FINALLY! Exams Over! Weeeeeee!
*ahem*
Thank you all for the reviews, follows and favourites. Please continue to support me! So, here! Chapter!
As you might have guessed, Freed kinda has a main-side role in the story. I find his powers truly amazing, cuz come on! Who doesn't want to do just anything by just runes? Sadly, like many others, he doesn't get enough credit. Sometimes I think it is the same for Gray too. So, yeah. Happy Freed day!
.-.
Don't mind me. Exam Hangover. ._.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own. *sulks over not owning Gray*
Chapter 7 : Pain
"Hmm," said Freed. "It gives all the information about the spell and its creation and all, but it doesn't tell anything about how to actually break it. Either he was too smart to not write it or was already... dead."
"Well," Mira put a strand of her hair behind her ear. "How did he possess anyone then?"
"According to this book, one needs a temporary vessel for the soul to be kept in temporarily till a capable... body reaches a certain room. It needs certain words to be said only by the bait in that room to activate it. Apparently, the words deciphered by the person in the room will be the number of days needed to actually possess the guy. It defines the bait's strength."
"So," Levy said, "Lu-chan said that this Will guy was acting strange as soon as he came out. Does that mean he was already... out of reach?"
"Probably. There are many accounts of different people he had tried to possess. And comparing these records, Gray has probably got the maximum deadline, which is probably because of his strength. And as for us, it is the deadline for us too."
The room was filled with a pregnant silence. Soon, Levy broke in, "but how would he decide his strength?"
"Simple. By the Underground Maze they encountered."
"But Erza said that they all reached the end of it!"
"Yeah, I think it must have been a competition then. Natsu and Gray were in the end but the words must have been spoken by Gray. And that's how... we might have reached at this point."
The eerie silence enveloped them again.
Finally, master spoke up, "I might sound really mean to say this, but, how was it not Natsu? He reached the end with him too. According to the girls, he was in the same room too, enveloped in the same clouds as Gray. And the boys have nearly the same amount of power inside them. as you describe the spell, even if the words were described by Gray, it affects the room."
"This, master, is the only thing I cannot understand. Maybe..." Freed thought, and then shook his head, "Maybe he selected him on how easily he could break a person to actually be able to possess him. So, it is basically the fight of wills that bought Gray and us some time. So, till his will is strong, he would be away from drake overpowering him."
"The only thing I can guarantee," Freed continued, "is that he won't harm him physically. So, till I find a solution to this problem with Levy, we have to help him to stay strong."
"W-where am I?" Gray looked around, only to find himself enveloped again in black clouds which were slowly taking shapes.
"G-Gray?" Gray whipped his head around, expecting Drake, but instead saw pink.
"N-Natsu? Is that really you? H-how-"
"I really don't know. But... but as I am here now, we might as well find a way out."
The black clouds soon formed vivid shapes. They were standing at the edge of a cliff. Behind them were forests and in front of them were the ruins of a very familiar old city.
"There you are, Gray-chan," said a low, intimidating voice from behind them. "And look! You brought a friend!"
Natsu turned around, only to find nothing. He turned to ask Gray, but found him preoccupied and looking at the scene ahead of him.
"Remember something, Gray-chan? Remember what you did here to your beloved?"
"Gray," Gray snapped out and looked at him, "where are we?"
"I-Isvan. S-some place near it. This...this is where we fought Deliora." Natsu's expression softened. But then they heard a low chuckle behind them. They turned around and found Drake, green eyes penetrating into the darkest corners of their souls.
"My dear Gray-chan, remember that fateful day? When your dear teacher casted Iced Shell? When Lyon woke up and threw those lovely words at you? Remember? The sadness, the guilt, and the Pain..."
"Shut up!" interrupted Natsu, "It wasn't Gray's fault! Stay away from us! Or else-"
"-What? You'll burn me? Oh, I am genuinely terrified," another chuckle. "That's why I hate slayers, always overconfident, going according to their instinct. Am I right, Gray-chan?"
"Teme..." Natsu sent the magic energy to his palms and... nothing happened.
"And impatient. Tch tch tch. This place is covered by magic runes. You cannot use magic here." He was suddenly beside Gray now, whose bangs covered his eyes. "This place is specially reserved for me," he said in a low, husky voice, "and my Gray-chan."
"You-" started Natsu, but Gray beat him to it. He punched Drake so hard he stumbled and fell right at the edge of the cliff.
