Forty-Eight Hours Earlier

Day Five

In theory, Jellal was completely sure that a resurrection was possible. He knew this because technically, Jellal had been killed when the Tower of Heaven had exploded, and he had been resurrected by the R-System, and he was…mostly fine. Granted, he'd needed Wendy's healing magic to get to something even approaching a full recovery, but that still didn't mean a resurrection wasn't possible - he did have Wendy, after all. It was just one of the ingredients, part of the process that had to be considered when one was turning a dead person into a living one again.

Of course, just because a resurrection was technically, under all known laws of nature possible, that didn't mean Jellal could do it. That didn't stop Jellal from starting to research pretty much as soon as he'd recovered from the battle, but even he knew he was mostly looking into the possibility of bringing Gray back to keep from having to actually grieve Gray, at least for now. Jellal knew this wasn't a practical solution - this was the kind of complicated spellwork that could take years to work out, it required the kind of high-energy magical output that would very likely kill whoever was doing it, and it was the type of dark magic that would certainly result in Jellal going to jail for the rest of his life if the Magic Council found out what he was doing.

All that to say…Jellal had a few ideas. But he hadn't been seriously exploring any of them, at least not until Erza had tried to attune to the sword.

After the funeral, Erza had knelt on the ground, holding Oblatio, and chopped off her finger just as Gray had. Jellal had had to close his eyes at the last second - he was afraid he would try to stop her. Both of them had been expecting to see Erza's little finger disappear, and the sword to lose its icy hilt and shift into something that more closely resembled Erza's magic.

But instead, the sword had remained unchanged, and Jellal had ended up delivering a shaky Erza and a very bloody stump of finger to Wendy so she could repair the damage. As soon as her finger had been reattached and healed, Jellal's attention had switched over to his plan.

Because now that they couldn't use the sword to kill Magnus, that's what it was. A plan. When their best, least lethal option had been reattuning the sword, Jellal hadn't wanted to say anything. He knew it was too dangerous, for him and possibly for Wendy, and he didn't want to involve anyone else in his convoluted grieving process. Even when he hadn't been a member of Fairy Tail, all the way back to his Crime Sorciere days, he'd always liked Gray. Ultear had loved him, and Jellal had quickly respected him as the sort of wizard who would do what needed to be done, even if some of his more squeamish guild members disagreed. Since joining Fairy Tail and working closely with the strongest team, he'd gotten a lot closer to Gray, who was quieter and somehow even more stubborn than Natsu was.

He still missed Gray, but now, instead of putting himself and others in danger to skip out on the grief, Jellal's plan was possibly the only way to save the world. Suddenly, the legality of the resurrection and the danger it posed seemed to recede into the background, and all Jellal could picture was seeing Gray again, and making Erza and Natsu smile for the first time in days.

Jellal shut himself into his study after that. He hadn't been sleeping much anyway, but now getting any amount of rest was pretty much out until he could get this solved. They couldn't afford to waste any time, as Magnus hadn't even really been slowed down, and Jellal wasn't sure if postponing the resurrection could cause any problems.

So far, the biggest problem that Jellal could envision was how to get the necessary power needed. When he'd been revived by the R-System he'd created, he'd had the power of the etherion cannon at his disposal. After doing some research, Jellal was fairly sure that a large amount of that power was intended to go into converting the body of the sacrificial vessel into something that could receive the soul of Zeref. That wouldn't be an issue, because they already had the body - they could just use Gray's. That cut down on a substantial amount of the power requirements, but Jellal still wasn't sure where to find a lacrima powerful enough to measure up to even a small fraction of the R-System.

When he realized the answer, he wanted to kick himself for being so stupid. That was the price of no sleep and little food, but all the same, he felt like an idiot for missing the obvious. The most powerful lacrimae were technically the bodies of wizards themselves, and Jellal (according to both himself and the Magic Council) was one of the most powerful wizards ever known. The spellwork would be a bit technical, but Jellal was absolutely sure that he could use his own body as a lacrima to power the resurrection itself, as he cast the R-System spells.

