Here we are with the final chapter. I hope you all enjoy.
Disclaimer: Own Fairy Tail I do not.
Gin and the fairies continued down the beaten path through Rurq Forest. Natsu and Wendy thoroughly scanned the surroundings and tried with all their might to find their team mate's scent. The teens had stayed silent throughout their journey and Gin had begun to notice their uneasiness.
"So who's this Gray fella' you guys keep talkin' about?" The man pondered.
"He's a good friend of ours and a member of this team," Erza stated smiling slightly. "He was the child that – along with Gildarts – took down Drum Bee after he tried to escape the first time."
"You're kidding?!" To say Gin was shocked would be an understatement. "Then Drum's doing this as a way of revenge?"
"We assume so…" Cana mumbled.
"We must save Gray-sama before anything happens to him. Juvia will not forgive herself if he is injured."
"Natsu, are you alright?" Lucy finally asked.
Natsu had been far too quiet as they journeyed deeper and deeper into the forest. He just nodded his head before returning his gaze to the floor.
"Natsu-san," Wendy spoke up. "It's not your fault that Gray-san was captured."
"But it is my fault!" The Salamander retorted. "If I had just got to him a few seconds earlier then he wouldn't be in this mess." Without realising, Natsu dug his fingernails into his palms, causing a thin stream of blood to trickle down his fingers.
"From what I've heard, your friend sounds like a stubborn one. I'm sure he'll make it through this no matter what happens," Gin reassured, sending an empathetic glance towards Natsu.
Natsu nodded towards the man and they carried on walking. It wasn't long until the pyro picked up a familiar scent. It smelled like pine, mixed with mint, mixed with blood… lots of it. Natsu's form went ridged at the smell and it was only until Lucy shook him out of his trance that he stated, "I can smell him. This way!" And took off running. The girl's and Gin all followed the pinkette, struggling to keep up with the teen. Eventually, they came across an old church building that looked like it had seen better days. Moss was growing out of the cracks in the walls and windows had been smashed and shattered. "He's in there, no doubt about it. I can smell the guy's that attacked him too."
"Okay everyone, gather round," Erza instructed. "Here's the plan. We're going to split off into two groups. Lucy, Juvia, Cana, Wendy and I will act as a distraction and enter through the main doors. Natsu and Gin, you see that big crack in the wall?" Both males nodded. "You're going to enter through their and follow Gray's scent until you find him. They most likely have their strongest men guarding him so we need our strongest over there."
"I won't let you down, Miss," Gin confirmed.
"Once we've assured Gray's safety, we take down the remaining member of the dark guild. Understood?"
"Roger."
The two team's got into their positions and prepared to begin the assault.
Silver smiled to himself. His son would soon be in the loving hands of his guild mates and taken to safety, but the feeling just wasn't good enough. He had to make the dark guild pay! He knew his master would catch wind of his plan, but that no longer mattered to him. If he didn't go ahead with this, everything he had been fighting for would be for nothing. Ever since the raven had realised that his son was alive, he deceived a plan. A plan to reunite with the boy and pass on his teachings. It was a very risky plan obviously. There was no way around getting Fairy Tail involved, but it was the only was Tartarus could be stopped. The only way he could be happy. The only way he could reunite with his wife. The only way he could help his son in the fight against Zeref. So for Gray to be done in by a dark guild would ruin his chances of ever getting to see his son's smiling face again. Silver would just have to deal with the consequences later because NO ONE hurts his boy and gets away with it!
Drum Bee was positioned outside his prisoner's cell, explaining his ideals to two of his subordinates when he heard a CRASH!
"Master, a group of girl's from Fairy Tail are attacking the guild. They've come to retrieve their guild mate," one of the members came rushing towards him.
"Very well," he grumbled. "Show them the power of Five Bridge Familia. I will remain here if on the off chance that one of them were to make it through our numbers.
"I knew we should have just killed the kid and delivered him to Tartarus when we found him," one of the member's muttered to another.
"Drum Bee!" A voice called from the shadows. Gin and Natsu both charged forward, sword and flames at the ready. "I believe you have something that doesn't belong to."
"Give Gray back, you bastard!" Natsu roared, swinging his right fist and the muscular man who simple caught it and tossed the pyro into the wall.
"You don't know who you're up against kid," Drum chuckled as everyone got into their battle stances.
Natsu and Gin we sidling along the wall of a seemingly endless hallway. They'd already heard the cue from the girls to begin advancing and they could now hear each of them ruthlessly attacking the dark guild members. With each step they took, Gray's scent continued to grow stronger. They were clearly going the right way. What troubled Natsu was the sickening stench of blood that also got stronger as they progressed down the hallway. The Salamander just prayed that his injures weren't too severe. The pair were now so close that they could just about make out what their enemy was saying. Remaining in the shadows, the pain listened in and waited for the right moment.
"I knew we should have just killed the kid and delivered him to Tartarus when we found him," Natsu heard one of them mutter.
