Chapter 47 – Climax

Natsu POV

After Gray and I answered his questions, Cyrus went quite for a moment. He seemed to be thinking, or doing something, I couldn't tell which because of the blindness that Gray and I were now stuck with. After a moment, the Script mage's voice rang out. "Perfect. Now I just need to wake Walter up" he said. I frowned confusedly, although I couldn't see, using my sense of smell and hearing I could gauge my surroundings pretty well, at least a little better than Gray, who had just held my hand and let me lead, with a little instruction from Lucy and Erza. "Wake Walter up?" I questioned aloud.

Upon arriving I could smell Walter, but I figured it must have been because he was fighting nearby. It was only when Lucy fell about squealing and asking 'why Walter was naked' that I realised he must be here with us, albeit unconscious since no sarcastic comment came back from Lucy's squeal. Now Cyrus confirmed what I had guessed earlier, and with his response I understood what was going on around us. "Yes Natsu, Walter's here, but he's not awake. We need him to consciously use his code so we need him awake" Cyrus explained, whilst he appeared to be working on a spell, judging from the scent of magic that drifted over from his position. As Cyrus replied, I felt Gray grip my hand a little. Turning my head in his direction I lowered my voice.

"Are you okay Gray?" I asked, trying to avoid the others hearing our conversation. Gray made a slight mumbling sound.

"Yeah… I'm just…" he trailed off. I smiled to myself, since Gray could not see my smile I tried to make my tone convey my feelings.

"You're just what?" I asked in a low, purring tone.

I felt Gray's shoulder's sag. "I'm just… a little worried… I mean… everything's riding on us" he whispered. I smiled broader hearing his concerns.

"You're worried about that? But when does everything not ride on us?" I replied with as much confidence as I could muster. Gray's reply came from the lessening of his grip before it came from his mouth. "Okay… I guess that's true" he chuckled slightly. A moment later a loud yelp was heard from near Cyrus' position; it appeared that Walter was awake.

/

General POV

Cyrus nodded, looking to Natsu and Gray for a moment. A smile flickered across his features. "Perfect. Now I just need to wake Walter up" he said aloud, before moving over to the still-naked, but unconscious, Requip mage.

Blake stood aside as Cyrus made his way over to Walter's head, standing before his friend with faintly amused smile upon his face. Lucy and Erza watched with intrigue on their features as the brunette flicked his sleeve, catching the pen that slid out, and writing in the air. Cyrus divided his attention between focusing on the spell he was writing and observing Natsu and Gray. Lucy and Erza seemed so focused on him that neither of them saw or heard the quiet exchange of words the two mates shared, however Cyrus could read lips. With a slight chuckle to himself, Cyrus finished the spell, its runes glowing to life as soon as they were finished.

Sliding the pen back into his sleeve, the Script mage clicked his fingers. "Blue Script; Icy Drizzle" he commanded. The blue runes flashed upon activation and quickly dispersed into the air, an ice-blue mist forming above Walter's form. After a moment, the mist condensed, getting thicker and thicker until it looked like a small grey cloud. Then it began to rain on Walter.

The water seemed to have its effect, as only a moment later Walter jumped up, wide awake. "Wha!" he cried out as he was rapidly forced from asleep to awake. Looking around the Requip mage seemed confused. He turned to Cyrus for answers, as usual. "Cyrus, what the fuck was that? Now is not the time to be soaking me… I coulda caught a cold" Walter complained bitterly. Cyrus smirked.

"Well I needed to wake you up, and I know what you're like to even try to wake so I figured this way was… more amusing" he replied, before looking Walter up and down. "By the way Walter, aren't you cold?" he added. Walter frowned for a moment in confusion, before looking around.

"Well, you did use freezing cold water on me… so yeah" he huffed, "Oh… and I see Lucy and the others are here now" Walter added a moment later. The blonde Celestial Spirit mage gave a faint wave, before covering her mouth to hide her big grin. Walter took in the blonde's strange actions, and then saw how beet-red Erza looked beside her and it finally clicked into place. Looking down at himself, Walter gave a slight smirk, before looking up again. "Fuck!" he cursed. That comment alone seemed to finish Lucy off, as she began laughing, Erza chuckling right alongside her. Walter scowled and turned to Cyrus once more; the Script mage had been busy preparing a magic circle whilst Walter was getting to grips with the situation. Blake stood a little farther away tending to an unconscious Damien. "When the fuck did you make me a peep show Cyrus?!" the teen barked with annoyance. Cyrus didn't even look up from his work as he replied.

"Since Blake and I deactivated your Styx. We kinda had to stop your heart for that, sorry" he said. Walter frowned.

"Well I figured you'd try something like that… that's why I never bothered to mention it when we designed our 'last resort' strategies, because it'd kind of defy the meaning of the term LAST resort" Walter mumbled in embarrassment. "Regardless…" he began, before a flash of light engulfed his person, "We have bigger problems right now" he finished, standing now in an emerald green suit jacket, with light green shirt and dark green waistcoat, trousers and shoes. Cyrus nodded.

"The Codex has headed away from us for the time being, if we want to do this, we gotta do it now" he said with a more serious tone of voice. Walter nodded in semi-understanding.

"Before you knocked me out you said you needed all of the codes, but without Damien's code we can't use 'em properly" Walter stated. Cyrus sighed.

"Look, basically we're gonna use Natsu and Gray's bond to substitute for Damien's lost code of bonding, okay?" the Script mage sounded more impatient than anyone present had ever heard him before. "However, time is of the essence. Once I finish this magic circle to link up our powers with those two, we're going to have to use Natsu and Gray… and our codes… to try to create the only thing possible of stopping the Codex Beast" Cyrus added. Walter nodded, with his friend's determination clear in his voice, the Requip mage thought it best to trust in his, and Damien's, judgement and try this method. If not he could always use his powers again, he reasoned.

"So, are you two okay with this?" Walter asked Natsu and Gray, who seemed to just be listening to everyone. The pair nodded in unison.

"We're okay with it" Gray said.

