You'll be my Raven and I'll be your Scarlet

A/N: As you may have guessed, this is the penultimate chapter xD If you didn't guess until now, I think that it should be very obvious by now: THE LAST CHAPTER NUMBER IS 55! I mean, I gave you so many clues xD My favourite number is five, what did you expect it to be? xD And if I made it any longer than 55, I think that I would cry, because I'm a lazy person who always procrastinates, so how come I've had to do so many hours of writing?! xD What is life if I can't procrastinate?! xD Once I finish this story, I'm just going to stalk BTS :p You don't know how happy I am (they even made a dance for bapsae)! I'm too hyped by all their songs, so I'll just say that I'll tell you my reason for uploading all these chapters on the 25th on the last chapter ;) Enjoy my royal chibis :p

Chapter LIV: Near the End

Wedding venue 10:15 AM

Gray and Ultear where at a wedding venue, getting ready for the final preparations for their wedding. Their wedding was in a day, and Ultear had wanted to make sure that everything was immaculate. She checked the menu, the seating plan and even if the flowers coordinated with the decor of the room. It was her special day, and she knew that she wanted everything to be absolutely perfect, even making sure to taste all the dishes to check if they were suitable for her high class tongue (even though she was supposed to be on a diet). Whenever she asked Gray for an opinion on any of the pre-mentioned things, he had always looked at her with a blank stare before smiling and saying, "Sounds good to me."

But the reason why Gray was being so out of it was because all he could think about was how he and Erza would have planned their wedding day, if she was still by his side.

"What do you want the cake flavour to be?" asked the chef kindly, wanting the bride to have the cake that she wanted.
"Strawberry cheesecake!" she had shouted without hesitation, making even Gray chuckle silently at his fiancée.
"Erza, can't we choose something else? I think the guests will get sick and tired of eating that cake, especially if they have to eat it every time they are with you..." As he had predicted as soon as he had said those words, she had given him a vehement glare, silencing him right away. She then went on to sweetly smile at the chef before saying,
"Please ignore this bastard future husband and do a strawberry cheesecake one, thank you!" she had finished before bowing low to show her respect. In actuality, they had actually planned their wedding a bit last minute, and their wedding was coming up extremely soon. Erza had blamed Gray, saying that while she had been studying in University, and then working at the law firm, he had done absolutely nothing, so now she had to take a break from both things and try to fix what he hadn't even began.
"You promised I would get my cheesecake!" she had reprimanded Gray with a pout, making him pinch her cheeks at how cute she was being. Instead of playing along with him, she slapped his fingers away, telepathically telling him that he was lucky that that was the only place she had intended to hurt him.
Next they had to go and buy her wedding dress, as Gray had offered to go himself, but she had just shouted at him in annoyance while saying,
"I don't want you to see me in my dress, it's apparently bad luck... And why the hell do you even know my sizes?!" she had asked when he had told her that he already knew her measurements, so she didn't have to go.
"...Because I hug you every day, stare at you every day, and see you every day in my dreams," he had said dreamily. Instead of getting the reaction he had thought he would get (her blushing profusely and kissing him), she decided to say,
"As Natsu always says, once a pervert, always a pervert!" before kicking him in the shin. He fell to the floor in pain, wondering why she hadn't changed after so long. In fact, it seemed to get worse, as she frequently hit him now and didn't blush as much. But he wasn't about to give up so easily, so he quietly followed her to the wedding dress shop, glad that the doors were all glass so he could see her get into the fitting room before he stealthily also entered the shop, sitting on a seat and pretending to be a family member of another girl who was wearing a wedding dress, complementing her as if it was his job. But then his Scarlet angel came out of the shop, and his jaw dropped to the floor. He had seen Erza Scarlet look ethereal several times, but this was the first time he had actually thought that maybe she was actually an angel, too pure for this world; his eyes and his soul. Erza twirled shyly, her white wedding dress having a plain corset, but the lower half having a puffy skirt that was decorated with transparent diamonds and gems. Erza turned to look at the mirror, only to catch sight of Gray staring at her. However, he still hadn't realised, so she had sneaked up on him before tickling him to death while he begged her to stop, hoping that he would learn his lesson. After that, he had not been allowed back into the shop, and she had told him that she would definitely not pick that dress, as it now had bad luck. But he knew secretly that she had actually bought that dress, and he couldn't wait for the day when he would see her in it.
Finally, the last thing to do was to practice dancing. They had both assumed that they were proficient dancers, but when they started, Gray had missed a beat and had accidentally stepped on Erza's foot. With a lot of patience, they had continued practicing, but he had continued stepping on her foot over and over again, making her shout at him several times in frustration.
"What's wrong with you!?" she had asked him, trying to get why he was so bad. But in fact, Gray was not a bad dancer at all. He had actually learned how to ballroom dance from Ul, but he was purposely acting as if he couldn't dance so that Erza would stay with him longer and hold on to him more.
"I dunno!" he had replied happily back, making her mutter under her breath with disapproval. "Honey, you can't do that whenever you're angry at me, or I won't know why you're angry at me in the future," he had whispered in her ear before winking, making the familiar blush that resembled her hair come back. Pleased with himself, he then continued to get slightly better, but never perfect, and that was how they had wasted two hours practicing dancing...

