Marlow looked… weathered.
His long black hair had been shaved, and there were prominent shadows under his eyes and in the hollows of his cheeks. Along with his slurred speech, his movements were also sluggish and clumsy. As Gray watched, the mercenary staggered slightly where he stood, but quickly recovered, bracing himself with a large hand on one of the cell bars. The very sight of the man made his own gut coil tightly in anger.
"We didn't 'come' for you," Gray snapped.
"Keep telling yourself that, pretty boy," Marlow leered. Drugged or no, even Gray had to admit he was still quite intimidating. His glassy eyes glared at Gray.
"We just came to ask some questions," Lucy interjected. "It would be in your best interest to cooperate with us."
Lucy's words were brave, but Gray could see her hands trembling.
"Is that so?" Marlow drawled as he stepped away from the bars, "Because from where I'm standing, I don't have to do a damn thing."
Gray's hand reflexively tightened into a fist. "Then you can stay here and rot for all we care! Come on, Lucy, this is a waste of time."
Spinning on his heel, Gray stomped away down the corridor. He barely got two steps before Marlow's voice echoed out to him.
"He's getting worse, isn't he?"
Gray froze in his tracks. For a few moments that seemed to stretch into forever, nobody said anything. The cell block had grown strangely quiet, the other prisoners settled back into their own cells. Only the dull roar of the air moving through the atmosphere remained, thrumming to the beat of Gray's heart.
"Yes, he is." Lucy finally broke the lull. Gray turned to see that she had taken a single step closer to the bars despite Officer Rosencrantz's warning. "We need to find Zeref's library. You told us back on the Christina that the only way to do that was to find your companion. Is that true?"
"I would say so, since she's the only one who really knows how to get to the library." Marlow responded with a grunt. "That is, assuming she still has the map."
"But even without a map, you'd have to have a general idea of where it is, right?" Lucy prodded.
"You don't understand, this place isn't just somewhere you go." The mercenary rubbed a hand over his buzzed hair. "Getting there is difficult enough, but once you get close, everything changes."
Turning around and tromped towards the cell, Gray peered up at Marlow through the twilight. "And what the hell does that mean?"
But Marlow simply shook his head and turned to lumber back toward the same wall he had been hunched against before. Sitting down with a groan and a heavy thud, the man rested his head back calmly against the wall and grinned.
"I'm not gonna make it that easy, tough guy. You know how this has got to go."
Gray was moments away from unleashing his magic and showing Marlow just exactly how easy it would be to make him talk - until a soft hand laid itself upon his shoulder, warm and gentle. Turning his head, Juvia looked up at him, her eyes calm. Her face was expressionless, but Gray knew her well enough to see that she was nervous, and doing her best to hide it. She had wanted to come along, though, and he had to trust her.
Gray watched silently as Juvia stepped past him towards the cell, only stopping when she was just before the bars. Officer Rosencrantz's grip on his weapon tightened, but he remained in place and remained silent.
"Do you remember me?" Juvia's voice was soft but clear.
Marlow looked up at her from his spot on the ground through the haze of his magic-induced stupor. Marlow had a good poker face, but Gray could still see the exact moment a single spark of recognition flickered in his eyes.
"I never forget the faces of my enemies," he grumbled. Suddenly, the mercenary couldn't meet Juvia's gaze.
"And I never forget the faces of people who hurt my friends."
Juvia took a single step closer, raising her hands to delicately grasp the bars.
"There was a time when I would have never forgiven such acts." In the dimness of the cell block, Juvia's voice echoed eerily off of the stone walls. "I would have hunted you to the ends of the earth. There would be nowhere you could hide or flee to that I couldn't find you until I'd had my retribution."
Juvia's hands suddenly tightened on the bars.
"Juvia should take your life for what you did to my friends… and to me."
The atmosphere was stifling. Gray watched in growing panic as every muscle in Juvia's body tightened, like she was preparing to attack. The dry air of the cell block suddenly became thick and wet with mist, prickling his skin with cold. Marlow shrank further into himself, his eyes defiant but uncertain. The moving air of Helheim swirled through the moisture as it became denser. Officer Rosencrantz whipped his head around in alarm, and finally drew his weapon, pointing the bell of the spear in Juvia's direction. Lucy's hand slowly raised to her key pouch. But Gray knew in that moment that there was nothing that he or anybody could do if she became reckless.
"But," Juvia said as she released the bars. "That time is passed, and I am no longer that person."
The mist dispersed into nothing within seconds. Gray released a breath he didn't realize he was holding.
"I have people who are dear to me, now. And they have taught me to believe in second chances." Juvia tilted her head at Marlow. "Even when they are less than deserved."
