The orchestra paused for eight counts before launching into another waltz. The masked figures clasped hands, drawing closer to their partners. When the shrill of the violin mingled with the other high notes of the stringed instruments, a section of the Great Hall was once again claimed by twirling figures and their swirling silks, dancing across the polished floor. The sounds of laughter and music drifted together, clogging the air like smoke. Lucy pretended to sip from the champagne flute in her hands, her eyes behind her mask scanning the crowd in front of her while trying not to choke on all the merriment.

It was taking a considerable amount of effort to remain calm and keep up her charade as Sherry, but it took an even greater amount of restraint not to look in Juvia's direction. When she had first returned to the Great Hall, Lucy was relieved to see Lyon hadn't caught onto their switch. However, the relief was short-lived; Juvia was still chained to his side with death hanging over her head. Drawing in a deep breath through her nose, Lucy held it in for a moment before letting the breath out through her mouth. She went over the plan in her mind again to calm herself.

Natsu was somewhere in the room, setting up the final elements of his plan to rescue Juvia. Whatever he was arranging was, supposedly, going to allow all of them to walk out of this room alive but apparently required absolutely zero help from Gray or Lucy. Natsu had explained that his plan was too complicated to let either Lucy or Gray help. Gray didn't like leaving everything to Natsu, and the two of them had got into a heated argument back in the dungeons.

Ultimately, Natsu won the debate; in order to rescue Juvia, Natsu needed to get close to Lyon. Considering Lyon wanted to kill Lucy and Gray, it made more sense to keep both targets away from the mad Boss hell-bent on revenge. Gray and Lucy were tasked with standing next to the Grand Hall's main entrance and waiting for Natsu's signal. Once the signal was seen, they were to rendezvous with Natsu and Juvia at the departure point. Natsu had wanted Gray and Lucy to be waiting there already, but she had put her foot down. Natsu had called her stubborn, but she hadn't cared. Lucy wasn't going to wait in safety while others risked their lives to keep her promise. She had promised Juvia to come back, and she was going to keep that promise—even if it meant just standing by the door. Gray had pretty much expressed the same opinion, albeit with a different set of colorful words that had Natsu and Gray at each other's throats again.

Annoyed that she couldn't play a more active part in rescuing Juvia, but unable to come up with any viable ways her involvement would help the situation, Lucy pretended to take another sip of her champagne. Her eyes scanned the room again, this time searching for the gold mask her best friend was wearing. Gray was supposed to stay with her, but disguised as Toby, he was mistaken by Toby's friends and ushered over to the silver-clothed tables before he could protest. His absence made Lucy even more on edge.

The crowd shifted in front of Lucy, and she was able to see a flash of Gray's gold mask. She wished he had listened to Natsu and stayed far away from this place. His presence in the room didn't allow Lucy to keep part of her promise to Juvia. The fact that Gray was even in the same room as the man who wanted to kill him was definitely not the form of rescue Juvia had in mind when Lucy had promised to save him. She just hoped that nothing tipped off Toby's friends that Gray was charading as their friend.

"What a lovely dress!" a voice exclaimed from behind Lucy.

"Oh," she said, startled out of her thoughts. Lucy started to turn towards the speaker when she felt something hard press into the small of her back, and she froze.

"Too bad there's a dead bitch wearing it."

Lucy broke into a cold sweat; she recognized that voice. Fingers wrapped around her right forearm, tugging it back harshly and pinning it behind her. Lucy gasped from the sudden pain, feeling the person's nails digging into her skin despite the silk barrier of her gloves.

"Sherry," Lucy gasped, not needing to turn around to confirm that the mafia girl was the one behind her—the one holding the gun pressed against her back. No! Not you. Lucy's heart pounded in her chest. She needed to escape; she couldn't afford to be caught now—not when they were so close to saving Gray, rescuing Juvia, and leaving this nightmare behind them for good.

"Did you think knocking me out and shoving me in a broom closet would be enough to stop me from coming after you?" Sherry twisted her nails in Lucy's arm to punctuate her question. "As if I'd let some low-level pawn pretend to be me in order to worm her way toward our dear beloved Boss. My love is stronger than that!"

