Third Person's P. O. V:
With a straight face, Erza tells Naysu, "Natsu. We're going to destroy the moon."
His eyes widening with excitement, Natsu exclaims, "Really?!"
Happy clutches to Lucy's head while she, Reina and Gray cry out.
"It's the only way we can change the villagers back to their human form. The Galuna Island tribe cheered at that.
"They're really gonna do it! We get to watch it happen!" Says a man with green skin.
The maroon skinned man says happily, "That's right! And we're all finally gonna be human again!"
Running up to Erza, Natsu asks her, "Where do you wanna go?! You wanna go to the top of the temple? It's a lot higher up there."
"We'll do it from here," She replies with her arms crossed. "The villagers can't go near the temple, and they need to witness this."
Gray mutters, "I don't know what she's thinking! I know she can do some amazing things, but still..."
"I think she's lost it. No one on Earth could have the ability to destroy the moon!" Says Reina in exasperation, blue orbs wide.
Lucy murmurs with a stunned expression, "So! What do you think she's going to do to it?!"
"It's frightening, huh?!" Happy says fearfully.
"More like terrifying!" Lucy utters. Erza has now fully requipped into a new set of armor, which Reina vaguely recognises as Giant Armor.
This armor features a barbaric appearance and is adorned with numerous fur trimmings around the armor's joints. The armor is also complemented with blue ornamental stripes over each piece of armor and golden animal-like ears with a blue stripe across each ear. The breastplate features a medallion similar in shape to a four-leaf clover over the armor's collar and displays a blue ornamented cross over her abdomen area.
The pauldrons are massive in size and feature a unique design where the shouldered-sections are pointed upwards. The edges are decorated with the blue ornamental stripes and the armor's sleeves are lined with fur. The armor's skirt is composed of intricately designed golden plates that don a fur-lined edge around the skirt and covers the upper part of Erza's thighs. The skirt is embellished with a brown leather belt that grasp the skirt around her hips
The armor indistinguishably features two different gauntlet's on both arms. The left gauntlet covers her forearm and has a fur lining around the wrist, whereas the right gauntlet, which lacks fur, is noticeably larger and rounder as it extends down to her hand. A distinction to the right gauntlet is that it features a round red gem over the wrist-section of the gauntlet.
The knee guards sport protruding metal ornaments reminiscent of Dragon's wings, and the plates that partially cover Erza's thighs are held up by straps tied behind her legs. The greaves have fur sprouting from both the knee and the ankle areas; The armor is completed with Erza's footwear composed of plain blue plate-armor.
Erza explains to the villagers, "This is Giant Armour. It increases my strength and allows me to throw farther. And this..." She holds out her hand and summons a spear. "... This is the spear of Harjai! It repels darkness."
The weapon is an extravagant spear said to be able to repel darkness. The steel blade adorns a golden embellishment in its center and is ornamented by a red decoration, reminiscent of ribbons which flow down and attaches to both sides of the pole wherein the ends releases a rocket-like blast which adds lift to the spear.
The rear of the pole features a substantially thick golden stud with a flat silver surface, which may be used to shift it's equilibrium by adding force to the stud's surface and in turn, adding momentum to an assault.
A murmur of awe ripples through the crowd.
"Whoa!! I see what you're planning now!" Natsu exclaims with wide eyes. "You're gonna use that spear to knock the moon outta the sky!"
With deadpan looks on their faces, Happy, Lucy, Reina and Gray think at the same time, "Give me a break! That's never gonna work!"
"That's right! But I'm going to need more strength than this armor can give me," Erza answers. She turns to the pinkette. "So, Natsu, I'm going to need to use your fire power as a boost."
"Huh?"
"Whenever I begin to throw the spear, I want you to hit the back of it with your flames," The redhead explains. "Now, we'll have to time our attack perfectly, but I think you should give me just enough power to do the job."
"Sounds like a killer plan to me!" He responds eagerly.
"Then, let's do it!" She turns and starts walking, Natsu following close behind.
Reina's, Lucy's and Gray's eyes had become flat animated white semi circles.
"They don't really think they're gonna pull this off, do they?" Gray utters in disbelief.
"Well, I think they've finally gone off the deep end, this time," Lucy says with a hand to her mouth.
Gray looks to Reina to see her just as stunned as they are. "They've completely lost it," She says is disbelief, looking ready to faint. Gray prepares himself should the bluenette actually faint.
