Yesterday had been the worst day in Gray's entire life and that deserved some form of merit as he curled in on himself on a nearby chair, dead to the world around him as the Fairy Tail team was in discussion. Now Gray had seen a lot of things with in his life that ranged from deranged to amazing to downright purely sad.

But nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to see from that little disc yesterday.

The bastard was right when he said the truth was going to hurt.

He just didn't know at the time what that meant or where it was even going, but after getting a 'taste' of what it was, he really wished he could remain ignorant to it. A part of him hoped that day that this bastard, in his stage of arrogance, might've revealed himself so naturally, he was ready for whatever could be thrown at him. Ready to find this asshole and beat him to a bloody pulp.

But nothing could have saved him from what happened next.

"Smile pretty for the camera, Natsu. Gray's going to be watching..."

Gray's eyes widen as the scene replayed in his mind, him sitting back in Freed's office before the dreaded scene appeared before his eyes once more, on the small computer screen and he could feel his world crumbling. Natsu, the man he loved, was naked and had clearly been beaten on by the looks of the dark marks and bruises on his body and face as he was forced onto his knees, between another man's legs before sick realization hit Gray hard. He could literally feel his heart shattering as he could see Natsu in the poor lighting trembling and shaking, tears rolling down his bruised face Gray quickly closed his eyes tightly as he heard the man slowly unzip his slacks in front of the pinkette and began praying to any and all mighty beings above that could hear, not to let this happen.

Not to the man he loved.

He bit his lip as he opened his eyes just as a hand reach out from the darkness where the faceless man that sat before the trembling pinkette and snagged Natsu by his hair and forced the poor boy to come face to face with a thick, throbbing penis staring down at him that Gray had no doubt would be entering his mouth, whether Natsu wanted it to or not. But there was one thing that bothered Gray.

Why wasn't Natsu fighting back? Natsu always fought back if he was forced into something that was uncomfortable to him- So why-?

Then he saw it, anger and rage began pooling into his entire chest cavity.

Natsu's mouth was held wide open by the looks of it, a ring gag and his hands were tied securely and painfully behind his back by both the wrists and the elbows. If he wasn't Gray was sure he would have protested, screamed, fought back, or at least bit the damn thing off the sick bastard's body when it was inserted into his mouth through the ring while Natsu sobbed. A hand rested itself on the back on his head and Natsu let out sounds that he was choking on the bastard's cock. This didn't seem to stop the man who held Natsu as he slowly started his rhythm making Gray wanting to chuck his computer against the nearest wall, burn the lexar to ash instead of handing it to Freed and Lyon to analyze.

"Hold him steady for me."

And he really wished he did.

He blinked back more tears upon hearing clicking in the background and saw that whom ever held the video camera move southward, down toward Natsu's ass as a leather-clad hand was seen zipping the zipper to pair of pants down. He watched in horror as he stood up and away eyes widen as a fresh wave of tears began to make themselves known unaware of the looks he was recieving from around him. A voice even called out to him.

"Gray?"

He wasn't- He wouldn't-

Gray began to hyperventaliate, eyes growing wide and scaring the people around him.

"Gray!"

"You're nothing but a dirty little whore and Gray's never going to want you back. Not after I'm through with you-"

Natsu just sobbed.

"Sting will disown you as his brother. And all your little friends will only remember you for is a cheap dirty little whore that was meant to do nothing more then service their master-"

Gray didn't know what happened after that but he did know was that he somehow found himself running, running from the still playing track scaring the many around him, running out the guild as Lyon, Freed and Lucy's voices called out for him, begging him to come back. Running where he didn't know where and he didn't care. Tears were trying to escape down his face, the scarf whipping around his bare chest and back as the rain started pouring down. His emotions in a complete jumble.

