A/N: So I got this idea when I read "Devil Tail" by Shocknawe 425, a story featuring Nero. He kept bringing up Dante, and I thought, "What would Dante do?" So I decided to write and find out.

That was in the middle of September.

I'll warn you now, I haven't played any of the DMC games, so I'm not entirely sure I got Dante right. I think I did, after watching a playthrough of DMC 4 and some scenes from 5, but if I didn't, let me know. For that reason, this will only cover the Galuna Island and Phantom Lord arcs. The whole thing will only be four chapters, max.

For anyone wondering, this takes place somewhere between DMC 4 and 2.

I'm not entirely happy with it, but I've been working on it for eight months and trying to fix it will take even longer.

Disclaimer: Do not own.

Well, here he was.

Fairy Tail, one of the top guilds in the country, and apparently led by some old geezer with a really impressive title to his name. Also a really good place to party if their reputation was anything to go off of.

…

Honestly, Dante was kinda disappointed. Sure, it was a pretty nice building, but it just seemed so plain. No great stone carvings, no giant pillars, no sweeping archways, no nothing that would've told him some of the top wizards in the country called this place their own. Didn't these guys have any sense of style?

Well, whatever. He wouldn't get anywhere by just standing around.

Dante rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. He had to get this right; it was the most important part. Well, second-most important. Looking like a badass wasn't nearly as important as actually being one.

Carefully, with just enough force to make it slow and dramatic, he pushed the double doors open and planted his hands on his hips. This way, it would look like the doors opened on their own. A badass didn't open doors; doors opened for a badass.

With slow, deliberate steps, Dante walked inside and cast his gaze across the building, as if judging its worthiness of hosting such badassitude. And he'd have to say it passed. This place almost looked like an old western saloon, and old western saloons were very good for dramatic entrances.

He caught people's attention as he passed them, not all at once, but progressively. That was fine. Some people could freeze a room just by opening the door. Dante did not have that kind of history here. Instead, he strode past wordlessly, not acknowledging anyone. It was only when he was behind them that they realized they were in the presence of something different. A chill went down their spines, and the hairs on the back of their necks stood up on end. They turned around, but only saw the back of a red longcoat. And they understood the greatness of the owner of that coat.

That was how it went in Dante's head, at least. In reality, there was some mild interest and a few muttered questions about who he was, but that was it.

Whatever. He'd take what he could get.

Dante waved a hand at the smoking hot barmaid as he sat down. This girl could be part of the family with looks like those. Long white hair, blue eyes, a great rack, and a butt that would've been very nice if she wore something tighter, all underneath a dark red dress that was a bit too frilly for the family business, but suited the barmaid look well.

"Good afternoon! How can I help you?" she asked with a smile. Dante gave her a roguish smirk in return.

"Well hello to you, too, gorgeous. I'm looking for your guild master, Makarov."

The barmaid frowned thoughtfully. "Do you have an appointment?"

"Not exactly." Dante leaned forward a bit. "I got a problem I'm hoping he can help me with. A really big problem."

The barmaid hummed, taking a few seconds to fill a mug and set it on fire. Dante didn't think much of it until he heard the screaming.

"WOOOOHOOOOOOO!"

A pink-haired kid spouting actual fire ran past them, grabbing the mug without even slowing down.

"I'M FREEEEE! FREEEDOOOOOOM! YEEEEAAAAAH!"

What was he on? Gasoline? Or maybe the kid was just really drunk and swallowed a lit match or something. Dante didn't know what people did for fun in this world. He turned back to the barmaid.

"Is he always like this?"

She smiled sheepishly. "Not to this extent. He's just really excited because he was at the Council for most of yesterday." Well, Dante could understand that. Dealing with bureaucracy made everyone crazy. God knew he hated tax season more than any other. "So, about this problem of yours… it would probably be better to make a job posting for the guild, wouldn't it? I'm sure any of our mages would be happy to take care of it for you."

"It's not that kind of problem," Dante said. He jerked his thumb at the hilt of Rebellion poking over his shoulder. "Trust me, if it was, I'd take care of it myself. What I'm looking for is information about a very obscure branch of magic." At least he assumed it was obscure. Who knows, maybe they have dimensional travel down to a science over here. "Since he was the closest guy with a fancy title, I figured I'd ask your guild master and see if he knows anything about it, or at least point me to someone who does."

"If you're sure…" The barmaid pointed to a little old man with a staff sitting alone on the countertop. "That's him over there."

Dante stood up and smiled. "Thanks. The name's Dante, by the way."

The barmaid smiled right back, and damn, was this girl pretty. "Mira. I hope everything works out for you."

"Yeah, me too." He made his way down to the end of the bar and took a seat. "So. Mira tells you're the guild master."

Makarov cracked open an eye and stared at him for a few seconds. "I am. You need something, boy?"

Dante leaned in close. "What do you know about interdimensional travel?"

Makarov's other eye snapped open, and he narrowed both of them to give Dante a hard glare. "Why do you want to know?"

"Imagine this," Dante said. "A world beset by demons, wanting nothing more than to kill and destroy. The populace, mostly unaware. A few brave souls, such as yours truly, work to keep it that way. So we put the word out, using terms only people in the know would recognize. Whenever a demon rears its head, we get called in to take care of it. Now quite recently, I was sent out to deal with a power-hungry madman trying to call up some Devils, and everything goes fine… until-"

BAM!

