Hello again. The plot has started to kick off :) and Gray and Midnight don't sound too positive about the outcome of their quest.
Dragonlover89 : Gray is Mewsugarpudd's favourite as well, but we can't give any guarantee ;)
Otakulover4evr : Glad you like it.
AsDarknessSpreads : We know that in canon he didn't hear him, but personally we believe that as a dragon slayer Natsu probably did hear him and chose not to reply due to pride issues.
IcePrinceRay : Of course we don't want you to break down (or do we? Muahahahaha). We're glad that you enjoyed it.
Disclaimer : If we owned Fairy Tail, everything would be about Gray and Midnight.
Gray dodged a punch from Midnight with a grunt and a grin.
"You're improving but..." Gray grabbed Midnight's arm and forced him to the ground. They had come to a joint decision that Midnight needed to work on his hand to hand fighting if they were going to have a hope in hell of completing this quest.
"Don't overextend your arm when throwing a punch, otherwise you can be thrown of balance easily." Midnight nodded, and Gray helped him up.
"Okay, I think we're done for today." The two boys stretched out their sore muscles, and observed the clearing that they had claimed as their "training arena". Gray had been teaching Midnight how to fight without magic, and working with Midnight was helping Gray with his tactical thinking for fighting against someone who could create illusions and repel magic. Remnants of Gray's ice were scattered around the area, along with his discarded shirt. His necklace seemed to glow against his pale skin.
Satisfaction was obvious on Midnight's face. He had improved in the short time that they had spent in the clearing, and his magic reserves were strengthening as well. He was pretty certain that his power to teleport was fully functioning in case of emergency.
Cobra tried to stifle the sound of his travelling companions and zero in on Midnight's thoughts. However, he couldn't hear anything from the reflector mage, whether this was because he was too far away or because Cobra's powers were still recovering from his time in prison he was unsure.
The thoughts of the Fairy Tail mages occasionally flitted into his head, despite his best efforts to keep them out. His control was usually stronger than this, but having been mostly deprived of his powers, his control had depleted slightly.
The fire dragon slayer's thoughts were the most audible, and the most concerning. Natsu couldn't seem to decide on whether he was going to knock the ice mage out and drag him back to Fairy Tail or if he was going to crush the ice mage in a gigantic bear hug and refuse to let him go until he had explained everything.
Cobra felt sympathy for his fellow dragon slayer, after all, he was still trying to decide on how he was going to convince Midnight to come back to the prison with him. Cobra didn't exactly relish the thought of being imprisoned again, but at least in prison Midnight was pretty safe. And Cobra could pretty much guarantee that whatever was going on with his friend was not helping his safety.
Cobra stiffened slightly as a family scent drifted into his nostrils. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Natsu also stiffen, a small, wicked grin dancing across his face.
"Got you." The other mage muttered, before he darted away, Cobra hot on his heels. He could hear exclamations of surprise and annoyance from he other Fairies, but Midnight was close so he didn't care to much about their whining. He was here to locate Midnight, not make friends, even if he had been finding disturbing similarities between himself and the other dragon slayer if Natsu's thoughts were anything to go by.
The dragon slayers burst into a clearing, panting from the extra exertion of sprinting. There, on the other side of the clearing, were Midnight and Gray. Cobra had a brief intake of breath at the sight of his friend, especially as their were signs of the ice mage's magic surrounding them. Had they been fighting each other or had they been attacked? Both options made Cobra's skin crawl with irritation, a feeling that increased as he still couldn't get a lock on either of the rogue mages' thoughts.
All thought processes ground to a halt when the mages turned to face their pursuers.
"You need to stop this foolish pursuit." Gray said sternly, though a brief look of sadness graced his otherwise apathetic face.
"Before it's too late." Cobra's head snapped round to look at Midnight in shock, was that a warning or a threat? Or was it a silent plead that Cobra not get further caught up in this mess that Midnight was embroiled in?
Before Cobra could utter a single word, Midnight grabbed Gray's arm. Both of them mouthed "I'm sorry", and Cobra lunged forwards desperately as he caught on to what Midnight was about to do. Natsu, either picking up on Cobra's sudden fear or just being able to hold himself back any longer, also pounced, but they were too late. Their friends disappeared in a ripple of magic. They had missed their opportunity to catch them.
