Name: Grace and Summer
Genre; Comedy/Adventure/Gratsu
Background; This was the second fanfiction I'd ever made, while I was just pouring ideas onto paper without much caring for quality of writing and still keeping it fairly lighthearted. I said fairly. Rereading this made me seriously miss these two characters, who also happen to make a cameo appearance in Our World of Zeref. I actually realised that I've already broken my own rule and this story DOES have a ending, but this was a quick 'alternative ending' as I knew I wouldn't have the time or effort to really finish it and it didn't explore half of what I wanted it to.
Prologue
The sun was shining brightly on the far corner of the continent and it was beautifully warm. There was a sense of accomplishment as they travelled homeward. "I can't believe we actually got a full reward!" Lucy said, punching her tiny fists into the air with a huge grin across her face.
"It was only because that building we destroyed was going to be broken anyway…" Happy reminded her.
"I don't care!" Lucy grinned, excited as she thought of all the things that she could use her new jewel. Of course, rent came first, but if she was lucky the celestial key in the window of the pawn shop would still be there and with a little feminine charm she could scramble together enough jewel to have it by the end of the month. That was, of course, assuming that there wouldn't be some other costly repairs that needed her money. "I'm just glad that we helped that old man."
"And we helped the workers demolish that building" Natsu chimed in happily.
"Um, I don't think that they really appreciated that, Natsu…" Lucy mentioned to him.
Erza stopped, looking behind herself. She stared into the forests around her, her eyes sparkling as she saw a sudden flurry of black birds fly into the sky squawking loudly.
"Hey Erza, what's up?" Natsu questioned, stopping himself and looking back at her.
She narrowed her eyes, staring back. "I thought I heard something…" she said slowly, her fingers itching to hold the hilt of her sword again. Under her armour she was overheating but still she refused to take it off, and the sounds around her only made her crave more metal to protect herself. "We should be cautious. There's something very large moving in this forest."
Chapter 1
Summer put her hands behind her head, staring up at the beautiful sunshine that was beaming down at them all. "Hm, everything looks normal enough…" she said, soaking in the pleasant heat and the smells around her. The leaves were rustling gently around them, wind blowing through her cherry blossom hair and for a moment everything felt normal. "You could almost pretend its home, couldn't you?"
Grace looked up, feeling more uncomfortable in the heat than her hot-headed companion but still enjoying the brightness and the way that the forest welcomed them. A small thin smile appeared on her lips. "For a moment, maybe," she admitted, wanting very much to believe it.
"I wonder what will make this world different…" Summer thought out loud, trying to notice any tiny differences. "What if in this world everyone has dragon wings?! Or scales? Or octopus heads?!" she gasped "What if this world has no fire?"
Grace didn't even bother to roll her eyes, instead trying to take some humour from the eccentric ideas. "I guess the only way we'll find out is by actually finding someone. Can you smell anything? Hear anything?" she asked, stopping and trying to gage her position.
Summer sniffed the air, concentrating. "I dunno. Everything smells weird here. I can hear… Screaming?"
"Screaming?" Grace asked, staring in the same direction that Summer was.
In a sudden burst of sound, the forest opened. A huge metal creature loomed, a sword three times his own weight crushing effortlessly through the trees and greens. A small but curved blond woman rushed out in front of it, narrowly dodging the sword and jumping out of the way of falling trees. Though her actions seemed less than intentional, there was a skill to the way that she narrowly avoided each potentially fatal blow. She screamed, scrambling back and trying to get back to her feet as she was knocked aside.
Summer stepped forwards, crunching her knuckles.
"What do you think you're doing?" Grace asked her coldly.
Summer looked at her, a little shocked. "She's in trouble," she said, looking back at the huge creature that was looming above the woman, watching in amazement as the woman threw out her whip and pulled herself away once again at the last moment.
"This isn't our world," Grace reminded her. "We shouldn't be interfering."
Summer jumped out, a determined grin on her face. It wasn't going to stop her, and she knew that Grace would never take the side-line if Summer was jumping into a fight, especially after this particular enemy. True enough, Grace was quickly at her side, and the attention of the monster was straight to the pair. "Hey dirtbag!" Summer called out loudly, her voice carrying over the crashing trees. "You finished with your appetiser? Because we're the main course!"
The blond scrambled backwards, looking at the two in front of her. There was something strangely familiar about them, something that she couldn't bring herself to think. But there was something about the way they stood, the bright pink hair and the heat that resonated around her, and the slender young woman with short black hair and a cold look in her eyes. The monster had their attention too, a new fuel inside of him as he raised his sword up high. The pair looked at each other and nodded, and the air changed. The cold and the heat grew together, moulding and twisting. Flames were on the pink haired girl's hands, and as the dark haired woman pushed her hands forwards a tube of blue ice glimmered. The fire mage punched into the tube, her flames spiralling against the ice, twisting faster and faster, growing wilder. "Fire Cannon!" they both shouted in unison, as the blaze knocked back against the monster and sent its metallic head flying far away from its body, revealing only circuits and electricity inside.
The body crashed to the ground and the pair barely looked at each other as they fist bumped.
"I… I…." Lucy's eyes were wide, staring at the two figures in front of her. The pieces were somehow slotting together and making even less sense than before. The pink haired woman with Dragon Slayer Magic and the dark haired woman – who had at some point lost her shirt and was now only standing in a black bra – with ice maker magic. Her words stumbled even more, her heart racing as she saw the fairytail marks – a blue one on the left breast and a red one on the left arm.
"Is she alright?" Grace asked, standing over her.
Summer crouched beside her, giving a wide and friendly smile to her. "Maybe she's just in shock. You're safe now. I'm Summer, and this is Grace. What's your name?"
"L-L-Lucy…" she said, her heart thudding so loud in her ears she could barely hear. Summer? Grace? "Thank you," she said, holding out her hand for her to shake and bowing her head to hide her confused blush.
Summer looked at the mark on her hand curiously. "Hey, you're in Fairy Tail too?" he said, taking her hand and looking at it. "Hey come to think of it Luke has a mark just like this…"
"Lucy!" Natsu ran over, bursting through the bushes.
"Natsu!" Lucy gasped, not sure if this made more or less sense than before. The two were obviously different people, and all the rest had clearly been some strange coincidences. She let herself be relieved by that fact, but it didn't last long.
Natsu stared at the other pink haired woman standing in front of him, but to him all he saw was a Fairy Tail symbol planted on a woman that he had never seen before. "Who the hell are you?!" he asked, ready to defend the honour of his guild against what looked very clearly like a charlatan. "And why are you wearing the Fairy Tail mark?"
Summer looked shocked, but the shock quickly fell into a smile. She was working things out quickly, far quicker than her male equivalent though this was only due to past experiences. "Natsu, huh?" she asked. "I make a cute guy."
Grace grabbed Summer's arm quickly. "This is why we don't get involved!" she scolded her, beginning to drag her backwards. She frowned deeply, thinking back to every other world that they had been in. At first she had been like Summer, eager to see every new world and every version that they had ever been. They had all been very similar, though there had been the odd blinding difference none of them had been anywhere near as extreme as this. Though part of her was curious too, she knew the pain that would follow in their wake…
Summer let herself get dragged away even as she kicked against the ground. She had not learnt her lesson, she had taken each world as a new adventure and had been waiting for an opportunity like this to arise. "Look, Grace, I told you that there would be a version of you in this world!" she told her, feeling Grace's hands go noticeably colder at the words. "And is that Ethan? Wow his boobs look amazing. And that must be Luke!"
Grace dropped Summer in the most undignified of ways, staring back at the group. She gritted her teeth, watching all of them carefully and trying to clear her thoughts. This world was so different... Something about it made her feel she would regret stopping in that moment.
Chapter 2
"Wow…. She eats fire too?" Lucy remarked, staring at Natsu and Summer as they raced each other to finish as much as they could of meals made both out of fire and real food. Their appetite seemed equal and devouring.
Erza looked back at Grace, realising that Summer was probably not the easiest to get information from while she had a face full of food. "So you say that you come from an alternative dimension?" she questioned, trying to find logic to their confused statements.
Grace nodded as she poured down her drink. "We're searching for one particular dimension, where the cracks appeared from."
"Cracks?" Lucy asked, tilting her head to the side.
"That's how we got here," Summer said, or at least it could be only guessed that's what she said through a mouth full of food.
"We've been travelling through the cracks for some time to find where they're coming from," Grace explained. "They threaten every world, every time, and they're only getting worse. If we don't find the cause soon then we could all be in danger."