Dante turned in time to see the pink-haired kid from before slam into the far wall and slump to the ground unconscious. On the other side of the guild, a redheaded girl dropped a giant hammer onto the floor with a heavy thud. Dante sighed; she cut him off just when he was getting to the good part.

"If you really want to, then bring it on."

Yeah, right. That kid wouldn't be getting up anytime soon. Dante turned back to Makarov. "He opened up a portal, but he obviously didn't know what he was doing, because I'm here instead of the Demon World," he finished quickly. "Do you know anything that could help me get back home?"

Makarov looked at him for a few seconds without answering. Dante was beginning to wonder whether he'd get an answer at all when he noticed the noise level dropping. People were muttering about feeling tired before they collapsed. Heads hit the tables and drinks were knocked over; a few people fell out of their seats. Aside from him and Makarov, everyone was out cold. The doors creaked open, and Dante turned to look.

Now this guy had style. It wasn't to Dante's personal tastes, but he could recognize and respect style when he saw it. A tattered blue cloak, a dark shirt, gray camo pants, and a bandanna covering his face, with a ski cap over his hair. He made it work, and it didn't even look like he had to see where he was going.

Date clapped slowly. "Now that's what I call making an entrance. One word of advice though: it won't get the appreciation it deserves if you always put everyone to sleep beforehand."

He didn't get an answer. The guy just made his way over to the job board and took a piece of paper.

"Mystogan."

Dante looked between Makarov and the new guy, Mystogan. So they did know each other. Good, someone wasn't targeting Dante's best hope for a lead. Mystogan approached the two of them at the bar.

"Trouble, Master?"

"Do you recognize this man, Mystogan?" Makarov asked. That was a weird question. Dante just said he was from a different dimension, why would anyone know him?

Oh.

Mystogan turned briefly to Dante, then back to Makarov. "No. Is he…?"

Dante smirked. This was too good. "Oh, man. Are you telling me I hit the Jackpot? I just happened to walk into a guild with another dimension hopper? This calls for a celebration!" He spun around. "Hey, Mira! Oh, wait, she's asleep. Hope you don't mind," he said to the others, but just before he could hop over the bar, a staff slammed onto it. Dante turned; Mystogan was blocking his way. "Hey, what the hell? I'm just getting a drink."

"How did you get here?"

Dante looked Mystogan over again. He was getting some Nero-vibes from this guy; a kid who was way too intense and didn't play well with others. "Let me guess." He pointed at Mystogan nonchalantly. "Self-imposed mission, cost you your girlfriend- voluntarily or otherwise- and you haven't taken a break, ever, because you can't afford to rest. Am I wrong?"

"Answer the question."

Dante snorted. "Have it your way, then. Like I told the old man, I was fighting demons and their lunatic summoner when they opened up a portal and sent me here by what I can only assume was a mistake. I don't know how to get back. Think you can help a fella out?"

A pause. "What world are you from?" Mystogan asked.

"We call it Earth," Dante said. "It's a not-so-little blue planet orbiting a giant star in a little corner of the Milky Way galaxy. I can't tell you more than that, interdimensional travel isn't very advanced back home."

Mystogan pulled back his staff. "This world is called Earthland. I have-"

"Wait, hold on." Dante tried and failed to hold back laughter. "Earthland? You're serious? That-" He leaned on the bar to support himself as he laughed harder. "That has to be the most unoriginal name I've ever heard. I mean, there are perfectly good names out there like Gaia, Midgard, or even Mundus." Sure, it was also the name of the former King of Hell, but it was also Latin for "World." Even that was better than Earthland.

"As I was saying," Mystogan bit out, "I have never heard of a world called Earth, and my own experience travelling between worlds is very limited. I do not have the answer you seek." He turned to go.

Dante grabbed his shoulder. Like hell he'd let this guy get away so easily. "Then how did you do it? I work better as a solo act anyways. Just tell me how to do it and I'll figure it out from there."

Mystogan glared at him. Or Dante thought it was a glare. He could barely see Mystogan's eyes. "I did not do it on my own. I used a machine that I no longer have access to. I do not know how to make another one, and I cannot send you through any of the portals it generates without inviting catastrophe into this world."

Dante stared at him blankly. "You're kidding me."

"I do not kid." Mystogan shook his shoulder free, and Dante let him. "I am sorry for your situation, but I cannot help you." He showed Makarov the sheet of paper in his hand and began walking away. "I am leaving."

"Lift your sleep spell first," Makarov said. Dante heard a "Three, two, one" as Mystogan faded into mist.

It was like he flipped a switch. One moment, everyone was asleep; the next, they were all awake. Dante didn't really pay much attention to what they were saying. "Talk about yanking a guy's chain," he grumbled as he sat back down and leaned against the bar.

"What will you do now?" Makarov asked him.

Dante shrugged. "What I usually do. Beat up bad guys for money, maybe some monster extermination jobs if you guys have those."

"We do." Makarov nodded. "That's a rather lackadaisical approach to crossing dimensions. Giving up already?"

"Ah, I'm sure the guys back home are already working on something," Dante said. "I can't do anything from my end, so there's no point in worrying about it. They'll figure it out. Unless there are other dimension hoppers around here?" Dante looked up when a loud voice mentioned "that guy in the red coat." Some blondie smoking a cigar was leaning over the rail on the second floor.