She doesn't know it's me, Lucy thought, biting on her lip to keep from crying out. This isn't good. The second she realizes who I am, Juvia will—

"IMPOSTER!" A woman's shrill voice broke through the music and laughter, silencing them. Lucy turned her head towards the voice and froze again. From her position she could see the towering figure of Angelica. Her ugly rat mask was discarded, allowing Lucy to see her features twisted in horror and shock. In her hands, Gray's gold mask dangled. "You're not Toby! You're—"

"Gray." Lucy had forgotten that Angelica had asked Lucy, pretending to be Sherry, to persuade Toby to meet her by the banquet tables. Angelica had mistaken Gray for Toby, since Gray was disguised as him. Gray must have said something out of character that caused Angelica to be suspicious, leading to the disaster in which they found themselves. Lucy tried to step forward, wanting to get her friend out before it was too late, but Sherry shoved the gun harder into Lucy's back and further twisted her arm, preventing her from moving.

"Ahhh!" Lucy cried out, unable to hide her pain.

"What's this?" Sherry let go of Lucy's arm, sliding the barrel of the gun to the front of Lucy's waist as she stood before her. Juvia had stripped Sherry of her dress and given it to Lucy to disguise herself. Sherry was thus dressed in a large sheet that was knotted to form a toga. Her pink hair was disheveled, and her blue eyes glittered with hate. "How do you know the name of Lyon's monster?"

Biting down on her tongue, Lucy stopped herself from saying anything further. She needed to get away from Sherry so she could somehow get Gray out of here. However, the gun pointed at her naval was a serious obstacle.

"No one but the officers know that detail of information. There's no way a lowly pawn like you would know that. Unless..." Sherry cocked her head as she considered Lucy. "You didn't come here to get close to my dear Boss, did you?" She furrowed her brows as she worked through the thoughts running in her mind. "With my mask and my position… No one would question your movements. You don't work for my dear Boss; you're working against him! You're trying to free that man!" Sherry's eyes widened in wicked glee as she realized Lucy's plan. It seemed Sherry wasn't some mindless mafia wolf after all. "But now I've caught you.

"As an officer, I could just kill you, and no one would think twice about it. If you were merely a pawn stepping out of line, you would have already been dead. However…" she paused menacingly. "Since you came to rescue that beast, my dear Boss will decide how you die." Sherry stepped closer to Lucy, trailing the barrel of the gun up her torso until it rested below Lucy's chin. Fear wrapped Lucy in its clutches as she felt the gun press against her skin. Lucy had never been held at gunpoint before. All it would take was one little movement from Sherry, and Lucy would be dead. Don't think about that now. Focus!

Lucy forced herself to look away from Sherry, needing to know what had happened to her friend. From where she stood, she saw Gray struggling against Angelica's grasp. The giant of a woman had locked her arms around Gray, pinning his arms to his sides when she picked him up. Gray kicked and thrashed against Angelica, but his attempts of freeing himself were fruitless. The crowd moved, cutting off her view of Gray. Stop! Gray, no! Lucy thought, straining her head to find him in the crowd. Where's Natsu? Gray's in danger!

There were hardly any people near the main entrance. After Angelica's outburst, the crowd had migrated toward the commotion—no doubt wanting a better look at the uproar. The crowd all turned toward the rear of the room suddenly, and Lucy slowly turned her head as well. Lyon stood from his throne, staring directly in the direction Gray had been. Even though she couldn't make out his features this far away, Lucy knew there was a wicked grin on the rival Boss's face as he held up his hand and bellowed out, "Bring him to me."

Taking Lucy's arm again, Sherry stepped behind her and shoved her forward, painfully twisting her arm up as she pressed the barrel of the gun against Lucy's back. "Let's go."

The gathered audience all pressed forward toward the back of the room, wanting to get a better view of the new form of entertainment. Sherry managed to cut her way to the front, using Lucy as her personal battering ram. Lyon made his way down from his throne, tugging on Juvia's leash for her to follow. The crowd had made a wide circle in front of the throne in order to watch the procession of events, and the excitement emanating from the crowd was making Lucy's stomach flip.

"Boss," Angelica snarled, stepping into the circle with Gray still thrashing in her arms. "This…This thing was pretending to be Toby!" The large woman threw Gray to the ground. The sound of his impact made Lucy wince. She watched as her friend shakingly picked himself off the floor. She trailed her gaze away from Gray toward Lyon. The rival Boss stood unflinching as he took in Gray's glare, a smirk present on his face.

