Okay, guys. This is the last chapter. I wanted to say: thanks for dealing with all of my crap, I know I didn't update regularly. This was supposed to be finished in February, and I've extended it because of my laziness. But thanks for sticking with me...new things are coming soon! Anyway, last chapter. Here we go.

~Hiraethe


Natsu was immersed in darkness. He groaned as consciousness seeped back into his body, and alertness quivered in his aching limbs. With an effort, he forced his eyes open.

Next to him on clean hospital sheets, Lucy Erza, and Wendy were sleeping peacefully. He breathed a sigh of relief, grinning slightly. They did it. He searched the room again, noting Levy and Gajeel's presence and the two sleeping exceeds by his side, yet the absence of a certain fairy tail mage bothered him. He gripped the side of his bed.

"Natsu, you're awake!"

Natsu looked up to see Lisanna hovering over him. He smiled sheepishly, obliging as she raised him into a sitting position. She hugged him gently, being careful to not press too hard on the recent wounds he had accumulated in the preceding battle. After a long speech about how worried she was and an even longer lecture on his recklessness, her face broke into a teary smile. She wiped her eyes, hugging Natsu again.

"I'm so glad you're not...,"

"Lisanna, you know I don't die." Natsu said, giving her a toothy smile. She smiled tearily.

"...Yeah," she said, throwing off his covers to inspect his bandages. Some of them were stained with blood, while others had been loosened or thrown off in his slip. Natsu bore her fussing for a few minutes,until he pushed her off him forcefully.

"Okay, okay, Lisanna, I'm not dead, okay?" he said, ruffling her hair with affection. "Don't worry about me. By the way, where's Gray?" Lisanna's smile quickly vanished off her face, and tears began to form in her eyes. Natsu's heart leaped, and he jumped up.

"Lisanna, where's Gray? Damn it, what did he do to himself this time?" he roared, a wave of fear washing over him. When Lisanna didn't answer, he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "Lisanna, open your mouth and spill! WHERE IS GRAY?"

Lisanna made no attempt to answer. Natsu growled in anger, squeezing her tighter. A fire of rage burned beneath him-the dangerous kind, with fear as its match. Because Gray wasn't supposed to be hurt...he was supposed to be staring down at him, waiting for him to get up, and when Natsu did, he was supposed to slap him lightly and they were supposed to throw insults at each other. Natsu was supposed to brag to him about he and Lucy were the fastest, and Gray was supposed to respond with a clever retort, that really was clever but Natsu would never admit to that normally-but, most importantly, Gray wasn't supposed to be hurt.

Lisanna started to cry. Huge, glass like tears dropped down onto her face, her cheeks flushed and her turquoise eyes gleaming with sorrow. The world that seemed to be collapsing stabilized itself once more as Natsu realized his mistake. He wrapped Lisanna in a tight bear hug, ignoring the scream from his ribs and the blood that was seeping from his leg.

"Lisanna-I didn't-no, I'm sorry-can you?"

"I'm not mad at you Natsu...,"

"No, I didn't mean to hurt you...I just care about Gray, ya know?" Natsu said, and Lisanna gave him a knowing smile. Natsu's mind travelled back to Tartaros, at the crucial moment of battle.


Natsu put up his arms in defense, preparing for the Memento Mori attack that was coming his way. He opened his eyes amid the dust and damage that swirled around him, just enough to see a raven haired figure moving towards him.

"Oi, Ice Princess! There's a good chance we'll be wiped off the face of the Earth in a few seconds so I recommend taking cover," Natsu called out. Gray did not respond. A huge gash on his chest was bleeding more profusely than ever, and Natsu had noticed. But, if indeed they were to not exist anymore, he figured these wounds did not matter.

If he died, he died with Gray. And if he meant he could take his rival with him, there really wasn't too much regret to be had.

"MEMENTO MORI!"

Natsu prepared for his mind to go black. His body to deteriorate. His brain to go mad. But none of these feelings ever came. He heard Gray yell out, and something enclose around both of them. He didn't open his eyes, wondering if this is what it felt like to die. Suddenly, stone crumbles down around him. He opens his eyes.

The first thing he sees is Mard Geer. He looks completely speechless.

"How...you scoundrel!" he cries out. "No one can survive my ultimate curse!" Natsu's eyes widens in confusion when he notices the quivering back of his rival. It is battered and bloodied, yet there is something distinctly odd about it.