"Gray? Gray!" she had called to him several times, finally snapping him out of his thoughts. Gray focused his eyes to see a Black haired figure, and his smile soon turned into a frown as his beautiful dream was slowly going away."Gray, are you listening to me?" Ultear asked, a bit worried for her future husband. He gulped before nodding, hating that he was brought back into reality. If only he could have stayed with the image of Erza for a few more minutes...


Fairy Tail University 13:05

Meanwhile, the gang was at the University trying to think of a way to sabotage the wedding. Gray had somehow been also asked to participate, even though it was his wedding. He laughed at all their crazy ideas, hoping that they wouldn't actually put their plans into action, or they could destroy the whole of Magnolia! As the group finally quietened down, Gray and Jellal chose to speak about what they had discovered just a few days ago.

"I can't believe that Haru's just living in a cabinet, thinking he can escape!" Jellal screamed, outraged. Gray patted his back, trying to calm him down before saying.
"Then don't you think we should pay him a little visit?" Jellal looked at his friend in confusion, wondering whether he was actually serious. After Lyon had called Gray at midnight, he hadn't expected it to be very important, as he usually tended to worry over nothing. But as he had continued talking, he knew that they had found jackpot, and he had thanked Lyon and Juvia for being such a weird couple that would go on swimming dates in the evening before hanging up. After thinking of what to do for a while, he had called Jellal over, telling him the new piece of information he had required. He hadn't known how Jellal would react, but he hadn't expected him to say, "So what?" It had actually been the last thing that he had wanted to hear from Jellal, so he had spent the rest of the days trying to convince him that they should go there and talk to him, to find out what exactly he had done and how he could nullify the contract.

"If we go there, we have to threaten him, or he won't listen to us; he will just laugh in our faces," Jellal had whispered as they were leaving the University to get his car. Gray had stared in shock at his friend, wondering what he meant by 'threaten'. He hoped it wouldn't be something violent, as he knew that even though Haru had little power, he would still be able to sue them.
"What if we hold a gun to his head?" he had said in a serious way, making Gray want to revolt against the idea right away. Jellal laughed at Gray's expression before saying,
"I'm joking! Please don't actually think that I'm that vengeful that I would do that..." he said, his tone of voice indicating that he was hurt that Gray had made that assumption. Gray had muttered sorry to his friend before they walked in silence for a few seconds. Then, Jellal resumed speaking by saying,
"What if we tell him that we have all that evidence against him that Juvia and Lyon had taken? He must have found them important if he had risked taking them with him!" Gray high fived his friend, glad that they were not going to become young criminals.

They used the boat that Juvia and Lyon had stolen from Haru, nervous to be meeting the man who had disappeared for three years. They hadn't known what to expect, but they certainly had not imagined Haru just sitting there eating his lunch, as if he had known that they would come. They had both gulped nervously, not knowing who would take the lead. Jellal decided to, as he was his father.
"Why... Why did you do everything that you have done?" he had asked quietly, not knowing whether those words would have come out, but they had. Haru had chuckled at him loudly before he had continued to masticate his food, still seeing Jellal as a little child. Wanting to intervene, Gray said, "Answer, or we will burn every document that you previously own!" This had caught his attention, but for only a short span of time as he had pretty much realised that it had been them who had taken the only things he had left. After all his documents were gone, he had been expecting a visit from a pair of youngsters, but he hadn't expected it to be both Gray and Jellal, who were closely related to Ul.

