Fairy Tail Rewind (Completed)

Chapter 12 Part II -- Reborn of Deliora

Lucy opened her eyes to see herself landing safely on the ground. The pressure pressed against her body had disappeared. She moved her numb limbs and felt relieved that she was still alive. Glancing around, she saw Natsu climbing out of a body of a silver serpent, eight-foot in length.

Where did the serpent come from? She rubbed her eyes to confirm that she wasn't dreaming.

A thick veil of fog surrounded the serpent, with silvery stars dancing inside it. When the fog finally thinned into nothingness and the twinkle of stars had faded, Lyra appeared. She sat on the ground, cradling and slightly rocking the unconscious Gray in her arms.

Happy flew around Lyra. "Was that you who had transformed into a snake and saved us?"

"I prefer the term serpent." Lyra beamed, a little too bright, which didn't fit the circumstance.

"Thank you, Lyra. We would've been squashed into a pulp if it wasn't of your help," said Lucy.

"Look, your scales even have the power to break the ice." Natsu hopped gaily on the ground.

"I won't deny that I'd saved all of you from your death, but it wasn't me who broke the ice spell on you." Lyra looked quizzical at Natsu before she said in an affirming tone, "The effect of the magic must've weakened when being distanced from the mage who had cast it."

"I see..." Natsu leaned over Gray. "Oy, wake up! Is that what you've got? Wake up! Tsk, how lame!"

Gray's eyelids slowly moved upwards. He looked dazed, studying the new surroundings.

"Lyra transformed into a serpent and saved us. Since you're awake, let's go fight Lyon again!"

"No! We have to warn the villagers. Their lives are at stake now." With a grimace, Gray stood up, clutching onto a too-eager Lyra. "We won't make it to the village if we leave together. By the time we arrive there, the villagers might all get annihilated. Happy, can you fly Lucy there?"

"Let me go with Happy!" Natsu protested. "It's dangerous for Lucy to handle all three of them!"

"No, with your hotheaded attitude, it'll make explaining a hundred times more difficult. The last thing we want to see is a group of provoked villagers," Gray reasoned. "Plus, Lucy weighs lighter than you. Happy can fly her faster. So, it has to be them."

"Aye, Sir!" Happy grabbed Lucy's dress collar. With a flutter of his wings, they soared to the sky.

"Happy, fly slower! Happy, don't drop me! Happy, we're bumping into the tree!" 

Lucy shouted and her arms flung aimlessly in the air, hoping to grab onto anything. A plume of cloud brushed past her fingers. It was fluffy and moist, like a marshmallow. The amazement muffled the noises she made. So, this is the feeling of flying. Lucy stole a glance downward. The tips of Natsu's strawberry hair slowly reduced in size until they became blurry dots. The thickets of trees looked nothing but a row of toothpicks. It didn't take long for them to reach the village.

Clutching onto his staff, Moka the Chief dashed towards them. "Have you destroyed the moon?"

"It-- It's not necessary to destroy the moon since we've found out the real cause to your demonic form," Lucy explained only the crucial parts to the villagers. She wasn't sure how their ears could handle the news. "The villains are coming to destroy the village now. We've to evacuate." 

Lucy and Happy managed to gather those confused villagers. As they stood in front of the main gate, a strong gust of wind rose, churning up the fallen leaves and twigs. Then, a shadow loomed over them. Lucy looked up to the night sky. A robotic rat, the size of a helicopter, had halted twenty feet above them. Its wings flapped noisily. Three figures stood on its back. Lucy squinted and realized they were the goons of Mr. Reitei. Clutching in the rat's claw, was a huge bucket.

The bucket swayed threateningly in the wind. Suddenly, a drop of green liquid fell onto the ground, an inch shy of Lucy's feet. Immediately, green smoke rose. Lucy grabbed her throat at the stench. When the smoke faded away, Lucy was shocked to see a black hole on the ground.

"What's with that horrible smell?" The villagers all coughed and covered their nose. After four heartbeats, agonizing howls of groans filled the misty air as the size of the black hole expanded.

"It's acid!" Happy warned. "Everyone, quick, hide behind the giant boulder over there!"

"No, I'm not leaving Bobo's grave!" Moka bolted to a stone plate not far away and hugged it.

"Chief, he's not coming back!" A few stronger men tugged at him and pulled him away.

"It's our fault that they have to be a scapegoat. We have to save them." Lucy brought out a Key.

Without dilly-dallying, she summoned Mr. Mohawk the Sagittarius. The horse-man galloped on the ground vigorously, eager to show Lucy his ever-shining hooves after using the polish Lucy had given him. Lucy nodded in acknowledgment before directed the horse-man to shoot at the flying rat so that it could fall on the nearby beach. As the horse-man let fly his arrows, a sudden gust of wind blew past. Instead of hitting the rat's body, the arrows pierced through the bucket. With an eerie sizzling sound, amid Lucy's gasp, the green liquid cascaded down. Judging from the amount of the contents, it would surely wipe out an entire village. 

Lucy, Sagittarius, and Happy gawked at the scene, horror-struck. Suddenly, an orb of orange flame, with the outline of a dragon's jaw, maimed at the acid. An ear-splitting explosion took place in the sky not long after. Seconds later, green steaming liquid rained down onto the floor.

"Lucy!" Natsu lunged at her and pulled her to his chest. As he hugged her, a plume of warm flame enshrouded them. "You won't be hurt in my flame." From the corner of her eyes, Lucy saw the green dots dropping on the outside of the wall, before dissolving into green mist.

Happy and Sagittarius were dodging the green dots nimbly. It wasn't until a good five minutes that the acid rain stopped. Natsu's flame flickered off, and Lucy tore from his embrace. Her eyes kept swiveling around their sockets as if they had gone haywire. She was shocked to see that the fertile land she used to stand on had now turned to charred, black soil. The plants had all withered. Fortunately, the buildings remained undestroyed, and the villagers were unharmed. 

Lucy glanced around before asking, "Where are Gray and Lyra? Don't tell me that the acid had--"

"They're fine. They haven't arrived yet. I ran all the way here. I was scared that you might get--"

A loud thud cut Natsu's words when the robotic rat landed in front of them. Cracks forked across the ground at the impact. Shelly, Toby, and Vincent glided down the steel surface, all wearing an irritated look. The villagers whimpered and cowered lower into their hideout.

Shelly combed her hair with her fingers as she said in a flat tone, "We're being ordered to destroy all of Mr. Reitei's enemies. Though we tried to bestow instant death upon them, they didn't seem to appreciate our lovely effort. It seems that a lot of blood must now be spilled. Humph!" With a malicious grin, she kicked the stone plate of Bobo's grave.

Besides her, Toby and Vincent started rubbing their conker-like knuckles in a menacing way.

"Barbie Girl, the villagers are innocent! They have nothing to do with Deliora!" shouted Lucy.

"It's us who you should fight against, not them!" Natsu added. Fire clasped around his fists.

Shelly advanced closer as she talked, "Total annihilation, that was Mr. Reitei's lovely order." 

"I won't be soft on you!" Lucy turned to Sagittarius. "Mr. Mohawk, show them what you've got!"