through the steam, and Yuka kicks the gravestone over, his hands in his pants pockets. Natsu doesn't budge from his spot nearby, his back to everyone else. Happy is with him.
The blue eyed girl dips her head as her bangs cover her eyes, darkening Reina's face at Yuka's action. How dare he...!! Reina's fingers curl into such tight fists that she feels her nails break the skin, and something sticky leak down her palm.
It takes everything she has to hold herself back from cutting them down where they stand.
Sherry says as they walk up to them, "The Cold Emperor ordered us to destroy the village and its people." She sweeps her right hand through her right ponytail before resting it on her hip. "We were trying to show mercy by making your deaths quick and painless, but since that didn't work, we'll have to resort to bloodshed."
Natsu gasps as he peers behind his right shoulder, glaring at Lyon's minions. Reina gives them her darkest death glare that would usually have almost anyone running, but not these three. Though, Toby and Yuka did notice and sweat drop a bit.
Yuka states with his hands behind his back, "Fifty villagers... Three wizards... Shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes."
Natsu asks, "You ready?!"
"Yeah!" Lucy and Reina say together. A hand on her left hip, Lucy shifts her hips while the blue eyed girl curls her hands into fists at her sides, channeling her magic into her eyes and glaring at the enemies. They gasp and look fearful.
Holding up a paw, Happy inputs, "Count again! 'Cause there's four wizards!"
Moka growls angrily, "How dare they...! Such disrespect! YOU DARE KICK BOBO'S GRAVE!!"
Two villagers have grabbed the Chief to hold him back. "Calm down, Chief! Let's go," the maroon skinned man says.
"You don't want to get caught in a magic battle, do you?"
"I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE!"
The first man who held the chief back says as he points, "Hurry and get him to safety!"
"I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU! PUT ME DOWN AND LET ME TEACH THEM A LESSON!!" The Chief yells, waving his cane around as he's carried away.
"Let me help you," Came Gray's soft voice, causing us to whirl around in surprise.
Lucy gasps in relief, "Gray! You came to!"
Natsu and Reina stare back at the ravenette in silence, her Eye Magic deactivated for now, their eyes shadowed by their bangs.
Natsu says firmly, "Not gonna happen. We don't need your help."
Gray breathes out, "Natsu... Don't do this to me..."
Gray's eyes bulge in his head when Natsu pulls his right arm back and punch his stomach with enough force to knock him out. Gray slumps over.
Natsu says in a hard tone, "Just lie down and get some rest."
Gray grunts as he clutches Natsu's white scaly scarf, a frown on his face. He slumps further and Natsu catches him around the waist.
Lucy breathes behind them, "But, why...?"
"He's giving Gray some tough love!" Happy explains, holding up a paw as Natsu holds Gray a moment longer. "Natsu knows he's in no condition to fight, so he has to stop him."
"That means... That deep down, they really do care," Lucy murmurs.
After Natsu knocks Gray out, Natau and Reina give him to the maroon skinned man. The Walker asks with a serious expression, though her blue eyes gleam with worry for Gray, "Can you look after him for us?"
"No problem, Reina-san!" He says before turning back to his people. "Alright, let's go." They then walk away. Natsu stands facing the enemy with his arms crossed and a glare on his face.
She hears Sherry say with a smirk on her face, "We're not leaving until everyone in this village is dead." She then addresses the rat. "Angelica."
The rat makes a noise of understanding before taking off. She does a backflip and Sherry jumps onto her back. The rat flies over the Fairy Tail wizards, but Natsu and Reina manage to dodge.
"WE'RE NOT GONNA LET YOU GET AWAY WITH THIIISSS!!" Lucy screams in determination. Lucy gasps. "Oh, no! I got so excited I grabbed on!" Lucy had accidentally grabbed onto Angelica's claw when she'd flown over us.
Happy chimes, "Yup! She's stupid!"
Natsu and Reina say in unison, their eyes wide as they stare at Lucy, "More like insane!"
Lucy yells as she hits Angelica's claw, "LEAVE THE VILLAGERS ALONE!! THEY DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO DESERVE THIS!"
Peering back at Lucy, Sherry wonders aloud, "What does she think she's doing...?"
Lucy asks with a devious grin on her face as she begins tickling the rat's foot, "Are you ticklish?!"
Smirking, Sherry says, "Try all you want, it's not going to work!"
Just as Sherry says that, Angelica's eyes bulge in her head as she screeches at the tickling in her foot.
"Angelica?!" Sherry gasps. The rat's spinning tail stops and she hovers in the air, hugging herself as she laughs her head off, kicking her feet. Sherry urges, "You have to fight it! Keep spinning your tail!"
Angelica screams as she falls past the village, towards the beach.
Sherry shouts, "WE'RE GOING DOWN!!"
