For this entry of Sidestories, I decided I wanted to shine the spotlight on Gray and his relationship with Ur. I really liked her from what we got to see of her, and I actually found myself much more invested in her than I thought I was during one of Gray's later fights in the series (for the sake of preventing spoilers, I won't give any details on that. I hope that those caught up know who I'm talking about, though).

I didn't get to use Ur as a character in AI, so I'll take the opportunity to do so here. As for where this fits in the main story, that'd be the beginning of Chapter 10, after Gray departs from Erza and goes on the way to his final showdown with Lyon. So, I hope you enjoy!


Extra 3
- Hello Cold World -

Even with his body threatening to collapse, Gray continued to drag himself back to the temple. No matter how much his bandaged bruises ached with each step, he had to stop Lyon. He needed to. Erza had trusted him to defeat his former friend, and he refused to let her down. His surrogate sister had placed in him the same faith that his surrogate mother had, a faith she'd carried for him from the day he awoke to her warm smile, to the night she sacrificed herself for the sake of her two pupils.

Ur had been so wonderful to him. Being an bitter child, angry at his lot in life, he didn't appreciate her nurturing at the time, but after she managed to defeat Deliora with the pyrrhic Iced Shell technique, he came to understand how much he'd taken her for granted. As he pressed forward to the base of the pyramid, his pain began to alleviate as he allowed his mind to wander to the most cherished memories he had of that kind, beautiful Ice-Make Wizard.

- 0 -

"Hey," a soft voice fluttered into his ears as he slowly began to crack his eyes. "Hey, little guy? How do you feel?"

Gray absorbed the sights before him drowsily, the most prominent of which was a concerned-looking woman that he failed to recognize. "What's going on? Who are -?"

He suddenly remembered the last events of his consciousness. He began to thrash about under the sheets he was tucked into, screaming wide-eyed at the top of his lungs as his mind raced with horrifying images of burning buildings, bodies crushed by rubble, and his ears were filled with the agonized yells of the innocent, the apocalyptic roars of the giant demon that destroyed all.

"Whoa, calm down! Calm down!" the woman said, placing her hands on the boy's shoulders to keep him in place. Nevertheless, he refused to stop squirming.

"Deliora! Deliora's attacking us! We have to get away!" he cried to her.

"Just take a deep breath, kid, and look around you!" she said, managing to settle him with a single strong rock. Gray did as he was told, slowly inhaling as he regained the better part of his composure. He scanned the room first, finding himself in what appeared to be a simple but peaceful hotel quarters. He caught a glimpse of the outside through the window next to him, seeing a quiet, undisturbed night. He found he was laying on a bed, the sheets the only thing apparently askew in the world, and that was from his episode a moment ago.

At last he came to settle on the woman, the only person there with him. As a young boy who had yet to seriously distinguish the opposite gender, even he couldn't help but notice how pretty she was. She seemed fairly young, but there was a mature softness to her that reminded him of his mother.

"My mom!" Gray shouted in reminder of what had happened, beginning to freak out once more. "Where's my mom? And my dad?"

She averted her eyes, his worst fears confirmed before she opened her mouth. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "You're the only survivor I found."

In the second that it took for reality to tear open his heart, Gray noticed a short figure at the door, peering at them through the small gap. Then he broke down, sobbing uncontrollably until only an exhausted sleep was able to overcome his emotions.

- 0 -

"My name's Ur," the woman with the chin-length hair introduced herself the next morning. Gray didn't have the energy to look at her or even to sit up, instead remaining on his side. The mattress against his cheek was still cold and wet from his tears the night before, but he hardly noticed the uncomfortable condition.

All he could think about was that his parents were dead.

"What's your name?" Ur inquired delicately, sitting at the foot of the bed.

It took a moment before he choked out an automated response. "Gray," he said, his throat painfully dry.

"Gray," she repeated, casting a look at the door, again left ajar. "Would you like something to drink? We made hot chocolate."