Makarov hummed, his eyes narrowing as he glanced at Blondie. "There is one other person that I know of. I doubt she'd know any more than Mystogan, but I can ask her for you anyways."

"I appreciate that."

"And if you intend to take bounties and monster extermination jobs," Makarov continued, "you should consider joining a guild. Much easier that way."

Dante smirked and raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you trying to recruit me, old man?"

Makarov shrugged. "Why not? You need a place to stay and a source of income. Assuming you were telling me the truth earlier- and I consider myself a good judge of character- you aren't one to stand by and let evil run rampant if you're willing to fight against demons." Without missing a beat, Makarov stretched his arm out and smacked the pink-haired kid into the floor. "Natsu! Laxus! That's enough!"

Dante snickered. "So you're a grower, not a shower, huh?" Call him juvenile. It had to be said.

"Kids these days…" Makarov groaned before he turned back to Dante. "So? What will it be? If you do join, I won't have to track you down once I hear back from my friend."

"I don't know much about magic," Dante admitted. "I've got a few tricks up my sleeve, but I don't know if they'd be called magic in this world."

"Anything you can show me?"

Dante thought for a moment before raising his hand. It glowed red, and Makarov's staff began sliding out of his grip. Makarov raised an eyebrow as it moved towards Dante.

"Haven't done this in a while," Dante said. "Haven't needed to." He swung the staff around a few times.

"Telekinesis," Makarov noted. "Yes, that would count as magic."

"Teleportation?"

"Yes."

Dante pulled out Ebony. "Know what this is?"

"A gun."

"I can make infinite ammo."

"That would count."

"Pulling weapons out of nowhere?"

"Requip magic. Yes."

"Cloning?"

Makarov raised his eyebrows. "I haven't seen magic like that myself, but it would be easy enough to explain away."

"Slowing down time."

"Yes."

"Transforming."

"Yes."

"Transforming into monsters."

"Take Over magic. Yes."

"Well alright then. I'm sold." Dante smirked and gave Makarov back his staff, opening his hand to shake. "Name's Dante."

Makarov shook his hand. "Makarov Dreyar. Call me Master, Gramps, old man, any of those is fine."

"So how do we do this?" Dante asked. "Some kind of ceremony? A test? A drinking contest?"

"Just one thing." Makarov stood and hopped behind the bar. He rummaged for several seconds, muttering under his breath the entire time, eventually coming back with a stamp. He held it up. "Where would you like it, and in what color?"

Dante stared at it blankly for a moment. "What, on me?"

He'd never really cared for tattoos. Sure, they looked good on some people, but when the clothes came off, Dante liked for his entire body to be appreciated. Anything less was a sin, both to his body and whichever woman happened to looking at it.

Makarov nodded. "Yes."

"Is it permanent?"

"It's resistant to dirt, water, soap, and many other things, but it can be rubbed off with enough effort."

Dante stared for another few seconds and shrugged. "Alright. Does it need to be visible at all times?"

"It can be anywhere you want."

"Anywhere?" Dante smirked. Could he put it on his ass if he wanted? Hmmm, that wasn't such a bad idea. Except he'd have to take off all his clothes every time he had to show it to someone. Again, not a bad idea, but it'd be a hassle.

"Don't push it," Makarov grumbled.

"Yeah, yeah." Let's see, what about his chest…? No. As much as he loved giving the ladies a view, showing off too much would mark him as a total douchebag. Hmm…. What about the back of his hand? That would work- easy to show off, and it would look good. He took off his glove and put his right hand on the bar. "Right here in red."

Makarov pressed the stamp against Dante's hand and held it there for a second before pulling it away. Dante rubbed the spot. It tingled, but sure enough, there was a red tattoo the same shape as that mark on the flag outside. He looked back up. "Anything else?"

Makarov smirked. "HEY BRATS!"

Immediately, everyone stopped what they were doing to look at the old man. He pointed at Dante. "We got a new recruit! This is Dante! Let's give him a Fairy Tail welcome!"

So there was beer involved. Well, Dante sure as hell wasn't going to complain. He took a mug from Mira and chugged the whole thing. Now that was some quality booze.

"How did your talk with Master go?" she asked.

"Dead end," Dante said. "He pointed me to Mystogan, but Mystogan couldn't help me either."

"So you actually saw Mystogan?" a purple-haired man asked. "What did he look like?" If the way everyone leaned in was any indicator, it was something they all wanted to know.

Dante shrugged. "Wasn't much to see. He was all covered up, I could barely even see his eyes."

From there, the conversation turned to the different magics they could use and how strong they were. A lot of it centered around Dante, probably since he was the newcomer and had spoken with Mystogan. Apparently that was a big deal. He gave everyone the same list he'd given Makarov and got a lot of shocked faces in return; he guessed knowing seven different types of magic was impressive. Then Dante saw a hot brunette drinking straight from a barrel and felt the need to one-up it. So naturally, he got a barrel of his own and did a one-man kegstand. Things got kinda fuzzy after that. He vaguely remembered hitting on some of the girls, and he may or may not have punched some guy through a wall. In his defense, the guy got between Dante and his beer. He shouldn't have done that.

