~Drowning The Hero In Love~
It's harder being the one taken care of rather than the one taking care of, as Gray finds out.
Chapter One
The mission was simple: to take out yet another minor dark guild that had been terrorizing a small town nearby.
It wasn't anything that they hadn't done before. As per usual, Natsu and Gray were itching for a proper fight while Erza was reticent, yet reminding the team of their duty to the guild. Lucy was highly reluctant at first; more than the supposed danger level labeled on the mission, the prospect of seeing her friends demolish both the dark guild and the surrounding property as they were in the habit of doing was even more terrifying, but the promising reward of 400,000 jewels swayed her into grudging agreement. Anything to pay the rent, after all, and Lucy pointedly ignored Happy's snide accusation of her being a miser. It was being realistic about one's own financial situation, okay?
They proceeded without incident to the site of the mission, save for Natsu's routine motion sickness on the train. The dark guild members had built themselves an underground base and modeled it into a labyrinth of sorts, with elaborate passages twisting every which way in order confuse would-be intruders. However, Natsu's proficient sense of smell led his teammates steadily to the center of the maze, easily kicking the asses of minor members along the way, and they found the master of the dark guild waiting there.
He was a thin, mustached man with a sadistic gleam in his eyes. "Oh ho," he sneered, raising two fingers to his lips and whistling shrilly. Multitudes of people appeared from seemingly nowhere, enclosing Natsu's group in a circle to keep them from reaching their master. "You did pretty well to get all the way here, eh? But you'll never win against this many of my members."
"As if!" Pounding a flame-covered fist into his other hand, Natsu readied himself and gave a cocky grin. "We already found out all the shit you guys've been up to 'til now, and we're gonna kick all your asses just the same."
"Aye!" Happy agreed cheerfully, a look of determination on his face and his wings spread out in anticipation of flight. As a Fairy Tail mage, he knew that he had a part to play in this fight as well, regardless of how large his role was. Anything was enough, as long as it was with Natsu.
Scarlet hair flared wildly as Erza requipped into one of her many combat armors with a flash, pointing her sword at the offending dark guild members. "What you have done to the nearby town and countless others is unforgivable. Prepare yourselves, because you will get no mercy from the likes of us."
"Open, Gate of the Scorpion! Scorpio!" Lucy called, slashing her golden key through the air and watching as her Celestial Spirit appeared protectively in front of her, metal tail curved and ready for action. "If you don't mind, Scorpio!"
"We are!" Scorpio replied cheerfully, extending his hands in his signature gesture. "No problem, Lucy-san! Let's keep this short and sweet, yeah? I promised to take Aquarius on a date today."
At this, Lucy paled. "A-ah, yes, let's finish this as fast as we can so I don't get drowned for keeping you here…"
"We are!"
"Let's do this thing!"
"Aye sir!"
With a burst of flames, a flurry of feathers, a sliver of silver, a tornado of sand, and a whip in hand, they charged forward as one.
"Guaaaah!"
The pained shout of the last remaining dark guild member resounded as Natsu kicked him into the stone wall, where he landed on the floor and lay there groaning quietly. Around them all, the other members were lying around the four of them in varying states of unconsciousness and disarray. Now it was only the master who was still standing.
"That all you got?" Natsu asked confidently, wiping blood from a minor cut on his lip. A lucky punch had found its way through his defenses once. "It didn't even count as a warm-up."
Faint beads of sweat rolled down the master's neck. The man was trembling slightly, the sadistic edge in his eyes completely gone. "I-I may have underestimated you mages a bit," he admitted shakily.
The corners of his lips suddenly curved upward in a maniacal smirk.
"My apologies. I should have said that you will never leave here alive."
"What?"
That moment, it was too late.
"Got you."
Ba-dum.
"What's going on?!" Lucy suddenly cried out in alarmed confusion. "Scorpio!" Her hand was reaching out to her rapidly dissolving spirit, an identical look of shock on his face, and only swiped through empty air and the remnants of golden sparkles. Scorpio's gate had been forcibly closed for some unfathomable reason.