For some reason, her saying 'we' prompted him to weakly push himself to recline against his pillow. Taking this as a sign of acceptance, Ur nodded at the door, and a boy, likely his age, came in with a tray holding a steaming mug. She received the tray from the boy, and invited Gray to the drink. He slowly grabbed the handle and brought it to his lips, flinching when the scalding liquid hit his tongue.

"Is that too hot for you?" she asked, reaching out and placing her fingertip on the side of the mug. The steam instantly vanished, and when he took his next sip, he found the chocolate to be at an ideal temperature. He downed it all in just a few hearty gulps, cooling his burned tastebuds and leaving him feeling somewhat replenished.

"Thanks," he muttered, placing the mug back on the tray before Ur set it beside her. After another lengthy pause, in which he looked between her and the other kid, he managed to use his rediscovered voice to begin asking questions. "So what's going on? Who are you? And where am I?"

"Like I said, I'm Ur, and this is my student, Lyon," she said, gesturing to the boy. Lyon offered him a bow and a small, polite smile in greeting. "We're in a motel in Sedona, a small village a few miles away from your hometown. Lyon and I were here for a job when we heard about what happened in Isvan, so we went to see the damage for ourselves. That's where we found you. It's been three days since then."

"You brought me with you?" Gray didn't sound exactly grateful at having been rescued, perhaps even disappointed.

"Well, I wasn't just gonna leave you there by yourself," Ur replied, her tone hardening slightly before easing again. "You were the only one that managed to escape Deliora. It wouldn't have been right if I didn't help you."

Gray fell silent again, his hair obscuring his eyes as he gripped the bedsheets. His frame shivered as he began to sniffle. Ur decided to give him a moment alone, so after patting his knee, she took Lyon and had him exit the room first. She watched Gray lie back down as she closed the door, but right before the bolt clicked, she heard him ask something else. Because he was facing the wall next to the bed, his words sounded distant, but she had understood what he said perfectly.

"What am I supposed to do now?"

"You lived, didn't you?" she responded quietly. "So, live."

- 0 -

Four days had passed since that morning. It had been a week since Ur had saved Gray from the wreckage of Isvan, but the boy had remained comatose for the first three-day stretch. Even after waking up, he barely seemed aware of the things around him, looking lost as the master and student transferred him to their home in Flagstaff. He was so despondent, rarely speaking in full sentences and just cracking his mouth open to eat. She felt terrible for it, but she was beginning to lose patience with boy.

"Look, Gray," she said as he poked at his near-untouched lunch, Lyon almost finished with his serving. "I know you've been through a lot, but you gotta snap out of this funk at some point. Whenever you feel up to it, meet me and Lyon outside; we can help you take your mind off things."

Ur extended the proposition for two more days in a row, with Gray declining every time, opting to sit in solitude on the bed she'd made for him. By the third day, she wasn't leaving it as a choice any more.

"I wanna stay inside," he tried to defy her as she handed him a jacket and scarf.

"Not today," she said, ushering him towards the back door. She walked him to the middle of her vast backyard at the foot of a mountainous forest, colorless with snow draping every inch he could see of the expanse. Lyon had been waiting for her, eagerly jumping up from the uprooted tree he'd been sitting on. "Normally this is when I'd begin Lyon's lessons, but today I just wanted to show you some of what I've been teaching him."

"Ur's a master of Ice-Make Magic," Lyon explained, his slanted eyes growing large with excitement. "She's so amazing, and really powerful. She could be one of the Ten Wizard Saints!"

Life flickered in Gray's expression when he was told this. It was the first instance of her seeing anything but depression from the boy. Inspired by the change, Ur went on to create all kinds of moldings with her tremendous reserve of energy. Stationary objects, animated creatures, but what she truly prided herself in was her flower theme. She'd always preferred that particular flair, and it had become her signature as her reputation spread across the kingdom. Other wizards proficient in Maker Magic had tried to imitate her style, but no one else could duplicate the beautiful details of her floral designs.

Ur capped off her demonstration by producing a single rose, carefully holding out her yellow-tinted sculpture by the thorny stem. "For you," she said, presenting it to Gray. Tears began to bead around the corners of his eyes, but this time, they were accompanied by a tiny smile as he accepted her gift.