Cobra's fist clenched in rage. He was startled when Natsu dropped on the ground and practically howled in frustration, his thoughts echoing the message "I let him get away" repeatedly.
Cobra felt a little awkward at the fire mage's breakdown. He didn't know how to comfort someone! The only person that he had ever been able to comfort was Midnight, and Midnight was currently gallivanting around Isvan with a stripper ice mage and eerily static thoughts.
"I'm sorry." He mumbled, and Natsu's misty (not that the other mage would ever admit it) eyes looked at him with a trace of confusion.
"Why?" Cobra felt a twinge of shame, he called himself Midnight's best friend, yet he had forgotten the other boy's ability to teleport.
"I forgot that he could teleport..." Cobra trailed of and shifted uncomfortably at the intense look in Natsu's eyes.
"And I didn't sit on Gray while I had the chance. But we will find them again, and when we do, I can sit on them and we can take turns in pounding some sense into them." Cobra was amazed as Natsu stood up and visibly collected himself in time for the other mages to enter the clearing.
"They got away." He grumbled, and Cobra was once again amazed at the pang that passed through his heart at the sad thoughts coming from the Fairies. Why should he care that they were all sad about the missing ice mage, even if he had never seen such concern shown between guild mates before? Sure, the Oracion Seis had all cared for each other, but they had all been united by Brain, and after the guild had been disbanded and they were taken to prison, most of the Seis had focused on how to achieve their own, personal goals. Only he and Midnight had seemed to stick together.
Yet these Fairy Tail mages seemed to be connected by a bond stronger then the bond formed between people who simply worked together. Their bonds were what Cobra assumed a family's would be. Except for Natsu and Gray, whose bond seemed similar to that shared by Cobra and Midnight.
Natsu was mentally chastising himself for letting Gray slip away. If he had moved just a bit quicker, then Gray would be safe with their team, with Natsu. He swallowed another growl, and stalked around the clearing, searching for hints of where the two mages were heading.
A sliver of black caught his eye, and Natsu picked up a black article of clothing.
"Tch." He couldn't help snickering slightly. If the frosty bastard was still stripping, then whatever was going on hadn't messed him up to much. He buried his nose in the fabric, as if trying to summon Gray through pure force of will. He inhaled the ice block's scent, refreshing his memory of the distinct scent of his closest friend.
Suddenly, a blurry shape appeared in front of him. He almost had a heart attack as he scrambled back to stand beside Cobra, Gray's T-shirt still clutched in his hand.
"You must go to the City with out sound if you wish to save those who are important to you." A distinctly female voice told them.
"Who are you? And where is the City without sound?" The woman chuckled.
"Who I am is unimportant, and you will find directions for the City without sound in the nearest village. Continue north from this point and you will find a village that can give you directions." The figure disappeared before she could provide any more information, and Natsu fumed as the third person today disappeared with practically no trace of their existence left behind.
His fingers tightened around the piece of material in his hand that linked him to his wayward friend.
Gray looked down at his bare chest in disappointment as his friend recovered from the use of magic. Apparently he had left his shirt behind. A wave of sadness swept through him, as he realised that Natsu was probably going to keep his shirt as a sign to continue chasing after them. And they had hoped that they would lose them after teleporting away.
"Why was Cobra with them?" Midnight choked out, a strange look of fear and regret on his usually, pretty impassive face.
"I don't know." Gray was also a little put of by the appearance of the second dragon slayer. It would make it that much harder for Midnight to make the ultimate sacrifice if he knew that Cobra had teamed up with Gray's friend to track them down. Two stubborn dragon slayers would be much harder to shake then just Natsu.
"We'll deal with it." Gray silently apologised as Natsu's face haunted his mind. He had to let go of his bond with Natsu. He couldn't drag the other mage down with him, it was bad enough that Midnight would have to share his fate.
So Gray still seems convinced that the quest will end badly. And who was the woman speaking to the others? We'll see you next time.