"Tartarus," Natsu whispered. What did Tartarus want with Gray? He turned to face Gin who had already unsheathed his sword. Natsu followed suit and ignited his fists as the pair charged forward.
"Drum Bee!" Gin called from the shadows, before making his appearance known "I believe you have something that doesn't belong to."
"Give Gray back, you bastard!" Natsu roared. He launched himself at the guild master and sent a punch towards the man's face. However, the attack was blocked and Natsu was thrown into the wall besides them.
"You don't know who you're up against kid," Drum chuckled as everyone got into their battle stances.
Natsu's focus was soul set on Drum Bee while Gin went to attack the subordinates. The fire dragon sent an uppercut to the man's jaw, hoping to knock him back so he could catch the man off guard with a roundhouse kick. Unfortunately, Drum was not fazed by the blow and set off an explosion in front of the Salamander. Acting on instinct, the pyro sharply inhaled the flames and blasted around him before the full impact could reach anyone in the area. One the fire and smoke had dissipated, Natsu was holding his stomach in disgust at the foul taste of the inferno.
"Man, you call those flames?" The fire dragon laughed. "Jeez, Romeo's yellow fire tasted better than this…"
Natsu lit his fists up once again and prepared to pounce at the enemy when a sharp blade cut through his path. Gin was standing strong in front of the pinkette staring Drum down.
"Old Man!" Natsu cried, slightly annoyed at him for stealing his pray. He glanced over to the man's opponents to see all three of the guild member's laying upon the stone cold ground, unconscious.
"Take this," Gin threw a set of key's Natsu's way without looking back. "Help your friend. I'll keep this bastard busy."
Natsu nodded – though he knew Gin wouldn't be able to tell – and ran over to the cell his friend was located. He rapidly fiddled through each key until he finally heard a click and the door opened. "Gray!" he yelled in pure shock. The raven was deathly pale and completely surrounded by his own blood. Laceration – most of which had been infected – covered his body. One in particular cut straight through the teens guild mark; it was barely recognisable. His wrists were bleeding profusely due to the strain of the shackles keeping them in place and his eyes were shut. Speaking of his eyes, Gray's right eye was oozing blood which was then streaming down his face. His lips were slightly parted, but it was clear to see that the ice wizard was struggling for breath. Panicking, Natsu gripped the keys tightly, praying that one of them unlocked the chains keeping his rival in place. Sure enough, the chains loosened and the limp figure toppled over and into Natsu's comforting arms. The Salamander desperately searched for a pulse and was both relieved and shocked to find the occasional beat that seemed to be getting slower with every passing minute.
"N…Na…Nat…tsu…" a voice whispered in his ear.
"I'm here," he reassured. "Everything's gonna be okay. We're gonna get you home."
"R…ri…g…t…" Gray struggled, falling unconscious once more.
Natsu picked the male up bridal style and dashed back out the door. The corridor appeared empty; he could only assume the Gin had driven their fight over to the main room so he could check up on the girls in the process. Tightening his grip on Gray, Natsu sped back down the corridor in pursuit of his team.
"You people were fools to think you would get away with kidnapping a member of our family!" Erza bellowed, summoning more swords.
Lucy had summoned Loke and devised a strategy of their own. It was Loke's job to stun the enemies so the Lucy could catch them off-guard with her trusty whip. Cana and Wendy were stood back to back, defeating any foe within their reach. Juvia was on a mad rampage, suffocating any and all of her opponents with a deadly Water Lock.
"How dare you hurt Juvia's Gray-sama!" she screamed, steam emanating from her boiling water.
As if on cue, Natsu burst through a wall, holding a bloodied Gray in his arms with a grave look on his face. The girls and Loke quickly neglected their fights and rushed over to the pair, shuddering at all the horrible things Gray must have gone through.
"We need to get him help now! He won't last must longer," Natsu stated, his voice quivering.
"You guys go!" Gin called over, keeping the guild member's well away from the Fairy Tail wizards. "I can take care of these guy's myself. You need to get your friend medical attention and now!"
"What about you, Old Man?!" Natsu responded in concern.
"I'm more capable than you think!"
The group sent glances each other's way. They all knew that they couldn't stay any longer. Gray was too frail in his current state and if they didn't do something soon there was a good chance the ice wizard wouldn't make it.
"Come on, let's get home," Erza concluded before leading everyone out of the building.
Juvia stayed behind, watching the older man fight his way through hundreds of dark wizards. "Gin-san!" she cried. "Thank you for everything!" She bowed her head slightly before returning to her beloved guild mates.
Gin smiled as the wizards went out of range and dispelled his Transformation Magic, revealing his spiked raven hair, his silver plated armour and the deep scar on his forehead. The temperature of the room dropped drastically as the wizard's expression turned scarce.
Drum Bee emerged from the shadows, staring at the man in confusion. "Why has a member of Tartarus been assisting the enemy?" he muttered to himself.
"You bastards are gonna pay for hurting my son!" The Devil Slayer roared, preparing an onslaught of attacks.