So when Dante woke up several hours later, hungover to hell and back, he was mildly confused about why the guildhall looked like a tornado had just gone through it. And he meant an actual tornado- the floor was littered with splintered wood, probably from all the smashed tables, benches, and support pillars. There was some rubble scattered around, but most of it was in piles by the walls. Speaking of the walls, they had giant holes in them. Floorboards were ripped off, exposing the dirt and concrete underneath.

Dante pushed himself to his feet and rubbed his head.

Shit… what happened in here?

But the weirdest thing of all was the flying cat coming down from the second floor with a piece of paper in its paws.

What the hell was that about?

So like any confused and hungover man, Dante followed the cat into the moonlit city.

"HOW DID YOU GET THAT?!"

Lucy was not relaxing like she was supposed to be. Instead, she was having a minor freak-out because Natsu and Happy stole an S-Class job!

Were they crazy?! Suicidal?! Trying to turn her hair gray?! First Mt. Hakobe, then Duke Everlue, and now this?!

"The master will be furious with us when he finds out!"

"Yeah, but what if we actually pull it off, huh?" Natsu asked. "I bet he'd be really proud! He'd even let us take more!"

"If you really wanna take S-Class jobs, just become an S-Class mage the right way!"

Natsu crossed his arms and frowned. "No way. Erza, Laxus, and Mystogan aren't gonna stay here long. We gotta prove we're just as good as them! And you saw that new guy, Dante! If we don't hurry up, he'll make S-Class before us!"

Was that so bad? S-Class jobs were really dangerous, Mira said so! Lucy sat at her desk and crossed her legs. "We aren't ready, Natsu."

"Oh come on, it's seven million jewels! How much rent could you pay with that?"

Rent? Lucy quickly did the math- that was over eight years worth of rent! The places she could see, the hotels she could stay in! Spas, resorts, five-star restaurants, people waiting on her hand and foot! Oh, that was a dream come true, and all she had to do was take some stupid S-Class jo-

…

Lucy shook the stars out of her eyes and glared at Natsu. "No amount of money is worth risking our lives over, Natsu!"

Natsu shrugged and began walking to the door. "Alright, I'll just keep the Gate Key for myself, then."

Gate Key? Lucy swiped the job paper out of Natsu's hand and checked the reward: seven million Jewels… and a Gold Celestial Gate Key!

Lucy pumped her fist. "Screw the rules, let's take this job!"

Natsu and Happy high-fived as Lucy packed everything she thought she'd need for an S-Class job: a few extra outfits, her sleeping bag, all her beauty products, some books, and the novel she was currently writing. Twenty minutes later, the three of them rushed out the door…

And slammed into something really hard.

Natsu ran into Lucy and stumbled back from the sudden loss of momentum. Lucy, off balance and dazed from being crushed like a pancake, fell on her butt. She groaned and rubbed her head. "Who built a brick wall in front of my house?" She looked up.

That was not a brick wall.

It was the new guy… Dante? Dante. And he was standing over her with a smirk on his face.

"Well. Where are you kids off to at this time of night?"

Dread pooled in Lucy's stomach. Those words, that tone, did he know? How did he know? "Uh… well, you see…"

Dante stepped around her and approached Happy, the cat floating next to Natsu. "So what are you supposed to be? Some cute, evil, wish-granting alien?"

Happy blinked. "Uhh… I'm a cat."

"You sure about that? 'Cause all the cats I've seen ran around on four legs, and none of them could talk, either."

"Well maybe you just haven't seen the right kind of cat before!" Natsu shouted. He sounded too angry for Lucy's comfort.

"It's possible," Dante conceded, "but I've been doing this for a long time. Traveled a long way. And I've never heard of a talking, flying cat before." He circled back around Lucy as he spoke. "Where'd you find him?"

"Who cares?! He's just a cat! Now move, 'cause we got a job to do!" Natsu grinned, all teeth. "And when we get back, we're gonna show you that we're the best!"

"A very important job, I'm sure. So important that you're leaving in the middle of the night without telling anyone." Dante bent down and picked up the flier. The flier that Lucy had dropped. She flailed and tried to grab it out his hands, but he just held it out of her reach. Lucy stood to defend herself as Dante read it over. "And not just any job, but an S-Class job. Well, you kids certainly don't do things halfway."

"That's not it!" Lucy protested. "We were just… uh…" Crap, how could she get them out of this?

"Damn straight! And once we finish this job we're gonna-!"

Lucy screamed and covered Natsu's mouth, muffling whatever else he was saying. "Natsu are you crazy?!" she hissed. "What if he tells the master?!" Natsu's eyes widened, and Lucy looked back at Dante.

"Hey, I get it," he began. "You've been part of the guild for a few years, got some experience under your belt, and now you want to start taking on the bigger jobs. But here's the thing." Dante flicked the paper a couple times. "This isn't your ordinary job. Galuna Island is an island of demons, and as a demon hunter, it's my responsibility to deal with this. So why don't you go back inside, have a fun night, and let me handle it?"

Lucy blinked. And blinked again. Huh? "You… aren't turning us in?" She felt a tentative seed of hope underneath all the anxiety.

Natsu on the other hand…

He wrenched Lucy's hand from his mouth and pointed at Dante. "Hell no! I bet you just wanna make S-Class first! That's our job and you're not taking it!"

Lucy slapped her other hand over his mouth. "Shut up, Natsu!"

"Let me ask you something, kid," Dante said. "Have you ever fought a demon before?"