Natsu grinned. "Plus… Dragon Slayers always like to show off their mates, and I can't think of a better way than this" the pinkette grinned, earning a slight tap from Gray.

Walter watched the pair's interaction, their complete lack of fear despite what they were about to do, and for some strange reason it made him think of Damien. If only he had just moved on Walter thought wistfully for a moment, before Cyrus's voice chimed up.

"Right, it's ready!" he called. Natsu and Gray looked to each other, their blindness no longer a barrier as the two maintained their hand-holding.

"Ready Gray?" Natsu asked.

The Ice mage nodded. "Sure Natsu" he replied, before leaning in for one last kiss with the Dragon Slayer.

A few minutes later the two were seated together in one corner of the magic circle, with Walter, Cyrus and Blake in the others. "When I say start, you two activate your codes, and then Natsu and Gray… you're gonna have to think of something, the same thing, at the same time. Got that?" Cyrus instructed. The pair frowned for a moment, before their faces lit up.

"You thinking about the same thing as me, Gray?" Natsu asked. The Ice mage smiled.

"You know I am Natsu. Let's do this" Gray replied. Cyrus nodded.

"Alright. Start!" the brunette barked.

/

At Cyrus' commands, everyone did as they were instructed. Walter's eyes turned from his softer orbs, to the harder inhumane ones of his code-personality. Cyrus' glowed faintly as he activated his own code, and Blake's became soft, loving and gentle as his code was summoned forth. With the activation of the three powers the magic circle came to life, and moments later a vast pillar of magic energy began rising up. "Right, Natsu and Gray, now is the time to focus your thoughts…" Cyrus stated.

The pair nodded, and screwed their blinded eyes shut. "Gray…" Natsu called out as the spell began rising up higher into the air.

"What is it Natsu?" the raven-haired mage asked.

"Do you… do you think we could…" Natsu's voice was cut out as the spell began making an inordinate noise.

"Say that louder Natsu!" Gray called out.

Natsu's blushed. "Do you think we could go somewhere after this… kind of like a… honeymoon?" the pinkette asked. Gray seemed taken aback by the question for a moment, however a smile settled onto his features.

"Yeah, sure Natsu" he said, "Just… let's do this first" he added. Natsu nodded.

"Okay… should we call out or something?" he asked. Gray shrugged.

"I don't know, let's try" he said, "On the count of three… one…"

"Two three" Natsu finished quickly earning a smirked from Gray. "There's only one thing I need to think about when it comes to you Gray, a big and strong dragon that needs to protect you" Natsu shouted. Gray smirked widely.

"Well there's only one thing I need to think about when it comes to you, Natsu, a big dumb dragon that needs someone to protect it from its own stupidity" Gray replied with a slightly cocky tone. Natsu frowned.

"Hey!" he barked, however he was quickly shushed by Cyrus.

"It's working… the pillar is reforming into something. You two did it!" he grinned. Natsu and Gray looked to each other as they heard the news. Their grins were plastered all over their faces.

Sure, enough a gigantic dragon of ice, with flames dancing around within, solidified in the area above the five mages; The embodiment of Natsu and Gray's mating bond had arrived. Now the Dream of Love would fight the Codex Beast, and hopefully win.

/

The Codex beast stomped around, it's many eyes desperately searching for the three code-holders. "Damn it!" It roared loudly in frustration. Not only had the three managed to evade it, but they had managed to take is only play-thing with them. "I will find them and when I do-" the creature stopped its search dead. A distance away, on the other side of the large pit that had been formed by the previous fights, a bright glow had begun to rise up. "Ah ha… they seek to try another spell against me, eh?" the Codex Beast licked its monstrous, lizard lips. "Well they shall fail… I'm going to crush them all" it said, beginning to charged towards the bright light. "I will crush them, kill them and then take their codes. They will pay for making a mockery of me and then I will become a god!" it chattered, before another voice made it stop in its tracks.

"You will not do ANYTHING to them!" it roared. Looking around in confusion for the source of the voice, the Codex landed its eyes upon the bright glow before it.

"What are you gonna do to stop me?" it inquired with an amused tone. The light seemed to solidify as the Codex spoke to it. After a moment, it took shape, and the Codex Beast stood face-to-face with a large dragon, made of thick ice, but with an inner fire visible beneath its surface. "A dragon?!" the Codex spluttered.

"No. We are not a dragon, but we are gonna slay you" the Dragon said, in a very cocky tone. The Codex seemed more confused by the statement than afraid. It was only when it looked down to the source of the creature that it realised what had happened.

"The Dragonslayer and his mate… they used their codes to form this thing out of their bonds?" the Codex screeched. The Dragon laughed; whilst Natsu and Gray were blind on the ground, as soon as the Dragon had solidified, the two seemed to be able to both speak and see through the creature's eyes and mouth. Now they used the Dragon's mouth to utter nothing but venomous taunts towards the Codex in an effort to destroy it in spirit before they finally destroyed it in body. The Codex did not take to kindly to the Dragon's harsh laughter and judging glare. "I am the Codex, you do not frighten me, lizard" it hissed.

"Don't act so tough, we've fought scarier things than you. Plus, who are you to call us a lizard, when you're a lizard yourself" the Dragon retorted. The Codex scowled, narrowing its eyes upon its opponent.

"I am no lizard, I am a god!" it barked. The Dragon laughed again, this time more out of amusement.

"We'll see about that. You ready for this Gray?" it asked. After a moment, another voice came from the creature's mouth. "Yes Natsu" it said, "Let's show him our real power".

Back on the ground the real Natsu and Gray were standing, their hands still conjoined. Cyrus, Blake and Walter were all standing around them, a final line of defense should the Codex decide to try to crush them, literally, before the next attack could be made. "You two only have a few minutes, you gotta make this count" Walter said. The two mates nodded.

"It's fine, we're only gonna need a minute, right Gray?" Natsu said confidently. Gray nodded.

"Right. Let's do it!" he said, before beginning to charge up his magic. Natsu did so two, and a moment later, the two unleashed their most powerful spell ever.

"Fire Dragon-" Natsu started.

"Ice Devil-" Gray continued.

"ROAR!"