Erza and Natsu stand in a watch tower that has a good view of the purple moon. Erza raises her spear over her right shoulder, preparing to throw it.
Erza activates a small red magic circle on the spear, shifts her stance, and right before she releases the spear into the sky, Erza shouts to Natsu, "Now!!"
Natsu lights his fist on fire and slams it with great force against the back-end of Erza's spear, and it's launched into the sky at rocket speeds, causing the roof of the watch tower to get blown off.
"She did it!" Happy cries, hovering in the air next to a jaw dropping Lucy.
"This is a bad thing," Gray mutters, a deadpan look on his face.
"What are they thinking?!" Lucy squeals.
"They're absolute nutcases!" Reina screams.
As the spear gets closer to the moon, the villagers, Reina, Lucy, Gray and Happy gape at it.
Erza says with a determined glare, "Almost there!!"
The villagers begin cheering. Natsu laughs.
The tip of the spear hits the purple moon, disappears, and cracks start spreading from where the spear had struck.
Their eyes widening, Reina, Lucy, and Gray cry at the same time, "NO WAY!!"
The moon keeps cracking, until the membrane encasing it breaks apart, revealing a normal, brightly glowing silvery white full moon, causing the villagers to gasp in confusion.
"Whoa, the moon—!" Gasps Natsu.
"It's still there!" Moka gasps.
Lucy murmurs in shock as she holds out her palms to catch the sparkles, "It wasn't the moon that shattered. It was... the sky!"
"Huh?! What the heck is going on?!" Natsu demands, clutching the railing.
"As a result of the spell, a noxious membrane was covering the island," Erza explains, stepping up to him.
"A... what?"
"The Moon Drip released evil energy in the form of a gas. That gas crystallised, and formed an invisible shell in the sky that covered the island. That's why the moon looked purple here."
Most of the villagers were laughing joyously as a gold light fills the area around them.
"Now that the shell's been broken," Erza concludes, smiling softly, "everything will go back to how it was three years ago."
When the hold light disappeared, the villagers looked exactly the same.
"What's wrong?" Gray asks. "They're not transforming!"
"Oh, no!" Happy says worriedly.
Smiling gently, Erza says as she returns to them, "That's because these are their true forms." Happy, Reina, Lucy and Gray stare at her in puzzlement. "The Moon Drip never had any effect on their appearance. However, it seems to have altered their memories."
Lucy asks the Requip Magic user, "What do you mean?"
"They think they're humans who've been transformed into demons, but it's the other way around."
Lucy and Happy gasp in fright at that. "Wait! So, you're saying... They're really—!" Lucy begins.
Nodding her head once, Erza says while smiling broadly, "Yup! You've got it! The villagers have always been demons."
Reina and Natsu cry out in shock, their eyes wide.
Lucy and Happy scream, the celestial mage clutching at her head. Lucy collapses on her knees as Happy flies away.
Gray demands of the maroon skinned demon, a stunned look on his face, "IS THIS TRUE?!?!"
"Well, uh... Maybe! My memory's hazy. We all looked pretty human when you met us, didn't we?"
"Yes, because you posses the ability to take on human form," Erza says, nodding once as she turns to face him. "Your false memories led you to believe your temporary states were actually your true form. In reality, you were demons who'd fallen victim to the Moon Drip's side effects."
Lucy asks in confusion, "Hold on! How come Lyon and the others weren't affected?"
"Most likely because they're already humans. As far as I can tell, demons were the only ones who are susceptible to the memory loss. I knew what was going on as soon as the villagers told me they were unable to go to the temple," Erza explains. "The moonlight collected there was sacred, therefore creatures of darkness couldn't go near it."
"You are quite the detective. I knew I could trust you and your friends!" A strangely familiar male voice reaches Reina's and the others' ears, causing them to turn around, only to see Bobo, the guy who brought Reina, Gray, Natsu, Happy and Lucy to Galuna Island, standing before them. "Thanks, wizards!"
Lucy gasps as her eyes widen frightfully. "A ghooosstt!!" The brown eyed girl screams. Lucy hugs Happy tightly for comfort.
Gray says with a stunned look, "You're the guy from the boat!!"
Natsu gasps from the watch tower.
Chief Moka stares at Bobo with wide stunned eyes, the hand holding his staff beginning to tremble. "Huh...?! Bobo?!" Moka murmurs.
A villager says in confusion, "But I thought you were—!"
