Far from the palace, back in the docks of the Fulmen's port, was the ship that Fairy Tail and the other guilds had come in. In all respects, it was a normal ship, with it's own kitchen, dining room, quarters, and everything. However, the previous owner had loved the ship with quite a fierceness in his heart. In fact, out of respect to an old pirate legend, the ship had been named The Going Merry. She even had her prow carved in the shape of a cheerful goat like the ship of legend.3
As it so happened, The Going Merry still had a few passengers in her food galley....passengers, who actually weren't supposed to be in there.1
Kuroko Shirai, Saten Ruiko, and Uiharu Kazari were currently sitting on the floor of the storage area debating whether they should go out or not.
"I think it's time." said Saten. "I mean, we can't stay here forever, or we'll miss everything!"
"But if we move out only after 3 days she'll definitely send us home!" said Kuroko. "We need to wait until Sissy is too into this job to mind before we go out."
"I think three days is enough Kuroko..." said Uiharu as she clutched her stomach hungrilly. "I mean, we're almost out of food in here."
When Mikoto had first been sent that fateful job request, Kuroko had been pretty suspicious. She had gone with Mikoto to the guild hall numerous times and seen exactly how a job was taken. To be sent a job letter personally.....well, she couldn't help herself, she had to come along.
However, Markarov had put his foot down.
"I appologize, but as you aren't actually a member of the guild, you can't exactly go on the job." said Markarov. "If whoever hired us spotted some non guild members on the ship they expected body gaurds to come from, they would suspect some sort of treachery, it's a very tricky situation."
"Well then," Kuroko had said. "Make me a guild member! I don't know why I didn't do it earlier since Sissy is in it, but I'm joining Fairy Tail!"
And so she had, now having a guild mark on her lower back. (She thought about several more perverted areas....but Mirajane recommended against it.... Who else but Kuroko?)1
But by the time she had joined, she realized that Mikoto had already left for the ship and was boarding it. Knowing she only had about 20 minutes, she had teleported around as fast as she could, gathered up Uiharu and Saten (All the while forgetting what Markarov had said about non guild members) and spent her first moments as a Fairy Tail member stowing away inside The Going Merry.1
"Please, please, let's just get out now..." said Uiharu. "I'm....starving..."
"Alright." sighed Kuroko. "I guess there's no holding it off now...I guess we can go now."
Kuroko got up and walked up the stairs to the door of the galley. But just as she was about to turn the knob, she heard voices.
"We need to get away from the island, it isn't safe for you anymore." said a voice.
"But I can't just abandon my people to that horrid Diablo person, I CAN'T!"
"Men....we're not abandoning them....men...." said another voice (Ichiya). "We're merely keeping you and Mikoto safe while we figure out a better strategy...men..."
"Ichiya..." said Mikoto's voice. "How can you speak so seriously.....and still pose like you're at a photoshoot!!"
"Force of habit.....men!"
"In any case." said a voice that sounded like Erza's. "We should probably gather some reinforcements from our guilds. Diablo's too powerful to defeat with the forces we have now, and Gore is at least at Jura's level with the kind of endurance he has."
"I can agree on that much." said another voice (Lyon). "Going at the combined forces of Hydra Head and the assasins would be suicide at this point. We need to retreat for now and return when we have the necessary forces."
"Well if that's what we're doing." said a smaller voice (Chelia). "Then I should probably check the galley to make sure we have enough food for the return journey....."
"Oh crap!!!" said Kuroko backing away from the door. "Everyone, hide in the barrels like last time!!"
"AIIEEE!!!" said Uiharu and Saten as they tried to jump into the empty barrels.1
But before any of them had even made it into the empty barrels, the door opened. Chelia stared as she beheld the three girls who were frozen in an attempt to hide.
"Huh?" said Chelia blinking slightly. "Who are you?"
"WE'VE BEEN COMPROMISED!!!" Kuroko shouted, taking a handfull of flour and throwing it in the surprised God Slayer's face. "Run for it!"