"So you decided to masquerade as one of my own to save her," Lyon yanked on the chain, sending Juvia sprawling in front of him. The action only made Gray's look of hatred darken. "Foolish. But admirable. I wonder though, how did you manage to break out of your cell?"

"He had help," Sherry declared as she shoved Lucy into the circle as well.

Lyon turned toward their direction. His jaw was clenched in aggravation, about to reprimand whoever dared interrupt his moment. However, when he took in Sherry's state and whom he assumed had been Sherry, the muscles in his jaw relaxed.

Gray's gaze met Lucy's as she broke through the crowd. She saw his eyes shift from her face to the gun pressed against her back. Lucy wanted to call out to her friend—tell him to take Juvia and run. All that mattered was that they made it out safely. She flicked her eyes to Juvia who was looking at Gray with an expression of shock, then horror, then fury so real it made Lucy shiver. Juvia's fingers curled against the marble floor so tightly her knuckles were white and her hands shook. This was all wrong. This wasn't supposed to be happening. Lucy felt she had let both of them down.

"Sherry," Lyon called out, cold as ever. "Explain."

"This girl knocked me out, stole my costume, and pretended to be me. No doubt, she was the one that freed your monster from the dungeons. When Angelica caught him, she called out his name."

The gun dug into Lucy's back, but Lucy pressed her lips harder together. If there was a chance that Lyon would recognize her voice, Lucy wasn't about to make a single sound. She thanked the stars that they hadn't removed her mask yet. There was still time. Where was Natsu? What was he doing? She needed him. Gray. Juvia. They all needed his help. She felt steely resolve harden in her belly. As long as she had breath in her body, Gray and Juvia would survive. Somehow. Lucy just had to hold on until Natsu's signal.

Natsu. Help us.

"I see," Lyon's wicked grin spread across his lips once more. The Boss half-turned back to Gray, whose eyes were darting back and forth between the gun Sherry held and the mafia Boss hovering over Juvia. "I typically hate surprises, you know, but this one makes things interesting. Sherry, bring her to me."

"My dear Boss," Sherry's voice gushed with admiration. "Might I take care of her? I would happily kill her. For love, I—"

"Let you kill her? Why would I let you do that? Your incompetence almost cost me my revenge. You would just fuck it up again. Don't make me repeat myself." It was amazing Lyon could speak with such a thorough coating of ice over his voice. Lucy couldn't understand how Sherry could admire him so much—how she could love him.

Sherry's grip on Lucy's arm tightened, taking her frustrations out on her. Nonetheless, Sherry obeyed Lyon and walked Lucy over to him.

"For love, my dear Boss, I just—"

Lyon backhanded Sherry. The sound of the slap echoed in the silent hall. The girl stumbled back, falling to the marble floor and releasing Lucy as blood trickled down her chin from her split lip.

"The one thing I can't stand more than incompetence is insubordination. Another word out of you, and I'll kill you without a second thought. Now get out of my sight."

Lucy didn't have a single reason to feel even an ounce of warmth towards Sherry. The girl had been only vicious and mean to her since they had met. Still, Lucy pitied her. No one deserved treatment like that.

To her credit, Sherry collected herself from the floor and gave a slight bow to Lyon as she retreated silently into the crowd but not before Lucy saw the tears rimming her eyes. Before she turned away, Sherry made sure to give Lucy a frightening glare. If looks could kill... Lucy's thoughts trailed away as Lyon began to speak.

"My gathered guests and loyal members, the crowning moment of tonight's celebration is finally upon us." Lyon spread his arms wide as he addressed the surrounding crowd, his voice lost the ice it had when he had spoken to Sherry. He reached out and grabbed Lucy's arm, surprisingly gently, drawing her to his side. He looked down at her, the black slits of his mask bearing into her like before. "It seems like Ur's spirit is looking down upon us, blessing my revenge," Lucy felt his grip on her arm tighten, "Here we have another soul the monster has corrupted that must be sacrificed."

Lyon viciously shoved Lucy to the ground. She threw her hands out to catch herself, the effort in vain, and jarred her bones in her arms as she hit the floor.

