All right guys! It's time for you all to know what that one reader figured out! GrimmIchiUlqui21, congratulations on getting into my head so well! :) Thanks to you all for following this story - you guys make me so happy!

Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail!

CHAPTER 15: PUNISHMENT

Gray's POV

Wendy and I made our way out of the hospital rather quickly. I could see how shaken up she was, but she had so far refused to talk. I wasn't sure what to say, how to make things easier on her. Someone that she loved had pushed her away, not that Lucy had meant to hurt Wendy, but the fact remained the same. She couldn't tolerate being touched for very long, by anyone it seemed, but Rogue. There were times when I thought I understood it, but there were times, like these, when it just hurt. I hated seeing Wendy in pain like this, I hated watching Loke's heart-break, I hated not being able to hug the girl I loved like a sister, but most of all, I hated that Lucy had to go through it.

Everything about this horrible situation was so damn hard to handle. That bastard had hurt us all when he'd harmed Lucy; we'd lost something so precious because of him, but everything in me hoped and prayed that we hadn't lost it forever. I wanted to believe that our Lucy, the one who smiled constantly, and laughed at all my bad jokes, would somehow find her way back to us. I missed her so much already.

I turned to the young girl beside me and realized that she'd begun to cry again. "Wendy, she doesn't mean to hurt you. She can't help it," I said, hoping I could help her. I didn't want her to feel as if Lucy no longer cared about her.

"I know all that," she spoke quietly, "I understand why she's like that, probably better than you do."

My eyebrows came together as I looked at her in confusion. What was she talking about? I put my hand on her arm to pull her to a stop, and asked, "Why would you say that?"

"Y-you didn't see it, what he did to her...inside," she answered, her face turned away.

I swallowed hard at her words, and wondered if she realized what that kind of damage meant. "Wendy, um...I don't know what you think happened, but-" I began, only to be cut off by her whipping her head around to glare at me.

"I know exactly what he did to her! I'm 13, not some ignorant child. I've seen how much he hurt her; I've seen it with my magic - how he...he..." she exclaimed, bursting into sobs near the end.

"Stop Wendy, please just stop. Don't say anymore," I begged, as I sank to my knees to pull her into my arms.

She clutched my shirt in her tiny fists as she whimpered, "I don't want this to be real. I want Lucy back."

"I know," I whispered, my heart breaking all over again. It seemed my tears were never far from the surface anymore. "I do too, but she's going to be okay," I told her, attempting to make my voice as soothing as possible. I was no longer sure who I was trying to convince, her or me. Truth be told, it was probably more for me.

"I-I hate him, Gray," she said softly, as her eyes began to droop, "I wish...he was dead."

I didn't know how to respond to that. Was it wrong of me to agree with her? I couldn't tell her that feeling that was wrong; that would make me a hypocrite, because I felt the same way. If she was wrong, then I was far worse, because I wanted to be the one to whittle him down to his last breath. I wanted to string him up and gut him, let him watch as his insides fell out and then let him bleed out slowly. Of course, all that was after I got to repay every scar he'd given to Lucy, so he could feel firsthand what he'd put her through. Simple death would be far too kind for that sorry bastard.

I looked down when I realized she'd become still and saw that she had cried herself to sleep. Lifting her up into my arms, I carried her toward our home away from home. Between the very apparent concern for Lucy and the intense healing she'd done, she was completely worn out. I suddenly felt so much older than I was. It was as if I'd aged more in the last day than I had in the last several years. How ironic that the last day had done what the whole 7 years on Tenroujima had not.

I pushed through the doors to the guild and, with only a brief nod to assure them of Wendy's well-being, I hefted the small girl up the stairs to the infirmary, and settled her on a bed to rest. Charle followed me silently into the room and curled up next to Wendy. I gave her a quick run-down of what had happened, before leaving to find the master.

As I came down the stairs, Juvia came to meet me, asking, "Gray-sama, how is Lucy?"

I could see others coming closer with the same worried look in their eyes, and I sighed at the thought of having to give them more depressing news. It would hit them all just as hard as it had Wendy, Loke, and myself. Everyone wanted to help Lucy, and her condition made it extremely complicated for any of us to really be there for her. I looked back at Juvia, and spoke loud enough for the rest to hear, "Where's Gramps? I don't want to have to tell it more than once."

"Master is still upstairs," Juvia began, her voice coming out nervous and uncertain, as if she was afraid of my reaction to something.

