Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

They say that when the stars are the brightest, it means the Celestial Goddess, one of the most powerful beings in the universe, is looking over humanity and protecting them. Her light washes away any darkness, any demons or monsters, that may try to impose themselves upon humanity. Her divine light kept those monsters at bay, keeping humanity safe. It’s said she loved humans so much that many of her constellations are based upon them or take the appearance of them.

So, why did the stars disappear?

It’s been four hundred years since the sky went black at night, the only light ever coming from the moon. The sun stayed, thankfully, as it seemed all the other stars had left them. Humanity was confused. Has something happened to their beloved Goddess? Did they do something to upset her? Astronomers and even astrologers did everything they could to try to bring back the stars, the night sky, or even somehow, the Celestial Goddess, but their efforts were for null as it seemed there was nothing they could do.

Without the Goddess’ light, humanity became victim to the demons she once protected them from. Over the course of four hundred years, so many people have been displaced, victimized, or worse by these monsters. Finally, someone stepped up to try to help humanity, to protect people. About fifty years ago, a man named Ivan Dreyar stepped up, helping everyone in Fiore under one condition… the crown. With his assumed good intentions, a coup was staged in his honor in order to get the crown from the royal family. They were successful and Ivan was crowned king. Now, he’s pushed the idea that the Celestial Goddess had abandoned them, has villainized her, and worst of all, went back on his promise. He protects who he believes is worthy and lets the rest die. The kingdom is worse off now than it ever was before. All the people victimized by the monsters are now victims of King Ivan.

And one of those people is Gray Fullbuster.

“Everything alright?”

On route to Hargeon, Gray sat across from Erza Scarlet, the strongest mortal woman in all of Fiore. She is as beautiful as she is strong—leaving many to question if she comes from some sort of divine bloodline.

“Yeah,” Gray replied, turning to look out the window, “I just hope this lake goddess will be able to help us…”

Erza shifted in her seat, Gray only hearing the clanking of her armor chest plate as she moved. Erza had grown up as a child soldier for Ivan, being one of the most elite of them, only to then turn against him and the empire he had created. Gray admired her courage.

“I hope so too,” she said, “because that will leave us at square one all over again…”

Hargeon was a nice town, but what the two needed to do was head west from it until they hit the lake where this goddess allegedly resided. It was only recently she had made an appearance, which was only noticed because she had been flooding Hargeon. Gray and Erza were more than capable of dealing with some water—Erza with her Sea Empress armor and Gray with his ice magic.

It was of the utmost importance that the two traveled during the day. Regardless of their abilities, the overbearing monsters and demons that lurked at night could become overbearing for anyone. They had a mission in mind and while fighting monsters was something that they were capable of, the off chance that they could fail was always there. They needed to reduce those chances.

The main issue was the heavy rains that seemed to grow stronger and stronger the closer they got to the river. Erza led the way, her armor nullifying most of the onslaught, but the rain kept coming and coming.

“I think I see the lake!” Erza yelled, trying to be louder than the rain.

“Awesome! Let’s go!”

The rain continued and it seemed never ending. In the middle of the lake, there looked to be a shadowy figure. Gray and Erza knew that had to be the goddess.

“I’ll make a bridge using ice,” Gray said, the side of a closed fist placed in the palm of his opposing hand, “then we can reach her.”

“You do that,” Erza said, turning her back to Gray, “I’ll take care of these three.” Gray turned around to see nothing. Oh, awesome. They finally reach the lake goddess and she decides to go crazy. She smirked. “Don’t be shy now,” she began, switching from her Sea Empress armor to her Black Winged armor, “if you boys wanna dance, we can dance. I’m not all that shy.”

Revealing themselves were three men, men that Gray was not made aware of in their investigation of this goddess. Gray shot a look at the men and then to Erza, who seemed all too confident.

“How’d you know they were here?” He asked, “did you know?”

“No,” Erza said, “but they’re not as discreet as they thought they were.”

Well, fuck, ‘cause Gray had no clue they were even there. Regardless, the three men were vastly different in appearance; the first one was incredibly tall and just overall massive. Only half of his face was visible, considering his eyes were covered with a blindfold. The other man was not nearly as muscular or as tall as his buddy. He wore a brown suit, which paired with his green hair kind of made him look like he was trying to cosplay a tree. The final man was probably around Erza and Gray’s age. He had two-toned black and white hair tied up in a top knot. He wore an orange gei, but Gray hated the feather-y boa look that was on it. Like, what the fuck was that?

“We aren’t too scared of you princess,” orange boa said and Gray almost laughed because yikes , he was in for it now.

“If you wish to see the one of the Great Deep, you need to pass through us first,” blindfold added.

“We already passed you,” Gray responded, because technically, they had. The two were standing on the shore whereas the three men were standing closer to the trees.

“Shut it!” Feathery boa exclaimed.

“You shut it!” Gray retorted. Before he could do anything, Erza held her sword horizontal to Gray, stopping him from approaching the men.

“Go to the goddess,” Erza said. The smirk had turned itself into that of a sadistic smile… “I’ll handle these three.”

“Are you sure?”

She scoffed. “Incredibly so.”

Gray took her word for it. By the time he finished talking to the goddess, he’d be able to help her if she even needed it—she’d be able to hold out if any of them posed a problem. He was confident in that.

Using his ice-make magic, he created a bridge. There was a fog that covered the middle of the lake, which led Gray to believe that’s where the goddess resided. He ran to it, wanting to return sooner because even though he was confident in Erza, having her fight while he ran off felt scummy.

The rain still poured and it hit the ice bridge so hard that the droplets indented themselves in it. Soon enough, it hurt to even run in it, but he needed to prevail. Honestly, not even just for Erza, but for everyone in Fiore… for everyone in Ishgar. It was only a matter of time before King Ivan decided to branch out and take over other countries. If Gray is successful, he can save other people from the fate he and so many others had endured under his reign.

In the heaviest part of the fog, the rain was a drizzle. It wasn’t a complete onslaught anymore… but in the middle laid a woman. She had to be the goddess and for good reason. She was gorgeous. Blue, wavy hair that waded in the water as if it were water, white skin that contrasted against the dark blue she adorned herself with. Gray couldn’t really see her face all that well, since he was still a bit too far away and was looking at her from the side. She had only entranced him from just her side, so it wasn’t so outlandish to believe she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Which, again, would be fitting for a goddess.

He was panting, not at all quiet or discreet. He couldn’t help it. He was tired.

“Who disturbs Juvia in her time of mourning?” The voice was melodic, almost like he was listening to a siren’s song. She rose to her feet, the water guiding her up as if it were a part of her. Maybe it was. Standing face to face with her, Gray felt a loss for words. What was he doing here? Is this what it felt like to be face to face with a goddess? She’s just a minor one too. What would it be like to find the Celestial Goddess? “Don’t bother to respond,” she said, lifting an arm towards Gray, “Juvia will deal with you herself.”

Chapter Text

Gray didn’t know what she meant until a pillar of water was sent towards him and the rain seemed to pelt him. Acting swiftly, he used his ice magic on his feet, freezing the water so he was able to walk on it… but it was hard as he didn’t want to fall in. Clearly, the water was her domain. If he was to fall in, who knows if he’d ever be able to resurface?

“Please, I’m not here to fight!” He called out, trying to reason with her. Could a mortal like him ever reason with a goddess like her? Also… who the fuck was Juvia?!

“That’s what all men say to Juvia, but Juvia is done with it all!” She cried out. Gray tried to get closer. Men suck, yeah absolutely, but this wasn’t about just him. He was here on behalf of everyone—women included!

“Water slicer!”

Shit! Gray jumped and dodged, trying to remain unpredictable in his movements, but also trying to move as naturally as possible to stay afloat. It was hard enough to try to move on water, but it was harder trying to be unpredictable in it. He needed to not fall in!

“Ice make—!”

The goddess didn’t give him much rebuttal time. Her next onslaught of attacks came quicker than he was able to cast a spell. Speed and terrain were on her side. He was beginning to sweat. The rain made everything harder than it needed to be.

“Please!” Gray exclaimed, but she had sent a wave that tripped him. He fell into the watery depths and cursed himself for being so careless. He felt the pressure of the water send him down instead of up. What could he do? He didn’t get a good amount of air before submerging, he was going to need to breathe soon. Think Gray, think! What could he do?! Was there anything?! All he could was create ice and—oh. Perfect.

Since ice wasn’t as dense as water, gray cocooned himself into a sphere of ice. This bobbed up to the surface. He opened the top and stared at the goddess, who stared back, seemingly bewildered.

“Usually, you tend to stay under the water when Juvia sends you there,” the goddess said, readying herself. Gray looked at her quizzically. Was… Was she Juvia?

“Pause!”

She looked even more bewildered.

“You cannot just pause a fight!”

“Are you Juvia?” He asked. No point in beating around the bush. He was going to get the answer now before he died, at the very least.

She sputtered, seeming to be caught off guard by this question. “Yes! How are you here for Juvia, but do not know who she is?”

“Listen, we’re just here to talk to you about the Celestial Goddess—anything you know about her is appreciated!” Gray exclaimed. Juvia stood down.

“You… You are not here to hurt Juvia?”

Gray felt his heart hurt. “ No ,” he breathed out. He lowered the walls of the sphere so he could face her without any barricade around him. “I’m just here to talk to you.”

The rain returned to the soft drizzle it had once been when he approached her.

“Then speak.”

Now that he was able to talk to her, he didn’t know what to say. There was a moment of silence, of which Juvia raised a brow. He was just so stunned. Who wouldn’t be? In the presence of a Goddess?

“The Celestial Goddess,” Gray began, finally collecting his thoughts, “we’re trying to find any information on her.”

“Who is we ?” Juvia interrupted.

“Me and one other. Her name is Erza.”

Juvia’s eyes widened. “Titania?” She asked.

Erza, as one of Ivan’s child soldiers, had gained and retained a reputation of being the strongest and was dubbed Titania as a nickname by Ivan himself. Probably because he couldn’t have been bothered to learn her actual name, but that's besides the point. Gray was impressed. He couldn’t believe that Erza’s reputation had been noticed by that of a divine being.

“Yes!” He exclaimed, “we’re trying to find her. We just need your help!”

“Juvia’s help?” She asked, “but why?”

“Well… you’re a goddess, just like her, right? So, maybe you have an idea of where to look or what to do.”

Juvia’s face flushed red and a bashful smile appeared on her face. The rain stopped, which Gray found relieving. 

“Juvia is not a goddess,” she said and Gray didn’t know what she meant by that. Like, yeah, it’s pretty straight to the point, but that also just doesn’t make sense.

“What?” He asked, in disbelief, “you’re lying, right?”

“No, Juvia is just a witch,” she said. The word witch came off a little harsh, as if it had been something used against her time and time again. Maybe it had been. It’d explain why she attacked him right off the bat. “Juvia stays here because it is safe. The element four protects Juvia because she can’t stop the rain and everybody hates Juvia.”

“But Juvia,” Gray began, finally walking towards her. Somehow, his shirt was gone now, but he doesn’t remember taking it off. He met her, hands out towards her, but it was up to her to take them. She hesitated, but she did it. “The rain stopped and I don’t hate you.”