Lucy lowered her hand before Natsu did it for her. "Yeah I have! Totally kicked its ass, too!"

"Well, it was really a team effort," Lucy muttered, "and it couldn't do much without its song." Now that she'd had some time to think, she'd realized that she really didn't want to visit a demon-infested island. Now if only she could convince Natsu that it was a bad idea…

"So you fought one demon. Ever fought an army of them?" Dante asked seriously. "Cause that's what you're running into. An entire island of demons. And if it took a team effort to stop one, I don't like your chances of survival here."

"That's what you think! We can take 'em all on, easy!"

Lucy groaned. "Can't you just let this go, Natsu?"

"What? I thought you wanted to be S-Class too!"

"Not if it means risking my life!"

Natsu growled. "Well if the two of you are so worried, why doesn't Dante just come along with us?"

Hey, that was an idea! Dante probably did stuff like this all the time, no doubt he'd want to help out his juniors-

"Yeah, I'm not a babysitter. Find someone else to tag along on a job with."

"You won't be babysitting, you'll be standing back and letting us handle it!"

Lucy screamed in frustration. "Look Natsu, if it's really that important to you, we can just challenge Dante to a fight when he gets back, and he can tell us whether we could've handled it or not!"

Silence.

Dante shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

A toothy grin spread across Natsu's face. "A fight with you? Heh. Well if I beat you, Gramps'll make me S-Class for sure!"

"Great." Dante tucked the flier into his pocket. "So how exactly do I get there?"

Lucy slumped against her door and exhaled as she slid to the floor. The money was gone, but Dante had promised to give her the Gate Key since he couldn't use it. She was fine with that. Those things were one-of-a-kind, so if she could get one without taking an S-Class job, then forget the money and fame, she'd stay at home and be a couch potato.

Natsu, on the other hand, was antsy. He'd already psyched himself up for the job, only for it to be taken by Dante, and now he had a fight to look forward to. He was already doing his pushups and situps again, muttering under his breath as he did so. Lucy felt like she should kick him out, but with how frayed her nerves were, she didn't mind so long as he kept the noise down.

"Hey, Natsu," she said a few minutes later. Natsu- and Happy- paused to look at her. "He'll be okay, right?"

Because as relieved as Lucy was to not have to take an S-Class job, she still felt kind of bad about just giving it to someone she didn't even know.

Natsu smirked. "Of course he will. He's strong. I can feel it." He resumed his workout, moving even faster than before.

"Master! One of the S-Class jobs is missing!"

Makarov froze as his brain shut down and took a few seconds to reboot. Then he dumped the rest of his mug into his mouth and promptly spit it out.

"WHAT?!"

He was dimly aware of the rest of the guild reacting to Mira's words, but Laxus's voice easily cut through the clamor.

"Oh yeah, I saw a cat fly up here last night and take it."

As one, all the heads in the guild turned to look at Natsu, Happy, and a very pale Lucy.

"But he's still here with Natsu and Blondie, so I guess they chickened out. Heh. At least they have some brains."

"WHADJA SAY LAXUS?! COME DOWN HERE AND FIGHT ME!"

Laxus laughed. "Yeah, right! Even you're smart enough to realize you won't win, so why should I bother?"

"That's enough, Laxus!" Makarov took a deep breath and glared at the three troublemakers. Natsu glared back, Lucy seemed to be catatonic, and Happy…

"I'm so sorry, Master! Lucy made me do it!"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE! THEY SHOWED UP AT MY APARTMENT WITH IT! I DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH TAKING IT I SWEAR!"

"Regardless of who took it," Makarov ground out, "if you give me back the job, I'll let you off easy."

Lucy began fidgeting and looked away. "Uh, well…"

Laxus chose that moment to speak up again. "Hey, where's the new guy? I'm pretty sure he followed the cat out."

Makarov felt the blood drain from his face as he looked up at Laxus. He turned back to the three who took the job. "You gave it to Dante?!"

"We thought he could handle it!" Lucy cried. "He could resist Mystogan's Sleep spell! That means he's stronger than Mystogan, right?"

Laxus laughed. "She's got a point," he said in a singsong voice.

Makarov growled and rubbed his temples; he was getting too old for this. "Which job was it?"

"Galuna Island," Mira answered.

Makarov sighed. "The island of demons."

There was an outcry among the guild at his words. Demons were bad news. Although thankfully very rare, there were enough of them to make headlines a few times a decade, usually by destroying a city. Whether Dante would be able to handle the demons on the island, Makarov wasn't sure. Dante had mentioned fighting a horde of demons in his world, but the Galuna Island job had been up there for three years already. Mages from multiple guilds had taken it before, and none of them had ever come back. There was talk among the guild masters about bumping it up to SS-Class, but Makarov was worried it might turn into a Ten-Year job.

Could Dante handle it?

"Laxus!" Makarov barked. "I want you to follow Dante and make sure he stays safe! Just in case."

"Just in case, huh?" Laxus stood from where he was leaning on the banister and made his way down the stairs. "I aint helping him; if he's worth anything, he can handle himself. But sure, I'll follow him," he added when Makarov opened his mouth in anger. "I wanna see what he can do."

Makarov took a deep breath. "Thank you, Laxus."