"BELLOW!" they both finished. With the unleashing of their spells both mages collapsed, hugging each other close. "Let's hope that worked" Gray said to Natsu. The pinkette nodded, resting his head on his mate's shoulder. "Yeah…" he mumbled in reply.

/

The Codex saw the two mages fire off their spells, however nothing happened. No flames, nor any ice erupted forth. Turning its head back to the Dragon it smirked wickedly. "It seems your spells have failed, and now… it's time for you to die" it said, raising its clawed arms up to point them towards the group of mages. "With one last Shadow Make spell I'll end you" it stated.

"Oh really?" the Dragon replied, echoing the thoughts of both Gray and Natsu simultaneously.

The Codex whirled. "What?!" it demanded.

The Dragon opened its maw. "It took a few seconds but… here it is… the ultimate spell of love and bonding. Dream of Love; Frozen Flame Demonic Dragon-Burst" the creature said in a way-too-over-the-top manner. The Codex raised its giant eyebrows in surprise, before realisation hit it; this was an actual threat. As the Beast turned to dodge, the flames grew within the giant ice-lizard's maw, growing brighter and hotter, before turning icy blue and finally erupting forth as a great vertical pillar, striking the Codex square in the face before it had the chance to escape. Rapidly the flames overtook more of the lizard-like creature's form, burning away in icy fire all of the magical energy that the creature had stolen to make this body. The Codex died screaming and writhing in agony, until soon nothing was left of the creature save its core, however that still was not spared from the attack. With blue flames engulfing the core of the codex, it found itself not burning, but rather freezing, and soon the very essence of the Codex itself fell to the earth in a giant ice-cube, shattering into a million pieces from the impact.

Cyrus, Walter, Blake and all the others, watched on a hill of rubble, whilst Natsu and Gray cuddled together still blind at the magic circle. They did not need to see the scene, however, for they had seen it through the eyes of the Dragon above which was still linked to their minds. Soon the Dragon too faded, and everything was peaceful… for a few moments, anyways.

/

A little while later

Makarov and the others were found by Virgo, whom Lucy had sent out to inform them of their position. As the group of mages awaited rescue, Walter, Cyrus and Blake stood quietly by themselves, Damien's body bound next to them. The three had succeeded in completing their mission, however now they finally needed some time to grieve. They had lost a brother, and a lot more than that it seemed, so whilst Natsu and Gray rested in each other's arms, Lucy and Erza set about bringing the other unconscious forms of Laxus, Wendy, Carla and Gajeel to the others so that they would all be in one place when help arrives.

"So… what are you going to do now?" Natsu and Gray asked, as silence settled over the five wizards. Walter looked up at the blinded mates.

"I don't… know. We don't know" he said, "the plan always was to defeat Damien at all costs, but none of us expected to survive this fight. We don't know what to do now" the Requip mage explained.

Natsu frowned. "Why didn't you plan on living?" he asked. Walter sighed.

"We decided that when, or if, we won, we were going to kill ourselves and remove all traces of the Codex from this world forever, however… you two killed the Codex, defeated one of its codes and destroyed it wholly. We don't need to do what we planned now, because of what you did. You saved our lives" Walter stated this fact with more of a matter-of-fact tone than of any form of thankfulness.

Gray smiled. "I guess we did more than we thought, eh Natsu" the Ice mage stated, nudging Natsu's head with his shoulder. The pinkette nodded. Walter watched the exchange with faint amusement, before he looked to Damien's body.

An uncomfortable silence settled over the mages for a few moments. Eventually it was broken by Gray.

"So, what happened to Damien?" the Ice mage asked.

Walter frowned for a moment, thankful that the two could not see his face. "When the Codex was destroyed, it took with it all of Damien's magic. Even if he was alive, no mage could survive having all their magic drained like that" he stated with a flat tone. Gray went quiet. Walter registered what the raven-haired mage was thinking and shook his head. "Don't worry, you didn't kill him. I said if he was alive, he might have been killed when he used that spell to free the Codex…" Walter said, trying to reassure Gray. This did not help.

"It's a shame, at least some part of him was able to help us in the end though" Cyrus tried to cheer them up. Like Walter's attempt, this failed miserably. After another uncomfortable silence, Walter sagged his shoulders and sighed loudly.

"I just wish I could've found out why he did all this. I mean, the Codex couldn't have possessed him without using some kind of incentive… right?" the Requip mage asked aloud. Neither Cyrus nor Blake, or Gray or Natsu, had a response for the teens statement. They all just stayed silent.

Until another voice gave an answer. "If you want to know, I'll… tell you…" it said, making everyone jump up with sudden fright, preparing for some hidden attack. None came, and they all turned in time to see Damien smirking up at them, impossibly, for the second time that hour.

/

"D-d… Dame?" Walter stuttered with surprise as the teen eyed up his ex-comrade. The Maker mage smiled.

"Yes… I'm still alive" Damien said, his voice hinting at faint amusement despite his deep breaths.

"You're alive?" Cyrus chirped up in shock; both the Script mage, and the Elixir mage were sure that the boy they once called fried was dead. Damien chuckled slightly, before coughing violently in a fit.

"Yes Cyrus… although… not for much longer… I think" Damien stated. Walter bit his lower lip as he looked upon their enemy-come-friend.

"You mean you're gonna die then?" he asked, his voice empty, like he was trying desperately to crush the feelings that had come bubbling up to the surface. Damien nodded faintly; his body movement wasn't just weak, but restricted also by the magically-treated bonds that bound him.

"Yes, sorry Walter, but I can only talk for a bit…" Damien smiled, "Although, I think… it might take more time than I've got to apologise to you all" he added with a slightly downcast expression. Walter shook his head.

"You don't need to… now that we understand, the Codex was controlling you, right?" Walter asked. Damien chuckled again.

"Well… you're half-right" he said, earning vague and confused looks by all present. "You see… I sort of allowed it to control me… I let it take over" Damien explained, before his eyes wandered over to the mated pair a short distance away. Natsu almost seemed to feel the Maker mages eyes on him and his mate, and as the pinkette shifted uneasily, Damien took in the pairs vague-looking eyes. "I see the two heroes have been blinded" Damien stated aloud. Natsu sniffed the air.