Inside the Fairy Tail infirmary, Gray had been tightly tucked up under the bed sheets. The majority of his body was covered in thick bandaging and a gauze was covering his right eye. Porlyusica was stood with Makarov and the rest of Gray's rescue team, listening in on their comrade's condition.
"The wound through his guild mark was too badly infected that no matter how hard we try, we won't be able to avoid scaring. If you give me some time I may be able to restore his eye. He also lost an immense amount of blood so he won't be able to move around for a while. I suggest he remains here for at least two weeks after he regains consciousness."
"Thank you Porlyusica," Makarov mumbled, staring down at the frail body of one of his children.
"Why the hell did they do this to him?" Cana growled in frustration.
"I heard a few of the members say that they were supposed to kill him and deliver his body to Tartarus," Natsu stated, glumly.
"Tartarus?!" Everyone repeated in disbelief.
"What would Tartarus want with Gray?" Makarov continued.
"It would be wise to keep an eye on the boy," Porlyusica suggested. "If Tartarus are after him there is a high chance that they will strike again and one of these day's Gray will get himself killed."
Makarov nodded in agreement and ordered everyone out of the room. He placed his hand on Gray shoulder and shed a single tear. "Get some rest, Gray. We'll be right by your side when you wake up."
Silver rushed through the doors of Tartarus and headed straight for his chambers. Unknowing, he passed by his master who, upon seeing the man, stared in his direction before speaking.
"Don't think I don't know what you've done," he snarled.
Halting in his tracks, Silver slowly turned to face Keyes, a scowl adorning his features. He strode up to the demon, their faces inches away from touching. "Listen here, Master. I don't give a crap about what you do to me," he stated through gritted teeth. "But you dare bring harm to my son, I won't hesitate to destroy you!" The ice devil gave one last glare at the demon before storming off to his chambers.
The moon was vigilantly guarding over Magnolia as the residents slept. A man approached Fairy Tail wearing a dark cloak, hiding his features from view. With his delicate magic, he created an icy key that fit perfectly into the lock. He gradually tiptoed through the guild, praying that he wouldn't wake any members that may still be present. The door to the infirmary creaked open as the hooded make walked through. Gray was sound asleep in the middle of the infirmary. Perfect, Silver thought as he removed his hood. The father knew he wouldn't be able to sleep at ease without seeing his son back home and safe with his family. He pulled up a chair and gripped Gray's hand in his own.
"Gray, my son, there's so much I want to tell you and so much more I want to ask. I want to hear about all of your adventures with your new friends. I want to tell you about all I have accomplished on my quest to rid the world of demons. I want to hear that cheery voice that used to greet me every time I returned home after a long day. Do you remember back then? Well, I do. I'd burst through the door shouting "I'm home!" and you would immediately run towards me, giving me the biggest hug you could imagine. I would pick you up and swing you around the room. Your mother would always laugh at our antics. And then we'd sit at the dinner table and you'd tell me all about your day and how you beat all your friends in a snowball fight. And afterwards, when it got dark, we would all cuddle up on the couch together and drink hot chocolate. You'd always fall asleep in my lap so your mother and I always carried you back into your room and tuck you in bed.
"I remember one weekend, when one of your friends came running to our home saying you were hurt. You'd fallen over whilst playing and had broken your arm, but even though you were in all this pain, you didn't cry out. You never complained when something bad happened, you would face the pain head on and show it who was boss. Just like when we used to have sparring matches. Even though I was clearly the tougher opponent, you would never give in. I loved watching you get stronger every day. It made me proud to have such as strong-willed son. So when I think about how I've missed the past ten years of your life, it breaks my heart.
"I beg of you to continue getting stronger. Things will turn pretty bleak when we next meet, but I know you will be able to confront your sadness and overcome it, just like you always did. I know you will be able to avenge our family. I feel the war with Zeref and his demons will some hit its climax and I know Fairy Tail will come out on top. You've found a really amazing family to take care of you Gray, please continue to treasure them as you did for Mika and I." Tears poured out of Silver eyes like a waterfall. He brought himself closer to his son and pulled the boy into one last embrace. Silver wished time could stop. He wanted to stay by his son's side so desperately; he wanted his son to be able to hug him back and to remain by his side for the rest of their lives. However, he knew Keyes would be quick on his tail and if Fairy Tail saw an intruder – let alone a member of Tartarus – holding Gray in his arms, there would most definitely be repercussions. Kissing his son's forehead, the ice devil turned towards the door and put his hood back over his head. Just before exiting the man heard a mumbled "Dad" as Gray stirred in his sleep. Silver shed one last tear before dashing out of the guild hall and disappearing into the night.
I love you, my son.
Yay! Another fic over. I really like the ending to this one so I hope you all enjoyed it.
I probably won't post anything new for a while (apart from one-shots) because I wanna give Mystery Circle some more focus. I am starting to write a few notes for my next multi-chapter fic and it's gonna be a good one so look forward to it.
Stay awesome people! :D