A/N - I'm a bit more active on Ao3, and I've kind of been forgetting to update this fic on here! I am posting three chapters right now to catch up :)

Natsu stared down at his wrist as the sense link tattoo disappeared. The last thing he'd felt, Gray had been furious, so mad Natsu could barely think with the crush of his emotions. But now, Natsu could feel that his emotions were all his own.

Gray was turning towards Natsu now, and he mostly just looked sad. Natsu had a second to notice Gray's tattoo hadn't disappeared, and he realized Tony must be wearing a matching one.

"I'm sorry, Natsu," Gray whispered.

Natsu's own emotions felt almost repressed after the week of being overwhelmed by Gray's. Now, a combination of that and the agonizing pain in his leg was making everything feel distant.

But something about Gray's tone of voice and the dead-eyed expression on his face still made a chill of fear run through Natsu.

"Gray? What…what are you talking about?"

But Gray didn't respond to Natsu. "Ice make: sword," he whispered, so quickly the three distinct words seemed to blur together into one.

So he was going to kill Tony. But that…that would be impossible. That wouldn't work. Because they were still linked, and if Gray landed a blow on Tony he would also be hurting himself….

But Gray didn't even bother attacking Tony.

Instead, he took the sword in his hand, turned it backwards, and stabbed it into his own stomach.

For a second, the whole world froze. Natsu heard a high buzzing in his ears, which slowly resolved into screaming. And then he realized he was the one screaming. A very small part of him realized he was tugging at the restraints, and there was pain shooting up and down his arms. But that felt distant and not very real.

Gray began to crumple forwards, as if in slow motion. His knees hit the ground, and then his palms. It had been maybe two seconds since Gray had stabbed himself. There was still no blood. It felt like a nightmare.

Vaguely, Natsu heard Tony scream. A heartbeat later, he heard the heavy thud of a body hitting the floor. But Natsu couldn't tear his eyes away from Gray.

Gray made a tiny coughing sound. Blood flecked the floor between his palms, and a little dripped from his chin.

Natsu watched as his arms gave way. He fell forward. The sword was dislodged, and just like that, the bleeding started.

Gray fell facedown, head tilted slightly away from Natsu. Blood began to spread inevitably out around his body.

"No!" Natsu screamed. He realized that his voice had already started to go hoarse, but he couldn't have stopped if he'd wanted to. "Gray, no!"
Gray didn't react. Natsu could feel his breathing speed up out of control, and the feeling of something hot and wet dripping down his arms was the only way he knew he was ripping his wrists raw against the handcuffs.

He didn't stop. Was this really Gray's plan? To kill himself, and take Tony with him? That…he couldn't. He knew better than to do that to Natsu, didn't he?

There was a grunting sound, a little away from Gray, and almost against his will Natsu found his eyes drawn towards it. Tony was pushing himself up from the ground, face white with the pain Gray was feeling. Laboriously, his fingers moved towards the sense link tattoo on his wrist, and Natsu's rapid breathing stopped cold. Gray was dying, and Tony didn't want to go down with him.

"Stop it, no, no, no!" Natsu heard himself screaming from what seemed like a long way away, and he was yanking harder on the handcuffs now. Tony didn't seem to hear him, and neither did Gray. Tony's fingers made contact with his tattoo, and Natsu heard him sigh with relief as it dissolved. He sat up a little straighter, his face regaining its color as he severed himself from the agony Gray was in.

Natsu was crying now. The ugly, horrible kind of crying that he couldn't control at all, the kind that made his nose drip and his eyes swell up and his face get red and itchy, hard enough that he couldn't even scream anymore.

Still, even without the screaming, he was loud enough that he almost missed Gray's laugh.

For a second, he thought he'd imagined it. But he'd know Gray's voice anywhere, especially his short, breathless chuckle when he was about to win a nasty fight in an even nastier way.

Natsu's eyes snapped back to Gray, just as the ice wizard raised his head off the concrete floor. His bangs were dripping with his own blood, and Gray shook them slightly out of his eyes as he pushed himself further off the ground with one trembling arm.

"W-wha-"

Gray didn't even give Tony a chance to finish his sentence. His other blood-streaked hand slammed flat onto the concrete, mist curling off his fingers as a sheet of ice spikes erupted across the basement floor. The ice moved too fast for Natsu's eyes to follow, and as he blinked, fog swirled around both Gray and Tony.

There was a scream, followed by the sound of a body hitting the ground.

Natsu screamed back, a wordless howl of agony. He could feel the tears streaking down his cheeks, pooling together and dropping off his chin. His wrists were on fire, but he wasn't going to stop yanking against the handcuffs until something snapped. He didn't much care whether it was his hands or the metal.