"Are you talkin' about us?" he asked with a slightly over-protective tone in his voice; the Fire mage was uneasy that the three mages of the Triplet Code were allowing their supposed enemy to speak, however as he knew their history he could understand, somewhat at least.

Damien smiled at the pinkette's reply, although Natsu could not see this. "Yes I am talking about… you two" he said, before looking to Walter. "You didn't heal them?" he asked the Requip mage. The teen looked in surprise.

"I can heal it? I thought we agreed Blake was going to do it?" Walter said in surprise, looking from Cyrus to Blake for agreement. They both nodded, which made Damien laugh aloud.

"You three never were great at thinking outside the box" he mused, "Luckily… I was. Yes you can heal them Walter, just… use that special trick I showed you when we were younger" Damien explained, his tone trying to prompt the Requip mage to think. Walter gave a puzzled look for a moment, before his eyes lit up.

"I forgot about that" he said, before calling up his last reserves of magic power. "Requip; Apothecaries Master" he called out, before a bright flash of light swapped out his green suit jacket and clothing for a white lab-style coat and matching white gloves, shirt, trousers and shoes. Walking over to the pair, Walter examined them for a moment. "So I just do… this…" he said, raising his arms up so that each of his outstretched palms hovered a few inches in the air above both Natsu and Gray, "Then… I activate the sequence in reverse… and…" a bright glow formed around each of Walter's hands. As it did, he began to lower them so that they rested on Natsu and Gray's heads. After a moment, the glow dispersed and Walter withdrew back to standing beside Damien, Cyrus and Blake.

Natsu blinked a few times experimentally as the spell began to have its effect. As soon as he did, he looked to Gray, the pair of them wore big grins on their faces. "I can see!" they cried in unison. Cyrus almost sweat dropped at the reaction.

"How…?" he questioned aloud.

Damien chuckled. "With a little rearranging, the healing spell on those gloves works wonders" he stated, "however… I'm afraid that's all I can do… the effects won't last, so Blake will need to fix them properly later" Damien added. Blake nodded, giving a quick hand gesture to signal his understanding.

"Why would you help us now, though?" Gray questioned, as the now sight-able pair stood to join the four mages.

Damien smiled. "Because… well… I don't want the last thing I do to be something evil. And because I also regret…" he trailed off before he finished his sentence.

Walter and the others all turned to look directly at Damien. "You said you were going to explain what you did, right?" Walter prompted. Damien nodded.

"Well… I said I wasn't possessed by the Codex, and that is again half-true… however it was also because, in doing all of this, I wanted to do something that I thought was right… although now I see it wasn't" Damien blathered. Walter furrowed his brows.

"What was your goal Damien, if not god-hood?" Walter asked. Damien shrugged.

"I admit I aimed to become a god, but not for the reasons you think…" Damien paused, a coughing fit preventing him from speaking for a few moments. When he could speak again, he continued, knowing full well that he didn't have long left to explain everything. "All I wanted to do…" Damien started "all I ever wanted to do was to… bring back my parents, our parents".

Walter, Cyrus and Blake all gave looks of confusion. Natsu and Gray looked to each other, intrigue, but equally confused, by this revelation. "I thought your parents were… killed… right?" Gray asked carefully. Walter nodded, answering his inquiry, however it was Damien that spoke.

"I see you have finally decided to tell people… well done Walter" Damien stated his voice level, although fading, "However… I can never atone for the things I've done. I always figured if I did succeed it wouldn't matter as… I would be able to undo it as a god. I betrayed you all, I tried to… kill you all… and worst… I was foolishly led on by that… by that…" Damien was cut off once more by another coughing fit, one much worse than his others.

Walter was by his side instantly, holding onto the Maker mage tightly. "It's okay… we understand now…" Walter stated, holding Damien close. The Maker mage whimpered.

"Walter he's…" Cyrus began, but stopped before he was finished by Blake's hand to his shoulder. The silent mage shook his head.

"I'm… sorry" Damien said, tears beginning to fall down his cheeks. "I can only… apologise now… bu-t… Damn… Walt… it looks like… our time's… my time's… u…p…" he added, before Damien's eyes closed. Walter jumped back in shock.

Tears fell freely down the Requip mage's cheeks. "Damien…" he breathed heavily. "Damn it… I never got to tell you…" he cut himself off before he finished. "I need to be alone" he said, before beginning to walk off. Cyrus and Blake watched him go, Natsu and Gray stood silently.

It wasn't long after that the rescue party, led by Sting and Rogue, found the group of mages. As they were being led away, towards a hidden stairwell uncovered from the rubble, Natsu turned to look towards Damien's body one last time. Walter, Cyrus and Blake intended to stay behind to bury him, however Natsu… Natsu just smiled faintly.

/

Natsu POV

I woke to white sheets and the scent of clean, sterile air. "Mmmgn…" I moaned, breathing in the annoying scent and shifting uncomfortably. "G'morning… Gray…" I added a moment later reaching out for my mate in the bed, only to find no one there. "Hm?" I muttered, opening my eyes fully and looking around. It was only when I did this that I remembered everything that happened. "Oh yeah… we were brought to the infirmary and then…" Natsu frowned. "Did I pass out?" he voiced.

"Yeah, you went out like a light. Didn't even give me a good-night kiss, some mate you are" Gray answered cockily from his own bed opposite mine in the infirmary room. I frowned at him.

"Humph" I pouted. Gray cocked his head, a bright smile on his face. I could only keep my pout up for a few minutes, before I gave in and kicked the white sheets off of me, standing up with my own grin on my face. "So, I take it I fell asleep when we were travelling last night?" I asked Gray, coming over to his bed and sitting down. The raven-haired mage nodded.

"Yeah. You were feeling sick, remember… then you leaned in to me, saying my scent helped to relieve your motion sickness and then… well… you snored the whole way back to Magnolia" Gray smiled. I pouted and crossed my arms.