"Getting stabbed in the chest hurt pretty bad, but you gotta do more than that to kill a demon! Hahaha!" Bobo laughs.
Gray says, "But, on the boat! You just disappeared into thin air—!"
Bobo leaps into the air, making Lucy, Happy, Reina and Gray scream in fright. Lucy hugs Happy tighter.
Bobo's voice calls down to them from the air, "I really hope you kids can forgive me for not telling you the truth sooner!"
Reina's eyes widen in astonishment when she sees Bobo hovering in the air above them, wings spread.
"He can fly?!" Gray gasps in surprise.
Arms crossed over his chest, Bobo tells them, "I was the only one who didn't have any memory loss! I had to leave, 'cause everyone went nuts! I knew I was a demon, but everybody else... Suddenly thought they were cursed humans!" He laughs heartily.
The blue eyed girl stares in surprise at the Son of the Chief.
"Oh, Bobo!!" Chief Moka cries. Black wings also spread out from his back and Moka launches himself into the air towards his son. Bobo's eyes bulge in their sockets when Moka tackle hugs him in the air, crying tears of joy.
"I'm so glad you've finally snapped out of it, pops!!" Bobo exclaims in relief, hugging Moka back just as tightly.
The other villagers spread their own wings and joined the Chief and his son in the sky. They laugh as they cry.
"You're alive!"
"We've got Bobo back!!"
Reina, Lucy and Gray stand on Erza's right. Smiling gently at the sight before them, Erza comments, "Yup! They're definitely demons!"
"Well, I don't know!" They all look to see Natsu approaching them with a big grin on his face. "If you look at their faces, they look more like... angels to me!"
"Awe!!" Lucy murmurs. Reina and Gray chuckle as he and Natsu grin broadly at the villagers. Reina smiles happily along.
"Let's have a feast tonight to celebrate!!" Moka calls excitedly.
"It'll be an all-out demon party!!" A villager adds.
"I don't know if I'm rowdy enough to party with demons!" Lucy says uncertainly.
"Me neither!" Happy adds.
❄️❄️❄️
Later that night, the Fairy Tail wizards sat gathered at a table piled high with delicious-looking food. Reina sits in between Erza and a blue skinned male villager, her plate filled with a bunch of different foods. Lucy and Happy sit on Erza's right.
Nearby, Natsu ate some flames the villagers had gotten for him.
A little bit away from the tables, Gray sits on the floor, drinking a kind of stew from a bowl.
"How are you feeling? You're sure looking a lot better!" A girl says cheerfully as she approaches Gray.
Gray looks up and asks in confusion, "Do I know you?" Before him stands a tall, blue skinned girl with shoulder length dark hair with bangs hanging above her left black eye.
"Maybe this'll help," The girl says. Her body then flashes as she takes on a human form with white skin instead of blue.
"I remember you!" Gray says at last.
"I look a little different now, huh?" The girl says as she changes back. There's a group of girls with her.
"Yeah!" Gray murmurs, smiling.
A girl with long brown hair kneels on Gray's right as she says, grinning, "Just so you know, every girl in our village has totally fallen for you, 'cause we think you're like, the coolest guy ever!!"
A green skinned girl gets on Gray's other side and adds, blushing, "Yeah, she's right! We think you're super awesome, Gray!!"
Another blue skinned girl with short purple hair kneels in front of Gray and says, "But you probably think we're cuter in our human forms, don't you?!"
"Uh, no. That's not necessarily true. I think you ladies look fine the way you are," Gray says honestly, causing the girls around him to squeal.
"You've gotta be the sweetest guy I've ever met!" The girl with long brown hair gushes, jumping to her feet.
"You know just what to say to a girl!!" The green skinned girl chimes.
The first girl who spoke steps in front of them and says, "Okay, that's enough! Why don't you give him some space?"
"Yeah, right! You're just saying that so you can have him all to yourself?!"
"No. I don't!" The ravenette says, glancing to Gray.
Gray glances over toward Reina who is eating in between Erza and a blue skinned male villager. She doesn't eat as messily as Natsu does, but she is eating rather quickly. Gray says, "I'm not really dating anyone right now, but there is this one girl I sort of like... maybe..."
The girls let out excited squeals and gather around the ice wizard as they all bombard him with questions about his girlfriend. Gray tries to explain that Reina isn't his girlfriend.
"Heh! Looks like someone's getting a lot of attention from the ladies!" Lucy laughs.
