The carriage was especially quiet on the way back from Crocus, especially when the occupants had just won the Grand Magic Games. Natsu was puking, Lucy was playing with her keys, Erza was polishing her sword, Wendy was simply fidgeting, and Juvia was oggling Gray. Gray, well he was just staring out the window. His thoughts constantly drifted back to what happened during the fight with the dragons. He saw himself die, yet here he was. He was still confused as to what happened, but with time being the matter at hand, he had his suspicions. 'Ultear, just what the hell did you do?'
As the carriage marched on, they passed an old lady walking along the side of the road. Gray immediately felt some sort of familiarity toward the woman, who had long, violet hair. "No."
"Gray, did you say something?" Erza asked.
"Stop the carriage."
"What? Why?" Erza asked.
"I said stop the carriage" he said a bit more forcefully this time.
"Gray, you know we're pressed for time-"
"I SAID STOP THE FUCKING CARRIAGE!" The driver obliged and Gray jumped out, running after the old woman. She turned around when she heard his steps behind her. "Are you.. Ultear?"
The woman bore a sad expression on her face at Gray's question. Silence was in the air for a minute before she spoke. "Yes."
Gray immediately broke down in tears. He couldn't believe it. What happened to her? Was this the result of what had happened when he saw into the future? It had to be. He choked on his words. "You..saved..my life."
Ultear looked shocked. So it had worked. She had actually helped someone. The spell that she gave her life to cast had actually saved someone. She could die in peace now.
"Ultear, please say something."
The old lady looked at him with warmth in her eyes. "I'm glad you're okay." She smiled before turning and walking away.
"Why?" Gray asked under his breath, but she didn't hear him as she continued walking.
...
Gray soon boarded the carriage again, tears still in his eyes. He didn't say another word for the rest of the ride. He managed to stop the tears by the time they got back to Magnolia, but the welcoming party still felt empty to him.
He didn't go back to the guild hall. He aimlessly drifted through the Eastern Forest for awhile before heading home for the night.
When he got back to his place, he noticed a note on his door. 'Meet us in Southgate Park at ten tomorrow night.'
"Huh? Wonder what the hell this is about?" he asked aloud. He went into his house and crashed on his bed. He wanted nothing more than to wake up in the morning and have this all be a terrible nightmare, but his thoughts instantly drifted to the woman that he had grown to love so much recently. 'I swear, no matter what, I will find a way to reverse this spell. I will save you!'
...
The nightmares wouldn't stop that night. He constantly saw the images of Juvia and Lyon losing their minds when he died. He saw the spell shooting right through his head. It replayed in his dreams thousands of times that night.
Then he saw Ur. He saw his master preparing to cast the iced shell on the demon Deliora. He saw himself and Lyon watching helplessly as Ur sacrified herself. His child voice echoed through his dream. "I killed her. I killed her. I killed her."
Then he saw Ultear. He heard her voice, telling him the story about how her mother had abandoned her. How he was the reason that she didn't come home. That he had replaced her. "I'm the reason they weren't together" the voice echoed through his head.
The last was the image of the old lady walking away. She had admitted that she had saved him. She was the reason that he was alive, and she payed the ultimate price for his life.
"I ruined her life."
"I ruined her life."
"I ruined her life."
"AAAGGGGHHH!" he awoke screaming in terror, soaked in a cold sweat. He knew he was the cause of all her pain and suffering, and he was going to fix it. "I will get her back. I have to."
...
He didn't go to the guild hall at all the next day. He shut himself inside his house for the day, awaiting the night so he could see what that creepy note was about. When the time finally came, he left his house and made his way to the park.
Strolling through Magnolia in the cool night air felt refreshing to him. It was calming in a sense, but he was still on edge. He knew he had to be on his toes in case this was some sort of trap, but as he approached the tree, he knew who was waiting for him. Two robed figures were awaiting him.
"Jellal. Merudy."
The two figures took their hoods off and revealed themselves as said mages. "Long time no see, huh?" Merudy asked, attempting to lighten the mood.
Her attempt failed. "Let's get right to the point. Why have you called me out here?" Gray asked them.
"We know what happened to Ultear" Jellal told him.
"Yeah, I do too, so?"
"We did some research, and we found a way to give her her time back" Jellal explained.
Then Merudy jumped in. "You're not gonna like it though."
"Who cares if I like it or not?" he snapped.
"We thought about whether or not to tell you what we found, but we figured you did have a right to know what we discovered" Jellal explained.
Gray was growing impatient. "So are you gonna tell me or not?"
Jellal sighed. "The answer we found." His voice trailed off before he started again. "It lies in the book of Zeref."
...
A/N: This idea came into my head as I was falling asleep last night and I wanted to get it on here as fast as possible. Anyway, please review and tell me what you think!