Her hands were soft in his and he finally got a clear look at her face. She was pretty, in every sense of the word, and the fact she wasn’t a real goddess wasn’t something he could comprehend. Her eyes were a beautiful, midnight blue that entranced him. He only broke free from them when she looked up at the sky, watching as the overcast clouds broke apart and drifted away from each other. She gasped softly, seeing the rain leave. 

Has she ever seen a sunny day? Gray didn’t think she had. The joy in her face was almost contagious and he, very momentarily, forgot the mission at hand. She looked at him again, the midnight blue eyes watery with tears.

“Not all the rain has stopped,” she commented, “but Juvia is grateful. Please, tell Juvia your name.”

“My name is Gray Fullbuster.”

“Well, Gray Fullbuster, you have broken the curse placed upon Juvia. She will help you now, with anything you may need.”

Explaining he and Erza’s plan to try to find the Celestial Goddess to finally put an end to King Ivan’s reign, Juvia seemed more than onboard, explaining her own issues with Ivan’s reign and how it affected her. While women like Erza, who used holder magic were fine, women who used caster magic had a tendency to be seen as witch-like, believing that they received their power from the devil, Zeref. This idea was created by Ivan, forcing many woman wizards to be seen differently than their peers or male counterparts, forcing Juvia to go into hiding as her rain was a dead giveaway she was a castor wizard.

“Juvia will take Gray back to shore. Juvia is very sorry for any harm she may have caused you,” she said. Gray wanted to tell her that she was fine and that they could just head back together, but she disappeared. Holy shit. Was she just a figment of his imagination this entire time?!

Nope. The water held him and moved him back to shore and he got there much faster than he did getting to Juvia. Reaching shore, the three men were semi-conscious and tied up altogether, but Erza stood further away, looking at some statue of some kind.

“Oh, wow,” Juvia commented, “Juvia will free them, if that is okay with you, Gray.”

“As long as they don’t attack us, I’m fine with whatever you want to do,” he said, walking away towards Erza. Approaching her, he saw the statue was of a taller man that looked to be a bit older than him and her, but not by much. There was a detail on his face—perhaps a tattoo of some kind on the right side of his face.

“Who’s that?” He questioned. Erza destroyed the statue, with her sword at the sound of Gray’s voice.

“No one,” she stated simply, but all that did was elevate his curiosity. He, however, liked to live more than he liked to question, so he said nothing else on the topic.

“The lake goddess isn’t a goddess,” he said, “she’s a witch.”

“So, she has no information on the Celestial Goddess?” Erza questioned, disappointment evident in her voice.

“I don’t think so… she’s untying her friends now. They’re of no harm; they just protect her from people trying to kill her,” Gray said simply, turning back around to watch Juvia untie and talk to the now reawakening men. “How was dealing with them?”

“A bit of a challenge, but nothing I can’t handle,” she commented. She says this, but has not even a scratch on her.

“She wants to join us, by the way,” Gray said, “to help us find the Celestial Goddess. She’s powerful. We fought.”

Erza looked him up and down, then folded her arms across her chest and nodded. “Yeah, you look pretty beat up.”

“Alright, chillax .”

“Gray!” Juvia called out. Erza nodded at him and the two walked to Juvia together. “Juvia does have some information on the Celestial Goddess, if you and Titania wish to hear it.”

“You can call me Erza,” Erza said, “but we would love to hear it.”

Juvia reached down her shirt and Gray looked away (because he’s a gentleman) and pulled out a silver key.

“The metal dragon entrusted this key to Juvia,” she explained, handing it to Erza, whose hand was out. “This is the constellation key of Eridanus, the river constellation.”

“Why would he entrust this to you?” Erza asked.

“There was a time where Juvia and Gajeel were close friends,” she responded, “he said that this key would amplify Juvia’s powers to protect her. It was one of the Celestial Goddess’ keys.”

“So, we should look for the metal dragon?” Gray asked, hand on his chin, staring at the key.

“No. Gajeel told Juvia that the key, when it was no longer needed, must be returned to the fire dragon.”

“And where can we find this fire dragon?” Gray asked.

Juvia took the key back from Erza, though Erza didn’t look too happy about it. “He lives on an island called Tenrou. Juvia is known as Juvia of the Sea, so she will be able to take us there, though a boat would be appreciated.”

“You know how to get there?”

“Gajeel has given clear instructions to Juvia, that is not to worry about.”

Gray and Erza shared a look, almost like they were to communicate telepathically.

“Alright,” Gray said, “let’s go to Tenrou Island.”

Before leaving for Tenrou, the three went to Hargeon to stay the night. Even though Gray and Erza had left early that morning to find Juvia, they didn’t want to risk getting to Tenrou at night and being bombarded by monsters and demons. Juvia was grateful, as she was able to get herself some supplies as she didn’t really have much.

“What were you mourning, by the way?” Gray asked as he and Juvia looked through a magic items shop. She was looking for a communication lacrima, something Erza stated the three should get. Erza was currently trying to secure a boat.

“Ahh,” Juvia said, sounding a bit embarrassed. “Juvia had just been broken up with a few months ago… he couldn’t stand the rain. He betrayed Juvia too, leading the town’s people to try to harm her, believing she is a witch.”

Gray raised his brows in shock. “Really?” He asked, “that’s horrible. I’m sorry you had that happen to you.”

“Please don’t apologize,” she said, picking up a lacrima and examining it. “It’s not your fault. Juvia was just upset because she believed the rain would never allow her to love anyone, forcing her to live a life alone.”

Gray placed a hand on her shoulder, a small smile on his face. “I wouldn’t worry about the rain anymore,” he began, “it seems to have gone away.”

Juvia smiled at him. “Yes,” she agreed, “it seems it has.”

Erza was able to secure a boat. A small boat, but a very nice one. On top of that, she was able to get them supplies and the boat was fully stocked with whatever they needed! Additionally, she somehow got herself a new sword, a few pairs of new shoes, and dresses. Gray failed to understand why she needed more clothes.

“Seems overkill,” Gray said, picking up a dress that was literally a wedding dress, “who the fuck are you marrying?”

“I could need it one day,” Erza defended, “sorry that I like my clothes while you strip out of yours. Where are your pants, Gray?” He looked down in shock, as if he hadn’t taken off his pants earlier. He hadn’t realized he took them off.

“Shit! Where are they?!” He exclaimed, looking around as if they were near him. Erza sighed, turning to Juvia.

“You’re lucky I got you clothes too,” Erza commented, arms folded over her chest. She turned to Juvia. “You’re free to try on any clothes. Just not the armor. Those are exclusively mine.”

Juvia smiled shyly. “Noted and appreciated, thank you.”

“So, let’s go stay at a hotel and come back here tomorrow morning… early,” Erza said, “we go to Tenrou, find that dragon, and do what we need to do in order to find the Celestial Goddess.”

“If he’s anything like Gajeel, he’s a good person,” Juvia said, but then hesitated. Erza and Gray gave her a look, one that probed her to talk more. She did. “Gajeel does not seem to like the fire dragon all that much… or rather, not much at all.”

Gray and Erza glanced at each other briefly before returning their attention back onto Juvia. “Is there a reason why?” Gray asked.

“Not one Juvia has been told,” she responded, “he advised Juvia to not talk to him, to leave the key on the dock if she were to ever return it. Juvia believes it’s best to find and talk to him if we wish to find the Celestial Goddess.”

“Very well,” Erza said, “again, let’s go sleep for the night and then head out tomorrow morning.” She walked off, Gray and Juvia following close ahead. “If we need to slay a dragon, we’ll slay a fucking dragon.”

The hotel gave them one room with two beds, therefore both Juvia and Erza got their own beds whereas Gray got a cot. It was a mutually agreed upon decision, though Juvia seemed disappointed in something, but neither Gray or Erza figured out what that was specifically. Gray, at the end of the day, was a gentleman. He would not let either woman sleep on the cot. As well as a gentleman, he was a feminist. Obviously, those two needed much deserved rest because if it came to fighting a dragon, they’d be at the forefront as Juvia had a celestial key that amplified her powers making her much stronger than the average person and Erza had… Well, Erza was Erza and that’s an advantage to itself. Sure, Gray was strong and even had devil slayer magic running through his veins, but who was he to disallow two strong women to demonstrate how strong they are?

The three were at Hargeon harbor bright and early, ready to sail to Tenrou. The sunrise was beautiful, adorning the sky with a pink and purple hue that soon turned to the most comforting warm orange.

“Very pretty morning,” Juvia commented.

“That it is,” Erza responded, “but we should focus on getting to Tenrou instead of the sun. It’ll rise again tomorrow. Getting to Tenrou Island is of the utmost importance.”

“Um… excuse me?”

The group of three turned quickly, seeing a girl roughly their age. She had short, white hair that was tied up in two small pigtails and bright blue eyes. She wore a ribbed, blue long sleeved short with green shorts.

“Can we help you?” Erza asked, taking charge and stepping towards the girl. Her arms were across her chest and she had that scary, domineering persona that would scare anyone away. This girl, however, was undeterred.

“I hear you guys are going to Tenrou Island,” she began bluntly, “if you can, please let me tag along!”

Erza’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, but then quickly furrowed. “What business do you have on Tenrou Island?” She asked.

The girl seemed hesitant to answer, looking at Juvia and Gray as if they’d help her. Realizing she had no allies, she sighed. “My older sister and brother are trapped there. I need to get there and try to set them free!”

“And how would you do that?” Erza asked, her glare being sharp enough to kill a grown man. “Do you expect us to help you?”

“No.” The girl’s answer was quick and confident. “I’m willing to do it on my own. I won’t intrude on whatever you guys set out to do on Tenrou Island, but I have no way of getting there. Money is of no object, I will pay you whatever you need! Please, just let me come along!”

Erza held up a finger and turned to Juvia and Gray, who were looking at her as if it was up to her. Ultimately, it seemed it was.”What do we think?” She asked anyway.

“Juvia doesn’t see the harm,” Juvia answered honestly, “if there would be any issue, there’s three of us to only one of her. Also, to be blunt, we have you , so that’s more like five to one than anything else.”

“Yeah, agreed,” Gray said, “your call Erza. We respect whatever you choose.”

“Alright,” Erza said, turning back around to the girl. She could’ve easily heard everything the three said, but chose not to comment on it. Probably for the best. “You can come with. First, though, tell us, what’s your name?”

The girl smiled widely, seemingly happy that she’s finally able to head to Tenrou Island. “My name is Lisanna Strauss. It’s my absolute pleasure to meet you all!”

Chapter Text

Juvia stood at the bow of the ship, guiding it to Tenrou Island while Gray, Erza, and Lisanna all sat in the middle of the deck, talking. Erza was more so interrogating Lisanna about her brother and sister, but Lisanna was a good sport about it.

“How’d your brother and sister get to Tenrou Island, but not you?” Erza asked bluntly.

Lisanna looked off to the side, a bit uncomfortable with the question, but Erza felt it valid to ask. She let out a sigh.

“Well, it happened a while ago,” Lisanna began, “and it’s a pretty long story…”

“We have the time,” Erza commented and Lisanna let out an airy laugh.

“Yeah,” she conceded, “I guess we do.” She looked to the side, rubbing her arm seemingly to soothe herself before she spoke. “Five years ago, I died.”

