I'm soooo sorry for the late update ! I apologise! Anyway thank you Sooo much for your amazing support! I really do appreciate it and once again sorry for the late update and for all those who read my Grayza one- shot collection called Forbidden, I might be updating tomorrow. I know I haven't updated that in a long time as well. Really sorry! Being a science student totally sucks!
Shout-outs!
Medelie: thank you so much! You are a great support! Hope you like this chapter! :)
AsDarknessSpreads: haha yeah! Bad-ass Gray sure sounds sexy!
IcePrinceRay: Read on to find out what happens! Thank you for you wonderful review! :)
Mikasa-Chan: Thanks! :)
VK ( guest): * blush* I am so flattered. Thank you so much and long live Grayza! :)
Rebel-chan: Thanks! And you'll get to see more of Jellal! :)
So without further delay, presenting to you chapter 6!
Chapter 6
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Footsteps echoed as two men made their way through a labyrinth. They seemed to know the place well as they turned corners without a moment's hesitation. The passages were so dimly lit that one had to be careful of running into a wall or worse- falling off an unsuspected edge. The only source of illumination was the blue glow of the crystal floating in mid-air in front of the two men. They were dressed in black cloaks with hoods shadowing their faces.
After turning a few more corners, they stopped in front of a massive door. The blue glow of the crystal gradually faded and it fell down to an awaiting palm of one of the men. The other placed his outstretched palm on the door and muttered something under his breath. He then withdrew his hand and the door slowly began to open. The two men walked through the door and into an extremely dark room, lit only by fire torches placed on the walls. The room was humongous. It had nothing but a gigantic chair at its end. A man was seated on it, only the outline of his figure was visible.
The two men stopped a good distance away from the chair and bowed down. Then one of them spoke.
" We have information Master. The regrouping has begun and we are on the lookout for disbanded members, and..." he trailed off uncertainly and then spoke again.
" and also... Isaac got killed...by Gray Fullbuster."
The man, addressed as the Master, let out a hysterical laugh. His laugh reverberated through the walls of the room.
" That was bound to happen...anything else?" He asked firmly, his voice was coarse and his words seemed to pierce through the air.
" Erza Scarlet is with him too Master...although it's surprising that she's still alive."
" Titania?!" Frustration and a bit of shock graced his voice. " and that ice bastard refuses to fully succumb to the spell!" he barked and stood up in frustration.
" It seems so Master. That wizard hasn't fully given in yet."
" That bastard's fighting back. Something is making him fight back." Suddenly a low menacing laugh escaped his throat. " Let's see how long he can fight back. He won't have the right senses to fight back once more magic is infused into him..." And his low laugh turned into full-fledged laughter.
" But that could kill him Master. We need him alive."
" It'll certainly be painful but it won't kill a wizard like him." He said sadistically. " and I want Titania dead. It that ice wizard can't kill her then find some other way to finish her." he then gestured for them to leave.
" Yes Master."
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" Okay so this is hallway number one..." Erza said out loud as she tried to find her way to the kitchen. It's not her fault that this ship was so huge and to make matters worse all the hallways were similar. "...and this is hallway number two..." She noted as she turned another hallway. She tried observing the length and width of the hallways to be able to distinguish them but in vain.
She found a door at the end of the hallway.
' Hopefully it's the kitchen.'
She turned the knob and pushed open the door only to find the room which she occupied.
Erza sweat dropped.
'I'm back at square one.'
She closed the door with a sigh and once again wandered aimlessly in hopes of finding the kitchen. She had to prepare breakfast for Gray. She frowned as she thought about what had happened a couple of days ago.
It had been two days since Gray had almost choked her to death. Okay maybe not that exaggerated but it did hamper one of the most basic functions of human life: breathing. She also had to feed him everyday and each time he would be wearing that half-assed smirk of his. How badly she wanted to slap it off his face.
She hated him so much right now. She so hated him. She either wanted to turn him into a bruised and bloody pulp or get away from this ship. She had even made several escape plans but every time she willed herself to escape, she ultimately failed. She couldn't be that heartless to just let Gray suffer all by himself. He was after all her closest friend and it crushed her to see him being controlled by some stupid spell.
" That should be the kitchen..." she quickened her pace as she spotted another similar door. She reached out for the knob but before she could reach it, she quickly withdrew her hand and winced in pain.
" Damn that stings!" She shook her hand, still wincing in pain. She closely observed the door and noticed ruins around it, much like Freed's magic.
' Why would there be ruins blocking this door?'
She at once recognised the magic to be the same as that which had them trapped inside invisible walls.
Her eyes went wide in realisation.
' If that room is protected then it must definitely contain something extremely important inside.'
She thought about trying to break through the ruins but gave up on the idea remembering Natsu's futile efforts. She drew out her sword and striked it roughly against the wall causing a deep mark next to the door. She certainly could not afford losing this door. It might just contain information about the spell or about how it could be broken. She really didn't have a good feeling about that room. The dark aura surrounding it sent shivers down her spine. She took one last skeptical look at the door and involuntarily shuddered a little.
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" Natsu...are you alright?" Of course not.