Summer swallowed her slab of meat hard. "We've got a handheld gizmo that tells us if we're getting closer to that world. Hey, how close is this world?" he asked.
"Hm? Oh, yeah," Grace muttered to herself, going to her pocket. She almost jumped out of her skin, bouncing out of her seat. "How long have I been naked?!" she demanded.
Summer shrugged, "I dunno, since the last crack I guess," she said absently going to get another portion.
Grace grabbed her by the scarf that was wrapped around her torso. "Why wouldn't you tell me that, idiot?!" she cursed loudly.
"I'm not the one who decided to get naked in the middle of nowhere!" Summer yelled back.
"No you're the idiot who told me to put it in my jacket pocket!" Grace shouted. "Why the hell couldn't it have gone in your stupid oversized backpack?!"
Happy sighed. "These guys really are Gray and Natsu…"
They both stopped and blinked at Happy. "Um… why is that blue cat talking?" Grace asked.
Happy looked incredibly hurt. "You've only just noticed me…?" he asked, his voice wobbling.
"Huh? You don't have Happy in your world?" Natsu asked curiously finishing his firestick.
"Oh I guess that makes sense…" Lucy thought out loud. "The exceeds are from Edolas which is another dimension so I guess they're not necessarily a part of our normal world."
"I want one!" Summer exclaimed. "Happy, right? How did you learn to talk? How come you're blue? Where did you come from?" she asked excitedly, sitting in front of the exceed and continuing to ask every question that she could possibly think of.
Erza couldn't help but smile as she saw Summer and Happy talking, seeing that the two of them were already starting to bond and there was little reason not to. Lucy even offered Grace a new shirt, which she slipped into quickly, still looking annoyed at herself though she did laugh as she saw Lucy offered Gray one too, him too realising too late he was without one. Erza could only predict the sheer carnage that would no doubt follow having two Gray's and two Natsu's, and thought that this would truly be the calm before the storm.
"Etha-Erza," Grace spoke again to her, "In our world, Leigh made the device to test the works. I know it might be a long-shot but there may be a chance that his equivalent can make one in this world. I hate to ask this, but we could do with your help. If you could take us to the guild, then we can be on our way." She gave a small smile, "The sooner I can be back to one Summer, the better"
Erza nodded in agreement. "I think that sounds reasonable. And I must admit Natsu and Gray are a handful on their own."
Lucy smiled, looking between the four of them. "I'm sure the rest of the guild would be interested in meeting you too. Though there's a few that you should probably avoid…" she thought, imagining how awkward the leeching gazes of some of the older men from the guild would be. Awkward, but hilarious.
Chapter 3
The road was long ahead, and there was little time to waste. Even to get to the local train-station would take over a day's walk, to which Summer and Natsu loudly yelled in defiance.
"We'll walk," Natsu told them all, folding his arms across his chest as he walked forwards, not even wanting to consider getting on transportation again.
"It would take weeks for you to walk," Gray pointed out. "And you'd still need a boat across the river." In truth, it would have been possible to get across the river, but the detour alone would have taken over a month on foot and he wasn't prepared to even offer that as a solution. The trainline ran straight across the river on a high steel bridge, though it was said even those usually not afraid of heights or travel sick would struggle with the journey. That, too, he decided it best not to mention.
"Then we'll just bounce through the cracks," Summer suggested. "Move from world to world until we eventually get there."
"Would that really work?" Natsu asked her curiously.
Summer shrugged. "I got here without any vehicles so it must be possible. I'd say it's worth a try."
"No, it wouldn't work," Grace pointed out. "You have no map, no directions, no way of communicating or telling if you're nearer or farther than this world. Besides, there aren't any cracks around here."
Summer looked around herself, as if to make sure that there were definitely no cracks in the dimension. She would have known long before looking, however, as there was no mistaking the carnage that followed the splits in the seams of the worlds. She had to reluctantly admit that she was right, although she would never say it out loud. In looking, however, her nose perked up, trying to locate the direction.
Natsu noticed too, looking back and stopping. "One of those robot guys, right?" he asked. "This one's mine." He grinned, crunching his knuckles and letting them burst into an excited flame.
"By yourself?" Summer questioned, a little surprised.
"No no," Grace said, a wider smile growing across her face. "Don't stop him. If the man wants to show off and beat the Centurion by himself, please be my guest. It can be a little test of strength: boys vs girls."
Natsu grinned, looking between the two of them. "Clearly our world is stronger if you underestimate me like that," he said, stepping forwards.
"Yeah but what about the-" Summer's mouth was quickly covered by Grace's hand, stopping all words coming out of her mouth. However, it didn't stop her trying to talk through mumbles and arm gestures.
"Don't give the opposition tips, dumbass," Grace whispered harshly to Summer. "Go on, Natsu, we'll be here to save your ass if you need it."
Natsu walked forwards closer to the sounds of heavy footsteps, which carried over the entire forest now and shook the trees with every stomp. "You seem confident…" Erza commented, watching Grace to see if there was a truly malicious intent. She had believed this was a version of Gray and Natsu, but that didn't automatically qualify them with the same morals or ethical code. There was clearly some difference in opinion between them, though in a typical Natsu way Summer was staying back and respecting Natsu's decision to go forwards with the attack alone, even as the huge creature appeared through the trees. "He's huge…" Erza also said, her eyes wide at the monster. The way that he held the huge sword showed her that there was a rippling sense of strength, and the magical power in front of her hummed through the air.
Unfazed, the Dragon Slayer looked up at the huge creature with an excited grin on his face. The bigger they were, the harder they would fall, and nothing made it more important than a test of strength. Though he wasn't sure how he would show he had beaten the female Gray he knew that he had to make his victory look good enough for a clear result. There was no holding back, and knowing that he was only against circuits and wires made that even easier. He pulled his legs apart, taking in a deep breath and shouting out his roaring flame attack.
"Oh, bad start," Grace commented, leaning back against a tree and watching casually.
"Shut up. Come on Natsu you can do it!" Summer called out.
"Just what team are you on?!"
The monster tilted its head back, breastplate shining in the glimmering flames. The red fire licked against its metal, barely touching him before spiralling and twisting into the very centre, where a huge red gem glowed brightly. The flames sunk into the gem and disappeared.
"It… ate my fire?!" Natsu questioned, staring back at it blankly. The sword crashed down and Natsu jumped out of its way. The dark metal blade slashed through the earth like it was hot butter, a hot hissing in its wake. Natsu jumped on the blade, running up to the Centurion's helmet and bringing his flaming fist.
The metal didn't buckle or break, and the flames did nothing against the toughened metal. The Centurion's eyes glowed a deep red, a flame deep inside its oversized helmet and a calculated anger as it lifted its free hand and threw Natsu deep into the forest.
"It has a flame resistance and physical attacks don't seem to have any affect…" Gray realised as he watched, finally now knowing exactly why Grace had been so quick to mock Natsu's confidence. He smiled to himself, knowing that he too would have probably done the same thing. "I wouldn't underestimate Natsu. He'll find a way around that."
Summer grinned and leaned forwards, trying to find Natsu buried in the bushes. "Come on, Natsu, you can do this!"
Grace smiled knowingly, watching Summer's enthusiasm gladly. "I'm sure he can."
Chapter 4
Natsu panted, lifting his head slowly back at the monster. This thing was tough, far tougher than he had expected. He knew he couldn't possibly lose to this thing, and giving up would be no better. No, especially not when the female Gray was watching him with the smug look across her face. Not when his own female equivalent was waiting anxiously for him to come up with some miracle. Not when his friends were looking at him to defend the strength of their world. He pushed his foot into the ground, the fire around him sparkling brightly with new determination.
"You know you can tag in a team member if you want…" Grace suggested, almost hoping that he would take the bait for his own dignity.
"This is just embarrassing…" even Happy had to admit.
The fires crackled and sparkled around Natsu, the bursts of red and orange now blending with a hissing and fizzing of yellow lightning bolts. He couldn't let down his friends, his guild, he couldn't be an embarrassment. With a loud yell he struck down the Centurion, hitting straight into the red jewel on its chest. It cracked, and shattered.
"He did it!" Summer exclaimed.
"Finally," Grace smiled, unable to hide the sense of accomplishment she somehow shared in the victory as the monster crashed to the ground.
