Packed.
It was the very word that escaped his chapped lips as he took in his surrounding. First's bedroom, as they had call the surprisingly spacious underground where Mavis Vermillion's body was kept while inside a crystal lacrima which was now gone thanks to Cana's Fairy Glitter, was already filled with Fairy Tail mages, some leaning on the white wall while others opted to just squat on the floor, eyes darting through and fro. As his foot left the last step of the stair, his line of vision caught the distressed face of the spirit's master looking at him, standing close to the Strauss siblings. She knows that I'd figure it out easily, he sneered inwardly as he fought the urge to raised her a brow but just acknowledge her existence. He then turned his attention all around him and saw that all Fairy Tail mages were present sans Erza, and he frowned. She was just here a while ago. Already in another S Class mission, he guessed, and as he kept looking around, his frown turned into a scowl.
"I believe this place is off limits,"
Elegantly perched in a magically-conjured stool, a young, handsome masked man wearing a dark crimson hat with a prominent brim curving upwards on the sides and golden edges, which on its upper left side bears an extremely long, massive and spiky pink plumage falling down from the rear part of the hat, casted him a pointed look. "I guess I'm a favorite?"
"Only Fairy Tail mages are allowed here, Rufus," Gray flatly retorted, looking to no one but him. "Or maybe guild laws are going to the dogs."
"Now, now, Gray, let's keep it cool here." A pat on his shoulder signaled Alzack's arrival to his side. "We haven't started and we need you sober."
He would've taken offense by his choice of words but seeing the hard expression in his face, an expression Gray remembered only seeing at him when Bisca took a direct hit from one of Laxus' lightning lacrima [ref. Battle of Fairy Tail], changed his mind from snapping. "Later," he hissed at the blonde mage in annoyance, before he took a step back and headed to the opposite direction where Natsu was leaning on the wall, arms crossed in his chest, scarf and all, with the same hard epression he found unfitting for the dumb dragon slayer. "Flame brain,"
"Ice prick,"
Silence.
A short exchange. An eerie silence.
Eye to eye. Scanning. Feeling every breath each one take. An eternity of silent conversation between two scarred mages and fighters bonded together in the most unimaginable way. A muted battle.
Gray took in his appearance; Natsu just gave a nod. Standing just a few feet apart and he was sure that just a little push on the right button and hell would break apart. He was the dragon slayer who could wreck havoc and will give the gods of hell a run for their glory. Far from the blasted pink-haired mage who would walk in a town with a flying blue cat in tow only for a few minutes to leave it destroyed and have Fairy Tail buried in debt, now in front of him stands a man bathed in his own blood with his own scar to tell a story for generations.
On the other hand, Natsu frowned. By his state of appearance, he was sure everyone could make out an addict from Gray that he couldn't help but speak. "You look worse for wear,"
"Do tell me." Gray leaned on the wall beside him, hands in his pocket, closing his eyes. "What's going on?"
"Aside from finding out that Freed and that Rufus guy are twins, I don't know."
Gray twitched a brow and followed Natsu's line of vision and once his own landed on a certain Sabertooth mage, he almost guffawed in laughter. "I didn't see that coming."
"Well, you were not here. I just couldn't stand it with the both of them in the same room," Natsu grimaced.
"Too many clothes?"
"Too many hairs." Natsu deadpanned. "Not that I hate him, but man, I really don't like the hat."
Gray sighed. "I thought I looked good with it," he said, unconsciously remembering his fight with the blonde mage during the Grand Magic Games. 'She said I looked good with it.' He flinced. Stop it, Juvia. "So, care to fill me as to why he's allowed here? Change guild?" Damn it, Gray. Stop thinking about her.
"I know, but not mine to disclose. Erza will grill me...no, don't look at me like that, ice freak. The past few days, she's been...off." Natsu said, answering the ice mage's questioning look. "By the way, heard from Loke,"
Gray scowled, strangling the celestial spirit in his mind. "So?" He asked, trying to sound disinterested.
He was expecting a very insulting answer from the dragon slayer, most profound the toilet conversation when Natsu threw him, not a dumb but a pointed look.
"Gray,"
'Ohh, here we go with the bullshit,' he exasperatedly thought.
"...whatever you hear, don't walk away."
"Two things. First, what happened to Lyon. Second," he paused, looking back to where Rufus Lore was seated, "no, I only wanted to know what happened to Lyon..."
"So you can avenge him?" Nastu cut him, eyes boring holes.
"Yes, so I can evenge him." Gray aswered though gritted teeth, balling his hands into fists inside his pockets. "He's...he's my brother."
