3. Ice-Make: Mistake

"Once he froze it, he was unable to melt it."

Only a few things made Erza's impossible list, and for obvious reasons, this one did.

Just by looking at Levy's face, she knew it was unlikely she was lying. If it were Natsu, then maybe, but it was Levy. Levy didn't joke around just for the heck of it.

But nonetheless, she could never be too sure.

"Are you sure it was snowing?" Erza asked her. "Maybe you saw wrong."

"It was snowing. I'm positive." Levy insisted. "Just ask Jet and Droy. They were there too."

Jet and Droy both nodded, consequently adding two more witnesses to Levy's claim. How could she disbelieve it now?

"Maybe it was a fluke in the weather?" Natsu suggested.

"No." Levy said in a confident tone. "This was by no means natural. I could sense the magic energy."

So someone made it snow on purpose? Erza thought as countless questions and possible solutions filled her mind all at once. Her failure on their last job only motivated her more to figure out the meaning behind this strange occurence, though she had taken Gray's words to heart the day before. She knew this wouldn't change past mistakes, but there couldn't be any harm in trying to compensate for them, right?

"So someone did this intentionally," Lucy asked. "but who would do that and why?"

Natsu shrugged. "Beats me. Creating a random snowstorm seems rather pointless."

"Maybe it does on the surface." Erza said. Or maybe I'm just delving too deep into this.

"Maybe someone was just fed up with the heat."

Levy shook her head at Happy's suggestion. "I doubt that. Bringing snow to a whole city is just a bit too dramatic."

Erza tried to tune out the farfetched theories her teammates were offering as she tried to come up with more logical suggestions in her head. What could a snowstorm in the middle of summer accomplish? Who would create a snowstorm in the middle of summer?

"There is one thing we know for sure." Lucy said, catching Erza's attention.

"And what's that?"

"Whoever did this used Snow Magic." Lucy explained. "So maybe someone who uses Snow Magic will have some answers for us, even if they're not necessarily the culprit."

What she had said made sense, but who did they know of that used Snow Magic?

"Doesn't that guy from Blue Pegasus use Snow Magic?" Natsu asked.

"Yeah, Eve is a snow mage." Lucy replied. "Why don't we go ask him?"

"You need to talk to someone who uses Snow Magic?"

They were so engrossed in their conversation, they hadn't realized that someone had just entered the guildhall.

"Lyon," Erza inquired towards the newcomer. "what are you doing here?"

The midsummer sun glared down on the city of Magnolia with a fierce gaze, but for once, Gray didn't bother glaring back. In fact, he could barely even feel it.

If anything, he was beginning to feel cold as he roamed through the crowded streets of Magnolia with no destination in mind. He didn't have time to think about where he was going, he had to figure out what was wrong with his magic.

There was only one thing he was certain of; it had all started after he got back from their last job, the job that they had apparently failed. Everything was fine before that, so what had went wrong?

The only thing that really happened in between was his conversation with Erza, but that couldn't have changed anything. How could his magical outbursts be related to their inability to complete one single job? That was ridiculous. It had to be something else.

So far, only three things had happened. He spontaneously created a bunch of ice cubes, he unconsciously froze a bench, and he miraculously froze one of Natsu's fireballs with little to no magic power. Had anything like this ever happened before? Nothing came to mind, so this had to be a first.

Wait a minute, something did come to mind. Something similar had happened, but that was a long time ago. His magic had acted like this before, but that was when his master was still alive, before he got her killed.

He knew he didn't actually kill her, but her death was the result of his impulsive actions. He would never deny that.

He could remember it clearly now. His magic, as well as Lyon's, and to some degree even Ur's, had been a bit out of control for a few weeks. When they asked her about it, she just told them that it would pass, but looking back on it, it was more like she was trying to hide something from them.

If she were here now, would she tell him the same thing? If he hadn't acted so stupid, she might have. Or maybe she would tell him what was really going on, that is, if there was something going on.

Gray sighed. Why was he thinking like that? Hadn't he just told Erza that he was done regretting his past mistakes? If so, then why was he acting like such a hypocrite? Maybe what he told her was wrong. He wasn't past that stage, and he was still thinking about all the possible alternative situations.

But he did mean what he said. His past was over and done with, wasn't it?

"Excuse me, sir."

Gray snapped out of his thoughts as he was brought back to reality. When he looked up, a man was standing in front of him with a slightly worried expression on his face.

"Uh, can I help you?"

The man shifted his weight uncomfortably as he tried to avoid eye contact with him. "Actually, yes. In case you haven't noticed, you've been freezing everything you've walked passed. Would you mind not doing that, please?"

Gray turned around and to his shock, the whole street he'd just walked down was completely covered in ice. The locals who had been gawking at the now frozen street looked up at him with speculating glances. How had he not noticed this was happening? How do you freeze a whole street, and possibly more, without feeling any loss of magic energy?

"I'm really sorry." He stuttered as he continued to stare in shock. "I didn't even notice. Don't worry, I'll be leaving now."

"Well, that's all good, but can you at least unfreeze it?"

The man looked at him questioningly, and as Gray glanced at the other people surrounding them, he couldn't not notice their hopeful faces. He'd just have to tell them the truth and run for it, he supposed.

"I wish I could." Gray said as he began to back away. "However, once I freeze it, I'm afraid there's nothing I can do about it. The sun should do its job!"

And with that, Gray ran as fast as his legs could take him. His magic was spiraling more out of control than ever, and he really didn't think it was best for him to be just roaming around innocent people. He had to get back to the guild, as maybe someone there could help him out.

Before he completely disappeared, Gray took one last glance at the frozen wonderland behind him. He felt bad just leaving it like that, but what he had said was true.

Once he froze it, he was unable to melt it.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter and added this to their favorites and follows, I really appreciate it!

I really hope this chapter was okay, and I hope I'm keeping everyone in character :D

Yeah, I don't really have much else to say, so I hoped you liked this chapter and let me know what you think!

And just a random side note, if anyone knows the song Elegy by Globus, I think it sounds like some sort of tribute to Ur from Gray if you listen for it, lol. But if you haven't heard the song, check it out, it's my favorite. Just check out Globus in general, their songs are like my inspiration for all my fanfics, no joke!

Well, anyway, thanks for reading!

-britishsconesahoy