Summary (full) (edited 18/04/2014): Gray Fullbuster has recently become an S class mage of Fairy Tail. Frustrated with everyone implying that he doesn't yet have what it takes to complete an S class job on his own, Gray is thrown into a situation - and society - where nothing is as it seems. After stumbling out of a very confusing and deadly encounter he is saved by Ultear, who notices that Gray's injuries are not fully recovering and that he bears a strange mark. She is soon pitched in a race against time to save the cursed individual before he is completely broken. How does she cope when she also must deny her growing feelings for him?
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
Rated T for violence.
Pairing: Gray x Ultear
Yes, I am well aware of what happens in chapter 335.
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..: Before Her Time Runs Out :..
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..: Chapter 1 :..
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..: Prologue :..
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Currently
It was hot. Way too hot for the suffering ice mage. Gray panted, his breath catching as he shook uncontrollably. He attempted to wipe the beads of sweat that had been gathering on his brow but found he was unable to as sharp pain shot right up from his abdomen to his shoulder and his arm fell limply. Damn it, I'm so useless right now. He was in so many different types of discomfort; he had a deep cut across his stomach and several ribs were fractured. But by far the worst for him was the heat. As if being in the desert wasn't dangerous enough, Gray was an ice mage, meaning that he thrived in freezing cold temperatures; heat did not agree with him and the consequences of this environment were all too clear. He had a throbbing headache and his lips felt dry and cracked. He tried to lick them to regain the moisture but his tongue just felt like sandpaper.
He looked up for a moment squinting at the harsh rays of sunlight. He took in jutting crimson rocks set against the completely clear, deep blue sky. The horizon blurred and shimmered but Gray couldn't focus on the landscape anyway. Am I really going to die in this place, without a single human around? A brief spat of dizziness took over and he swayed, eventually collapsing. His injuries caused no stain on the already blood red sand.
Darkness took over.
Time passed. As for how much, Gray did not know. He lazily opened his eyes to see the all too familiar red sand right in front of his face. Ignoring the pain, he placed his hand on the scorching ground – he swore he could hear it sizzle. He then lifted himself up slowly but it proved to be too much. He slumped back down but he would not give up. Not yet.
The only thing he could do was crawl. He knew that if he didn't get to some shade he would die from heatstroke. And so he crawled, painstakingly slow across the dune until he finally settled by a boulder which cast a long dark shadow - and oh how it was refreshing. With rays of sun no longer dazzling him he was finally able to focus on his injuries. He really hoped that the ribs would heal on their own since there was nothing he could do about them for now. His cut on the other hand could be helped to an extent. He tore off a long strip off his remaining clothing, bunched it up and pressed it against the wound. That should stop the bleeding for now.
Down to the second issue – the heat. Gray struggled against some unseen barrier to squeeze out some of the last of his magic. Unfortunately, he could only form a meagre lump of ice. That'll have to do, he thought as he greedily sucked on the ice, feeling the cool drips moisten his parched throat. While it was refreshing, he also coughed and sputtered a bit as he adjusted. Feeling slightly better for now, exhaustion prevailed and he let his eyes shutter as he drifted off once again.
Hours later he awoke once again. By now the shadowy fingers of evening were inducing their hold on the scorched landscape. Everything was so red, it was... surreal. Shades of violet met crimson where the dying light was retreating and the wind now felt slightly chilly. That was the height of the problem; Gray felt cold and had started to shiver. It was wrong – he hadn't felt like this since before he began learning ice magic.
"I thought you'd never wake up." A nearby voice snarled. Gray darted his head around looking for the source. Suddenly the face of the boulder began to ripple, and a lump emerged which was revealed to be a head. The guy had beady, pure black eyes and jagged teeth. He was not fully human. Gray watched on in terror as the man's body fully formed. Shit, not him again I don't have any magic to fight with...
"How long have you been here?" He rasped.
"Oh? I've been following you the entire time." His hands slowly started to crack before they both transformed into large stone claws. A similar thing happened from his feet up to his knees. Gray was familiar with the magic of his opponent whom he'd fought only hours ago.
A cloud of dust began to form around the claw and the enemy spoke. "It's way more fun letting you escape only to crush your hope..." Gray turned away from the terrifying half human and hobbled away. Can't fight, not like this, he thought. This didn't get him very far as he was instantly struck down by a very heavy claw slash. The clawed monster stalked up to Gray and stood above him, glaring down and licking his lips.
"I honestly don't know what the Sage sees in you. You're just another human... You know we don't all follow her words. I'm going to enjoy killing you – slowly." He raised up his stone covered leg to stomp down on Gray's shin but before he could, he was hit by several gleaming objects from all directions.
"Don't you dare lay a finger on him or you'll have me to answer for!" The woman who had appeared spoke, and did not conceal her anger towards the monster who merely growled in response. Gray felt like his prayers had been answered at that moment as the woman continued attacking the horrible thing. The only action it could take was to defend against the rage fueled barrage of crystal balls and ice magic, unsuccessfully. Its end came when it was stabbed right through the chest with a sword.
"You're finished." She spat at the fallen monster which she had slain. After observing the figure for a good minute, she finally turned to Gray. He was too far out of it to recognise his saviour but in that moment all he could think of was how beautiful she was. She smiled and her dark purple hair whipped back and forth in the desert wind. However, she stopped smiling when she noticed Gray's predicament. She panicked and ran over to him but by the time she knelt beside him, he'd already lost consciousness.
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.: End of Prologue :.
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.: To Be Continued :.
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Well, this was somewhat of a preview. Tell me what you think, if I should continue etc. The next chapters will focus on everything leading up until this point and then what happens afterwards. Other chapters will most likely be longer than this one (edit 18/04/2014: up to 5 times longer). Be prepared, I update weekly and will try to keep this weekly update on Saturday for consistency.
This story will be quite quite different to my other stories; it will mostly focus on horror/suspense and mystery. In other words not humour/adventure, I want to expand.
Anyways, until next time please review – QuatroPuppy