Kuroko teleported to the other side of the room and grabbed both Uiharu and Saten. However, before she could teleport away with them, a sheet of ice froze their bodies up to their necks and held them there.
"Who are you!?" demanded Lyon who had just entered the room. "What do you- eh? Wait....arent you Mikoto's friends?"
"Eh....no!" said Kuroko as a bead of sweat traveled down her forehead. "We're just figmentations of your wild imagination. You'll be awake from this dream in about 2 hours to find that you're back in your bed....heheheheh....heh.....heh....yeah."
"Kuroko, I think the jig's up." said Saten. "Can we please just come clean so we can get out this weird frozen position? I think my toes are about to come off."
"S-so...c-cold." said Uiharu.
"KUROKO, SATEN, UIHARU!!? What are you three doing here!!!?" Mikoto had just walked into the galley along with Natsu and Lucy to check what the commotion was about.
"Hey it's red haired pervert girl!" said Natsu waving cheerfully. "Hi red haired pervert girl!!"
"How many times have I told him not to call me that?" Kuroko muttered.
"So..." said Mikoto looking at Kuroko. "Why are you three down here!?"
"Er.....would you believe me if I said we were sight seeing?" said Kuroko.
"No."
"Okay....fine." said Kuroko. She explained what had happened.
"So let me get this straight." said Lucy. "You joined Fairy Tail so you could come with Mikoto on the job.....then you brought Uiharu and Saten along knowing that non guild members couldn't come?"
Kuroko opened her mouth, then closed it. "Er......maybe I didn't think this through."
"Honestly Kuroko." said Mikoto. "You're going to be the death of me one day."
"Umm...you think that we could get out of this ice now?" asked Uiharu.
"No!" said Lyon. "You threw flour in Chelia's face, no way I can let that-"
"Oh Lyon..." said Mikoto looking at the ice mage and batting her eye lashes. "Please let my friends go..."
Lyon went red and his eyes turned to hearts as he took on a goofy smile. "Of course my darling Mikoto!! Anything you desire is yours!!"
The ice around Kuroko, Uiharu, and Saten shattered.
"Nice..." Lucy whispered into Mikoto's ear. "Did you make that technique yourself?"
Mikoto grinned. "Bits of it. How are you doing on yours?"
"Watch this." Lucy looked at Natsu, her eyes taking on a cute sparkly look as she posed in a cutesy fashion. "Natsu.....I feel so hungry...could you make me a sandwich?"
Natsu suddenly went absolutely red and began taking bread from a shelf along with some mustard and cheese, going "Sandwich for Lucy, sandwich for Lucy, sandwich for Lucy."1
"Nice." said Mikoto. "You should see the technique I use on Touma."2
A little later, Mikoto sat on the ship thinking about past events. How were they going to stop Hydra Head? And...What in the world was Kuroko thinking, sneaking here like that? Come to think of it...Now that Kuroko was on board....
Suddenly Mikoto felt something touching her chest uncomfortably. It was Kuroko. "Hey Sissy~ wanna give each other massages~?"
"K-Kuroko! Stop that-" Mikoto began, but then Lyon suddenly came up to her all red with hearts in his eyes.
"Hello Mikoto Darling! Shall I rub your feet for you!?"
"St-stay away you-"
Suddenly, Ichiya was next to Mikoto, sniffing all over her. "Mmmm... What glorious Parfum...Men!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!" Mikoto screamed and broke away from her three 'fans' and attempted to jump off the side of the ship.
Before she could though, Nicole and Hope both appeared and grabbed her by the arms.
"Mikoto stop!" said Nicole. "What's the matter!?"
"I'm stuck on a boat with three perverts who have it out for me!" Said Mikoto. "You guys can take the boat, I'll swim back!"
"If me and Natsu could endure the motion sickness here, then you can deal with Ichiya, Kuroko and Lyon just as long." said Nicole. "Just calm down!"
"Yes.." said Hope. "No need to get into a frenzy!"