Gray and Erza shot a look at each other before looking back to Lisanna, neither saying a word and waiting for her to continue. She did.

“I was about fourteen. Mira-Jane, Elfman, and I were trying to get to Magnolia, but I didn’t make it. We were traveling day and night and one night, I just wasn’t fast enough. I was killed.”

Erza gasped, but Gray felt that she didn’t really deserve to act shocked since she asked. He only felt bad for Lisanna.

Lisanna continued, “I don’t really know what happened, obviously, because I did. I know it was relatively quick though. I just knew that I was dying, my siblings watched because they were talking to me and telling me to hang out but I just… I just couldn’t .” Her voice wavered and her bottom lip quivered. She avoided eye contact, but it was obviously because she didn’t want them to see her cry. “I woke up and Mira and Elfman did not look the same. They sold their souls to the dark mage, Zeref, and became the very things that killed me just so they could have me back. Going to Tenrou Island is important to me. I need to try to help my siblings, or at the very least, just be there for them! They sacrificed their humanity for me!” She had gotten worked up, tears streaking down her face. Erza embraced her, trying to soothe her.

“I shouldn’t have pried,” Erza began, “I’m sorry.”

“No, because I understand,” Lisanna responded, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands and then hugging Erza back. “I was revived on Tenrou Island and then sent away. Mira and Elfman had to stay. I think the dark mage is trapping the fire dragon on the island, from what I can remember, and is using Mira and Elfman as his captors.”

“So, we should prepare to fight against a demon and a monster, should we?” Erza asked, getting off of Lisanna and returning to how she was originally sitting.

“No,” Lisanna answered quickly, “ I’m prepared. You guys need to do what you gotta do. All I asked was for a ride there. I plan to stay there until I’m able to free Mira and Elfman from the dark mage.”

“And how do you plan to do that?” Gray asked.

“If I’m the reason they’ve lost their humanity, I have to be the way they get it back,” Lisanna said, “I’ve had five years to think and while I’m still unsure about a lot, I’m positive that I’m willing to do anything to get them their souls back.”

“Does that include giving up your soul too?” Erza asked bluntly.

“Anything you can think of, I’ve thought of,” Lisanna answered vaguely.

The rest of the ride was silent.

They reached Tenrou by noon.

There was an old dock. Juvia brought them there and although it looked worn from time, it seemed sturdy enough to walk on. Gray was the first off the boat, helping Lisanna and Juvia off whereas Erza got off without the need for assistance. Okay, whatever, not like he was trying to be polite or anything…

“Where do we go?” Erza asked Juvia, who shrugged.

“We’ve gone further than the instructions Gajeel gave Juvia,” she responded, “Juvia was supposed to leave the key on the ground in front of the dock.”

“That’s not very helpful,” Erza commented and Juvia sighed, seemingly defeated. “Lisanna, you’ve been here before. Where should we—?!”

“ Leave! ”

After that, the group was attacked. Juvia was thrusted into the water, Gray and Erza hit the beach, and Lisanna had hit against the boat and landed on the dock. She slumped over, leaving the group to assume the hit had rendered her unconscious.

Erza wasted no time and requipped into her Adamantine Armor, blocking Gray and her from the next attack. Their assailant was a demon, clearly. Long, white hair stood up like one of those troll dolls. The demon had a female figure, curvaceous, but clearly strong. There was a scar on the right eye and the eyes were a haunting blue. Black, bat-like wings, reptilian-like claws, and a long, reptilian tail. Gray knew what he needed to do.

He ripped off his shirt, showcasing the mark he had been given for just being born. His birthright became his burden, but he wasn’t going to shy from taking down a demon.

“Ready?” Erza asked. Gray nodded, the mark spreading itself across the right side of his body, staining him. He pushed his hair back, letting out a visible breath.

“Ready.”

Erza let down the shield, requipping into her Purgatory Armor. The two worked off each other wordlessly; years of friendship garnered a sense of truth that worked without the need for words. With just a look, the two could seemingly communicate.

Gray created a sheet of ice that Erza slid across to get to the demon faster. He went the other way to ensure the demon couldn’t flee. They would exterminate this demon!

Erza swung, the club that came with the Purgatory Armor hitting the side of the demon, which sent her flying towards Gray. He had used his ice devil slayer magic to form a spear and he was going to cut the heart of this demon out—ironic that she even had one.

“Wait!” Lisanna cried out. She had woken up. “That’s my sister, please don’t kill her!”

Gray let the spear dissipate, but at his expense. The demon socked him in the face, knocking him backwards and having his back hit against the rocks of Tenrou. Fuck, that really hurt!

“Well, what can we do then?!” Erza called out.

“Let me talk to her!”

“ Fuck no! ” Both Gray and Erza exclaimed in unison.

The demon flanked Gray’s side and was about to go for the kill, but instead of hitting Gray, she found herself trapped in a ball of water. Gray and Erza’s heads turned, looking at the beach to see Juvia standing in the waves, arm extended out towards the demon. She had locked the demon in a bubble!

“ Water lock ,” she said, the ocean’s water dripping off of her, “ water nebula! ”

Gray basically jumped out of the way as two large columns of water went for the demon, pushing her away. It was crazy the power Juvia had and it all because of that key! The demon had been sent away and Gray let the devil mark go back to what it once was.

“Why’d you do that?!” Lisanna cried out, rushing towards Juvia. Gray let out a breath of relief, clearly happy to be alive. Erza walked to him to help him up. Lisanna had her hands on Juvia’s shoulders. “I’m here to help her! Why’d you send her away?!”

Juvia pushed away Lisanna’s hands. “ You are here to help her, but Juvia is not. Juvia is here for the fire dragon.” She walked out of the water, leaving Lisanna there and headed towards Gray. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll be just fine, let’s just focus on what we’re here for,” Gray responded, though his eyes wandered to Lisanna. He did feel really bad. She only wanted her siblings back and he could kind of relate…

After his parents had been killed by Deliora, it had only been him. Up until Ur, an ice mage, took him and one other, Lyon, in. With the help of her daughter, the two taught Gray and Lyon ice magic. When Gray sought out Deliora on his own to prove his birthright, he had been too weak. This led to Ur and her daughter, Ultear, sacrificing themselves to keep the city, along with Lyon and Gray, safe. After that, Lyon and Gray were all each other had… up until Lyon decided to become a knight for King Ivan, despite Gray’s protests. So yeah, even if Lyon and Ultear hadn’t been his biological siblings, he had a sibling bond with them… and it had hurt like absolute hell to lose them both.

He walked to Lisanna, whose back was towards the group so she could silently cry without them seeing, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“She found us once, I’m sure she’ll find us again,” Gray said and he hoped that helped her feeling better because all it did was make him worry, “if she and your brother are to keep the fire dragon captive, I think the logical thing to do would be to look for him. If we find him, we find your siblings.”

Lisanna sniffled. “You’re right,” she said, wiping her eyes, “I’m sorry. I just… I’m just—”

“Don’t apologize,” Gray said and he meant it, regardless of her sister beating the shit out of him, “what’s important is completing our objective. Do you think you’ll be able to do that?”

“Yes,” Lisanna said, tone exasperated. She turned to face him, a renowned look of determination washing away the one of grief. “I’m definitely able to handle it.”

“Great,” Gray said, “let’s go find the fire dragon.”

The group found themselves standing in front of a series of tunnels.

“We split up?” Erza asked, “there’s eight tunnels and four of us, so we should each just take one, right?”

“Awful idea,” Gray commented.

“I’m pretty sure it doesn’t matter what cave you take,” Lisanna said, looking like she was thinking hard about the past, “if I remember correctly, they all lead to the same place.”

Erza’s eyes lit up. “Perfect!” She exclaimed, “let’s go in the first tunnel then.”

“Why the first one?” Gray asked, “if they all lead to the same place, then who cares what tunnel we take?”

“Because I’m leading and I say tunnel one?” Erza asked rhetorically, hands on her hips, “keep up the attitude Gray and then there’s gonna be two demonesses you need to worry about.”

Gray waited for her back to be turned before he scoffed and whispered, “ demonesses? ” with an incredulous tone to Juvia, who stifled her laugh to the best of her abilities.

“Say something?” Erza asked, not turning around.

“Nope!” Gray exclaimed, making a mental vow of silence.

“Perfect!”

The tunnel was well lit for being… well, a tunnel. The group traveled through it was no issue. When they reached the middle, there was something they didn’t expect to see at all …

It was a blue cat…

With wings…

That could talk?!

Gray thinks that maybe this might be where he draws the line for this cursed quest.

Chapter Text

“Whatcha lookin’ at?”

The cat was trying to sound tough, but his squeaky voice just wasn’t doing him any favors.

“Are you… are you the fire dragon?” Erza asked in earnest and Gray had to remind himself that even though Erza was the strongest and one of the most beautiful women in Fiore, she was also the biggest moron he’s ever met.

The cat stared at the group, contemplating his answer, so it was clearly a hard no. Obviously, if someone was something, they would’ve answered by now!

“Aye sir!” The cat exclaimed, an air of confidence to him. Gray wholeheartedly wanted to euthanize this stupid feline.

“Please, take this then, fire dragon,” Juvia said, taking out the Eridanus key. and Gray almost cried. Tears almost streamed down his face. Not only did this stupid cat trick Erza (not hard), but Juvia too? Are they being for real?!

The cat stared at the key, his already wide eyes seeming to widen more, which freaked Gray out way more than Lisanna’s demon sister.

“Where’d you get that key?!” The cat asked, floating into the air with his wings, “humans aren’t supposed to have those!”

“I was gifted it by the iron dragon, Gajeel,” Juvia responded. The cat gasped loudly.

“Oh boy, Natsu is gonna kill him!” The cat exclaimed, but sounded rather joyful about it? With no warning, the cat turned around and started flying out the back tunnel.

“Quick!” Gray exclaimed because no one was moving, “follow that cat!”

The group ran, trying to keep up with the cat despite his swiftness. Erza was very surprised to learn that the cat was, in fact, not the fire dragon and so was Juvia. Lisanna and Gray learned the hard way that they were the smart ones of the group…

Through the twists and turns of the island, the group followed the cat until they reached something akin to an elaborate headstone. In front of it stood a young man. His back faced the group, but his pink hair and white scale scarf were obvious. From the back, he seemed well-built. Gray shot Lisanna a look, wondering if that was her brother. Lisanna looked back at Gray in confusion, probably not understanding why he was looking at her.

“Natsu, Natsu!” The cat exclaimed and Gray deduced that the guy wasn’t Lisanna’s brother. “They have a silver key!”

“Hm?” He turned and looked at the group. He was tan in complexion and had onyx, black eyes. His hair was stupidly styled. Gray, for some reason, already did not like this guy. His dislike felt like it was a biological response rather than one of simple preference. “What do you mean Happy?” He ignored the group of people that stood before him.

The cat landed on him and started whispering in Natsu’s ear and whatever he was saying was pissing him off. Gray did not like the look on his face and he could tell Erza was not that keen on it either, seeming to ready herself.

“So, Gajeel gave you that key, huh?” He asked, attitude clearly present. He looked at Juvia, who still held the key.

“Yes,” she answered honestly, “he gave it to me a few years ago, believing that it’d keep me safe.”