"Well sorry I'm such a burden to you then" I stated huffily, before another memory flitted across my mind. "What did everyone else do?" I asked, trying to push the intruding thought aside for a moment.

Gray shrugged. "I didn't get any sleep on the way back, so I just carried you in here, tucked you in and then passed out in this bed opposite" he answered, "Blake seems to have already been in and administered our treatment for blindness though, Porlyusica came in earlier and told me he had. Man was she grumpy, well… more than usual. Seems like she was having to treat the others too" Gray added on. I nodded in understanding, before deciding to ask the other thing I had thought of.

Gray seemed to read my thoughts as his body stiffened a little as I pushed him back onto the bed and lay down beside him, with my face close to his I could talk quietly but still make sure he heard me. "How was Walter?" I asked. Gray frowned for a moment, before responding.

"He… he was upset, more than Cyrus and Blake. No one's seen him since last night" he said with a slightly shallower tone. "Oh… but Cyrus has been in too. He came in about half an hour ago, you were still asleep, so he gave me the run down. Seems that spell we used, the super big dragon one, used up a lot of our magic power, but other than that we're fine" Gray stated. I nodded.

"Anything else that I missed?" I asked. The Ice mage shrugged.

"Everyone wanted to see us, and ask us about what happened, however… I told them to wait until you were awake properly first. I knew if you woke up to a load of questions you'd get mad so…" Gray trailed off. I smirked slightly and leaned in a little closer.

"Always thinking of me, snowflake" I said, before giving him a short kiss. Gray accepted the kiss, and began slowly sliding his hands down my head to my shoulders. He stopped there though, not going any lower despite the fact I was shirtless and with very little on down below too. "Natsu…" he said, pushing me away a little. I wrapped an arm around his waist, but stopped kissing Gray.

"What is it?" I asked calmly, although a flicker of annoyance passed through my chest at having to stop.

Gray chuckled. "Everyone's right outside the door, we can't do it here" he said. I smirked and turned my head towards the door. Sure enough, I could smell Lucy, Erza, Lyon, and a couple of others standing outside in the corridor. "They've been there since this morning. I told them not to come in in case it woke you up" Gray explained. I nodded.

"Well… let's go tell 'em I'm awake… then perhaps you and me can go find somewhere more private to… continue our discussion" I stated. Gray blushed slightly, before nodding. Taking my hand, we both walked over to the infirmary door together; our first act as open mates within the guild hall.

/

A little while later

After having a short meeting with everyone, Gray and I had been dragged off by Mira to go speak with Makarov and the other Guildmasters. It seemed that they knew less about what Walter was up to as we did, so we explained all we could, leaving out a few details just to avoid spilling anything 'private' that Walter may have said in the last moment of Damien's life, before we left to head off to Gray's apartment.

Once we were inside, Gray and I sighed heavy breaths. "That was… intense. Not just having to have done all that, but go over it again…" Gray stated. I nodded.

"Yeah. Still can't believe that we didn't just beat Anger, but Joy and the Codex too" I stated, "We make a pretty damn good team". Gray smirked.

"Yeah… now… how about we go take our minds off of all that for now and… continue our earlier conversation" Gray stated. I smirked back at Gray with a lewd smile.

"That desperate, eh… popsicle?" I asked with a cocky tone of voice. Gray frowned suddenly at my statement.

"Why do you always do that?" he stated. I frowned.

"Do what?" I asked. Gray gestured at me, before pulling me closer to him as he leaned against the front door to his apartment.

"Do that, with the nicknames. You call me 'snowflake' sometimes, but then you always call me 'popsicle' when we're in… you know… certain types of situations" he stated. I heard his question, and then shrugged.

"I guess that I call you snowflake because you're so cool and pretty like a snowflake, but then… in those 'certain situations' I guess I'm thinking about… popsicles… in some way" I stated, earning a sigh from Gray. "However… if you don't wanna be called popsicle I could call you something else instead" I added after a moment.

Gray looked at me with suspicion. "Call me what?" he asked.

I grinned. "How about I call you… mine" I said with a slight chuckle. Gray smirked and leaned in close, so that his lips where millimeters from mine.

"Call me whatever you want, just know… I'm already yours Natsu, and I'm gonna stay like that forever" he said. I smiled and leaned in those extra few millimeters.

"Alright… popsicle" I breathed into the kiss, before pushing Gray more roughly against the door. Gray let himself be shoved, and soon it wasn't against the door that he was being pushed towards, but rather his bed.

/

Gray landed on the bed with a creak of protest from the bedsprings. I landed on top of him a few moments later, my waist-coat already discarded. Gray had been shirtless since he had awoken, and now it wasn't just his shirt he was missing, but his trousers too, as I pulled them off of him with great speed. "N-natsu…" Gray breathed as I kissed him roughly.

"Mghnnn…" I moaned into the kiss as my hands glided over Gray's muscular torso. The Ice mage was just too hot right now, and whilst it had only been about four days since we had last fucked, back at the bathhouse that Sting and Rogue invited us to, and all that suppressed lust was beginning to finally bubble up inside of me. Gray seemed to be experiencing something similar, as he was rock hard from the get-go, which made me smile even broader. "Come on… Gray…" I panted, as we stopped kissing from a moment. The Ice mage smiled up at me.

"Get naked then" he said back. I shrugged.

"I could… but first I wanna try something…" I replied, earning a confused look from the dark-haired mage. Before he could ask what it was that I wanted to try, I rocked my hips roughly against his underwear-clad member, eliciting the most perfect moan from his throat.

"Agh… Natsu…" he breathed. I smiled down at him with a predatory grin.

"I'm gonna see how far I can drive you before you beg me to fuck you, Gray" I stated. The raven-haired mage didn't reply, or rather couldn't as I rocked my hips twice more against him, earning another bout of moans. This method of pleasuring wasn't without its perks for me either, although I wasn't going to ruin the mood by moaning. Yet.