I tried to figure out what would have her so on edge, but I didn't get the chance to ponder it further, as the doors to the guild opened again, admitting a man I had never seen before. He advanced toward us, stopping as he reached the middle of the room, and explained, "I need to speak to a Master Makarov Dreyar. Is he here?"

"Who wants to know?" a deep voice boomed from the back of the room. I turned to find its owner, seeing Laxus walking towards him.

The man reached out his hand in invitation, and answered, "You must be his grandson. My name is Claude Crane. I'm from the Counsel."

Before any more words could be exchanged, the door to Master's office opened and the little man came out, followed by two people I really didn't want to see. My hands clenched into fists, my blood beginning to boil, and I felt a hand on my arm, stopping my forward movement. I hadn't even known I'd started moving towards Natsu and Lisanna.

Looking down, I found Juvia restraining me, and I felt my pulse slowing down. Just that simple touch helped me calm the rage that wanted to escape and explode all over the ones who'd started this whole damn nightmare. I sighed and pulled down her hand to thread our fingers together. I had a feeling I was going to need her serenity to get me through the next few minutes, because everything in me wanted to put an end to that pink-haired bastard.

Natsu's eyes found mine and I vaguely noticed his damp cheeks, but the thought was gone almost before it could solidify in my mind, as he was suddenly before me, asking, "How's Luce?"

That was all it took, and the calm I had borrowed from the water mage at my side was gone, dissipating in a flash, as my magic took over my body. Starting in the center of my being, it forced its way through my limbs, covering every inch of my body, before the air around me became cold enough to see our breath. I didn't care; it felt good, like my rage was pouring out of my skin, finally finding a target to exact its revenge upon, the perfect target. He would regret ever speaking her name, if I had to skin every last bit of skin from his body.

The fire mage's eyes went wide as he tried to increase his body heat to compensate for the change in temperature, but it didn't work. I was beyond control at the moment, and the magic leaked all over the place, filling it up. I iced over my closed fist, and let it fly, crashing into his stunned face. I enjoyed the satisfying crack of his head against the wall, before advancing on him again.

I made it only two feet to find Lisanna standing directly in my path with her arms spread in front of her. "Gray, stop it. That's enough!" she shouted, as tears slipped down her cheeks, "It's not what you're thinking!"

I growled at her, wanting nothing more than to give her a taste of Natsu's medicine too, but I refused to hit a woman, even in this situation. I needn't have worried, as a blast of water hit the white-haired girl, slinging her across the room. Juvia stalked forward, putting herself between Lisanna and me, as she called out coldly, "You will not get in the way. Juvia will not let you. This is for Gray-sama to decide. He has earned the right."

Makarov's POV

Natsu staggered to his feet as a man in a suit approached me, asking, "Master Makarov? Shouldn't you be stopping him?"

I turned to the sharply dressed man with a look of confusion and inquired, "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm from the counsel, Claude Crane," he informed quickly, glancing back toward Gray who was slowly moving toward Natsu, as he asked again, "Now, are you gonna stop him?

"Ah...the counsel," I groused in irritation. They always seemed to show up late to the party, and no doubt they'd be trying to control how we handled things with Lucy's attacker. "No, I don't think I can stop Gray. Juvia is correct in saying that he's earned the right. Lucy is like a sister to him. Besides, if I forced the issue, Gray would simply find Natsu on his own, and then there would be no one around to stop him before he gets out of control," I explained, wondering why I had even felt the need to do so.

I hated that things had gone this way, that Natsu and Lisanna had played a part, no matter how small, in this heart-rending catastrophe. It had damaged my brats in more ways than I believed had even been revealed yet, and there was no stopping the fallout. I didn't like my kids fighting in such a serious way, but I knew I had to let them handle things on their own, at least in part. I knew Gray didn't have control of himself right now, but he needed to avenge his sister's mistreatment. The ice mage would have done so, even if the break up hadn't led to Lucy being attacked, and I knew he needed that normalcy.

Unfortunately, Natsu also needed to learn that his actions would have consequences that he couldn't be saved from. He had made his decisions, and he would have to live with them. This didn't mean that I would allow Gray to seriously harm Natsu, but they needed to settle things, at least a little.

By the time Gray reached the pink haired man, his magic was whipping around him, frosting the air to the point that the mages around him shivered as he went past. None of us had ever seen him like this, his magic out of control, becoming one with his emotions. His face held a snarl that had only ever been reserved for his enemies, and it left no doubt in my mind that Natsu's place in Gray's life had changed. There may not ever be a way back for the two of them.

