I'm doing the best I can to keep up with everything but it's getting hard to do so... I have a lot going on in school, two to three tests per week that I have to study for (that's more than I can handle!) and it just keeps coming! So please don't be angry with me if I'm too slow with my updates for your liking, please? I'm really doing everything I can here! I managed to scribble this down today (since I decided that I had to do something but studying - that's all I've done for two weeks now and it's killing me) so I hope this is enough to quench your thirst for the time being.


He ran as fast as he could. Wondering the whole time if he made the right choice. Surely Natsu didn't think of him as a slave, right? Not after all they've been through, not after everything the mage had done for him. Gray stopped in front of a cave and stared at the fresh fallen snow. When he thought about it, Natsu claimed that he had saved Gray from Igneel many times, but Gray had no idea if he actually was saved. What if they worked together? What if Natsu actually knew what happened to Ul, or even where she was this very moment? He slowly made his way into the cavern, relaxing slightly as the stonewalls protected him from the cold wind outside.

He looked around, scanned for any signs of life in the deep cave. Gray knew very well that a cave in a place this cold would most likely attract animals of different kinds, and he surely did not want to end up being someone's meal. So far so good, but the cavern was very deep and all the running left Gray with little to none energy left and he felt how he grew weaker with each step. Now that he was safe from the biting wind outside, it was nothing left that forced him to stay awake – the thought of some hungry animal that might be in the cave was apparently not enough motivation for his legs to keep moving. He gave in to his tiredness and sat down, leaning his back against the wall. It would be wise to keep searching the cave before dozing of, but it wasn't for nothing that Ul always nagged about using his brain and trust his instincts more. So, of course, he closed his eyes and let sleep overcome him.

"Why are you protecting that thing?! It killed her, it does not have a place in this world nor does it have the right to keep its life after taking hers!" The voice was that of a man, Gray did not recognize the voice but it still felt familiar. He tried to see the man but he couldn't see past the darkness.

"Don't say that! Don't you see what you're doing?" Now this was a voice that he would never forget, Ul's voice. She sounded very desperate and even though he couldn't see her, Gray knew that she was crying. He tried to speak this time, tried to call out to her, but he couldn't make a sound.

"Oh, I see very clearly what I'm doing. I'm saving the world from a demon!" The man seemed to get more and more upset for each passing moment.

"Why do you insist in calling him a demon? She was my sister too, but you're letting your grief take command over your actions!"

"Well, that's what it is, a demon. You can see that in its eyes! Have you ever seen a child with yellow eyes before?"

"Maybe the bloodline is strong in this child!"

"I don't care, Ul! That thing killed her and now it's going to pay the price! Hand it to me!"The darkness suddenly dispersed and Gray was able to see the scene that was taking place in front of him. The man ripped a baby from Ul's arms, causing her to scream in panic. A dagger was placed at the baby's neck, whom was quietly staring at the man that was about to kill him.

"You're not killing what took our sister's life, you're killing the child which she sacrificed herself to bring into this world! You're destroying the reason she died for, not what she died of!" Ul tried to get the man to change his mind but the dagger rose and was brought down swiftly. She made one last attempt to save the child, Ul tackled him when he rose the dagger. But the baby was hit by the dagger in it's stomach. As the dagger torn through the flesh of the child, Gray could feel the pain as if it was his own. He grabbed his stomach with both of his hands and crouched, clenching his teeth together to not let any sound out – even though he probably couldn't scream anyway.

When Gray felt something warm trickle through his fingers, he brought his hands up to look at them. Blood? But he wasn't- He looked down and saw a deep gash in his stomach. Eyes widened in surprise and horror. Gray looked up quickly, hoping to find some answers in the scene before him. His eyes met the child's immediately and they stared at each other. Ul and the man faded away, leaving the baby floating in the air with blood still seeping from the gash. The child stayed silent all along despite its wound and the loud voices that had surrounded him seconds ago.

A few seconds passed before the child began to change its appearance- No, that's not right. It was aging, inhumanly fast. By the looks of it, he was at the age of five now and the yellow eyes now held black dots in them at places. The young boy continued to age and grow. His black hair grew longer, he became more muscular and more dots appeared in his eyes. Soon enough, the boy was around the age of ten and no yellow could be seen in those eyes any more. It dawned for Gray now, he had finally figured out who this kid was, but how was it possible? Why did he see this? Why was he staring straight into the eyes of Gray Fullbuster, how was it possible for him to stare into the eyes of his younger self?

The boy smiled and reached out his hand towards Gray's face, but didn't touch him. "She told you, didn't she?" his younger self leaned forward and touched his cheek. "Don't forget who you are." the smile he had grew sadder before he continued. "But it looks like you've already forgotten. Why did you forget, or maybe that's for the better?" Gray opened his mouth to speak only to find a gag over his mouth, he tried to move his hands to remove the metal ring, that ran over his mouth and around his head, only to find his limbs bound by chains. He began to struggle against the chains that held him down and stared at his younger self, seeking answers.

"Ah, yes. There they are." the boy murmured and ran his hand up and down one of the chains. "These chains represent the memories you've lost. Without them, you can never be free." he moved his hand to touch the gag. "This is proof that you cannot speak, since you doubt yourself." the younger Gray was about to turn his back to the older before halting, his eyes looking at the collar around Gray's neck and he furrowed his eyebrows. The kid ran his fingers over the cool metal and followed the chain down to the ground, where it now had melted together with the stones and forcing his neck down in a painful manner.

"This is something new... It looks like you have something that binds you to the ground. I wonder what that could be, something so powerful to stop you from taking off into the sk-" the boy yanked his head upwards and stared at something behind Gray. "I see... I'll help you with the seal, let's see how strong that chain of yours is."

The chains shattered suddenly and was replaced by a searing pain on his back, below the shoulders. As the chains shattered, the child did too and disappeared along with the world, leaving Gray in the darkness yet again. But this time, he was very confused to say the least. All the questions was swirling around in his head like a hurricane and the pain in his scapulars didn't really help. He wasn't stupid enough to fail to understand that it was a dream, but dreams have actually helped him in the past so he has learned to listen to them – he really have been dreaming a lot lately. Besides, the pain he felt was real enough, even the pain in his stomach was there. Reminding him of what he saw. Reminding him ever so slightly of his past, memories started to come back slowly.

Gray opened his eyes and looked around the cavern. "That was some odd dream," he muttered to himself and winced at the pain in his back. He sighed and slowly stood up, checking his stomach for wounds. It wasn't impossible that someone, or something, had attacked him in his sleep and that it was the reason for the realistic pain that he felt, but there was no sign of any wounds on his body at all. His search for wounds was interrupted by footsteps that echoed through the cave. Gray froze and focused all of his attention to the sound, trying desperately to determine from which direction the sound was coming from. He realized that it was coming from behind but it was too late. A hand was put over his mouth, a dagger was pressed to his neck and a voice hissed in his ear.

"One sound and you're dead."


Dun-dun-dun! I'm so not nice right now! Ending it with a cliffhanger when I have no idea when I'll be able to update again... I know you love me~! xD
Anyway, review/follow/favorite to make me happy, and if you make me happy I'll try my very best to make you happy in return! I will update as soon as I can, you have my word! Until then~