Natsu stood, a little wobbly on his feet, but staring back at the huge monster he had defeated. It had easily been one of the most challenging battles he'd ever endured, and he had beaten it. He wasn't entirely sure how he'd managed it, but somehow his final move had taken down the monster in one strike while before he hadn't even been able to make a dint. He could only smile and take his victory. "I win," he told them, knowing that he had not given up and they had no way to claim this from him now.
"You beat it…" Grace said slowly, her hands deep in her pockets. "Except, hm…. Lucy, how long did it take us to beat one of these?"
Lucy looked down, realising that her words would probably hurt Natsu. "One hit…"
Natsu's win had come crashing around him. It had felt like days of fighting this thing, his fists were aching from striking against unmovable metal, his ribs hurt after being flown around like a rag doll, and his magic levels felt painfully low. And somehow he wouldn't have won from the second round. "One….?" He repeated.
Summer looked rather proud of herself as well, even if she did offer a bit of an olive branch. "The first time is always the hardest. They're actually pretty harmless once you work out their weakness."
"Huh?" Natsu looked confused, trying to work out what had been the glaring advantage that he had taken at the last minute. He thought back, to all of the attacks he'd placed, and what had been the difference in the last one. "You mean electricity? Because it's a robot, right?"
Grace stood on top of the lifeless hulk that was the fierce machine. She pulled up the fragments of the gem inside, watching as it shifted from red to blue in her hands. "Any elemental magic would have managed. It takes whatever element is thrown at it and triples the power straight back. If you confuse the circuit with two different elements at once, it has little defence."
"Oh, yeah, that makes sense!" Lucy said, thinking back to the attack she had watched. "You and Summer combined your powers with that fire and ice canon. Natsu's attack with fire and electricity combined worked."
"Yeah, it worked eventually," Grace said, jumping down and brushing the dust from her hands. "How much energy did that take? If you hadn't been such a stubborn fool and just let Gray help you that thing could have been down in thirty seconds."
"Hey, I beat it didn't I?!" Natsu challenged back. "I didn't need yours or Gray's or anyone's help!" he exclaimed, fire coming from his mouth in outrage.
"You beat up a baby one and you're basically spent," Grace folded her arms against her chest. "When the cracks open these things will pour out and this world will be covered in these monsters, some of them three times the size of this runt. What will you do then? How will you protect your friends and your guild?"
Chapter 5
"How did we end up in this situation?"
This was the question on everyone's mind, in both groups. Nastu, Summer, Lucy and, of course, Happy were on one team, with Erza, Grace and Gray on the other. The logic had been flawed from the start, though it had come from truth. Everyone knew that Gray and Natsu would struggle greatly to manage to work together to use Unison Raid, and as Lucy pointed out there were wizards who had tried their entire lives to accomplish the feat and never succeeded. So they separated, in the hopes of becoming stronger and somehow achieve their goals.
Lucy was left thoroughly confused as she sat cross-legged in front of Natsu and Summer as they struck blow against one another, matching each of their attacks and power perfectly and reaching very little. "I don't understand how becoming stronger will make you better at using Unison Raid…" She thought out loud, hugging Happy.
"Oh yeah?" Summer questioned, diving out of the way of a blow to the face as Natsu did the exact same manoeuvre. "What would you even know about Unison Raid?"
Lucy pouted, annoyed at the implication. "I've done it before, you know. Well, Aquarius and Juvia…"
"Yeah, and those two are really strong," Natsu told her. "Not as strong as me. I don't think. I should ask Juvia for a fight when we get back."
"Oh my god a male Aquarius sounds pretty scary…" Summer thought out loud, jumping out of the way rather than dodging as the thought made her a little distracted.
"Um, Aquarius is still female in this world…" Lucy said quietly. That got her thinking more. "If the celestial spirits can travel between worlds then maybe they would be the same between dimensions…"
"Yeah, I think that's why those Centurion guys don't like Celestial wizards," Summer thought out loud, pulling her feet square and conjuring two rippling wings from her shoulder blades. The giant red wings flapped, sparkling through the sky and lifting her into the air.
Lucy's eyes went wide. "Are they…. Wings?!" She asked, letting Happy pull himself out of her arms and jump onto Natsu's back, evening the score with his own wings lifting him up.
"I really need to get myself a Happy…" Summer said, in awe as she stared at how carelessly he flew through the sky, swerving out of the way of a fireball.
Natsu grinned, realising that he would have full advantage here. While she could fly, she was draining huge amounts of magical power to do so. He could conserve all of his, using Happy's Magic instead of his own. He chanelled his power into a mighty roar, which she pulled her wings around herself and soaked in all of his fire.
She smiled, pulling her wings back and thinking that she had full advantage here. Happy was a completely different person, and while they were incredibly in sync there would always be a delay while she could move her wings as she liked. That, and her wings were fireproof, and with that she threw back her own flames towards him. "Sorry Happy!" She called out.
"Happy, are you ok?" He asked Happy quickly, receiving a determined nod. "That's a cheap trick!" Natsu yelled at her as they dodged out of the way at the last minute.
"So is using Happy to carry you around!" Summer pointed out. "Just think of all of the spells that come from having fire wings. Freaking. Dragon. Fire. Wings. How awesome are these?!" She said, spinning around to show them off. "It makes me feel like a real dragon!"
"Oh yeah?" Natsu grinned. "Then you should be able to handle this!"
"Guys I really don't think this is helping…" Lucy complained.
Later that night, as arranged the two teams met back again. As Gray, Grace and Erza arrived couldn't help watch the two Dragon Slayers lying on the ground, looking exhausted and barely able to lift their own heads. They could only look at Lucy and Happy in confusion as the two explained "This is why they don't eat their own fire… Or each other's…."
They sat, Grace and Gray equally exhausted and collapsing down, stretching aching muscles and trying to gather their strength back. Erza too looked a little sweaty, though she had a content smile on her face. She had obviously ran the two ice wizards as hard as she could, obviously excited by the idea of a training session and the chance to put them through their paces.
"I still don't understand how any of this is supposed to help…" Lucy despaired. "Unison Raid isn't about the strength of the wizard, it's about combining the powers together."
Erza, though a little disappointed that her good work may be coming to waste, had to disagree. "From what I've heard of the rare spell, it takes incredible wizards to pull it off, but I've only ever seen it with complimentary wizard powers, like Rogue and Sting."
"But aren't light and shadow the opposite…?" Happy asked, not quite understanding.
"So are fire and ice…" Lucy said thoughtfully, mostly to herself. "But Sting and Rogue have been working closely with their magic since they were young. Well, I suppose Natsu and Gray have in a round about way too…" She said, trying to find really were the problems lay. "Unfortunately, from what I've read, it comes down mostly to how compatible the people are."
"Then we might as well just give up now…" Happy said slowly.
"No way," Natsu sat up, obviously pouring all of his remaining energy into his last defiance. "We're gonna do this. We've gotta prove whatever those girls can do, we can do even better. If that's what it takes, that'll be easy, we'll just have to work together."
Erza and Lucy blinked, looking at Natsu like he was saying he was going to destroy the moon. "I don't think that'll be so easy…" Lucy replied.
"Aye…" Happy agreed.
"Don't underestimate us," Gray warned them both. "If me and Natsu can put our heads together then we'll be unstoppable."
Chapter 6
They were fighting by the end of the night. All four of them.
Even the fierceness of Erza couldn't break their arguments for more than a few short moments, the first words coming out of any of their mouths charging into a multisided battle that rumbled through the entire forest. One world vs the other, ice vs fire, girls vs boys and even more combinations that no one could have foreseen. There were were fists and words thrown around equally, regardless of their exhaustion. Even the night couldn't stop them, and they were eventually thrown into all four corners of the camp in an awkward silence.
After very little sleep, Erza and Lucy watched over them with a dark glare. The moment of peace as they all had their mouths filled with food did little to recover their lost rest.
"We really can't manage all of this all the way to Fairy Tail…" Lucy thought to herself, thinking of how good this idea had started at first. "There is no way that these will be able to get along, never mind perform unison raid…"
Gray swallowed quickly, quick to defend themselves. "We told you already we can do it. Give us an enemy."
"You'll be more likely to kill yourself than combine your magic!" Lucy complained.
"While I do have faith that the two of you will find a way…" Erza told them, looking over the four of them and wondering how one half could work together and the others couldn't, "I think it'll take far more than you realise…"
"We have a plan," Summer exclaimed confidently, standing quickly.
"Where did you find the time to get a plan through all that fighting…?" Happy had to ask.
Grace stood too, by Summer's side. "Lucy, Erza, Happy, will you be alright if you go to the guild ahead of us? We still have some training to do."