Lucy exclaims in triumph, "I DID IT!!" She then gasps sharply in sudden realisation. "WE'RE GOING TO DIIIEEE!!"
Natsu and Reina sweat drop.
"Well," She says, sounding a little impressed with Lucy's antics. "I guess that's one way to do it. Great job, Lucy."
Yuka mutters unhappily, "Great. He's gonna be ticked!"
With a red tick mark on his head, Toby wrenches a sharp glare at Yuka and snaps at him, "I don't have any ticks!!"
Closing his eyes in exasperation, Yuka mutters in response, "I wasn't talking about you..."
Gazing in the direction Lucy had fallen, Natsu asks worriedly, "Do you think she made it...? That big rat probably crushed her."
Reina says worriedly, her gaze lingering in the direction the rat had fallen, "I'm sure she's fine!"
Happy responds, "If so, then she's a goner." He spreads his white wings. "I'll go and check on her."
Natsu says, "Thanks. Be careful."
Happy takes flight.
Natsu says, "We'll stay here... and deal with them!" He whirls around and they both launch ourselves at the enemies. Reina heads straight for Toby, while Natsu heads for Yuka.
Reina looms up right in front of Dog-Boy, her eyes activating once again. Toby freezes as ge whines in fear. Reina lands a punch that sends Toby flying.
Natsu expels flames from his mouth at Yuka.
When they dissipate, they see Yuka is holding up his right hand, some kind of light blue shield blocking Natsu's attack.
Yuka muses in a calm tone, "You can breathe fire. I see. And you can use Eye Magic. Don't tell me you're the Salamander and The Intimidator of Fairy Tail I've heard so much about." (I've changed Reina's Lunar Empress nickname to The Intimidator.)
Natsu and Reina shift their gazes to their right as Toby pushes himself off his back and jumps to his feet again, seemingly unfazed by the girl's attack. He announces, "I'm good!" Yuka gasps with fear at the girl's eyes, wondering why he's so afraid right now.
Natsu and Reina now stand back to back. He's facing Yuka while she faces Toby. She begins to feel her heart pound in exhilaration.
Yuka tells them, "You know, we used to be wizards of a famous guild ourselves, so you shouldn't blow us off. In fact, Iron Rock Jura belongs to the same guild. Surely you've heard of the Lamia Scale guild."
Toby makes a woof sound.
Reina immediately recognises those names, more so Jura's. She's heard so much about him while gathering information about her brother. "You mean, the Iron Rock Jura?!" She whips her head round to Yuka, her eyes wide. "Of course I've heard of him! He's one of the Ten Wizards Saints who's supposedly very powerful. Just like me! I've also heard of the Lamia Scale guild! To think that you three would've belonged to the same guild as Jura!"
Yuka and Toby have surprise in their eyes. "I have to admit, I'm a little impressed by your knowledge," Yuka states.
Natsu blasts fire from his hands, but Yuka throws up a shield just in time. "Hey! Cut it out! Listen when I'm talking to you!"
"Why?!" Natsu demands as Tobi frantically tries to put out the fire on his head. "You think I care about what guild you're from or who the other members they are? We came here to help the villagers, and you're the ones who put them in danger! Which makes you Fairy Tail's enemy!" Toby has at last put the flames out. "And that gives me more than enough reason to fight you!"
Yuka glares at him. He calls to Toby, "Hey, Toby! Just stay back. You don't need to get involved. I've got this."
Toby makes a noise of understanding.
Reina steps up beside Natsu as she tells Yuka, "You shouldn't underestimate the Salamander, Bushy Eyebrows! That'll be the last mistake you'll make!" Yuka glares at her.
Natsu says in a form voice, "You should stay out of this fight, Rei." She jerks her surprised face up to him. "I don't need your help to take down Eyebrows over there."
"Even though I don't like you nodding me around," The blue eyed girl sighs, "I'll let it slide, just this once." She steps back.
Holding out his arm, Yuka calls, "Wave!!" The same blue shield from before spreads outwards, towards Natsu.
Flames enveloping his hands, Natsu growls, "I'll tear that thing apart!" His eyes widen however, when the wave attack slams into him, sending Natsu soaring in the air.
Reina gasps worriedly. Yuka smirks.
"Oops! Guess you weren't ready for that," Yuka says. Natsu attacks him again, but Yuka calls out his spell and sweeps his right arm to the side, summoning another shield. "The pulsing energy that's coming from my hands diffuses all types of magic! Which means... None of your spells will work against me."
Rubbing at the left corner of his mouth, Natsu mumbles in understanding, "So, that's why my fire power couldn't destroy his barrier. I get it."
Yuka explains, "I specialise in Anti-Wizard Magic while I was with the Lamia Scale guild." Pale blue magic circles appear around both his hands. "And I'm sure you can understand why. No matter how strong they might be, all wizards are powerless against me! Even you!"
