CHAPTER THIRTEEN

They walked back to the village, but there was no one to be found. Silence blanketed the place, and it seemed that the villagers had vanished without a trace.

"That's weird, where is everybody?" Happy pointed out.

"You sure they came here?" Natsu asked.

"You finally made it back!" A voice said.

The group looked behind them to see a lizard-like man approach them. Probably one of the transformed villagers.

"There's something you need to see." The man said, "Please, follow me to the main village."

Sure enough, the messenger led them to the main village. Every building was intact and in the right place, as if the village was never attacked.

"It's not destroyed like you said, Lucy," Erza said.

"But I remember this place being entirely trashed before..." Lucy said.

Yami could feel Ultear's Ki around the village

"It's like it went back in time!" Natsu complained, also rapping a fist on a house to see if it was standing.

"Now that it's fixed, you probably shouldn't touch anything, okay Natsu?" Lucy said with a sweet tone that implied she meant something else.

"Are you saying I destroy everything I touch?" Natsu protested with his mouth on fire.

"Uh, kind of," Lucy admitted.

The old chief stood up from the memorial to meet her. "I can't tell you enough how I appreciate it. However, I must know. When are you wizards are going to destroy the moon for us?"

Erza stepped in. "Destroying the moon is a simple task, sir."

"She said that so casually..." Lucy's sweatdropped.

"And with a straight face..." Gray added.

"Maybe she's gone crazy?" Happy suggested.

"It isn't really what you think," Yami said

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked

"I think better she explains right Ezra?"

"before we can do that, I would like to ask a few questions. Would you be so kind as to call everyone for a meeting?" she said

The chief nodded, and soon every villager on the island was huddled together in the center of the village. Erza asked questions, and some of the villagers answered. The others stood nearby, listening to the explanations of the villagers on what happened to them and the purple moon.

"Let me sure I have my facts straight. The first time everybody in the village took on these demonic forms is when the moon began to turn purple." Erza said. "Is that correct?"

"Yes." The chief answered. "During the day we're fine, but when the moon comes out, we transform into what you see now."

"And the moon first turned purple about three years ago, is that right?" Ezra questioned.

"Has it been that long?" One villager wondered aloud.

"Yeah." Another villager said.

Erza began to pace around. "We learned that the moon drip ceremony has been performed on this island every night for the past three years. Each night, it produced a beam of light so brilliant that you couldn't possibly have missed it."

Suddenly, Erza stepped on a patch of discolored dirt and it collapsed. She fell a seemingly shallow hole, which was covered by straw and leaves, topped over with earth. Erza let out a high-pitched and girly squeal that sounded unlike her.

Yami was dumb folded when he saw her falling into in hole

"Erza screamed like a girl!" Natsu whispered, face agape.

"Y-yeah. And it was... cute." Gray said, forcing the last part out.

Unhurt, Erza emerged from the pitfall trap. She crossed her arms and looked at the townsfolk, who had sweat dropped from her slip-up.

Erza steeled her look at them. "I get it. Yes."

She then stepped forward, a magic circle covering her body. She was planning to Requip her armor.

"Natsu. Come with me." Erza instructed.

Her transformation was now finished. Her regular iron armor was now replaced by a yellow one, designed with black markings to complement it. Small golden plates patterned her skirt and sides, and her armlets had fur jutting out of them. The shoulder pads and headgear were pointed at an elegant angle, making her look like a fierce battle princess.

"I'll need your help to destroy the moon." Erza declared.

"Yeah!" Natsu whooped.

"W-what?" Lucy had to double-take on what she had said. "Destroy the moon? Are you serious?"

"Yes. We're going to have to destroy it to return the villagers to their normal forms." Erza said.

Then, the villagers erupted in cheer. They laughed and celebrated, shouting out that they'll now be freed from the curse.

"So, where are we going to do this thing?" Natsu asked excitedly. "The temple? It's a lot higher up there!"

"We'll do it here. The villagers can't go anywhere near the temple, and they need to witness this." Erza cemented.

"I dunno what she's thinking. I know she can do some amazing things, but still." Gray said, unsure of what was happening was a good idea.

"What do you think she's going to do with it?" Lucy asked with a quivering voice.

"This is exciting!" Happy said.

"More like terrifying..." Lucy cried comical tears. "aren't you going to stop them Yami"

"Nah never seen a moon being destroyed might not get this chance again," Yami said

"So how exactly are we going to destroy the moon?" Natsu asks

"This is giant armor: it increases my strength and allows me to throw farther." Erza then put out her hand in front of her, summoning a spear that nearly had the design of her armor. "And this is the spear of Haja: it repels darkness."

"I see now!" Natsu's eyes were bulging out of their sockets. "You're going to use that spear to knock the moon outta the sky!"

Yami Lucy and happy watched by the side as Erza held her spear back and aimed at the bright purple moon. Her armlets let out a glow of light as a crimson magic circle appeared on them, to boost Erza's physical strength. She began to throw it as hard as she could, and before it could exit her hand, Natsu hit the bottom of the spear. A cloud of dust blasted from the punch and rolled out around the villages in waves. Natsu's flames plus the force of his punch as well as Erza's throw sent the spear sailing high into the sky.

A loud whizz came from the spear as it cut through the wind and soon, it reached the height of its journey. It impacted the moon directly, letting out a cloud of dust. It quickly dispersed to reveal a small hole in the sky. A moment later, the small hole grew to a large crack, then into an even larger one, until the sky looked as if it were broken. The sound of cracking glass was heard as the sky shattered, replacing the purple moon with the more familiar pale white moon.

The villagers faltered, as twinkling crystals fell from the broken sky. They expected a shattered moon, not a shattered sky. They stood in disbelief at what just happened.

"What the heck is going on?" Natsu gawked up at the sky.

"As a result of the spell, a membrane-covered the island," Erza said.

"What?" Natsu asked, still not understanding.

"The moon drip released evil energy in the form of a gas," Erza explained. "That gas crystallized and formed an invisible shell around the island. That's why the moon looked purple."

"And now," Erza looked down from the watchtower, "Everything should be back to what it was three years ago."

Soon, a bright yellow light covered the citizens of the island. They looked at themselves in wonder, as they thought that they would return to their human forms. They were disappointed, to say the least when the light died down and no one transformed into a human.

"What's wrong?" Gray said, "They're not transforming!"

"Well, you see the people in the village aren't what they seem," Yami explains to them about the villagers being actual demons. After the whole thing was settled the team went on to party together with the villagers.