"I'm gonna get Gray all to myself," Summer grinned.
"Do you have to say that in such a creepy way…?" Gray had to ask, pulling back away from her.
Grace turned to Natsu, looking over him and trying not to be too dismayed by the material she had to work with. "Natsu, you're with me."
Lucy looked between all of them and the different teams that they would be in. The pairings were all swapped around but now there would be no one there to protect them from themselves. While she hadn't seen much outward distaste between the couples of each world the concept was still strange.
"I see," Erza said with a small nod, agreeing to the plan. "By pairing separately you can inadverately change the way that you view each other, as if through a strangers eyes. I think it's a brilliant plan."
"I just thought it was a cool idea," Summer admitted, shrugging as she put her backpack on. "We'll be back at the guild not long after you guys, we're just taking a detour. I can't wait to see everyone gender-bended."
Grace smiled, imagining the faces of those that she loved and had not seen for so long in a completely different way. She wasn't sure if it would take away the homesickness or make it worse, but either way it would offer some distraction and a nice place to take some rest. "If you can ask and see if anyone has a way of finding the inter-dimensional rifts before we arrive then we'll be grateful."
Erza nodded. "I'm sure Levvy will be able to find something."
"Are you sure you'll be alright…?" Lucy had to ask, some fear growing inside her as she saw the new pairings together.
"Yeah, I've got a good feeling about this," Natsu said, his thumbs up and ready for action.
"Come on, Gray, our teams gonna do the best unison raid," Summer said, jumping up and starting to run as fast as her legs could carry her, leaving Gray to chase after her and Grace and Natsu to panic run in the opposite direction.
Chapter 7
Grace's breath grew shorter and more strained with every step. She was good at hiding her weakness and doing all that she could to hide her strength, and had she been any normal wizard she would have been suffering a mile before this. But here the heat was reaching unbearable temperatures as they walked into the mouth of the volcano.
Natsu watched in wide eyed wonder at the bubbling heat all around him, wondering what things would be edible and what would leave him sore. He still felt a little tired from eating Summer's flames, which while they hadn't been overly harmful to him had been a very quick way of transferring powers between the two of them until nothing was left. Food was good, but not as satisfying as real flames. The warmth reminded him of Igneel's warm belly, of running around in the bright sunshine of better days, or a burning battle energy coursing through his body. "Why are we here?" He asked curiously.
"You want to fight me, right?" She asked him, finally stopping and looking back at him, drops of sweat already running across her face. "After that attempt at the Centurion I thought I'd give you myself a handicap."
The idea of a fight excited him, but he was extremely offended. "I'd beat you anywhere ice bitch!" He shouted at her, dropping his bags where he stood. "Fight me fair!"
She pushed her short black hair out of her face, trying not to focus on her straining breathing and the painful heat. The ice inside of her was all she needed now, but looking at Natsu she could see even he was sweating. "Alright. If you beat me here, I'll give you a fair chance back on an even plain. Your magic vs mine."
Natsu nodded and pushed his fists together. If this was what it would take to test himself against the Gray alter-ego then he would push himself as hard as possible. "OK," he agreed. "Don't think I'll hold back because you're a girl."
"I won't hold back even if you are a guy," she told him, pulling her fist against her palm and feeling the temperature drop, flooding her back with new energy.
-.
Summer looked up at through the icy sleet, covering her eyes with her arm as they threatened to slash against her skin and eyes. The storm made everything more exciting and dynamic, but she grinned through chattering teeth. Even Gray kept his clothes on, trying to look for the landmarks within the blizzard. "Where did you say that we were going?" He asked her again.
"Here," Summer answered truthfully, her words coming out of her mouth in the form of hot mist. "I've heard there's an ice cavern that is so cold it can freeze you as you stand. I wanted to see if it actually exists."
Gray looked at her, a little surprised and not sure if she was lying or simply choosing her own adventure. "You've brought me into my element," he observed.
Summer nodded. "Not that this place is bad for me either," she said, sparking a warming fire from her hands. The wind howled and rushed past them, blowing the flames out instantly. "Um…"
Gray looked back, feeling the biting cold against them. "We should try to find shelter until the storm passes. We're not going to get far quickly like this," he told her, realising that as he looked up into the sky it was impossible to even tell the time of day.
"We'll never reach it if we can't even manage a little cold" Summer exclaimed, pushing her feet through the heavy snow. "First one there is the loser"
"You can't be serious…" He said, seeing her trying to push against the heavy fill of snow. Even as only a few steps in front, and even as she used her own magic to melt what she could, he could barely see that far ahead. "Summer!" He yelled again, the harsh winds stealing his words. The silhouette was disappearing to wind and he pushed forwards, trying to freeze the melting snow and use it to push away his path, looking up from his casting just in time to hear her scream.
"Summer!" He jumped forwards, grabbing her hand as she slipped down. He lay on the ground over what was very obviously now a hundred foot drop, holding onto Summer's hand as she dangled over the edge. Only his arm protected her from a deadly drop. She looked up at him panicking, squeezing tightly. Slowly flames twisted around her back, hissing loudly in her ears as the snow and ice blasted against them. They grew larger and the steam crackled and damaged her fiery wings, struggling to keep them in place and knowing that they wouldn't be strong enough to lift herself up. They could, however, help to give her the boost to pull her second hand against his arm.
She lifted herself up to the edge, arms over and legs still dangling precariously, panting as he offered to take her to safety. She looked up to him, knowing that he had saved her and that now her heart was beating heavily in her chest. But her eyes glanced past him. "Not now…" She whispered.
Gray turned around, staring back at the Centurion that watched them both struggle against the edge, his oversized sword plunging into the ground and cracking the ice. "Shit…" The whisper escaped but was never heard, the rocks, ice and snow they were against crumbling beneath them and dropping into the depths below.
Chapter 8
"Great work…" Grace panted, jumping once more against the rocks and creating her own ice bridges to run across the bridges, having to go quicker with every leap as they melted into the lava with a hiss.
"You don't have to tell me that," Natsu said confidently, anticipating her movements and the areas that she struggled to move around, moving around his attacks to counter this.
"You're just like Summer…" Grace said, complimenting him with the tone of affection in her voice. "She learns most from fighting," she said, finally landing one of her rare blows against him and throwing him off balance. "I'm slower than usual. From my training with Gray we move in very similar ways, you can learn the way he fights, the way he moves, the actions he'll take."
"I already know all that," Natsu told her, sucking up more of the fires that burst out of the lava bubbles. "We've been fighting since we were kids."
"So take as much advantage now as you can," Grace told her, letting him take his fill of power while she simply caught her breath. "While I'm slower and my actions are taking more time and less thought. Me and Summer can understand each other without a spoken word. You know, assuming she can stop talking."
"You shouldn't talk about her like that" he gritted his teeth, blowing out the fire that he had just consumed into a roaring attack against her, blasting through the earth and creating new rivers that the lava rushes into, surrounding her in the bubbling heat with only a shrinking foothold. "She's your nakama, isn't she?"
"She's more than that," Grace told him, looking around herself for her next move but realising that she needed more strength to even step away from the ground she was on. "We've been together for half a year, just the two of us. No Fairy Tale, no world to call our own, no Ethan, Luke, no Nakama but she and I. We didn't train because we wanted to, we weren't put together for any reason but because we had no choice."
"Half a year…?" Natsu asked, unable to even imagine spending half a day in such a position, especially with only Gray by his side.
Grace nodded, though it was only a guess. Time was a strange concept when they were going between worlds, and they had long since lost track. She was no longer looking around herself now, knowing that the ice inside her would melt before it left her fingertips.
"Then you'll know that we can do this," Natsu grinned, thinking of all of the worlds that they could possibly have seen in that time. "You'll have seen that if they're anything like us then they're strong. We look after our nakama, our guild, our friends."
Grace shook her head, taking all of her strength to stand up against the heat. "Do you think we spend all of this time in each world?" She asked him. "You're the first in a long time."
This surprised Natsu, especially after the way they had seemed to warm so well to Erza, Lucy and Happy. He had to remind himself these were a version of himself and Gray, and he couldn't imagine either of them being away from the guild so long. "Why us?" he asked, temporarily forgetting the fight.
Grace thought carefully, taking a step back realising that the heat was overpowering her now. "This is the only world we've found has both of you in."
There was a thud. And another. And another. Both turned, the huge footsteps shivering through the ground and even trembling the lava around them. Grace took a stumbling step back, her breath catching in her throat as the stared up at the huge monster. The Centurion was just the same as they had seen in the forest, but this one was easily three times the size. It cared little of the flames and lava around it, stepping into the blasting heat without even realising.
