Gray POV


When we step out of the rain and into the church, it only occurs to me then how soaked we all are. Outside, the pitiless rain falls steadily, with a fierce malignity that is all too human.

"This feels so gross..." Lisanna speaks for all of us about our soggy clothes.

"You said it, Lis," Natsu agrees, before igniting himself.

"What do you think you're doing?" I look over at him. "You're gonna burn this place down, ash-for-brains!"

"No, I'm not!" he insists, extinguishing himself and leaving his clothes dry. "See?"

"See?" I repeat his statement, pointing at the scorch mark underneath his feet.

"Damn it..."

"Juvia does not know why this is bothering you," Juvia piques up, drenched as well. "Juvia doesn't feel a thing."

"That's because you're a water mage, Juvia," I glance over at her. "You're used to wet clothes."

I use my magic to make my body temperature cooler, so that the water turns to frost and feels a lot better than saturated clothing.

That's better.

I watch as Wendy does the same thing with her magic, which dries the others off quickly.

"Thanks, Wendy," Lisanna thanks the younger girl.

"You're welcome."

All of the sudden, cheerful laughter erupts from the room ahead, causing us all to look toward the double doors. The doors are the gray of unfurnished silver, dull and spotted with years of water damage. Where there should have been some fancy matching handles are only square shafts of dark metal.

"I know that laughter," I hear Rogue mutter.

He sprints to the large double doors and closes his fingers around the handles to pull, but they simply slip over the coarse edges and come away blackened. Rogue frowns and tries again, this time succeeding in sustaining his grip and opening the doors. He immediately runs into the room without hesitation. However, he quickly stops upon seeing the room empty, save for a few cobwebs and dead leaves.

We trail after him hastily, and I observe the rest of the dilapidated building as we go. It is an average looking church for the most part, except the Sabertooth guild mark is on the tarnished banners hanging from the walls, the pews are full of lifelike mannequins, and the room is in a state of neglect.

"Creepy..." I feel unsettled by the mannequins as Natsu pokes one of them curiously. Of course, there is another reason besides the eerie models that makes me uneasy.

The fact that we're in a dark, secluded church located in a forest-type place calls on memories of my time infiltrating Avatar. I never liked playing evil, but I will do what's needed if it means protecting my guild. Still, that experience was...definitely something I didn't enjoy, to say the least. A uncontrollable shudder passes through my body, which I do my best to conceal from the others.

"These mannequins are dressed like members of Sabertooth," Rogue says to himself. "This confirms it...Sting is here."

"Hearing him laugh wasn't enough?" Laxus looks at him.

"Paw appears to have the ability of mimicking voices, so it very easily could've been her trying to catch us off guard," the shadow dragon slayer responds, his scarlet eyes scrutinizing the sullen room.

"And yet you ran in knowing that she might be in here?"

"I was willing to take that risk if it meant finding Sting."

Boisterous laughter resounds once again throughout the church, with it coming from the room to the left. Rogue wastes no time and bolts in that direction.

"Hey, wait!"

But he doesn't listen as he swings open the door and heads inside. Following after him, we discover wooden stairs leading up somewhere which Rogue is heading to already. I can hear the constant noises of the storm outside still, and it sounds like it's getting louder. The thunder seems to crack the air, as if the very heavens might split apart. It is like the ash out of a volcano, becoming a rolling, booming rumble. It declares to all the raw power of nature and gives fair warning of the wrath that is to come.

"Rogue, stop! What if Paw is trying to trick you?! She'll be ready for you!"

"I don't care! I'm going to save Sting no matter what it takes!"

We trail the Sabertooth member up the stairs, trying to stop him until we finally make it to a bell tower area. Upon reaching the top, we see none other than Sting himself there. He is laughing at something that a duplicate of Rogue has just told him.

"Damn, Rogue!" he chuckles, tears in his eyes. "W-when did you come up with that joke?"

"It's just a little something that I thought up," Paw says while in the form of Rogue. "Would you like to hear another one?"

"Sure!"

"What do you get when you combine a rock with a box of matches?"

"I don't know. What do you get?"

"Natsu Dragneel!" Paw exclaims. "He does have the intelligence of a rock after all! Actually no, he doesn't...that would be insulting to rocks."