Marlow uncurled, and for the first time, he looked unnerved and shaken. Juvia was fully capable of taking his life, that much was clear - and there wasn't a damn thing he could do to stop her. She had given him a taste of what she had endured at his own hands. That he had taken her by surprise before was a complete fluke.
"Your friend, the girl," Juvia continued, voice softer. "She's not well, is she?"
Marlow snapped his head up to look at Juvia. His mouth opened and closed, unsure of what to say. "I heard you two talking, while I was lying on the ground in pain. Nobody talks to their friends that way unless something is very wrong."
"I… She's…"
"Of all people, we know better than anyone what those books can do to people. We can help her. But first we need to find her, and we can't do that without you."
Marlow's brow hardened, leveling a malicious glare at Juvia. "You don't want to help her. You want to help your friend. You could care less about what happens to Konza."
Juvia frowned sadly at the mercenary. "Yes, we do want to help our friend. He's very important to us, and we don't want to lose him. But Konza is in just as much danger. And we can help her. We want to help her, too. That's just who we are."
"So you can throw her in a cage like this?" Marlow growled, sitting up straighter. "Konza wouldn't survive in a place like this. She wouldn't-"
"But she would have you, wouldn't she?" Juvia continued. "You can keep her safe. Out there, she's all alone, with nothing but those books to rely on. Believe me when I tell you, Zeref's books will do her nothing but harm. If we find her, we can find Zeref's library and destroy it… and free her."
"How do you know?" Marlow grumbled. "How can this place be any worse than where she is now."
"Because…" Juvia unbuttoned her coat and lifted the hem of her shirt, revealing the angry, massive scar along her abdomen. "I know."
The sight of the scar was too much for Gray. Closing his eyes, he turned away and tried not to let his breathing get out of control. The memories of that day during the war flooded his mind against his will - the chained collar around his neck, an overwhelming drive to destroy the woman in front of him, unbearable pain in his stomach… the splash of blood that wasn't his own. Tears stung his eyes. It was something he and Juvia refused to talk about, simply because they were incapable of doing so. Gray would give anything to never see Juvia like that again.
Unaware to him, the mercenary was watching him closely, shocked at his reaction. To see the tough guy that gave him so much attitude breakdown like this was harrowing. Juvia smoothed her shirt and rebuttoned her coat, eyes lost in dark memories. Even Lucy had looked away. After all, it was directly after that fight that Gray and Natsu got into the deadliest battle of their lives.
"You care about her, that's easy to see." Juvia spoke up, smiling at him. Gray turned back to her, wiping the tears from his cheeks. "And I believe that before all this started, she cared about you, too."
Marlow gulped. "We… we kept each other safe. When we founded Ruby Manticore, we had no ambitions. Just a home for wayward souls, away from society's stifling laws. A place for friends to feel safe. We may have been a dark guild, but we were still family."
"Not much different from a regulation guild." Lucy nodded.
"We didn't mean to find the library. We stumbled upon it by chance. She picked up that first book and something… changed. She became obsessed with Zeref, and learning everything she could from him. At all costs. Even if it meant sacrificing our guild mates."
"It'll cost her much more than that if we don't act quickly." Juvia knelt down before his cell, looking Marlow in the eye. "You can have her back, the way she was before. But you need to tell us everything you know about the library and where it is."
Marlow was quiet. Gray could see the struggle behind his eyes, and he couldn't blame him. Had he been in a similar position - weighing Juvia's life behind bars against her life as Zeref's slave - it was not an easy decision to make. But he knew without a doubt what he would choose. Marlow opened his mouth, words ready on his tongue. They didn't come, and he shut it once more.
"Your ten minutes is up." Officer Rosencrantz stated. "You have to leave now."
Nobody moved. Juvia and Marlow continued to stare at each other for a small eternity. Finally, she stood up and turned away, walking back down the cell block the way they had come. Sharing a glance with Lucy, she and Gray followed after her. Officer Rosencrantz sheathed his weapon and took up the rear. As they walked down the corridor, Gray's hands tightened into fists. Despite all their efforts and Juvia's amazing performance, they hadn't gotten what they came for. They were still at square one. Lucy seemed the most disheartened out of all of them. Gray wanted to reassure her that they would find another way, but it was an empty promise. A silent tear trailed down Lucy's cheek, breaking Gray's heart.
"Wait."