"They'll scare him off sooner or later!" Happy chimes.
Reina gazes after Gray before she feels a prick of jealously. She frowns at the girls surrounding her teammate.
Lucy notices and grins cheekily. "What's the matter, Rei?"
"He's having fun. Why would I not be okay?" She asks, taking a bite of a chicken drumstick.
"Is that a hint of jealousy I detect?"
"No," Reina says firmly. "Besides, we're not even officially dating. I hardly know anything about him, so why on Earthland would I be jealous?"
"You do like Gray!" Lucy gasps, hand to her mouth. Reina's eyes jerk wide as a blush spreads across her cheeks. "I knew it!"
Happy teases, paws over his mouth, "She looovveeess him!"
Reina grumbles in annoyance, shooting him a glare, "Shut it, Cat!!"
"What are you talking about?! Did you not just hear a word I said?! We hardly know each other, so why would we date?!"
"That's the whole point of dating: so you can get to know each other!" The blonde gasps. "You should ask him out when we get back to town!"
Reina's eyes widen before she looks away. "I-I can't right now. I'm busy."
Lucy murmurs in understanding, "Because of your brother?" Reina sighs as she nods her head. "Still, you won't know how Gray feels about you unless you try asking him! At least just try, Rei."
Reina briefly closes her eyes as she reluctantly agrees, "Alright, if you'll leave me alone, then."
Lucy grins happily, gasping. "Yes!"
Moka says suddenly, looking down, "Well, I have to admit, I was wrong about humans." Happy, Lucy, Erza and Reina, chewing a chicken leg, turn their heads to look at the Chief. "All of these years we've chosen to hide from the outside world. We were so afraid that others would judge us by our appearance."
Bobo, sitting on his right, inputs, "You know the curse? That was just a rumour we spread, so no one would come to the island and bother us."
"Well, it worked, 'cause the sailors at the docks were terrified! Nobody wanted to come here," Lucy tells them.
Moka says, "I know. And it's a shame. But after meeting you, we've changed our minds. You've restored our faith in humans, and now we're not afraid. We're ready to go out and befriend people from other lands."
Nodding her head once, Erza says, "That's good! Friendship is a beautiful thing! It's an emotional bond that transcends one's physical appearance."
While Reina, Lucy and Moka nod their heads once, Bobo chuckles heartily with his eyes closed.
On a cliff overlooking the village, stands Toby, Yuka and Sherry.
Turning to the blue haired teen, Toby questions seriously, "Are you really going to go down there?"
"I have no choice," Yuka responds. "It wouldn't be right to leave things the way they are now. You just stay here with Cold Emperor Lyon, okay."
Toby grumbles in understanding.
"We have to do this! It's all in the name of love!" Sherry states.
Back at the feast, the villagers were eating, drinking, laughing and having a grand time. Everyone stops what they're doing when two figures approach.
"Uh oh!" The maroon skinned man says, noticing the enemy standing not too far away, a wooden mug held in his hand.
"Oh, no! Not again!"
"It's the Cold Emperor's minions!"
Amongst the group of girls, Gray turns, glaring at Lyon's minions. The short dark haired girl asks worriedly, "What do we do?!"
"Don't worry. I'll take care of them," Gray says.
Happy, Lucy, Erza and Reina look up at the arrival of Sherry and Yuka. Lucy looks at Erza and Reina as they stand up. Natsu, chewing flames, flicks his gaze to Lyon's minions.
Reina glares darkly at Yuka and Sherry as Erza asks them, "Can I help you?"
Yuka states, "You Fairy Tailers are tough. Despite The Water Goddess having healed the Cold Emperor, he still didn't make it down here, himself."
"That's why we've come to pay you a visit in his place," Sherry says.
Lucy stands up as she addresses Sherry and Lyon, "Wait just a minute! I thought we were cool! Didn't Lyon tell you guys what happened?"
Yuka responds, "Yes, but that doesn't matter to us."
"We wanted to settle things with you, ourselves," Sherry tells them.
Erza and Reina frown suspiciously at them.
Running over, Natsu challenges as he summons flames around his right fist, grinning, "Alright! Why don't you show me what you got!"
"Wait, Natsu!" Bobo calls. The pinkette glances to him. "Thanks for the help, but we can't keep relying on you. So, let us fight!"
Another villager says firmly, "He's right! We've got these clowns!"