On a normal occasion he would rather throw up until he emptied his gut in the sink than to admit his estranged relationship to Lyon, but upon seeing the state the latter was in, all he felt was pure white rage against the one responsible for it. "I will pay him tenfolds."
"You can't."
"What? Of course I can, flame brain."
"No, you can't, Gray." Natsu said hoarsely, lowering his vision to the ground. "You wouldn't be able to."
"Maybe you can't, but there's no stopping me. I am a Fairy Tail mage, and no one gets away..."
"I was there."
"What?" Gray was so sure that he had heard wrong, but seeing the grave look the dragon slayer had, he felt all the air inside his lungs being pulled out. He tried to compose himself to the sudden waves of emotions swirling inside him, and he pulled in some air to calm himself. "Just what do you mean by you were there..." Click. 'I was there.' Lyon almost died. 'I was there.' His brother almost died. 'I was there.' Natsu was there!
Shaking, he suddenly yanked Natsu by the scarf and hissed, faces inches away from each other, catching the attention of the other mages. "What the fuck, Natsu?! You say you were there but this happened?! What the actual fuck, Natsu?!" Gray growled, black markings starting to appear in his cheeks. "WHY?!" He tightened his hold on him, but it seemed Natsu was ready for his assault that he never bothered to defend himself or pull himself away from the ice mage. "Say it again, Natsu. Say it again," he seethed, ice slowly forming around Natsu's neck, until a sudden flash of light blinded the room for a mere second and then Gray found himself getting violently pulled and thrown to the floor by one Laxus Dreyar.
"That's enough, brat." Laxus said, towering above him. "You want answers, I'll give you answers, but damn keep your pants in check." He pivoted in his heels and added, "you're scaring the kids like hell."
And true enough, Gray saw Wendy shaking in fear, holding on to Bisca, who was carrying a whimpering Azuka in her arm. He cursed inwardly. Maybe it was him that was going to the dogs.
"Hey, it's alright." It was Mirajane, stretching a hand to pull him up which he hesitantly took before muttering a silent thanks. He felt even worse when he saw Wendy smiled at him amidst her shaking.
"Took your damn time, Titania."
"My apologies, Master."
It was Erza's voice. Everyone looked at the direction of her voice and soon enough, found her descending from the stair followed by...
"Chelia!" Wendy excitedly said, untangling her arms aroung Bisca ang running towards her friend, who quickly brightened up upon seeing her.
"Wendy," the Lamia Scale mage said, hugging her tightly.
"I don't mind you brats getting sissy and all, but we don't have shit for that," Laxus spat, walking briskly and slumping in a corner, followed by the rest of the Thunder God Team. "Fire away, First."
As if on cue, in front of a slightly puzzled Gray, Mavis Vermillion materialized, barefeet with a serious face.
"First," Gray said, trying to sound anything but off. Surely she saw everything that happened a while ago, whick made things more awkward for Gray. The last time he saw her was the night of the exhumation where he ran off. Did she get mad? Is she going to give him a lecture? Makarov forbid, he doesn't need that. He want answers...
"You want answers, Gray." She spoke, looking at nowhere but him, making Gray uncomfortable. "And you will get them. So ask."
Huh? Just like that? Gray thought. He looked around and found all mages in silence. His eyes once agan caught Lucy's, and he was sure he read her right when she mouthed the same: Ask. He then turned his head on the opposite side and he caught sight of Rufus' twin, no, Freed Justine, who nodded at him. Ask. Seriously? Gray couldn't make anything sensible that time until he heard Natsu's voice.
"Ask, Gray. Anything you want."
He was serious. Everyone was serious. Dead serious, to warrant such a private place as the lair of Lumen Histoire. No, Gray thought. There's something much bigger behind this, and for oncce, he's going to get to the bottom of it all. But what to ask? Lyon. Yes, he thought. And why that blasted flame brain couldn't defend him. Now, that's two questions in a row, and...just why was Rufus Lore from Sabertooth and Chelia Blendy of Lamia Scale allowed inside Lumen Histoire? He was sure they were breaching the law...
"You're shitting our time," Laxus grunted, face resting in his palm while his other hand played with his lightning.
"Fine," Gray replied, swallowing the urge to snap at their master. "Just...tell me everything I need to know. Everything."
There was a collection of gasps and whispers that Gray found irritating. Since when did the males of Fairy Tail started whispering with each other? He then looked back to Mavis and found her staring intently at him, making him replayed his response inside his fucked up mind. 'Just...tell me everything I need to know. Everything.' He was sure he didn't do anything wrong. Or did he hit a nerve? A tender spot? Did he accidentally crossed boundaries? He just asked!
"I'm afraid that's my cue."