Laxus waved his hand dismissively as headed towards the door. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Makarov waited until he could no longer sense Laxus within the city. He hadn't been sure Laxus would listen to him, but apparently the boy's curiosity was enough incentive. He shifted his gaze to the group who had started this mess. "Now, as for you three…"

Dante squinted as the sunlight reflected off the water and into his eyes. This Hargeon Town was pretty picturesque. He could see himself living here in his retirement.

A growl shook him from his musing, and he grimaced. He should've at least gotten something to eat before he left. Now he was hungry and broke, with delicious smells taunting him no matter where he turned.

Well, he'd just have to finish this job as fast as he could. The sooner he was done, the sooner he got paid.

Turns out the biggest problem was actually starting it.

As soon as he mentioned Galuna Island, every sailor went all clammy and told him to get lost. Didn't matter that he was from a guild, or that he was going to clean the place out, they didn't want anything to do with it. He spent enough time wandering at the docks that he got some company.

"Need help?"

Dante turned away from a sailor whose eyes were really far apart to see Blondie from the second floor smirking at him.

"What do you want? I'm busy."

Blondie made his way over to them, pulling out a cigar and lighting it with a spark of lightning. "Gramps got all worried about you when he heard you made off with an S-Class job. Sent me along to make sure you stay safe."

"Yeah, well, there won't be a job if I can't get a boat out there." Dante crossed his arms. "The moment I mention Galuna Island, these guys get ready to piss themselves."

"Wait, a job? Are you from a guild?"

Dante turned back to the sailor. "Yeah, I'm from Fairy Tail. I saw the flier for the island of demons and figured I'd help out."

The sailor stared for a second before turning to Blondie. "Are you from Fairy Tail, too?"

Blondie smirked even wider. "Laxus Dreyar. Maybe you've heard of me."

The man's eyes widened; Dante took that as a yes. "I'll take you there," he said, and started untying his boat from the docks.

"Well, it's about time," Dante said. "I thought I'd starve here." As if on cue, his stomach growled.

The sailor paused as he stepped onto his boat. "You don't have any money?"

"Nothing that's worth anything in this country." Dante shrugged. "I'm not from around here."

"I see." The sailor moved to the back of the boat. "Get in."

"Let's get this show on the road."

A few mind-numbing hours later, Dante was leaning his head back over the front of the boat. Blondie looked like he had a pole jammed up his ass and had barely said anything the entire trip. Same with the sailor; he just focused on rowing. Dante had wanted to fall asleep the moment he realized this wasn't a magic-powered boat. The guy had said they'd reach Galuna Island by the time it was dark. They'd left in the morning, and it was still bright out.

Dante sighed. He'd hoped he would last longer than this, but the boredom was killing him. He casually pulled out Ivory and pointed it at the sailor. "So what was a demon doing in such a busy port town?"

He could see the guy freeze as he watched through his eyelashes. Blondie opened an eye and looked at Ivory, then the sailor.

The sailor cleared his throat. "What demon?" he asked.

"Don't play dumb with me," Dante said flatly. "I'm a demon hunter. I can tell when I'm sitting right in front of one." It wasn't the same kind of demonic energy he was used to, but it was similar enough that he could connect the dots. He raised his head and rolled his neck around. "So why were you in Hargeon?"

The sailor frantically waved his hands. "Wait, wait, wait! Don't shoot me! I can explain!"

Dante gestured for him to continue with Ivory.

"Three years ago, the moon started turning purple," he said quickly. "Someone activated the Moon Drip ritual. I don't know who, but apparently it has some kind of side effect on demons that changes their memories. I escaped before it happened to me, but all the other villagers are going insane!"

"All of them?" Dante interrupted. "Are you telling me everyone on the island is a demon?"

The sailor took a deep breath. "Yes. But we are peaceful! We don't hurt anyone, we never even leave the island! We spread the rumor of the island being cursed so people would leave us alone!"

"Hmm…" Dante leaned his head back in thought. "What about this ritual? The Moon Drip."

"You can undo any spell with it," Blondie said. "Any kind of curse, any kind of enchantment, if it has anything to do with magic, the Moon Drip can reverse it."

The sailor nodded. "Yes. It dispels the Transformation magic we use to appear human, but it's also created some kind of barrier above the island. I think that's what changed everyone's memories. If you can destroy it, I'm sure everything will go back to normal."

"And who's using this ritual?" Dante asked.

"I don't know," the sailor said bitterly. "It's probably another side effect. Every time we tried to investigate, we woke up in the village. I can only imagine that as demons, we can't get too close to the temple where the Moon Drip is being conducted. But I know it isn't anyone from the island."

Dante exhaled. Well, this would be a problem. He didn't know if demons in this world had any resistance to magic like they did in his, and he couldn't ask since he'd already said he was a demon hunter. If they did, and the Moon Drip was affecting them anyways, then he'd have to hope his human half would be enough to get him through this mission.

"Anything else I should know?" he asked.

The sailor was silent for several seconds. "No. I think that's everything."

"So stop the ritual and destroy the barrier. That's our mission," Dante said.

"Yes." The sailor took another deep breath. "And what are your plans for the villagers?"

Dante smirked. "Relax. I've been doing this long enough to know not to kill every demon I see."

The sailor looked at him for a long time before nodding. "Thank you." He held out his hand. "My name is Bobo."

Dante holstered Ivory and shook Bobo's hand. "Dante."