Natsu stepped forwards but Grace hung back, gritting her teeth. "We can do this together," he announced, glad to see the challenge had already presented itself.
"I… I don't have enough magic for this…" Grace said, slipping down to her knees as the last of her energy faded. She had hoped that Natsu in all of his observation would be able to see her weakness through the icy cold strength she showed off. Now she felt even more like a failure.
He narrowed his eyes, looking back at the monster. "Well I got rid of one…"
"You can't…" She whispered, shaking her head. "Natsu, see where we are. Even your flames won't make a mark on a creature that lives in a volcano."
"Then get your strength back." Natsu told her.
"I told you-"
"I heard what you said," he looked her square in the eye, sparkling brightly as he spoke. "I heard you, Grace. But I know that's not all you've got. I have faith in you."
Her heart felt like it was stopping, staring back into his eyes filled with determination. This was why Fairy Tail loved Natsu, this was the warmth that filled everyone and the hope that shone like a bright light. He had seen her strength disappear and had said nothing, because he knew deep down there was always more, and he would never have let her lose while that remained. A small smile crossed her face and she nodded back at him, reaching out her hand for him to help pull her across the lava, falling awkwardly against his chest and using his shoulders to support her standing. And like that, he didn't have to say anything and she understood exactly what was in his mind. They both raised their hands together, pointing straight at the Centurion and twisting the ice and fire together.
Chapter 9
The blizzard continued to rage, covering the world in a complete white blanket. Gray watched it as best he could from inside the cave. The cave wasn't deep but he hadn't wanted to delve too deeply without being able to see the weather outside, determined that he would try to move them as quickly as possible once the storm had weakened. He sighed, memories of running through the mountainside with Ur and Lyon unavoidable as he pulled his legs around himself. This was his element, this was his ground, and he had felt useless as the centurion had appeared. Thinking back he knew that he couldn't have done anything else, as there was no scenario where he would have left Summer's side as she struggled up the ledge.
Summer lay beside him, still unconscious. He had vague images of the ground collapsing around himself, trying desperately to hold onto something and feeling heat all around him, the flapping of fire wings and his own magic trying to grab onto anything to slow their fall. Then there was a splitting pain as they fell through the ice below, the freezing water below stabbing their lungs. He had dragged Summer to safety, and she hadn't woke since. She had stopped shivering, he noticed, unsure if that was a good thing, wondering if there was any way to make a fire. He too needed warmth, pulling his legs closer around himself. He had taken his wet clothes though he still wasn't sure if that had been the right decision, and hadn't been confident enough to try and remove hers. The very idea made him blush deeply and turn away.
"Cold…" Summer mumbled, turning over and pulling herself into a tight ball.
His eyes drifted back to her, concerned. He put the back of his hand on her cheek, feeling her low temperature even through his own. Her hair was ice, looking as if it could snap. "Summer…" He whispered to her. "You have to warm yourself. You have to cast some fire. Just a little flame."
She tightened her eyes shut. "You do it," she said, pulling her arms over her head.
His eyes went wide, snapping suddenly "What do you mean 'you do it'?" She either couldn't answer or didn't want to, pulling her head further down. He folded his arms across his chest, looking back at the blizzard. He was doing everything that he could, he had pulled her from the ice, and now she couldn't even pull herself to do one small small to pull their temperatures back up. He wanted to be angry, he wanted to blame her, but deep down he felt afraid. Even as he looked back at the storm he looked back at her, the tiny ball. She looked so vulnerable for a moment he could forget who she was, could see a small woman alone and cold. Except she wasn't alone, he was with her. He felt protective over her, instincts building inside of him that he didn't even know existed. Slowly and incredibly gently he pulled her closer, pulling up her tiny body up to his and wrapping his arms around her. Though he didn't have much body heat to give, she could take as much of it as she could. As her soaking icy hair touched his bare skin he shivered, but only held on closer, brushing it back away from her face.
Her eyes opened slowly, slowing adjusting to the warmth pressed against her. There was an interesting smell, one that filled her with warmth, and she found herself snuggling against the bare chest. Her fingers rested against it, and somewhere along the way she realised what she was doing. It didn't stop her, too cold and peaceful to pull herself away. As her mind filled with real thoughts, the warmer she became, and the warmer too he felt. She hadn't understood the extent of her heat, however, looking up as she realised that Gray was distracted. Her eyes caught a faint red hue circling around them, a warmth of which she had never felt before. Unlike the blasting fire she was used to, the heat that she adored and relished in, there was something inviting about the circle around them. It brought a smile to her face as she danced her fingers through it, as if she could touch the magic which bubbled them.
"Are you alright?" Gray asked her, watching her amazement at her own powers.
Summer finally glanced up at her savior, her smile growing and the warmth kicking into that of a favourite blanket. "You're wonderfully warm," she told him in a daze.
He laughed lightly. "You're freezing cold," he told her, pulling out an icicle from her fringe.
She shivered, partly from the cold and partly from feeling his fingers brush against her forehead. She could feel her body dripping with water, none more than the scarf strapped across her chest. She squirmed, trying to tug on the edges on her back and eventually taking his hands and placing them across her back, instructing him to pull it off. A little confused and embarrassed he pulled away the knot, leaving her to unwind it from her chest, leaving her loose jacket and a black bodice. She twisted the scarf in her fingers, squeezing out the water and brushing away the snow. Gray could only watch her cautiously and carefully as she wrapped the scarf around one of her hands, holding on tightly with the other end. With no warning she pulled it over his head, using the scarf to pull his neck closer to her as she whispered "Warm me up" into his kiss.
Chapter 10
The Centurion collapsed into a heap and Grace and Natsu celebrated with a fist bump and a knowing grin, having very little energy to do much else. The beast had been slain, the day had been won, and what was even better was that they had achieved the elusive Unison Raid spell between the conflicting fire and ice.
Natsu pulled his head up, looking around themselves. The heat was starting to become unbearable even to him and the earth was shuddering around them. It felt like more than just the ripples of the fallen centurion, and more than the rumbling of the volcano. There was a strange smell, like rotting flesh, and a strange sensation that ran through his bones. Grace seemed to notice it too, standing upright once more and staring into the horizon, watching as a huge black cloud loomed from the ground. "What is that?"
"That must be the crack the centurion came out of…" Grace whispered, staring forwards. In front of their eyes the cloud grew, a golden light gleaming and spreading over the edge and saturating the ground with a new horizon.
"The crack?" Natsu looked again. A sense of dread poured out, a sensation that was so rare gripping his bones.
"Run."
They ran. They needed no more invitation, they needed no more excuses. There was something about the world where all of there instincts told them that running was the only option. There was nothing to fight, nothing but fear and hopelessness twisting around their souls in its presenence. "You guys travel through them?" Natsu asked, sliding on the new ice ramp that Grace had made to jump over the river of flames.
"That's a dead world," Grace explained, her jump heightened by the flaming booster of Dragon Slayer magic. "It's the dead worlds that threatened mine. One of those cracks appeared on our sun," she explained, closing her eyes and remembering the horror as the watched her own world submerge into a inescapable darkness and depression. The dead worlds were worlds that had previously been lost, as some fateful decision years ago had been made incorrectly and the world had been destroyed. Some had nothing left, others were taken over by demons and others even had humans, corrupted and vicious beyond repair. All dark worlds had in common was that they destroyed everything they touched. And spread.
Natsu powered through, knowing that Grace's battle was now his own. The crack was spreading, and while they were miles from civilization every instinct inside of him told him that this disease would not go away by itself. "We'll get them back," he promised her.
x.
"We should be going," Gray said, looking out of the cave entrance as he pulled his shirt back on. It had a comforting warmth about it even through the cold, something that he tried to ignore even as it filled his heart.
"Do you really need to put those clothes back on?" Summer asked, pulling herself to her knees as she stretched.
"I really do not need anyone telling me to keep my clothes off," Gray snapped.
She stared at his back as he turned away again, pulling his jacket over his shoulders. The cave was warming, the clothes must have been almost too warm for them in here, and she had already seen it all. There was something in his tension that told her that he was having instant regrets, that suddenly he had remembered who she was and gone back to his ingrained prejudice. She at least knew that he was right, and that they needed to move again. She tightened her scarf back around her chest, thoughts of the huge fire dragon warming her chest as she pulled it close to her heart. She wished for his guidance now, even though she knew he would have probably laughed and yelled at her. Dragons could never care about such mundane things, any conflicts which stepped in their way could be solved with just a simple fiery blast. It wasn't a bad way to live.