“Well, hand it over!” Natsu yelled, clearly angry, “that key should’ve never gone to a guy like him! He didn’t deserve nothin’ from the Goddess!”

“Yo man, chillax,” Gray said, not fucking with him yelling at Juvia for something she had no part in. “We’re here for information on her, so if you cooperate, we’ll give you the key!”

“Information?! The hell you mean information ?!” He asked and Gray wondered if this Natsu guy was also an idiot. Like… information was information. Clearly, a simple concept.

“Information like knowledge,” Erza said, “about the whereabouts of the Celestial Goddess.”

Flame encased Natsu’s fist as he stared daggers at the group. “And why would you like to know, huh?” He asked, looking ready to fight. Gray readied himself too, just in case. “I ain’t lettin’ anyone know anythin’ about her!”

“Why not, you idiot?!” Gray called out. Usually he was calm and collected, but this guy just rubbed him the wrong way.

“Who are you calling an idiot, whore?!” Natsu called out.

“Whore?!” Gray asked, incredulously.

“Yeah whore! Where the hell’s your clothes?!”

Gray looked down to see himself only standing in his boxer shorts. Damn, no wonder he felt a nice breeze on his legs… he remembered taking off his shirt, but the pants were on from what he last remembered. He needs to stop doing that.

“Is she alive?” Juvia asked bluntly, causing Natsu to stare at her with a horrified expression.

“Why the hell would you ask that?!” He asked, really looking ready to pounce now.

“You’re standing in front of a headstone,” Juvia said, gesturing to what stood behind him. He scoffed.

“That’s for someone else,” he replied simply, “the goddess is alive and I talk to her all the time!”

A silence settled over everyone. If Natsu talked to her all  the time, Gray wondered if the goddess was here on the island. Has she always been so close?

“That’s not very honest Natsu,” the cat commented, lounging on the headstone.

“Yes it is. I speak to her every night,” Natsu replied, sounding earnest. Either that cat was a liar (PROBABLY) or this Natsu guy was crazy (PROBABLY).

“I’m over this,” Erza said, “tell us where we can find the fire dragon, at least.”

Natsu grinned and Gray thought he looked incredibly ugly. “You’re lookin’ at him.”

Immediately, and Gray isn’t very proud of this either in case anyone was wondering, Gray laughed and laughed hysterically. This was just some random guy! There wasn’t anything dragon about him—Lisanna’s sister was more reptilian than this guy was!

“What’s dude laughing about?” Natsu asked, looking at Juvia. She shrugged nervously.

“Juvia d-doesn’t know,” she stammered out. 

“You’re not a dragon!” Gray exclaimed, “you’re just a guy!”

Natsu gasped in offense. “That’s not true, idiot! I’m a dragon!”

“Where is all the dragon stuff?! You’re a human!”

“No! I’m a dragon! I just look like this!”

“You do look pretty human,” Juvia commented, now observing Natsu more, “Gajeel has iron scales and wings…”

“Don’t compare me to that asshole!”

“Well, why don’t you look like a dragon?” Erza asked bluntly and Natsu sputtered.

“Why do you look like a massive bitch?” He retorted, seeming proud. Erza requipped into her Flame Empress Armor.

“Wanna say that again?” She asked, her voice alone intimidating.

“Oh, I’ll fight!” Natsu exclaimed, his body encasing itself in fire, “you’re toast!”

Whoever this guy thinks he is, isn’t strong enough to go against Erza Scarlet. Seriously! Even if this guy was a dragon, he still is going to need help against her. Gray wanted to see this guy fail anyway, so it wasn’t any skin off his back.

Gray moved to the side, gesturing for Juvia and Lisanna to follow, which they did. Natsu wasted no time lunging himself at Erza, ready to make the first strike. He threw a punch, but she negated it. With her Flame Empress Armor, fiery attacks were just not potent against her. She hit him back, sending him flying and slamming his back against a tree. Most would give up after that, but Natsu got up, ready to go again. Maybe he had some sort of death wish? Gray didn’t know. All he knew was that this guy was an idiot—through and through.

“ Fire Dragon Iron Fist! ” Natsu yelled. He had been able to secure a punch to Erza’s gut, knocking her back. She didn’t fall, but she did hit her back against a rock wall. Natsu used this to his advantage. “ Fire Dragon’s Roar! ”

The tsunami of fire that erupted from him was incredible and Gray felt regretful for questioning if he was a dragon or not. There had to be something dragon in him. A pit formed in Gray’s stomach. Would Erza be able to hold against this much fire power? Sure, her Fire Empress Armor was strong and she was strong, but there’s only so much a person can handle before it’s too much… and there was, in Gray’s humble opinion, too much fire.

When the flame died down, Gray felt relieved to see Erza had re-equipped into her Adamantine Armor again, shielding herself from the blast. What was worrisome though was the two front parts of the shield had warped from the heat, melting from the damage Natsu was able to do. Erza wasn’t moving either. The pit returned, stronger than before. Had he cooked her in her armor?!

After moments that felt like eternity, Erza stood, albeit wobbly, but stood nonetheless. Natsu looked at her in disbelief.

“Give up!” Natsu exclaimed, “I’m not tellin’ none of ya anythin’ about the goddess! You humans are the reason she’s gone!” He was getting upset—eyes watering, fists clenched, the works—“She gave up everything for you and you sealed her away! Now that things aren’t goin’ the way ya want it, you want her back?! No way! I’m not lettin’ ya hurt her all over again, even if it means I don’t get to see her again!”

Gray looked to Erza, who switched armors again, but to her Clear Heart clothing. She wasn’t standing down, but she was trying to show her pure intentions.

“Listen Natsu,” Erza said, “if the Goddess is sealed, we want to unseal her, allow her the freedom she deserves. Whoever hurt her isn’t us, we want to help her.”

“Help her so she can help you ,” Natsu said, “I know you humans are sufferin’ because of that stupid king of yours and good . You humans should feel a fraction of the sufferin’ I’ve felt ever since ya sealed her away from me!”

“Sealed her away?” Lisanna asked, which was brave. She stepped forward towards Natsu. “How could we humans have sealed her away?”

Natsu grimaced. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” He asked rhetorically, “why not ask your siblings? They did what everyone else had done—go to Zeref.”

A shiver went down Gray’s spine. So all those years ago, humans and Zeref had teamed together to seal the goddess away? Why? It didn’t make any sense—none of this was. Gray was taught that the Goddess was beloved and only recently, because of King Ivan, she was villainized. What else had happened?

Lisanna was quiet, stepping back. Natsu had used her siblings’ choice, a decision that was made out of grief and love, against her and against them. They made that choice because they loved and missed Lisanna and were heartbroken about her death. What made their mourning different from his?

“Wouldn’t you do anything to get the Goddess back?” Lisanna asked, head held high in confidence as she spoke. “All my siblings did was do anything possible to get me back—something I’m sure you’d do too.”

“I’d die for her,” Natsu said, “I’d do anything to bring her back, but I wouldn’t do it at the expense of her values. I wouldn’t kill everyone or sell my soul or whatever bullshit to bring her back because once she’s back, she’s gonna see me that way. I’m gonna get her back, but I ain’t making the mistakes your siblings and other humans have made. I ain’t sellin’ my soul to Zeref to get her back. I’m gonna do it my way.”

“That’s noble, but you shouldn’t knock down Lisanna’s siblings just because they went to a dark mage,” Erza stated, pointing her sword at Natsu, “if you’re really the dragon you say you are, you’re able to wait for her to come back… if she even does. Lisanna’s siblings did what they thought was best to bring her back and sacrificed themselves for their baby sister. You can’t shit on desperate people making desperate decisions when you seem pretty complacent on this island doing nothing for the Goddess you say you’d do anything for.”

“ I’m trapped here! ” Natsu yelled, fire expelling from his mouth like vomit. He was enraged by Erza’s words. “Didn’t ya fight against Mira and Elfman?! They’re keepin’ me here! I can’t even kill ‘em ‘cause of Zeref! If I could leave, I’d be gone!”

“Well, we’re here offering you the chance to leave and free the Goddess, so are you going to keep fighting against us or are you going to shut up and join us?!” Erza asked, “because I don’t see how you say you’re wanting to free her, but fail to see that the key to leaving is through us !”

Natsu breathed in, seemingly trying to calm himself down. There was silence for a moment before he spoke again, “and what is your plan on gettin’ her back?” No one spoke, proving Natsu’s point, but he spoke again, “well, redhead? Or what about you, emo dude? Hell spawn sister? Blue lady? Nothin’, right?”

“I have a plan,” Gray stated simply. He was going to do something he wished he didn’t need to do… stroke this guy’s ego. “We get you off this island. Surely once you get off this island, you’ll know what to do and instead of going solo, you’ll have this whole group ready to fight alongside you to get the Goddess back.”

“Gray is right,” Erza vouched, “we will be at your command, willing and able to help you unseal the Goddess, wherever she may be. We won’t be able to do it and you’ve demonstrated that you’re strong. We just want to free the Goddess and help people. Isn’t that something she’d want you to do?”

Her words seemed to resonate with him and he sighed, standing down. “Yes,” he replied, “it is something she’d want me to do…” He put his hands in his pockets. “I don’t want ya humans to hurt her again. I know that your betrayal hurt her more than any seal.”

“We won’t,” Gray reassured, finally stepping forward, though he did it cautiously. He wasn’t good with heat. “Erza and I have been searching for ways to bring back the Goddess now for a while. We don’t plan to stop now and we don’t ever plan to betray her once we find her. We just need her help and in turn, that means we are in desperate need of yours. C’mon Natsu, what do you say?” He held out his hand towards Natsu, hoping that he could reach him both figuratively and physically. “Do you wanna save your Goddess or what, man?”

Natsu stared at Gray’s hand and time seemed to slow down around them. Was he questioning whether he wanted to save the Goddess or was he questioning Gray’s resolve? There wasn’t much to question; Gray was earnest. As much as he already didn’t like Natsu, he seemed to know more about the Goddess than anyone else. He was the key to getting the Goddess back. To fight was useless, that wasn’t saving her. Gray hoped that Natsu could sense this.

“I’m in,” Natsu said, approaching Gray and grabbing his hand. Relief fell over the group like a wave. Erza requipped back into her regular clothes. Natsu and Gray let go of each other's hands. “To trust you guys though, you need to prove that you’re serious.”

“What do we need to do?” Erza asked.

Natsu showed off his right shoulder, a weird, red tattoo visible. “You guys need to be marked with this or else you can be killed on this island. Knowin’ Mira-Jane and Elfman, you guys are goin’ to need it.”

Gray and Erza shot each other a look. Fuck. Whatever. She showed off her arm.

“Do it.”

Chapter Text

Natsu explained that the marks on them were marks of Tenrou Island, something that kept him, along with Mira-Jane and Elfman, alive as long as the tree of the island stood tall. Gray, originally, opposed after hearing this because obviously, that meant the mark was of Zeref. Natsu disagreed.

“Zeref might’ve marked those two, but he didn’t mark me. The island’s founder marked me,” Natsu said, gesturing to the aforementioned headstone, “this island was her home first, then the Goddess and I came along and became friends with her. She gave us the marks, not because we needed them, but to show our friendship.” He touched his mark. “After sealin’ away the Goddess, the founder and me tried to free her, but Zeref stopped us. He took the founder, took her magic, and used it to keep me here and kill her somehow. I dunno. I made the headstone for her. She deserves a better one though.”