"We can beat you without any magic." He said.
"Hehe, in that case," he turned to Natsu, "you are disturbing us, little dragon." And with that, he blasted him off the cliff.
"Natsu!"
"Natsu! Gray, wake up!" Lucy was on verge of tears. The girls had been trying to wake them up since they found them there. "E-Erza... what to do?!"
Then suddenly, Natsu's eyes snapped open. They were glowing green. In a robotic voice, he said, "L-Lucy, E-Erza... Gray and Drake... they are killing me... I cannot move..."
"W-what? Natsu-"
"Remove co-contact... Gray is after me... h-help..."
"Erza!"
"I don't know Lucy. It is Drake talking. I don't know if we should believe him. He might be lying."
"H-help... nngh... If you don't, I might... *cough* die..."
Lucy gasped and frantically tried to remove Gray from his grasp. Erza helped him. As she held up Gray, Lucy pulled Natsu away, and the connection between them snapped.
"G-Gray... where am I?" Natsu woke up and was squashed in a hug from Lucy. "You are safe Natsu. You said you were in danger from Gray and-"
"What... what are you talking about? Where is Gray?"
"He is still not conscious." Erza said.
Natsu turned to her, wide-eyed and said, "What are you saying? It is Gray who is in danger! I have to-"
Suddenly 'Gray' chuckled, "Dumbass."
The girls' eyes widened. They had fallen for it. "Gray...?" said Erza, uncertainly.
"Drake, Titania. And for Gray, you can have a glimpse." And with that, his body slumped against her again, eyes still open and staring into nothing.
"Natsu!" Gray ran to the edge of the cliff but Natsu was nowhere to be seen. Since when did gravity work so fast?
"He is gone, Gray-chan. He is awake."
"No... What... what did you do?"
"Sweet-talked the ladies."
"Wha-" But he was soon cut off by the creepers suddenly clutching him tightly. He tried to struggle, but soon stopped as the creepers clutched even tighter.
"W-What are you trying to do?" Gray tried to regulate his breathing.
"That's what I am asking Gray-kun," his voice changed at the last syllable. He slowly started to change form. Gray gasped as it changed into a middle-aged woman with dark short hair, disappointed expression, and green eyes as being the only giveaway.
"What were you trying to prove Gray? Even after we told you not to... why did you go after the monster?" Ur asked. "You thought you were strong? Che, you couldn't even create a proper shield!"
"Ur...?"
"You should have been the one who should have died. You shouldn't even have survived in the ruins itself!" Her lips formed a menacing smile as Gray's eyes widened. "I should have watched from above as you slowly died. Heck, I should have left you in the ruins to die!"
"What are you saying?!" but soon her appearance changed and soon, the sliverette was standing in front of him.
"Yeah, you killed Ur. You killed the only person who would have ever bothered to help you. You killed my guardian and my goals."
"Lyon..."
He slowly came closer to Gray, the same smile plastered on his face. "I should have killed you at the Galuna Island when I had the chance. I should have pierced you dark heart instead.
"S-stop..." Gray's voice was breaking now. His bangs covered his eyes.
"Not only did you kill Ur," his appearance changed and Ultear was standing in front of him, "You also nearly killed me. Today I am old and don't have any magic left just because of you." Tears now freely escaped his eyes.
"Stop it!"
"I should have let you die then, as those lovely wounds decorated you and you lied in your personal pool of blood. I should have thanked those dragons and your recklessness, instead of reversing one minute!"
Her silver sword appeared in her hands and she sliced at him. Gray fell down as the creepers were also cut down and clutched his bloodied shirt.
"But now it is time," said three voices of the Ice mages as Lyon and Ur reappeared, "to correct our mistakes." He backed away as an Ice Eagle sliced at his arm.
"We are gonna kill you, Gray Fullbuster!"
And that was his cue to run.
Natsu could hear everything in his mind- every taunt, every harsh word, every sob. He could see Gray's trembling form in front of him. But all he could do was stare and scream his name and he screamed and whimpered and shouted for help.
"Natsuuu!" Happy shouted from above him but he didn't care. All he could see was how the blood seeped through his shirt and how he kept shouting his, Erza's and even Lucy's name.
Soon Freed's, Master's and others' scent also joined Happy's. He vaguely felt Erza leaving her side and asking Freed to do something. The Great Titania was crying. Lucy had hands over her mouth and was staring wide-eyed, crying her eyes out at Gray's twitching and turning form. "Gray..."