Gray knew that voice and he scowled. Rufus.
"You will now know what happpened to Lyon Vastia of Lamia Scale."
"You." Gray said, squinting his eyes. "Were you there also? Is that the reason why you're here?"
"No, I wasn't there, this girl was," Rufus answered as he walked and stopped behind a quivering girl who was standing beside Wendy, hand in hand. The blonde mage then put his hands on both side of the god slayer's head. "Don't worry. It's not gonna hurt, physically. Ready?"
"P...please take care of me," Chelia nervously said, clutching Wendy's hands, the latter in turn gave her soothing words.
Gray wasn't a fan of Rufus and one thing he dislikes the most is seeing little, helpless girls in discomfort. 'It's not gonna hurt, physically.' Damn, it's still going tu hurt!' He wanted to punch the living hell out of him and rip all his hair off and burn his stupid hat with the stupid long pink plumage. But he still wanted to know. He still wanted answers. Later, he made a mental note, when their discussion is over, he will go and say sorry to her. Mayge he'll also treat her to ice cream with Wendy, if she likes. But for now, she need to bear.
"Now, Gray, everyone, I will show you what happened back at Amefurashi Village. You should know that everything you will see will be from this little girl's line of vision, meaning through her eyes. You cannot do anything but watch."
His words was met with silence.
"Let me take you six days ago. Memory Pull." And all went white.
#
All was was ice everywhere. What the...
"Lyon, we need to get out of here,"
A voice? Gray looked back but he coudn't move his head. He tried summoning his magic, then hissed in frustration when his body didn't obey him. 'You should know that everything you will see will be from this little girl's line of vision, meaning through her eyes. You cannot do anything but watch.'
So, I'm basically squeezed inside her head. He was about to curse Rufus when he saw Lyon Vastia, a bloody Lyon Vastia looking at him. No, looking at her.
"Get out of here, Chelia. Now."
"But Lyon..."
"There's no time. Go to Fairy Tail. Get Gray."
Get me? Why would...
"Water Slicer!"
He froze. He heard Chelia's scream and he saw how Lyon got blasted a few feet away from where he was standing a few seconds ago. And then he saw his brother fell. And he also saw, appearing through the water mists that took down his brother, a water mage.
No, it can't be. She's dead.
"Juvia, please stop this! Lyon!"
Rufus, stop this.
"Run, Chelia!" He was gasping for air, as red started staining his chest. "Run,"
"Second Origin: Water..."
This is not Juvia. No. You died in my arms...
"Juvia, it's me. Please Juvia," Lyon said as more blood started pooling out of his body.
Somebody stop this...
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
Out of nowhere, a blast of crimson fire was shot towards the water mage, which was countered by a dome of water, and everything the collapsing magic touched sizzled. For a few minutes, the place was filled with smoke and evaporating water until a voice was heard.
"Did I get him? Where is she?" It was Natsu, jumping from a cliff a few feet above them.
"Damn it, you just don't fire like shit! What if you hit her or that midget or the other stripper?"
Gajeel.
"Did he get him?" Sting Eucliffe asked, looking around the wreckage from above.
"You should know that you're starting to act like him, Sting."
"Did you just called me stupid, Rogue?"
All the dragon slayers?! What's going on? How...?
"Natsu-san, please...Lyon.." Chelia was sobbing, running to where a bloody Lyon was lying. As she was reaching down, Gray saw how grave Lyon's situation was and before Chelia could do anything, a slow rumble from below was felt and a crack on the ground appeared, forcing Rogue to quickly extend his shadow and grab the unconscious ice mage and Chelia before they fell down.
"What the actual fuck.."
"Water Jigsaw!"
Gray heard her again, and as water splashed out from the cracked on the ground, forming sharp tendrils, Gray saw her. She was materializing, wearing Lucy's plain white dress, the very dress the girls put her in when they laid her to rest. Then her face began forming, not gaunt, not ghostly. Not dead. Gray swallowed hard when he saw her opened her eyes. God, her eyes. They were not hollow, as he had expected them to be. But, god, her eyes were alive! Juvia...
"Fuck off, Zeref!" Gajeel cursed, avoiding much her water as possible. "You're not going to get away with this." But he just kept dodging. "Oi, half-half. Get 'yer asses away from here."
"Are you out of your mind?" Sting retorted, blasting light towards the water mage. "Let's see how you handle that...Natsu, get out of the way!"
He couldn't see what was happening, as Chelia was then looking at Lyon who remained unconscious, and he felt bad. His brother was barely hanging on. He wished for the twin dragon slayers to go away and get Lyon fixed, and he knew Chelia would follow. But he wanted to see her, he wanted to know what happened. "C'mon, Chelia, look. Fuck, look!"
