Hello! Please enjoy this GrayLu fic! BTW, it's a rewrite that starts during the Avatar Arc, so if you haven't read it yet, I suggest you do so that you're not totally lost!

Chapter 1: A Chilling Reunion

"I'll deal with this one myself." An familiar figure stepped into the room, the air immediately turning several degrees cooler.

"Yo. You been doing well?"

Lucy, Virgo and Happy looked back and forth between Ice and Fire as they started to throw punches and kicks at each other. Her mind raced as the Natsu and Gray fought in the background. She hadn't heard from anyone from the guild in a year. A whole year without her best friends and family. But here were three of them…

Lucy turned her attention towards Gray, still a little in disbelief that he was right in front of her. She had been worried sick about him after the war with Tartaros. First, his father died, then the trouble with his Ice Devil Slayer magic, causing frightening black marks to flare up on his body. He had left without a word to anybody, including her. That had hurt the most. But none of that mattered right now. She felt elated to see Gray again.

But…

Something was off. He was different. He still had a calm and cool aura, but there was a menacing twinge in the air around him. Lucy started becoming nervous, the old worry that they would destroy everything in the vicinity surfacing.

"Hey, stop it, both of you!" she shouted in vain.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" Gray asked, sneaking a glimpse at Lucy.

"Right back at ya!" Natsu retorted.

"I do what I want."

"Juvia's waiting for you, bastard!" Natsu said as he threw a fire-coated punch.

Lucy inwardly cringed at the mention of the water mage's name. She hadn't been able to stop herself from feeling jealous when she had heard that Juvia and Gray had been living and training together. It hadn't caught her completely by surprise. She had expected Juvia to track Gray down. She didn't think that Gray would have allowed her to live with him. Still, she pushed aside her feelings in order to focus on her job at Sorcerer Weekly. She was snapped out of her thoughts by Natsu.

"I'm waiting for you. And we need you… to bring back Fairy Tail!"

Gray sighed. "This is stupid." A moment passed, then his head snapped up revealing a frightening expression. "FAIRY TAIL IS NO MORE!" he screamed in frustration. Mountains of ice exploded from his fingertips, matching the chaotic emotions within the mage that had created them.

Lucy stared in disbelief.

"That's what they all say… But all the memories… and bonds we shared are still there." Natsu exclaimed, fighting through the ice. "Fairy Tail's right here." He placed a closed fist over his heart. "Has been and always will be."

Lucy's face fell, fighting back tears. She was still sensitive whenever she was reminded of Fairy Tail being disbanded.

"Then your solution's right there isn't it?"

"Gray…" Happy had a sad look on his face that was seldom seen.

"If it's as you say, then you'd have no need for me, so leave me alone won't you? I will go my way, you go yours. Fairy Tail is no longer a part of me. So could you please drop the whole BFF act with me?" His eyes flashed with regret at what he had said, but in his mind he told himself it was for the best. However, none of his reasons mattered when he saw Lucy's pained expression.

Lucy couldn't hold back. She marched up to her best friend. They stood facing each other for a moment before she slapped him. The room went deadly silent. Gray's cold expression stared down at her without breaking.

"BFF act!? It wasn't an act! We're comrades 'till the end! Please don't say things like that!" She bit her lip, her eyes filling up with tears. "I… we… uhh"

She suddenly collapsed, startling Gray. He held back the instinct to rush to her aid. For the mission… For the mission… He chanted to himself, a mantra to keep himself from breaking his cover. She stayed on the ground, racked in pain. Gray's heart ached at the sight of Lucy's agony, fighting the urge to pummel the one that had done this to her.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!" Natsu struggled against the chains that suddenly held him. Gray shot him a withering look, hoping that Natsu would back off. But of course the dense fire-eating idiot didn't. "GRAY!"

"Ahhh…." Lucy moaned at the intense pain in her stomach. She felt like she was being stabbed continuously. She started sweating profusely. A real sword appeared next to her head.

"Don't move." A new adversary appeared. She looked over at Gray who seemed lost in his thoughts while his "teammates" continued to harass Natsu, Virgo, and Happy.

"O… owww." She curled up into a tight ball, trying to will the pain away. She heard the concerned cries of Virgo and Happy, and the dangerous growl of Natsu.

"This is what you get for sticking your nose in other people's business, Natsu."

"SNAP OUT OF IT GRAY! YOU'RE BEING POSSESSED BY A DEMON!"

"I'm perfectly sane." Gray replied calmly. "I destroyed that 'Family Link' of ours of my own accord. Now does that answer your question?" He smirked, shedding his shirt and revealing the rest of his chest. The Fairy Tail mark had been replaced by the Avatar emblem, while half of his body was covered by the black marks.

"He erased the guild's mark…?" Happy grimaced in confusion.

Lucy took a break from focusing on her pain to look at Gray. She couldn't believe it. She wouldn't believe it.

"Gray…" Natsu growled like he wanted to murder his best friend.

Lucy's vision started to fade as voices became blurred. The last thing she saw was Gray's worried face glancing down at her before she fell unconscious.

And there you have the first chapter! Hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to give me suggestions or a review :)