"Stop it!" Gray yelled, scrambling towards Juvia and Lucy. As vulnerable as Lucy felt, helplessly lying on the floor, the raw pain in Gray's voice made her heart splinter.

The rival Boss reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a gun as he said, "Now, now. Be patient." He aimed the gun at Gray, making him stop abruptly. "I'll kill you soon enough."

"Lyon, please. Don't do this," Gray pleaded, dropping to his knees. "Just kill me instead."

Feeling the rival Boss' cold bloodlust roll off him behind her, Lucy shivered. She slowly picked herself off the ground, kneeling on her knees next to Juvia. She turned her head away from Gray, unable to handle the defeat in his eyes. It was then that she noticed what Juvia was doing. Between Lyon throwing her down and dealing with Sherry, he had unknowingly dropped the chain to her collar. Slowly, Juvia discreetly gathered the links out of his reach. Sensing her stare, Juvia looked up and mouthed to Lucy, Don't give up .

"I'm begging you—"

"Beg all you want, Sterling, but I'll have my revenge!" Lyon interrupted Gray, his voice roaring in the Great Hall.

Sterling? Lucy furrowed her brow in confusion. Why is the rival Boss calling Gray 'Sterling'?

The rival Boss sighed, collecting himself. "You're not being fair. All these people came to see me get my revenge on the cold-blooded murderer they all know you to be. Not this sniveling joke." He gestured at Gray with his free hand as he spoke. "Where's the person that threatened me so viciously down in the dungeons? Where's that dark look in your eyes? WHERE'S THE MONSTER!?"

No one spoke. No one moved. No one even seemed to breathe. The space was filled with an icy tension that no one dared do anything to break. When Gray didn't answer, his navy blue eyes like stone, Lyon pointed the gun at Lucy's head. "I guess you need a little inspiration to talk?"

"Lyon!"

"You see, with this little vixen's arrival, I'm faced with a new dilemma: Who to kill first?"

The fear that Lucy had been trying to suppress tightened around her hammering heart. She couldn't stop her body from shaking. She was about to be killed. The words couldn't properly fit together in her head. No more laughing with Levy, no more chatting with Gray, no more promises to Natsu. It would all be gone soon.

Juvia encouraged her to not give up, but with Lyon holding a gun against her head, Gray begging on his knees, and Natsu nowhere to be found, how could Juvia say that? How could she be so strong? How could Lucy not do anything but give up? Lucy wasn't born into this world like Juvia. She hadn't sought it out like Gray or Natsu. She was thrust into this dark world and it was about to kill her. Tears rushed down Lucy's cheeks, despite her efforts to rein in her emotions. She was trying to be brave, but it seemed she had reached her limits. All her promises, the ones she made to herself, to Gray, to Natsu, to Juvia...laid broken in front of her.

"Now, I'm going to be kind. Even though you're the last person who deserves any sort of kindness, I can't forget that I once called you my blood brother. With that being said, you'll get to decide who dies first: the woman who failed to save you, or," Lyon tilted the barrel of the gun away from Lucy with an almost lazy sweep and pointed it at Juvia, "the woman you failed to save?"

"You know I was the one that did it, Lyon. I killed Ur! I took her away from you. They have nothing to do with her death! Don't harm them. They're innocent. KILL ME DAMNIT! KILL ME!" The sight of Gray slamming his fists into the floor and shouting at Lyon with such desperation only made Lucy cry harder.

"I'll tell you this—the monster you befriended took someone very important away from me. Now I'm going to return the favor. I'm going to kill you in front of him and make him experience the same pain I felt that day before I end his pathetic life too."

Ur! That was the name Lucy had heard Gray let slip that one drunken night. He had told her that was the name of his sin. Lyon had called Gray a murderer, and Lucy didn't believe it, but now….

"You know nothing….He's filled your head with so many lies, that you can't even see the truth." Lyon's words rang in her memories. Gray killed someone? Even with her friend's confession, the five years Lucy spent with him countered it in her heart. It didn't make any sense. It didn't add up.

"That's better, Sterling," Lyon said, shifting the gun back to Lucy. "More. Give me more!"