Have of it was covered in black markings. His friend's body was positioned in a defensive stance, and Natsu wasn't really sure what was going wrong until-

"To make way for the future...,"

For Natsu, time had stopped. Gray's body began to collapse. No no no. Gray what are you doing. No no you can't die now we still have someone to defeat Gray what is going on speak to me. Gray you can't die YOU CAN'T DIE. However, Natsu just watched in silence.

"All I can do now...is believe in Natsu."

Natsu didn't react...he didn't know how to. He didn't know how to even feel. He didn't even move, until the reality of the situation hit him like a train. Gray was down...most likely critically injured...and it was all his fault. Feelings swirled inside of him, until he let out a scared, shaking scream.

"GRAY!"


Natsu staggered out of bed, despite the protests of his limbs. As soon as his legs supported him fully, he felt himself collapse towards the ground. He grabbed his head, attempting-forcing-himself to he could get any further, a small figure burst through the door.

"Jii-chan!" Natsu said, his knees giving out under him. "Jii-chan, is Gray alright?" The master does not meet his gaze, but instead stares down at the floor, as if trying to comprehend the past few hours.

"Gray is going to be okay."


It had been 6 hours, 45 minutes, and 16 seconds since Makarov had entered. During this time, Lucy, Erza, Wendy, and the exceeds had awoken. As soon as Lucy had seen Natsu, she began to cry furiously, glad that the ordeal was finally over.

The smiles that dusted their faces turned sober, however, when Makarov delivered the news about Gray.

"He wasn't breathing when we reached...thankfully, Cana and the others reached in time," he said quickly. "His wounds will take a lot of time to heal from. No missions or brawls for two months." Natsu's eyes bugged out, and he jumped off of his bed.

"Hey, wait a minute! Gray's wounds can't take that long to heal. Jii-chan, he's eighteen. He isn't eighty." Makarov glared at him testily (taking it as an insult towards himself), and crossed his arms.

"It doesn't matter. His wounds were very deep, and I'm not taking any chances this time."

"Yeah, but two months? Two months without fighting? Gray will probably be running around the guild within the next hour."

"I didn't say he was fine, you know, I said that he was savable."

"So, Gray might die?" Lucy asked, with fear in her eyes.

"No, I never said that...I mean, he might, but he's savable so he probably won't. We're working on it, okay?"

"So is he okay or not?" Natsu asked.

"Stop it, Natsu."

A powerful, dangerously low voice cut through their argument. Natsu looked at Erza, who was sitting on her bed with a pensive expression.

"Erza, don't you want to know how Gray is too? You were WITH him, you gotta know what happened to him."

"Natsu, I said to stop it. Right now. This conversation is over."

Her tone of voice, sent shivers down Natsu's spine, and he didn't dare argue any further. However, Makarov took this initiative to speak up once more.

"Natsu has a point, Erza. What happened?"

The question was so quiet that Erza didn't hear it. However, she knew exactly what he had asked. She bit her lip, closing her eyes. She blocked out the fear, the tears, the screams, the blood, so that her mind was filled with blackness. And Gray. Everyone stared at her, until Wendy reached over to hug her.

"It's okay, Erza. You don't need to speak if you don't want to."

The requip mage stared down at Wendy's face. It wasn't calm or comforting...instead, it was unsettling. Her lip was quivering furiously, and she kept blinking to drive away the tears. Her cheeks were flushed, and the worry in her face was evident.

Makarov's face was grave, and nothing more. His eyes showed his weariness from his past events, and his lips were pressed together as if trying to suppress something that he didn't want to come out.

Natsu, Erza had realized, often accepted Gray's injuries with anger. This time, he had masked his concern with fiery eyes and an unsmiling mouth. He had a comforting arm around Lucy, who had broken into tears hours turquoise eyes glanced up at the scarlet, interrogation in every gaze.

Before Erza could respond, another figure burst through the door. It was Porlyusica. Her skin was a clammy pallor, and her form was trembling. Makarov got up immediately, rushing over to confront her.

"Is everything okay?" Natsu asked. Porlyusica caught her breath, before answering.

"Gray is awake."


Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Wendy, Makarov, and Porlyusica made their way down the hospital hallways as fast as physically possible, only slowed by their injuries and the dead bodies being pushed on bulky stretchers. Natsu was the first to reach, stumbling over his feet, and crashing into the door. It swung open on contact, and Natsu looked up.

Propped up on numerous pillows, on another hospital bed, sat their teammate, finally awake. He looked slightly dazed, his eyes showing his weariness and his skin a paperwhite. Bandages were wrapped around his forehead as well as every part of his body from his neck downwards-so, in all honesty, he looked more dead than alive. On the table next to him was an oxygen mask (which he assumed was the thing that had helped him come back to life). When he saw his teammates, he smiled shyly.