"I think it's safe to say we shouldn't tell anyone about this," he said, still not looking at her. "We'll be reaching the guild soon, and when Levvy fixes your scanner you'll be on your way. Probably onto the next Gray. I guess this has been the same in every world for you, has it?"
She paused, holding her breath. She couldn't tell whether he was annoyed that she had fallen for him or jealous that she would be with others. "In other worlds…?" She repeated, not sure how to follow.
He turned back around to her, kneeling in front of her. "Has it been the same? Every Gray that you've met?"
"Well technically, yes…." She thought out loud, though it was clearly the wrong answer.
He didn't look at her or answer her. His mind was running a thousand miles an hour, trying to process everything that had just happened. This woman was kind, passionate, exciting and warming. She was everything that he loved and yet deep down she was everything he hated. She was the place inside of him filled with darkness and bitter confrontation, and the eyes that looked back at her just made him want to scream. What was worse was that she seemed to not understand how wrong it was. "How can you be so different?" He asked.
She blinked, staring at him. It was as if he wanted her to be different to Natsu, and she was happy to keep that illusion for a time. "Different experiences, I guess" she shrugged. "There are things I know I've seen that Natsu hasn't, and some pretty awesome adventures I'm sure he's been on I haven't had the chance to. It can be pretty lonely. Grace doesn't even let us talk to the people in other worlds usually. Not if I can't get there first." She pulled on her ankles, bringing her legs closer to her body. "She can be pretty cold."
Gray picked up Summer's bags, putting them down in front of her. "Have you and her ever…?"
Summer's eyes went wide and she blushed, shaking her head fiercely. "No way. Nuh uh. She's a serious ice bitch. Not a chance. Are you kidding me? Psh."
A smile crept on Gray's face, finally letting some of the happiness in the room into his heart. Now he was starting to understand that world, and in his mind how they were so incredibly different from the one that they stood in. "Come on, we don't want to waste the good weather. Fairy Tail is waiting."
Chapter 11
The two groups met along the path, worn but with a certain sense of victory over it all. They had all, in their own way, managed to get to a higher level with their gender swaps. How it would transpire between them was anyone's guess, and the few seconds of them staring between each other and trying to read their journey through their sweat and the look in their eye was slow and quiet. Smiles appeared gently on their faces, however, and without saying a word they knew that it was a race to finish line.
All four of them burst through the guild hall doors, a jumbled ball of arms and legs crashing through and dropping the hall into a stunned silence.
Natsu raised his head, exclaiming "I win!"
Summer looked up at all of the eyes staring back at her, eyes sparkling wide and brightly as she looked at all of the faces of the friends she had left behind. It was like a hilarious dream, staring up at people who seemed so familiar and yet so completely different. "Fairy Tail..!" she gasped.
"Get off me you stupid fire rat," Grace, who's head had been firmly planted between Summer's face and the floor, pushed up against Summer to sit up and throwing the pink haired wizard back.
She brushed herself down, and Summer jumped back up with fire in her words. "What's the big idea?" Summer yelled at her, grabbing onto Grace's hair and pulling hard.
"What do you mean you won?!" The boys behind them were already yelling at each other.
"This is it…" Lucy despaired. "This is how the world ends." It was clear to her that none of the training had obviously made a difference, as they were all fighting just as much as before if not more so. The boys together could be a little harmless (sort of) rivalry. This was almost a war.
Erza was less patient. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists tightly, looking at them all and the four-way battle that was erupting. "Are you telling me that you've just been wasting that training time fighting each other for the last two days?!"
All four of them jumped back, every one of them sharing a mutual terror for an angry Erza. "But we weren't arguing…!" Gray told her.
"Yeah we even did a Unison Raid and everything!" Natsu said.
Grace smiled as she saw Summer and Gray's reaction as they fell into shock. "So, I take it that you didn't manage it?" She toyed, putting a hand on her hip and enjoying the moment.
"We, uh…" Summer looked up at Gray, remembering how important it was for her to keep her mouth shut. It was no easy task. "We fell off a cliff. Oh shit, is that a male Gazella? Fight me!" She gasped, jumping away and into the crowds of Fairy Tail, her face brighter and grin wider than it had been in months.
As Summer bounced between her old friends, Natsu joined her side, laughing with everyone else as they absorbed the joy of being within a guild. For a moment Summer could forget her home, she could just laugh with everyone else and work with Natsu to show off their similarities and differences. Grace watched them both affectionately, surprised as she found herself surrounded by curious guild members.
"Gray-Sama!" Juvia walked through the open door, her heart lifted. She had heard the loud celebrations from down the street and had hope need dearly that it meant that Gray was back from his last mission. It had been longer than usual that he had been away and it took everything inside her to stop herself from running off and trying to find him, even when she didn't know where they would be. She stepped forwards and stopped herself, staring at the barely dressed stranger standing beside him. She was all too close to him, Juvia decided, as a blush crossed her face, thoughts of who this new rival could be burning inside of her.
Grace looked back to Juvia, noticing how Gray didn't turn to his own name. "Julian?" She asked.
"Juvia."
Grace nodded knowingly, stepping forwards. As she did, Juvia's eyes caught the bright blue Fairy Tail symbol resting across her breast, exactly the same as the chest that she spent hours each day staring at. The woman was examining her, leaning forwards and scanning her with her eyes. "So you're Juvia," she commented, and Juvia felt her blush deepen for some reason. "You make a prettier girl than a boy."
Juvia's words caught in her throat, trying to pull back her mind to any relative that Gray had mentioned before. She had been certain that his entire family had been killed years ago, and even then had had no siblings. The resemblance was too much to be anything further than a twin, and even then there was a look in her eyes that was so familiar. Juvia's eyes widened. "Gray…-Sama?" she addressed her.
"They call me Grace in my world," Grace told her, quietly impressed with her observational skills. "And over there is Summer"
Summer waved over the crowds, already half way through her own battle with anyone and everyone that could try and challenge them. "Hi!" She called out, throwing a punch at whoever looked like the enemy.
Juvia blushed, trying to avoid looking at Grace in the eyes. There was something incredibly unsettling about seeing the man she loved in such a feminine figure. While she had a very athletic build, slim chested with barely any curves, it was still so very different and she almost didn't want to appreciate those differences. It was confusing enough.
"Grace, Summer," Erza said to them both, pulling them away from their separate conflicts. "This is Levvy, she's going to help you pull together a new scanner."
Levvy stood, feeling very much in the spotlight as she held her books close to her chest. "I've been doing some research…" She announced. "I think I can get you a new scanner in the morning."
Chapter 12
It was exhausting, but the day had been won. Though the city didn't look like that of a victory, as Summer walked through she could see no more creatures or dragons. Buildings were demolished, rubble scattered the streets and bloodshed clearly written across the walls. The night had been long, but the sun was coming up now, and she wanted to be sure to get back to her guild and her friends and tell them of how she had rode the flame dragon to greatness, even if she had been disappointed that he had missed his chance to beat a real dragon. The Dragon Slayers had some work to do, she decided, before their own dragons could come back to their sides.
The further she walked the more her eyes were opened to carnage. Friends dragged out their friends, carried them and shouted for help. She did all she could, receiving thanks and good wishes, but for some of them it was simply too late. These were people she did not know well, but faces that she had seen over the course of the Grand Magical Games, cheering from the crowds and from the booths as they watched their friends fight. Battles sometimes had losers, she knew, and the bigger the battle the bigger the cost. It only made her want to meet her friends more.
Everyone walked to the center of the town, where orders and help was being instructed. She could see the two wind magic users bringing themselves to the point of exhaustion, but giving Summer a warming smile as she walked past. Seeing them busy, she moved on.
The memory would stay with her for years, stepping forwards and seeing her friends standing. Luke was on his knees, in pure disbelief and shock, while Ethan stood in front of Layla, the white-haired ice wizard, and spoke to her. Summer's steps became slower as she walked, somehow knowing that there was something ahead that would cause indescribable pain. Layla looked up at her, and Ethan followed her glance back to Summer. Their eyes were filled with tears.
Summer walked closer slowly, her head spinning. While deep down she already knew, her brain refused to connect the dots. Even glancing to Julian, on his knees as his eyes poured with tears, staring forwards to what could only be described as an ice coffin.
