Somehow, seeing Sting alive and well had only intensified the blank drowned puppy look on Rogue's face.

"When did that happen?" he asked me as we sloshed back up to the dry sand.

"When did what happen?" I asked back. "A lot of things just happened."

"Sting. A fish."

"Ah... That." Could I get away with lying to him? It was Sting's secret to tell. Whatever freaky demon powers he might have gotten from Lucia, he couldn't have gotten mind reading.

"Yes I could have. How long has Sting been able to do that?"

Well… drat. Hopefully he hadn't heard the freaky part too. Sighing, I told him, "As far as I know, it happened at his conception. He called himself a half-breed, after all. As for why he hid it from you, I have no idea. I do suspect, however, that he had no idea you were a half-breed yourself."

Rogue didn't have a response for that. But when I glanced back, he was glaring. I quickened my pace.

He didn't speak again until I was stepping out of the water. "Who else is here? More 'companions' of yours."

Erza's head snapped up, eyes darting about. Alert for anyone else I may not have let her know was talking from beyond the grave. Simon? Wendy's old guild master?

"I couldn't say," I muttered.

Trisiel nodded his approval.

The angels, all twelve, had pinned Grisia to the sand. Several spells that I could only guess were meant for binding clung to him as he tried to struggle free. I could make out his full form now. Like a leathery, horned beast, but still intangible looking as the mist. He wasn't massive, but his presence was so attention grabbing that I had to keep reminding myself that he and the twelve surrounding him with large white wings were all invisible to everyone else.

"Natsu," Trisiel ordered. "Come help. We can't seal him without Lucia, but we may be able to bind him more securely if you can keep him from resisting."

"How many are there?" Rogue demanded. "I can recognize Grisia. Who are the others? They don't feel the same as Natsu does."

Natsu should have felt similar to Grisia. I scowled and took a step away from Rogue. "I don't-"

"Tell me," he ordered. "My best friend is a fish. What else has everyone been hiding from me?"

As if I was only hiding it from him! But… I suppose I could get the sentiment. We all knew he was Lucia's son now. It might seem like we could withhold information from him because of that. We hadn't exactly spoken kindly of half-demons around him before.

His scowl was deepening. Could he hear those thought too?

I whimpered and looked from him to Erza, who looked equally disapproving of me not explaining what was going on. Trisiel shook his head when I glanced to him for approval but…

"If you need Lucia… could Rogue act as a substitute?" He did have some of Lucia's powers…

Rogue went so stiff that I felt it, even with him standing a good six feet away behind me. Trisiel frown and opened his mouth to speak, hand raised in what I knew was going to be a scolding, but then he froze and eased back, thinking about it. "A substitute for Lucia…? He's a half demon… but as Lucia's child, his demon half does come from angelic origins. It's possible that he could have the power to help us seal Lucia. Send those girls away and have him come here."

I nodded and moved towards Erza, then thought better of it and walked up to Merudy instead. "The one Natsu's taking orders from says they need to try something. They don't want people knowing about the afterlife if it can be helped, so he wants you to leave."

"But Erza and Rogue get to stay?"

I leaned over and whispered, "Erza has to go too, but I think she's mad at me right now. That's too scary for me to do anything about."

Merudy nodded. "Erza. We can make her fill us in later. We need to see what Elmairy and Ecilan are up to."

Erza scowled, trembling with the effort of trying to decide whether to stay or go with Merudy. Siegrain started to follow, but changed his mind and came back. He sat a distance away. Unless he had a dragon slayer's hearing he'd be no trouble. The angels seemed satisfied with that.

"Bring Rogue over here," a female angel ordered.

"Rogue," I told him, "you have to go to where Grisia is."

"Why should I?"

"Because the angels say so."

Not my most tactful reveal. I didn't complain while he sputtered, but did speak up again when he took a step back and shook his head in refusal. The son of the fallen angel. How could it not sound like a bad idea to get near demon fighting otherworldly beings who his father had betrayed? I gave him motivation. "They're trying to seal Grisia. They think you can act in Lucia's place. Don't you want to save Sting?"

He glared at me again and mouthed something that probably made me fortunate not to be able to read lips. However bad a mood he might have been in for learning that his best friend was part fish, however, he still nodded and stepped forward, walking up to Trisiel and the other angels without needing any guidance from me.

Which wasn't to say he didn't need guidance. It took only a quick lookover from the angels to say that he'd do for the time being, but the spell for sealing Grisia wasn't something Rogue inherently knew. I was made to stand behind Rogue and repeat the syllables of the incantation to him-which I could not properly pronounce, while he had to repeat them from me while figuring out what the proper pronunciation was. Needless to say, it was some time before he had it down.

Natsu and I were shooed away as they began the incantation, twelve angels following Rogue's lead-since he could hardly follow theirs. For all the hassle it had been, I was amazed they hadn't given up on teaching Rogue and let Grisia go.

