Nothing of the Mikage Forest looked as it had years ago, when Gray first arrived to infiltrate Avatar. The spiraling roots and vines were decayed, splayed all across the muddied grounds. A large chunk of the forest had been destroyed in the attack from Fairy Tail's Strongest Team, once Gray revealed his mission as a spy. The darkness that once surrounded the forest was also gone, vanished as part of the dark magic of Avatar being sealed away by the Magic Council.

This road, though, was not easy to travel on for Gray. Juvia had her arm locked with his, moving in-step with Gray. The last time he'd been here had been, painstakingly, without her. He'd abandoned her, thinking it was all for the right cause of finding E.N.D., and killing that supposed demon once and for all.

What had he been thinking? Was he really such a moron after Tartaros? Then again, Natsu and Happy abandoned not just Lucy, but all Fairy Tail. Everyone else went off for their own thing, too. But, still, he'd left Juvia be, after everyone was so emotionally vulnerable from the disbandment.

Gray reached up and touched her arm with his cold hand. "I know I told you I'm sorry for what I did all those years ago, but there's no amount of forgiveness I could receive that could match the pain I must've given you."

"Gray…"

"I just hope you know I'll never leave you again. Understand?"

He met her big blue eyes, which were either naturally watering from her liquid body or were welling with tears. He figured they were tears. She leapt up, kissed him pretty hard on the lips, and then moved back to her walking.

"I know." She smiled, and Gray did the same. His hands didn't feel so cold as he held her hand, too.

The Avatar manor unfolded from behind an illusion cast upon the forest decades prior by some dark wizard, probably Hades or Zeref, or someone of their ilk. Nobody in Avatar was strong enough to sustain an illusion years after casting it. The illusion had almost tricked Gray when he first arrived, and subsequently nearly gave him away.

The illusion was made for one to think they were much closer to the manor than they actually were. Those who were in the know of Avatar, who understood the trick, knew what was coming, and those who weren't would fall into a trap. The rest of the Anti-Demon Force stood behind Gray while he led them through the illusion, appearing to be just walking through the manor itself.

Instead, the rest of the forest continued on. The true building was caved in and in ruin. Overgrowth had begun consuming it: dark vines clawed up as if some sort of large hand were preparing to grasp the building and pull it back into the ground. It'd also consumed the uneven ground from where the battle against Fairy Tail took place. Gray could still feel some of Natsu's heat from when he defeated their worshipped "deity" in just a single blow.

"Amazing," Lucy said under her breath.

"What?" Gray asked. "How fast time flies?"

"Exactly," she said. "I can still remember freaking out over your…non-betrayal."

Gray shook his head. "That's not entirely true. I did think they'd get me closer to my goal. I'd never really want to join those idiots, but, if they could've gotten me closer to E.N.D."

"I'm sorry," Alli said, piping up from the back of the pack. "Who?"

"Zeref's strongest creation," Gray said. "Etherious Natsu Dragneel."

"Whoa, you wanted to kill Natsu?" Alli asked.

"The demon inside of him," Gray said. "The one that my father was also hellbent on destroying, since it opposed the Ice Demon Slayer within him. It was a threat to this world unlike any other." Gray chuckled. "It's probably the only thing my dad and Natsu's dad would agree on."

"That's right, even Igneel wanted to see E.N.D. defeated," Juvia said.

"What happened to E.N.D.?" Alli asked. "I wouldn't take Natsu for much of a demon."

Lucy sighed, and sniffled, but her voice was still firm: "Natsu was almost killed from exertion. He'd been prodding at the demonic tumor growing within him and each fight was only making it worse. Eventually he succumbed to it and it almost killed him, but, like Natsu always does, he found a way to retain his humanity."

"And ultimately exorcized E.N.D.," Gray said.

"Sounds like a rough day," Tyla said.

Lucy and Gray chuckled. Gray squeezed Juvia close, holding her tight as he'd held her near-dead body. He could still see Invel's rotten face, grinning at him as he revealed the origins of E.N.D., and as Gray held his beloved's body in his hands.

"It was something," Lucy said. "I'm glad you weren't there for it. It's something I'd never want to go through again."

