Hey guys! Happy Monday (even though it's not really because there's no FT chapter). In any case, here we go! The climax of story is coming up!
EDIT: Thanks to PokeTail for pointing out that it's Laki and not Lavi. My bad XD
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does.
Read and Review!
An inhumane cry pierced the air. A young girl watched in hiding, tears cascading down her cheeks as she watched the ferocious battle unfold in front of her. She sniffled as she struggled to keep quiet like her mother had ordered her to.
Another scream of pain erupted from the battle. The purple blaze that had obscured most of the battle from the child's view faded and revealed to the girl everything that had happened. In her mother's wings were jagged pieces of ice, pinning her painfully to the ground. Her mother's normally pristinely white gown was covered in blood. A man dressed in armour stood over her, a sword of ice pointed at her throat.
"It's the end of the line, demon." The girl wanted to run out and scream; that her mother wasn't a demon, she wasn't evil and she didn't deserve this. But one fiery glare in her direction was enough to silence the terrified child. The man lifted his sword to the air, readying it to strike. The girl clamped her eyes shut and covered her mouth while the woman lying on the ground simply closed her eyes in acceptance.
…
And then it was over. The girl fell to her knees and sobbed wretchedly into her hands, muffling any noises that threatened to escape her. The man's sword disintegrated into nothing and he turned away, muttering something quiet. But the girl's enhanced hearing had no trouble hearing it.
"That's what you get, demon. That was for my family." For his family, huh? The girl's traumatised violet eyes widened and then narrowed in rage. Then it was for her family that she would take her own revenge. After all, he hadn't killed a demon. He had killed an angel.
Matilda jolted awake, taking deep breaths. After so long, the memory of her past still haunted her. It had been years since that day, but the memories were vivid as if it had only happened yesterday.
Steven burst into her room, panting. He took one look at Matilda and his eyes softened. He made his way over and sat next to her on the bed.
"You still dream of that?" Matilda stubbornly shook her head to the side, not facing the man. Steven sighed and stood up. "You should try to go back to sleep," he said as he exited the room. Matilda took one deep breath as she calmed herself down from the fear induced high of the nightmare. Thinking back on the memory and then on the present, she smiled. Soon. She would have her revenge very soon.
When Lucy was in range of Warren's telepathy again, she immediately reported that she and Loke had found the ice mage and were currently on their way back to the guild. There were many sighs of relief as the rest of the guild returned as well. Loke shifted Gray on his back so that he was more comfortable and immediately rushed him to the infirmary when they arrived back at the guild hall.
When Natsu and Erza returned, they had insisted on seeing Gray first. But Mirajane blocked them as did Makarov.
"Gray needs to rest right now. You two yelling at him for being an idiot is not going to help that," Mirajane said. The master nodded in agreement.
"Let's all wait until morning. You two will be the first to know when he wakes up." The two were upset, but left without much argument, mainly because Erza wouldn't allow Natsu to argue. Before Mira and Makarov left as well, Makarov pulled Freed aside.
"I want you to draw runes on the infirmary door. Make it so that Gray can't escape. Even from the windows." The rune mage nodded and set out to work. When he finished, he nodded in Makarov's direction and left for the night. The old man sighed as he left for the night as well, a tight feeling in his chest that something was going to go wrong. A pair of lavender eyes watched him leave.
The next morning, Natsu and Happy burst into the guild the same time Mira started getting everything ready. She turned, surprised at her company so early in the morning.
"Natsu, Happy, good morning. What brings you two here so early?" Natsu answered her question by storming up to the infirmary door and banging on it as loud as he could.
"Gray! Open up! Damnit Snowflake, open the door!" Mira sighed as she continued to cook and wipe the bar surface. When the door didn't open, Natsu got angry and kicked it down. Mira sighed. The amount of doors they had broken in the past little while was absurd. She resumed her task of preparing food and booze.
Natsu found Gray sitting up and staring into his lap. Enraged, he grabbed Gray's necklace and yanked him close to his face. Gray looked up blearily, lifeless eyes gazing into Natsu's furious ones. Teeth bared, Natsu screamed at him.