They told her what had happened. They told him how Grace had pulled Julian out of the way just as the dragon beasts had fired against her. They told her that she would be missed, and that Layla had encased her body in ice. They told her that she had saved Julian's life, that her life wasn't given in vain, that it had been a quick death.
Summer gripped her hands together tightly, not wanting to believe a word of it. The words themselves washed over her but the meanings stuck and refused to be shaken away. Her breath shuddered uncontrollably and she was aware of hot tears on her cheeks but not of how they got there. She shook her head, and jumped forwards.
"Summer!" Ethan gasped as Summer rushed past her, diving to the ice coffin. It couldn't be real, Summer had decided, determined to prove them all wrong. She would show them all, even show her tears that they were false. Julian looked up at him, his eyes wide and filled with immeasurable pain, and he flinched as Summer's fist cracked down against the thick ice.
Ethan was at her now, trying to pull back his arms as she continued to pummel against the thick ice. It cracked against her bleeding knuckles even without the use of fire. She and Grace fought with fists, not magic. The case began to fall away. Ethan grabbed Summer by both arms now, pushing her into the ground as Summer screeched and shouted and tried to fight back, staring up at her target. As she lay helpless she could finally see. Her eyes sparkled with new tears, and all new terror, staring up at her friend. Summer screamed. No one had said she'd been shot through the head.
x.
After a long and rowdy night, Summer stumbled through the streets, struggling to stay in a straight line. It had been a long time since she had had alcohol, and the drinks she had quickly consumed had left her head spinning and her belly nicely warm. It had also made her too emotional, she decided, sighing to herself. The people that she had laughed and drank with were wonderful, they were kind and it was hilarious to compare them, but they simply weren't the friends that she had left behind so long ago. She put her hand over her Fairy Tail emblem, wishing that she could feel it's warmth again. Spending time with only an ice wizard was making her colder, she grumbled to herself, though that only made her feel a bigger lump in her throat.
"Summer?" Gray looked at her, not sure if she was aware of where she was or where she was going to, but her rosy cheeks and lopsided smile made him cautious. "You're drunk…" He told her.
She stepped forwards, not saying a word as she swiftly put her arms around her shoulders and held on as tight as she could, her entire body shuddering. At first Gray tensed, aware that they were in the middle of a public street though there was clearly no one else around. Then he felt her shuddering, a sudden weakness from her that he'd so rarely felt before. He softened. "Come on, let's get you a hot drink…" he offered her gently.
She didn't let go for a long time, but eventually she pulled herself back and nodded, giving him the brightest smile she could manage.
Chapter 13
"Six months without talking to anyone?" Gray asked again.
The two sat in a brightly lit café, opposite sides of the table and two steaming hot green teas in front of them. The rosiness in Summer's cheeks stayed, but she was more stable sitting down, though the words of truth found themselves tumbling out. She nodded but looked away from his eyes. "I left everyone in my guild without a second thought. At first it was awesome, and it felt like we were achieving something. And we got to meet with new guilds, but we only met a couple before we just…. Stopped. Grace is pretty the only one I've spoken to."
"So now you're talking to me?" Gray questioned.
"Hey, you're the one who stopped me!" Summer snapped back at him, folding her arms across her chest.
Gray sipped the drink, choosing not to rise against her while she was clearly in a more vulnerable state. He wasn't sure how to read her at all, or how to act around her. His instincts now were to protect her, though just the thought that this was Natsu in female form made that feel backwards. He couldn't help but think what he would have done if it was Natsu in front of him, though he told himself that would be impossible. The two must have been different beyond gender, he decided, but was that just the affects of being separated from your nakama for so long? "At least you had Grace. I know the two of you may not get along, but having someone from your Fairy Tail is better than nothing."
She didn't look at him. Even without glancing at him, Gray could see that there was something in her eyes, some reason that hurt her more than she could say out loud. They had boasted for so long that they had been able to work together despite everything, the Unison Raid and the fighting skills that they had shared together were nothing short than extraordinary.
"We were wondering where you had gone off to," Erza came to their table, a warming smile on her face as she saw both of her friends. Behind her were their companions, Lucy already ordering drinks for everyone, Happy diving into Summer's chest and accepting her warm hugs while Natsu sat beside Summer and Grace beside Gray. Erza took a seat and pulled it to their booth. "Levvy says that she'll be finished the device within the hour. It turns out that she couldn't sleep without finishing it." She said fondly.
"I have a good feeling about the next world" Grace said confidently, "I'm sure that it'll be the one we're looking for."
Lucy walked back over to the table, pulling up her own chair. "Levvy even said that she can help pull together a map for you to help find your way more easily."
"You hear that, Summer, we can be home in no time," Grace grinned.
Summer blushed. "Yeah. That sounds pretty awesome," she admitted, slurring her words a little.
"Summer was just talking about the different worlds you've seen," Gray told them, trying to pull from Grace the information that he failed from Summer. "And how come you've been spending so long in this world compared to the others."
Grace seemed surprised. "You were?"
"Hey, you mentioned something about that…" Natsu replied, looking to Grace as the waiter put down each of their drinks and walked away without a word.
Grace looked uncomfortable, trying to gage how much should be said and how much was unnecessarily cruel. "We used to spend a lot of time in other worlds…" She explained slowly, surprising even herself as the memories came flooding back. "The first three worlds or so we went to and we actually enjoyed. We found they were useful and it was fun to be around people so similar, so we could almost forget about the danger in our own world. I can still remember the first time we saw a difference….
Summer and Grace walked along beside each other, still laughing about the previous guild. Though none of the worlds had been incredibly different, there had been certain things that they were able to match and contradict that left them laughing. It hadn't been long since they had gone, and already they had felt hopeful that they could finish their task in next to no time, and go back to fighting each other instead of a common enemy.
The Summer from this world stepped forwards, her eyes wide. She barely moved for a long time, not taking her eyes from Grace. In a sudden leap she bounded forwards, but instead of punching her, her arms were around her shoulders and gripping tightly and refusing to let go.
Eventually they were able to explain that they were from another world, and that there were now two Summers. The stranger explained that in her own timeline, Grace had died only two weeks before, and she was waiting for a miracle. Grace was dragged inside, where the guild members cheered loudly and accepted her as their own. Deep down they had all known she wasn't the one that they had lost, but that hadn't made the tearful goodbyes any easier.
"At first we had thought it had been bad luck, but that was five years ago and every world we have been in up to this one, Grace has been dead. It didn't take long to realize that we were doing more harm than good…" Grace continued, fully aware that she had their attention now and still unsure if it was right to tell them or not. She didn't even want to look at Gray, knowing herself how it had felt to see fate had other plans for you. "I don't know what makes this world so different, but I suppose you are just lucky."
Gray glanced back at Summer, Grace's words ringing through his mind as she described the way that Summer had reached over to him and held him suddenly close. He had to remind himself that it was the same person, whatever the world.
"No way would I do that, not in any world," Natsu told her.
"Well, actually, most of them just punched me in the face…" Grace did have to admit.
Erza stood, not wanting to sink the night into unhappiness when there had been so much to enjoy. "Then we have even more to celebrate," she offered them, raising her tea. "We are the lucky ones."
They nodded and smiled, each raising their glass up and repeated "We are the lucky ones"
Chapter 14
They gathered in the great hall of Fairy Tail, surrounding a long table that was piled high with papers, Levvy staring at each of them in turn and twisting around the cogs and magical inscriptions, solidifying them into a very real creation. They watched her with interest, Gajeel with particular interest as her desk covered in nuts and bolts. She put the strange metallic device back onto the table with a sigh, bowing her head. "I'm sorry…" she mumbled under her breath, awkwardly curling up. "I can't seem to get it to work…"
They looked at her lost, barely able to believe what they were hearing. Levvy was one of the most intelligent wizards that most of them had ever had the chance to meet, and this was exactly the kind of task that she could excel at. There was so much at stake, too, and she had seemed so confident just a few moments ago.
Lucy looked at her, realizing how much this must have hurt her. "It's ok…" Lucy told her, her voice soft and sweet. "I know you would have tried your best…"
"It's not that…" Levvy said, her voice shaking as she spoke. "I was trying to use the theories in this book to create a signal that showed where the nearest crack that would bring you to the world…" she said, trying to think of how best to describe it. "It's like trying to use ripples to track which way to move to the cause of the splash. I just don't think that this is within my abilities…" she said, looking sorry for herself.