And after that underwhelming bit of excitement, the trip was just as boring as before. Dante eventually pulled out Nevan and started strumming her strings after introducing her. She hadn't taken well to Bobo, called him a poor excuse for a demon.

Eventually, after another several mind-numbing hours, Galuna Island was in sight.

"The other villagers think I'm dead, so I can't get you any closer," Bobo said.

Dante waved him off. "That's okay, I can get there from here."

"Yeah, I'm out." Blondie turned into a bolt of lightning and sped off towards the island. Dante stood and rolled his shoulders; this was easily the most uncomfortable trip of his life.

"Thank you again for doing this."

Dante turned back to see Bobo reveal his demon form and sprout wings. Surprisingly, it wouldn't be too out of place in his world.

"No problem."

And with that, Dante jumped into the air, pushed off a Sky Star, and ran across the water the rest of the way.

Blondie was waiting for him, apparently having pulled that pole out of his ass while he was waiting; he looked a lot more relaxed. Maybe he'd been seasick. "Took you long enough. Now get going. This is your job, newbie, I'm not doing anything for you."

Dante raised his eyebrows, a smirk growing on his face. "Newbie? I've been doing this since before you were a twinkle in your daddy's eye, kid."

Blondie sneered. "Think you're a big man just because you're from a different world? I don't care what it's like over there, I'm the strongest person in Fairy Tail."

"So you heard that, did you?" Dante began walking towards the forest. He supposed it wasn't that big of a deal if people found out he was from a different world- unless someone wanted to dissect him for it. Hm. He should've thought about that before- but he didn't think most people would believe him. Blondie apparently did. Had he already known about Mystogan? Or was it just the fact that two people and Makarov were more believable?

"Maybe you think that being able to handle Mystogan means you can handle me," Blondie continued. "Let me pop that bubble of yours: it doesn't. Once we get back to the guild, make sure you stay out of my way."

Dante waved an arm. "Whatever you say, kid."

He could hear Blondie growl behind him.

"Hey! I'm from Fairy Tail! I'm here to help you!"

Dante called out to the village behind a large wooden gate. He had to admit it was stylistically appropriate: between the sharpened points at the top, the carvings, and the "Keep Out" sign, it looked like something a mystical tribe in Brazil, Africa, or Australia would make. Granted, the sign was in English, but they had to get their point across somehow.

A few seconds later, he heard some scrabbling, and a couple of guards showed up at the top of the gate. "Fairy Tail, you said?"

"Yeah."

"We weren't told anyone had taken our request."

Dante looked at Blondie, who gave him an unhelpful glare in return. He turned back to the gate. "Sorry, I'm not used to working with guilds. I must've made a mistake somewhere." Really, there was an official process to this? Mystogan had just taken a job and walked out. Then again, this was an S-Class job, which he could tell was a big deal just by the way those two kids were acting, so maybe there were extra steps in place.

"Show us your guild marks!"

Good thing he'd gotten this thing then. He couldn't imagine having to wait any longer because he'd refused a stamp. He hadn't eaten since yesterday. And it had to have been close to midnight by this point, so if he didn't hurry, he'll have gone over a day with out eating. He pulled off his glove and raised his right hand for the guards to see.

"What about the other one?"

Blondie sighed and raised his shirt up halfway, showing the black mark on his ribcage, surrounded by tribal tattoos. "Good enough for you?"

"Yes. Come in, we'll get the chief."

The gate slowly opened, like the jaws of a beast, and Dante headed inside. One of the guards came down and led them deeper into the village, then left to get the chief. A few minutes later, everyone was up and about, and the chief assembled a crowd. With the way they were covered in robes from head to foot, they looked more like cultists than a primitive tribe. That, or they'd taken too many tips from Saudi Arabia. "Thank you for answering our request, mages. I am Moka, the village chief. I apologize for skipping the formalities, but you must see this. Everyone, remove your robes!"

As one, the villagers obeyed. For the most part, they looked like regular people, but clearly the Transformation magic wasn't perfect, or it had been degraded by the Moon Drip; they all had a demonic body part somewhere on them. For most people, it was an arm or a leg, but a few of them had a horn on one side of their heads. Experienced with demons as he was, Dante wasn't bothered by the sight; hell, Nero had a demonic right arm, and Dante himself would manifest a partial Devil Trigger in the presence of a Devil if he didn't suppress it. He was more surprised by Moka's ridiculously long sideburns. He'd hate to have to maintain those things.

Moka pointed his staff off to the side, and Dante turned his head in that direction. "Not even the animals are spared from this curse," Moka said. Sure enough, there was a dog with a demonic front paw and a bird with a pair of horns on its head. Demonic animals, those were new. There were demons that looked like animals back home, but they were still just demons. These demons, on the other hand, were animals. At least, that was how it looked to Dante. "This island has absorbed moonlight since ancient times, and glowed beautifully because of it. Recently, however, the moon turned purple, and our bodies changed."

"Is that so," Dante said as he looked up. "Well, what to do ya know? The moon's coming out."

Talk about perfect timing. Moka told him and Blondie to stand back as the villagers' Transformation was dispelled. It sounded painful, but Dante was more concerned with the fact that his head suddenly felt fuzzy. He shook it off easily enough, though, and he turned his attention back to the villagers- demons, now. There were lots of different skin colors and scale patterns, but none of them seemed to have wings like Bobo did. Maybe it was just a lack of control when their memories were screwed up.

