Disclaimer: Don't own Fairy Tail.
The wind whipped by mercilessly, drowning out nearly all the other surrounding sounds, although in the present circumstance that was not particularly a bad thing. Screams were drifting throughout the heavy weather, dying just before making it to another's ears. Before them smoke and rubble hazed the air as figures sped around, fighting off their attackers as best as they could.
Gray shook his head and peered down at his hands in sorrow, anger and pure disbelief. How had things come to this…? It was completely beyond him. Just that night the guild had been full of happy chatter and playful brawls and now… now half of the ice mage's beloved family was down for the count, long since having been knocked unconscious, or at the very least he hoped that was the case. It seemed as though no one was capable of fending off this force, not even Fairy Tail's strongest team.
It had been in the wee hours of the morning that the trouble had begun. The attacker had begun to pick off the sleeping guild mates one by one in their sleep, which is until he had arrived at Gray's house.
At the time the raven had been happily lying in bed, warm arms wrapped around him in a tight and loving embrace. Natsu, his boyfriend, had stayed over that night as he had been doing quite frequently since they had begun dating those several months ago. Just weeks after the S class mission on Galuna Island to be precise.
However, the dragon slayer had woken up the moment the intruder stepped into Gray's house, his instincts kicking in as he swiftly tugged his lover closer to his warm body, peering around the empty darkness in search of the case of his unease.
It didn't take the fire mage long until he discovered why exactly he was on edge, for soon he watched as the bedroom door slowly opened and a figure in a black cloak crept inside. The black clad male seemed to pause in surprise at seeing that not only was the owner of the house not alone, but the male beside him was awake and glaring intensely at him.
From there things merely seemed to spiral out of control. Gray had stirred awake at the feeling of the warm arms wrapping even tighter around him, a low growl erupting from his holder's throat. That immediately alerted the dark blue haired male that something was horribly amiss.
The twohad just barely managed to dodge the figure's attack before they contributed with their own, nearly blowing up the raven's precious house in the process. Luckily it was not long before they slipped out the window and continued the battle outside.
All thoughts that the cloaked human was a mere burglar that happened upon the wrong house was blown away as the two mages found themselves more on the defensive side to the attacker's magic. This individual was powerful, more powerful than the lovers would care to admit.
At the sounds of explosions it wasn't long before more members of Fairy Tail, the ones that had not already been visited by the enemy that is, came to the scene to see what was causing such a ruckus. However they were not the only reinforcements that came to aid their battling comrades. Within minutes more of the enemy's friends had joined the brawl, each with an overwhelming power.
Gray cursed under his breath as he watched yet another one of his friend's fall, this time it was Lucy. She was beaten, bloody, and empty of any shred of magical energy. Not even her precious celestial spirits lasted too long, for everytime one foe was taken down two more took his place. It reminded the ice mage of a hydra.
Without wasting any further time the creator magic wizard raced to his friend's side, relieved to find that she was still alive and just barely conscious. Her clothes lay in shambles around her, thin fabric only remaining over her private areas and ugly purple bruises trailed down her once flawless skin. The mere sight induced both anger and pity within the raven.
A familiar growl of furry caused Gray to shift his attention from the blonde to the pinkette who, at the moment, was fending off the mages surrounding him. Had the ice mage not known any better he would have thought that his love was winning, although he was far too smart to believe such a thing. He may have had the upper hand at the moment, but his magic energy was running low and the attackers still swarmed him at all sides.
"Ice make: Cage!"
Rushing over to the dragon slayer's side, Gray trapped several of the males, his breath coming in short, ragged breaths.
"Gray, are you alright?"
The ice mage couldn't help but smile slightly at the concern in the other's voice. Here the fire wizard was, fending for his own life, yet he still found time to ensure that his lover was safe. That was just one of the many things that he adored about the pink haired male.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine."
It was an obvious lie. Everyone was far from fine. Even Erza and Mirajane were struggling against the opposing forces. Although it was not the lackeys that were causing most of the damage, no, they were merely there to pose as a distraction. The main male that had them all falling to their knees was the master of the dark guild that all those pieces of scum belonged to.
Cries became clearer as the wind began to die down, the remaining Fairy tail wizards fighting dwindled down to a mere three. Erza, Gray and Natsu were the only ones still somehow managing to remain standing.