"W-wah!" Happy flailed in midair as his wings suddenly vanished from his back, and he fell into Natsu's outstretched arms.
"A magic technique?" Erza gasped as the perimeter of the large room they were in flashed a sickly shade of purple, and a visible barrier suddenly covered a good amount of area in the center of the room, bathing the four of them in the violet glow. An armor-covered hand extended to touch the wall of the barrier, pulling back sharply as her fingertips touched something solid and sent a shock up her arm at the same time, leaving a numbing sensation. Gritting her teeth, Erza glared, mentally berating herself for not having seen the obvious trap sooner. Now they were paying the price.
"What did you do?!" Natsu shouted furiously, pounding on the barrier wall without care for the electrical shocks spurting around him.
"It took time for me to implement this," the man replied smoothly. "You could say that I made a little bet. If you had managed to defeat my members or get to me before I finished, it would have been all over. But, well, I suppose luck was on my side this time, since it appears that I've won."
Snarling in frustration, Natsu suddenly thought back to the fight. The man hadn't even attacked with the rest of his members, and indeed, barely moved around in the first place. The entire fight had been a set-up to buy time, a distraction in order to trap them.
And they had fallen for it, hook, line, and sinker.
"Three dogs of an abhorrent legal guild, and their flying pet cat." The man's eyes roved around, coming to a rest on the red, blue, and pink insignias stamped over various parts of their bodies. "My my, Fairy Tail dogs, at that. This is indeed my lucky day."
"Why don't I ever count…?" Happy mumbled despondently.
"Yes, I've heard all about the strength of Salamander and Titania," the man continued. "Vanishing for seven years and reappearing suddenly. I think this will serve as a nice little warning to the Magic Council, don't you? Capturing such fearsome opponents… Our guild will gain even greater notoriety."
At his sobering words, a jolt of realization shot through Lucy and Erza's minds.
He mentioned only the three of us and Happy… Don't tell me that this guy…
He doesn't know about Gray yet!
They still had a chance.
The plan for the mission had been outlined by Erza beforehand. While it was true that according to the records, the dark guild members were nothing special, the sheer number of them possibly milling about in the base might wear them down. In order to effectively take the entire organization down with minimal effort, Erza had decided to split up.
She, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy were to be the main force, causing as much destruction to the dark guild as they could and finding the master, if possible. They had beaten up a fair number of members by now, although it was hard to say whether they had gotten them all. But it hadn't been their real objective.
Gray was entrusted with searching for documented evidence of the dark guild's wrongdoings while they caused a commotion with the fighting. Sending Natsu was out of the question; the Fire Dragon Slayer couldn't be stealthy enough even if you promised to tell him where Igneel was (and even then, that fact was likely to make Natsu even more fired up). Lucy would have been ideal, being the most intelligent of the team, but Erza worried about the younger girl possibly panicking under pressure if she was discovered. Happy was small and could easily crawl into narrow spaces to search, but he had little to no combat ability by himself. And Erza knew she could not leave the rest of her team if there was a chance they would encounter the master.
That left Gray, who was mostly level-headed as long as Natsu wasn't within range, and his ice magic would be useful in silencing any witnesses.
Our diversionary tactic is still in place, Erza thought, narrowing her eyes at the dark guild master on the other side of the barrier. We can work around this, as long as-
Unfortunately, while Erza was calmly analyzing the situation, the same could not be said for the person next to her. At Erza's side, Natsu was grinning widely.
"Ha, you really are an idiot!" he exclaimed loudly. "Three of us? You didn't count Happy, and you didn't even notice someone else who's really annoying running around your place this whol-mmphf!"
"Idiot! Who's the idiot here?!" Lucy gasped, slapping a hand to Natsu's mouth in a hurry. "Why did you say that? Stop talking already!"
Erza sighed in exasperation.
The man blanched, an ugly look crossing his face. "Another stray dog roaming around, you say? Four of you… My, I can't have that now."