Lucy knew that it was a stupid question but it didn't hurt asking right.
Well she was in no better condition herself. Yeah, it would suck to continuously feel and worried and constantly feel anxious for reasons unknown. Maybe it was because of intense fear. Do people feel anxious when they are afraid? She didn't know the answer to that.
It has been two days since that day which they so desperately tried to forget. Lucy wanted to forgot everything about that day, like it never existed. She regretted taking on the mission, also regretted asking Gray to join them on the mission.
The guild was silent today. It had been silent for the past two days without the obnoxious and arrogant ice mage picking fights with Natsu and the almighty Titania bossing them around.
Natsu sat in front of his untouched plate of food, deep in thought. He didn't reply to Lucy's question.
Lucy sighed and plopped herself on the chair next to Natsu.
" Luce...do you think Gray and Erza are alright?" Natsu asked in a low voice.
Lucy turned to look at him. Her expression turned sad. He looked so worried that it saddened her. Natsu was usually never worried nor did he think much. Her eyes softened and she gently put her arms around him and pulled him into a reassuring embrace. Natsu buried his face in her hair.
" They'll be fine." She slowly whispered.
...
" Gray are you in there?" Erza asked out loud. She knocked on the door once again.
No response.
Her eyebrows twitched in annoyance. It had been hours since she's been standing in front of Gray's room, knocking on his door and she still didn't get a single response. Maybe not hours, a few minutes or more appropriately just a few seconds.
Annoyed and impatient, she pushed open the door only to find Gray...sleeping?
Erza raised an eyebrow.
'Isn't he supposed to be formulating plans to take over the world or something?' Erza thought sarcastically as she walked towards his bed and placed the breakfast beside his bed.
'Guess I don't have to feed him today.'
Erza was about to leave but stopped abruptly when she heard Gray mutter something. She turned to look at him. He was still asleep but his face had a painful expression. He looked like he was having a really bad nightmare. His forehead was decorated with sweat, his bangs stuck to his forehead and he was panting slightly. He cried in pain a little. Erza immediately went to his side. She gently touched his cheek, nudging it gently.
" Hey Gray...hey..." Erza asked, concern evident in her eyes and tone.
Gray's eyes shot open. He looked confused and terrified for a moment and then roughly swatted her hand away. He sat up in his bed and roughly ran a hand through his dark hair. Erza tried approaching him.
" G-Go away!" Gray barked, in a voice which seemed foreign to Erza. He refused to even look at her.
" Gray wai-"
" Ice-make lance!"
Erza yelped in surprise. She was caught completely off guard. His magic hit her hard and it slammed her to the wall. She bit her tongue roughly to prevent herself from screaming out in pain. Her left hand felt numb. She noticed it bleeding profusely. Her left hand must have taken most of the hit when she lifted it to shield herself from Gray's attack.
She lifted herself up only to be thrown back again by his magic. Her back hit hard against the wall and she was sure of a broken rib.
Ice shards pierced her skin. She cried in pain. His magic was deadly. It had never done this much damage to her before. She once again lifted herself up. She looked up at Gray with one eye open. His eyes were so shallow, pitch black. It was like a mirror and Erza could see her own broken down reflection. His eyes looked lifeless. He had an ice sword in his hand. He tightened his grip on it and charged forward towards Erza.
Erza shut her eyes, bracing herself for the impact but it never came. She opened her eyes just to find the sword, one or two centimetres away from piercing her neck. She was breathing heavily and her breaths came out ragged. She looked up to find Gray just inches away from her. His bangs shadowed his face. The sword shook in his grip and he shuddered lightly. He looked up to meet her gaze and Erza's eyes went wide when she saw him.
Gray was...crying.
Tears streamed down his face freely.
Something inside Erza broke, shattered into pieces. She had never seen Gray cry before.
' Why are you crying all alone then?'
His words echoed in her mind.
He had always said that he hated her tears, hated seeing her cry. He had always tried his best to protect her tears and what about her?
She was just a self-centred, selfish jerk.
She felt sick with guilt for holding so much hatred towards him for the past few days, felt guilty for thinking about escaping and abandoning him.
What kind of sick-twisted friend was she?
More tears rolled down his eyes and Erza wanted nothing more than for those tears to stop flowing.
" Go away Erza...please...go away from here before I kill you." His voice shook. He sounded so desperate and pleading.
The sword fell from his grip and clattered to the floor.
He moved away from her, still shivering violently. He ran a hand through his hair. Erza stared into his eyes. They seemed like they were fighting an internal battle.
Erza slanted her eyebrows and looked at Gray with determination. She walked towards him, her left hand still hurting her like a thousand devils, blood dripping from it.
Gray moved backwards a little, like he was horribly afraid.
" Stay away from m-" he was cut short when Erza put her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Gray's eyes widened in shock and fear.
" I'm not going anywhere Gray."
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Done! Woohooo! So how did it go? Good? Bad? Horrible? Or beyond horrible? Plz do let me know and do not forget to leave a review! Your reviews really encourage me to update faster! If I went wrong somewhere then PLZ do let me know! So that's it for now! Stay tuned for the next chapter!
Happy reading - PF