"Dammit…" Natsu's curses were just barely audible over the war cries, "There are too many of them and the leader doesn't seem to have taken a single hit! Damn him!"
Dark blue locks swayed gently as the raven nodded his argreement, his body burning and arching with just that slight movement. He was nearing the end of his magical energy as well as his stamina. It was absolutely affirmative that this be ended as soon as possible.
Gray found himself swearing the gods that these enemies just had to attack while both the Thunder legion and Makarav were away. They all could certainly use their help at a time like this.
Suddenly the slightly taller mage's breath caught in his throat as he noticed a figure standing on a nearby roof, pistol in hand as he aimed at none other than the dragon slayer, who at the moment was wearing thin, his movements turning sluggish and fire dimming with each passing moment.
"Natsu!" Adrenaline kicked in as Gray managed to push the somewhat smaller male aside just as the distinguishable sound of a gunshot pierced the air. For a moment the ice mage felt as though time had slowed as he shoved his boyfriend aside, causing the other to stumble and crash to the floor at the sudden impact. That just served to prove how tired he was, usually the other was much harder to knock down. However, his thoughts did not focus on his lover for long as a new sensation made its way into his already foggy mind. Unmistakable, burning pain coursed through his chest as he felt a bullet collide forcefully just to the right of his heart, causing the stripper to tumble backwards.
"GRAY!"
He just barely heard his own name ring out as he clutched the side of this upper body, his teeth clenched in an attempt to distract himself from the pain.
"Heh, I'm fine… N-Natsu…" He murmured, his voice hardly above a whisper and nearly inaudible amongst the sound of destruction and screams.
"Fine my ass. You just got shot for damn's sake, droopy eyes!" Natsu scolded his eyes wide and brimming with worry as he staggered up, just barely able to maintain standing. "You should have just allowed me to take the hit, you damn idiot!"
Natsu's chiding was harshly cut off as a beam of magic struck him, causing him to slam back into an alley wall, a string of even more curses leaking from his mouth as he tried once more to get up, although this time he was not nearly as lucky as the last time. He managed just inches before he was forced to cling to the wall again, his eyes closed in agony and his legs trembling in exhaustion.
"Natsu…"
The ice wizard watched in horror, his pain temporarily fading away as he watched Erza soon join Natsu In his state of complete magic and energy loss. As it was he was the only mage still successfully standing and he was just barely managing to stay conscious himself.
"Is that what the entire Fairy Tail guild is capable of?!" A gruff, condescending tone asked as the same male who started the fight stepped closer to the distraught mages. "I must say, you disappoint me. All of you lousy fairies."
"The fight isn't over!" The salamander choked out, his voice hoarse as he glared at the black clad individual, "I'm still standing."
A low, amused chuckle escaped the figure, who so happened to be the dark guild leader, as his gaze flickered from the now unconscious Erza, to the wounded and shaking Gray to the fire mage who now was on his knees, his hand covering the spot on his stomach in which the beam struck him.
"All I see are a bunch of annoying flies that don't seem to understand when to give up! This is futile, you have all lost! Now I shall take all your feeble lives!"
No…. Gray's hands clenched as he pulled them away from the bleeding bullet wound, his bangs shadowing his face. No… He couldn't let all his friends die… Erza, Lucy, Mirajane, Gajeel, Levy, Juvia, Natsu,… all his friends from Fairy Tail… He couldn't, no, he wouldn't allow him to die. He just couldn't.
Almost as though it was a reflex, Gray bent down into an all too familiar and terrifying pose, his gaze hardening at the male's back as he spoke nonchalantly to the livid dragon slayer. All his friends had so much to live for, so much to do; there was no way he would allow their lives to be cut short.
Just because his Fairy Tale would come to a close wouldn't mean that theirs would as well. He would gladly meet his maker if it meant allowing the others more pages to their storybook.
Ice flared up around him and the now calmer wind resumed its furious tendencies due to the raven summoning the last of his magic energy. All those years ago Ur had sacrificed her own tale in order to preserve his and now, he would return the favor, only this time to the ones that he loved and craved to protect. He knew that his fellow guild members would be irritated by his actions, they may even hate him after this, but as long as they were alive to experience such emotions, Gray didn't mind it.
