Just Add Water

Chapter 30

The girls started to follow after her but the had been the door knob so hot that they couldn't even touch it.  Lucy quickly used her ice powers to cool it off then started to turn it but when they opened the door Gray came right inside.

"Whoa, whoa, ladies back it up!" He said ushering them away from the doorway.

"Gray what are you doing here? Where's Erza?" Lucy asked.

"She's gone." He said. "She ran right by me and I saw her jump off the nearest dock."

"Well we can't leave her out there!" Lucy and Juvia moved to go outside again but stopped in their tracks when they once again became ensnared by the moonlight. Gray quickly shut the door before they became too out of it.

"So much for independent women." He said.

"Gray." Lucy said once she had regained her senses. "What were you doing in my front yard?"

"Um...Camping?" He said blushing. "You should really try it sometime."

"You were spying on us weren't you?"

"Okay yes but I was worried. You know how bad things get when one of you go all moon crazy. I just wanted to make sure nothing happened and it's a good thing I did camp out because I managed to prevent any disasters from taking place tonight."

"You let Erza get away."

"Okay one minor setback but I'm pretty sure if I had tried to stop her she would have set me on fire like she did to that bush."

"Hold on she set fire to a bush?" Juvia asked.

"Just as she was running by it. It was really freaky."

"Did you put it out?"

"Yeah I did."

"This is bad." Lucy said. "This is very bad. If she's starting fires who knows how much damage she'll cause."

"And she might hurt herself or somebody else." Juvia added. 

"We'll let's not panic." Gray said. "Right now she's swimming around in water so she can't really light anything."

"But where could she be going?" 

Just then the doorbell rang. Gray went to answer it, Lucy and Juvia hoped that it was Erza who had come back but it wasn't however they were relieved to see who it was. It was Anna.

"Where were you?" Lucy asked her. "I looked everywhere for you."

"I'm sorry but my boat broke down and I was out looking for a proper motor." She apologized. "Judging by the fact that there are only two of you here and that it's almost a hundred degrees in this house, I'm going to assume that Erza is the one who fell victim to the moon spell."

"Yes." Lucy confirmed.

Anna sighed.

"It's amazing how sometimes history will repeat itself. I remember when my friend became moonstruck."

"What happened to her?"

"Pretty much what happened to Erza. She has the most dangerous powers of all of you, just as my friend had the most dangerous powers out of our group. She was terribly frightened when it happened to her. It was the first time I had ever seen her genuinely scared."

"You know I'd like to know what the heck this all means." Gray said. "What does the full moon turn the girls crazy."

"I don't know all the answers but I do know this. For centuries mermaids have always had a dark and light side to them." 

"A dark and light side?" Lucy said.

"If you know about the legends and tales of mermaids, the ones who are good, soul seeking, and have a loving heart then you must know about the darker ones as well. The ones who feed on human flesh, the ones who used their charms to lure sailors to their deaths, and the ones who cause storms and natural disasters to sink ships. You three are good and well meaning most of the time but when you are effected by the full moon it turns you into a mermaid's darker counterpart. For example Lucy became the kind of mermaid that is ravenous and animalistic with an appetite for flesh but Juvia on the other hand became the kind that is seductive and mischievous who loved to see men suffer."

"But I never ate people." Lucy said.

"And I didn't lure anyone to their death." Juvia said.

"That's because in your hearts you're good so your darker tendencies are toned down to a less harmful degree. To where Lucy craves the flesh of fish instead of humans and Juvia merely drives men to humiliate themselves instead killing themselves."

"But what's it going to do to Erza?" Juvia asked.

"Her dark mermaid counterpart would be the one who causes natural disasters and storms. You know sinking ships and flooding lands."

"Is she going to do that?"

"No. Because of her good nature the worst she'll do is cause property damage. If she's calm that is."

"And if she's not?"

"She may start a few fires."

"Oh that's so not good."

"We have to find her now." Lucy said.

"Do you have any idea where she could have gone."

"She could be anywhere." Anna said. "But the only safe place is the moon pool on Tendrou Island."

"Excuse me lady but this whole yoda act might work on these two but I'm not buying it." Gray said.

"I'm sorry but who are you?" Anna said.

"Anna this is my friend Gray Fullbuster. He knows our secret but he's been big help to us." Juvia said.

"Oh..." Anna scanned him with her eyes.  "He's a scholar isn't he? I mean judging from his diminished physique and large forehead, he's clearly suited for nothing else."

"Hey!" Gray said insulted.

"Well I wouldn't say he's not suited for anything else but yes Gray is very smart." Juvia said. "One of the smartest students in our school."

"And he's your friend dear?"

"Yes."

"Let me guess you two are very close aren't you?"

"Yes we are. But not in that way. We're just really good friends. In fact he's one of my best friends so he can be trusted."

"I see." She said looking at Gray. "Again it is amazing how history will sometimes repeat itself."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gray asked.

"Oh you'll find out eventually."

"Well that aside, what you just said about the island doesn't make any sense. Water and moonlight are what bring on this madness and now you're telling them to go to a pool of water full of moonlight on nights like this."

"I can't explain it. I just know from personal experience."

"And we're just supposed to accept that?"

"Yes dear because it's the truth."

"But it doesn't make sense. It's a illogical."

"You will find young man that there are a lot of things in this world that logic cannot explain." She then mumbled to herself. "Good lord he's worse than Alec."

"So how do we get to the moon pool without being effected?" Lucy asked. "There has to be way right?"

"There is. My friends I came up with it in case one of us ever ran off while under the effects. Now do exactly as I tell you."