Okay, so I missed last weeks update. I'm sorry! I hadn't had much time to write so I had nothing prepared. Hopefully this chapter will make up for my absence. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Ya know...
Having to sit back and watch as your childhood friend goes through inner turmoil mustn't be fun. Wendy couldn't even begin to imagine what the two older wizards were going through. She'd been a member of Fairy Tail for a while now and, as everyone else, the sky dragon cared deeply for her comrades. Seeing one of them in pain was bad enough, but knowing that there was nothing they could do about it was even worse. Of course, Wendy played her part in helping to heal Gray's arm, but she came out with very little success. The ice wizard was lying on a small bed in the private room Makarov had set them up with. Erza had placed herself in an armchair with her head in her hands, not daring to look up and witness Gray's tortured expression. Natsu, on the other hand, wouldn't stop pacing. Left, right. Left, right. Though he did stop occasionally to take a quick glance at Gray. Then he continued. Left, right. Left, right. It was getting kind of annoying actually, however Wendy wouldn't speak up. They're just worried, and the girl wasn't used to scolding anyway. It had been around fifteen minutes since Gray fell unconscious and by now he was practically sweating a river. He had kicked the sheets off the bed and his hands were balled into fists. Every now and then, a quiet groan or whimper could be heard coming from the raven and Wendy couldn't help but feel sorry for him. One thought crossed through her mind. How much longer until Lucy-san returns with Porlyusica-san?
Lucy arrived at Porlyusica's fairly quickly thanks to Happy and Carla's max speed. She scurried over to the door and knocked like her life depended on it. It opened a tiny amount until it was slammed shut by the home owner. "Go home! I've got not business with humans."
"But I'm a cat," Happy called back, hoping that she'd change her mind.
When they were met with silence, Lucy's temper rose. "Porlyusica-san, please! Our friend, he's… we think he's been possessed."
At this, the door opened. "Possessed? By what?"
"A demon," Carla stated.
"I'm a healer, not an exorcist. What do you want me to do about it?"
"Well… Master said you might be able to help."
The woman stared down and the desperate faces. If she refused any longer she'd end up with them getting on their knees and begging. She sighed. "Your guild really depends on me too much. Come on, let's get going."
Makarov was pacing throughout his office. The thought that one of his own children was in serious danger scared him to the bone. What if Porlyusica couldn't help? What if there was no way to save him? Too many questions were tangled in his brain, but he wasn't going to ignore the elephant in the room. How had Gray been possessed in the first place? This definitely needed investigating; he'd find a decent team to take care of that later. Right now, all that mattered was making sure that the guild's resident ice wizard was safe.
The tiny man exited his office and pulled himself up the stairs. He continued down the corridor until he reached the private room. With any luck, Porlyusica would arrive any second to aid them. Using his magic to force the door open, he was met with three pairs of eyes, filled with worry and concern. Makarov's eyes moved over to the bed only to see Gray's pained expression, his hands clenched into fists as he progressed through his nightmare.
"What happened?" He asked, or rather, yelled.
"He collapsed again on the way over here," Erza stated, bluntly.
"But he seemed perfectly fine whilst in my office."
Natsu opened his mouth to respond, however he was abruptly silenced as his team mates stormed into the room with Porlyusica quick to follow.
"All of you except Makarov, out!" She boomed, pointing to the exit.
Reluctantly, the girls all nodded before heading to the door. Natsu, being the stubborn pyro that he is, insisted on staying, earning him a punch in the stomach and being dragged out of the room by Erza. Porlyusica placed her bag on the bed side table and leaned in to get a good examine of Gray's condition.
"Is there a way to help him?" Makarov asked immediately.
"So far, it's not looking good," she answered, blankly. "Has he been on a job recently?"
"Yes, he went on one yesterday, why do you ask?"
"He magic isn't replenishing at the usual rate, it's almost as if it's all the Ethernano is collecting in a different area."
"You don't mean... Deliora's been stealing his magic?"
"Deliora?! The blonde didn't say anything about him being possessed by one of Zeref's demons."
"That demon was the one who killed his parents and mentor," Makarov sighed.
"I see. Well, we know why the beast decided to possess this one, but the real question is how?"
"I'll have some of my brats look into it. Our main priority is making sure Gray is safe."
"Hmm," Porlyusica mumbled. "Do you have any of those magic sealing cuffs? We don't have a way of draining the magic Deliora's been storing, but we can prevent the boy's body from absorbing anymore."
It was just their luck that one of the cuffs was tucked away in one of the cupboards. As Makarov dug through the clutter to grab it, Porlyusica continued. "Of course, this means the boy can no longer go on jobs, or use his magic whatsoever for that matter. He already has barely enough magic in him as it is. If that demon tries to take anymore, it'll only do more damage than good. The cuffs should keep Deliora at bay, but not for long. We'll have to find out how to save him before the demon can take control of him again. Who knows what that vile creature can do?" She went to grab the raven's arm, but quickly pulled back when shards of ice flew in her direction.
"You're a little too late for that plan," a voice snarled. Gray's eyes once again turned red and a sadistic grin adorned his features. He flicked his wrist back, sending the healer crashing into the wall with his ice magic.
"Gray?!" Makarov yelled standing in between the boy and his only exit.
"Try again," the grin on his face widened.
"No! You're... Deliora."
"Wow, you catch on quick for an old man. Let's just get one thing clear," Gray's form leaped off the bed. "No one will be taking my magic away from me, not when I'm this close to achieving my goals."
Makarov gritted his teeth and activated his magic.
"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you," the demon laughed. "Remember who you're attacking. It'd be a shame if something happened to the boy wouldn't it."
Crap! Makarov thought. How the hell am I gonna do anything without harming Gray?