And then, the fog cleared to reveal Gray on his hands and knees, bloody hair hanging across his face. He was trembling and swaying, and blood was steadily flowing from the wound in his stomach, but he was still upright and kneeling in front of a long swathe of icicles. At the other end, Tony was collapsed on the ground in his own pool of blood, a few long and nasty shards of ice sticking out of his chest. He wasn't moving, and it was clear he never would again.

Shakily, Gray raised his right hand to his stomach, wrapping his fingers around the wound. He made a small groaning sound, and ice began to spread from his fingers, wrapping around his whole side to hit both the entry and exit wounds from the sword.

The ice turned red before it froze, Gray's blood flowing too fast for it to completely stop. But once he was done, all the blood seemed to be trapped inside the ice instead of still spilling onto the ground. And that…that had to be an improvement.

Gray was still looking horribly pale, and he was visibly trembling. But at least he hadn't intended to die.

As soon as the cast of ice was around his stomach, Gray's elbow gave out and he collapsed forward again. He wasn't facing Natsu. Natsu couldn't tell if he was conscious or not.

"Gray!" Natsu screamed. He tugged harder at the cuffs. He was strong - he was a dragon slayer. Gray was barely ten feet away, and Gray needed Natsu. If Natsu pulled hard enough, shouldn't he be able to break the cuffs? "Gray, listen to me! Get up, okay?"

Natsu noticed an unexpected wetness on his palm, and then a second later, pain in his wrist. It took him a few heartbeats to understand what had happened. Then, he realized that he had torn open his wrists in an effort to get to Gray. The wetness was his blood. But he couldn't think about that right now.

"Gray-"

"Hang on," Gray finally whispered. He planted a shaky, bloody hand on the ground, and managed to get himself to his knees again. "I'm…I'm coming…."

"Gray, that's a lotta blood…."

"I'll be alright." Gray's voice was weak. He sounded like he was halfway down already. "I didn't hit any organs. I don't think. I was just tryin' to…to trick him. Needed to get him to…unlink us somehow…."

He made a strangled sort of gasping sound, and Natsu wasn't sure if it spoke more of pain or exhaustion. Natsu was honestly shocked he was still conscious. Natsu had no idea how much longer that would last.

Gray crawled laboriously over to Natsu.

"I can't do magic," Natsu explained. "The…the cuffs. I don't know how to get out…."

"I-" Gray seemed to lose the energy he needed to explain his plan. His eyelids were starting to droop. But he managed to reach an unsteady hand out and touch one of Natsu's cuffs. Ice flowed over the metal, making Natsu's wrists ache and throb.

But a second later, the metal got cold enough to shatter. Gray nodded with a weak sort of satisfaction, and then repeated the process on Natsu's other side.

"Gray-"

Natsu was pretty sure there had been more he was planning on saying, but then Gray's lips were pressed against his. They were cold, even colder than usual, and that was terrifying, but Natsu didn't care. Gray's hands were on his face, sticky with blood, but he was really here, and for now, he was okay.

Natsu opened his lips and kissed Gray back, for a moment forgetting the dull, constant pain in his leg. His heartbeat and breathing settled, and even though he could taste Gray's blood on his tongue, everything seemed to disappear around him.

They needed to get up. Natsu knew that. They needed to get out of here, and Gray needed a doctor. Hell, Natsu needed one too. But for now, what Natsu really needed was to feel Gray's lips against his, and internalize that he hadn't lost him.

Natsu could move his hands for the first time in the better part of a week, and even though his arms were stiff and aching, his hands moved to Gray's head and back. His fingers knotted into Gray's hair, and Gray sighed softly as he disengaged from the kiss. His forehead dropped onto Natsu's shoulder, and suddenly, Natsu was left pretty much holding his boyfriend upright.

"Gray," Natsu whispered. He couldn't talk much louder than that, not after tearing his throat apart screaming for him earlier. Gently, he stroked the back of Gray's head a little, willing him to revive. "Gray?"

There was a small coughing sound, and Natsu felt a few drops of warmish liquid splatter onto his shoulder.

"Uhhh…."

"Sorry," Gray whispered, finally pulling his head off of Natsu's shoulder. His lips were red, and he wiped a shaky hand across them, managing nothing more than smearing red across his chin. "Just…just a little blood." He blinked vaguely at Natsu, looking like he was about to pass out right then and there.

"We're gonna be okay," Natsu told him, trying not to sound panicked while he ran a hand across Gray's shoulder blades. They would be okay, probably, but things had just gotten a little more complicated.