"Hey guys, what's u-"

"GRAY!" They all explained, rushing over to his side immediately.

"Gray I was so scared! Don't ever frighten me like that again... I don't want you to die, you lovable idiot," Lucy said, hugging him as tight as she could without choking him. Gray smiled weakly at her.

"I'll have you know that Lucy and I were the FIRST ones to take the bomb," Natsu said, "Just in case you were wondering...by the way, Jii-chan tells me that you can't fight OR go on missions for two whole months. Take that you...,"

"Natsu, anything else you want to say?" Erza said, staring intently at Natsu. A cold shiver ran down Natsu, as he did not have the physical or mental state of health to bear another beating from Erza for the day.

"Um...I'm glad you're okay and thanks for not dying?" Natsu said meekly, and Erza nodded approvingly. Gray laughed mockingly, punching Natsu playfully.

"Yeah, you idiot, watch your mo-wait, did you say TWO MONTHS? Jii-chan, what is the meaning of this? I'm perfectly fine!" Gray exclaimed.

"No. And if you say you are ONE MORE TIME, I'll have Natsu and Erza do a physical demonstration to show you," came the harsh response, and Gray groaned as he lay back in bed.

"Gray, I thought you died! But you didn't! Buy me fish to apologize!" Happy explained, curling up next to Gray's chest.

"Gray-san, if you ever need me to help heal you over these two months, don't hesitate to call me...I'm glad you're okay though...," Wendy said sweetly, squeezing his hand tightly.

"Don't bother helping him, Wendy. He's so reckless that he'll probably walk into a pole and die before he can call you." came the matter of fact response from Carla.

Gray chuckled at this notion, before looking at Erza. She was the only one who had not directly talked to him, and she was staring at him nervously.

"Gray, I'm very sorry for not protecting you as a proper guildmate should. Perhaps...as punishment...I'll take you out?"

Gray's eyes widened, before he coughed into his elbow nervously. Natsu, Lucy, and Makarov giggled in the background. Happy covered his mouth with his paws.

"She lllikes him!"

"Not another word, cat," Erza said, before the tremor in her voice was unmistakable. She returned her focus to Gray. "Well? As punishment, it would be my treat, of course. To your favorite restaurant. And then cake afterwards."

Gray seemed to consider for a moment (who was he kidding, everyone knew he wasn't actually thinking about it, but making it seem more dramatic), and his smile widened.

"Okay, if you insist." He conceded. Erza took that as a sign of her forgiveness, and, finally, she threw her arms around him. Gray embraced her as well, when he felt two teardrops drop onto his back.

"Come on now, Erza. You know that I don't like to see you cry."


It took Gray about a month and a half to fully recover. However, as per Makarov's insistence, Gray was forced to stay in Magnolia with no brawls or jobs, which, of course, bored him to no end. However, this did not mean he remained idle. In fact, he was more active than ever.

For the last two weeks after his recovery, he had been training furiously. Even though Makarov distastefully called it a "loophole of the rules", the rest of his team encouraged it and often helped him in his endeavors. Cana was a regular in his training hours, bringing in weights and book and swords for them to fight together. While, sometimes, they would get bloody, and, sometimes even, Gray would have to visit the hospital again, this time, he knew that he was fighting for a reason.

He was fighting so that he didn't have to bother his friends with hours of waiting, to see if he was going to survive. He was fighting so that he could go on trips with his team always, with no excuses due to injuries. He was fighting so he didn't have to sacrifice himself. More importantly, he was fighting so people didn't have to be the subject of his sacrifice.

He was fighting so that he wouldn't see Erza cry. And, when he thought about it that way, every drop of blood he had shed in the last ten years seemed worth it.


OMG WE'RE FINALLY DONE WITH THIS. THANK GOODNESS. Don't get me wrong, I loved writing this piece, but I feel like I've disappointed you with it. Now, I don't have to be bound to this. I can finally write something new, something worthwhile. I'm thinking of writing some drabbles-both from Fairy Tail and from One Piece. Special thanks to Viperhat, who came up with the backbone of this piece. You're the best!

Special thanks to Poketail for inspiring me. You're so amazing I seriously fangirl over your writing. Write more please, I miss your writing so much.

Special thanks to Absolute-ZERO999 for always commenting no matter how late I am. And thanks to you, for reading...you guys really mean a lot to me! Bye!

~Hiraethe