After grinding my hips against Gray's groin a few more times, I began to lean in and kiss along his neck, nipping at the soft skin there and suckling on a few good spots. Each action I did made Gray moan louder in my ears, and with each moan I began growing more heated, thinking or acting out more methods which could further this heated session. After tormenting Gray's neck, I moved lower, suckling on one of his nipples, swirling the pink bud around with my tounge and nipping it slightly with my teeth. After that I began nipping at Gray's ears, whilst whispering stuff I knew would get the Ice mage 'fired up'.

With one particularly loud moan from Gray, however, I found that my fun had to be cut short, lest I lose my own self-control completely. "Aghh… ahh… AGH!" Gray moaned as I began kissing him once more, my rocking ceasing shortly after. When we broke apart again, I sat up, looking down at the half-naked mage beneath me with a great smirk of satisfaction; the Ice mage looked the most disheveled I had ever seen him.

"That's a… really hot look on you" I breathed. Gray nodded weakly, all the breath seemed to have left his body after that little bit of 'fun', however the main event was still to come. "I don't think I can wait for long though… and I really wanna top so… can we just do this?" I asked him. Surprisingly, Gray did not nod submissively as I expected, instead he gave a heavily panted head shake.

"I… I'm gonna… make sure you're slicked" he grinned. Seeing his lustful smile, I found I couldn't say no. Instead I just hurriedly removed my pants and underwear, before moving back, so Gray could shift position. The Ice mage did so with his own sense of urgency, removing his own underwear as he shifted. Heh… he's super desperate too I laughed internally, as Gray went from laying down beneath me, to being on all fours in front.

The Ice mage looked up at me, and as our eyes met he began to take my own member into his mouth. I mewled slightly as I felt Gray tease the tip of my cock with his tongue, before licking a stripe along the length. "Ahh…" I moaned as the Ice mage began licking and teasing my cock. Gray continued for a few moments, however soon I found that my lust could not be held back any more, and I began to wrap and curl my fingers in the dark locks of my mate. As Gray felt me grip his head, he looked up, and realised what I wanted to do. Eyes glittering with consent, Gray prepared for what was to come; I smirked wickedly, before thrusting my cock into Gray's awaiting mouth. "Hah… Haaa…" I panted as I rocked my hips forward, into the moist cavern of Gray's mouth. The Ice mage moaned a little at the action himself, and as I looked down, I saw him reaching for his own member to stroke it. Laughing, I began to thrust my hips a few times, each time getting deeper into Gray's throat, before rising up to delve in again. "Fu-ck… fff… uck…" I groaned as my aching cock was greeted by the warmth of Gray's mouth, and the sensuousness of his tongue; I realised I couldn't hold out for long, and soon I was thrusting in a little more irrhythmically into Gray's mouth. The Ice mage was also moaning loudly beneath me, each vibration from his throat tempting me closer to my climax. I almost gave in, however one shred of control remained in my mind, and soon I grabbed Gray's head a little roughly and gave him one last long, deep thrust. As I felt my balls rest against the raven-haired mages chin, I withdrew from Gray's mouth, and grabbed the Ice mage, flipping him over so that he was on his back. Gray looked up in surprise at me, however I didn't give him much time to react as I took his hand forcefully away from his member, and pinned both of his arms above his head, kissing him roughly.

"N… atsu…" Gray breathed into the kiss. I drew back to allow us to catch our breaths.

"Sorry… I just had… had to stop. I don't wanna come into your mouth Gray" I said with as much of an apologetic tone as I could. The Ice mage smiled.

"It's okay… I want you to fuck me, and I really don't care how. In my mouth, or in my ass… they're both yours now, remember?" he said. I smiled.

"Hah… I guess you're right… so…" I drifted off as I pushed Gray down into pillows, my mouth locked with his once again, but this time with a lot less force. "Let's fuck" I breathed. Gray nodded.

"Okay… you don't need to waste any more time" he stated. I frowned for a moment.

"Y'sure… I can still prep you" I stated. Gray shook his head.

"Like you'd ever hurt me, fireball" he replied. I smirked.

"You're gonna regret that cockiness, coz now I'm gonna make sure you can't even walk" I said, before leaning in and locking lips with Gray for a final time, before lining up my cock to Gray's entrance. Without breaking the kiss, I pressed the tip to Gray's hole, before smiling predatorily. Mine I thought, before thrusting my length inside.

"AAAAH!" Gray cried out; I looked down at the ice mage with worry instantly.

"Are you okay, did I hurt you?" I asked. Gray shook his head.

"No… I just wasn't expecting you to put it all in from the start" he replied, giving me a slight smile to show that he wasn't upset.

I smiled back. "Do… you want a minute?" I asked. It was taking all my control not to just start thrusting, however I would wait if asked by my mate.

Gray shook his head. "You can start. I'll be fine" he stated, "Besides, I know you Natsu, and I can tell that you're as close as I am right now" he added, running his fingers through my hair. I smirked back, before leaning in and kissing Gray sweetly. The Ice mage kissed me back, and as our kiss began to deepen, I slowly began pulling out, only to shove my cock back in with a little more care this time. Gray didn't shout out at the reduced pace, and as we kissed I began to feel the heat rise in my chest again. Not yet I thought, Make it last…

I could hold onto that promise for about ten seconds, as soon Gray and I were back to passionately making out, whilst I was thrusting rhythmically in and out of my mate. "Ah… Gray…" I moaned, as I kissed along the raven-haired man's neck.

"Natsu…" he moaned back, "I… I'm close".

I nodded and angled my thrusts. I pushed him really close, then ended up fucking his mouth… if I can just hit that spot then Gray will probably cum… I thought. After a few more thrusts I found what I was looking for, as Gray arched his back and cried out loudly. "NATSU… There…" he moaned with a begging tone to his voice. I smirked and began boring down as much as I could onto that same place as I had just hit. After a few more thrusts I was close to my limit, however Gray was even closer. "Natsu… I'm… gonna cum!" he moaned loudly. I kept my gyrations, however I leaned down and kissed Gray one last time, our tongue's sliding over one another, before Gray rolled his head back on the pillows, calling my name out loudly. "Natsuuuu…!" he moaned, as cum splattered over his chest, covering me as well. I could barely take in the sight as the orgasming Ice mage's walls tightened around my own member.