"Why, you say? C'mon Jellal, I thought you were a bit smarter than that," he chuckled more, seeming to enjoy the pained face of Jellal.
"Was it greed? Lust? Ambition?! Tell me!" Jellal had screamed, losing his composure. He badly needed answers, yet nothing Haru was saying was of any use to him.
"Let me give you some help then... I wasn't part of anything... I was being controlled by Esca, that stupid son of a bitch... She controlled me all this time while I didn't know her identity, but now I do, and I fucking regret ever marrying her..."

Jellal and Gray both stood silent, wondering who the 'she' was. More importantly, Haru had been married to someone before Ul?!
"That woman had tricked me for so long, making me and other people her puppets as she controlled us like a puppet master. I didn't think she would be so obsessed with me to kill both Ul and your mother, Jellal..."
"Stop blaming your crimes on other people!" Jellal had whispered in anger, unsure of himself. He didn't know whether to believe the man who was in front of him, or the person who was inside of him. But one thing he knew for certain was that Haru was not lying. When Haru lied, he had a habit of putting his fingers near his lips, as if he was about to bite them, but never actually doing the deed. Instead, his arms were on the armchair, and he continued talking in an unfamiliar, sad voice.
"She had been the one running the company, making sure to provide money in return for her having full control of rules, as well as my actions. She made me stupidly think that she was my benefactor, but she turned out to be the witch that I divorced, under a different name while using an abnormal voice. I was fooled all that time, and all my efforts to make the company the best in the world was overshadowed by her strictness. I guess she really didn't want to let go of me, but kept me on a tight leash... That woman Sayla..."

Their heads snapped up when they heard the familiar name... That name was of someone they knew very closely... Someone who had pretended to be their friend all that time...

Jellal and Gray rushed back to the University, knowing that she was there while hoping their friends were okay. For some reason, Gray felt a little groggy, as if he was remembering something his past had purposely blocked out. He could remember a figure chasing him and the Scarlet haired girl down before finally facing him and shooting.

That person was Sayla.

\(*^-^*)/

Sayla had placed listening devices inside Haru's cabinet, so when she had heard him talking about her before finally revealing her name, she knew that it was time to act. She thanked her young figure and even younger body for allowing her to fool those children so easily. She smiled kindly at Juvia before grabbing her hair and holding a gun to her head, making sure that no one was behind her.
"Nobody move, or I will shoot her with no hesitation," she had said calmly. When they had seen her holding a gun, they had instantly felt scared, and had even been surprised by the harsh tone in her voice. Hibiki had just glared at her, knowing right from the start that something had been fishy.

"P-p-please let Juvia go.."Juvia had whispered quietly, her bad habit returning from fear.
"Shut up you stupid girl. Don't you dare speak, or I will just shoot you and kill your next friend, and then the next, until all of you are dead." Her harsh voice had made Sayla sound much older, and they could finally see her age. She wasn't the same age as them, but at least twice their age. Juvia whimpered in fear, hoping that Lyon was okay and that he wasn't too scared for her as she kept her eyes closed.
"Why do you fairies always have to get involved, huh? But don't worry, the day I will completely destroy Fairy Tail is almost here. How is your master Makarov doing?" she asked with a smile on her face, but her eyes told a completely different story.
Pure hatred.

"That man had stripped away my business, and now I will ruin Fairy Tail in return. After all, shouldn't we always do some giving and some taking?" she had said creepily, making the whole group feel helpless and powerless as they tried to think of a way to save their friend. Before she could continue her speech, a certain Bluenette rushed in, saying,
"I'm so sorry I'm late! I was briefly talking to my mother in law, and then I had to continue reading the contract! It's honestly so long, but I think I'm very close to finding the void. I even found out that Haru was being threatened by a person named Esca..." before she realised the situation- Sayla was keeping Juvia hostage with a gun. At first, she couldn't believe her eyes, as Sayla had been her reading partner whenever she went to the library, but now there was no time for reminiscing as she rushed to Gajeel's side, not knowing what to do. While trying to hide behind him, she accidentally slipped, causing her to accidentally bump too close to Sayla, making drop the gun.