He didn't know when that started raining and how he found himself in front of a large field that sloped up to a decrepited, badly burnt building. Natsu and Sting's long sinced abadoned orphanage. Why his feet brought him here, he didn't know or cared. He just stood there, outside, listening to the rain fall onto the earth, uttering soft sounds of pitter patter onto the many surfaces, the plants, cement, metal railings, everything, but Gray couldn't bring himself to move forward or backward. Not with those tears suddenly shimmering behind dark blue hues, sweat soaked face red and damp from both the raging storm outside and from running a long distance from the guild to here. He was sweating, that was it, his eyes were red and puffy from the holding in his tears. He refused to cry, refused to show weakness. He refused, dammit. When he did start crying, however, was beyond him.

"AAAAARGHHH!"

His body trembled before his legs finally gave out from underneath and he fell to his knees as the rain started pouring down harder and he started, for the first time in what had to be 16 years, started crying. He sobbed and screamed upon the now soaked grass, not caring who saw him and what they thought as every emotion the raven possessed was ripped from his throat as he spilled his entire heart and soul out onto the ground.

This was too much.

He couldn't take this anymore as the world was finally and succeding in crushing him. Not only had he tried to keep a calm head during all of this and granted, he knew this was bound to be happening but to have it displayed so clearly and now in front of others, Freed and Lyon espically as he gave it to them to exaimed it-

He couldn't- He couldn't take it anymore.

He wanted it to end!

He blinked, realizing that after awhile when he felt the rain stop pouring in turrents on his body, soaking him to the bone and the sound of a gentle pitter patter followed after the absence of the rain. He slowly turned his tear-stained, red eyed face to look up over him to find that a large black umbrella was held over him before slowly turning around to find that it was held by none other then-

"Sting?"

Gray had to do a double take to be sure that his mind was playing tricks on him but there was no mistaking it. The blonde boss of the Sabertooth Guild, Natsu's brother was right there, right behind him, holding an umbrella right over his head, keeping him dry despite his current state of dress and regarding him with the most curious look that had Gray looked away. He couldn't face his boyfriend's brother, not now, not ever. Not after all he's likely seen on that disc.

"Gray." Sting said softly. There was no malice, no anger, but- Sympathy? "Gray. Look at me."

Gray took a shuddery but deep breath before he steeled himself and slowly turned to look at the blonde man, eyes still closed. He wasn't sure if he was ready to face whatever the blonde may truly have in store for him.

"Gray, that's not looking at me," The blonde's voice rung out. Again, no anger. "Open your eyes and look at me."

After a long lengthy silence followed by shaky sobs mingled with hiccups that he tried to stifle and keep quiet with no luck, Gray finally relented and opened his red eyes to face Sting. Tears flowed as he stared at the stoic blonde man.

"I-I... I'm sorry." Gray breathed. "I'm so sorry."

He let out a shaky breath as he watched Sting drop down to his own knees until he was at eye level with the emotional train wreck that was once the laid back and brave hearted Gray Fullbuster. What threw Gray completely off was that there on Sting's face would be a shimmer of unshed tears in those sapphire blue eyes. What threw him out of the loop even more was when Sting pulled him into a tight one armed hug.

"It's not your fault."

"Sting..?"

"It was never your fault."

Apprehending the criminal that she and her fiance was sent after by the Council in the Forgotten Deserts didn't take as long as she thought they said it would. But then again, she strives to get the job done and done immediately, least some innocent people got in the way and wound up hurt or killed. And like hell would she allow that to happen.

She gave a firm nod and a clap of her hands.

Erza Scarlet was a force to be reckoned with when it came to the safety and security of the people and justice system. She was a young woman with long, scarlet hair that was tied into a ponytail and brown eyes, one of which was fake due to a childhood accident. She had a slender, voluptuous figure that was shown nicely with a low-cut blush pink shirt, dark slacks and knee-high army like combat boots. She narrowed her eyes as she placed both hands on her hips as she watched the Council knights take the criminal away.

"Another excellent job once again." Came a voice.

"Hmph. It was a little too easy."

"With you on the case, it's always seems a little too easy."

"Don't flatter me," She smiled, a faint pink blush dusted across her face. "Jellal, you know better."