- 0 -

"Are you really strong enough to be one of the Wizard Saints?" Gray asked her that night after dinner, coming up behind her as she washed the dishes.

Ur finished up rinsing a bowl, then shut off the water and dried her hands with towel. "I guess," she shrugged with a smirk, turning around to lean against the sink. "I'm sure there are plenty of mages out there who're more powerful than I am, but a guy I know from the Magic Council always said I would make it in if I wanted to. I kinda used to get the feeling they were just looking for eye candy, though. Incidentally, he stopped approaching me so much after I got married."

This new bit of information registered in Gray's mind, but he had something he had to follow through on first before he could inquire about anything else. "Then could you beat Deliora?"

Ur's playful demeanor vanished at the question. "What're you getting at, Gray?"

"I don't want you to go after Deliora," he clarified, balling his fists. "I want you to teach me magic like Lyon. Make me strong enough so I can kill that demon myself."

She held his steadfast gaze for a moment. A fire, whether it was sparked by recent events, or rekindled from the embers of the boy he always was, was burning inside of Gray. Ur knew that if she didn't help him tame that anger, then it would consume him, eat at his vulnerable soul. If it got to that point, he wouldn't be able to fulfill the wish she'd made for him.

"I'll teach you," she nodded. It wasn't going to be easy for either of them, but she would instruct him. She wasn't going to let him fall prey to the darkness Deliora had cast in his life, so she would do her best to see him rise above and become a demon's nightmare.

- 0 -

"Ice-Make Magic is stupid," the shivering Gray scoffed with his arms crossed over his bare chest. "How am I supposed to kill Deliora with bunnies and roses? Teach me something I can actually use against him."

"Maker Magic is limited only by your imagination," Lyon frowned at him, defending his beloved master with the first lesson she'd taught him. "If used correctly, anything you dream of could have a great purpose. Ur can't show us any advanced spells if you still haven't learned the basics, though."

"I'm not learning anything right now!" Gray snapped. "Running around the snowy mountains in just our underwear's not doing anything for me, and these dumb little animals are completely useless! I need to learn something powerful for when I fight Deliora!"

Ur placed her hands on her hips. "Everyone has to start with the basics. I understand how you feel -"

"No, you don't!" he interrupted. "You don't know anything about how I feel! What have you lost that comes close to my parents being killed? Huh? Nothing, I bet, so don't try to act like you know what I'm going through!"

The ice mage couldn't help but break into a sardonic chuckle at that, further angering the boy. "I've lost things, too, Gray. Precious things. I know how painful it is to have your world collapse on you, and you'd do well to keep in mind that a lot of people you'll meet in life could share similar stories with you. Do you wanna hear mine?"

Gray scowled at her, but was otherwise ready to listen. Lyon, on the other hand, already knew her tale and how it much it hurt her to relive it. "You don't have to explain yourself to him," he said quietly.

"He should know," Ur smiled at him, ruffling his silvery-blue hair before looking at Gray. "I said I was married before, didn't I? Ever wondered why you've never seen a man around here, or why I've never talked about a husband? It's because he left me when I told him I was pregnant. He never wanted to have children, and even though it made me sad to think I wouldn't be a mother, I respected his wishes because I loved him. However, things didn't quite go as he wanted. He grabbed all his things, and marched out without a single look back. I haven't seen or spoken to him since then. I was heartbroken, but at least I knew I wouldn't be alone for very long."

The boy from Isvan suddenly felt a pang of guilt at Ur's sorrowful expression. She gingerly rested a hand over her exposed stomach, her head lowered to obscure her eyes, and Gray began to feel even worse when he realized why she'd also refrained from mentioning a child. "And your son, or daughter...?"

"My daughter passed away two years ago," Ur replied softly. "She was born with an overabundance of magical energy. She'd always been frail, but she tried to never let that get in the way of living a normal life - until her magic became too much for her to bear. I wanted to do whatever I could to help her, so I took her to a facility that promised to help her. But instead, during that time, her body gave out, and..."