"This isn't funny Lyon! This isn't a game!" Gray stood to his feet, shaking with a building rage. "You hurt them. I'll—"

"Restrain him," Lyon ordered his wolves

Angelica rushed to Gray with surprising speed given her stature. Her vice-like grip caged Gray, pinning his arms to his sides again. "Lyoooon!" Gray roared, thrashing and kicking against Angelica's hold on him.

Lyon threw his head back and laughed. "Yes! Yes! More Sterling! Rage more!"

"I'll kill you Lyon! You hear me? If you fucking do it, I'll kill you. I'll kill you all!"

The more Gray continued to curse and threaten Lyon and his men, the more joy emanated from the rival Boss. He was taking pleasure in this. 'For nearly a decade I've been waiting for this day. The day I can get my revenge on the monster I have locked in the dungeons below. I thought such an opportunity was lost, but fate chose to smile down on me.' This moment was something Lyon had been waiting for. The complete destruction of his former friend turned enemy. Lucy believed watching Gray rave madly was the equivalent to sipping a perfectly aged wine for the rival Boss. And Lyon...it seemed he was going to enjoy every last drop.

"Which one will it be, Sterling?" Lyon waved the gun between Lucy and Juvia. "Who means more to you?"

"STOP! "

"TELL ME, STERLING!"

"DAMN YOU! YOU'RE DEAD! I KILL YOU, MOTHERF-"

"THAT'S IT! That's the expression!" The rival Boss pointed the gun back to Juvia, releasing the safety. At the sound of this, Gray let out a terrifying noise, that shocked Lucy. The look of pure hatred Lucy saw in Gray's eyes as he stared at Lyon scared even her. In the five years that she had known him, Gray had never looked at anyone that way.

Lucy felt the touch of Juvia's hand. She looked at the girl beside her, expecting Juvia to be trembling in fear like she was. Instead, Juvia's head was bent towards the floor, the long white hair of her wig hiding her face. Lucy thought she was sad, crying because of their impending doom, but when the mafia heiress looked up at her, her blue eyes were fiercely determined.

"It seems we have a winner!" Lyon bellowed as he stood fully behind Juvia. "Lucy Heartfilia!"

Save Gray, Juvia mouthed.

Was this it? Was Lucy going to sit there and watch as Juvia was killed in her place? Was Lucy going to live with the guilt that her failure to keep her promise had resulted in another person's death? That wasn't fair. That wasn't right. Juvia was willing to sacrifice herself for Lucy, but she didn't realize that Lucy was willing to do the same for her.

"STOP IT!" Lucy screamed, finding her voice again as she ripped off her mask and wig. "She's not Lucy. I am!"

Lyon's head shot towards Lucy, taking in her appearance. His lips parted in shock, as Lucy glared up at him, tears shimmering down her cheeks. "What? H-How?"

Juvia took advantage Lyon's distraction and rolled to the side as she pushed Lucy away. Without wasting a second, Juvia lifted the chained leash high, slamming it down on Lyon's helmet. The rival Boss cried out, clutching the right side of his face as he staggered back.

"Bitch!" He swiveled to where Juvia now stood, aiming the gun at her. Juvia's attack had broken his helmet, revealing Lyon's bleeding eye. That was the last thing Lucy saw, before a loud explosion rocked the room and thick clouds of smoke clouded her vision.

Lucy began to cough as the smoke continued to fill up the room. Shouts of fire echoed in the room followed by panicked screams. This was it. This was Natsu's signal. Lucy lifted her gloved hand to her face, and bent lower to the ground. Due to the blindness caused by the smoke, people pushed and shoved against her as she darted around the room. It was hard to breathe and her eyes were watery, but none of that mattered. She had to get to Gray. She had to get to Juvia.

A few moments ago, all Lucy had felt was the darkness pressing in on herーall she could see was their doom. Now, this was their last chance. This was their remnant of lightーtheir remnant of hope. Fear still had her in its grip, making her heart hammer faster and her body shake constantly; but Lucy was clinging on to her hope for dear life.

Moving in the direction she last saw Gray and Juvia, Lucy waded through the chaos rushing around her. "Gray!" she yelled. "Juー"

A force barreled into Lucy, sending her careening towards the floor. "If I kill you in this chaos, my dear Boss won't find out now will he?" Sherry purred darkly into Lucy's ear. The mafia wolf gripped one of Lucy's wings and tore it off her costume while cackling. A fresh wave of fear pumped into Lucy. Sherry was just humiliated in front of everyone by the man she admired most. She seemed desperate enough to please him before that event, and now, there was no telling how she would torment Lucy in order win his favor back.