It saddened me; though many believed the two hated one another, I'd always known it was actually the opposite. They were like brothers, rivals but always there at each other's back in times of trouble. I shook my head at all that had been lost in the space of a day. I looked at the scene before me and sighed. It may not ever be the same. It seemed the only bright spot in the whole of this horrible situation was that Gray's position as one of the guild's strongest could no longer be denied.

The ice mage came to a stop in front of Natsu, as all my brats looked on nervously. I could see some of them glancing at me in confusion at my decision. Gray gave no sign of hesitation as his hand shot forward into Natsu's chest, slamming into the fire mage with such force, he smacked back into the wall. Gray's hand followed, keeping Natsu's body up against the wall, as ice began to spread from where his hand was planted into the slayer's chest.

"Gray," Natsu whispered, his teeth chattering as the ice skirted across his body, "I-I didn't mean to hurt her. I'm sorry I h-handled things so badly."

The ice mage kept pouring his magic out through his hand, his face showing nothing but an icy hardness, and said, "I don't care. You swore to me when you started dating her that you'd never do anything to hurt her. I should have known better than to trust you with something so precious - you're too reckless to take anything seriously." He stood back, as he finished covering the man in ice, leaving only the patch around his face clear.

"T-that's not true, Gray. I do l-love Lucy, but I c-couldn't stay with her once I realized that I was in love with L-Lisanna. I still care about her - she is...w-was my best friend. She m-matters to me," Natsu tried again, his words coming out in stutters.

I shook my head at the boy's ignorance as Gray's face went crimson. His rage spiked again, and he slammed his hand against Natsu's mouth, freezing his lips shut. "Don't even go there, you pathetic prick," he shouted, his voice gaining volume in his hysteria, "Do you think I give a shit how you feel? She can barely bring herself to hug me anymore! She couldn't handle Wendy touching her, and pushed Loke away because she can't bear to be touched! The only person she's comfortable with now is Rogue. So why the fuck would I give one damn about you? She's my fucking sister, and she's so broken that I can't even be there for her!" He finished his rant with a violent hit to Natsu's chest, shattering the ice encasing him like glass, and sending Natsu to the floor.

The guild went deathly silent at Gray's outburst, and I stepped forward to lay a hand on the young man's arm. "It's enough now, Gray. Let this be the end," I said gently, as I pulled him away, "Let's go to my office and talk, okay? Juvia, please come as well. Erza, you too."

I turned briefly toward the stunned counsel man, and told him, "I'll talk to you in a few minutes. I have things to take care of first."

I sent the three of them on their way up the stairs in silence as the guild erupted, everyone talking at once. Lisanna rushed to Natsu's side, slipping her hands under his arms to pull him upright. "Are you okay, Natsu?" she asked, her tone worried and frightened.

The man pushed her hands away gently, and leaned against the wall instead for support. "Just stop, Lisanna. Please, just...stop. I can't do this right now," he said, tears slipping down his face, as he made his way out of the guild, using his hand on the wall to keep from falling over.

Some distance away, a lone dark-haired man entered the alley where Lucy had been attacked. He grunted as his eyes took in the sight of the woman's dried blood. It was a particularly violent scene, signs of the girl's struggle evident in every corner, as well as her eventual surrender. It was just the way he liked it. Too bad that man had come along and brought his fun to a stop.

It was no matter, though. He wasn't going anywhere, not when his prize was still alive. He had defeated her, and he wasn't leaving without the spoils of war. She was his, to bend, to break, to bleed, and he was going to enjoy every moment of her pain. Looking back, he realized it had almost worked out better than he'd planned initially. He had gone a bit too far in his excitement with the strong-willed blonde. Had they not been interrupted by the dragon slayer, he probably would have killed the girl too soon.

Now, though, the game was back on, and it would be far more entertaining. She'd be healed of all her damage and could now take even more. He'd track her down, and if that bastard was still around, show him his true power. He'd kill that interfering brat right in front of her, so she'd know that no one could take her away. Then, she'd be his again, and this time, he'd do it right. He would show her his strength. It was time she learned the truth - there was no stopping him. He was coming for her, and no one would get in his way.

A/N: Oh, his darkness was so hard to write. I felt so sick after adding that part. Anyway, there's your surprise. Tatankan is coming to kill Rogue and take Lucy. Also, the counsel man, Claude Crane was added in honor of one of my readers who said he'd love to be a witness to such drama. So, there we are! See you all next time, with more Rogue and Lucy.