Sting erupts with laughter at Paw's joke, and I even let out a soft chuckle of my own.

"You asshole!" Natsu barks, sounding offended.

That comment causes Paw to finally notice us. She glares at us and discreetly snaps her fingers, seemingly doing nothing. However, when Natsu charges forward to attack the monster, he slams face-first into an invisible barrier.

'Not this time.' She mouths, before turning her attention back to Sting who seems to have heard us.

"What was that?" the master of Sabertooth asks, peering around. The barrier also prevents him from seeing us, apparently.

"I think it was some thunder," she lies. "The rain does seem to be getting worse."

"Huh, guess you're right," he gazes out one of the stained glass windows at the downpour. Sudden sprays of rain, like volleys of sharp arrows, rattle gustily against the windows. "Do you think that it'll start flooding?"

"No, it's not going to start flooding. It should stop raining before anything like that happens."

"Mm, I hope so."

"But friend...could you hold still for a second?" she inquires, an odd gleam in her eyes. "There's something I want to do."

"Sure. What do you want to do?"

Paw crawls over to be directly in front of him, hovering a few inches away from his face.

"This."

She leans in and plants an affectionate kiss on his cheek. When she pulls away, Sting has a faint blush on his face. My jaw drops at this, stunned at Paw's actions. To most, a kiss on the cheek would be a sign of friendship, or a polite way to greet a stranger of the opposite sex. But I know that a simple peck can convey as much meaning as a full-on kiss. Simple though it may be, a kiss on the cheek is special in its own, unique way.

"Wh-whoa..." he stutters, clearing not expecting that. "What was that for?"

"It was my way of showing you how much I care about you, Sting," she responds, a sweet smile on her face.

"Then I guess you wouldn't mind if I did this?"

"Did wha-?" she is cut off by Sting leaning forward and kissing her. She doesn't do anything for a few seconds, before I can see her face turn a dark red, and her eyes blink in surprise.

Sting pulls away from her with a proud grin on his face, and chuckles at the blush he sees.

"Damn, Rogue! You look like a tomato!"

"Ri-right," she stares off to the side and a small, flustered smile appears on her face. "I, uh...I suppose that I do."

We are all watching in stupor as this happens, taken off guard from what has just transpired. However, I'm quickly brought back to my senses by an atramentous presence next to me. I glance over to see that Rogue has a immense, threatening shadow around him with his eyes being covered by his hair.

"Guys."

They look and see Rogue on the verge of going ballistic.

"I think that we should step back. Right now."

No one has any complaints as we take a large step back in unison. Rogue growls in anger as he summons up his magic, breaking through the barrier in one shot.

"What th-?!"

Paw doesn't get to finish her sentence as Rogue gives her a harsh-looking punch to the face, which knocks her to the stone floor. He moves like a shadow, slinking over to stand in front of Sting protectively. One look in the dragon slayer's eyes will tell you that he means business.

"So, you actually managed to break my barrier?" Paw asks, glaring at him as she staggers off the floor. "I would be impressed if, you know...I wasn't so distracted by you punching me in the face! You jerk!"

"I wasn't trying to punch you in the face," Rogue sounds very, very angry. "I was trying to obliterate you, you vile, parasitic creature."

"What in the hell?!" Sting shouts, appearing baffled. "Why are there two Rogue's all of a sudden?!"

"There aren't two Rogue's," Rogue gazes over his shoulder at the blonde. "That one is fake and I'm the real one."

"No, he has it backwards! I'm the real Rogue!" Paw fibs. "He's trying to trick you!"

"Oh, so you're the real Rogue, huh?" the shadow mage speaks sarcastically, glaring at her with a livid expression.

"Yeah! You're the fake one!"

"We'll just see about that. How about we let Sting see you for what you really are?"

Before Paw can open her mouth to respond, Rogue has grabbed the front of her shirt and pulls her to him, hitting her hard across the face again.

"ARGH!"

The force from Rogue's punch causes her to stumble backwards, her form shifting a few times before she's forced to take on her true creepy, shadowy appearance.

"Holy shit!" Sting yelps upon seeing her real self. "What are you?!"

"That's what's been making everyone fall asleep, Sting," Rogue explains to him, pointing an accusing finger at Paw. "She's what made Yukino fall asleep."