Lucy had failed so many times in the past few days. She wasn't going to fail again. She felt Sherry lean over her again, and then, Lucy threw her head back. Sherry screamed, clutching her face. A throbbing pain blasted through her head, but with a burst of adrenaline, Lucy flipped Sherry off of her. Scrambling to her feet, Lucy turned around to face her enemy. Sherry was near enough that she could distinguish her in the smoke. Blood poured from her nose, drenching the sheet Sherry wore as it dripped down the front of her.

"You're going to pay for that!" Sherry's eyes narrowed. "I should have known it was you all along, you bitch."

"I told you, Sherry," Lucy said, surprised at herself that she managed to keep the fear out of her voice. "Stories have a way of surprising you in the end."

Lucy watched as Sherry's features darkened, a maniacal grin spreading on her face. Lucy swallowed. The mafia girl now looked like a wolf about to hunt.

"There's only one ending for a rabbit that runs across a wolf's path," Sherry said, cackling. She pulled out her gun again, aiming it at Lucy. Before she could shoot, a panicked guest collided into Sherry, making her stumble.

Lucy took advantage of the girl's distracted state and ran further into the smoke, hoping she could shake Sherry off in the chaos. People pushed and shoved her in their attempt to escape the Great Hall. Jostled by them, Lucy lost her sense of direction. Amongst the confusion, it was difficult to tell where she was. How was she supposed to find Gray and Juvia and get them out?

"Ahhh!" Lucy cried out when she felt someone tug on her hair, hard. Her head whipped backwards and the metal of a gun kissed her cheek. Lucy stared up into the wild eyes of Sherry.

"Caught you," Sherry said, smiling as she tangled her fingers more into Lucy's hair. Lucy struggled against her, but Sherry's grip was iron-tight. "Stop moving so much or you're going to get blood on my dress."

Seized by an overwhelming urge, Lucy grabbed fistfuls of the skirt of the dress, and pulled down hard. The fabric tore easily and Lucy grinned in satisfaction as the fabric fell to the ground.

"You bitch!" Sherry tugged harder on Lucy's hair, bringing tears to her eyes as she felt the strands of her hair tear from her scalp. The force of Sherry's pull made Lucy fall backward to the ground. She landed on the hard floor, hitting her head against the marble. Spots dotted her vision as she gasped from the pain. There was no doubt that she would have a concussion from that last impact.

Sherry sat on top of her, pinning Lucy's arms down with her feet as she pointed the gun right above Lucy's heart. Lucy's feet scraped against the floor, her heels long gone in the madness of the night, as she tried to gain some purchase. Sherry wasn't going to let her go. The wolf had caught its prey and it was about to devour it.

"Struggle all you want, but you're going to die tonight like my dear Boss planned. For love, I'll kill you and give him his revenge," Sherry snarled, taking the safety off of the gun. "But before you die, I want you to admit it." Lucy stopped struggling and stared up into the mafia wolf's glaring eyes. A wild hunger lit her gaze as Sherry admired her prey. "You talked about how stories surprise you in the end, but that was all a bunch of bullshit. If you believed that shit you preached, you wouldn't have written all those damn goodbye letters!"

My letters! Lucy's eyes widened in shock. She hid the letters inside the wardrobe in her room, hoping, if she was lucky, after the mafia wolves moved on from this place one of the staff members might stumble upon them. They were her final words in case...in case she failed. There were so many things she still had left to say. The letters were her only means of conveying her words to the people she loved if she were to die before getting a chance to say them.

"When I regained consciousness, I rushed back to your room, in order to take you to my dear Boss. Instead of finding you, I found all those letters you wrote. I should have ran back to my dear Boss and reported everything, but I couldn't help it. You acted so high and mighty earlier, I wanted to see what you spent your final day writing about.