Natsu didn't even feel the need to ask Gray if he could stand - it was very, very clear that he could not. He was barely upright as is, slumped against Natsu and sounding like every breath was a struggle. Usually, that would be no problem. Natsu could carry Gray in a pinch, and he'd done it plenty of times. But usually, Natsu didn't have a broken leg.

"We gotta get out of here." Natsu would just have to figure it out on the fly. They certainly weren't doing any good just sitting here, letting Gray get weaker by the second. "We need to go to the hospital. You ready?"

"No," Gray whispered.

Natsu felt a desperate sort of panic well up in his chest. Natsu felt almost high with the feeling of the adrenaline coursing through his veins, but he knew adrenaline would only take him so far. His leg was broken, and it still hurt so bad he was almost sick from the pain of it.

Maybe, if he was lucky, he would be able to get to his feet. Maybe, if he tried hard enough, he would be able to help Gray stand too. And maybe, if he used all the strength he had, he would be able to support some of Gray's weight. But he didn't think he would be able to actually carry Gray. Even if Gray's life depended on it, which it was starting to feel like it very well might, Natsu just didn't think he had that in him.

"Gray-" Natsu whimpered.

But Gray was already speaking again. His voice was ever so slightly slurred. It was also very quiet. But he was speaking rapidly, almost feverishly, as he fought for Natsu to understand. Natsu pulled him a little closer, so Gray's lips were nearly brushing his ear.

"I met Rinel," he whispered. "He was…he was worse than Tony. Tony…I know he broke your leg, but he seemed…at least he was civil. He followed the rules he set out. But I don't know if Rinel would. I don't think he would. He scared me, Natsu. I…I killed Tony. And now I have to stop Rinel. I don't know what he's going to do. I don't know what he's planning. This whole thing is my fault. I have to fix it."

"Gray-"

"I have to, Natsu."

"But-"

"It was for you. But I'm the one who let them go free."

"Gray-"

"I have to do something. Wait here."

"What?"

Gray was already squirming in Natsu's arms, trying to get enough purchase on the basement wall to leverage himself to a standing position. His arms were shaking, and they clearly didn't want to take his weight. Even the slightest movement was making him go even paler than he'd been before.

"Gray, stop! What are you doing?"

"You can't walk," Gray whispered, continuing to shift weakly. "And I need to…I need to get him…."

"No. I'm not just going to wait here for you to come back. We'll take him together."

Natsu knew that this probably wasn't the smartest choice. He should be marching out of the house, dragging Gray with him if he had to. He needed to get Gray to a hospital as soon as possible.

But he also knew Gray. And right now, the intensity in Gray's whispered voice was telling him that Natsu really, really needed to listen. Until Rinel was dead, Gray wasn't going to be able to forgive himself. Natsu didn't usually struggle with guilt, he just did his best and figured most things would come out in the wash. But Gray wasn't like that. He took things hard, even things that Natsu didn't think were really his fault, and it would eat away at him if he got himself in too deep.

This was one of those times. Natsu hated the idea of the ice wizard being in pain a single second longer than he had to be, but Gray did better with physical pain than emotional.

Gray stilled against him, just for a moment. Natsu could feel his breath tickling his ear. "But…."

"Nope," Natsu said firmly. "I'm comin' with you. That's final. You can't even stand up on your own. You're gonna need my help."

There was a brief silence, and then Natsu felt Gray's head move against his shoulder in a nod. "Okay," he whispered.

He hadn't taken that much convincing. That was good, in this case, but unusual. Gray was just about as stubborn as Natsu, sometimes more so. If he was giving in this easily, then he must really be hurting.

They'd just have to do this fast. Natsu took a deep breath, then tapped Gray on the shoulder. "Okay. We're gonna get up now."

"Yeah," Gray said, a little bit more audibly, and managed to drag his head upright. His eyes were still only half-open, but they focused on Natsu's, and he nodded. "I'm ready."

Carefully, Natsu shifted his aching hands off Gray's shoulders and planted them on the concrete floor. Dizzily, Gray sat up as much as he could, but Natsu could tell that he was still partially supporting Gray's weight. He scooted backwards, gritting his teeth against the pain in his leg, until his back hit the wall behind him.

"Ready? Uhh, I'll count to three-"

"Now," Gray hissed, the blood draining from his face as he began trying to push himself to his feet.

Natsu had a sudden flash of panic - Gray was so weak he thought there was a good chance he wouldn't make it all the way to his feet on his own, and would fall back to the ground before Natsu could stop him. Which would have been bad anyways, but would have been especially bad with Gray practically bleeding out of the hole in his stomach.