"Fuck… Gray… I'm go-" I couldn't even finish my sentence before waves of pleasure overtook my body, forcing all my words into moans and gasps. "Ah… Gra…Graaaaay! Fu…ck…" I moaned, shooting my seed into the raven heads ass.

Once my orgasm subsided, I pulled out of Gray, flopping down beside him before wrapping my arms tightly around his chest, uncaring if I got covered by the sticky mess that my mate had shot over himself. "I love you" I said with a loving tone. Gray chuckled.

"I love you too Natsu" he replied, before running a hand through my pink locks. "But… how about we clean-up" he added. I shook my head.

"Don't wanna" I replied. Gray continued chuckling.

"Fine, I guessed you'd say that. Just don't forget that later we've gotta get down to the guild, since there's that celebration and everything" Gray stated. I nodded, before closing my eyes and taking in Gray's scent, mixed with and amplified by the strong scent of sex that hung in the air.

"Okay…" I yawned, before dozing off into a comfortable sleep.

/

Gray POV

Natsu fell asleep quite quickly after sex, this fact did not surprise me. I, on the other hand, couldn't get to sleep at all. My mind was still troubled by something; the smile Natsu gave when we walked away from Damien back at the hideout. That wasn't a glad smile, or an angry smile… it was like… when he would play a trick on someone, like when he knows something. So, what didn't he tell us? I thought carefully. As I thought this I looked down to the sleeping form of my mate, his pink hair splayed across the pillow beside me like his own unique halo. I gave a soft smile.

"Cute as always…" I whispered. Natsu murmured in his sleep, but nothing that was even vaguely comprehensible. "I guess I could ask him" I added to myself.

"Mgm… mi…muh" Natsu mumbled, off into some fantasy somewhere. Watching Natsu sleep I decided it would be best to leave the topic of his smile until later, at least until after the party later. I guess we should get some clothes for it… Natsu doesn't keep any here and I doubt he'll want to wear anything I've got I thought, before yawning myself.

"I guess it can wait until later. First I think I'm gonna join pinky in some dreams" I said, before resting my head against Natsu's. The scent of Natsu quickly sent me off to sleep equally as fast as the Dragon Slayer himself had fallen unconscious.

/

A few hours later

"You're sure about this Natsu?" I asked, as we walked through the streets of Magnolia hand-in-hand. The pinkette nodded.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" he asked. I pouted.

"I don't know… I guess I just figured you wouldn't actually take me up on my offer and wear my clothes" I said. When the two of us woke up from our nap, the time was much later than we had expected and after a quick debate, Natsu had agreed to put on one of my shirts and trousers, along with an older pair of shoes I had lying around the place, before we headed off to the guild. Whilst I was happy the Dragon Slayer had been so understanding, it was completely unexpected, and as we approached the guild I became increasingly worried that the pinkette would be embarrassed about not only walking the entire distance holding hands, but also wearing my clothing. Natsu, however, had no qualms about any of this, and soon I realised that it was just me overreacting.

As we rounded the corner to be on the same street as the guild, a voice called out to us. "Hey guys!" it called. Looking for the source of the voice, we both noticed Lucy, Erza and Walter running towards us.

"Hi guys" Natsu replied for us. Lucy waved, and noticed immediately Natsu's attire.

"That's new Natsu" she stated. Erza nodded in agreement.

"Never seen you in those before, did you get them today?" she asked. Natsu looked to me, and I blushed.

"N-not quite" I chimed in, "Natsu didn't really have time to go to his house before the party… so he borrowed some of mine" I explained. Walter smirked broadly, a sharp contrast to the last expression I had seen on him; one of sadness and regret.

"Heh, well they suit you very well Natsu" he stated. The teen himself was wearing a blue suit jacket over a pink shirt and blue waistcoat and trousers, along with brown belt and shoes.

Natsu shrugged. "It was just lucky Gray had a load of spares" he stated, before looking behind the trio towards the guild. "Should we go to the guild?" he asked. Walter nodded.

"Yeah… we're gonna have lots of fun tonight to celebrate. After all, you helped free us from the Codex" he stated.

I looked to Gray. "Yeah… although…" I began; however, Walter shook his head and pouted.

"No! Tonight is for celebrating. There will be no sadness, got that?" he stated. I smiled.

"Alright" I nodded "Let's go!"

And with that Gray, Lucy, Walter and I joined in the party.

/

General POV, a few hours of partying later

Walter was busy drinking with Elfman near the bar, Cyrus was quietly hugging the outside of the room, and Blake was enjoying himself along with everyone else when the clock struck midnight. As the bells tolled across town, Walter looked up from his drink and toward his nearest companion; Cyrus. The Script mage nodded. Blake registered their exchange and began making his way over to Cyrus, a smile still on his face. Looking to his drinking buddy, Walter bowed his head apologetically, "I've just got to go get some more to drink" he said, before rushing off out of sight. Elfman barely had time to say a word before the Requip mage vanished.

After a few moments both Blake and Cyrus left too. Watching for Walter coming back, Elfman waited, however after ten minutes, there was no sign of the teen, and the Beast Soul mage became worried. Finding Mirajane, Elfman asked if she had seen Walter, however the waitress, who had been too busy dealing with everyone else, replied that she hadn't. Deciding it best to inform someone, the two Strauss siblings found Makarov. As they relayed the sudden disappearance of the teen, the older mage, as confused as them at the sudden vanishing, called for Natsu and Gray to come over.

"What's up Gramps?" Natsu asked, a tone of confusion in his voice.

Makarov frowned. "Walter left and hasn't come back, do you know where he could have gone?" he asked the pair "After all, this party's as much for them, as for anyone" he added. Gray furrowed his brow in thought.

"No… have you asked Cyrus or Blake?" the Ice mage offered. The Guildmaster shrugged and looked around, however he soon realised that they too had vanished.

"It seems… they disappeared too…" Makarov muttered. Natsu looked to Gray.

"Gray…" he mumbled. The raven haired mage looked to the pinkette confusedly.

"What is it Natsu?" he asked.