"Yes, it was nice to have four years of peace," Juvia said. "Four years of quiet, where we weren't trapped in a sphere of time."

Gray nodded. More details of the manor came into view. Stain-glass windows had been blown out, walls were toppled, brick rotted and corroded. It was still a pure black, but stained with dirt, dust, and splotches of green where moss and fungi started to protrude out. Gray stopped and the group all halted as well.

"What's up?" Lucy asked.

Gray removed his arms from Juvia and took another step forward. "Just need a second to focus, hang tight for a minute."

Gray knelt and touched the ground, which was a bit wet. It hadn't rained the last few days, what was up? He ignored it and shut his eyes.

From what he could remember, the members of this branch of Avatar were all wizards in training to learn the dark arts, to try and mimic what Zeref could do. It wasn't Demon magic per-say, but close enough that Gray would be able to pick up on it. Gray felt the darkness slither up and down his arm, consuming it in black up to the shoulder, and then slammed his open palm along the ground. It sent a pulse out, and shot through the entire building.

Gray paused, and felt everything else pause around him. The world went deathly silent, save for one little pulse back. He removed his hand, feeling the magic follow his hand until he did away with the Demon Slayer magic and opened his palm up again. All the information from the pulse slowly filtered through his mind.

"Someone's still in there," Gray said. "And there's residue of dark magic left."

"More illusions?" Juvia asked.

"No," Gray said. "This branch was never meant to be a permanent one, if I remember right. If anything, what's left of that dark magic is a bunch of traps. Practical, not magical. We'll have to be careful if we're going to head inside."

"We can't just draw whoever it is out?" Alli asked.

"The second he senses my magic he'll know he's in trouble," Gray said. "If he doesn't already. He might be notified that we came in through the illusion wall."

"Then we just storm in and get him out," Alli said. She sneered. "Might just be my mother in there, you know? Let's go see."

"No, wait," Gray said. This girl was impulsive. She reminded him of Natsu, just with a little more brainpower. He held his hand out, blocking her. "I can freeze this place in no time."

"As if that wouldn't alert them?" Alli asked. "It'd make it impossible for anyone else to fight in there except you."

"We shouldn't be fighting in there at all," Gray said.

He saw Lucy step up, and Alli stepped away. Gray reached out to stop her, but she took two larger steps and light magic filtered in her hands.

Zing.

Gray saw the wire rip up into the air. He swung his hands back, blasting Juvia, Lucy, and Tyla with ice magic to knock them back and then swung his hands out. A semi-circle formed in front of Alli just before the ground in front of her exploded, sending brick everywhere. Gray filled his arm with Demon Slayer Magic.

Alli stumbled back. "What was that!"

"A trap, someone's expecting us," Gray said. "Look alive."

"Then we just take them out!" Alli exclaimed. "They won't be able to handle us from a distance. Shining Slicer!"

"Alli, no!"

It was too late. Alli leapt over Gray's wall of ice and with shining arms sent slices of light magic ripping through the sky, right for the building.

The two slices ripped through the sky and crashed into the building, taking down parts of the wall. A strange explosion came shortly afterward, followed by a strong buffet of wind. Alli braced herself against the wall while Gray reinforced it to protect the people behind him.

"That's definitely Claudia!" Alli exclaimed. "It's her demon magic!"

The wind settled and Gray took the wall down between them. Alli was rushing down the path. Gray snarled and slammed his hand into his fist.

He pulled them out, filling his arms with magic, and then dropped and laid his hands on the ground, shooting magic down the path. Purple ice flew away from his hands and caught up to Alli in seconds. The magic was powerful enough to spring the next trap, but also stop Alli from falling for it. A sinkhole opened up just a few feet in front of her, but the magic covered it up.

Alli, in her sprint, stopped and slid, coming to a halt. Gray sprinted across the path, not feeling the magic grow any stronger near him. Alli got up and Gray picked her up immediately by the collar.

"When I say stop, you stop," Gray said. "Got that?"

"Put her down!" Tyla exclaimed.

"Only if she'll stop being an idiot," Gray said. "If I'd known you were going to be like this, no way in hell would I have brought you!"