Yuka thrusts his arms forwards and releases two discs of blue energy at Natsu. He manages to jump into the air to avoid them, and the discs slam into the ground right where he'd been standing. A dust cloud has risen from the impact.
Natsu shouts back, "Oh, yeah?!" He flies out of the dust cloud, fists aflame, and punches his right fist forward.
"Wave!" Yuka throws up a hand and uses his shield to block Natsu's attack. "Like I told you: your magic is useless against my Wave."
Natsu gains this creepy grin, making a small sweat drop form on the back of my head. He tells Yuka, "That doesn't mean I'll let you off the hook that easily! I'll just have to crush you without it!" Yuka raises his head slightly when Natsu punches his arm right through the shield, to nearly his elbow. "Hey, look! I broke right through it!"
Reina's eyes widen with worry when Natsu suddenly starts screaming as the shield seems to cut into him.
"You put your bare arm inside a vortex of magic energy. Not a smart move," Yuka tells him.
"Natsu!" The bluenette starts running up to him to help.
"Stay back, Rei, I've got this!"
She jerks to a halt and snap back at her idiotic teammate, "But you could melt your arm off in that thing! Let me help you, dammit!"
"Ha! This ain't nothin'! Just stay back, alright?!"
She grits her teeth and glares in annoyance, but Reina reluctantly stays put.
Natsu suddenly begins laughing like a maniac, and he whips his head around, a broad, sharp-toothed grin on his face as he pushes his head into the barrier. Yuka jerks back in surprise.
Toby exclaims with wide eyes, "Whoa! He's pushing his whole body inside the wave!"
"Natsu!! Don't be such a reckless idiot!"
"Your magic's no match for my brute strength! So, what're you going to do now?!?! HAHAHA!!!" Natsu cackles like a maniac right in the blue haired man's stunned, almost terrified face. From the looks of things, I'd guess that no one's ever tried something like this before.
His eyes wide, animated white circles, Toby exclaims warningly, "He's crazy,
Yuka! Watch out!"
Reina could do nothing but watch, feeling intrigued by the Fire Dragon Slayer.
Yuka says to Natsu, grinning again, "You may have broken through my Wave, Salamander, but now you're stuck! Your flames aren't gonna work, now that you're inside."
Grinning wickedly, Natsu retorts, "I can still use them outside! And you just gave me a great idea!!" A red magic circle appears around Natsu's right elbow, and flames surround it. "FIRE DRAGON...!!"
Reina's eyes jerk wide as she understood what, exactly, Natsu is planning.
Yuka realises it, too. He exclaims in disbelief, "He's using his Fire Magic to increase the power of his punch!"
"Good thinking, Natsu!" The blue haired girl thinks, impressed.
".... FLAME ELBOW!!" With a burst of flame, Natsu's fist punches the rest of the way through Yuka's barrier, and slams into his face. The blue haired man is sent flying, before landing on his head with a grunt, a stunned expression on his face. "That's one down..." He turns to face Toby.
Toby compliments, "Man, you're awesome!"
"You're about to see just how awesome first hand!"
Reina says as she approaches, "Allow me to take care of Dog Boy, Natsu." She pauses next to her guild mate and gives him a smirk. "After all, it wouldn't be fair!"
Natsu grins back at her, and nods. "Alright, then, Rei! Knock him out!"
She smirks as she looks back at Toby. He says confidently, "I'm not scared of you or some girl! I'm way stronger than you!" The Walker raises her right blue eyebrow quizzically. With a flick of both wrists, Toby summons very sharp, deadly-looking green coloured claws, and holds his hands in an x formation in front of his body. "Check out my Paralysis Claw: Mega Jelly Fish! Bet you'll never guess what these babies can do!"
"Let me guess," She says with a hint of sarcasm as she rests a hand on her hip, "they paralyse you?"
Toby gains a surprised look as his mouth drops open. He gasps. "How did you know that?!" Holding an arm across his chest as he leans back wearily, Toby asks me, "Have you got your ears pierced, or something...?"
"No," She replies firmly. "I hate to say this, but, you're just real dumb."
Reina's face doesn't waver even as Toby launches himself at her and swings his right claws to scratch at her, but she manages to avoid the attack just in time. Toby yells indignantly, "NOBODY TALKS TO ME LIKE THAT!!"
With half lidded eyes, Reina warns Toby, "Watch it! Someone could get really hurt with those things."
Reina jerks backwards the other way as Toby swings his left arm around, though she just barely manages to avoid it. He tells her, "With just one swipe of my claws, you'll be prone and ready to die!"
"Hey, hey! Calm down down, Toby!" She says in a kind tone, avoiding another of his swipes. "I just noticed something that I need to tell you."
Toby stops short and looks at her questioningly, blinking his dark eyes a few times.
Reina touches her left hand to her head pointedly as she says in a steady voice, "You've got something stuck right here."