-o-

Rogue was finishing the (ungodly long) incantation for the angelic spell when Erza and Merudy returned. They didn't say much as he spoke in tongues, but did react to the stone that rose up from the earth, images and words in a dead language already carved in. They couldn't see Grisia dissolve into it like Natsu or I could, but it didn't take a genius to figure out what it meant.

"He's sealing Grisia?"

I nodded.

"Good," Merudy decided. "Looks like Lucia's blood is an asset for our side too. Then the last problem to deal with…" she looked to Zeref, who had built himself an elaborate sand castle while Rogue had worked on the spell. Suddenly it occurred to me that the angels hadn't bothered with the devil himself the whole time they were here.

Odd.

"The last problem would be that Ceo vanished while we were trying to track the other lord demons," Erza informed her, looking over her shoulder to the place where Jellal's body had been.

"What?" I shrieked, verifying his absence myself before looking to Siegrain. "What were you doing? And you-" Zeref didn't look at me with any malice when I turned to accuse him of letting that happen. In fact, it was pretty innocent confusion. It still killed the words in my throat. "Um… did you see where Ceo went?"

Zeref shook his head and went back to building the little smithy outside the gates of his palace. "I didn't hear anything beyond you two. It didn't seem like it was my business, so I tried to stay out of it." Okay. Considerate in a completely useless way. I looked back to Siegrain.

"Some Genesis guy took him while you were still speaking gibberish. You said I wasn't supposed to hurt him, but I really don't give a shit."

Erza lunged for him, only to be grabbed and held back by Merudy. "We need him until the lord demons are stopped."

"He's with Ecilan anyway! Let go of me! He let them take Jellal!"

"And you think I don't care about that?" Merudy hissed. "Hurting Siegrain won't get Jellal back."

"But it wouldn't hurt if I took my leave here," Siegrain decided, getting to his feet and turning north. "Looks like Ecilan went this way. If he's still struggling with Elmairy then I don't know if he'd want me bringing Rogue or not. Either way, I'm not sure I have the magic left to face this many of you. Maybe some other time."

Then he vanished.

"Should we go after him?" I asked. Looking from one person to another for an answer.

Rogue shook his head. "He did help stop Grisia."

And even if he also helped nearly capture Rogue, that he helped rescue Sting still mattered more.

"Oh! Sting!" I remembered. "If Grisia is back inside the seal, then-"

"The key to his release should have returned to its unused form," one of the angels told me as the others began to vanish. "Obvious location or not, Grisia's seal is secure so long as he keeps that amulet away from this place. If that fish boy has any sense to him, he'll drop it as far out at sea as he dares go." Then she left as well.

If Sting had any sense… well, he'd certainly have enough to get rid of the amulet, but I could only hope he'd think to make it unrecoverable too.

"Sting…" Erza bowed her head. "That's right. When you mentioned Natsu… Lucy, you've been speaking to Natsu's spirit?"

"Er… well…"

"I see. Then… he won't be waking up."

"Of course I will be!" Natsu cried. I swear he was that loud just to make up for having stayed quiet so long.

"We can still wake him up," I insisted. "Natsu and the an-appointed… spirits in charge of him have both told me. If we can get back the amulet that Siegrain stole, it's possible to reverse the spell that's left Natsu in a near dead state."

"But it is Natsu who's with you?" she confirmed.

I nodded.

"Can you see Sting as well?"

"No." I pointed to the water. "He swam way too far out that way for me to be able to make him out now."

"What do you-"

"It seems he's part siren," Rogue grumbled. 'Shoulda told me' didn't need to be added. His tone said it for him.

"Siren…" Erza put a hand to her chin, thinking about it. "Then he needed the water to breath? I didn't-" She gasped, dropping to her knees and bowing without warning. "When I caught you two going to the lake as well? I didn't realize. Forgive me."

"W-well, I wasn't the one who was suffocating… so…" I laughed and gestured for her to drop it. "A-anyway, Sting will come back when he does. Now that we don't have to worry about Grisia I doubt… er… they care enough about what he's doing to send Natsu to keep an eye on him, so one of us will have to wait for him. The rest of us…" The rest of us what?

"Ecilan," Erza said. "Whatever I think of Siegrain, if we stop his lord demon, we can recover the amulet that's keeping Natsu asleep."

Natsu nodded, seemingly having forgotten that Trisiel wouldn't restore him until there was no concern about Rogue being caught by a lord demon. A fire half demon against someone who used ice or plant magic would be better anyway.

"I'll wait for Sting," Rogue volunteered.

"I will." I insisted. "He might be worried you'll confront him about being part siren, but I caught him not too long after you ran off, so he has no reason to avoid me. Natsu can run ahead to guard you."

Rogue scowled, then nodded. "I did intend to speak to him. Drag him out by the neck for me. And keep Natsu." He turned to Zeref. "Baum." Zeref winced and stood up. "Black mage, are you still interested in helping?"

"I still don't see the point of running into danger," Zeref grumbled, but stood and moved towards Rogue. Not all the way to him. He kept a good twenty feet between himself and the others.

