Makarov turned off the lacrima, his face etched in pain and anger over the dismal news he'd just received.
"What is it, Gramps?" Laxus asked, noting the expression on Makarov's face as he stalked out of his office. Makarov stomped down the stairs, Laxus following him somberly. Mira looked up from the counter. Erik and Kinana halted their conversation. Suddenly, the entire guild stood still, waiting for their Master to speak.
Makarov got up on a table so his children could see him as he spoke. He addressed the entire guild, "We find ourselves in the direst situation that Fairy Tail and Fiore have ever faced," he began, "Our comrades have not returned. We can safely assume now that their mission has failed. They were unable to trap Andromeda."
Whispers amongst the guild members broke out, then silenced as Makarov held up his hand, indicating he wasn't done yet.
"That lacrima call was from Blue Pegasus," he announced loudly, "They have taken the Christina out to monitor the situation in Crocus."
Lucy reached for Natsu's hand, intertwining their fingers. Hisui held a deep breath, her eyes already brimming with tears. Master's tone had already told her what kind of news this would be.
"Crocus has fallen," Makarov announced in a solemn voice, "We don't know yet if their mountain fortress held. The city…is destroyed."
Gasps filled the room. Hisui fell to her knees, releasing an anguished cry. Mira immediately went to her side. Renault and Pheo's eyes widened, shell-shocked.
"The Christina reports new demon armies have set their sights on Hargeon and Magnolia," he continued, "Blue Pegasus have notified Lamia Scale as well and have returned to their guild to mobilize their troops to protect the cities nearest to their guild. All guilds will now be on full scale alert."
The room was dead quiet. Natsu's face was turning beat red. His entire body was shaking. Lucy squeezed his fingers gently.
"Effective immediately," Makarov continued, "The tunnels will be sealed shut. Residents of Magnolia will remain locked in, as will guild members."
Up until now, the tunnels had remained open. Every citizen of Magnolia now resided in the tunnels, but during the day, the guild members were free to come upstairs. The citizens were handling their siege well, understanding the need to remain in the tunnels and out of the streets of Magnolia.
"Laxus, Erik, and Wendy – we will need you to remain outside the gates. The Dragon Slayers will be our best hope if the demons break through our outer defenses. Elfman, Mira and Thunder Legion…I am requesting your help as well. Warren, I'd appreciate your help for communication. Macao and Romeo…"
"What about me?" Natsu demanded. He apologized to Lucy with his eyes and he untangled his fingers from her and stood up, "I'm a Dragon Slayer too!"
The Master caught Lucy's eyes as they welled up with tears.
"Very well, then, Natsu. You too," Makarov glanced from face to face, eyes resting on Lucy's, "I'm sorry Lucy. We need him. That's all for now."
He got down off the table, making his way to Hisui, patting her head as he knelt down to her level, "Princess. I don't even know what to say here."
Fresh tears rolled down her face as she regarded the kind man in front of her.
"Come, child. We're going to lock the tunnels now," Makarov stood up and headed for the stairs.
"Go with Hisui," Natsu said under his breath to Lucy. He was shaking with rage, his hands already partially lit up. She knew the Crocus was the domino that finally knocked Natsu's patience over. Their friends were presumed dead. Crocus was in ruins. And the demons weren't done coming.
Lucy launched herself into Natsu's arms, tears flying from her eyes, "Please Natsu! Just come with me! We'll be safe in the tunnels! We said we'd never be separated again. Please."
He held her close to him, oblivious to the wet tears that stained his bare chest from her tears. He lifted her chin and proceeded to kiss her with all the passion he'd ever felt for her. When she tried to protest, he kissed her even deeper.
"I love you," he whispered softly.
She nodded bravely as he lowered his head to her tummy.
"I love you too, Baby Dragneel," he took Lucy's hand, "C'mon. I'll walk you down to the tunnels."
The walk was silent. Natsu held Lucy's hand, Hisui on Lucy's other side. Guild members filed into the tunnel's entrance.
Natsu kissed Lucy again, rubbing a hand along her stomach.
"Please don't go," she whispered, knowing it was a futile attempt.
He could hear the people of Magnolia whispering to one another, wondering what was happening.
"I love you," he repeated.
Backing out of the cave to stand beside the other Dragon Slayers, Makarov, Mira, Elfman, and the Thunder Legion, Natsu waved one last time to his beautiful wife. Makarov hit the tunnel gate button with his fist and the steel doors closed with an ominous thud, sealing the residents of Magnolia inside.