Bisca, being the great police woman she was, threw the handcuffs she had to the closest person to Sayla (Alzack), while she ran before taking the gun and holding it to Sayla's head. All Sayla could do was raise her hands in the air as she was handcuffed by Alzack.


Ul's house 18:20

Gray and Ultear had sat on the couch watching some boring television, but they just couldn't focus on the film. Especially Ultear, who was reminiscing on something that she had never really thought of until now, as her wedding day was in just one day.

Why did I love Gray?... Maybe it was because of how he had made me feel at home, when no one else could. While they had all been busy fighting, he had protected me from the noise. From loneliness. As the days went by, I couldn't help but stare at the boy who had always made me happy, even if I was in pain from the wounds my father had inflicted. I had thought that whoever would marry him would be a lucky girl. He continued on comforting me, even after I had lost my only friend saying,
"What's wrong Ultear? You've been happy these past few days, yet now you seem to be in an even worse state than before..." The worry in his voice was evident, but I couldn't say anything in reply, or I would have burst into tears. I had been told not to ever cry, and I had promised to keep that vow so that my father wouldn't punish me. Gray saw this, and he hugged me all the time, trying to make sure I felt better before he let go and finally had to go home. And I'd wished that he hadn't let go... But then, after feeling for so long that I had just wanted him as a friend, I had started feeling a bit more jealousy as time went on, as I had seen that Gray was popular with other girls. Wanting to know how he felt about me, I had said casually,
"Gray, how do you feel about me?" He had stared at me for a few seconds before saying,
"A best friend!" very enthusiastically. I had smiled at him, but I still wasn't satisfied, so I said,
"If you could marry me, would you?" and he had replied with no hesitation,
"I would be one of the first to marry you Ultear," making me blush at his statement. Excitedly, I had rushed to my father soon after and begged him to allow me and Gray to be together. At first, he hadn't known what to think about me wanting to marry Gray, saying that it was too early and that I could change my mind. But then, a cloud had passed over his face and he had muttered to himself,
"If I can make his child suffer, then he will also suffer," before eagerly accepting my request. I hadn't known how he had done it, but I had hoped that the deal would be finalised soon. This was at the time that Ul had still been alive, but I had been living with my father after soon moving out. That contract had made me ecstatic, but today I wonder whether it is really and truly what I want...

Ultear woke up from a daze and knew that she had to get answers from the one man who held them- her father. Jellal had strongly advised her not to go to him, as he said that he had only ever been a bad influence to her. But she knew that if he really was bad, then why would he have made the contract for his daughter? Even if he was perceived by others as nothing but bad, Ultear still felt in her heart that he had a chance to redeem himself, and that maybe there was a way to save him. She saw a boat at Magnolia Park and used it, not being very familiar with the controls, so it had taken a while to start it up, and even longer to make it move for longer than a second. When she had arrived, she had stared at the cabinet, wondering how such a man like Haru could live in such conditions. He was used to grandeur, and now she could see how far he had really fallen.

But she knew that she had also been partly at fault, as she had known all those three years where he had hidden himself, but had told no one, and had not allowed herself contact with him. She had regretted not telling Jellal, as he usually guessed right away when she hid things from him. But luckily for her, he had never tried to pry, as he had always been too busy taking care of Gray. When she had seen her father escape, she had known that wherever he was going, he wouldn't have wanted to keep in contact with her, as it would have endangered him. So she had stayed away, but now she could no longer wait, as the secret wasn't so secret anymore.