A maroon skinned man says in agreement, "If we want to keep our village safe, we've gotta protect it!"
Reina and Erza walk over as the redhead says, "Normally, I would agree with you, gentlemen, but, I think it's best that I handle this one." Reina hangs back with Natsu as Erza approaches Yuka and Sherry.
"We meet again, Titania of Fairy Tail," Sherry addresses. "You gave dear Angelica quite the beating earlier."
Yuka inputs, "She seems like a formidable opponent."
Lucy calls warningly, "Watch out for that crazy chick! She can control inanimate objects!"
Natsu adds with a deadpan look, "And don't even bother trying to use your magic against ole' Mega Brows!"
"Is that so," Erza says, sounding unfazed. "In that case, I'll do it the old fashion way!"
Erza runs at Sherry first, and brings her right leg up in a sweeping kick, that instantly knocks Sherry backwards. Erza doesn't hesitate before she whirls on Yuka, next. She swings her right arm forwards and lands a solid right hook to the side of his face, that sends Yuka tumbling.
Both wizards went down.
A murmur of awe erupts amongst the villagers.
"Holy...!!" Natsu breathes as he stares at the redhead with a stunned expression.
Lucy says in shock, "She didn't even have to use any magic!"
Reina cheers, "Nice one, Erza!"
Happy chimes, "That's the Great Erza for ya!"
With a deadpan look, Lucy demands of the blue cat, "Would you cut that out?!"
"You're truly an amazing warrior!" Sherry comments as she and Yuka struggles to their feet.
"No kidding!" The blue haired teen adds. "We're no match for you." Behind Yuka, Sherry gives them a smile, confusing everyone.
Lucy asks, "Wait! So, you're not here to attack us?"
Yuka says, "I doubt this is going to make up for all the trouble we've caused you, but we wanted to apologise in person." He closes his eyes as he inclines his head.
Happy states, "Oh, so you came here to settle thing in a good way!"
Sherry says, "The Cold Emperor told us everything. Thanks to you, we can finally let go of the pain Deliora caused us so many years ago!"
Gray asks, "You mean, you were victims of Deliora, too?"
"When we were children, then monster ravaged our village," Yuka explains. "We watched it murder all our friends and families."
"The Cold Emperor has a plan to kill the demon once and for all," Sherry continues. "That's why we joined him."
"You see, we wanted revenge, and we were so focused on getting it, we never realised we were hurting innocent people," says Yuka.
"We were so blinded by our hatred that we ended up acting no better than the demon, itself. From now on, we'll treat other people with respect, and love!" Sherry says.
"Alrighty, then!!" Natsu gets behind Sherry and Yuka, and throws his arms over their shoulders, grinning broadly. "You guys should stick around, and join in on the feast, hey!!"
Yuka says in surprise when Natsu looks at him, "But! We were enemies just a second ago!"
Natsu looks to the pink haired girl when she says, "I don't think it's a good idea, because I'm trying to watch my figure, and—!"
"Enough with the excuses!!" Natsu interrupts as he pulls the two closer to him. "Live a little, would ya?!" He then drags Sherry and Yuka to sit at a table with a bunch of Galuna islanders, much to their surprise. Natsu sits across Sherry and Yuka. "OKAY! NOW, I'M READY TO PARTY!!"
Reina sits in between Erza and Gray, with the cat sitting on one side of Lucy, as they all smile at Natsu.
Up in a tree elsewhere, Zalty is watching the villagers as he crouched on a high branch.
"Were you able to see all of that, Sir?" Zalty asks into the crystal hovering on his right.
"Yes," Replies a man's voice. "Why did you restore the village?"
Giving a thumb's up, Zalty responds simply, "'Cause I'm nice!"
"Some might say too nice," The man states. "You'd better leave before they find you. Those Fairy Tail wizards... They could pose quite a threat were they to get in our way."
Zalty chuckles slightly as he reaches up and removes his mask. His body shimmers and with a pop sound, a woman with long dark hair wearing a white kimono styled outfit takes Zalty's place. "That's true..." The woman murmurs as she stands up, holding the crystal ball in her left hand.
❄️❄️❄️
The Next Day....
Sitting cross legged on the ground in front of Happy, Natsu eats more flames. He suddenly looks around as he asks while chewing, "Where'd Eyebrows and Love Girl go?"
"Like typical party guests, they stuffed their faces and took off!" Happy replies.
