Erza POV


I feel the hairs on my neck stand up, the twisted trees unsettling me as we walk. Stepping deeper into the forest robs me of one sense and heightens the others. It is disorientating to be almost blinded, but given the ears of a wolf. Even the soft susurration of footsteps feels heavy on my ears. The sense of smell is sensitized, the loam in the earth and the decomposing leaves making the atmosphere close and thick.

The blackness nurtures a sense of claustrophobia inside me, even though the woodland probably stretches unbroken for miles. The narrow path, which is made uneven by the knotted roots that crosses it, branches at intervals. There's no map to follow, but even if there was, the perpetual dark would prevent me from using it.

As we head further into the woods in search of Gray's look-alike, I can't help but notice that while Natsu appears normal in composure, his eyes gleam with worry.

This troubles me. Natsu isn't one for deep thought, but at certain points, he would prove to be serious when he puts his mind to it. And right now, something seems to be ailing the dragon slayer.

I let myself fall behind the rest of the group so I am walking next to Natsu; this way, our conversation will have at least some privacy.

"What's wrong, Natsu?"

The pink haired teen blinks, before staring at me in confusion.

"Huh? I dunno what you mean, I'm fine."

I give him a pointed look.

"Natsu, I've known you since we were children. You are clearly not 'fine'."

Natsu is reticent for a few seconds, his green eyes studying the ground as we walk.

"I don't trust her."

"Don't trust who?"

"Juvia. She was acting really weird when we found her. Something isn't right..."

I smile slyly at him, "Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail, over-analyzing something? This is a first."

"You know what I mean, Erza," the dragon slayer sighs. My smile melts away, and I join him in gazing at the forest floor.

"Yes, I do. But Juvia said that she had hit her head, it's a reasonable thing."

Natsu clenchs his fists tightly, hard enough that his knuckles turn white.

"Well, I don't buy it. Even if she was a bit dazed from 'hitting her head', as she claims, forgetting her own name is definitely suspicious. Cause she looked like she remembered us fine, but forgot the recent events that had happened. It's not right, something's up. And another thing—she hasn't been speaking in the third person. For as long as we've known Juvia, she's always talked that way. Hell, even Gajeel said that when he first met Juvia she spoke in the third person!"

"Natsu. She was injured, it is perfectly logical for her to be disoriented. Forgetting manner of speech after a head wound is a common thing, there's nothing to worry about."

He shakes his head at my statement.

"Something is definitely wrong here, Erza. You don't get it. Oh, and Juvia is obsessed with Gray!"

"So?"

"So she would have been thrilled with ice block on top of her when he tackled her! I don't trust her at all, we shouldn't have let Gray go off with her."

I absorb all this as we stride along, before a small smirk grows on my face.

"Could it be, Natsu, that you're jealous Juvia is alone with Gray?"

"YOU DON'T GET IT, ERZA!"

My eyebrows shoot up, taken aback by his sudden raise in voice. Peering closely at him, I can see that his fists are clamped and his expression is one of frustration.

"Think about it, something isn't right! If that idiot ends up dying because we blindly trusted her, it'll be our fault!"

Placing a comforting hand on the dragon slayer's shoulder, I try to get him to calm down.

"If anything goes wrong, you can track Gray's scent back to them. And not to mention, Gray can fight Juvia and win, he's strong. He'll be fine."

Natsu sighs, shutting his eyes momentarily before opening them again.

"I guess you're right...but I still don't trust her."

I smile at him, allowing my arm to drop back to my side.

"It's nice to see that you care for your best friend after all, Natsu."

"HE IS NOT MY BEST FR- forget this!" the fire mage huffs, his face dusted pink as he storms ahead to re-join the group. I retain my smile, staring at his back as I continue my gait.

Even if you won't admit it, I know that he's like a brother to you.


Gray POV


Walking side-by-side with Juvia, I follow her lead through the shadows of the forest. I can feel the darkness drawing closer to me and pressing down, suffocating me slowly as I step carefully through the thick maze of woodland. The densely packed trees loom high above, but remain still despite the breeze that continues to flow around us. The silvery moonlight is slowed to a trickle by the full branches, and I have to squint, only to see a path of gloom and uncertainty ahead.

"Ugh...I can't see a thing in this darkness. How can you see so well, Juvia?"

"I suppose that my eyes must have adjusted quickly to the lack of light," she doesn't look back at me. "I'm not sure why, but that seems like the reason."

"Oh. So, any sign of the other me yet?"

"If I did see him, then don't you think that I would have told you?"