The tiny man was snapped out of his thoughts when Gray's form grabbed him by the neck and hoisted him off his feet.
"I wonder how Gray will feel know he was the one to kill his own guild master?" He chuckled.
Natsu and the girls sat at their signature table on the ground floor. Their guild mates occasionally approached the group to ask of Gray's condition, but each time were met with silence. The knees was seriously starting to take a toll on the group. Natsu, Lucy and Happy remembered the first time they'd seen Deliora. The fear in Gray's eyes overwhelmed the group. The raven was usually a very calm and collected person so for him to lose his cool like that scared them to the bone. Natsu thought back to the Tartarus incident, how Gray had told him about his father. How the man pretended to be possessed by the demon of his past and even go as far as to gravely injure the guy. Natsu almost laughed at the irony. His thoughts went back to Gray. Each time the ice wizard had been faced with Deliora, he'd attempted the forbidden, Iced Shell. At least they could relax somewhat, knowing that this wasn't something that kind of ice could solve. The Salamander's ears suddenly perked up. He could have sworn he just heard Makarov yelling. Darting up the staircase, Natsu raced to the room his team mate was occupying with the girls (and cats) quick to follow. He kicked the door down and scanned the room... And they were NOT happy with what they saw. Gray was holding their guild master by the neck while the man flailed around in attempt to break free.
"Master!" The girls shouted. Erza readied her sword, Lucy grabbed one of her keys and Wendy hurried over to Porlyusica and began healing. The red-head was about to charged when she was halted by the pink haired male.
"Deliora!" The pyro boomed, tackling Gray's form to the ground. The attacked caused the demon to let go of Makarov.
"Bastard, unhand me!" Gray's red eyes glared into Natsu's onyx ones. His formed wriggled around trying to escape the dragon slayers grasp.
"Gray, I know you can hear me!" Natsu continued to yell. "You've got fight him! Don't let this bastard take control of you. Snap out of it Gray!"
"Shut up!" Gray voice changed into a harsh growl that resembled a beast. "Hyōma no Gekikō!" He roared in attempt of force Natsu off. However, he trail was futile. Despite the immense force, Natsu held on to his rivals wrists, taking the full blow of the attack.
"Natsu!" Lucy cried. "Get away from him!"
But Natsu refused. There was no way he was leaving Gray's side while that demon still had a hold of him. Erza sat by Makarov's side watching the event.
"T-the... cuff," he muttered, still trying to catch his breath.
Erza glanced across the floor so see an iron cuff sat not too far from Wendy and Porlyusica. The red-head called out to the girl who then grabbed hold of the item and chucked it her way. Erza then shouted to Natsu who, without turning around, pulled his hand away from the raven and a caught the cuff. Thank god for dragon senses he thought. Before Gray could do anymore damage, Natsu forced the cuff onto his right wrist, cutting off his magic.
"Bastard," he yelled, pushing Natsu away. He rose from his position and tried to activate the magic he robbed from his host, but to no avail.
"Natsu, are you alright?" Happy asked with concern in his eyes.
Completely ignoring his partner, Natsu attempted to reach out to Gray. "C'mon Gray, don't let this thing beat you. Even I know you're stronger than this. If you're just giving up here that makes you nothing less of a coward. You're pathetic!"
At this, Gray's form fell down on one knee and clutched his head. "Give up ice wizard!" he screamed. "The more you fight me, the worse it'll be for you and your friends when I take full control."
"What should we do?" Lucy whispered to her team mates as Deliora roared. "We need to help him."
"Just follow my lead," Natsu instructed and went back to shouting. "What's your Dad gonna think when he finds out you were done in by Deliora, huh? You still haven't fulfilled your promise to him yet. He'll never forgive you if he finds out this demon got the better of you!"
"What do you think Ur and Ultear will think when they find out their sacrifices were in vain? Don't disappoint them," Erza joined in.
"Natsu-san, Erza-san, don't you think you're being a little harsh on him?" Wendy muttered.
"It's necessary to snap him out of it," Carla stated.
"Ain't no way…" Gray's form mumbled. Something was different. The whole time Gray had been possessed, his voice had altered. But this time, he sounded like himself. "Ain't no way I'm losing to you, Deliora!"
The raven's eyes returned to their original colour, but soon rolled to the back of his head as his form crumpled to the ground. As done before, Natsu ran up to catch him before his face made impact with the wooden floorboards. "It's over," he sighed.
"For now," Makarov continued. "Things are only going to get worse from here on out. We need to find out how he got possessed in the first place and find a way to save him before Deliora can take full control."
"I'm afraid there's nothing else I can do for him," Porlyusica rose from her position after Wendy had finished her healing. "This will be a race against time. Once Deliora does take full control, Gray's soul will be destroyed in order to hold the demon's instead. And there will be no way to save him after that. Gray will die."
Dun, dun, duuuuuuunnnnnnnn!
Oh my gawd, have you guys heard the new opening to the anime? God, I love it. It fits perfectly for the Natsu and Gray vs Mard Gear fight. Speaking of that, I can't wait for that to come out animated. The anime better do that fight justice. And I am not happy with the preview for the next episode. It showed Laxus going to save Gajeel after his fight with Torafuza. BTW spoilers ahead. NO! Gray is supposed to show up like a badass and use his Devil Slayer magic to one shot Tempesta. If they miss that out I may kill someone! Other than that, loved the past two episodes. :D
Anyway, anime rant over. Now, the manga rant. Oh boy, the next chapter is called Naked Battle. I can already sense the fan service terrorising us. Oh well, at least I have volume fifty to enjoy while I wait for the naked Lucy scenes to be over.
Don't forget to do all those things I keep annoying you all about. :p
See ya in the next one. ;)