Reina frowns with a hint of annoyance as she crouches in front of Gray, her gaze resting on the thin horizontal scar just above his left temple.
"It looks like it's going to scar," She says. "I'm sorry, Gray-kun."
"It doesn't matter to me," Gray replies flippantly.
"On your face?!" Reina says in surprise. She has a scar of her own, over her right eye, from one of her past jobs while looking for her brother after a run-in with dark wizards.
"I don't mind a scar, as long as I can see it," The black haired teen replies. "It's the ones you can't see that sting."
"Oh, Gray-kun...! You're such a sweet talker!" Reina says in an awed voice as she feels her heart skip a beat, a blush on her cheeks.
Gray is smiling at the blushing girl when Natsu suddenly comes over and asks while chewing on some flames, "So, you've got some invisible scars?"
Lucy throws him a deadpan expression.
"Every time I say something cool, you've gotta ruin it!" Gray mutters with a sigh.
Lucy thinks the way Gray and Reina were being was adorable, but then, of course, Natsu just had to go and ruin it.
Natsu asks with a deadpan look on his face, "How is that cool?"
In the village, gathered near the gate, the Fairy Tail wizards stand before the villagers. "What?!" Moka gasps in disbelief. "But, Miss! You deserve the reward, so take it! Please!"
"Thank you, buy your gratitude is payment enough," Erza replies kindly.
"That's nice, but you should take the money!"
Behind Erza, Natsu and Gray fight each other, shoving their hands against each other's faces.
"I can't, because your request was never officially accepted by the guild. It fell into the hands of foolish wizards trying to prove themselves."
"Foolish as they may be, if it wasn't for them, we never would have been saved!" Moka chuckles. "What if I give you the money, not as a reward, but instead as a thank you gift? It's the least I can do after everything you've done for our village."
Lucy, Reina, Happy, and even Gray and Natsu pause their fighting to stare at the Chief in surprise.
Closing her eyes, Erza replies, "When you put it that way, you make it hard to say no." Moka chuckles.
Gray says, "She's really going to take it!"
Flames spurt out of Natsu's mouth as he laughs.
"We rich!!" Lucy squeals, a broad grin on her face.
"I'm sorry. Accepting your reward would be contrary to our guild's principle," Erza tells them kindly. Reina nods her head in silent agreement. Placing her hand on her hip, Erza adds, "However, we'd be happy to take the gate key you offered along with it."
Natsu and Gray shout in disappointment, "THE GATE KEY?!"
Lucy squeals excitedly, "COME TO MAMA!!"
Bobo offers Erza, "Well, at least let me take you back to Hargeon!"
"Thank you," The redhead responds politely, "but I have a boat waiting, Sir."
Bobo and Moka utter at the same time, "Huh?"
The Fairy Tail wizards and Galuna tribe go out to the shore of the island, where a large pirate ship waited for the wizards.
Gray gasps in surprise, "A pirate ship?!"
"Colour me impressed," Says Reina as she glances to the older girl.
Lucy exclaims, "You kidding me?! Did she hijack it?!"
Happy says in awe, "This is awesome!!"
"Ahoy, me beauty!!" A short man with a grey beard and a gold hook for a left hand calls, waving his hook in greeting. He also has an eyepatch over his left eye. His crew let out a ruckus cheer.
Lucy asks Erza uncertainly, "'Me... beauty?'"
Erza replies, smiling proudly, "That's right! They've become quite fond of me."
"That's the Great Erza for ya!" Happy chimes.
"Geez! You're such a suck up!" Lucy complains.
"Ahoy! Come aboard me ship, me mateys!" The Captain calls cheerfully.
Lucy screams, "I don't wanna!! I'm not riding that creepy boat!!"
Grinning at them, Natsu suggests, "If you wanna swim, I'll join ya!"
Lucy screeches, "ARE YOU INSANE?!?!"
The Fairy Tail wizards climb aboard the pirate ship, and wave goodbye to the Galuna tribe.
"Alright, mateys! We setting off!!" The Captain calls cheerfully.
"Aye, aye, Sir!!" The crew calls back.
Bobo calls to the Fairy Tail wizards, "We thank you!! And we hope you guys will come back, someday!"
Raising her arm as she and her guild mates stand at the railing, Lucy calls back, smiling, "Yeah, you betcha!!"
Laughing happily, Reina waves goodbye to the Galuna tribe, Happy standing on the railing.