Suddenly Ichiya went right next to Hope and started sniffing all over her. "Oh...my Honey, your parfum is most pleasant as well!"
Hope shivered for a moment before suddenly joining Mikoto on the railing. "You shouldn't swim alone at least."
"Oh no you don't!" said Hope activating her Ghost Dragon Talons and dragging both Mikoto and Hope from the railing. "You two can at least endure till we actually leave-...wait....that smell.."3
"Huh?" said Mikoto. "What's wrong Nicole?"
Nicole didn't say anything. Instead, she picked up Mikoto and Hope with her talons and threw them overboard.
Mikoto broke through the surface of the water, sputtering a little. "N-Nicole!? What's the big idea!?"
Suddenly Mikoto and Hope swam out of the way as all the other boat passengers were thrown overboard by Nicole's talons which had morphed to become large enough to hold everyone.
After that Nicole jumped overboard and splashed down into the water to join everyone else. "SWIM NOW!! FAST!!"
"But Nicole!" said Elli as she flew alongside Happy and Arthur over the water. "You can't swim!"
"Darn it-glub glub glub!!" Nicole began to sink into the water only to be saved by Happy and Elli who both grabbed her by one hand and followed after the others who were swimming away fast as Nicole had instructed.
There was a humungous boom and a bright orange light. And by the time everyone had climbed ashore the docks, The Going Merry was a huge fireball in the water.3
"H-How did you know!?" said Gray in amazement.
"Phantom Explosion Dust." said Nicole. "You gather the energy of spirits and spread them around an area as dust till they can be detonated remotely.....I used to use it when I was in Fright Face and we took....questionable jobs. The smell is faint, but very distinct. Only Dragon Slayers can pick up the scent, and even then, you have to have known the stuff before or you wouldn't recognize it."
"Hydra Head's predicting our moves." Said Jura. "They knew we would go off for reinforcements, so they took our only method of long distance travel away."
"Blast!" said Arthur using a paw to adjust his monocle. "And they would definitely expect us to use some of the other boats as well....including the royal ship. That dark guild with those assasins do make a deadly combo."
"AAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH!!!!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY SHIP!!!!"
The ship captain had apparently come back from a snack break. The man had a long nose, a slight afro and wore goggles and brown overalls, at his side was a slingshot.2
"THAT SHIP WAS BUILT BY MY GREAT GREAT GRANDFATHER, CAPTAIN USOPP THE THIRD!!!" screamed the captain. "He built it in honor of his Great Grandfather who sailed with the King of The Pirates!!!! WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY!!!!?? That boat was my inheritance!!!!!"9
"Er......should we...um...do something?" Said Mikoto looking at the captain with a slightly bewildered expression.
"We could build him a new ship...." said Natsu. "Does anyone know how to build a ship?"
"No time." said Erza. "Let's just bring him with us and get somewhere secluded!"
"I'm not going anywhere with you ship destroyers!!" shouted the snivelling captain. "Not until you rebuild my precious Merry-!"1
Before he could go on, Erza walked over and headbutted him right on the forehead, knocking him out. She then slung the unconscious captain over her shoulder. "Let's get out of here, we'll deal with him when the situation isn't so dangerous."
"We can go into the forest." said Hope. "Nobody would look there."
"Really?" said Happy. "Why?"
"It's believed to be cursed in the deepest areas." said Hope. "But that's just a myth. Old enchantments that still remain here from Thundaarix's presence prevent any curses from being placed on the island."
"Well then that's where we'll go." said Erza.
3 hours later, Mikoto found herself in the middle of a large temperate forest, killing any mosquitos that tried to make a meal out of her by sending a slight electric current through her body.
Erza was in the front of the group, using her sword to to cut through the undergrowth.
"So how long are we going to keep walking?" said Lucy swatting some mosquitos on her arm. "Cause I think Natsu's getting hungry..."
"Not anymore!" said Natsu who had a mouthful of strange mushrooms. "These things are delicious....they taste kind of familiar though."