The young man, Jellal Fernandes, her soon to be husband, chuckled as he moved to stand next to the scarlet haired woman and watched the criminal being taken away. He was about a foot taller then Erza, his toned and well-built figure hidden under a thick dark sweater, cream colored slacks and Blue branded side-gusset shoes. But what stood out on the man the most was his messy blue hair and the red tattoo above and under his right eye, which he has had since his childhood. He sighed.

"So what now?" Jellal asked, turning to look to the redhead. "We aren't expected back at Captial Crocus until another 5 days."

"Nothing- I guess." Erza shrugged, she returned the look back at Jellal. "I suppose we can have this what Lucy calls 'Day Off' thing."

"A day off?" Jellal asked, looking up to the sky tilting his head to one side and folded his arms across his chest, shifting his weight to one leg, "I see nothing wrong with having one- So what do you wanna do? Grab lunch? Me and you?"

Erza smiled. "Sure. Why not? We hadn't had meal just between us."

Jellal returned her smile as the couple made their way to her parked 2006 Mercedes car, ready to head back into the heart of town, where Erza remembered a few curious resturants being. They barely touched the door handles when Erza's cellphone suddenly went off, startling them.

Stupid anti-pimping laws.

Well, pay the man!

Jellal let out a laugh at the sound. "You picked that as your ringtone?" He asked through fits of laughter. "Bender?"

"No. Natsu did. For my boss, Makarov Dreyar." Erza chuckled, as she pulled out her cellphone. "Said it matched Makarov perfectly."

"He's right about that," Jella's smile faltered slightly. "Why is he calling you? Or better yet, why is he calling you this time?"

"No idea," Erza shrugged, pushing a lock of red hair behind one ear, "But for the sake of one certain pink haired boy I know, it better not be about him."

She flipped the phone open, pressed a button and brought it to her ear.

"This is Erza Scarlet."

"Erza. This is your boss, Makarov."

"Yes, sir."

"I need you to come home immediately. Bring Jellal with you if you must."

"If I may ask, why sir?" Erza asked, her visible eye narrowing dangerously, "What has happened?"

"It's Natsu, Erza." Came an anxious sigh. "He's- He's in trouble."

"Natsu in trouble huh?" Erza sighed, muscles visibly relaxing as she massaged her temples earning her a soft chuckle from Jellal, "What did he do this time if I may ask?"

"He's been taken, Erza."

"Taken?" She paused. Did she hear that right? "What do you mean 'taken'? Like as in taken out to dinner, or movies or-"

"Taken as in kidnapped."

"Kidnapped?" Erza repeated as the bluenette behind her became alarmed, eyes grew wide, face falling. She could hear her whole world crumbling out from under her, "By who? Who kidnapped him!?"

"We don't know..." Came the nervous response, "What we do know is that Gray is being forced to play a game to save his life and we could really use you back home."

"I'm on my way." Erza declared. "I should be there in 4 days, sir."

"Please hurry Erza." Came another voice, Mira. It had sounded as though she had been crying awhile. "I don't know how long Natsu can hold out against this- this monster..."

"2 days. Done." Erza replied curtly, snapping her phone shut, ending the conservation and turning to her fiance. "Jellal. We need to pack up immediately. Our 'day off' will have to wait for another time. We're heading home."

"What happened to Natsu?" Jellal asked, eyes filled with worry. "Is he okay? Who did this?"

"Dunno." Erza growled agnrily as she almost ripped the door off her car. "But what I do know is whoever kidnapped my little brother, isn't going to get away with this! No stalling! Get in the car! NOW!"

"A-A-aye."

Rain began to slow to drizzle, lightly coating the world around them in a soft sheet of water and the rapid sound of hail was reduced to a soft pitter patter. Gray paid it no mind, as he continued to vent his anger, his heartbreak, his frustration and his everything as he clung tightly to Sting, head buried in his neck. He wasn't sure how much time had past as they sat there, on the soaking ground.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry..."

That seemed to be the word of the week.

"It's okay." Sting's soft voice whispered. "It was never your fault."

"What are you talking about?" Gray asked, pulling away from the embrace. "You said it yourself, I did this to him... I didn't protect him- I left him to die..."