"My mother isn't your problem," Alli said, slapping Gray's hand away. She filled her hands with light magic again. "I can handle this place, and Claudia."

"You need to relax," Gray said. "At this rate, you'd be dead twice."

"No I wouldn't," Alli said.

Gray opened his mouth to retort, but his attention was immediately drawn to the black mist shooting at them.

"Oh, crap," Gray muttered. Another trap.

He shoved Alli aside—purposefully hard to get her out of the way—and filled Demon magic all around his body.

"Ice Demon Zero Destruction Bow!" he exclaimed, quickly, and shot the arrow through the mist. It obliterated the mist and shot through the castle, sending even more haze into the sky, although this was less magic and more trap.

The black mist exploded into little purple particles that Juvia swirled away with her own magic. Gray leered toward the castle, and saw a figure standing on the other end, hands up in defeat. Gray kept his bow raised toward them.

"You'd be best to stay like that," Gray said. "Or you'll find this going right through you."

"I always knew you'd return, Gray Fullbuster," the dark wizard said. "And I always hoped you would, too, just so I could have my chance to kill you for destroying Avatar, and taking away my heirloom!"

"Avatar was a bunch of psychopaths," Gray said. "You still believe in Zeref? Even if he's dead?"

"Zeref may be dead but his power lives on through all of us," the man said. "And I would have heralded the new age, brought Avatar to a heightened state of being, if it weren't for you and your treason! You took my place on our council!"

Gray shook his head. He remembered now. When he'd arrived and shown off his Demon Slayer powers, pretending they'd been demon powers, he stole one man's shot at glory in Avatar, if only because Gray proved himself as a powerful wizard.

"You're Andross," Gray said. "Master Hades' great nephew."

"What?" Lucy asked. "This guy knows Hades?"

"Whether or not he knows him is irrelevant," Gray said. "Guy's a major copycat of Hades. It's likely that spell I just destroyed would've been the same as Hades' spell against us on Tenrou, remember, Lucy?"

"All too well," Lucy muttered.

"And you're trying to resurrect Avatar, aren't you?" Gray asked. He tightened his grip on the ice arrow, pulling the string a bit tauter.

"No," Andross said. "I'm looking to take their power, and form my own guild! There's still power here!"

Gray shook his head, and turned his foot. The ice on the ground suddenly shot forward, and in seconds, encased the entire structure. Dozens of little explosions popped under the surface of the ice as Andross' traps went off from the signal of active magic. Andross turned and fell to his knees in utter horror. Gray loosed the arrow just past Andross's body and it connected with his own ice, destroying it and a large part of the manor.

"It's over, Andross," Gray said. "Go turn yourself in."

"I can't," Andross said.

"Then we'll just have to make you," Gray said. "Avatar is dead."

"Then she'll find me!" Andross exclaimed. "This was the one place I could be safe! Now that Demon Queen is going to find me and take my magic."

"Has she threatened you?" Alli asked, making her way back onto the now-iced path.

"She's threatened everyone," Andross said. He turned back toward them. There was nothing but true fear written across his face. "She'll take all of our magic if it means becoming the most powerful demon in the world."

"He's dead," Gray said. "They're all dead. Claudia is gonna be nothing more than a poser."

Andross cracked a smile, and then a deep chuckle. "Sure, you say that, Demon Slayer, but she's been absorbing magic for days now. She'll be far more powerful than you. The Dark Fortress that she has is…unparalleled."

"Dark Fortress?" Juvia asked.

"Forget it," Gray said. "And get out of here."

Andross looked up, looking to every member of the Anti-Demon Force. "You're all Fairy Tail, aren't you? The ones who destroyed my guild?" He clenched a fist. "I'll have to show you the might of Avatar, right now!"

Andross shot to his feet, but before he could do anything, another arrow ripped through the sky, this one with a rounded edge, and knocked him across the face. Blood spewed from his broken jaw and nose and Andross fell straight to the ground, unconscious.

"Not likely," Gray muttered. "Come on, we should camp here for tonight. It's off the trail and if we keep our magic down Claudia won't know to come here."