"N-Natsu!" Said Mikoto pointing. "There's a mushroom growing out of your head!!!"2
"Eh?" said Natsu looking up at the strange red colorful mushroom that was on top of his head. "That seems familiar too."3
"Okay!" said Mikoto. "Nobody touch any of the mushrooms here!"
"Why not?" said Mikoto's father who was following close behind. Mikoto looked at Tabigake and her jaw dropped.
Tabigake Misaka's head was covered in a multitude of colorful mushrooms.
"YOU TOO DAD!?"
"Hey, these mushrooms are pretty tasty." said Nicole who was walking right next to Mikoto.
Mikoto took one look and covered her mouth as she tried to stifle a giggle. Nicole had a particularly large mushroom on her head which had a smiley face on it.
"Huh?" said Nicole. "What's so funny?"
"*snigger* oh.....it's nothing."
"There's no need to worry about it too much." said Lucy. "Those mushrooms are going to fall off eventually."
Erza turned around to look at the entire group. "I think I see a clearing up ahead, we'll be able to rest once we reach...huh? Why are you all looking at me like that?"
Erza had a large mushroom on her head with purple polka dots.
"Ummm...er....." said Lyon.
Ichiya and the Trimen just stared for a minute.
As for Jura, he didn't seem to notice anything. "Is there something wrong with all of you...?"
"It's nothing." said Lucy. "You said there was somewhere we could rest?"
"Yes." said Erza. "Like I was saying before, there seems to be a clearing up ahead in which we can make camp."
As the group got closer to the clearing Gray narrowed his eyes. "Wait a second...there seems to be something there......It's big too.....and it looks like it's made of ice."
"What would ice be doing out here?" said Mikoto with some confusion. "There looks like there's something.....frozen in there...
Gray's eyes suddenly widened, as if he had just come to some sort of horrible realization. "No.....IT CAN'T BE!!"
Gray ran past the group, batting aside the plants as if they were meaningless to him. At the same time, Lyon also looked like he had come to some deadly conclusion, and ran after Gray.
"Gray!! Wait!! We both know what you're thinking is impossible....WAIT!!!"
The rest of the group ran after the two ice mages, calling out to them, but they didn't seem to hear, almost if the chunk of massive ice held some sort of beckoning enchantment.
When they reached the clearing, both Gray and Lyon were standing in front of the massive chunk of ice, wearing expressions as if they were bearing witness to some horrid disease.
Frozen in the ginormous chunk of ice, was monstrous looking demon creature. Even while frozen, it's very face looked like it desired nothing more then to tear and destroy all living things.
"Deliora....." whispered Gray under his breath. "Impossible...I SAW THAT DEMON DIE WITH MY VERY OWN EYES!!!!"
"G-guys?" said Mikoto pointing a shaking finger at something past the frozen demon in the distance. "H-how did that get here?!"
Lying in the clearing, looking burned at lifeless, was a massive Jack in the Box with a monstrous clown head with a sharp teeth that lined it's sinister jaws. It's eyes were lifeless, and the sides of the box had giant spider legs.
"Is it just me...?" said Mikoto. "Or does that look a lot like Night Reveler?"
Erza suddenly loooked horrified. She pointed at something to the East. It was a large twisted looking tower that looked like it was made of metal and scraps. "Th-that...th-that......th-that...can't be real. None of this is real!"
"Oh....I appologize for the interuption....but it's all very real." Said a soft voice.
Coming into the clearing was a hulking figure in full body armor. The armor he wore was made of rough tree bark covered in moss, His helmet looked like it was of spartan design. Green pupiless glowing eyes peered out from within the helmet that had large oaken horns growing from it. He had a large cape made of leaves and flowers. None of the man underneath the armor (if he was even human) could be seen though (unless you counted the eyes). He was just as heavily armored as Diablo.
"I am Angelus Etwatia....." said the figure. "Welcome to the grove of memories.....The birth place of Thundaarix."