"I don't recall saying that last part about him dying-"

"You were thinking it."

"I see," Sting sighed, "But if we were honest, it's also in a way, my fault too."

"Your fault?" Gray blinked. "How?"

"Natsu and I- I just-" He took a deep sigh and looked to the sky, "I guess if I had just accepted your relationship and just let him go, like Rogue and Hayden had been begging me to do, none of this would have happened..."

"What-"

"I just wanted to protect him. Protect them all and I suppose that's what kept scaring Natsu off," Sting chuckled a little, "He never did like being coddled. Not even as a child."

Gray chuckled a little, wiping a tear with the back of his hand.

"After I lost my foster father, Weisslogia, to some freak hit and run car accident, and I was force to live in this very orphanage, I met Natsu, Rogue, Gajeel, the kids- Wendy, Carla, Frosch, Lector and Happy- We became the closest thing we had to a family," Sting looked to the old building up on the slope. "They were all I had after a freak fire broke out, killed the owner and destroyed the orphange, it was us against the world. We only had each other."

"Must've been scary..."

"It was." Sting agreed. "Until Hayden came along and took all of us in as his own. Once Rogue and I reached the proper age, we got jobs at the Sabertooth Guild to help Hayden out and support our makeshift family... But even then, Natsu still wanted to branch out, explore the world on his own."

"What stopped you?"

"Dare I say it- Fear," Sting laughed nervously, "After Weisslogia, Skydruim, Igneel, Metalicana and Grandeeny's and the caretakers' mysterious deaths, I promised myself to protect them and keep them safe. All of them. To the point that many, Yukino for a example, saw it as an obsession."

"I guess that explains why you never took to me so well..." Gray chuckled weakly, "And I used to think you were only like that because it's what older brothers do. Lyon did it an awful lot too and that was before I even started dating Natsu."

"I know right?" Sting laughed, just as nervous. He sighed before he looked to the somber sky. "If we get out of this, I promise-"

Hi. Your phone is ringing.

Are you going to answer it?

Sting's face fell the minute his phone went off and Gray burst into fits of laughter.

Cause if you don't answer soon I'm going to get kinda of annoyed. And we know we don't like it when I get annoyed.

"Is that the purple horse? From Wendy's favorite show, 'My Little Pony' or some bullshit?" He asked before fits of laughter. "Why did you pick that as your ringtone?"

"I didn't," Sting groaned, pulling his phone from his back pocket, "Natsu did. He thought it would be funny."

"He wasn't wrong about that..."

"Shut it." He swiped the green circle and answered it. "This is Sting Eucliffe."

"Sting? It's Laxus."

"Laxus?" Sting blinked. "How did you get this number?"

"Gramps." Came the simple reply.

"I see..."

"I got some good news and bad news."

"What's the good news?"

"Freed and Lyon finished the analysis on the lexar and watched the video, and we got a good look at one of Natsu's rapists." They could hear the vengeful smirk in the blonde's tone. "Lucky for us, Natsu's fiery spirit has yet to die and he bashed the camera with his head, knocking it backwards revealing the guy he was sucking off."

"What's the bad news?"

There was a pause.

"Oh wait... I think a majority of that was bad news..."

"Then what's the good news?!" Sting nearly shrieked through the phone.

"We got one of the guys. On file at least."

"That doesn't help me," Sting blinked before reprocessing the words through in his brain, "Wait. You said we got the guy on file? What file?"

"Yeah, one of them and I'll explain later. But I just found out from Lyon, you're not gonna like it..."

"I don't care," Sting claimed, standing up, "I'm willing to take any hint that will help me save my family. Gray and I will be there in 10 minutes."

"Fullbuster's with you? And he's still alive? Impressive."

"Not now," Sting growled, "We'll see you."

"See you."

Sting hung up and turned to Gray with a big smile that could rival Natsu's. He quickly pulled Gray up to his feet and began pulling him toward the guild.

"We finally got something." Sting grinned.

"Really?" Gray could feel his hopes lifting.

"Yep. We are so close to beating these bastards to death, I can practically taste it."

Is it August yet?