"But you can do it!" Summer said, tightening her fists and looking at her with a look of determination and desperation. "Leigh did this in our world. You and him, you're the same person deep down, I know you are!" she was practically shouting now, as Levvy looked up at him with eyes filling with tears. Of course she knew that they were the same person, she knew that she should have been able to do this, but knowing that she had been beaten by herself only made her want to crumble into a ball. "You've just got to think about it more, that's all! I know you can do it!"
"All we need is to know if we're in the right world or not," Grace told her, her voice cooler and calmer than her comrades though she too felt the same frustrations. "Anything else is a bonus."
"Well… that's just the thing…" Levvy said, picking up the device and showing it clearly to both of them. "It says here that it's this world…"
The device shone brightly in her hand, a dial lighting up with a giant 'yes' written above it. It was exactly the same device that Summer and Grace had seen before, so much so that they found it hard to believe that it couldn't possibly be any less accurate. This Levvy had been thumbing through the same old scriptures and had somehow had the exact same mind to create something that in appearance worked the same. Unless someone at some point of their different histories had made some mistake, it should have been accurate.
Grace gritted her teeth, taking a small step back. Summer looked at it with wide eyed awe. "Is this it?!" she asked, a grin crossing from ear to ear and momentarily forgetting the hardship that would come with this answer. "Are we finally here?!"
"Could it really be this world?" Erza asked, amazed herself. "How could this have happened?"
Levvy tilted her head, thinking about that answer. "From what I've heard there are many reasons that could have separated us from 'fate' and the natural progression of time and space…" she said, pulling up her notes. "According to the records any contact with other parallel worlds, changes in time or huge magical anomalies can cause slight shifts and fractures. Our contact with Edolas, the Etherion blast, the Eclipse gate, Tenrou Island, any of these things could have caused our world to unsync from the rest of the worlds," she said, taking off her glasses with a sigh. This really was a rowdy guild, whatever world they entered there was no denying that her homeland was a one in a million. It almost made her feel warmed for a moment, knowing that the faces around her could even last an impression on the entire universe.
"I really don't get it…" Summer admitted, a blank look on her face. "But if you say that this is the world we've been hunting for all this time then that's awesome!" she said, her expression changing to one of joy. "I'm fired up now!"
Grace didn't move, her pale face losing even more of its colour. She looked at Summer with horror, a bead of sweat running down her forehead. Summer, have you already forgotten our mission…? She found herself thinking, unable to form words. If this is our target… we need to destroy this world!
Chapter 14b - ALTERNATIVE ENDING
They gathered around Levy expectedly, all of them watching as she twiddled around the dials and final screws. Gajeel watched her with a different interest, amazed at how she was able to craft the iron into something so incredibly intricate. For Grace and Summer it was an instant confident boost as they watched the exact same creation that they had had in the other world come back to life. "Please don't lose this again…" Levy told them, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. Though she had actually enjoyed creating the measurement equipment it hadn't been an easy task and she had lost hours of rest as she became fixated. Finally, however, the final screw was attached and she was able to place into their hands a cube.
The two women looked at the device, their male counterparts looking over both of their shoulders at the creation. It was a very simple design, with a flashing red light at the touch of a button, but there was a new part to it which neither Grace nor Summer recognized. "What's with the dial?" Summer asked the scholarly mage, watching as it flickered back and forth.
"Well, after you said you'd been going travelling around for quite some time I thought that you might need a map…" Levy said, actually starting to feel a little proud of herself for the additional part of the invention. "The dial shows you just how near or far you are to the universe that you need."
They both glanced down, seeing tiny hand pointed almost at the very top. "We're really close!" Summer exclaimed excitedly.
Levy grinned back at them, leaning forwards in the chair. "You are," she said, having realised the same thing as she had crafted the last pieces together. "You can use this before you step into another world, too. If you point this towards the crack the handle will move closer, like a game of hotter or colder."
"And hotter is always the best way to go!" Summer grinned, ignoring the glares from Grace standing beside her.
Levy sighed, realising it would be just as pointless to argue against Summer as it was Natsu. "Just remember that the parallel world's navigation is like a giant maze. Just because you're close doesn't mean that it's the right path to take. You'll still need to keep your wits about you."
"Like she had any wits in the first place…" Summer pointed out coldly.
"So, does this mean you two will be going?" Natsu suddenly realised, looking back at the two new friends that they had created.
Grace nodded to him, insisting "We've been here too long as it stands. And now we know that we're finally near the world that we need to be, and then we can finally go home." She clenched her fist tightly in determination. The months were being swept away now, and all she could think about was being able to make sure that the people she had cared for were safe. It had been a long time, she didn't know what kind of state Fairy Tail would be in after she and Summer had left the destruction.
Although home meant something different to Summer than it did to Grace, the idea that after all of these months they were finally so close to victory spurned her on too. "It's so close I can almost smell it," she said, a fire burning through her words as she spoke. "I'm fired up now."
x.
They escorted the two dopplegangers to the side of the crack. It had taken a long time for them to find a crack that was suitable, as all of them had either been the dreaded 'dead worlds' or had sent the reader spiraling in the opposite direction. They were starting to lose hope, wondering if they would have to go back on their route and try and get into the other world through another area. It was on one of the furthest corners of Fiore that they had seen the tiny crack, barely showing on their radar, and barely big enough for them to have been able to squeeze through. As they pushed the device closer, the flashing red light beamed into a brilliant green.
"This is really it…" Summer whispered as she knelt by the crack, putting her hand through and testing the temperature of the world they were about to step through. Looking inside it looked no different to the world they were in, barely visible except to their fully trained eyes.
"Will you be coming back out this way?" Lucy asked curiously, seeing how small the rift was and not knowing if it would even be an option to travel both directions.
"Actually, we need your help," Grace said suddenly, folding her arms across her chest. "We need you to seal this area."
The Fairy Tail members took a step back, and even Summer seemed surprised at Grace's sudden announcement. "Seal it?" they shouted out, sensing that there was more to this than just closing a door. Though none of them had known if Grace and Summer would be able to return to this world after their mission was complete, something in Grace's eyes told them that this was more final that that.
Grace looked away, dreading to think how this would have played out if this world had been the broken one. She had tried not to grow attached to anywhere, but even from a distance they had seen so many fairy tail members, so much happiness and hopefulness spread across the world she had no reason to believe the world they would be walking into would be any different. She tightened her shaking fist, gritting her teeth. "We need to destroy this world," she said, not even able to look the others in the eye. "When this world is destroyed everything will go back to how it was. We'll return to our world, the cracks will seal, the centurions will stop. We can't guarantee that none of the blast will come through the cracks before that, however. You need to protect your world now."
The members of this world watched in stunned horror at Grace, trying to process exactly what she was trying to explain to them. "You're going to destroy… an entire world…?" Gray asked, his eyes wide as he looked at the villain he could have so easily become.
Grace shivered, a tear running down her tear as she tried so hard to be brave. She wasn't sure if there would be any chance of returning to a home after what they were going to do, or even if she would be able to look at herself. "It sounded so simple at the time…" she choked, remembering every face that she had seen along the way, every difference between every world that had made each one more charming than the last. Would this world have a Summer, a Natsu, a Gray or a Grace? There was no way to know, and she had no intention of finding out before she destroyed it all. "But this is the only way to make the rest of the universe safe. For the sake of one world, we could all be killed."
Gray stepped forward, knowing that once again it came down to them to make the biggest of sacrifices. Giving your own life was easy, he knew, he had been all too willing to do so for most of his life. Taking life was difficult and it was a heavy burden to bear. "Just promise me that you won't accept that," he told her in understanding. "Promise me that you will try every other option before you even think about destroy that world. Promise me you will try everything in your power to keep them all alive."
She looked up at him with teary eyes, feeling her heart racing in her chest. For a moment she had forgotten what it felt to care for the world around her, and it had taken her own voice to bring back that light. She nodded. "I'll do everything I can. But please, protect this world. Protect this crack and make sure that no one else is hurt from this."
Natsu came and stood beside Gray, a smile on his face as he watched both Summer and Grace. "Don't worry about it, we'll seal this up. We trust you guys, you'll come up with something."
Grace turned back to Summer and they nodded to one another, realizing now that the mission had changed. They wouldn't let Natsu and Gray down, they wouldn't let themselves down, and if there was any possible way of protecting the world they were about to step into then they would find it. Grace had felt touched, realizing that Natsu was trusting not only Grace and Summer but also himself and Gray. Deep down all four of knew that if any of them wanted to achieve something, there was nothing they couldn't do, and together they were unstoppable.