“Did you give Mira-Jane and Elfman the mark too?” Lisanna asked.

“No, Zeref gave it to them, knowin’ full well if he didn’t, I would’ve killed ‘em by now,” Natsu said, sounding a bit too proud to tell a girl he’d kill her family with zero hesitation, “at first, he had a dragon called Acnologia keep me guard here, but he recently took him away. With a lot of my magic gone, I couldn’t do anythin’ about that guy, but Mira-Jane and Elfman are much smaller fish.”

If Mira-Jane, the demon the group fought when they first docked, was a smaller fish, then perhaps Natsu had been existing in a living hell. 

“Is there any way to undo what happened to them?!” Lisanna cried out.

“Yes there is!” Natsu exclaimed all too quickly, “the Goddess is able to do it. I’ve seen her do it before—she’s helped me ! She’ll be able to bring your brother and sister back to normal, believe me.”

“Helped you?” Erza asked, but that was completely ignored when Lisanna jumped for joy.

“What are we waiting for then?!” Lisanna exclaimed, “Let's get tattooed up and go ! We have a Goddess to save people!”

Erza got a dark blue mark on her right bicep and Gray got a black mark on his right pectoral. Juvia and Lisanna both got their marks on the left side of their left thigh, though Lisanna’s was up higher and white and Juvia’s was in the middle and light blue. 

“Juvia feels like a bad girl,” Juvia commented, showing off her mark, “a tattoo? Who is Juvia becoming?” She giggled.

“I know, I feel so cool,” Lisanna responded, showing off hers. The two girls giggled amongst themselves.

“I thought you would pick red,” Gray said to Erza.

“Why’s that?”

“Cause you’re Erza Scarlet ,” Gray said, giving her a puzzled look. Girl, what do you mean by why ? Come on.

“Oh, haha, no. I like the color blue,” she responded simply and then refused to engage in the conversation any further.

“So, what now?” Gray asked Natsu.

“We leave!”

That was the cat speaking, who came out of hiding. Gray forgot about the existence of the cat, but wished he could return to that state of mind. 

“How do we leave, Happy?” Natsu asked, petting the cat on the top of the head. What a fucking minute dude… don’t tell me the cat’s name is Happy, Gray thought, because that cat does not make me happy.

“We can fly out!” Happy exclaimed, showing off his wings. Gray didn’t understand why his wings looked like angel’s wings when he was a demon himself. He had to be. Talking cats are NOT normal!

“You look constipated dude,” Natsu said looking at Gray.

“Yeah, mega constipated!” Happy echoed.

“Shut up!” Gray exclaimed. God, it felt like hating these two traversed lifetimes, universes, and etc.

“Alright ladies, let’s relax,” Erza stated, standing between the two, “we need to get off this island, but if we are to fight Mira-Jane again, it’s likely Elfman will be there too. They’re probably waiting at the boat for us. We need a plan.”

“I’ll be bait,” Lisanna offered immediately, shocking everyone, “I think I’ll be able to force them away from the boat, long enough that you guys will be able to board the boat and go.”

“What about you?” Juvia asked, looking worriedly at Lisanna.

“I can stay here. They’re my siblings and with the mark, I’ll be able to survive here,” Lisanna said. The group got quiet before she piped up again, “also, I can use takeover magic, so I can always just turn into a fish and follow the boat.”

“Don’t scare Juvia like that!” Juvia exclaimed, hugging Lisanna tightly, who laughed.

“I feel so honored,” Lisanna said earnestly, “that you guys would worry about me, even though I just joined your little group.”

“I wasn’t worried, I don’t care,” Natsu stated simply, but that was ignored.

“You may have just joined us, but we appreciate you and now that you know that the Goddess can help your siblings, we know that our goals are all aligned. We need you,” Erza said.

The sun was setting now, the island encased in the dying, golden light of the sun. Lisanna smiled.

“I’m happy to help,” Lisanna said, “but know that if I don’t make it to the boat, I’ll be rooting for you guys here. Just make sure you don’t forget about me if I can’t make it.”

“Don’t talk that way,” Gray said, “you’ll make it.”

“Meh,” Natsu said.

“Natsu, where are your manners? Lu—” Happy began, but Natsu covered his mouth.

“Where are yours?!”

“It’s going to be night soon, we should set up camp so we aren’t bombarded by more monsters and demons,” Juvia stated. Natsu and Happy looked at her skeptically.

“What do you mean more ?” He asked.

“Well, when the sun goes down, monsters and demons spawn… that’s kind of why we need to get the Goddess back,” Juvia said.

“ Really ?” Natsu asked, “but Mira-Jane and Elfman are the only monsters on this island, and they’re here all the time, not just at night.”

Erza raised her eyebrows in disbelief. “Seriously?” She asked.

“Yeah. It’s just them and me here—oh, and Happy, but he’s not really a threat. Like, look at him.”

Happy gasped, horror on his face. “I am a threat!” He exclaimed, but his voice cracked which diminished his argument.

“We should rest for the night,” Erza stated and no one argued since she took the brunt of the fighting today. “Is there someplace we can camp out? Is here okay?”

“I don’t care,” Natsu commented, “but there is a tent down this way if you wanna go there instead.”

Erza nodded and went the way Natsu said, the rest of the group following—even Happy. Natsu stayed behind.

“Are you going to come with us?” Lisanna asked.

“No, I need to talk to someone,” Natsu responded and then he walked away.

The tent was cute. It had the symbol that the group was now branded with and there were a bunch of tables. Luckily, there were even some cots in the back. Erza planted herself on one. There were only three, leaving only two left after Erza picked one. Gray sighed, resigning himself to his face of roughing it on the ground.

“I’ll take the ground,” Lisanna stated, looking at Gray. He raised his eyebrows in shock.

“Are you sure?” He asked, “I don’t mind.”

“I can turn into animals—I prefer it,” she stated simply, “I insist you take the bed, seriously.”

“Thank you,” Gray said, relieved, “thank you, thank you .”

“Can you be quiet?” Erza asked, a hand over her eyes as she tried to block out the last remaining bit of the sun’s light. Happy laid himself on her stomach and she did nothing to stop him. In fact, she used her other hand to stroke his fur.

“Can you—” Gray shut up when he saw her glare at him, waiting for him to finish his sentence or better yet—shut up. He chose the latter. 

The group sat at a table and chatted quietly, trying to not disturb Erza, but also weren’t tired enough themselves yet to call it a night. Juvia revealed that her body is made up entirely of water, making her immune to most projectiles, but also made it harder to swim since if she stopped concentrating she’d become one with the waves. Lisanna admitted that whenever she can’t reach something, she changes into a bird to grab it—Gray and Juvia felt that was fair. Gray admitted to the girls that he actually doesn’t like iced coffee, which he knows is ironic because of his status as an ice mage.

“Iced coffee is good,” Lisanna defended, “are you some sort of a coffee elitist?”

“Sorry I don’t want to drink a milkshake for breakfast,” Gray retorted.

“Milkshake? You’re deluded. It’s literally the coffee you drink, just cold,” Lisanna stated heatedly.

“Okay, well, do you like hot coffee?” Gray asked, crossing his arms.

“No, but only because I don’t like burning my tongue and I don’t like waiting for it to cool off,” she responded, crossing her arms as well, “once you burn your mouth, say goodbye to tasting anything for the next week. An iced coffee you can drink right away.”

“Juvia, what do you think?” Gray asked.

“Juvia likes tea,” she said with an innocent smile, “and she likes tea hot or cold, she doesn’t mind.”

“God, we have a tea drinker in our midst,” Lisanna said, dramatically throwing herself at Juvia, “we can convert you to see the light!” Juvia held onto Lisanna, laughing.

“What does Erza like?” Juvia asked, looking at Gray.

“Erza doesn’t really drink anything like that. She likes sweets though,” Gray responded, “but like pastry sweets, not candy sweets.”

“That’s surprising,” Lisanna said.

“Juvia thinks it’s cute,” Juvia commented.

“I think that I have superior taste,” Erza stated, surprising everyone since they thought she was asleep. She sat up and leaned forward. “Guys, check that out.”

Erza pointed to the sky. Ever so black, as always since the Goddess had left them, except in one spot. In a small cluster, there were stars in the sky! The group looked on in awe, the first time any of them had ever seen the stars—and for Juvia, the first time to ever see the moon.

“ Wow ,” Gray commented. He hadn’t ever seen something so beautiful. They were like crystals in the sky… He counted seventeen whole stars. They hadn’t been there last night! What happened? Is it because they found Natsu?

“This is probably why the only demons and monsters on the island are Mira-Jane and Elfman,” Lisanna commented, “the stars here keep the others from showing up.”

“Aye,” Happy responded from Erza’s lap lazily. 

Gray hummed in response, eyes glued to the sky. He didn’t really know how he felt. He wished that he could’ve seen the stars with his mom and dad or Ur and Ultear or even Lyon, but seeing them for the first time with Erza, Lisanna, and Juvia wasn’t that bad. Juvia, who was originally sitting next to Lisanna, moved to sit next to Gray. Leaning on him ever so discreetly to look at the stars, Gray’s thought was reinforced; it really wasn’t that bad.

Lisanna got up. “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she said.

“Where are you going?” Erza asked, sitting up on the cot now so she could better look at the stars since the cot was more under the tent than the tables were.

“The bathroom.”

Lisanna didn’t actually go to the bathroom. She went to look for Natsu.

It still bugged her that he said he was going to “talk to someone” when there was only Gray’s group, him, and her siblings on this island. Of course, Happy too, but since he went with Gray’s group, Natsu should , hypothetically, be all alone.

Going to where the headstone was, Natsu wasn’t there. Using her takeover magic, she turned herself into a bird and flew above, trying to get a bird’s eye view (pun!) of the place. She found Natsu at the very top of the island’s biggest tree, looking at the stars she had just been looking at. He was talking, seemingly to himself, and even laughing. Lisanna landed on a few branches below him and then climbed up.

“Hey,” Lisanna said casually as she reached a spot beside him. He looked at her briefly before looking back up at the sky.

“Hey,” he responded, “why’re you here?”

“I wanted to know who you were talking to,” she answered, “should I assume it’s the Goddess?” She looked up at the sky with him.

“Yeah, I talk to her every night,” he said, a faint smile on his face, as though he was happy to do it. “She watches over me so I talk to her. I can’t see her, but I can talk to her. She can’t talk to me, but she can see me.”

“This is what you meant earlier then, isn’t it?” She asked.

“Yes, it is.”

Lisanna turned, looking at him. “So, what’s with the cat?” She asked. Natsu let out a laugh.

“You mean Happy?” He asked, “what about him?”

“How does he have wings? And speak?”

“In a world of magic, are ya really shocked that a cat can have magic too?”

“I’m a friend of the animals,” Lisanna stated proudly, “and I’ve never seen it.”

“It’s something all the dragons have, I guess,” Natsu said, leaning back, “the iron dragon has a black cat named Pantherlily, the sky dragon has a white cat named Carla… or maybe Charle? I don’t really remember. Don’t ask about the light or shadow dragons, I have no clue what their cats look like.”