"I'm guessing that means no."

"Yes, I haven't seen any sign of your double," she gives a small sigh. "Now if you would please hush, I need to focus on the path ahead."

I go quiet as she asked, continuing with her through the dark forest. It takes a while before I notice something off about the area around us.

"Everything looks the same around here," I think out loud.

"Whatever do you mean?"

"This place looks really familiar...we've been here before."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she glances away from the path to focus on me. "This is our first time being here, your eyes must be playing tricks on you."

"No, they aren't," I shake my head. "Have we been going in circles?"

"Uhhh..."

"Wait a second...you've been purposefully leading me in circles, haven't you?"

"N-no! Of course not!"

"Juvia, I want answers and I want them now," I demand, approaching her.

"I'm telling you, I'm not- ahh!"

Not looking where she was going, Juvia fumbles over an unearthed root, landing on the trodden ground with a thump. Her body suddenly flickers like a hologram, before the clothes she is wearing melts into nightwear.

"Crap!"

"You're one of them!" I exclaim, getting into my fighting stance. "Where's the real Juvia? What did you do with her?!"

The fake Juvia gets up and dusts off her pajamas, before swiveling around to stare at me.

"I'm afraid that I cannot tell you that. Besides, I don't even know what happened to her," she speaks coolly, her gaze regarding me with newfound abhor. "I only know what you have told me, and that is that Ice has kidnapped her."

"If you don't know where she is, then I'm just gonna have to force you to take me to 'Ice'."

"I can't do that either, as I do not know where he is at the moment. And even if I did, I wouldn't tell the likes of you."

"Hard way it is, then."

"Don't even try it."

She thrusts her left palm forward, and suddenly I find myself unable to move. I'm completely paralyzed, and it seems my magic is disabled as well when I try to use it.

"What th-?"

"Did you honestly think that I was just going to let you go? Ha! As if I would let anybody hurt my Ice in a million years," she smirks. "He may be bossy sometimes, but he's still my partner, and I'll be damned if I let some debauched trespasser get to him."

"Damn you...let me go!"

"He gets mad and yells at me a lot because of the stuff I do. And even then, he's my teammate and I care about him...I mean, I only do all that to get his attention. And it makes me so happy when he notices me, even if he doesn't like me...I actually think I mi-"

"What are you talking about?" I furrow my eyebrows, unsure of what in the hell she is going on about.

She blinks, before quickly shaking her head with a dark blush spread across her features.

"Nothing! Just forget I said anything! But nonetheless, back to you...yes, I admit I was leading you in circles, and I also admit that I wanted you to be quiet so I could think of what to do with you."

"What to...? Are you saying that you're gonna kill me?"

"I was considering it at first, but I've never been one to kill," she responds. "So...how about..."

She keeps trailing off like she's still trying to decide what course of action to take. Suddenly, she claps her hands together.

"I know! If you've all been annoying Master by taking away her friends like you said, I should deliver you to her! Then you pests will be robbed of one of your own. And the other trespassers will be wandering this forest lost for a while, and it'll buy lots of time for Master to recover. And Master will be happy for me to have brought her someone new, and she'll reward me. Maybe...maybe she can talk to Ice and we can..."

Her eyes glint with ecstatic determination, the prospect of that idea fueling for her.

"Yes...yes, that's what I'll do! But how to transport you...?"

"You're not taking me anywhere! My friends will stop you!"

"Sure they will."

The copycat Juvia swaggers towards me, hefting a large rock off the ground as she does so. "Sorry about this, it's gonna hurt. But it'll make moving you a whole lot easier."

"Wh-"

I never get to finish my sentence as she slams the rock down on my head. There is a jarring pain, and then everything goes black.


Nobody POV


The blue-haired woman drops the rock to the ground, a sadistic smile on her face. She then picks up the unconscious devil slayer into her arms, grunting under his dead weight.

"Ugh, so heavy. But it'll be worth it to make Master happy..."

The other Juvia proceeds to slowly make her way through the forest, with Gray's weight making it so that she can't teleport or move very quickly.

I'm going to have to be careful...if the other trespassers find me, then I'm as good as dead...

She trudges through the dark forest, carrying Gray in her arms as she pays close attention to her surroundings as not to risk coming across anyone.


PawPrinted-Writer(author): Oh no! Juvia isn't real! Who could have see-! Okay enough of that...I know it was too obvious that Juvia isn't real but whatever I guess...anyways...

Review plz?

RevlisCharm(beta): Damn, that's the second time Gray's been hit in the head.