13. Ice-Make: Reverse

"...I can't reverse what happened. What's done is done. There are no second chances."

If there was one thing Gray hated about being a mage, it was the endless blows to the head resulting in unconsciousness, only to later wake up in an unfamiliar place and with an inability to remember how you got to said place.

Every situation was different but more often than not, he'd always end up in some variant of a cell. Gray had seen them all, though there were only so many ways a cell could be designed. The one he was in now had no windows, surprisingly atypical for most cells. Its lack of an opening to the outside was probably why it was so dark in there. There was no light fixture and the cell was sealed by a bolted, iron door. However, despite the bolts, it didn't look too impenetrable. If his hands hadn't been cuffed, he could have easily used his magic to take it down.

Gray sighed and looked down at the cold, stone floor he was sitting on. It didn't bother him, but with the overdose of winter Earthland had just recieved, Gray was really craving some warmth at the moment. Of course, he'd never tell anyone that. It didn't matter that in reality ice mages didn't live off the cold, he had his pride to uphold here.

Now that he had observed his surroundings (not that it gave him any clues about where he was), he could move onto the second step in the sequence of events following this method of capture: trying to remember how he got there. He knew it would come to him eventually, but there was always this persistent urge to recollect everything at that very moment. It was why Gray loathed this kind of attack. If they wanted to capture him, then fine, but couldn't they do it while he was awake? It would probably make it a lot more difficult, but kidnapping wasn't meant to be easy, now was it?

There had been a girl, and a forest maybe? It was after he had left the guildhall, outraged by the master's decision to leave everything to the Magic Council. How could he agree to that? The Magic Council was incompetent, everyone knew that. And besides, this was his chance to finally do something right. He had failed to listen to Ur all those years ago, but while the past was unchangeable, the future was not.

He was going to stop the Eliftis himself, just as soon as he got out of this cell.

"Find anything yet?"

The operator of the Invenium turned to face the chairman of the Magic Council, Gran Doma. "No, sir. So far, everyone I've screened is clear."

Gran Doma stayed silent as the operator turned back around to screen the next incarcerated ice mage. The chairman watched as the cuffed mage willingly stepped up to be investigated, seemingly unbothered by the fact that he had been arrested by the Magic Council. As an ice mage though, he probably knew what was going on and realizing finding the caster was one of the only ways to stop the spell, he was compliant in offering his cooperation.

The screening took only a few seconds and as the Invenium turned an innocent blue, the suspected mage was freed from his restraints and allowed to leave. While this was all good in the long run, Gran Doma couldn't help but be disappointed with the results. They were almost finished checking all the ice mages in the Northern Continent, and time was running out. If they couldn't find the caster within the next few days, they would have to bring their search over to the West. Doing that would take more time, time that the world didn't have.

He must have fallen asleep at some point but when he woke up, he was still in that dark, old cell. Gray had no idea how much time had passed, but he was starting to get his memory back now. He remembered the forest and meeting Lena there, and how she had tricked him into following her.

What an idiot he was. He was so desperate to stop the Eliftis that he had followed some girl he knew nothing about all because she said she could help.

Yet she never said how.

Instead she had led him to his captivity. Who was she working for anyway and what did they want with him? Gray slightly remember Lena saying something to him before he blacked out, but he couldn't remember what it was. Something about her being sorry, maybe?

Before he could recollect what had happened though, Gray heard footsteps coming from behind the door. He sat silently as the footsteps neared, eventually stopping in front of the door. The bolts then started to turn and the door began to unlock, eventually opening to reveal a dark cloaked man.

"Why am I here?" Gray demanded as the cloaked figure stood in the doorway. "Who are you and what do you want?"

His captor entered the cell, closing the door behind him. "You're the prisoner, boy. I believe I'm supposed to be posing the questions."

Gray couldn't argue with that, so he remained quiet and let his captor speak. After all, this was his first human interaction since he had been locked in this cell, so he didn't want to screw this up opportunity to get some answers.

"Gray Fullbuster, I've been waiting to get my hands on you for quite some time now." He said, removing his hood. "My name is Pelphides by the way, and I apologize for taking you like this, but I hope you can understand that it was the only way."

"The only way for what?"

Gray waited as his captor carefully thought of his words. "The only way for me to convince you that I'm not your enemy?"

Gray smirked. "It's gonna take a lot to convince me that the guy who locked me in a cell isn't my enemy."

"We'll see." He then reached into his cloak and pulled out an all too familiar red stone encased in ice. "I believe this was your doing, am I right?"

Gray glared at him, annoyed that Pelphides had reminded him of that regretful mistake. If he knew about that then he probably had something to do with the Eliftis Spell.

"Well, I just wanted to thank you. As I'm the caster of the Eliftis Spell, I obviously couldn't do it myself so I'm grateful for your help."

"Lift the spell!" Gray shouted, trying to free himself from the restraints on his wrists. He knew it was no use, but he couldn't just sit there when the caster was standing right there laughing at him.

"Or what? It's not like you can do anything with those handcuffs on."

So Lena had known something about the Eliftis Spell after all. Something pretty important too. "Why are you doing this? And how does this not make you my enemy?"