“What about the lightning dragon?” Lisanna asked.

“The who ?” Natsu asked, looking at her, tone incredulous. “The lightning what ?”

“The—The lightning dragon,” Lisanna said again, looking confused.

“Who the fuck is that?” Natsu asked, looking at her like she had ten heads.

“He’s King Ivan’s first son, Laxus. He’s apparently a dragon,” Lisanna said, “maybe since you’ve been here, you don’t know?”

“Maybe,” Natsu grumbled, “he can’t be a real dragon. He’s a fraud.”

“I’ll take your word for it. He doesn’t have a cat,” Lisanna commented, adding a joke to try to relieve the once light mood.

“Good,” Natsu said.

“So, groups of stars are constellations right?” Lisanna asked, fully changing the subject and looking back at the sky. Natsu hummed in confirmation. “What’s this constellation then?”

Natsu’s smile returned and was much brighter than before—perhaps to match the stars? “This is the constellation draco,” he answered before smugly adding, “ the dragon ."

Chapter Text

It would’ve been nice to get a full night’s sleep, but fate had other plans.

The group, while they were sleeping, were attacked by a large beast. It had green pectorals and stomach, but everywhere else was covered in red fur. Though, it did have long, white hair and yellow horns that came out of its head and shoulders. The beast wore only jeans that were ripped all around, and had the legs similar to what a chicken’s would look like—just not as skinny.

Luckily for everyone in the group, the monster had attacked Juvia first. This is only lucky because although the hit landed, it didn’t affect her. She’s made of mostly water, therefore it was kind of just like slapping the top of a full bucket.

The ruckus awoke Gray and Erza immediately. Erza, who is human, had the recovery speed of a demon. She was ready to fight all over again, and that she did.

“This has to be Lisanna’s brother,” Erza deduced.

“I mean, yeah, there’s only a demon and monster on this island and we already know what her sister looks like,” Gray responded. Erza turned to him, looking embarrassed. He sighed. “What is it? What was your thought process?”

“The white hair…”

“It’s okay, we don’t need to talk about it. Let’s just beat this guy. If he’s here, I’m scared to know where Mary-Jane is.”

“It’s Mira-Jane,” Juvia responded, essentially putting herself back together. It was freaky, yet impressive. Gray had to watch, even though it kind of disturbed him. “And Juvia doesn’t think she’s over here because of that .”

Juvia gestured to the tree of the island, where there seemed to be a bit of commotion. Erza looked up and then looked at Gray and Juvia.

“Where is Lisanna?” She asked.

“I dunno. Did she ever come back from the bathroom last night?” Gray asked, turning to Juvia.

“Juvia doesn’t know. Maybe she went to talk to Natsu? Juvia saw him go towards the tree yesterday, so perhaps that’s where she went too,” Juvia stated.

“I need to get up there. You two can handle the monster—well, Juvia can,” Erza said, smirking.

“Okay, attitude. Not digging it.” Something latched onto Gray’s leg and he looked down in fear only to see it was that cat! Holy shit, get it off!!!!!!

“I’m scared,” Happy said, hugging Gray’s calf.

“Well, we can’t do much with you on my leg,” Gray said.

“Cat,” Erza began, only to be interrupted by said cat.

“It’s Happy.”

“ Happy , is there any way for me to get up there quicker?” She asked. Happy’s wings popped out.

“I’ll take you there!”

Gray never, in a million years, would allow for that funky feline to pick him up and fly him somewhere. Yeah, no, that’s mental. Good for Erza, Gray thought, but no fuckin’ thanks!

“Think we can handle this?” Gray asked, gesturing to the panting monster that stood only a few yards away.

“Easily,” Juvia said, arms across her chest. The confidence that exuded from her was not from an inflated ego, but a sense of righteous pride. She had been the one to almost beat Gray (had he not talked to her, she could’ve killed him) and she had been the one to push Mira-Jane away before. Gray was happy with their chances right now.

He wasn’t one to be a slacker, so regardless of the key Juvia has, he was gonna show up and show this monster (and maybe show off towards Juvia) that he had the fighting capacities that Juvia and Erza had.

“ Ice-make ,” Gray began, readying himself, “ floor !”

The floor under the beast turned to ice. Juvia took advantage of the beast’s imbalance.

“ Water slicer !”

The beast cried out, seemingly in both pain and frustration. He fell over, cracking the ice underneath him.

“ Water lock .” He was encased in water and he had no way out. Gray looked over at Juvia. It was kind of crazy how strong she was. She could easily be considered an s-class mage; even if she didn’t have a celestial key amping her power. “Freeze him over. Let’s be done with this.”

Gray complied, freezing the beast in the water. Since he bore the island’s mark, he should, hypothetically, be fine. That has one down and one to go.

“I think the best way to help the others is to get the boat ready to go so we can leave quicker,” Gray said, grabbing Juvia’s hand and rushing away from the campsite. They didn’t bring much on the island, opting to leave most on the boat. Anything left behind was now Elfman and Mira-Jane’s, Gray supposed.

“Juv—Juvia agrees!” She stammered out, tightening her grip on Gray’s hand and trying to keep pace.

“Mira!” Lisanna cried out, clearly distraught. She was sitting on the ground in front of the island’s biggest tree, seemingly paralyzed with impuissance. “Please! It’s me, Lisanna!” 

“She does not care,” Natsu stated, “so get up ‘cause we gotta fight her.”

“You could be nice, Natsu!” Lisanna exclaimed, “she’s still my sister.”

“No she ain’t. When she looks like that—” He gestured at Mira-Jane, who was readying her next attack, “she’s Zeref’s puppet, not your sister. Learn the difference.” Natsu lunged towards Mira-Jane. “ Fire Dragon Iron Fist !”

“ Darkness stream !”

Dark, tendril apparitions lunged themselves towards Natsu, who tried his best to evade them. Unfortunately, he got caught.

“ Fire Dragon —!” A tendril covered his mouth, shutting down the spell.

“ Soul Extinctor ,” Mira-Jane said, her hands holding an black orb that gathered the energy around them. She was going to unleash that upon Natsu and Lisanna questioned if the island’s mark would be able to save Natsu from having his soul killed!

“ Heaven’s Wheel !”

A rain of swords seemingly came down from the sky, along with Erza, who requipped in the air after Happy dropped her. The swords went for Mira-Jane, who was able to dodge them, but they also cut the tendrils that trapped Natsu. He ripped the one off his face.

“Finally!” Natsu exclaimed, “someone who’s ready to fight!”

“Be kind,” Erza reprimanded, going to Lisanna and helping her up. “Lisanna, please understand that we know that they’re your siblings, but they don’t recognize you right now.” Tears streaked down Lisanna’s face as if she couldn’t come to terms with it. Erza gave her a brief hug. “Listen,” Erza began, “right now, pretend that Natsu, Gray, Juvia, and I are your siblings. We want to make sure you are safe, no matter what, so please do the same for us. We need to fight. We need to fight and get off this island so we can come back and save them!”

Lisanna wiped her eyes and nodded. “You’re right,” she said, though her voice cracked, “I’m sorry.”

“No need for apologies, I’d feel the same exact way. It’s hard to hurt the people you love, but we’re all here for you. This is a small hiccup in the path towards their recovery, so are you ready to fight?”

“Better answer quickly ‘cause she’s coming over here!” Natsu exclaimed. He was right, obviously, as Mira-Jane lunged herself towards Erza’s turned back.

“ Animal Soul, Nine-Tailed Fox !” In the blink of an eye, Lisanna turned from a normal girl to that of kitsune. She punched Mira-Jane back, the animal soul giving her the strength to do so. Natsu looked on, seeming to be impressed by her newfound resolve.

Mira-Jane stumbled back, yes, but then positioned herself in the air, trying to gain the higher ground for the advantage.

“ Black Wing Armor .” Erza requipped.

“ Animal Soul, Harpy !” Lisanna changed into a humanoid bird-looking thing.

“Happy!” Natsu called out.

“Aye sir!” Happy exclaimed, flying to Natsu and grabbing him, putting him in the air with the other women. 

“Drop me on Mira-Jane!”

“Aye aye!”

“What?!” Erza called out, not believing what she heard, but alas, he didn’t answer and did what he wanted anyway. This was aggravating because if Erza wanted to attack, she ran the risk of hitting Natsu or worse; getting him dropped on her instead. She needed to wait.

“ Fire Dragon Wing Attack !” Natsu exclaimed as he hit Mira-Jane. The flame was so strong that Erza could feel it where she was. Happy swerved through everyone, flying to catch Natsu before he hit the ground. Mira-Jane was watching Happy, seeming like she was going to focus on him before going for Natsu. Erza wasn’t going to allow her to hurt that cute little cat!

Quickly, she lunged at Mira-Jane, who was momentarily distracted by her own tunnel vision and slashed. Lisanna then dropped down from above, kicking Mira-Jane down with her taloned feet. Natsu, who was below them, grabbed Mira-Jane as she passed him and threw her into the ground. A crater formed due to the impact, but Natsu wasn’t done there.

“ Fire Dragon Roar !” He was finally able to do the attack and it hit Mira-Jane dead on. She was down for the count, unable to get back up and continue the fight.

“Let’s go to the boat before she recovers!” Erza exclaimed, dropping down. Lisanna followed her lead as well as Natsu.

As the group left, Lisanna couldn’t help but blink back a few tears. I’ll be back Mira-Jane, Elfman, she thought, and I’m going to save you!

Erza, Lisanna, and Natsu reached the boat and rushed on. Immediately, Natsu fell face first on the boat.

“Are you… are you good?” Lisanna asked after he didn’t get up.

“I hate boats,” Natsu said, voice muffled into the wooden floor of the boat.

“You’ve been on a boat before?” Gray asked rhetorically, stepping over Natsu to go to Erza.

“I hate all transportation,” Natsu responded.

“He gets motion sickness,” Happy stated.

“But you flew him just fine,” Erza said, sounding confused.

“Well, obviously. I’m not transportation, I’m his buddy!” Happy exclaimed confidently. No one questioned him—it didn’t seem worth it.

On the island, the group noticed a stream of darkness erupt roughly from where they left Mira-Jane.

“Juvia, get the boat moving— now !” Erza exclaimed. Juvia obeyed and created a wave that moved the boat away from the island as fast as she could.

“What’s stopping Mira-Jane from flying off the island after us?!” Gray asked, looking at the island worriedly.

“Zeref put a magical barrier that keeps her and Elfman on the island,” Happy explained, “so Natsu and I aren’t affected by it ‘cause he put that barrier on after he made those two specifically.”

“How far out do we have to be before she can’t follow?” Juvia asked.

“We should be fine here,” Happy said, “the barrier starts at the island’s shore.”

“Phew.” Juvia slumped down and sat on the floor. “Juvia is very tired.”

“Well, don’t you have the key to help you?” Erza asked, 

“Yeah, but it only helps with Juvia’s magic power, not Juvia’s energy. She did not sleep well, you know, because she had been stomped on,” Juvia responded.

“Why do you talk like that?” Happy asked, walking over to Juvia and sitting on her lap. Juvia couldn’t find it in herself to say something snarky to such a cute little kitty and pat his head.

“Juvia does not know.”

“Lay off, cat,” Gray warned.

