Gray was feeling the tingling in his demon slayer arm already. The black tattoo was extending up his arm. Juvia glanced at him. The solemn expression on his face left no room for playfulness at all.

It was Day 3 of the preparations. They spent day one in a large gym within the castle getting briefed on the plan. A lot of the Royal Guard would be going with them for support, which relieved them greatly since it wouldn't actually be only the seven of them infiltrating Aranthos. The Celestial beings each had their own special magical abilities, hidden for a millennia as they protected the princess and Tomo. Natsu and Lucy were asked to leave at this point with their own agenda: Go back to Fairy Tail to start mobilizing the Earthland forces, starting with Fairy Tail. Each guild was contacted to do the same. Set up defenses. Hopefully, the war would never get to Earthland if the seven mages and their army of Celestial guards were able to neutralize the threat before it could get that far.

After the first day of briefing, the 2nd day was spent dividing into infiltration teams. Gray and Juvia would take out the House of Aranthos. There could be no survivors. The rest of the team would follow in at that time. They would wait for an opening to get into the main gates of Hell. Nobody knew what opening that would be, but they would wait. At that time, Cana and Arcadios would need to find a way to get close to Andromeda, hopefully trapping Andromeda and ending the threat before it could get to Earthland.

The 3rd day was spent getting weapons ready. Once they were inside, it was imperative that there was no communication with the outside to decrease the chance of Andromeda recognizing attack potential. They would be unable to rely on the outside for weapon reinforcement, which meant they had to take weapons with them. Their magic powers would be their primary defense and offense, but it would be necessary to have back up measures.

"Gray," Juvia said softly, touching his forearm overtop of the black tattoos twisting up his arm, "Please talk to me. It feels like you haven't said anything at all for 3 days."

"What do you want me to say?" he asked, grabbing a knife and placing it on his shin with a belt under his long black jeans. Satisfied that it was hidden, he began to undress for bed.

"You volunteered so quickly," Juvia hugged his waist, forcing him to stop playing with hiding spots for his weapons, "Aren't you afraid? Aren't you worried?"

"No," Gray said simply, indulging her with a quick hug before moving away to find a belt to strap a large sword to his back, "And you volunteered right after me! You could have gone home and helped with Fairy Tail's defenses," he shot her a look that she couldn't identify. It softened as he looked at her. He walked over and placed an arm on her shoulder, "We'll be fine. I'm a demon slayer. I was denied the right to kill END. I think this is what I was meant to do with this magic."

Juvia's eyes filled with tears, "But Gray…"

He turned and looked at her. Her face was pale. A single tear escaped, running down her cheek and onto her shirt.

Gray sighed, realizing he could deny his feelings all he wanted to. That wasn't going to comfort Juvia. He put his belts down on the bed and went to her, taking her in his arms.

"I love you," he said quietly, "I don't tell you that enough. But I do. I love you so much. I'm not doing this to prove anything…and I hope you aren't either. I would much rather that you go home to Magnolia. But I can't make that decision for you. So we'll go together. Think of it as doing this for our future, Juves. When this is over, I'll marry you, okay? Then we can have those babies you keep bugging me for."

Instead of making her smile, Juvia burst into tears and cried for all she was worth. Gently, Gray urged her into the bathroom and into the tub so as not to drown the castle's guest room. He let her cry it out.

Jellal and Erza were having a similar conversation in their room.

"Do you really think this plan will work?" Jellal asked. He was opting not to take weapons. His magic was powerful and he was confident in using it. If he was going to go down, he'd do it fighting with all he had.

"There's no doubt," Erza said flatly. She, on the other hand, was stocking her Requip closets to the brim. Hand to hand combat was no issue for her. She knew she could hold her own.

"Erza," Jellal said quietly, taking her hand and making her stop what she was doing, "If Princess Hisui has someone on hand…maybe you'd consider marrying me before this? I know I'm not good enough for you. I will never be good enough for you. But hopefully after this mission, I'll be just that much closer. I want to marry you."

She stopped what she was doing, studying his face, "I love you, Jellal, but let's save it for when we get back."

He kissed her lips sweetly, "Or…we can go kick Hell's ass as Mr. and Mrs. Fernandez. Doesn't that have a nice ring to it?"

"Isn't that a bit sudden?"

"Oh c'mon!" He grinned, taking her in his arms and going in for a deep, sensual kiss, "I'll talk to the kitchen and make sure our make-shift wedding cake is strawberry shortcake!"

She laughed lightly, "Let's go talk to Hisui."

Gajeel and Levy were cuddling in bed, having just proven their love together for the last night before the mission.

"You stay close to me," Gajeel said, softly stroking her hair, "You don't leave my side for any reason, understand?"

"Oh c'mon!" Levy rolled her eyes, "You don't think I can look after myself?"

"I know you can – but we're stronger together."

She smiled into his neck as she kissed it lazily, "You're a brown noser, Gajeel. Such a suck up. Tough guy, my ass."

He tickled her sides, "Say that again – I dare you!"

"I can think of something else I'd rather do again," she said, playfully tugging on his long hair.

He growled, pouncing on her with his tickle fingers. She used the opportunity to pull him into a long, slow kiss. He didn't need encouragement. He melted into the kiss. There was only the two of them left in the world. No more words were needed.

Cana sat alone in her room, turning the card that would entrap Andromeda to his Celestial realm forever over and over in her hands.

She was toying with the idea of telling Arcadios, who had come by her room about an hour ago with a bottle of wine, to come back. He had offered it to her to calm her. It was very tempting tonight. She'd be able to force her alcoholic tendencies off for over a year now, but tonight she really would love the taste of a good, cold alcoholic beverage and possibly a one night stand to ease her frazzled nerves. Arcadios was offering both. But he'd understood when she'd told him she couldn't have a drink, silently shutting him down for a one night stand as well, and left her to her own devices.

She prayed she was strong enough now. She prayed that when the time came, everyone would come home in one piece. She thought about her dad. He should be going on this mission. Would he be proud of her if she could successfully trap Andromeda? Would anyone care if she didn't come back? Would she still be known as Cana the Fairy Tail Drunkard?

Cana knew she would always have a place in Fairy Tail, but doubts had been plaguing her for years now. She was not essential. Especially when she was a drunk. Since she'd quit drinking, she took pride in the swell of her magic power. But what was her place in Fairy Tail?

Sighing heavily, she grabbed a cold water bottle from the miniature fridge and opened it. Somehow, the cold liquid was a sad substitute for what she really wanted. However, she needed to stick with her resolve. It would have to be good enough for now.