Ultear had seen her father walking out of the house with four suitcases. Wondering what he was doing, she had followed him silently in her car, while he had sped away at the speed of light. When she had finally managed to recover where he was, she had stolen a boat from two lovers, not caring about them one bit. All she wanted to do was follow her father and ask if he was okay, as he had seemed very hurt, and she had felt sorry when she hadn't been able to block all those hateful comments that came out of the mouth of people that she knew. People she did/ had considered friends, all ganging up against her dad. She knew that he had many faults, but that was the reason why he was human- he was supposed to make mistakes. He was supposed to be imperfect, yet she found him perfect in her eyes. She knew that the only thing that could help him was give him secret encouragement, so when she had seen his stop, she had been surprised to see that there was a cabin near the lake side. It was definitely a new addition, as the wood was gleaming and it looked well polished and clean. She made sure her father had entered before she left, making sure to look at the sleeping figure of her father.

Gulping down to give herself courage, she opened the door, only to cover her nose.

There was a strong stench of something that she had smelled a lot more faintly before, and she could smell it from the room after the door. She had entered to see several pieces of furniture, as well as a body on the floor. She gasped when she saw that it was her one and only father, a stab wound on his chest- so precise that he would suffer torture by bleeding out. It seemed like the person who had inflicted the wound had wanted Haru to have a slow painful death, and Ultear couldn't help but squeal in terror at the sight. But Ultear had always been an efficient woman, so she had began carrying on her back his heavy figure all the way to the boat before placing him there gently. She couldn't hear his breathing, but she had told herself that he was fine as she looked regularly at the rise and fall of his chest.

At first, she had planned to take him to the car, but she would have had to walk quite a bit, and he wasn't exactly a thin man. Moreover, if people saw his face, they would instantly report the police on him, not caring that he was wounded, seeing it as 'justice'. The lake was connected to all the major places in Magnolia, including the hospital. As soon as she had arrived by boat, a team of nurses had seen her and bowed respectfully, before seeing who the other passenger was. Their horrified expressions told her right away that they would probably not help her, but she knew that she felt desperate, so she shouted at them,
"Please! Please save my father!" continuously. As the team of nurses stood still contemplating what to do, when a man pushed them all out of the way.

"Don't you remember the Hippocratic Oath? 'I will respect the privacy of my patients'... and my patient right now is bleeding from a serious injury. Nurses, please hurry up and help me escort this man to the emergency room before it's too late!" he said with a powerful, commanding voice, making the nurses move right away while saying,
"Yes Doctor Rouge!" in unison. Ultear followed them until she wasn't allowed access, praying for her father to survive.


Police Car 15:30

Bisca drove her car while talking to a police officer on the telephone, telling him to expect a woman who had tried to do attempted murder right in front of her eyes. When she had finished her phone call, she had turned around only to see that Sayla wasn't there anymore. She had disappeared! Bisca cursed at herself, telling herself that she had almost been able to restore justice. But instead of panicking about losing a criminal, she then went on to call all police in the vicinity and shout,
"This is code red. I repeat, this is code red. We have a suspicious person on the loose. Her name is Sayla, and she has long black hair, as well as a short kimono, but she may choose to change her clothes. Keep your guards up and try to find her. She is a young looking criminal mastermind who will not be hesitant in killing, so be careful." When she was done, she parked her police car, rubbing her temple with her to fingers to try and think of how Sayla could have escaped. Bisca checked her pockets to see that her handcuff keys were gone. She realised that Sayla had 'accidentally' bumped into her before, making both girls almost topple over on the floor. After that, she had probably removed her handcuffs while Bisca had been busy talking to the police officer.

Bisca just hoped that that wasn't the only time in which they had been close to capturing her...

\(*^-^*)/

When the operation had finished, Ultear had looked at the face of the doctor who they had named Rouge. She tried to see whether his face was positive or negative, but he gave her no vibes. He just said,
"Please enter my office, so we can chat about your father," before walking away, not even waiting for her to respond. When they were inside, she noticed that his room was warm and friendly, with nice pillows on the couches and even a teddy bear on the desk.

"Ultear... Your father has miraculously recovered from the operation," she had said, making her rejoice inside, "but he will probably be in a wheel chair for life. It was lucky that he hadn't died from losing all function in the brain, because now almost half of it is gone, and he won't be able to do simple actions properly anymore... His mind is in a very weak, vulnerable state right now and I know about the scandal three years ago... He will not be able to defend himself, so you will have to be his protector, and dedicate practically all your time to him." Ultear had nodded along, getting every single piece of information she had been given. But one thing that made her the most happy was knowing that her father hadn't died, but he had survived, and he could go to her wedding.