"So long!!" Bobo calls.
A girl shouts, "GOOD LUCK WITH REINA, GRAY!!"
Reina glances to him curiously at this, to which he gives her a sheepish smile.
"What did she mean by that?" The blue haired girl wonders.
"Uh, nothing! I just told them that we're good friends, is all," Gray lies, averting his eyes. Reina studies him suspiciously before she lets it slide and gazes after Galuna Island.
"Good luck back at the guild!" A man calls.
"Fairy Tail's the best!!" Adds another.
"Come back and see us, alright?!" Yells a third villager.
The pirate ship then sails into the raising morning sun, taking the Fairy Tail wizards back home.
Standing on a cliff, watching the ship leave, is Lyon and his minions. Toby is bawling his eyes out, and Angelica stands behind the crowd of minions.
"You know, they weren't so bad," Yuka says as he stands next to Toby.
"Guys! I'm not crying! I've got something in my eyes!" Toby proclaims.
"Oh, yeah? You could've fooled me!" Yuka mutters.
Sherry glances at the white haired teen, wind gently tossing her pink hair and clothes as she asks, "Are you alright, Lyon? You never got to say goodbye to your friend, and give him the love."
"It's fine," Lyon replies, smiling. He looks up at the sky as he thinks to himself, 'You too were in a guild once. What's it like?'
❄️❄️❄️
In a room in the Magic Council of Era, stands a man with spiky blue hair and a red marking around his right eye. A woman with long dark hair, bangs draping over her right eye, wearing a white kimono outfit stands with inside the open doorway.
"It's quite a shame that Deliora didn't work out," The woman states.
"Yes. It is unfortunate," The blue haired man murmurs. He closes the book on his desk and uses his Telekinesis Magic to send it back to the bookshelf. "But we had no way of knowing the demon was already dead. Don't worry. It's a relatively minor setback. I'll be more thorough, next time."
The woman walks up the him as she says, "Please forgive me, Siegrain, Sir. I had no idea that wench's magic was so powerful."
Turning to her, the blue haired man states, "You shouldn't speak about your mother that way. Don't cause Ur to shed another tear. She was a magnificent woman who was greatly admired. In fact, I think, if she was still alive today, she would be counted among the Ten Wizards Saints!"
"You give her far too much credit! My mother loved her magic, and nothing else. It's no wonder my father abandoned the wench."
"They say the greater the loss a person suffers, the stronger they must become to triumph over it," Siegrain states.
"I highly doubt that my mother ever felt I was a great loss," The woman utters.
"You never know," Says Siegrain. "What if she took on those students to fill the void you left behind...?" He trails off when the woman places a finger to his lips.
"Could we please change the subject?" She asks. "I think it's time for us to move on to the next stage."
Siegrain looks up to see the woman's left cheek is bulging and glowing red, while her nose looks broken. "Ultear, your face! What happened?!"
Ultear exclaims, flustered, "That idiot Natsu and that brat Reina punched me!!"
Siegrain laughs at that. "That certainly is a delayed reaction!" Ultear places a hand on her cheek, gritting her teeth in pain. "So, how was he? Did you find him to be a worthy opponent?"
"I never had to use more than half of my power against him," Ultear responds, frowning at the blue haired man. "But I was impressed. It seems he's getting stronger with each passing day."
"I'm not surprised," Siegrain replies, clenching a fist.
Ultear muses, smiling, "That girl, Reina, sue possesses the Arc of Reflection Magic. I've only ever heard of it but this was my first time witnessing it."
"He is Igneel's son. To realise my dream, we must continue burning brightly."
❄️❄️❄️
Back at Magnolia....
The town's bell chimes as Natsu and the others walk back to Fairy Tail, grins on their faces. While Lucy, Happy, Gray and Natsu walk in front, Erza and Reina walk behind.
"We're home!!" Natsu cheers, jumping up in excitement.
"Aye, Sir!!" Happy chimes, jumping in the air.
"It certainly is good to be back," Reina murmurs, smiling, as she looks ahead.
Gray mumbles as Happy flies beside him, "I'm bummed! All that hard work for some lousy gate key."
"Yeah! And that S-class reward was big big-time money!" Happy adds.
Erza states, "Well, I'm sorry, but it wasn't an official job. Just be glad you got something."
Nodding her head in agreement, Lucy says, "She's gotta point! Now, quit your complaining!"