Happy's tiny shoulders drooped even more. "He didn't count me again, Natsu…"
"Fufu… No matter," the man scoffed, turning away from the trapped mages. "Whether there are three dogs or four, I'll put you all down just the same. Reinforcements will be here shortly to dispose of our little problem."
His snake-like eyes flickered back at the barrier briefly, appraising the people inside. The intensity of his gaze made Lucy shudder, but Natsu glared right back.
"It's unfortunate, really," muttered the man. "Such beautiful girls… Perhaps it would be better selling all of you off. The cat would attract attention as a spectacle in a shop somewhere, and the rest of you would be well-suited to slaving away for someone else. I know a few people who would be quite interested in paying a hefty sum for you lot, oh ho. Goodness knows I need the money to help make reparations to the members and the base that you've so kindly trashed."
"You despicable piece of scum…!" Erza hissed in disgust, clenching her hand into a fist with a quiet clank as the gauntlet parts on her hand meshed together. The man only smirked rudely again, the oily smile making Erza feel slightly ill.
"Now now, there's no need for language like that. All you need to do is sit quietly. When you wake up, rest assured that you'll be on your way in a carriage to the slave market. Please stay still."
Suddenly raising a hand, a small light emitted from the man's palm as he cast a spell, sharply piercing the wall of the barrier before any of them could react. The moment the spell made contact, the barrier began to shine.
Natsu, Lucy, Erza, and Happy stiffened, cautiously waiting for whatever reaction was about to happen. But suddenly, an intense feeling of drowsiness swept through all of them at the same time.
"What is… this…?" Her legs weakening, Lucy fell onto the hard stone ground, followed shortly by Happy. Erza was forced to one knee, breathing heavily, before she collapsed onto her side as well.
"You bastard…" Natsu snarled, desperately trying to keep his eyelids open as they grew heavier and heavier, and struggled to raise himself up from the ground with his elbows. "What… the hell did you do…?!"
The man simply laughed. "Well, the barrier itself only lasts a certain period of time, actually."
His voice was becoming increasingly distant.
Natsu could feel his body shaking with the effort of keeping himself awake. No! I can't fall asleep here, not now! And yet, he could vaguely feel himself hitting the floor, although strangely, there was no pain from the impact.
"…keep you people… sleep…"
Damn… it. I can't…!
The tips of the man's shoes were all Natsu could see as his field of vision narrowed more and more.
And then, Natsu wasn't seeing much of anything anymore.
"…Even though I'm telling you all this, I suppose there's no point if there's no one to hear."
Sweeping a wide look over the barrier, at the mages deeply sleeping like the dead, the man shrugged his shoulders and strode away.
"Good night. I wish you all the best dreams."
The silence was getting to him. Cupping a hand to his ear, Gray frowned.
Earlier, the sound of his friends rampaging up and down the base could be heard even where he was, as clearly as if he were right next to them. But all of a sudden, the noise had abruptly ceased. Had they finished taking out all the enemies already?
It wouldn't be surprising, given Natsu and Erza's presence, although Lucy was no doubt doing her best as well. Still, it didn't seem like quite enough time for them to finish, even with their power.
Oh well, it wasn't like it really mattered. He had finished up on his end anyway. It had been surprisingly difficult to find the hidden room where files upon files of dusty, yellowing papers were stacked up, involving the need to actually exit the main base and follow a trail to a deserted house on the outskirts of the nearby town. A trapdoor in the house led to what seemed like a different section of the dark guild's underground base, closed off from the main entrance. It made Gray wonder just how large the base was. The complexity of the structure and how far it extended was a little disturbing.
With his nose, the flame-brain probably would've found the trail faster than I did. There's no way the idiot could stay quiet enough to work alone like this though, ha.
Finding the storage room of documents was enough. Gray had sorted through the most important looking ones, grimacing at the malicious records of deeds the dark guild had accomplished, and especially at their future plans. They had planned to assimilate other, even more minor dark guilds under their wing, creating a large network of guild alliances. Although this mission was supposedly an easy one, it was good that he and his team had managed to stop these people before everything would get out of hand in the future.
Man, what a nasty piece of work.