"I... promised him to protect him..." Lucy looked at Natsu. "I told him I won't leave his side. And still... still..." A single tear escaped his eyes.
"N-Natsu..."
The others had reached there and Freed was frantically searching the book for something-anything. Then suddenly Gray said,
#
"... Natsu?" Gray was leaning against the tree. He had somehow managed to outrun the others. They just suddenly vanished. But then, "I thought... the cliff-"
"How pathetic." A voice came from behind Natsu. It was Erza.
"You are even weaker than me, Gray." Lucy, with her whip, joined.
Gray stared at them wide-eyed. This was not happening. Yeah. Someone was messing around. They were messing with him.
Soon the Ice mages also joined them. all with their deadliest spells and weapons ready.
"Pathetic. Weak. Useless." "How do you live with yourself?" "You should be dead." "Freak." "Feel the helplessness inside." "You were never needed." "Feel all this."
"Feel the Pain."
"Gray?" Natsu desperately tried, "Gray! Hang in there! Don't listen to them! Drake is tricking you, Gray!"
Pathetic. He was pathetic. Dead. That seemed like a good idea...
"M-minna..." Gray heard a distant familiar voice. He never heard it this way before. Eh just kept on staring ahead, not aware of what was happening, until, "Fire Dragon's..."
Gray's eyes snapped open. Natsu saw his blue eyes. It relieved as well as scared him. He expected fear, tears, anything. But there was nothing. No emotion at all.
The wounds on his body started closing and blood started disappearing. It was as if they never existed. All except the one on his hand, parallel to the one he got last night.
"G-Gray..." Those blue eyes stared at him. Gray expected the unfamiliar, robotic voice from before, not this sweet and caring one. He felt those thumbs caressing his face, wiping the tears.
Those orbs continued to stare into Natsu's eyes, as if waiting. And then the world around him started to spin and he fell into Natsu's waiting embrace.
Aww... my poor Gray. I so damn wanted to describe torture scenes... but then I remembered I rated it T. Noooooo! *Sadistic side sitting in the emo corner, writing Gray's name on the walls with blood (red ink)*
So, how was it? Hate it? Like it? Do tell! I love to hear from you Guys!
On the other hand, I have recently posted a new multi chaptered story- NeuroLink. A Gratsu yaoi fic with a touch of angst in it. Pls give it a try! I am currently working on its second chapter. Here's a Preview:
In a world, where life is technology,
"Hey! Wait up!"
Where the basis of everything tech is the Mind-Connector,
"Run faster, slowpoke! Or we'll be late!"
Where exists a virtual world you can practically live in once you log in to the Global Net,
"Wait for me, Lucy!"
Is the world where their story starts.
"C'mon Natsu!"
#
"So, Natsu," started Lucy, as they entered her room. "Please stop me if I am wrong. Full Name: Natsu Igneel Dragneel. Male. Sexual preferences: Unknown." "Hey!" "using the Mind-Controller since being born. Top scorer in most of the Brain Burst games. One of the fastest accelerators. Am I correct?"
"Well, yeah."
"Then congratulations, Natsu. You are selected!"
"Selected? For what?"
"Connect with me. I am gonna install a game software in you." He did as he was said. "Transfer!" she said.
Soon, the downloading completed and another icon joined the other apps he had.
"NeuroLink." He read. "What's that?"
"I will tell you. First say 'Link In!'."
"Link In!" they both said simultaneously.
Then suddenly, everything around him stilled. Soon enough, by the scattering of pixels, i different world appeared. He was currently standing on the lake side, under a Sakura tree.
#
"Ne, Lucy, how do i fight?"
"That, Natsu, you have to discover yourself."
"And what if I don't?"
"Well, sweet talk... and run."
"Oh."
She laughed. But then, he felt a chill behind his neck. Then suddenly, she shouted, "Natsu! Disconnect from Global net! It is a challe-"
But too late. He heard in the back of his mind, 'Direct Link' and then, everything disappeared into a vortex. The scene changed to some abandoned street. In front of him flashed his name "Salamander" and his lifeline and the command, "Fight!"
As he saw in front of him, the only glimpse he could catch was of black. His opponent was so fast! Maybe even faster than him!
And when he looked at the opponent's name, he was shocked beyond anything.
His opponent was none other than Black Ice.
Aaaand there! Do give it a try minna! And don't forget this chapter too! I would love to hear it from you!
Till the next time then!
DJ