Gray was first aware of someone brushing his hair out of his face. A small groan escaped his lips as he was pulled towards consiousness. His brow furrowed and his fingers twitched before his dark blue eyes opened.

A man was leaning over him, eyebrows drawn together. He had shaggy brown hair and darker skin. His jaw had stubble, which was beginning to tinge with grey. He had to be around forty, judging by the lines around his eyes and mouth.

"You awake?" the man asked. Gray swallowed and tried to move his limbs, which were heavy and tingling with fatigue. He nodded. The man smiled. "My name is Toby. Do you know where you are?" he asked the boy.

Gray shook his head slowly. His tongue felt thick. As whatever he'd been under began to wear off, the higher his panic rose. Where was he? How did he get here? "You put up a fight, I think," Toby said, looking him up and down.

"Then they drugged you and took you here." Gray moved slowly as his limbs still felt odd, and he pushed himself upright. "They?" Toby pursed his lips. "Sorry, I have no idea."

The ice wizard blinked a few times as he examined the cell the two were seated in. Completely made of metal, with no windows or beds, and the only exit was a barred door which had to be locked down tight.

"W-Where am I?" Gray asked. Toby scratched the back of his neck. "I don't know the exact location, but you're in a labour camp." At Gray's confused expression, he quickly explained. "Wizards are kidnapped and forced to work here. At night, we're taken downstairs to be drained of our magic. It's run by a dark guild, that's all we know." Gray caught sight of something silver on his wrist.

"Oh, those bind our magic. We can't use it at all and it's impossible to get off." Gray couldn't find a clasp and it was practically skin tight. Suddenly, Gray's hand flew to his throat, where his fingers searched his collarbone for the familiar chain.

Gray looked at Toby. "Have you seen my necklace?" he asked. Toby shook his head apologetically. "Sorry. You probably lost it in whatever fight you were in. Gray examined himself and found the long scratch stretching from shoulder to shoulder. The necklace had most likely been cut.

He cursed under his breath.

"Is it important to you?" Toby asked. Gray's hand stayed at the spot where it would've been. Should've been. For a brief moment, he thought back to Fairy Tail. "Yeah," he replied, "It's been through a lot with me."

"Get up! C'mon!" Gray let out a groan. "Wha-?" Toby chuckled. "Time to get up, we've got a lot of work ahead of us." Gray blinked a few times but got to his feet. He slipped into the mass of workers with Toby.

"So, what's your name?" Toby asked. Gray realized he'd never told the older man. "Oh, sorry. It's Gray." Toby nodded a few times. "It fits you,' he commented. Gray snorted.

Toby suppressed a yawn. "I'm an energy wizard, you?" Gray frowned. "Energy?" Toby nodded. "Yep. I can expel energy, as well as monitor how much I give off. Besides, we're to be cell mates, we gotta know a bit about each other if we're going to get along."

Gray eyes him for a minute. "Ice mage," he said finally. Toby winced. "My condolences." Gray grew alarmed. "What?" Toby gestured to the end of the hall, where a large door was waiting to be opened.

"It's hot as hell out there. The last few ice wizards we had got sick from the heat." Gray wrinkled his nose. "Great." The door opened with a groan, and everyone was pushed outside.

Gray wondered if he'd just had a mini heart attack from just the radiating heat alone. His chest tightened. "Ugh," he spat, shielding his eyes from the harsh rays. Toby patted him on his bare shoulder. "Sorry, kid. Anyway, we should get to work. Follow me."

Toby led him towards a field, and Gray faltered for a moment. It was massive, stretching on and on towards the horizon. It was filled with tall plants adorned with golden veins. At the top of some, a bright red leaf glowed in the light of the sun.

"What are they?" Gray asked. Each plants was covered with wicked thorns, pointed and sharp. Toby glanced at one as they walked down a makeshift aisle. "Magical plants called Attor. We harvest them, and they are taken into the dark guild's hideaway and they take the magical essence inside. The thorns are very poisonous. One cut and you could die."

Gray snatched his hand away from where he'd been about to poke one. "Oh."

Toby chose an empty row. "I'll start pulling the plants, and you weed, okay?" Gray frowned. "Are you sure?" Toby waved it off. "Yeah. I'll teach you how to pull them some other day."

Gray set to work weeding. It wasn't hard, really. Just pull at the plants a little, and they came free easily. He turned at some point to see Toby gawking at him. "What?" he asked a bit sharply.

"You're pretty strong. Hold on a second. Okay, come here, I wanna see if you can pull this." Gray looked up at the tip of the magical plant. "Okay."

Toby wove his fingers through the thorns for him, and Gray's heart thudded a bit faster at the knowledge that if he pricked a finger, he'd go six feet under. "Try pulling." Gray strained, and sweat beaded on his brow, but within thirty seconds the plants came free, roots and all.

Toby grinned. "Wow. I think I underestimated you."

Like Toby had said though, a few hours later and Gray was over heating. He gulped in hot air. "You doing okay, Gray?" Gray nodded. "Yeah. I haven't encountered heat like this before."

Toby looked at him sympathetically. "It's for the plants. Only under this kind of heat and sun does the plant grow to such sizes."

Gray made a face. "Awesome."

That night, in their cell, Toby seemed extremely awake. Gray cocked his head. "Why aren't you sleeping?" Toby waved his hand at the door. "I told you, kid. They take wizards to drain their magic from in the night, so the sleeping schedule sucks."

"Oh."

Gray thought for a moment. "They'll bring you back, though, right?" Toby nodded. "Yeah. A few hours after they get me." Gray nodded, and the two fell into silence for a few minutes.

"Have you ever tried to escape?" Without missing a beat, Toby shot back, "It's not possible, little one." Gray scowled. "What do you mean? Have you tried?" Toby laughed. "People have tried. I myself have not, mostly because I've seen what happens to those that do. It's impossible."

The ice mage folded his arms across his chest. "Nothing's impossible, gramps." Toby snickered. "Gramps? I'm not that old." Gray shrugged. "I know another guy like you. He's actually my guild master. I call him gramps. Besides, you're significantly older than me. So: Gramps."

It was Toby's turn to make a face.