With a horrible wrench, Natsu pushed himself off the wall and made it upright. He wasn't putting any pressure at all on his bad leg right now, just carefully balancing on his uninjured leg. He kept his hands planted hard on the wall, fingers almost digging into the brick for purchase.

Even his good leg was achy and crampy - until he actually managed to get to his feet, he hadn't fully realized how much of a problem the fact that he hadn't stood or moved in days was going to be. His whole body was stiff and sore, his leg unused to bending and flexing. He also hadn't eaten a good meal or gotten a good night's sleep since before he'd been taken by Tony, and he'd underestimated how much of a toll that would take on him. He was weak, and he knew it. For a dangerous few seconds, he was sure his good leg was going to send him spilling.

But he managed to stay on his feet. He had to breathe carefully through a rush of black spots, and he was pretty sure his fingertips were bleeding, but he was still upright.

Natsu didn't let himself overthink what he was doing - he just reached a hand down to Gray to help him up.

"Natsu-" Gray whispered. Natsu could hear that he was gritting his teeth.

Natsu wasn't sure he had the strength to both stay upright and answer Gray, so he didn't say anything. Eventually, Gray seemed to get the hint, and he forced himself to his knees and put a hand in Natsu's.

The next few moments were not very graceful. Natsu yelped when he accidentally brushed his bad leg against the wall. Gray's hand was bloody, and it nearly slipped out of Natsu's grip as soon as Natsu started pulling. But through some combination of the wall, each other, and sheer determination, both Natsu and Gray managed to end up on their feet. Gray was trembling violently, slumped against both Natsu and the wall as if he couldn't stand without both of them, and pale as snow, but he was vertical.

"You…you okay?" Natsu managed.

"I…." Gray broke off, taking a second to just breathe. "Yeah. Think so."

"Good. We…we should get movin'."

"Wait," Gray breathed. "Your leg."

"Uhh, yeah. It's broken?"

Gray just shook his head, looking exhausted. "I…know. Put it straight."

Natsu frowned at him. He could straighten his leg out in front of him without putting weight on it, but that would require moving it, and even though he knew he had to do that at some point he was not looking forward to it. Still, if Gray was asking him to do this, it was probably important.

Natsu clenched his jaw and dug his fingers back into the crumbling brick, forcing his leg out in front of him. He couldn't contain the embarrassing whimper that came with it, but at least this was just in front of Gray, rather than Tony.

Gray didn't even seem to notice. He was still slumped over, breathing raggedly and loud enough that Natsu practically could have shouted without being heard.

"H-hold it there,' Gray whispered, extending one shaking hand. The temperature of the air around his fingers plummeted, and Natsu forced himself to stay still, instead of jerking backwards away from the cold.

Gray didn't even need to lean over to reach Natsu's leg. He was barely upright as it was, folded almost in half against Natsu. All he had to do was reach down, and Natsu felt a thick, freezing sheet of ice encase most of his leg. He hissed at the sudden feeling of cold, and the pressure that it put on his injury, but after a few seconds, his leg actually did start to feel better.

"Thanks," Natsu said, pulling Gray back upright. The ice wizard's eyes looked a little glazed over, but he blinked a few times, and they cleared.

"Easier to walk?" Gray asked, and made a clear effort to take some of his own weight. It didn't work very well. He was still leaning on Natsu's shoulder, and the hole in his stomach seemed to be hurting him too badly to even attempt standing up straight. Still, it helped a little.

"Let's find out," Natsu said, gathering every ounce of strength he had and pushing himself off the wall.

It still hurt. Natsu had to bite back a yell at first, but he gritted his teeth and swallowed it back. The ice splint on his leg was already starting to drip from its proximity to his perpetually warmer-than-usual body temperature, and it probably wouldn't last for long. He needed to get them as far as he could before it melted.

Gray let out a slow, shuddering breath. Natsu watched as he pushed himself off the wall as well.

Immediately, he started wobbling. Natsu was pretty sure he didn't have the strength to help Gray to his feet again, so he lurched forward and managed to hook an arm around Gray's waist, steadying him.

"Sorry," Gray breathed.

"We…we gotta help each other," Natsu said.

"Y-yeah."

Natsu wasn't sure when Gray's teeth had started chattering, but it didn't seem like a very good sign. He was likely going into shock. Natsu had been injured enough to go into shock a couple of times, so he was more or less familiar with the basics. He figured Gray had maybe an hour before a hospital really, really became a necessity.

Honestly, Natsu wasn't even sure that he had that long until the adrenaline flooding his system vanished, and he crashed. But that…that just meant they had to move fast.

Step-by-step, Natsu started dragging Gray forward.