“Lay off, ice princess,” Natsu grumbled, though he sounded absolutely miserable. Gray didn’t bother to respond.

“What key do you have?” Happy asked Juvia, wiggling himself into her arms. She liked his blue color. “I have a few too!”

The group grew silent and looked at Happy. He didn’t seem to like that and hugged onto Juvia like she would protect him. It felt like she would, considering she hugged him back.

“What do you mean you have keys?” Erza asked, “which keys do you have?”

“They’re my keys,” Natsu corrected possessively, using all his strength to sit upright even though he was sickly green in the face. Gray stood away from him, afraid to be in the “splash zone,” if you’re catching my drift. “When we dock, I will show them.”

“What should we do when we dock?” Lisanna asked, “like, what’s next?”

“I don’t know,” Erza said, “maybe go to Magnolia?” She turned to Gray. “We should check in with Makarov, see if he has any information for us.”

“ No ,” Natsu grumbled and the group focused their attention back on him. He swallowed thicky and Gray couldn’t help but be fucking disgusted by it. “We need to go to the Heartfilia Konzern.”

“The what?” Erza asked.

“I know the way,” Natsu said, “just… just let’s dock first please .”

Erza and Gray shared a look, which they ultimately nodded to each other. Their next stop was going to be the Heartfilia Konzern… whatever that may be.

Chapter Text

The group finally reached Hargeon and Natsu jumped off the boat so fast he almost fell into the water. Luckily, Happy pushed him onto the boardwalk before that could happen. The rest of the group followed after, though they made sure to take their time to ensure their safety, unlike Natsu.

“So, what other keys do you have?” Erza asked Natsu as Lisanna helped him up. Natsu gave Erza a hesitant look before answering.

“Let’s not talk about it here,” Natsu responded. He looked around nervously. “Who knows who’s listening?”

“Paranoid much?” Gray asked rhetorically.

“No, Natsu is right,” Erza interrupted before Natsu come up with a retort. “Let’s go to the Hargeon Inn and regroup. We can discuss Natsu as well as relax a little bit. Juvia looks like she needs a little R&R.”

Erza was right. Juvia looked like she got hit by a truck. She had been the one that guided the boat all the way back to Hargeon, trying to do it quickly so Natsu would stop complaining to make sure Gray didn’t kill him in aggrovation.

“Juvia would appreciate it,” she said softly. Gray went to Juvia said, offering his arm for her to hold onto. She took it happily.

“Aye sir!” Happy exclaimed, resting on top of Natsu’s head, “I’ve never been to an inn! What is it? A hole in the ground? Haha!”

Gray wanted to take that little cat and punt it so—oh, Juvia laughed. He guessed it was a little funny.

“No,” Erza responded, “just a place to relax. Let’s go.”

The group went to the inn and got two rooms. One for Juvia to rest up in and whoever else needed to relax and then the other to debrief and discuss their new plan. The rooms connected by a door on the inside, which worked out well.

“Alright Natsu,” Lisanna said. She sat on one of the beds and Natsu sat on the other with Erza. Gray sat on a chair that was next to the aforementioned connecting door. “Show up the keys.”

“Would it kill ya to say please?” Natsu grumbled, but motioned towards Happy to come over to him anyway. Happy happily (ha) obliged, plopping himself onto Natsu’s lap and waited for Natsu to go through his little rucksack. He pulled out a handful of keys, the group awing at the number, but especially the few golden ones.

Juvia’s key had been silver and although pretty, was vastly different than the intricate golden ones. Her key had been celestial, but generic. While the silver shimmered and shined in a way to suggest that it’s not any run-of-the-mill key, the golden ones were different from one another in design and details.

“I have Lyre, the Southern Cross, the Little Dog, the Clock, and the Compass, which are all the silver keys here,” he said, showing them, “and then the only gold ones I have are the Lion, the Bull, and the Archer.”

“Wow,” Lisanna said, looking in awe, “can I… can I hold one of the golden ones?”

A silence fell over the room, everyone waiting for Natsu’s answer. He looked at Lisanna tentatively, like he was worried about handing over one of the keys. Maybe he was. These seemed to be all he had left of his beloved Goddess. Would he really be letting just anyone hold them? Gray held his breath subconsciously, as if he was worried that breathing would get in the way of getting to know how this would play out.

“... Sure,” Natsu finally responded, placing a golden key in Lisanna’s hand. He had handed her the Bull.

“So, what does this key do? Make you stronger?” She asked.

“What do you mean?” Natsu asked, “these are the keys to the celestial realm, where all the spirits live. You summon the spirit with it… duh . They are keys to the universe .”

“Then why does the key Juvia have amplify her magic power?” Lisanna asked, handing Natsu back the key, which he took back all too quickly.

“Uhhh, I dunno, I’m not L—the Celestial Goddess,” Natsu said, stumbling over his words.

Erza looked at the keys, gesturing towards one of the silver ones, which Natsu seemed a little more lenient in lending out. Holding the key of the Little Dog, she requipped into her Flight Armor. Natsu looked startled, almost getting up to take the key away from her, but he calmed himself.

“Dogs are fast right? Do you think this will make me even faster when I’m requipped into this armor?” Erza asked aloud.

“Well, don’t test that theory in here, go outside,” Gray said simply.

“Absolutely not, give that back to me,” Natsu said, holding out his hand. Erza relented and handed it back. “We can just wait for Julia to wake up and ask her.”

“ Juvia ,” Gray corrected.

“I don’t wanna hear you correct anyone’s name after calling Mira-Jane Mary-Jane ,” Erza commented.

“Alright, chillax,” Gray responded.

“How do you summon a spirit?” Lisanna asked.

“With Celestial magic,” Natsu said, “it’s a lost magic, kinda like mine. The Heartfilia Konzern is where the remainin’ mages are. They should still be alive.”

“Should?” Erza asked.

“Well, two of ‘em are relatives of the Goddess, so I dunno if they died of old age or somethin’,” Natsu responded simply.

“That’s awful,” Gray commented.

“You’re awful, stripper.”

Gray looked down. Shirt was gone, yet again. He groaned and stood up, opening the door to the conjoining room and walking in there. He came back minutes later in a shirt.

“How many shirts do you go through? Like, actually?” Natsu asked and no one could tell if he was being genuine or sarcastic.

“Leave me alone,” Gray said, closing the door quietly behind him, “so, Heartfilia Konzern, what are we to expect?”

“It’s like a big house,” Natsu said, “very nice. I dunno. The Goddess lived there, but she spent most her time with me.”

“On Tenrou?” Erza asked.

“Sometimes, yeah, but we never stayed in one place for very long,” he said. He looked more relaxed, as if he was reminiscing over the fond memories. “We would go everywhere together. Her, me, and Happy. Right buddy?”

“Aye sir!”

“Really?” Lisanna asked. She reached over and stroked Happy’s blue fur. “What was she like?”

“She’s the best! She’s like my mom!” Happy exclaimed, going to Lisanna’s lap. “I didn’t really like her when I first met her though.”

“Really?” Erza asked this time, surprised.

“Yeah, I thought Natsu liked her more than me and I didn’t like that at all, but now I know that Natsu likes her a different way. He likes~ her!” He said, sounding a bit obnoxious during the final sentence.

“Awh!” Lisanna exclaimed, hugging Happy tightly, “you’re such a cutie pie!”

Gray thought that was delusional. A truly, insane thought, actually. That cat was the devil incarnate, he was sure of it.

“Wait,” Erza said, catching everyone’s attention, “if the Goddess has family, can’t they just put the stars back in the sky? Aren’t they all Gods?”

“No,” Natsu answered right away, “Anna and Layla are technically goddesses, but the Celestial Goddess is literally the goddess of space . She’s the one who does the night sky and stuff. Anna is the goddess of time… I think? I’m pretty sure, anyway, and Layla is the Celestial Goddess’ mom, actually. So I think she’s like a goddess of like… moms.”

“So a time goddess and a maternal goddess?” Erza asked to clarify.

“Yeah, if I remember correctly.”

“How do you not remember correctly, if you and the Goddess were together?” Gray asked, “also, is her mom and her other family member have names, shouldn’t she have a name.”

“Who? The Celestial Goddess?” Natsu asked.

“Yeah.”

“Oh, yeah, she has one.”

Lisanna rose her eyebrows. “Really? Then what’s her name?”

Natsu scoffed. “I’m not sharin’ that with some humans. Who knows what you’ll do with it?”

“Huh? Haven’t we proved ourselves enough getting you off the island?” Lisanna asked.

“And I gave you guys a little treat by showin’ you her keys. You don’t need to worry about her name,” Natsu responded, leaning back on the bed, “if we free her, then you can know her name ‘cause she’ll introduce herself to ya.”

“That’s gotta be—” Gray began, but Erza interrupted.

“Fair.” Gray looked at her like she was crazy, but he didn’t say anything when he saw the look on her face. It was one of fondness—perhaps she appreciate his dedication to the Goddess, how he was protective of her identity and keys. “We’ll let you have her name to yourself until we get her back.”

Natsu smiled. “Thanks.”

The door to the other room creaked open and the group turned to see Juvia standing there, clearly having just woken up.

“What did Juvia miss?”

Natsu has decided that trains are evil and riding them sucked, expontentially. Lisanna graciously offered her shoulder to lean on, which he took advantage of.

“How… How much longer?” He asked pathetically.

“About an hour, right?” Lisanna asked, looking towards Gray.

“Nope, we’re getting off before we hit Crocus, so probably forty-five minutes,” Gray answered.

“Yay!” Juvia exclaimed. She was sitting next to Gray. “Juvia is very excited to see the Heartfilia Konzern.”

“I am as well,” Erza responded, who smiled. “I am excited to see what it looks like. I’m sure it’s beautiful!”

The Heartfilia Konzern was very beautiful. Also, it was fucking huge.

Erza couldn’t really believe how big it was, but also seemingly vacant. As if no one had come here in centuries, which doesn’t make sense considering how large the land was. The manor in the middle of the land is what stuck out, but Erza couldn’t help but look around the garden. It was well groomed with many different plant life. She couldn’t really believe that the Goddess didn’t stay her all the time.

Natsu waltz through like he owned the place and perhaps his previous time here made him feel like he did. He knew exactly where to go, looking like he was even bored too.

“It’s so nice here!” Juvia exclaimed to Gray, “maybe if there is time, we can look around the garden more…”

“It ain’t that nice,” Natsu said, “it’s much prettier at night, or well, it was prettier at night.”

“I could only imagine,” Lisanna said, thinking back on the previous night with the stars in the sky. As the sun began to set over the land, she could only wish that she could see that constellation again.

“We better move faster,” Erza commented.

“Shouldn’t we be fine?” Gray asked, “this is where she lived.”

“Yeah, well, someone’s been following us for the past few miles. I’d rather get inside than deal with it,” Erza grumbled to him. Gray couldn’t even turn around as Erza knew he was going to do that and grabbed his head.

“ Ow ! That hurts, let go!”

“Then don’t turn around, idiot!”

“Huh?” Natsu asked, turning around to face them. His expression hardened as he looked past them, even pushing through the two. “Hey! Who the hell are you?!”

Now Gray got to turn around and he could clearly see a curvacous woman, wearing only vines and flowers, a rose covering her eye.