A Blond figure suddenly barged into the room and Ultear realised that it was Sting, a manager at Jellal's company that worked with several of the artists there, as he was very competent. Sting went up to Rouge as he was mid-sentence, and suddenly punched him in the face.
"Why the hell don't you ever spend time with me? I ask you to get off work because I know you overwork yourself, but you stay here like a hermit at least twenty hours a day before acting dead when you do actually get a break! Stop being such an idiot when you always complain that you're smarter than me!" Meanwhile, Rouge had stayed poker faced all that time, turning to Ultear and saying,
"I apologise to his behaviour," totally ignoring Sting. Sting went on talking, and Rouge knew that he would get fed up so he said,
"If you don't need anything Miss Ultear, you can take your leave any time. Please contact me if you ever need anything," he had said kindly before she had quietly closed the door and left. In the distance, she heard angry shouting, finding the two people cute.

When Ultear saw her father, she had hugged him, still not showing any tears. She held him while whispering, "I will protect you no matter what..."


Next day- Ultear and Gray's Wedding Day 8:10 AM

It was finally the day that she had been hoping for, and the day that he had regretted ever since he was younger. They both wore their clothes, him wearing a white suit with black shoes and a white tie, while she wore her beautiful wedding gown, deciding not to put the veil, but wearing a diadem instead that fit her dress. Unlike others, she had chosen a vintage dress with an azure pattern, and the bridesmaids couldn't help but stare at her in wonder.

Gray was already at the aisle, waiting for Ultear. He didn't know how long she would take, but he couldn't help stare at his watch several times, hoping that the time she would go to him would never come. The guests were all loudly talking, excited for the event, not noticing the groom's grim expression. How he wished that he was getting married to Erza instead! He felt his eyes welling up as he remembered that day like it was yesterday.
He wondered if she would have fallen if he hadn't been there.
Whether she would have still been alive today.
Whether she would have been the one walking the aisle.

Jellal stared at Gray with pity, knowing exactly what he was thinking about. But it wasn't just him thinking about it, but everyone who had been involved in the whole ordeal. The tragedy of the event still remained fresh in their minds, and they all didn't know what to do to save Gray from a life of unhappiness.

...

Ultear finally deciding to wear her veil, thinking that it actually did look better on her. She got in the bulletproof limousine in which her dad was already sitting in, as she knew that he could be attacked again viciously like the last time. She closed her eyes, trying to imagine herself being there at her wedding, walking down to finally meet her future husband, who would love her and only her. But Gray's face seemed blurry in her dream, and she tried to remember it again before she opened her eyes after hearing the sound of the wedding bells. Ultear could see the church, and she giggled excitedly in anticipation.

When they had finally arrived, she had pushed the door open, not wanting to waste any more time. Her future was about to be written, and she wasn't about to miss it for the world. Just as she saw all her guests looking at her in the church, she also saw the man that she would marrying. Following the music, she coordinated her steps perfectly, making everyone swoon at her gracefulness. She looked at Gray's face, but her face became crestfallen when she noticed that he wasn't smiling.

She couldn't see the look of a man marrying the love of his life, but marrying a person he didn't want to marry. She stood next to him, facing the priest, both of them now having frowns on their faces. Ultear didn't know whether she could go through the wedding...

\(*^-^*)/

YES!Yes!Yes!Yes!Yes! Levi thought with glee. After reading several hundred pages, she had finally been able to find the void in the contract. Now it was only a matter of actually getting to the wedding. She checked her watch, only to see that the wedding had already started.
And she knew right away that she would have to battle with time to stop that wedding.

The big finale is coming up! :D I hope you like it, and many mysteries will be solved for you ;p Stay amazing my adorable royal chibis, and be grateful for your parents/guardians who would always do anything for you, even if you may sometimes shout at them :) [I woke up an hour late and I missed all the buses, so my dad had to drive me to school, even though he had worked for 12 hours... x3] Kansamida appa :D HUGS! \(*^-^*)/

~Roxanne