Gray kicked the Griffin-like monster in the head, "That's right! You're dead! How do you like that?"
Spitting on the carcass, he turned to his waiting friends to go down the next staircase.
"What is it you gain by kicking dead monsters in the head?" Erza asked him, falling into step beside him as they neared the next staircase.
"Closure," Gray said simply.
Erza and Jellal exchanged glances. That made no sense, but being that they were already entering the next staircase, they didn't question Gray on it.
"Hold on," Juvia grabbed Gray's arm, getting him to pause, "Let's rest for awhile, okay?"
Gray shook his head, "We're so close, I can taste it. Actually, kind of literally."
"Look at them," Juvia hissed.
Gray turned his head, observing his friends.
Jellal's side was still festering. While the Quaine took the edge off his pain, Levy could not get the infection out. His fever spiked often and it made him very tired and in pain. Furthermore, his magic was rendered pretty much useless away from the sky, which was his magic's source. He was relying on his hand-to-hand combat skills, which, although exemplary and highly effective, also contributed to his absolute fatigue.
Levy's magic was almost depleted. She had supplied them with air and light for several days now and even started providing clean water once their supplies started to dwindle. Beyond that, the injury to her leg made her limp. She was becoming slower and slower, refusing to use any of the Quaine on herself since Jellal and Gajeel so obviously needed it more than she did. She slumped against a wall.
Beside her, Gajeel was looking really ill. The stench of the dungeons of Hell were wreaking havoc on his Dragon Slayer nose. He hadn't complained. That wasn't his style. Even so, it was written all over his face. Levy scripted TEA, turning to Gray momentarily so he could freeze it. She dumped a bit of Quaine in it to see if she could help her Dragon Slayer with the nauseousness.
Arcadios shared his ration from the morning with Cana. Both were in relatively good shape, aside from the scrapes and bruises they all carried, but Cana was getting more and more paranoid the lower and lower they went. Arcadios whispered encouraging words to her, holding her forehead against his as he spoke to her. She was visibly shaking.
They were all running on 4 hours of sleep at a time. Gray couldn't even say he knew how often they allowed themselves those hours. Time meant nothing anymore. They had no idea if it was day or nighttime in Fiore, nor how many days had passed since they'd even started this journey.
Gray's gaze fell to Juvia, "I see what you mean," he relented, conceding as they both sank to the ground, "And what about you? Are you alright?"
"I'm scared," she admitted, "Sometimes it just seems so…hopeless."
He nodded. Gray wasn't allowing himself to think. If he thought about things, he wouldn't be able to keep going. After that first night, he realized he'd have to numb himself to reality.
"Will you keep that promise you made when we get home?" she asked.
He smiled, knowing exactly what promise she was talking about.
"I'm going whisk you away and we'll go to some exotic location for our wedding," he told her, "Some place with beaches as far as the eye can see."
"You don't like warm places," she said, smiling.
"I would go to a warm place to elope with you," Gray smiled back.
"Or, we can go to a really cold place," Juvia murmured, "After this, I may never enjoy the heat again."
"Okay. A cold place. With Ice Castles and frozen waterfalls. You will be my Queen."
She smiled, "And we'll have polar bears as our officiates."
He snickered, "But right after, we'll return to Magnolia and sell our house."
"Why would we do that?" Juvia asked.
"We'll need a bigger one," Gray mused, "With at least 10 bedrooms so we can fill them with children."
Juvia sighed happily, loving the fantasy world Gray was painting with her.
"What will our children look like?" Juvia asked, a dreamy look on her face.
"Oh - like you for sure!" Gray exclaimed, "You don't want our kids looking like me. I'm one ugly bastard."
She giggled, turning to look at him. His demon costume did indeed disguise his incredibly handsome face. She longed for it. Still, she knew it was Gray underneath. She would have 1,000,000 children if they could all look like him.
"I think you're handsome any way you look," she said, leaning more into his arms, "So our kids would look like me then."
He nodded, "Two sets of twins – 2 boys, 2 girls. And 4 others. No… maybe 6."
"And what would we name them?" Juvia asked, kissing his lips, despite his ugly demon costume.
"POOKEY!" Gajeel yelled, making them both jump, "Now shut the fuck up – the rest of us are trying to sleep!"
Gray grabbed a nearby brick and chucked it at Gajeel for disturbing their fantasy.
Beside them, Erza and Levy giggled. Soon, the entire room erupted in laughter. It felt good. Some of the immediate stress they felt melted away, even if it was only a temporary solution. It was the first laugh they'd shared in days. And it felt damn good.