"Zeref kept me safe from Ecilan," Rogue told me. "It's a strange choice, but there's comfort in being able to see my body guard. When Sting comes back, let him know that bridal is alright if you two aren't going fast enough."

Whatever that meant. I waved as the rest of them ran north.

"Errrgh!" Natsu growled. "Taking Zeref. Guarding Rogue is my job. I don't want to wait for Sting."

"Then go. There's no more danger for me here."

"Rogue can tell when I'm nearby," he grumbled.

"Oh… that's right. He could sense all of you. Well, you can have fun harassing Sting when he comes back."

"Can I?"

"Poke him with that hilt to your heart's content."

"Poke who?"

I jumped. How had someone snuck up on me in such an open space? Dumb question. Hadn't we just ambushed Genesis?

Natsu and I turned to the water, where a… nude… blonde woman… and Gray… um… was also… completely naked… and… uh… Well, that made… the green marking around his stomach… highly visible but… also… something else. I forgot.

"G-Gray…" I mumbled.

"Glad to see me alive?"

"Put on some pants," Natsu told him.

Gray cocked his head. "Lucy, why are you turning red?"

"They all have things like these," the woman said, holding out a pair of boxers. "His small pants fell off while we were coming here."

Gray looked at them. Blinked. Blushed. She didn't react when he snatched them from her and hurriedly put them on, which looked awkward with-oh! His arm. That's what I was having trouble remembering. It looked awful. Black with burns and barely moving. Gray must have already trained himself not to irritate it, because he kept it still and paid it little heed. "Where are the clothes I lent you?" he demanded.

"You didn't do anything to indicate I would need them," the woman replied. "I don't see any lord demons. That means you want to stay here?"

"Y-yes! J-j-just go home!"

"You don't want me to return the big pants? They seem to matter now."

"Keep them!" Gray cried.

The woman shrugged. "Alright. Since you can't say thank you, I will accept them as a gift."

Gray averted his gaze as she turned and walked deeper into the water. Natsu didn't. I'd already been keeping my eyes peeled for him while I showered, but I'd have to keep track of him when others were bathing as well.

As the woman dipped into the water and began to grow pale, another pale face surface a few hundred yards to her right and began to take on a more natural skin tone. Was the hair color similar? No. No that was ridiculous.

Sting was no more clothed than Gray had been, but at least he was holding onto his clothes as he trudged up. He was pulling on a shirt when he spotted us and turned around for a moment to get his pants on. Didn't care what I saw indeed.

Once he was dressed he called out, "Where did everyone else go?" as he ran up to us.

"I'm fine, thanks," Gray answered. Then his eyes widened, and he took a step back. "Wait. Grisia-"

"Sealed. That's Sting," I assured him.

"Still bad news."

"I can hear you!" Sting shouted from a few hundred feet away.

Ah. Dragon slayer ears. But it beat Rogue's mind reading.

"Can I harass him?" Natsu asked.

"I'm not stopping you."

Natsu grinned and ran to Sting, meeting him fifty yard away and striking his shoulder with his sword hilt. Sting stopped and felt around, trying to figure out what had hit him.

"Your ghost buddy?" Gray asked.

I nodded, then remembered he hadn't been there when Sting was about to die. "It's Natsu," I told him. "He's not dead, but it's Natsu. I was supposed to keep it a secret, but I had to let Erza and Merudy know and… well… I might as well tell you."

Gray scowled, but didn't look as shocked as Erza or Rogue had to have a secret kept from them. "So long as that idiot isn't dead…"

Sting stumbled up to us, losing his balance when Natsu shoved the hilt in front of his foot and splashing into the water. I cleared my throat and gestured to the north. "Everyone else is chasing after Siegrain and Ecilan. Gray… Elmairy's there so-"

"So what. Now that I know how to repel him, I just need to be careful when he's nearby. I'm not standing idly while the rest of the guild fights."

I nodded. "We'll buy salt on the way. We need to catch up to them. Oh-and Sting. Rogue said…"

-x-

STA: I was just going to end this with Lucy and Natsu just waiting for Sting and planning to harass him when he surface, but then I was looking over my plans for the next few chapters and saw that Gray sort of just… reappeared. Like off screen he met up with Sting and was brought back or something. It looked like a plot thread that just got dropped, and as it happened, I was unsatisfied with where the chapter was ending. Anyway, now you know how Gray came back. He came back naked.

On a completely unrelated note, I have discovered that the Fairy Tail wiki is deliberately ignoring official translations it doesn't like, since Kodansha doesn't include a note at the end of all their volumes assuring readers that they got name translations from Hiro Mashima. Never mind that Mashima flip flops on how to spell names and that at least half the official translations to have appeared in the series run have been spurned at first. And also never mind that even information that had already been on the wiki validated the Sirius Island translation, and that Merudy is actually a more faithful translation of Merudi (the romaji of her Japanese name) than Meredy is. Anyway, screw them. I'm going through this story and correcting Merudy's name in all my chapters.

Next chapter: Erza's fiancé is still in danger

Heads up. You guys are in for a few short chapters.