"Hmmm...?" Toby flicks his gaze up and unknowingly touches his left claws to his head. Reina watches with an impassive face as Toby screams and is struck with his own attack, electricity lighting up his body. When it dies down, steam wafts fro the top of his head and he stands there for a moment, stunned, before he collapses heavily on the ground.
Turning towards Natsu, Reina mumbles, "Well, that was easy."
Grinning at the blonde, Natsu compliments, "Nice one, Rei-chan!"
She just smirks at him in response.
Reina follows Natsu with her gaze as he strides over to Bobo's fallen gravestone. He says as he picks up the stone and puts it back in its place, "Those guys were a joke. There we go! We're gonna find a way to change your people back to normal, Bobo. I know we will!"
Reina goes over and stands beside him, gazing down at the gravestone. "We will," She promises. Natsu glances at her before he looks back at Bobo's grave.
"And I promise I'll avenge your death!" Natsu vows the fallen Chief's son.
Flicking her gaze to the gravestone, Reina agrees, Yeah."
~~~With Lyon~~~
A masked figure approaches Lyon, standing in front of Deliora. He asks him why he spared Gray's life, and Lyon just simply replies that he doesn't want to shed anymore blood.
The masked figure finds it confusing since Lyon asked his minions to destroy the villagers. He tells Lyon that he must have a soft spot if he'd allowed Gray to live.
Lyon then states in a calm voice that if Gray decides to intervene, he won't hesitate to kill him.
~~~With Lucy and Sherry~~~
Angelica is knocked to the ground and Lucy begins to waken. She looks around for Sherry and finds her crying. She then states that Lyon won't ever love her because Lucy got in the way. Sherry then engages Lucy in battle.
A tree seems to begin moving in its own, and starts toward Lucy. "That tree's alive!" When it throws a branch arm at her, Lucy whips out a gold key. "Open: Gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus!"
Taurus appears from a flash of gold light, mooing. He then hits the tree with his giant axe.
"So, she's a celestial wizard?!" Gasps Sherry.
"Nice work, Taurs!" Lucy praises.
Taurus asks, Why don't you reward me with a smoooch?!!"
Standing with her arms crossed, Sherry demands, "What kind of wizard forces their celestial spirits to say things like that? You disgust me!"
"I didn't force him to say it! I hate when he's pervy!" Lucy yells, flustered, as a red tick mark throbs on her head.
"Well, your kind don't like my magic, and you're about to find out why," Sherry tells her.
"Taurus, go!" The spirit launches himself at Sherry but suddenly stops short. Lucy screams when he whirls around and swings his giant axe at her, though he narrowly misses her. "What are you doing?! Stop it!" Taurus spins his axe before thrusting it down toward her, chopping off Lucy's green top as she dodges again. "What's gotten into you?!"
Dodging a punch, Taurus manages to pin Lucy down. "Uh, Lucy-san! I can't control my mooovents!" She gasps.
"Marionette Attack Magic! You like?" Sherry states. "It allows me to control any living thing. Well, except for humans, that is. It works well on your spirit friend."
Lucy tries to close Taurus's gate but Sherry reminds her that both spirit and wizard needs to agree. Sherry then manipulates Taurus into punching Lucy. She manages to keep moving her head in order to dodge the attacks. Lucy then urges Taurus to remember the day they made a contract together.
"So, your name's Lucy, huh? Your body's so hot, it's making me droool!" Taurus gushes, pink hearts floating around his head.
Deadpanning, Lucy sighs in disappointment, "I never would've imagined the zodiac's Golden Bull would be such a pervert! I don't know if I wanna go through with it..."
She gasps she Taurus tells her, "There's no need for you to worry, pretty lady! If you make a contract with me, I'll do everything I can to protect yooou, and your hot bod, too!"
"Promise?" Lucy asks, making him even more excited.
"I swear!!"
"You've promised that you'd always be around to protect me, remember?!" Lucy begs Taurus, and he screams, clutching his head as he tries to fight the magic controlling him.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?! Just finish her off, already!" Sherry snaps.
Taurus throws a fist into the air as Lucy shouts desperately, "You heard what she said! We can send you back, but we gotta work together! You've gotta fight it, Taurus!!" When Taurus swings his fist at Lucy's face, he stops himself mere inches from punching her.
Then, his body begins to glow gold and Taurus smiles at Lucy as he begins to fade. Until he disappears altogether.
Sherry gasps in shock, blue eyes wide. "It worked!" Lucy gasps, gazing up at her hands.
"She beat it; my Marionette Attack Magic failed me! How could this happen...?" Sherry murmurs in disbelief.
Lucy breathes, "Oh, wow! I've gotten stronger!" She then cracks her whip out straight as Lucy tells the pinkette, "Watch out! Because you're dealing with a full fledged member of the Fairy Tail guild, now!"