"What the fuck were you thinking?! What if we hadn't found you?!" he demanded. Gray frowned.
"Then you wouldn't have to worry about anything. You shouldn't have come after me." Natsu's eyes widened and he gripped the necklace harder.
"What are you saying, Shitty Stripper?" he snarled. "Are you telling me that we shouldn't have tried to help you?!" Gray looked away and that was all the answer Natsu needed. Natsu clicked his tongue, let go of Gray's necklace then punched him in the cheek, causing him to fall onto the bed. Gray made no move to retaliate. Happy tried to calm Natsu down and talk sense with Gray.
"Gray... we all care about you. There's no way that we would just leave you." Without looking up, the raven responded,
"You still should've."
Natsu's anger exploded.
"Droopy eyed bastard! Get it through your thick skull that we're your family and we're going to protect you!" Gray flinched and rose to meet Natsu's gaze. Now, to Natsu's horror, the tendrils had spanned over Gray's entire body and were now squirming. Natsu took a step back. What the hell? How had the marks progressed so quickly? As if not noticing Natsu's surprise, Gray continued to speak.
"How can you protect me against myself?" he accused. Natsu was shocked speechless. Happy moved towards the bed.
"Gray..." he began. But Gray was having none of it. Ice flew from him, leaving an arc on the floor right in front of Happy.
"Leave me alone!" he roared. Reluctantly, Happy backed away. Natsu, however, stayed where he was.
"We aren't going to let her get to you. Even if she does, we'll get you back. I promise." Gray frowned and spat out distastefully,
"She's already got me. Today's the last day." Natsu grabbed onto Gray's forearm angrily, his body heat rising causing Gray to flinch at the heat.
"Then like I said, I'll bring you back. I won't let her use you to kill people, Gray." The mage on the bed sighed as the light returned to his eyes and the tendrils stopped their squirming.
"Thanks... Flame Brain."
Erza was next to "visit" the ice mage. She stormed in through the hole where the door used to be and stopped when the noticed the arc of ice on the floor. Taking care to step over it, she stopped in front of Gray, an utterly furious expression on her face.
"What were you thinking?! You couldn't go anywhere in your condition!" Gray scooted farther away from the terrifying Titania and attempted to explain himself.
"I didn't want to hurt you guys. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did. Erza, you understand right?" The scarlet scowled but remained silent. She knew that Gray was the type of person to push himself to protect his family; heck everyone in Fairy Tail was like that. She had no real right to reprimand him when she herself would have done the exact same in a heartbeat. She sighed.
"Even so, you should have told us. We're your family. I'm sure you've heard it from Natsu, but we're all here for you." Gray nodded and rubbed his eyes. The room suddenly felt blurry and he slowly lay back down.
"Hey guys… I feel tired. Could you guys leave please?" Natsu was about to retort that the last time they had done that Gray had attempted his great escape. But Gray was already asleep and Erza bad placed her hand on Natsu's shoulder.
"Freed has put up runes so that he can't escape the room. It should be fine this time." Natsu huffed but followed Erza out the door shaped hole with Happy flying after the two.
The guild asked Laki to replace the door, which she easily did. It was much more convenient than hiring someone to install a premade door. However, Laki's design was a little more than questionable.
"…Are those spikes?" Lucy asked hesitantly, as she inspected the door, taking care not to get poked by anything. Laki nodded enthusiastically.
"Umm… that's the face on the Iron Maiden, isn't it?" Wendy asked. Again, Laki nodded, eyes gleaming with joy. Everyone sweat dropped.
Suddenly, the guild doors were slammed open. Everyone groaned. Not another door gone to ruin! But the guild was instantly on alert when a mass of mages dressed in purple and black stood in their entryway. Leading them was a familiar green haired woman. Natsu was on his feet instantly, growling.
"Matilda!" A smug grin from the Angel Slayer was the last thing Natsu saw before his vision swam and he was falling towards the ground.
Hmm... this one was pretty short. Oh well. Next ones are longer, I promise! See you guys then! Leave me a review if you have time ^^ Thanks for the reviews/favourites/follows!
Next Chapter: Falcons vs Fairies.