Onyx eyes widened as his glare shifted from his enemy to his lover, his blood running still as he saw just what his other half was doing.
"Gray!"
No… He wouldn't dare… Anything but that…. Damn it, he better not do that spell!
"Stop that right now, Gray!"
A small smile stained the bluette's lips as he heard Natsu's voice. So he did recognize this stance after all, did he?
"Sorry, man, but I'm afraid I can't do that."
Ice slowly began to creep up the foe's legs, a petrified expression on the dark guild master's face as magic symbols surrounded him. It seemed as though even he was aware of what the ice mage was trying to do."
"You promised you would never attempt that again, Gray! You swore that you would never run away by using that spell, that… that… Iced shell!" The salamander roared, his body protesting as he attempted to get closer to his lover in order to get him to stop. He couldn't lose him too…. He had already lost his parents and Igneel, there was no way that he would lose his mate too!
"Yes… I fully meant to heed to that promise too…" Grayed admitted sheepishly, his skin already beginning to become translucent as the ice was now up to the dark guild master's thighs, "Sorry, but that's one promise that I will have to break now…"
"No, you don't!" The fire mage cried as he fought to get to the other wizard, his legs feeling like jelly, "You don't die for your friends, you live for them!"
"Yes… That's true, but answer me this, Natsu." Gray closed his eyes and smiled a sad smile as tears began slipping from his dark blue eyes, "Which is more important, the life of one or the life of many? If I do not risk my life to save the others than I will have no more friends to live for, just emptiness…"
"We will live through this! We always will! No one is stronger than us!"
"You know, I once thought that too, however my master, Ur convinced me differently. She told me that no matter how strong you are, there is always someone out there who is stronger than you. At the time I thought she was just spouting nonsense, but only now do I see how true her words were. She sacrificed herself to save Lyon and I, her beloveds. Now it is my turn to do the same…"
"Gray, no! I don't want to lose you! Please no…" Natsu pleaded, tears streaming down his face as he staggered over to the other.
"Iced shell!" The wind kicked up as the ice grew up to the male's neck.
"It's too late…. My time here has reached it's dreaded conclusion. This is where my tale ends so that yours can prosper. I love you, Natsu Dragnel," Gray opened his eyes and looked at his boyfriend one last time, his skin already fading as he offered the Dragon slayer one final, genuine smile, "I only ask that you never forget me…"
"Stop talking like you are gonna die! You aren't!"
Strong arms wrapped around the ice mage as Natsu buried his face in the other's slightly apparent neck.
"I love you, Gray… Please don't go…"
"I hope that one day, you can forgive me for my selfish actions… Please tell everyone I love them and thank them for always being there for me… Until later, flamebrain…."
"Absolute Freeze!"
Blinding light shot throughout the city and everything stilled for several minutes as the glow slowly began to dim, exposing the battlegrounds in all it's glory.
There, kneeling in front of a large block of ice was none other than the cheerful Natsu Dragnel, however, his signature grin was far from his face as he clutched a small object tightly to his chest, hot tears streaming endlessly down his red face. There in the fire mage's hands was the ice mage's beloved cross.
The next day, after the mess from the battle was tended to the usually loud and excited guild was silent and gloomy. Throughout the entire ordeal only one life was lost, the life of everyone's beloved Ice mage, Gray Fullbuster.
Thus, the short, tearful story of one Gray Fullbuster finally came to a close. It truly was a pity, this one. A Fairy tail story with no happily ever after. But, while this one came to a horrid and painful end there were 99 others that were given the privilege of extending even further, allowing even more adventures to take place in other little tales of woe and love. For there is never truly a happily ever after for everyone, no, very few actually get such a title. It is only once you view the side of a victim that you realize that sometimes life is bitter sweet because after all, nothing truly comes to a perfect ending.
In order for some to live, others must die.
Sorry, but I haven't read through this yet. I decided to write this instead of doing my homework at the moment, so the grammar and punctuation may be off until tomorrow. 0_0. Anywho, I decided to write a series of Natray oneshots just for the heck of it and this happens to be the first once. Heh… Don't work, the next one will be nice and fluffy to make one for this sad one… Sorry if the characters are OOC, I tried.
So, please review what you think and feel free to request ideas for oneshots or just give me a word and I'll make a story about Natsu and Gray out of it :D.