FT © Hiro Mashima
Blood. There was so much blood.
Erza trembled as she lay on the ground, covered in wounds from head to toe. She raked her nails into the dirt, trying to ease her pain somehow. She hated feeling helpless like this. She should be out there with her friends, fighting alongside them—not just laying here in the dirt, writhing from her pain.
She heard the clash of metal against metal, the sound of explosions in the distance. She heard her friends yelling, fighting, and here she was, useless. Hot, angry tears pricked at her eyes. Pathetic.
"Erza! Hey, Erza!" Footsteps. "Oh, shit… what happened to you?"
She turned slightly to look at her most cherished friend, the man who meant everything to her and then some. "Gray," she rasped.
Gray knelt down next to her, his eyes traveling over her battered body. He reached out to brush her blood-caked hair out of her face. Erza winced in response. Even a small touch like that sent a wave of pain throughout her body. Gray withdrew his hand quickly, as if he had touched fire. "Shit. Sorry, Erza." He turned to the direction of the battle. "Wendy! I need some help, Erza's down!" he yelled.
He was no worse for wear, though. He had cuts all over, and small bruises starting to blossom on his lightly tanned skin.
"Don't worry. We'll have you good as new in no time." He smiled. "Think about home. It's gonna feel so good to go home after we handle this mess."
Her eye caught a flash of blue running towards them. "Erza-san! I'm coming, just hold on!" Wendy yelled. Erza's heart warmed at the sight of the young girl, but then she saw a huge shadowy figure rise from behind her. Her heart almost stopped.
Erza frantically tried to get up, but her body wouldn't allow it. Gray tried to calm her down, but she just brushed him off. The figure was enclosing on Wendy, a small glow emitting from its large mouth.
She summoned all her willpower into her voice. "WENDY! BEHIND YOU!"
But she was too late. The light inside the creature's mouth was now blindingly bright. Wendy halted, turning slowly.
"STOP!"
Both Erza and Gray watched in horror as a laser shot through Wendy's tiny body, disintegrating her entire left side. She hacked up blood, her eyes wide with shock.
And then, she fell. Motionless.
"WENDY!" Erza sobbed. She had no time to grieve though, as the monster was approaching Gray and herself. She desperately tried to scramble to her feet.
"Get out of here, Erza. I'll cover for you. GO!" Gray yelled through his tears. More monsters had appeared, enclosing them in a semi-circle. Their claws gleamed wickedly in the afternoon sun.
"No, Gray… Don't make any sacrifices for me. You promised me! You promised that we'd fight to live, together!"
He hesitated, as if recalling the memory. "Damn it, Erza!" He turned, picked her up, and dashed into the forest.
Gray was fast, but not fast enough. The laser monsters- were there seven?- were gaining on them at an alarming rate. They licked their disgusting mouths, as if they were deciding how they would eat them. Gray looked back and suddenly, the monsters were right on top of them. He stopped and shielded Erza behind him. "Run, Erza!"
They attacked before she could respond. The claws sliced through his body, gouging his chest. His blood splattered everywhere, including her face. Erza raised her hand gingerly, wiping the blood off her face. She stared at it in shock, trembling like mad. She looked up again and saw Gray laid on the ground, bathed in his own blood.
A blood-curdling scream ripped out of her throat at the sight. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
Gray was dead.
Gray was dead.
GRAY WAS DEAD.
She watched in shock as three more monsters entered the clearing. They each carried a body of her closest friends- Lucy, Natsu, Wendy. All of them either cut and bloodied, or missing body parts. They threw them on the ground along with Gray. Erza sat in stunned silence. All her friends were dead.
The monsters looked at each other and nodded, as if saying, 'This one is the last one. Let's finish this.'
Erza's body shook violently with grief and fear. 'Do something!', her mind shouted at her, but her body had long lost the will to move. They all approached her, their sickeningly sharp claws raised.
She could only stare blankly as the claws flew towards her face.
Erza woke with a scream.
She was doused in a cold sweat, her eyes wild. She knew somewhere in the back of her mind that she was home, safe, in bed next to her now alarmed boyfriend, but she couldn't bring herself to believe this. Images from her nightmare flashed in her mind, jolting her with new waves of fear. She distantly heard weeping, but when she felt tears drop on her hands, she realized she was the one sobbing uncontrollably.
Strong arms wrapped around her shaky frame. "Erza… it's alright. I'm here." Gray soothed. Erza turned and flung her arms around him, sobbing onto his shoulder. She squeezed him so tight that Gray knew he would have angry red marks on his back come morning.
They stayed like that for a while until Erza's sobs quieted. Gray rubbed her back one last time before pulling away slightly to look into her bloodshot eyes. "A bad one, huh?" He whispered.
Erza wiped her eyes and nodded. "You… you were murdered in front of me. L-Lucy, Natsu, and Wendy too." She paused to take a deep breath. "I couldn't help you. I couldn't do anything. I'm still so weak," she hissed.
Gray stroked her cheek gently. "Weak? You are the farthest thing from that. You've handed my ass to me so many times I lost count a long time ago. You've saved us countless times in real battles. You are strong."
Erza looked away. "Not strong enough," she mumbled.
Gray took her hand and placed it over his heart. "Feel that? I'm alive. You are too. We're alive because we help each other, we protect each other, but most importantly, we fight together. Even if you don't think you're strong enough- and you are – you have us, your friends to fuel you with strength." He raised her hand to his lips, placing a chaste kiss on her palm. "I promised you, didn't I? I'd fight to live on with you, with our friends, with everyone at Fairy Tail. And I'll keep it forever. You know I'm a man of my word," he said, smiling softly.
Erza felt fresh tears fall down her face, but not tears of sorrow- tears of happiness. Gray was right. As long as her friends fought beside her, to live beside her, she would not fail, and neither would they. They held each other up, supporting one another. She cracked a small smile at Gray.
She reached up and held his face in her hands. "How did I get so lucky with you… Thank you, Gray." She kissed him long and slow, pouring all her love for him into the kiss.
Gray was always there. Even when they were still kids, he managed to break the armor around her heart to reveal the real Erza. The Erza who wasn't always so tough. Who was insecure, vulnerable, and scared of getting hurt. But he saw through her and accepted her flaws.
She really was lucky.
Aaand Day 2 is done! I feel like every time I write Gray, I somehow make him give Erza a pep talk, lol. Or vice versa. I CAN'T STOP?
Enough with all this angst (for the most part), some major fluff will be coming tommorow!
