Hiya! Yay! Next chapter! To tell you the truth, I think I've written better. Please leave a review and favorite! Farwell and Enjoy!

-Let there be midnight

ME NO OWNS THE FAIRY TAIL

The Game Has Yet to Begin

Gray closed his eyes as if trying to hide pain by just doing that alone. He didn't want to bring those painful memories up to Natsu. He didn't want to make him live through the pain again, but if it brings him back then he'll do it. No matter how hard it would be.

"If that'll get Natsu back, I'll do it." he whispered out as if it pained him to say those very words. Snow nodded, giving the mage a sympathy look knowing that he didn't want to do this to the child that seemed like the world to him.

"Sometimes you got to force yourself to do things you do not wish to do, it's the only way to the prize you need." Snow replied softly. Gray opened his eyes, a fierce cold fire burning in their depths.

"I just don't want to make him remember… It." he said, fist coiling by his side. Snow smiled up at him as Happy sat on her head, feeling just as glum as Gray did.

"And that's good that you don't want to!" Gray smiled back at her just as he heard footsteps approaching them, making him freeze and tense. Snow noticed this as the footsteps became louder, her hearing them as well as she got into a battle stance along with Gray.

"Who could that be?" Lily asked as he stood right beside Gray, grabbing his sword from his back and pointing it in front of him.

"Either one of these two. One, an enemy," Snow paused as they footsteps rounded the corner. "or two, your friend." Just as she said that, Lucy came bounding around the corner out of breath. When her big brown eyes landed on Gray, she stopped in her running and tried to catch her breath, happy that she found someone in this blasted castle.

"Gray!" she breathed. "Thank god I found you!" Lucy smiled up at him until her eyes wandered around him and onto Snow who stood behind him along Happy sitting on her head.

"Hello." Snow greeted politely. Lucy jumped back, pointing at her in alarm as one of her hands grabbed at her keys on her hips.

"You're one of them!" she accused, only for Snow to smile.

"Yes, I know. But my goals are not the same as them. I just merely worked for them. I never made an oath to serve them the way they wanted me to serve." Snow told her with a slight shrug. Lucy hesitantly put her keys back at seeing that the other three seemed so… friendly with her.

"Can someone please explain what is going on?" Lucy asked.

"Snow is on our side and always was! She even defeated one of her own!" Happy cheered, pointing to Geal from where he was frozen. If you looked closely enough you could see Geal's eyes twitch in annoyance at what the cat said.

"How did you manage to escape Hime… Himi… Himji…" Gray seemed to have trouble with Lucy's opponents name as he kept trying to guess it.

"Himike." Snow corrected for him.

"Yes! Himike. How'd you defeat him?" Lucy smiled as she put both hands on her hips.

"It was easy!" she said.

~Lucy's Battle with Himike's End~

"Just give up! That child has a destiny to bring the Dark Age back!" Himike growled at Lucy who was awfully out of breath. Lucy glared at him as she suddenly had a brilliant idea.

"Oh my god?! Is that Natsu?" she shouted as she pointed to some ways off, putting a hand above her eyes to see if she could see 'him' better. "He escaped?" Before anything else could be said, Himike dashed off in the direction Lucy 'saw' Natsu in. Lucy chuckled evilly as she ran into the castle. "Sucker!"

~Back to the Present~

"You told him Natsu escaped didn't you?" Lily deadpanned. Lucy stared at him in shock as her body went rigid.

"N-no! I did not! Why can't you believe that I defeated him by myself?!" she cried, only for Lily to shrug.

"We don't have time to have tea and catch up on what we missed in the world." Snow interrupted as she looked into a dark corridor with only one torch to light it up. "We can't let Flaming Star get even more powerful than he already is. With each second his power grows incredible amount." She looked back at the two standing before her. "So, unless you want to save the child, I suggest we run." Lucy, Happy, Lily, and Gray nodded in agreement as the atmosphere suddenly changed with all the same thoughts running through their heads.

"Agreed." they all said. Snow smiled sweetly at them as her blue eyes seemed to sparkle.

"Good, let's run!"

The three of them(Happy and Lily choose to fly instead of run) sprinted down the corridor, their feet echoing off of the stone walls.

"How are we supposed to stop Natsu's inner demon?" Lucy called from behind Gray and Snow.

"We bring up his past!" Gray called back to her as they came to a stop in front of a heavy thick metal door. Without wasting a second, Gray threw the doors opened and rushed up the stairs to the roof.

"That's it?" Lucy asked a bit stunned on how easy it was to bring the bubbly child back. Gray nodded back at her, never once looking back as his eyes were glued in front of him.

"Oh, also, to give you a heads up, beware of Ridner! He has the power of Illusion and Dreams!" Snow warned.

"Dreams? That can be turned into magic?" Lily questioned as he flew up beside Snow. Snow smirked and nodded, knowing his confusion.

"Yes. It's one of the Lost Magic's. When hit with Dream, you are put to sleep by force where then the attacker attacks you mentally without any assertion to his body or mind. There are three man attacks he can throw at you during your dreaming state. Nightmare Monster, Drowning Sorrow, and Control Sleep. Watch out for Control Sleep out of all three, the other's I know you four will get through with ease. It's just Control Sleep I'm most worried about." Snow explained as they reached the finale door. Before Gray opened it, he paused and glanced down at Snow.

"What does it do?" he asked her.

"When he uses the spell, the attacker's body is in his control. While the body is being controlled, you are stuck within your own mind to face your worst nightmare. It will keep replaying itself over and over until you succumb to insanity. When you reach that point, your mind is taken and you are fully under his control. So please, be wary of Control Sleep." Snow smiled at them, making the four shiver and nod.

"Will do." Lucy muttered under her breath as Gray finally opened the door. They all stepped out onto the roof just as Ridner turned around, his dark blue eyes gazing at them with a sinister look as a mad smile crept up onto his lips. His cape bellowed out behind him dramatically as he pulled down his hood.

"Oh~!" he cooed as he turned around and sidestepped away from the table behind him. "This has just gotten interesting hasn't it, Flaming Star?" Gray felt anger boil in him as he saw his younger brother sitting there with his legs dangling off of the edge. But what really made the Ice-Make Mage furious, was the wide insane smile and cold menacing eyes the pink haired child had.

"Why yes, for the game has yet to begin." His voice was one, but yet many making all five of them take a step back in shock.

This was no longer Natsu.