As if the girl heard him, Chelia looked in time for him to see Natsu blocking Sting's attack towards the water mage by punching the light, splitting it in process, making the light wheezed on both sides but the middle where Natsu stood with Juvia behind him..
Natsu...
"Natsu, what do you think you're doing?" Rogue asked incredulously, his shadow securing its hold on the ice mage's body.
"Don't hurt her," Natsu growled, lowering his fist. "Don't hurt Juvia."
"Natsu, she tried to kill Lyon." Chelia snapped, and Gray would be lying to himself if he said he didn't felt her hate towards Juvia.
"Get 'em out of here," Gajeel said, not taking his eyes off the water mage. "NOW!"
No, dont...
"HE'S CLOSE TO DYING SO FUCK 'YER ASSES OUTA HERE!"
Gray heard Gajeel bellowed and he gritted his teeth. They needed to go for Lyon's sake. Looking at Juvia once again, Gray clenched his jaw just before the white light appeared again.
#
The very moment Gray opened his eyes, he saw almost all people around him at egde. Precaution? That he didn't bother to care as his full attention was focused on the sky god slayer, who was crying in Erza's arms, who was then eyeing him, as if daring him to make a move into forcing the girl to tell him everything that happened.
"Not gonna happen, Gray." Erza said, finality in her tone.
"Erza, don't," Gray almost spat, desperately trying to calm himself. "I need to know."
"Yes, Gray. You need to know. And no, you are not getting your hands on her. Can't you see how vulnerable she is right now? You just made her relieve her worst nightmare."
"In order for me to show you the event from six days ago, Chelia needed to recall everything that happened, even if it is against her will. I just linked your mind with her memory via Memory Pull," Rufus added, adjusting his hat. "Mind you, you were the only one she agreed to share her memory. The rest just heard it from your friend."
"Whatever happens, whatever you hear, stay. Don't walk away. You promised, Gray." From behind Erza appeared Loke in his crisp suit.
"Loke," Gray acknowledged him through gritted teeth. "At that time, did you know?"
"No." Loke shrugged, walking towards his master who remained quiet, eyes fixed on the marbled floor. "I just overhear them talking about needing you here, and I was so bored that I volunteered myself. Turns out, I'm a real smooth talker..."
"That's enough, Loke," the celestial mage finally said, raising her eyes to meet her spirit's. "You've done enough, and Gray deserves the truth. The whole truth."
"Lucy..."
"Sorry Loke. Forced Gate Closure." And with a faint glimmer, Loke vanished to the astral plane, leaving to them a hurt expression.
"He was here as a friend, Lucy," Erza remarked, clearly disappointed that she sent him away. "He was just trying to help you."
"And I'm not letting my friends get blamed for my actions." Lucy heaved a sigh then faced an unstable Gray. "We lied, Gray." When she received no reaction, she continued. "It was all to protect the guild. To protect out family. To protect you."
"Lyon...he...Juvia,"
"We know," Lucy cut him abruptly. "But every story has a beginning, so listen carefully. After this, if you want to yell at me, go. If you want cut your ties with me, I won't stop you. But you need to listen. To all the answers."
Gray stared at her for a few minutes. Hard. "Fire away." He then went to a corner and slumped on the marbled floor, leaning his tired body on the wall.
"Tche. Too much drama."
"Laxus,"
"I was talking to myself, demon. Spill it, blondie."
Lucy's eyes squinted and she spun around to meet his eyes. She really hated that nickname. "I don't need to be told twice," she grudgingly replied before turning back to the ice mage. "Well, you see, Gray, it all started after your 'make up' fight with Natsu..."
"I wouldn't call that make up, Luce...I'm sorry!" Natsu whimpered when Erza placed a fresh blade a hair away from his throat.
"Thank you Erza." Lucy sweatdropped. She pitied the dragon slayer but she has work to be done. "Right after the fight, when Sting and Rogue arrived and about the strange water that has Juvia's scent."
"That's finished business, Lucy. We all...I saw her dead, again, after two years," Gray flatly said, closing his eyes, desperately trying not to recall the image of the water mage's rotting corpse. But what he heard Lucy said next made him snap his eyes wide.
"No, you just saw what you were made to see."
"What?" He was looking at her as if she had suddenly grown three heads. "What did you mean I just saw what I was made to...First?!" He then stood up and strode towards Mavis who was then nibbling at her lips. "Guild masters doesn't chew their lips." He scathingly remarked. "It was you." Back then, there was no mistaking the corpse that he saw was Juvia, and if he just saw what he was made to see, then there's no one in Magnolia who could conjure such an image so sickening perfect than Mavis Vermillion. Such a sick magic.
