Hey everybody! I actually thought of the title of this oneshot before the actual story... Well, anyways, I hope you enjoy reading it! :)
Warning: violence, cursing
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters
"Ice-make, lance!" seven more dark mages went down, but it barely seemed to diminish the enemies' numbers. Gray sighed, glaring at the next group of mages who charged at him. The dark guild that Fairy Tail was fighting was pretty weak, and their only advantage was their seemingly unending numbers. Also, they couldn't be that smart if they thought they could attack Magnolia and not confront Fairy Tail.
Gray took down another wave of the enemies. They sure were persistent, and annoying. He and the rest of his team had just gotten back from a very tiring mission and then they had to deal with this the moment they got home. But as members of Fairy Tail they couldn't just relax while the innocent people of Magnolia were being attacked.
He returned his focus to the battle to see the mages backing away from him. Maybe they finally realized this is a losing battle, he thought with a smirk. Then a large, hard mass crashed into his chest and sent him flying into the stone wall of the building behind him. A sharp pain spread over his chest and he gasped, darkness creeping at the edge of his vision. But he had to force the darkness away as he noticed who he assumed was his attacker approaching.
"Betcha didn expect that," the burly man sneered, drawing a large sword from the sheath at his hip. Gray staggered to his feet, glaring up at the man who was at least twice as tall as him. He winced at the pain that rang through his chest, but managed to form a sword out of his ice just in time to block a strike from the man.
Or so he thought. The moment the man's sword met Gray's, his sword of ice shattered and the man's weapon continued on its path towards Gray's side. The ice mage tried to dodge, but the large metal blade had a long reach and easily sliced a deep gash into Gray's abdomen before he could move fully out of range.
Gray held back a shout of pain as he fell to his knees. The searing pain of the gash combined with the sharp throbbing of his chest. Blood pooled in the back of his throat and he chocked, an odd gurgling sound coming from his mouth before he vomited a dark crimson liquid onto the ground. He swayed for a few moments, then the burly man walked up behind him, kicking him in the back and shoving him face-first into the large puddle of vomit and blood.
"Guess Fairy Tail ain't storng as e'eryone says," he chuckled, nudging the ice mage again with his foot. Then the foot connected with his side, and he cried out as he rolled a few feet away. More blood gushed from his wound, quickly forming another puddle beneath him. His breathing was suddenly cut off as a thick coppery liquid clogged his throat. His whole body convulsed, and he wretched, more blood spewing from his mouth.
It was at that moment a sort of fog settled over his brain, slowly numbing the pain and mostly blocking out the world around him. He thought the guy might have kicked him a few more times, but he didn't feel it. Suddenly everything stopped. There was a loud shout, of someone else, and some loud noises. Also an almost unbearable source of intense heat that broke through his fog and seemed to last forever.
Then a new voice spoke up, one that sounded so familiar and annoying at the same time. Only a few seconds later, a blurry pink figure entered his vision. It sounded like the person was yelling, but he couldn't be sure. He felt so tired, and the fog around his brain thickened, trying to tune out the pink figure. But it wasn't working
Something about the irritating voice kept nagging at him, preventing him from drifting off. It made him feel like he shouldn't go to sleep, like there was something he was supposed to stay awake for, but he couldn't remember what.
.
.
.
.
Natsu was actually having fun beating up these idiot dark mages who thought it was a good idea to attack Magnolia, but then he smelled something strange. It took him a few seconds to realize what it was, and then he was gone, running towards its source. Blood. Of course the disgusting smell of blood was everywhere with all the fighting, but this was different. He recognized this scent; it was the blood of someone he knew.
He picked up speed, going as fast as he possibly could. Even now, by scent alone, he could tell there was a lot of blood. Too much. After turning around one more corner, finally, he reached his destination. And there was Gray. Lying in a puddle of his own blood while some bastard kicked him in the stomach. And the asshole was laughing while he did it, as if kicking the life out of someone who already looked half-dead was some great joy.
Natsu was seeing red, and in only a few seconds he exploded, harsh flames enveloping his body.
"You damn bastard!" Natsu hollered, shooting forward at the man. Before the guy could move, he'd already barreled into his chest and sent him launching through the wall of the building behind him. The next few minutes were a blur, and when he returned to his senses, and saw the man cowering and begging him not to hurt him, it took everything he had not to finish the bastard off. But he had more important things to worry about.
He turned back around to face his fallen comrade, and was unable to hold back a gasp. He was lying on his side, and his skin was a sickly white color. In stark contrast, dark streams of crimson still poured from the wound on his side, running in rivulets over his body to join the puddle under him. Natsu ran forward, dropping to his knees next to Gray, ignoring the blood that soaked into his pants.
"Oi, Gray!" he grabbed the ice mage by the shoulders, moving him into a sitting position and supported him with his arm. Gray's eyes were opened, but Natsu couldn't be entirely sure if his friend was even hearing him. He gave him a small shake.
"Come on ice block, answer me," he taunted, hoping to get some response. But there was nothing, he didn't even blink. Natsu's heat clenched, and his throat suddenly felt tight.
"Gray? Come on..." his voice trembled slightly, "hey, this isn't funny anymore... Answer me!" he began to shake.
"No... Gray, don't do this... Dammit, don't die!" he shouted, shaking the cold mage again, rougher. His eyes began to sting, and a choked noise came out his mouth.
"Please... don't die..." his voice was now only just above a whisper, "if you aren't there, who am I supposed to fight with? And... what about everyone else? If you die you'll make them cry you bastard..." tears dripped off his face and onto Gray, mingling with the blood that covered his skin. He suddenly felt so weak, and couldn't help but think this was somehow his fault. If he'd just been stronger, or gotten here quicker, maybe then Gray wouldn't be...
He bit his lower lip to hold back a sob. How was this possible? How could his best friend, who he knew was strong, just die like this, so suddenly. Then he heard footsteps from behind him and his heart sank further in his chest.
"Natsu! What are you doing just sitting there? Let's..." Lucy's voice trailed off and then the footsteps stopped.
"Natsu, what's...?" her voice was shaking.
"Natsu. What's going on, are you alright?" Erza was there too. He turned slightly to face them, also giving them a view of Gray. Lucy brought up a hand to cover her mouth, and Erza went completely stiff.
"What... what happened?" she asked, struggling to maintain her usual calm demeanor.
"Those bastards killed him," Natsu growled. Lucy let out a choked sob, and a few tears began to escape from Erza's eyes. She didn't want to believe this. Gray was one of her closest friends, and this was just too sudden for her, too much at once. Lucy was full on bawling next to her and Erza found it increasingly difficult to hold back her own sobs. Even Natsu had tears running down his face.
Finally a strangled cry made itself past her lips, and she finally broke down. She had just lost a family member. That was all she could think of, was that he was gone. And she wished she could have been here to help him and somehow prevent this from happening.
"He's not gone," even though his voice was quiet, Lucy and Erza could still hear Natsu over their cries.
"As long as we don't forget him he isn't gone," Natsu looked at them, his eyes glistening with tears. Erza nodded, holding back another sob.
"Right."
Please leave a review if you can, I would really appreciate it if you'd tell me what you thought. Thanks for reading!