"Those damn letters were all filled with mush and sap, I wanted to puke," Sherry rolled her eyes as she remembered the words contained in Lucy's letters. "The moment we first met, I hated you," Sherry quoted. Lucy stilled, remembering exactly to whom she had written those words to. "The more I time I spent with you, that hate turned to love. My heart has never felt so much happiness. You were the light that lit up the darkness. I'll die today but I want you to know that I... am an absolute, disgusting piece of shit," Sherry said, laughing. "You should thank me though. I made sure to burn every letter so no one else would have to read that trash."

"You had no right!" Rage rose like a wave inside of Lucy, wanting to drown the mafia wolf looming over her.

"You're the one that has no right!" Sherry snarled, pressing the barrel down on Lucy's chest. "Because of you my dear Boss...he...he said…" Tears splashed down from the mafia wolf's eyes onto Lucy's cheeks. "None of that will matter after I kill you." The girl shook her head as if to clear Lyon's words from her head. "For love, just die."

Lucy shut her eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her letters. Lucy had put her whole heart into them. Now, they were all gone. No one would know how she truly felt. He wouldn't know...Sherry had taken her final words and turned them to smoke and ash. This was the end.

"Lucy!" Instead of the impact of a bullet, Lucy felt Sherry's weight disappear from her chest, and strong hands grip her shoulders, shaking her. Slowly, she opened her eyes. Lucy noticed Sherry was lying unconscious next to her. The mafia wolf's gun was nowhere in sight. Who? She looked up and her eyes widened.

"Natsu!" She sat up and flung her arms around him. Lucy had never been so relieved to see him in her life. He held her tightly, crushing her to his chest.

"Thank God I made it in time," Natsu said.

"You're here!" She cried harder, the warmth of safety enveloping her.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I couldn't risk setting off the smoke devices and accidentally startle Lyon into shooting you or Juvia. When I finally was able to set them off, I ran after you; but with the chaos I couldn't find you," Natsu explained, his voice shaking. "I just...I'm so glad I wasn't too late."

The smoke in the room started to thin, returning some visibility about the space. The shouts and screams of the people that once filled the room were fading out. Instead of smoke, Natsu's scent washed over her and Lucy took comfort in it. He still smelled like sunlightーif sunlight had a smell. Lucy breathed in the scent deeply trying to calm down.

Natsu helped her to her feet, his eyes scanning her over. "Are you seriously hurt anywhere?" he asked.

Lucy could only imagine what she looked like. Ragged dress, crazy hair, cut and bruised all over, but still breathing. Physically, she was fine. However, emotionally, Lucy knew she was going to have to work to overcome the events of these past few days. There were more nightmares in her future.

"I'm fine," she said, forcing herself to believe those words for now. "I'm worried about Gray and Juvia, though."

"Me too," Natsu looked around the room. "We're going to find them. I won't break my promise to you." He reached out and grabbed her hand and drew her closer to him. "Stay close to me and keep your head down. Okay?"

"Got it," Lucy agreed, her eyes flicking to the gun she realized he was holding. That's how he knocked Sherry out.

The pair picked their way carefully through the room. The smoke steadily disappeared, and Lucy could see better the more they moved about. She suspected that the other guests were running around, flinging open doors and windows that led out of the room to try to escape the fake fire Natsu had started. She gripped Natsu's hand tighter, not wanting to be separated from him, even for a second. Movement to her right caught her attention. Lucy turned and saw Gray appear from the smoke.

"Gray!" she exclaimed, tugging on Natsu's hand.

"Lucy!" Her friend ran towards her. He was bruised and cut as much as she was, but he was still alive.

"STERLING!" Lyon appeared from the smoke as well. His helmet was gone, blood streaked his face from the wound Juvia had inflicted on him.

"Shit," Natsu shoved Lucy back. "Get down," he barked out before running towards Lyon, gun pointed at the rival Boss. Lucy watched Natsu go, racing towards the Mafia Boss who slowly raised his arm, revealing the gun he held. Turning towards Gray, in horror, Lucy realized he was directly in front of Lyon's path. The gun was trained directly at Gray and Lyon's bloodlust was evident in his wide-eyed gaze. There was no time to get to Gray. There was no time to stop Lyon. Natsu wasn't going to make it. There was nothing Lucy could do. Her eyes widened in terror as she perceived what was about to happen.

"THIS IS FOR UR!" Lyon shouted.

BAM!