"That's pretty easy for you to say! You've got a reward!" Happy says, flying over to the blonde. "Can we sell it?!"
Startled, Lucy demands, "How could you even suggest that, Happy?! You guys just don't get it! They're hard to come by! Sure, there are lots of silver gate keys, but there are only twelve gold zodiac keys. And I'm lucky enough to have five!"
Natsu comments, smirking, "It's too bad they're all crazy."
"You'd better watch your mouth, you punk!" Lucy snaps back. "Me and my Celestial Spirits are gonna be stronger than you someday!!"
Reina looks over at the blonde who is walking on her right and asks curiously, "So, which one of the Zodiac Keys did you end up getting?"
"It's Sagittarius, the Centaur!" Lucy replies, giving a thumbs up.
"It's a horseman?!" Gray exclaims, picturing a man with a horses' head.
"Well, yeah, but it's more like this!" Lucy's image is of a horses' body with a man's head as it shoots away Gray's image with an arrow.
Her blue eyes filled with a curious look, Reina imagines her own form of Sagittarius. Her version is of a horses' body with a brown coat and a young-looking, extremely handsome man with sculpted facial features and a very muscular chest, his hair flowing behind him in thick dark waves. In his hands is an intricately carved bow and arrow. The image of the centaur nocks an arrow and fires it with deadly precision, and then rears triumphantly.
Lucy utters as she stares at the bluebette's image, "How did you conjure that?!"
Giving a shrug, Reina responds, "I do like to read on occasion." Though she doesn't like reading all the time.
Lucy blinks her eyes and deadpans when she sees a weird creature in Natsu's own thought bubble. It has a blue body with a tail and what looks like a large pink flower for a head. Lucy mutters, "And that is not even close!"
Erza speaks up, voice serious. "You're all so carefree!" She pauses her walking, and Reina and the others stop just ahead of her. "It's almost as if you've forgotten you face punishment when we get back to the guild."
"But, why?!" Natsu demands.
Lucy gasps as she, Gray, Natsu and Happy whirl to face Erza and Reina.
"Everything worked out in the end! Can't we just forget the whole punishment thing!"
"You're right, everything did work out," The brown eyed girl says, crossing her arms as she stands next to Reina, "but only because I came here and finished a job none of you were qualified to do! Stealing an S-class request is a serious offence!"
Reina nods her head in agreement while the others gasp.
"We said we're sorry!" Lucy tries to plead.
"If you promise that you'll never do it again, then I don't think you need to be penalised by the guild," Erza tells them a sigh, her eyes closed briefly before she looks back at the four of them. "Unfortunately, I don't have a say in the matter. Your fate is in Makarov-sama's hands. So, I'm sure you'll be facing punishment."
"Now, I'm scared! Do you think he's gonna make us do that?!" Happy asks fearfully, causing fearful expressions to settle on Gray's, Natsu's and Lucy's faces. Gray collapses in a crouch, gripping his head with his hands.
"JUST KILL ME NOW!! I DON'T THINK I CAN LIVE THROUGH THAT AGAIN!!" Gray screams fearfully, eyes wide.
Lucy squeals, "YOU GUYS ARE FREAKING ME OUT!!"
Natsu says as he pats Lucy on the shoulder, "Don't let it scare ya! I'll talk the old man out of punishing us! That guy loves me!"
Lucy mutters with a deadpan look, "I don't know if you should be the one talking..."
Reina says in a deadly serious voice, her expression flat, "Natsu. You can't talk your way out of this one." She then smirks evilly at him. "Heh! Good luck!"
The bluenette begins chuckling, her facial expression turning evil, and Erza quickly joins in, causing beads of cold sweat start to form on Natsu's face as a scared expression takes over.
Erza grabs the back of Natsu's scarf and literally drags him along the ground, back to the guild hall. Natsu screams fearfully as the redhead drags him away, "NOOO!! SAVE ME!!! NOT THAT!! ANYTHING BUT THAT!!!"
Chuckling with an evil expression on her face, Reina says to Lucy, Happy and Gray as she stalks after Erza, "See you back at the guild.... for your punishment!!" The Walker's tone had turned low and creepy towards the end, causing Lucy and the others remaining to become even more fearful.
Reina's laughter lingers behind as she heads back to Fairy Tail.
With a fearful expression, Lucy screams, "WOULD SOMEBODY PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THAT IS?!?! I'M TOTALLY FREAKING OOOUUUTTT!!!"