They did as Gray bade, with Tyla, Lucy, and some of Lucy's spirits inspecting the castle for any other traps. Gray wound Andross outside in some stringy ice, made with Demon Slayer magic, to prevent him from going anywhere or doing anything. Juvia stayed with Gray while Alli stayed at the lower levels and got a fire going.

By nightfall they'd eaten and were relaxing in the lobby. Alli was pressed against the wall, with her arms folded, staring into the fire. Tyla was tending to it, throwing some dead sticks into the fire while Lucy read a book that she'd brought along while Juvia napped a bit. Gray stared across the fire at Alli, tapping his finger against his arm.

"Just get on with it and talk to her already," Lucy said.

"Shut up, Lucy," Gray groaned, and stepped across the way.

Alli looked up for a second to acknowledge him, then shook her head. "I don't want to talk right now."

"Well we should talk," Gray said.

"Not now," Alli said, looking up at Gray. A single tear streaked down her face. "Please?"

Gray opened and closed his fists, then reached up and touched the cross at his neck. He tapped it against his chest and nodded.

"Fine," Gray said. "Yeah, alright."

Alli looked back at the fire, sighing. Gray walked across the room, and then out one of the doors, into the main meeting room. He shut the broken door behind him, and clasped the cross at his neck.

How did you handle us, Ur? How'd you do it for so long? He shut his eyes and ran a hand through his hair.

The door opened and closed behind him. Juvia approached. "You shouldn't go off on your own like that, my love."

"Just needed to think for a second," Gray said.

"About what Alli did?" she asked.

"Exactly," Gray said. "And what she might do. She's dangerous if she gets out of hand. I mean, come on. She's a God-Slayer."

"She's also young," Juvia said. "And she's inexperienced on missions. And it's her mother we're looking for. She's probably the most confused of all of us."

"But what do I do, how do I handle this?" Gray asked.

"Sometimes, the best you can do is be a little harsh," Juvia said. "Sometimes people need to think things through for themselves. If they need help, they'll ask for it in their own way. Like you are right now."

"I am?"

"You always get more defensive when you're worried," Juvia said. She pressed herself against him and laced her fingers through his. "And I'm always going to be there to help."

She reached up and kissed him, leaning him back against one of the walls. Gray felt Juvia's lips form into a smile and she pressed him against the wall. Gray's heart rate skyrocketed as Juvia's legs curled around his.

"It's literally been just one night," Gray muttered, clasping his wife.

"I know," Juvia said. "It's been too long."

When Gray finally came to, out of the sweet elation and bliss that Juvia brought to him that night, he found he was all alone on the ground while Juvia did up her hair and adjusted her clothing a bit. The sun leaked in through the broken parts of the wall and the door. Gray shielded the sun from his eyes as it tried to blind him.

"Good morning, my love," Juvia said. Her voice was lighter. "Shall we be off?"

Gray leaned his head against the wall. Jeez, this woman was insane. He touched the necklace once more, and sighed.

Juvia followed him out the room while he buttoned up his shirt. Alli was still in the lobby, the only one left. Juvia turned back and winked to Gray, taking off out the front doors. Alli stepped across the fireplace toward Gray.

"Sounds like you had a nice night," Alli said.

Gray blushed. "You…you heard?"

"Walls and doors are broken, I could've heard you sleeping in there," Alli said. She waved it off. "Whatever, not important."

"You finally ready to talk?"

"No need." Alli held her hand out to Gray. "I'm sorry for what I did. I let my emotions get in the way, and put everyone's lives at risk. You have full permission to hit me the next time it happens."

"Alli, I'm not going to hit you if you do something stupid. I'll yell, but I won't hit."

Alli pursed her lips. "Fine. Reprimand me however you want, but, don't let me fly off like that, got it? You were right to think it wasn't my mother; if it's true that she's getting stronger, none of us can be so impulsive."

Gray nodded, and clasped her hand, filling his hand with ice. Alli looked confused, and then put some light energy in her hand.

"One thing to say that," Gray said, "another thing to actually pull it off. Don't let me down, kid."

"Will do," Alli said, and the two unlocked hands.

Gray let Alli go ahead, and watched as the future of Fairy Tail stepped out of the doors of the dark manor, and back into the world to continue their journey.