"I'm sorry," Gray whispered when she didn't resume speaking. He had no idea that she'd been through something like that. He'd known Ur as a calm woman, with a warm and bright demeanor. For her to remain so optimistic after her husband abandoned her, and after the death of her child, it gave him hope that some day, he wouldn't feel so tormented himself.

- 0 -

Ur was gone. Lyon had taken off, as well.

Gray's frustration had boiled over, leading him to the stupidest mistake he could've made. He'd sought after Deliora, and tried to fight it with only his intermediate level of Ice-Make Magic. By some miracle, he had survived encountering the titan once more, but his life, along with his fellow student's, was granted through their master sacrificing hers.

He tried staring absently out the train's window, but he always caught the pathetic look in his eyes in his faint reflection, which made him turn away. His anger had yet to dissipate, but now it was mostly aimed at himself. Lyon had rightfully accused him of being the reason that Ur was no longer alive as everyone else was. If it hadn't been for his recklessness, then she'd still be living in her quaint cottage by the woods, still being happy to show her two adorable students the ways of magic.

As the train pulled into a station, he saw a woman, perhaps Ur's age, leading a pair of young twin boys to the entrance of his car. One of the kids was well-behaved, smiling as he held his mother's hand, while the other discontentedly tugged at her long skirt. The woman sighed as she sat them down opposite her, but her delight was apparent. As trying as they could be at times, it was clear she loved her children.

The scene struck at Gray. From the moment he'd met Ur, she'd always prioritized the well-being of her pupils. She'd cared for him and Lyon as if they were her own, but not as replacements for her daughter. She'd wanted them to grow into good men, to leave a positive imprint in the world that had shaken them.

Ur wanted them to be happy. She wanted their spirits to go through their struggles with their heads held high, and to explore the best of whatever lay ahead of their paths. Yes, he was alone once again, but he wouldn't be for very long, because he would take her wish to heart. He would go where he would be accepted by people just as kind as her, who wanted the same happiness for him, and he in turn would get to be a part of theirs.

Ur, before settling with her husband, had been a famous member of a wizarding guild. Always modest about her tremendous strength, she'd described her old home as a wonderful place. She'd suggested that the boys join one when she finished their instructions, so they could get to learn things she wouldn't be able to teach them. She'd told them of a number of guilds that could interest them, but even as he tried tuning her out, there was one organization that had proved memorable to him.

The guild in Magnolia, southwest of the region he'd been born in, had been steadily gaining popularity for their collection of powerful, affable and reliable mages. Ur had spoken highly of some of their members that she'd been acquainted with, and after some soul searching about where to go next, Gray decided he wanted to join a guild she would approved of, a guild that shared her philosophy of always seeking out moments that would make his heart swell with the joy of being together and helping others.

Gray decided he would join Fairy Tail.

- 0 -

The last thing that Gray thought of before getting back to the top of the temple was how he and Lyon branched out after Ur used the Ice Shell. He, who had been a dissatisfied brat for most of the time he'd been with her, had accepted her final gift and lived to the fullest at his guild. Lyon, on the other hand, who had always been so full of enthusiasm and energy as a boy getting to learn from his idol, had descended into a twisted vision of self-serving avenging.

He wanted to help his former friend. He'd felt that rage before. It had clouded his once-noble dream of surpassing his master, wasting a decade of his life that he could've spent actually living like Ur wanted. Gray understood Lyon was beyond simply listening to words, so there would was only one way he could hope to get to him.

With a deep breath, fueled by the memory of Ur and the confidence of his friends, he launched himself up, ready to put an end to this icy chapter in their lives.


Ur was a very wonderful lady, and I'm happy that I was able to write her in some capacity, after all. I'm actually very proud of how this piece turned out, and hopefully, you guys think I did Ur justice, too.

So, I bet you're wondering now what the next Sidestory will be. Well, it relates to the next arc in Fairy Tail, so I won't be giving away too much. I will say that it's not going to tragically tug at your heartstrings, as it's more comedy-oriented. In any case, if you wanna review this chapter, I'd greatly appreciate hearing your thoughts. Thanks, and see you next time!