Disclaimer: OH THE AGONY! FAIRY TAIL IS NOT MINE! All rights go to Mashima Hiro.

Chapter 4: Running Out Of Time

Gray (The Next Day)

Everyone was standing at the bar, where the miniscule Master was sitting. Mirajane stood behind the bar, wiping a glass clean with a worried look on her face. He watched Erza telling Gramps just how they found jack-diddly-squat.

"There were no traces left behind? Not by anyone?" Gramps lifted an eyebrow.

"I'm afraid not. There was nothing physical or magical that was left behind that could point us in any direction. There was nothing but the wreck." Erza's brown eyes were darker than usual. He knew that this unsettled her quite a bit.

It unsettled him a lot. It was certainly something to be worried about when someone could just cause as much destruction as they did and then just disappear. It meant that they could do it again.

"The Magic Council is not going to be happy about this...", Gramps muttered, "Ah, well. I'll just send them my report."

"Forgive me, Master", Erza's fists clenched.

She always worries too much. She needs to relax a little bit. Gray would say that to her out loud, but he didn't feel like getting cleaved in half.

Somewhere in the background, he could hear Natsu and Lucy arguing about something.

"...don't want to take a job like that..."

"...easy...I need rent..."

"...always do..."

Gray focused back on Erza and Gramps, though he was smiling now. Those two just need to get it over with already.

He would never say that out loud either, because he would get one hell of a kick from Lucy.

"In all likelihood, the Council will send another guild who's more suited to rooting out funny business like this." Gramps rubbed his chin, "Perhaps Blue Pegasus' Hibiki can dig something up."

Erza bowed low. "I'm sorry, Master."

"It's nothing to be worried about, child. The criminals will be caught."

"Too bad", he heard Natsu saying, "We didn't get to fight with anyone."

"Is that all you think about", Lucy asked. "Ugh, fine! I'll go by myself!" Gray turned around just in time to see Lucy furiously stomp out of the guild hall, leaving an open-mouthed Natsu to gape at her. He turned around to look at Gray. "What did I do?"

"I don't know", he answered while shrugging. Sometimes Lucy's mood swings were beyond his understanding.

"Damn it! Hey, Lucy, wait", Natsu hollered. He ran out the door with Happy fluttering right behind him. Gray sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. I need something to drink right now. But more than that, he needed rest. He hadn't really taken a break since the train wreck. He had only slept for about half an hour last night and his nerves were shot. A quick beer and a long nap sounded really good right now.


Lillian

She stood in the middle of the Sabertooth guild hall, taking in the scene. Orga was sitting on a stool, talking to Frosch about why he liked frogs, to which the Exceed answered, "Because I was one!" She didn't really understand what he meant by "was", but Frosch is Frosch. Rufus was sitting in an armchair that he obviously put there himself. The red and yellow monstrosity stuck out like a sore thumb. Sting was lazing around somewhere in the building, probably doing his best to ignore the ever-increasing pile of paperwork that he had to do. Rogue was chatting with the white-haired girl, Yukino.

That one was a new one to her. The Celestial Spirit wizard hadn't been around the last time she was here. Rogue had told her that Yukino was already a decent wizard and that she had a lot of potential for getting stronger. He also told her that she was a good person and a devoted member of Sabertooth.

Judging from her warm brown eyes and her soft smile, she would have to agree. Though her politeness rubbed her the wrong way, like most people's usually did. Lillian would rather have someone hit her in the face than keep addressing her with "-san." The poor girl nearly cried when she told her as much, and before she knew it, Lillian had to spend the next hour consoling her.

After that, Rogue bought everyone sweets, and they were all friends. Sort of.

Home. It wasn't just a word or a place. It was a feeling. And she felt it here, right in this hall. She could feel it calling to her the minute she walked out the door, when Jiemma practically chased her out of here.

I shouldn't have let him make me leave. I should have told him to screw off. If I had, then maybe these kids wouldn't have become so strained under his leadership. And maybe I could have kept Minerva from being influenced by him. But that was already happening a long time before I even left. Still...

She took a big deep breath. She could smell the air of the guild hall, the old musty wood and the cold stone. Chatter filled the hall as members passed in and out, discussing how their jobs went or what requests they were taking, how much Jewels they received, what their day was like, and even a snippet of town gossip here and there, for those who were interested in that.

It's too bad. I'll have to leave again pretty soon. And if all goes well, the guild will be going with me. She was putting it off, she knew that. It was a bad thing to do, considering the severity of the situation, but she still couldn't bring herself to bring such a dark atmosphere back into the guild, not when things were just looking up.

A fresh scent entered the vicinity. She smiled. "What's up, kid?"

"Not a kid anymore, Auntie", Sting said, "What are you thinking about? You have a pretty serious expression on your face."

"It's just nostalgia", she answered lightly. It was a half-truth.

"Okay, then." Sting's eyes flashed. The kid could be as dense as a rock, like any other muscle-head who liked a good fight, but he had always been a little more perceptive of other people than he ever let. He knew she was hiding something, and she knew that he knew.

Quick! Change the subject!

"So, Sting, how's Myri?"

"Aw, come on, why do you have to ask about her?" Sting's blue eyes widened with exasperation.

"You two were a thing, weren't you?" she prodded.

Sting shuffled his feet nervously. "It didn't last, though."

"Aw. That's sad. You guys really liked each other."

"We're still good friends. We just realized we didn't work as a couple is all." He rolled his eyes. "She still makes me babysit her little brothers every now and again."

"Those two demons?"

"Three, now."

"Argh! That's a nightmare!"

Sting chuckled. "You bet it is!"

"Mm. It's good that your still on friendly terms with Myri, even though your relationship didn't go so well. You knew her before you even knew Rogue, right?" She tilted her head.

"Yeah."

"Ah." They stood there, talking about things that had happened in the past while she was away. And all the while, she could feel time slipping away, along with everything that mattered to her.

They're coming.

God help me, they're coming.