Standing up, Gray stretched to ease his cramping shoulders and spine. Sitting in a dusty room like this and reading through boring folders wasn't his style, but arguing with Erza would only lead to a concussion. He spotted his shirt hanging off the edge of a shelf and blinked in mild surprise. When had he stripped again?
If Erza and the others are done, maybe I should go help with the cleanup. Waiting here's more boring than watching paint dry. It would probably be hard for them to find him anyway, now that Gray thought about it. He was so far removed from where they probably were that only Natsu's nose was likely to lead to him.
It suddenly struck Gray just how long things had been quiet, and the fact sent a small shiver up his spine that had nothing to do with cold. This wasn't normal. Strange that a lack of explosions was what worried him most.
…No, not worried. They could take care of themselves.
"I thought all you pansy fairies got caught already."
A guttural voice from the entrance of the room shocked the ice mage from his thoughts.
"You guys were way too smart for your own good. Finding our secret room like this… Hehe, too bad we'll have to kill you now."
Gray turned around.
Standing there was a large man with an unshaven face. His beady eyes were fixed on Gray, and dusty hands were rubbing together gleefully. In essence, he was the very picture of a stereotypical bad guy of a dark guild, the kind that usually went down with a single punch. But an uneasy feeling from his words caused Gray to tense.
His expression stayed carefully neutral though, and Gray made a noise of contempt. "Sorry, dying's not on my plans today." Drawing back, he pressed a fist to his other open hand, readying himself in a stance to use magic. "If you're smart, you'll tell me what you're talking about when you said 'getting caught'. There's no way they would've lost to a bunch of weaklings like you."
Despite the threat, the large man laughed at the look on Gray's face. "It's just like I said, dumbass. We caught them, and it's only you left. Everything's over."
"…I see. What did you do to my friends?"
The temperature in the room was beginning to drop sharply.
Another laugh. "Oh no, we didn't kill them, if that's what you're thinking. Getting to prance around with such beautiful girls… You fairies piss me off. The master's gonna sell them off, and we're gonna get loaded with cash. It's too bad we can't keep them to ourselves."
A flood of anger surged through Gray, and he glared icily at the man. "Telling me this was a bad idea, you know? You don't even deserve to look at our princesses, asshole."
"Whatcha gonna do about it?" the man sneered, raising a hand. "I'll get rid of y-"
At the very same moment that magic began to gather in the other man's hand, a line of ice rapidly shot forward in a straight line from Gray's hands without a word, covering the man's feet in ice.
"Wha-?!"
In less than a second, the man's whole body was encased entirely in gleaming blue ice.
"…Ah, whoops, force of habit. It got you to shut up though. The ashtray would've had you screaming about burns, so this is way quieter."
Whether the man was aware at all anymore, it was hard to say. But it was fairly clear that his defeat had been determined.
Striding purposefully out the door of the room, Gray grinned brightly at the goofy appearance of the man frozen in such a position as he passed.
"Enjoy your time in jail, old man. Maybe they'll fix that ugly mug of yours in there."
He had a mission to finish.
A/N: Firstly, I should say that the original concept of this story is not mine. It's from a Japanese site I found, and the author's name is Hagino, as far as I can tell. I liked their story a lot and I had an idea for something similar already, so I simply kind of combined and expanded on the original story a bit. I think it's safe to say that most of the credit for this story should go to them, although as a disclaimer, pretty much everything belongs to Mashima.
Sorry for those waiting for an update to Parallel Days! It's been quite a bit harder than I thought to write the next chapter. I know what I want to write, but I'm having trouble figuring out how to link scenes together. I'll try to get an update in before the year ends though, so please be patient.
This story's probably going to be really short, maybe three to four chapters of this length with quicker updates, so nothing on the scale of Parallel Days even, and hopefully it's enjoyable to those who like Gray (like me, haha), and those who like sappy, fluffy, friendship stories, which this will turn into. Anyway, please enjoy Gray getting the spotlight and being the hero for once, since I feel he doesn't get as much credit in the manga as I'd like. His fight with Rufus was amazing though.
…My author's notes are always so long.