"Yes, it was me," Mavis finally said, raising her head to meet his accusing eyes. "It was to protect you. She was dead. And then she's not."
"I...I really don't understand a single thing...Lucy?" Gray turned to her.
"When you with the dragon slayers talked back inside the master's quarter, there was one thing that you were left out. The water, Juvia's scent. It was mixed with Zeref's."
"What?"
"Yes, Gray. So a party was made and was sent to a mission: Team Dragon Slayers. Natsu. Gajeel, Sting and Rogue. With their senses they can easily track down the locations the scents were coming from. Gray, you need to understand why you were left out. We need to make sure on where we are going to. We can't give you false hope. You've already suffered for years and just telling you that Juvia might be alive only to find out in the end that all was just Zeref's little game would be too much. We needed proof."
"You could've told me, Lucy," he gritted.
"You were rarely sober. You were unstable..."
"AND WHO GIVES YOU ALL THE FUCK TO DECIDE FOR MYSELF? YEARS, LUCY. TWO YEARS. I'VE BEEN LIVING IN HELL. BECAUSE THE TRUTH IS IT WAS ME WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO DIE. NOT HER. ME." Gray bellowed, his black markings reappearing again. Catching his breath, Gray looked around and he noticed that the wall he was leaning before was covered with thin ice, and he saw Laxus with a triumphant smirk.
"Stable indeed," Laxus sneered. "Don't act like you are the most unfortunate bastard in the world, Gray. The fight isn't just all about you and your stalker."
"You don't talk to her like that," Gray growled, mist forming in his darkened fist.
"Laxus, please," Lucy exasperatedly said, tattooed hand going up to massage her head. "Let's just get this done. We can't leave him in the dark forever."
"Remind me then who shut him out first."
No one answered. Not even Gray for he knew it was him who chose to close himself from the guild.
"I'm sorry."He said, casting his gaze down, trying to control his emotions to remove the ice around the room. "Please continue, Lucy," he said, making his way back in the corner and leaning back again.
"Uhm..right. Where did we left...oh, the team. So, Gray," she started, looking testily at him. "All of us knew and what was left to do was to make you believe that she's...well, dead."
"Even Gajeel? I thought it was strange that he had other important things to do than to attend his bestfriend's exhumation. I should've noticed. And Cana wasn't drunk."
"Lucy was afraid that I would make a slip if I was drunk. It was the longest hours of my life, believe me." Cana retorted at the back.
"So if I was made to see what you wanted me to see, that what did you saw? Tell me, what did you saw."
It was an open question. A request meant for those who were present at the water mage's exhumation. Just what did they saw?
"Juvia was not there, Gray. The casket was empty."
"So, Juvia is really alive?" He hoarsely asked, lump formed in his throat.
"We have two possibilities, actually," Lucy said, looking at him straight. One is that, with the way Juvia attacked Lyon and the inclusion of Zeref's scent, it's a possibility that the latter has gotten a hold of Juvia's body and is controlling her. As an Etherious."
"Maybe she was jsut an illusion," Gray countered while looking at the lone Etherious in existence, Natsu, refusing to believe the possibility of the dead water mage falling into the hands of the dark mage.
"Gray, I'm not mistaken. It's Juvia," Natsu replied, looking at him with a straight face. "It's her scent, and I dunno, but I know it's her. It really is her. And no, not waking the dead up...what do you call that, Luce?"
"Necromancy, Natsu."
"Yeah, that thing. There's nothing funny about her, other than that she attacked Lyon and Zeref's stinking scent. She also attacked me, but once we were out of reach, she didn't persue us."
He knows he can trusts Natsu's nose, but how could that happen? Ruling out necromancy and Etherious and what was left? He saw her die. He was there when she was laid to rest. He visited her almost everyday, he talked to her, got drenched in the rain for her...drenched?
"Lucy, how long is Fiore in drought?" Gray breathlessly said, looking at the celestial mage.
"Two."
Gray's brain was reeling. He was starting to feel elated. "For two years Fiore is in drought. Two years ago, Juvia died. The Rain Woman died. And it has been raining in her grave."
"Rain in her grave? You don't mean..."
"Gihihihi. I brought you present, Titania."
Standing on the stair landing was Gajeel Redfox who looked like he won a year's supply or iron in the lottery. "Get in 'an don't be shy."
A very familiar mage walked passed the iron dragon slayer. Jellal Fernandez.
"Jellal. What are you doing in here?" Erza could only asked in surprise.
"I'm here to talk about possibility number three."
"Possibility number three?" Lucy asked, puzzled.
"Ethernano."