A/N:Hello again everyone! It took me a little longer than I had originally planned to come up with how to develop Jellal in this story. That, and I was at a loss for inspiration or motive to write recently for some unknown reason. But I'm back, and ready to get back into the GrayZa shipping mood!

Thanks to all who reviewed on the last chapter and to any new followers! Glad to have you aboard!

Chapter 7: Trust

The man pulled back his hood, to reveal a wizard with electric blue hair. A dark red tattoo was marked above and below his right eye.

"It's been quite some time… Erza"

"No… It can't be you…" Erza's eyes widened in fear.

Gray fell to his knees as massive shot of pain came to his head.

Erza stood there, staring at the bluenette, clenching her fists as hard as she could.

Jellal.

He was somehow here, standing right before her. She was under the impression that he was imprisoned in the Magic Council, even after Gray had been changed back to his normal form. What he caused and put her, Gray, and countless others through was unforgivable. All fear washed away as anger took over. Erza tried to keep her cool and not let the situation turn into a violent one, but the overwhelming feeling of hate pulsed through her like the blood in her veins.

The scarlet wizard summoned her sword, and without hesitation kicked Jellal to the ground. The force she used on him was tremendous, driven by her abrupt enragement. "You have some nerve showing up like this…"

She advanced, drawing her sword and bringing the tip of it to his neck, barely grazing the skin. Her glare was seemingly just as sharp, "You better have a good reason to be here, because if I don't like it, I won't hesitate to kill you"

Despite being roughly tossed to the dirt and having a blade mere inches from his neck, Jellal remained calm and didn't fight back the entire time.

Gray in the meantime, had a splitting headache but he felt a strange, yet familiar sensation as images flooded his mind. Memories. Thoughts. Feelings. Everything that made his personality, came crashing in all at once. First were flashbacks of the little time he spent with his parents before they were killed, with the latter coming in soon after. Next was training with Ur and Lyon, and Ur's death, how she saved him using Iced Shell. Fairy Tail, where most of his memories had been, came next. First he had known Cana and became her friend.

Then the memory of when he first saw Erza. As much as he tried not to show it, Gray loved Erza. Or more precisely, was in love with the scarlet girl since she joined the guild. He saw how weak she really was behind her armor, behind the scenes, when she was alone. He felt as though he had to help her after seeing her crying alone that one day by the river. At the moment, Gray would have never expected to see her crying like that. But that day, he realized that the true reason that she wore armor was not to shield herself against physical damage, but emotional harm. To protect her heart from breaking.

He hoped that if he kept trying, he could get her to take down the emotional armor she put up around her heart. And maybe instead of preventing it from breaking any further, he could do his best to fix it. He wanted to be her protection, her armor from emotional pain. As years went by, he felt that he was making progress with Erza. But something always got in the way. Jellal. The bluenette made it impossible to get very far with Erza even though he wasn't physically there. The requip wizard told him that she believed that the Jellal she knew when she was younger was still in there somewhere.

When Erza was taken back to the Tower of Heaven, and Gray found out that Jellal was going the kill her, he decided he would do whatever took to protect Erza. And it led to him using Iced Shell, a spell that virtually kills the caster. The spell was designed this way because it's main purpose was to protect those you loved. And it would only be worth casting if you were protecting a loved one, just as Ur did for him.

Gray had recalled everything. It seemed as though seeing Jellal was a trigger for his memory to come back. But man, did it hurt like hell to get that many thoughts back into your brain at once.

The ice wizard was coming to, and he could see Erza at the verge of killing Jellal with her sword. Gray just continued to watch, Serves him right. I'm not sure how he's here, but watching Erza take him out is fitting. Fitting for her to eliminate her own nightmare.

Eventually Jellal spoke "Erza. I didn't come here to hurt or fight with anyone. I had spent two long years trying to find myself, and I couldn't believe what I had done-"

This only angered Erza further, "What kind of excuse is that?!" she inched the tip of the metal closer, pressing further against the bluenette's throat.

Jellal tried to push his head back, but was already confronted with the ground beneath him. He gulped hard, "Erza, I was being controlled. I was possessed in the tower. I was controlled since the day you left, or rather made you leave. That wasn't the real me back there. A powerful dark guild member took control of my body, so I could force others into building the Tower of Heaven because they wanted to resurrect Zeref."