"The Eliftis Spell isn't necessarily evil." Pelphides said, turning the frozen stone around in his hands. "I'm not trying to take over the world or anything. Has it ever occurred to you that I'm using the spell for something good?"

No, it hadn't. Amd honestly, he still wasn't buying it. "And what is this good thing you plan on doing with it? Aside from throwing the world into an eternal winter."

"Ever hear of the Konungaris Legion?"

He had, but decided not to say anything. "No."

"It's a guild from Isvan of which I'm a member of." Pelphides explained, placing the Koppa Stone back into his cloak. "Lena belongs to it too. Two years ago, a dark mage cast a spell on most of the guild's members, permanently freezing them. The spell is irreversible, unless you have the power of the Eliftis."

The Eliftis had the power to reverse that spell? Was it universal for all spells? A much hated memory edged its way to the front of his mind, and Gray didn't have the strength to push it back. He remembered that day all too clearly, the day he caused the death of his master through an irreversible spell.

Gray shook his head, trying to stop the intrusive thoughts. What am I thinking? Even if it can reverse any spell, that doesn't justify its use. And besides, I can't reverse what happened. What's done is done. There are no second chances.

"You seem surprised." Pelphides said. "Did you not know that about the Eliftis Spell?"

No, he didn't. But should he lie and tell him he did? "Of course I knew that. I'm just surprised that you would actually try to use the Eliftis Spell, and thus turn the entire world into an ice age, all to get your guildmates back."

"Don't tell me you wouldn't do the same."

"I wouldn't." Gray said, though unsure if he really meant it. "At least not by those means. I'd find another way. There's always another way."

"You think so?" Pelphides asked. "Well, I've looked for other ways, but there aren't any. The Eliftis was a last resort. Trust me, I wouldn't have done this to Earthland if there had been another way."

Should he trust him? Was he telling the truth? He wanted to believe it. It was better than some other reasons to use the Eliftis Spell. Maybe he was telling the truth. If that was the case though, then why hadn't he reversed the spell yet and lifted the Eliftis?

That whole spell thing caught his interest though. Did it really work? And if so, how? All those questions made him worry though. I'm not using it for anything. Gray assured himself. Just curious about how it works.

"It's been almost a week now." Gray pointed out. "Why haven't you unfrozen your guildmates yet and return Earthland back to normal?"

"Good observation." Pelphides said, grinning. "You see, I'm not powerful enough yet. I have to still absorb some of the magic energy from the Eliftis until I gain enough power to reverse the spell."

"So you need enough power to reverse a spell. Anything else?" The question had come out so fast, Gray barely had any time to process what he had just asked.

"There's a few other conditions for it to work." Pelphides replied, and if Gray hadn't been too focused on learning the requirements for the reverse spell, he might have noticed the amused look on Pelphides' face. "You have to be a witness of the original spell. You need to reverse it in the place it was cast. And the spell takes a few days for it to reverse. Why do you want to know?"

"No reason." Gray said quickly. "No reason at all. Just curious."

"Alright...Well, anyway, that's why Earthland needs to stay frozen for a bit longer."

He could meet all the conditions. He had already begun to gain power, that much was obvious from his recent magic outbursts. He had been a witness, he remembered where it was done, and he could wait a few days. After all, what was a few days after it had already been years?

What am I doing? I can't bring her back. I won't!

"I'm telling you all this, Gray, because I need you to be on my side here." Pelphides explained. "I figured you would understand the most, considering what you've experienced, and I'm hoping you'll agree to work with me."

Wait, did he know about that? No, there was no way. He was probably just making stuff up to persuade him. "I don't know. I'd have to lead my guild astray, and I don't think I'm willing to do that for you."

"Gray, please, hear me out." Pelphides said. "There's so many things you can do with the power of the Eliftis. If you help me to keep your guild out of our business for just a bit longer, you can have some the benefits of this spell for yourself. I'm using the Eliftis for a good cause, but what's wrong with taking advantage of it while we wait?"

"I don't think so..." It's not like I need him to reverse any spells for me. After all, I was the witness.

"You can't be serious, Gray. Surely, there's something you want to do with all this power?"

Gray shook his head. But I'm not gonna do it. I can't.

"Oh, well I also forgot to mention that only the caster of the Eliftis Spell can utilize its power to its full capacity. Without the power of thec caster, no spell reversals can be done."

That's okay. Gray assured himself. I didn't want to reverse a spell anyway. Betraying Fairy Tail to have the power to undo a mistake that shouldn't be fixed isn't worth it.

"Join me, Gray, and I'll share the power of the caster with you."

But maybe it is...

I know it's been a while, and I greatly apologize for that. When I got back, I started my freshman year of college and I just needed some time to adjust and stuff. That being said, now that I've got a much busier schedule than I did during the summer, I can't promise weekly updates. I wish I could, but I've got to put school first. So, thanks for understanding, if you did, and I will try my best to get the next chapter as soon as possible.

Has anyone seen the new Fairy Tail season? I watched the first few episodes and I'm so excited! I've only read bits and pieces of the manga so a lot of it is still new to me, but nonetheless I'm so happy it's finally coming out!

On another note, feedback is appreciated! A lot just happened, so let me know what you think. Thank you so much for reading and have a great day!

-britishsconesahoy