“I’m Imitatia,” she said simply, putting herself in a readying stance, “and you all are trespassing .”

Chapter Text

Imitatia stared intensely at the group, probably trying to concoct some sort of plan. Natsu wasn’t willing to wait though and went straight for her, fist engulfed in flames. He was going to pummel her into the ground, let her become one with the dirt once he reduces her to ashes, and find the Goddess. He couldn’t stand any more things in his way.

Tenrou Island should’ve been his one and only obstacle, but humans always have to make things so hard . Though, humans shouldn’t be here… so who was Imitatia? Did it matter? When he pulls her apart, leaves her for dead, would her identity ever matter to him? He would question when he became so cold, but he knows when that happened. The irony in the fire dragon being cold is something he thinks his lost love would point out.

“ Fire Dragon Wing Attack !”

Imitatia shielded herself with a flower-shaped shield. She pushed Natsu off and away from her then pulled a rose sword from the shield. She pointed that sword at Natsu, but then chose to attack him with a spell instead.

“ Cilice !” Vine erupted from the ground, trying to trap Natsu. He moved back, trying to dodge them all and created more space in between him and Imitatia.

“ Water Slicer !”

The vines were cut down by Juvia’s magic, officially adding Juvia to the fight. In the corner of Natsu’s eye, he saw Erza requip. He didn’t know the names of her armors and didn’t really care to know either.

“Give up,” Erza said, pointing her sword at Imitatia, “there are more of us than there are of you. You can’t truly believe you’ll win against us, do you?”

“I can easily win,” Imitatia stated. She took her sword and cut off her own arm, startling the group and stunning them to silence. What was worrying was the lack of blood… or care she had regarding the whole thing. Well, it made sense because she picked up her arm and put it back on. “I’m a doll created by Heartfilia and a vessel used by her family to protect them. Do you think you all can stand a chance against something you can’t hurt? Something you can’t destroy?”

“I’ll make sure there’s nothing left of you!” Natsu cried out.

“Oh please, Fire Dragon, you made the same threat against your brother and look what happened—Heartfilia was taken from you and you were imprisoned. I’m not really all too worried about you, she seems more like a threat,” Imitatia said, then gestured towards Erza.

“Who the hell do ya think you are to talk to me like that?!” Natsu yelled, lunging at Imitatia and ready to prove that he was going to kill her and she would be nothing, like she already was. He had never met Imitatia so how dare she act like she knew him?!

“ Fire Dragon— !”

“ Heaven’s Wheel! ”

A barrage of swords rained down, forcing Natsu to move away from Imitatia and Imitatia away from Natsu. The perpetrator, emphasis on traitor , Erza, looked at both Natsu and Imitatia, as if she was against both of them. Was she? Had Natsu trusted them all too soon?

“Fighting is going to get us nowhere,” Erza stated simply and confidently, “Natsu and the rest of us are here to try to free Heartfilia— ” She was unsure if this was the Goddess or not, Imitatia seems to only reference her that way, “from wherever she is sealed. We just need your help.”

A silence fell over the battle, the only thing heard was Natsu’s harsh breathing which came from anger and not from the fight. Imitatia looked contemplative, as if she was thinking Erza’s words through. Erza hoped that she was, but she didn’t expect it.

“Natsu?” A hushed, surprised voice asked from behind the group, “is that you?”

Standing at the doorway of the manor was an average height, blonde woman who looked to be in her late 30s or early 40s. She wore an extravagant, pink dress and wore pearl jewelry.

“Layla?” Natsu asked, surprised. He turned to face the woman, his face lighting up. “ Layla! ”

“Gonzales, stand down,” the woman, Layla, said. She picked up the skirt of her dress and rushed over to Natsu, embracing him. “Oh my! It’s been all too long without you coming by every now and again,” she said, tears pricking her eyes. She let go of Natsu and looked at his face. “Oh, you look so tired. Please, come in—all of you, please come in!”

Erza eyed Imitatia, but she had switched outfits from the vines she wore to a pink dress and looked a lot more… docile . Erza faced forward, following the group inside.

“Ever since her disappearance, Gonzales has gained a human form. She’s been protecting the Konzern from outsiders for four hundred years. She never met you as is, so please don’t take her actions against you to heart,” Layla explained to Natsu as everyone walked through the Heartfilia Manor. It was absolutely gorgeous and Lisanna couldn’t help but be astounded.

“Gonzales was her doll, right?” Natsu asked to clarify.

“Yes. Though, Gonzales is trying to convince us that her name is Michelle now.”

“Michelle Lobster,” Imitatia piped up from behind the group, seeming like she was keeping an eye on all of them still.

They entered a sitting area and Layla gestured for them all to take a seat, which they did. Natsu stood.

“We’re not staying long,” Natsu said, “‘cause we’re gonna free Heartfilia.”

Layla looked at him quizzically.

“He refuses to tell us the Goddess’ name,” Lisanna piped in, assuming that she was confused about that.

“Ah, I see,” Layla said, “I can’t say that I blame him. It was you mortals that sealed my daughter away.”

A thick, uncomfortable silence laid on the shoulders of the group, who all shared some looks. Okay, they get it. Humans fucked up, but that was people from four hundred years ago… can’t this group be the exception? They’re trying to free her!

“I know what to do to free her,” Natsu said confidently, “I just need your keys.”

“Then I should call in Anna and Heartfilia’s acolytes. The three of us have golden keys—which I’m assuming is what you’re asking for.”

“Juvia has a question,” said none other than Juvia, “what are the point of the keys? Natsu said that they are the keys of the universe, but if Heartfilia is the universe, Juvia does not understand their importance.”

“The keys,” another woman said, walking in. She looked eerily similar to Layla, though seemingly a bit older, “are Heartfilia. If all twelve are together, then Heartfilia will appear. That’s why so many different people have her keys. I have Aquarius, Layla has Capricorn, and Yukino here,” she moved to the side and gestured to the young, white haired girl that stood behind her, “has Libra and Pisces.”

“Anna!” Natsu exclaimed excitedly, practically vibrating in his spot.

“Hello Natsu, it’s so great to see you again,” Anna responded, opening her arms for a hug, which he happily obliged. “How is my favorite student? It’s good to see that the scarf I made you has stayed in good condition.”

“I’m great now that I’m off that goddamn island!” Natsu exclaimed, voice kind of whiny. Gray was going to bring this up later. “Now I’m gonna save Heartfilia… so I need ya keys.”

“Not all the keys are here,” spoke Yukino timidly, “Sorano took Scorpio, Gemini, and Aries. We haven’t seen her in years.”

“Sorano?” Erza asked, sounding confused.

“What do you mean?! We need all the keys!” Natsu exclaimed.

“Even then, we’re still missing other keys. Leo, Sagittarius—” She began, but Natsu interjected.

“I have Leo! Sagittarius and Taurus too!” He exclaimed. Layla smiled.

“Even then, Virgo and Cancer are still missing,” Layla stated remorsefully, “Heartfilia did not leave all her keys with us.”

“Is there any idea who has them?” Gray asked.

“Juvia knows that the literary goddess, Levy, has Virgo,” Juvia stated. Anna looked surprised.

“You’re a friend of hers?” She asked.

“We share a… mutual friend,” Juvia said simply, “Juvia is friends with the iron dragon.”

“Oh Gajeel!” Anna exclaimed. Natsu pouted. Gray took note of that. “It’s been far too long without seeing him either. Do you know how he is doing?”

“He and Levy are married now!” Juvia exclaimed, “they live in the mountains near Magnolia. Last Juvia heard, they might be expecting a baby.”

“Poor Levy, her kid is gonna be ugly,” Natsu commented. Anna sighed.

“Still mean to Gajeel, I see?” Anna asked.

“It’s deserved.”

“Are you at least nice to the little ones? Wendy? Sting? Rogue?” Anna asked.

“I haven’t seen ‘em in like four hundred years, so I guess so?” Natsu replied. Anna sighed again.

“Well, we will give you our keys,” Anna decided, taking out her Aquarius key and handing it to Natsu, “the only key you will not know the owner of is Cancer, though I can’t imagine trying to find Sorano. I don’t know where that girl is…”

“We’ll find her,” Erza stated confidently, “we’ve already found Natsu, I’m sure that we’ll be able to find anyone else we need to find and I’m sure we’ll be able to find that missing key.”

Layla smiled, though her eyes were teary. “I have faith in you,” she said, voice wavering. She placed the key of Capricorn in Erza’s hand, closing Erza’s hand around it. “Please,” she seemed to whisper only to Erza. Maybe she could sense that Erza was the most battle competent in the group—other than Natsu, of course, “please bring back my daughter.”

Erza felt her eyes begin to water a bit too. A mother’s love never dies, she supposed. Even though Heartfilia was the strongest being in the universe, Layla only saw her as her daughter and wanted what any mother would want—her return and safety. Erza nodded.

“We will,” she promised, “or we will die trying.”

Erza and Gray started this quest because they were sick of seeing the suffering caused by King Ivan’s false promises and inability to keep the people of the kingdom safe. She saw firsthand his neglect and she refused to be an active participant in it, but also refused to sit by and do nothing. Even if the rest of the group were to die in this escapade, she would keep moving and keep going until she fulfilled her mission or she was relieved of it—by being killed. No sickness, no injury, nothing would stop her. The fates can do what they want, but they should know Erza’s fate, no matter what, is to do what she needs to do. If that goes against their plan, they will have to rewrite it.

“So now we have to go find Gajeel, right?” Natsu asked, “and take his wife’s key?”

“We can ask for her key,” Gray chastised, “do you have no manners?”

“Anna taught me manners, so you’re going to tell her that she did a bad job?” Natsu asked, an awful smirk on his face as he checkmated Gray. Gray wanted Natsu dead.

“Maybe I did,” Anna said, surprising both Gray and Natsu. Gray shot back the same smirk at Natsu, only for Natsu to cross his arms and grumble.

“Whatever!” He exclaimed. He punched into his own fist. “I’m getting all fired up!” Gray immediately looked at Erza, shooting her a look of really? Erza shrugged in response. “We’re getting close to freeing her and the sooner we get outta here, the sooner we get more keys!”

“Stay for the night, at least,” Layla offered, “since my daughter’s disappearance, monsters and demons spawn all over. It’s not safe for you all to venture out at night.”

“I can deal with ‘em! And so can all of these guys too! I gave ‘em the Fairy Tail mark!” Natsu exclaimed happily.

“Yes, but do you want to waste your energy on demons and monsters when you can spend that energy on Heartfilia?” Anna reasoned. Natsu seemed to relent. Gray was going to have to ask her for some advice on how to get Natsu to ease up. “Come on. We have the extra space. Yukino will show you all the rooms you can reside in. Think of this as our gratitude. The journey you all have ahead of you won’t have these luxuries.”

“Juvia wishes to stay,” Juvia commented.

“I second it,” Lisanna added.

“Alright, so it’s settled,” Erza said, crossing her arms over her chest, “we’ll stay. We’re leaving early for Magnolia tomorrow.”

Though Gray wouldn’t admit it, he kind of agreed with Natsu. The sooner they leave, the sooner they could get shit done. Whatever. He won’t bitch about a bed to sleep in. Who knows the next time he’ll get the chance to sleep in the manor of a goddess?