"But if that's what's been keeping everybody asleep, then am I asleep right now?" he asks, receiving a nod in response. "Seriously? How did I not notice?"

"Because this place is so much better than the real world!" Paw insists. "Your heart must've wanted this place to be the real, so why should you deny your heart what it yearns for?"

"Because he shouldn't listen to his heart for two reasons," Rogue responds. "One, he doesn't feel that way about this place and two, he'll die if he stays here."

"I wasn't asking you, Mister Gloom and Doom!" she growls at him, before turning back to Sting with a pleading expression. "Friend! Please stay with me, won't you? We can have so much fun here and it'll be great!"

"Hell no," Sting refuses instantly. "There's no way that I'll stay here."

"But...but..."

"Butts are for going to the bathroom," Sting frowns at her. "Come on, Rogue...let's get out of here."

It's at that moment that Paw drops to her knees and begins to cry into her shadowy hands, like the weight of losing her friends has finally come crashing down on her.

"Please! Don't leave me! Don't leave me like the others!"

We can't help but stare at her as she sits there and weeps. In Paw's sobbing, is the sound of a heart breaking. Hearts don't snap like brittle caramel or burst like an overfilled balloon; a heart breaks in the heaving waves of a new disturbing reality that has arrived uninvited. It is the one in which their child no longer lives, or their partner is terminally sick. It is entering a life they can't bear and so they break. They aren't the same again, there's just a part of them that has to die so that the rest of them can carry on their duties to the other people they love.

So as I watch Paw shake with grief, tears flowing unchecked, there's part of me that feels...guilty. I look at Rogue and Sting who are still standing there.

"Psst," I get their attention as quietly as possible so Paw won't hear. "Let's get out of here while she's distracted."

They nod and soundlessly walk towards us. We descend the tower and go back into the main room of the church, only to find that something rather alarming is occurring there.

Each of the mannequins in the pews are staggering towards us. Their movements are stiff and jerky, and they're rather slow as well; but that only adds to the morbid creepiness surrounding them.

"Eek!" Wendy squeaks, terrified.

"This is like something out of a nightmare," even I am a bit unsettled.

"It doesn't matter to me if they're a nightmare or a dream!" Natsu pounds his fist into his hand. "I'll burn these guys until they're nothin' but a pile of ashes!"

"Hold on a second, Natsu," Levy stops him. "I think I have a better idea."

"What could be better than getting rid of these guys?"

"Using them to our advantage," she answers, before looking at Rogue. "Rogue, I want you to give them a command."

"What makes you think that they'll listen to him?" Sting asks, clearly not willing to put his friend at risk.

"Because Paw had taken the form of Rogue, so maybe if the real Rogue gives them a command to go after Paw then they'll listen. It couldn't hurt to try, right?"

"Right," Rogue nods.

"Fine, but if we can't trick them then we burn them all, okay?" Natsu reluctantly backs off.

"That will be our Plan B," Mirajane tells him.

Rogue steps forward and watches the mannequins walk toward us for a few moments before speaking up.

"Stop!" he orders, raising his voice.

The mannequins halt. It seems like they're tricked into believing that he's Paw after all.

"Holy shit, it's actually working," Laxus murmurs, surprised.

"I am the real Paw and these people are now under my control," Rogue relays to them. "I left the real Rogue in the tower where he is trying to disguise himself as me...go up there and take care of him."

The mannequins start moving once again, but they go right past us and up the stairs where Paw is currently crying her eyes out.

"Creepy..." I shiver as one of them brushes past me, sending a weird feeling down my arm.

We get out of the church and start walking through the harsh rain once again, which swiftly soaks through our clothing. We move for about a minute before something happens that makes us pause.

"AAAAGGGGHHHHH!"

Paw's loud, distorted scream rings through the swamp, causing an almost equally loud clap of thunder to sound overhead. Man, what a scream that is. It causes the hair to stand straight up on the back of my neck. It sounds like a scream of wild panic, a scream of hysteria and disbelief, bordering on terror. It sends a shiver down my spine, and I'm sure it does for my friends as well.


PawPrint-Writer(author): Review plz?

RevlisCharm(beta): Yay! Yaoi all the way!