Everyone stopped as the voice trailed after them through the dark tunnel. Gray didn't want to turn around, didn't want to give himself false-hope. Juvia, undeterred, took the chance. With a quick about face, she rushed past Gray and Lucy, past Officer Rosencrantz, and back down the cell block. Gray's feet instinctively followed her, Lucy falling into step beside him. Rosencrantz protested, but it fell on deaf ears. Returning to Marlow's cell, the mercenary was standing at the cell bars. They stood before him, waiting to speak. Marlow's eyes darted between all of them. After a beat, he took a deep breath through his nose and nodded.
"I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything I know."
Stepping out into the sunlight, the three Fairy Tail mages stopped at the entrance of Helheim. Officer Rosencrantz stepped before them.
"I'll be needing your medallions back, please."
One by one, they all removed their necklaces and returned them to the soldier. After collecting them, Rosencrantz looked down at them plaintively. A few seconds passed in silence before he lifted his visored gaze up to Lucy.
"I hope you got what you came for. I really do. I wish the best of luck to you all."
With that, he turned away and returned to his post. Gray took a deep breath, reveling in the feeling of fresh air in his lungs and warmth on his skin. It really made him appreciate how good life was outside of Helheim. Looking over, Juvia's gaze was dropped to the ground, no doubt contemplating what had just occurred. Stepping up beside her, Gray looped and arm around her waist.
"You did phenomenal back there."
Juvia looked up at him, her deep blue eyes troubled, and tried her best to smile.
"He and I are very similar," she said. "We'll both do anything for the people we care about. Had life gone a different direction for me… had I never met you, it could've been me in that cell."
Lucy took a shuddering breath. "I feel the same. But the one constant beneath it all is the bonds we make."
Gray nodded in agreement. He didn't exactly have a squeaky clean past either. Had Gildarts not found him when he had, there was no telling where he would have ended up. The thought was troubling, and Gray pulled Juvia in a little tighter.
"You referred to yourself in the third-person," he mumbled. "You haven't done that in years."
Juvia started. "I did? I'm sorry."
"No, no don't be sorry. It was good to see that there's still a little bit of the old Juvia still in there."
Juvia blushed, whether from embarrassment or flattery, Gray couldn't tell. Either way, it was adorable.
"And I don't think we could have gotten the job done without her." Lucy smiled at the both of them, her eyes sparking with determination. "We have somewhere to start. A location and a means. That's a lot more than what I hoped for to be honest."
"There's still one problem, though," Gray pondered as they started walking - away from Helheim and the ghostly moans. "I've never even heard of this place. How are we supposed to find it?"
"Maybe Levy and Natsu might know something. They've been researching all day." Lucy looked down to her wedding ring. "And even if they haven't, we won't stop looking."
Natsu stood abruptly from his seat, slamming his book down on the table.
"Calibran."
Levy, startled by his sudden movement, jumped back in her seat. "What?"
Natsu didn't look up, his eyes fixed on the words of the page in front of him. There was no explaining the feeling he was experiencing. One moment, his eyes had been lazily scanning over the words in the book. As the name of this Kingdom passed before his eyes, his mind suddenly flashed to the memory of the lush green valley and his family. It was so sudden and unexpected, Natsu thought he was having an episode.
"It's not an episode, brother."
Carefully, Natsu shifted his gaze over, where Zeref stood just beside him. His brother's spectre was uncomfortably close, his chin hangin over Natsu's shoulder.
"It's familiar to you, like an afterimage from the sun that just won't go away." Zeref spoke slowly. "You weren't there for very long, but there's no doubt about what this means."
"Natsu? What is it? What'd you find?"
Glancing back over at Levy, Natsu swallowed past the dryness in his throat. Happy watched from his own seat at the head of the table.
"Calibran. I think that's where Zeref's Library is." A quick look over his shoulder, and Zeref was gone.
Levy rose from her seat and walked around to Natsu's side to pick up the book. After a few seconds of reading, Levy looked up to him with an eyebrow cocked.
"Are you sure about this? According to this book, Calibran hasn't existed for over 400 years, well before Fiore was established."
"I know it seems crazy, but…" Natsu shook his head. "I can't quite explain it. It's a gut feeling. But I'm positive about this."
"Natsu, we're gonna need more than a 'gut feeling' here," Levy said gently. "Talk to me, tell me what you're thinking."
Natsu looked to Happy, who nodded encouragingly. Gazing at the words on the page once more, Natsu took a deep breath.
"I think I was born there," he stated. "Zeref and I are from Calibran."
A/N: This chapter is much shorter than usual, and I'm sorry for that. But serves its purpose as we launch into the next leg of the journey. The name Calibran is not canon, but is something I've had in mind since I started this fic. It feels good to be writing this again!
As always, read, review, and enjoy!
