Hey all :D i don't own fairy tail :) enjoy!

Prologue

Boring. The only way to describe the moment. The guild was practically empty except for me and a few sparse members sitting around and talking. Lucy was on a mission by herself for a change. She said she wanted to try one on her own so she could get all the reward money. I still didn't see the problem of breaking down a few houses as long as the job got done. Requests never say anything about not being allowed to wreck a house or two.

I humphed to myself and continued to stare at one of the wooden pillars holding the guild up. I let my mind wander and twist the different shades of brown into shapes. I was just that bored.

The ice block wasn't even here to argue with. He'd never admit it out loud, I started worrying after day four. Despite the fact that we always fought and insulted each other, we were really good friends. Fighting was just the way we showed we cared about each other.

I sat in silence until I felt a presence appear beside me. I sniffed the air cautiously, hoping it was Gray and I'd just been to out of it to hear him come through the door, but my hopes fell when the only scent to reach my nose was metal.

Gajeel sat on the stool next to me at the bar and followed my line of sight.

"Why are you staring at a block of wood flame head? Planning on setting it alight?" he asked gruffly.

I sighed, "No."

Gajeel scoffed and signaled to Mira who was on the other end of the bar. "Then why do you look like the worlds about to end?" I didn't reply and Gajeel didn't speak until he dropped a small screw in the drink Mira gave him.

"Worried about the ice princess?"

I stiffened but relaxed instantly, worried Gajeel would notice.

"No, why'd you think I'd be worried for him?" I snorted.

Gajeel stared at me skeptically, "Because, hot head, the moment he left you've been sitting in the exact same spot for exactly eight hours every day, no matter what anyone does."

I frowned, did I? Was I being that obvious?

I shrugged, "I'm just bored, without Ice block to fight with there's nothing to do."

Gajeel slapped the back of my head, making my nose hit the counter.

"Hey metal freak, what was that for?" I demanded, banging my fist on the table.

"Trying to knock some sense into that dead brain of yours, you are worried about him. Get over yourself and admit it already." Gajeel said and shrugged, taking a large gulp of his drink, draining it completely. He grinned and dropped the piece of metal into his mouth and crunched on it happily.

I scowled, "Says who."

Gajeel rolled his eyes, and asked the white haired takeover mage to refill his glass.

"Says me and everyone else who's seen you for the last two weeks, everyone can tell."

I sighed, "Mira, can I have a fire whisky please?" I asked, leaning my chin on my hand.

Mirajane smiled and placed the drink in front of me. "Feeling alright Natsu? I'm sure Gray will be back soon." She said encouragingly before leaving to fix drinks for the rest of the guild.

I sighed again and turned to Gajeel, "Is it really that easy to tell?"

He smirked, "Easier."

I took a sip of my drink and rested my head on my arms, "He's never been this late before, it was just supposed to be three days."

Gajeel shrugged, "Maybe he got caught up, he could have missed the train, or it could have broken down and now he's walking."

My uneasiness lifted slightly at that, but then the metal head had to ruin it by continuing.

"On the other hand, he could have died, gotten captured, he could be getting tortured. Or heck he might have found a girl who could look past his stripping habit." He smirked and cast a sideways glance at me from the corner of his eye.

Sure the first three things were bad but for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why the last one set my teeth on edge and gave me the urge to crack some skulls. Just the thought of seeing the Ice block with some girl had me seeing red and feeling slightly more homicidal than normal.

Gajeel seemed to notice my fists clenching and the metal dragon slayer's smirk widened, "I knew it." he whispered under his breath.

I frowned and turned to him in confusion, "What?"

Gajeel shrugged, "Nothing."

My frown deepened, but I shrugged, if Gajeel wasn't going to talk, there's no way I'd be able to make him. Unless I beat him up, but I didn't really feel like it.

I sighed, waiting and staring at the wooden post from earlier.

Just when I was about to fall asleep, the guild door burst open and the metallic scent of blood hit my nose hard, making me cringe. I turned around, fire already coating my hand.

I was expecting magic to start flying and intruders to start barging in but I felt the fire go out when there was only one person in the doorway. I couldn't see who it was properly because of the bright light outside creating a shadow over the person's features. Not to mention the fact that the scent of blood was strong enough that I couldn't pick up anything else on the person.

The figure managed to stay standing for a moment longer before they fell to the ground in a heap. The second after, chairs started scraping as everyone who was in the guild went to see who it was. I jumped up almost immediately but couldn't manage to push through the crowd of people to see who was hurt.

"Oh my god," someone choked.

"Get Wendy!" another person yelled, It sounded like Alzack.

My brain was too muddled to even begin to think about who it could be, the only thing on my mind was making sure whoever it was was alive.

After Alzack yelled for someone to find the little sky dragon slayer, I saw Bisca branch away from the crowd and without waiting a moment longer, I dove into the spot she left.

What I saw made me pause, my brain trying to make sense of what I was seeing.

Black hair, no shirt, pale skin, red. Red was everywhere, in his hair, on the ground beneath him, covering his upper body where it seeped through uneven bandages.

I felt my breath hitch and I swore my heart stopped beating for a full five seconds. The world seemed to be put on mute, I couldn't hear anything, not even the sound of my own breathing.

I was only just aware of people trying to speak to me, shaking my shoulders and attempting to draw me back from my own mind as it collapsed around me.

"Who is it?" the familiar gruff voice broke through the muted silence. I silently pleaded that no one would answer Gajeel, I knew who it was but the last thing I wanted was to hear it out loud.

There was a moment of silence, "It's Gray."

I stiffened, the blood rushed through my head so fast I was hardly aware as Gajeel let loose a string of curses and started yelling at everyone to get out of the guild if they didn't want to be burnt to a crisp.

I remember feeling horrible pulsing anger and adrenaline before my consciousness was shoved to the back of my mind and everything went black.

I hope it was okay :) this is the only chapter that's gonna be in first person, all the others will be third person but it will be switching around a bit :) um yeah, hope you like it!