His musings were cut short when he noticed the tears falling from many of the demons' eyes. He didn't show it, but the sight of a little kid crying because he thought he was turning into a demon really hit him hard. Bobo had said something about people going insane. How extensive was the memory modification? Would it get worse as time went on? Did the ones who'd gone insane think they were the only humans left and try to kill the others? What would it look like to the remaining villagers? Were they afraid it would happen to them? Dante had always known what he was, even if he hadn't always liked it. He didn't know what it was like to face that kind of uncertainty, of counting days you'd stayed sane and wondering if this would be the last one, but he doubted it was easy. How many of them had just snapped from the stress?

"You don't seem frightened," Moka said. "None of the other mages were so calm."

Dante shrugged. "I've been around a long time. And from what I can tell, this seems right up my alley."

Moka's eyes widened in disbelief. "You mean you have seen something like this before?"

"Quite a few times," Dante said as he crossed his arms. Granted, it was usually, if not always, a stupid, desperate, but completely willing move for more power, but they didn't need to know that. "This kind of thing doesn't just happen on its own. There's someone on the island harnessing the power of the moon for their own purposes."

"The temple," Moka whispered, and he wasn't the only one; the rest of the villagers were muttering among themselves.

"Hmm?"

"There has been activity at the temple each night," Moka explained. "We cannot approach it, for reasons we have never discovered. Every time we try, we wake up in the village the next morning."

Dante nodded. "Then that's where I'll start. But in the meantime, mind giving us some food and a place to stay the night? It's been a long day."

Dante sighed in contentment as he leaned back in his chair; nothing like a hot meal to finish off a day shot to hell. "So. Blondie. What do you think it is?"

Blondie opened his eyes from the floor and glared at him. "What?"

"Yeah. You've been doing this a while yourself. Why do you think someone's using this Moon Drip?"

"How the hell should I know?" Blondie asked. "It could be anything."

Dante shrugged. "Well, give it your best shot."

Blondie sat up. "Are you trying to get me to do this job for you? If you are, I'll kick your ass."

"You're the one from this world," Dante said. "I'm just wondering what to expect when I go in there. Is it a superweapon? A monster? Some eldritch tome of lost spells? What's this guy so eager to get at?"

"No idea. Probably something to do with Zeref."

"With what?"

"Dark wizard from four hundred years ago." Blondie flopped back on the floor. "Look him up later if you're so curious. I'm going to sleep."

Dante snickered. "Nighty-night, kid."

Blondie growled.

Dante stood up and walked to the window to get another look at the still-purple moon. A few seconds later, he felt that fuzziness from before and shook his head again. He closed the window.

Dante already had a theory of his own about what this guy was after. Admittedly, he didn't have all the facts; he wasn't from this world. But if the guy came to an island of demons to activate a ritual that could undo any spell, then there was probably a demon sealed away in this temple that no one could get to. Was he a cultist? A power-hungry madman? Did he want to become a demon like those lunatics on Fortuna?

Really, Dante didn't particularly care about the why. The ritual had to stop. If there weren't any bad intentions, he could look into another way to accomplish whatever was being done. If there were, he'd kick ass and take names.

Those were issues for tomorrow anyways. He draped his coat on the chair and lay down on the floor to get some sleep. Must've been one in the morning by now.

A/N: This ended up being a lot longer than I thought it would be, even though I'm pretty sure I got to Galuna Island as fast as I could without summarizing everything.

For everyone wondering, there will be no pairing, and no nerfing. That's the point of this story- Dante is going to stomp around in all his overpowered glory, and no contrivances will stop him. So to anyone who wants to take up this story after I'm done with it, that's the only restriction I have. Don't nerf Dante. No matter how much it changes canon, if Dante would do it, let him do it, and if he wouldn't do it, don't make him.

Can I just say how much I like writing Lucy? She's kind of airheaded, shallow, and her priorities are a bit skewed, but it's fun writing her perspective.

Originally, I wasn't going to have Laxus accompany Dante, but I wanted to see if I could write two clashing personalities. Laxus would take issue with Dante's easy confidence and dismissal of him, so I came up with a reason that I think is believable.

Something I was thinking about as I was writing the conversation with Lucy and Natsu- Natsu is kind of a static character, isn't he? Leo0074 said he became a bit quieter after the Tartaros arc because he watched Igneel die, and I think I remember that looking back, but other than that, he's still the same hot-blooded idiot hero who makes friendship speeches and rushes in without thinking or even considering telling others what he's doing. And for a guy who screams about relying on friends so much, he sure hates working with others, doesn't he? He gets between Gajeel and Elfman, Laxus has to beat the shit out of him before he'll even consider help, he kicks Gajeel out of the fight with Sting and Rogue, he refuses to let Sting and Rogue help him with Mard Geer, and he leaves everyone behind to fight the most powerful mage to ever exist without telling anyone. Great writing, Mashima. Your hero is a hypocrite.

Also, I'm working on an extra scene on the boat where Dante introduces Nevan. I wasn't quite sure how to fit it in, so I'm going to add it in later at the end of the chapter.

Finally, for any fans of "Reading: Hunting or Bust," this will probably be the last thing I post for a while. Sorry about that, but please be patient. The next chapter will be up eventually.