"NOOOOO!" Lucy screamed as the gunshot echoed in the room, filling her ears. Gray went down, disappearing into the last clouds of smoke. Lucy went slump, feeling her legs give out as she dropped to the floor.

Lyon tipped his head back, roaring with laughter. "UR! DID YOU SEE? I SLEW THE MONSTER THAT KILLED YOU! I'VE OBTAINED YOUR REVENGE!"

Natsu rushed the rival Boss, tackling the man to the ground. The gun flew from Lyon's grasp when he landed. Natsu's fists connected with Lyon over and over again, but bloodied and beaten, the man still continued to laugh.

"Damn you!" Natsu stood, jerking Lyon to his knees. He placed the barrel of his gun at the back of Lyon's neck to stop him from doing anything else.

The smoke unraveled further, and through the dim layer, Lucy could see her best friend again. He was on his back, his arms splayed out at his sides. Lucy tried to get her feet to move, to run to him. Her body wouldn't respond to her. It was too overcome with shock to do anything.

Lucy had met Gray five years ago. It was a cold day in the city, freezing winds bit at every piece of exposed skin. Lucy had popped into her favorite cafe to buy a coffee to warm herself up and spend some time working on her manuscript. Gray was in front of her, but he had forgotten his wallet. She happily paid for his drink, smiling at him as she had said, "From one artist to another." He was shocked that she knew he was an artist, but Lucy had just laughed, stating he had paint all over his hands. It wasn't hard to tell. That day was one of the coldest of the year, but after spending several hours sharing their passions with one another, it was one of Lucy's warmest memories.

The one thing she wanted most ever since Lucy saw his picture in Gold Pistol's folder, was to save Gray ーto keep him safe in order to make more memories with him. Lucy had ran head first into the dark world of the mafia to find him. With Natsu's help, she had faced the mafia wolves. Terrified the entire time, Lucy fought to keep her promise, even during the times she lost faith in herself. She was willing to do whatever it took to save Gray. Gray was her first true friend. He had always held a special place in Lucy's heart. So how could he be gone?

Gray's fingers twitched and then, she saw him shake his head. "Gray?" Lucy whispered, not believing what she had seen. He bent his arm behind his head, and she noted how he winced in pain.

"GRAY!" Lucy clambered to her feet, rushing to him. He was alive! The bullet hadn't hit him!

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Lyon snarled, noticing Gray's movements. "I DIDN'T MISS!"

The smoke finally gave way, disappearing entirely. Lucy stopped halfway to Gray, stunned. Lying across Gray's chest, her wig and mask still in place, Juvia was strewn over him. The white smoke had been the perfect camouflage for her white costume, so no one had noticed Juvia as she knocked Gray out of the way. Lucy watched as Gray realized who had just saved him.

"Juvia." Gray raised himself up, tenderly gathering Juvia in his arms as he embraced her. Lucy noticed how Gray visibly shook with joy.

Lucy took another step closer, relieved that everyone was okay. She turned to Natsu, a smile already on her lips wanting to share with him how happy she was. However, the look on Natsu's face wasn't right. He looked somber as he stared at Gray and Juvia. Annoyed that Natsu wasn't excited about their success, Lucy turned back to her other friends.

"Juー" Lucy shook her head in disbelief, dread caging her heart. Why isn't she moving?

Natsu's somber expression made sense now. Lucy's smile faltered. She realized she had been mistaken as a dark red stain began to bloom across Juvia's white dress. Lyon hadn't missed.

"JUUUUUVIIIIAAAAAA!" Gray tipped his head back and screamed as he cradled her body to his.

"J-Juvia?" Lyon choked out.

'As long as he can leave this place and still smile. If sacrificing my life ensures his happiness, I will gladly do it a thousand times over.'

"No!" Lucy's hand fluttered to her mouth as she realized what Juvia had done.

The sound of abundant footsteps echoed in the room. In seconds, their group was surrounded by men all dressed in black suits with guns trained on them. Lucy thought they were Lyon's men, here to rescue their Boss and finish what he had started. There was no more hope for any of them. They had walked into a den of wolves and no one was going to come out alive.

"Put down your gun," a deep voice heavy with an Italian accent spoke behind Lucy. She noted how Natsu's eyes widened as he saw who was behind her. "You wouldn't want anyone else to get hurt, now would you, Salamander?"