Erza's eyes widened after hearing that. She always believed that there was some unknown, underlying reason behind his actions. It wasn't his fault. He shouldn't be punished like this. The real Jellal is here now. The scarlet mage pulled her sword away from Jellal, and sent it back to its dimension. She reached her hand out to help him up, "I'm so sorry Jellal… I had no idea that was what happened. But I must know, did you break out of the Magic Council? Are you a fugitive?"

Jellal pulled himself up with the help of Erza and stated, "No. I was able to prove my innocence and show that I was being possessed. They are searching for the guild that caused it."

Erza smiled in relief. "Well, in that case, come with me to Fair-"

Ice shards came crashing towards the bluenette, but he was able to dodge just in time. A familiar voice yelled, "What are you doing?! Take him down!"

The requip mage stood in front of Jellal, and protested "Stop this! He is no longer an enemy! He was being controlled, he is innocent now."

Erza's actions took a blow to Gray emotionally. What the hell is she doing? Standing in front of him? Protecting him?! After I protected her from him? He can't be forgiven! He is a damn liar!

But, nonetheless, Gray accepted Erza's wishes. Maybe, he did change. But that wasn't going to stop him from keeping an eye on the blue haired man. "Fine. Have it your way. But I wouldn't trust him…"

Jellal walked up to the ice wizard and spoke in a soft tone, "Excuse me, but I believe you were the one that trapped me in ice for 2 years. And for that I would like to thank you. During that time, my controllers left me and I came back to normal. And a friend of Erza's is a friend of mine, even if you don't feel the same about me, however I can understand why".

Gray simply scoffed and began to walk back home, "Let's go Erza".

The three wizards walked in silence the entire way to Magnolia. Before they got into town, Erza suggested that they go to Gray's house since it was getting late and that they would inform the guild on the situation with Jellal in the morning. Gray refused initially, but Erza convinced him that they couldn't go through town with Jellal around, it would bring too much unwanted attention. Gray still hated the idea, but he allowed it anyways. It was hard to say no to Erza.

It was going to be difficult to house the three of them since he only had one bedroom. He sure as hell wasn't going to let Jellal and Erza sleep in there while he slept on the couch. He didn't want Erza to have to sleep on the couch either, it was uncomfortable. Hmm… Sharing a bed with Erza would be the best scenario, but I don't know if she would be okay with that… Ah, what the hell, I'll just ask her.

Gray made his announcement to Jellal and Erza, "So, since I only have one bedroom, someone has to sleep on the couch. Now, I don't want to have to be the one to do this, but the only way for it to work is for Jellal to sleep on the couch." The ice wizard didn't directly mention that Erza was going to have to sleep with him, but it was pretty obvious. Although, he did a good job containing his excitement after Erza bluntly agreed. Jellal said that he would be okay with that, Gray assumed that Jellal didn't want to do anything that would make him unhappy.

Everyone was so tired that they completely skipped dinner and headed straight for their respective places to sleep. There was some awkward tension between Erza and Gray and neither one spoke, even though they shared the same bed. Jellal went to the couch and closed his eyes.

Gray was having trouble falling asleep, not only because Erza was right next to him, but also because she flooded his mind. He still couldn't believe that Erza trusted what Jellal told her, and what happened to that day that she almost kissed him? Was it a lie? Pity for herself because she missed me? A way to replace Jellal? So many questions clouded Gray's mind as he struggled to go to sleep.

Erza wasn't falling asleep so easily either. In truth, she didn't know what to feel. Jellal or Gray? There was a feeling of nostalgia when she found out that Jellal wasn't himself. The truth was, she loved Jellal when they were kids. When she joined Fairy Tail, Gray was beginning to take that spot, but she still never knew if she should fall in love with anyone again so she kept her distance and stayed friends. It wasn't until Gray "died" for her that she realized her true feelings for the ice wizard. But with Jellal back to normal like this, she was at a crossroad.

Jellal was laying fairly comfortably on the couch, he smirked and whispered to himself "Everything is working out perfectly… And when it is time, I will have Erza…"

A/N:Is Jellal what he appears to be?

Everything is complicated with Gray and Erza right now…

This was the longest chapter so far! I want to start writing longer ones.

Anyways, if you have the time, leave a review! I love getting them!

-AP