"I… I need to speak with you" he stated, before dragging the Ice mage off forcefully to a slightly quieter part of the guild hall. Sting and Cana, who had been drinking together near Makarov, came over to find out what the commotion was about.

When Makarov explained the situation, Cana frowned. "I saw Walter leave the store room a few minutes ago. He was carrying around a really expensive bottle of champagne" the alcoholic stated. Makarov went wide-eyed.

"Really?" he muttered confusedly, before he looked towards Natsu and Gray, who were returning from wherever Natsu had dragged Gray to a moment ago.

"I think… I know where Walter is" Natsu stated, "But we're gonna have to hurry" he added, silencing any questions from the other mages as he led Makarov, Gray and Sting out of the Guildhall. Rogue quickly caught up with them, confused as to why his mate would leave him alone, although Sting explained the situation to him as they walked.

/

Meanwhile, in Magnolia's outskirts

Walter held up the bottle of champagne and three glass as he walked up to his companions. "I got 'em" he said to the two.

Cyrus nodded. "Good. Were you followed?" he asked. Walter shook his head.

"Does it matter if I was, it's not like I'm gonna be running anywhere anymore after this" Walter replied, uncorking the bottle and pouring some into each of the three glasses, before passing them to his companions. "Here's to our future" Walter smirked. Cyrus frowned.

"You still want to make jokes?" the Script mage asked, as Blake produced a vial from his pocket. "Here Blake, add it to them quickly, since we won't have much time if Walter has allowed himself to be followed" Cyrus stated. Blake nodded and poured a few drops of the black liquid contents of the vial into each of the drinks. It dissolved rapidly, without changing the colour or taste of the drink.

Walter sighed. "Why can't I make jokes, I should be able to say what I like on my deathbed" Walter stated to Cyrus as he took his drink back from Blake. The Elixir mage nodded to each of them.

This is it he signed with his hands, after this there is no going back.

Cyrus smiled. "Well gentlemen… it looks like the Three Cubed guild is going to be disbanded. Although its loss will mean little to anyone, for the world, its existence will have meant more than anyone will ever know" he stated. Walter smiled at the Script mage's words.

"True. Despite it being against our founding, I can genuinely say I'm happy by this outcome… and at least we were able to make a few friends before we reached our goal… and at least I managed to keep my promise and have fun with them on our last day together" Walter added on. Blake nodded.

It was fun, wasn't it he signed, if only Damien could've had fun with us too.

Walter nodded in agreement with that statement. "Yes, however… maybe we can have fun with him again another time… after tonight" Walter smiled wearily. Cyrus looked at his friend's face for a moment, before softening his own expression.

"Yeah" he agreed softly, one of the few times he'd show true emotion. "However... now it's come to this. How about we have one last cheer to send us off?" the Script mage asked. Walter laughed.

"I never thought I'd ever get to see you say that" Walter mused, "However you're right. One three… one…" Walter began counting.

"Two…" Cyrus continued, before looking to Blake.

The Elixir mage signed the last part. I couldn't have asked for better friends… so let's do this together… he stated. Walter and Cyrus nodded.

"Thr-" they were about to say, raising their glasses up to meet.

"WAIT!" a voice called out from the night-time darkness. The three mages turned in surprise, only to be met with the panting forms of Natsu, Gray, Sting, Rogue, and Makarov.

"You… were gonna… leave… this early" Natsu breathed.

"The party's not… over yet…" Gray added on. Walter frowned at the two.

"Damn it, I thought I told you tonight wasn't going to be sad…" he stated, "I was all prepared to make this one last night happy for everyone, before…" the Requip mage caught his own words. Makarov looked between the three and the glasses in their hands.

"Before you what?" he asked, prying the answer from them. Walter hung his head.

"Before we ended the code… permanently… with our deaths" he admitted. This statement didn't seem to surprise Makarov, or Natsu, or Gray, and it only elicited a little shock from the Sabertooth pair. "You… knew we would do this?" Walter asked. Natsu nodded.

"Yeah, I… thought you might, but I hoped you wouldn't" the pinkette stated, "I mean, you said it yourself, we defeated the codex so you don't have to commit suicide" he added on. Walter shook his head.

"It's not just about that… our codes are dangerous and we have to destroy them, this is the only way" the Requip mage explained. Cyrus nodded in concurrence with that statement.

"Yes, we must do this, for the sake of everyone" the Script mage stated. Natsu shrugged.

"And we're not gonna stop you… I just thought… well, what would Damien say about this? Did he not want you three to go on, despite his own death?" the pinkette reasoned. Walter seemed struck by this remark, however he soon recovered, and this time with anger on his features.

"You think you understand everything" he barked abruptly, "You only fought Damien a little, you may have seen his death… however… I… you have no right to say this" he added, stopping himself from saying the one thing he hadn't been able to before Damien's death.

"You loved him" Gray spoke up. Walter's head snapped around to look at the Ice mage.

"Yes, I did, so for what reason shouldn't I kill myself, if not only to see Damien again" Walter growled.

"Not to mention protect the world" Cyrus chimed. Natsu smirked.

"How about this; there's still one thing that Damien didn't tell you… something that only I know, because I saw him die" Natsu stated. Walter raised an eyebrow in question.

"What?" he stated angrily.

Natsu smirked.

/

Several days later

The traveler looked down from the high ledge across a vast and barren land. There was only one thing to mark any sort of human presence; a town. Smirking, the dusty cloaked man began walking down towards the town, a single thought in his mind; my first stop on a long, long journey.

Stopping at the large sign that hung over the very frontier-western like setting, the traveler looked up and read the words that fitted him perfectly. "Lost" he said with slight, travel-weary amusement.

"Perfect".

Chapter 47 End

Final Chapter; Lost and Found

Author's note; this is the longest chapter I've done in this fic, and I know there was a lot of content. If anyone can guess where the final chapter's headed, feel free to leave a review. I love all of the review's you guys have left already, and I absolutely am astounded by how many favorites and likes this fic has gotten. Thank you all and I hope you enjoyed the penultimate chapter, as well as the chapter to come ^^