The biggest remaining snag was whether or not Wendy could heal Gray's wounds. There were, of course, more steps that Jellal had to work out, more research he had to do, but it would all come to nothing if they revived Gray only for him to die again from his initial injuries. Wendy hadn't been able to heal Gray initially, but the lore around the sword had claimed that the victim would bear the injuries "for the rest of their life." Usually, magical wording was extremely precise and somewhat finicky, as well as very prone to loopholes. If Gray had died, and was then resurrected, his life had technically ended and a new one had begun.

So, assuming that was true, and Wendy would be able to heal him, and Jellal had enough magical energy to function as the lacrima for the R-System, bringing back Gray should be…well, not easy, but….

There was one other thing, which Jellal had already resolved not to mention to anyone else and was trying very hard not to think about. When he'd first started researching the dark magic that was involved in the creation of Oblatio, he'd learned a thing or two about the process of attuning it to a wizard. And if he was being honest, he was…pretty sure he could break the sword's attunement to Gray, and let Erza take it for herself.

It wouldn't be fast. Frankly, Jellal wasn't very familiar with the theory behind the process, and he thought he could figure out the resurrection stuff a bit faster. But breaking the attunement on the sword would be much, much safer for him, albeit slightly more dangerous for Erza. And that was not to mention the fact that it wouldn't involve doing dark magic that meddled in the laws of the universe, and would very likely get him thrown in jail afterwards.

But if he threw his efforts into breaking the attunement instead of resurrecting Gray, then he wouldn't get to see Gray again. So there wasn't much point in thinking about that, or talking about it to anyone else - it simply wasn't going to happen.

Jellal was bent over a book, so deeply immersed in what he was reading that he almost startled when he heard the front door open. That must be Erza coming back - she'd been the one to check on Natsu that morning, despite her injured hand.

"He's not doing very well," Erza announced to their empty living room. That was a habit of hers - to start talking before Jellal had even entered the room with her.

Jellal didn't bother responding. It didn't matter how Natsu was doing right now. Jellal was about to change it.

He emerged from his study to a very sad and worn out-looking Erza. "I tried to get him to eat, and I asked him if he wanted me to stay for longer, but he didn't-"

"I think I can bring Gray back to life," Jellal said bluntly.

Something hardened in Erza's face. "Don't joke about that."

"You know I wouldn't."

"You think you can-"

"I'm almost positive. I need to talk to Wendy still, since she would have to play a part as well. And I'm still…I'm still working out all the details. But I think…I think it's possible."

Erza took a few abrupt steps to the side and sat down on their sofa. "Explain it to me."

Jellal took a deep breath, raking his hands through his hair and pushing it back from his face. "Alright. This is kind of a rough outline, but I think I have the basic steps worked out, and given enough time, I can fill in the gaps in my knowledge easily enough."

Erza sat forward slightly. "How long-"

Jellal waved a dismissive hand in the air. "A few days. Listen closely, and please…just let me finish before you ask any questions." Erza was sure to have concerns about quite a few areas of his plan, but he would be most persuasive laying everything out at once.

Erza's mouth thinned, but after a tense second, she nodded. "Tell me."

"We're going to have to dig up Gray," Jellal said, rushing on before she could argue. Her face paled, but she stayed silent as he continued. "Having the physical body is important. Resurrection is historically difficult, if not impossible, because of the power levels involved in manufacturing or rejuvenating an existing body. It's the key to the whole thing, really."

Erza motioned for him to go on. "I can do the first step. I'll use Arc of Time on Gray's body, and I can bring it back to the state it was in just after death. That makes it as fresh as possible, and brings down the overall power level needed for the resurrection significantly."

Jellal didn't know Arc of Time yet, but that was what the next few days would be for. He had all of Ultear's old spellbooks, and he'd spent years watching her perform the lost magic. He was confident he could learn it, at least well enough to perform the fairly basic version that was needed.

Erza frowned. "I thought Arc of Time couldn't be used on people."

"It can't be used on living things," Jellal corrected quietly. "Gray…."

"Isn't living."

"Not yet," Jellal said. "The second step is Wendy's. I know in the past, she had a spell that summoned the souls of dragons, but she's worked with Grandeeny's writings and adapted it to summon people, as well."

Erza nodded again. "The Milky Way spell."

"Yes. Again, this piece is needed to lower the power necessary for the resurrection. If the soul is right there, and the body is as well, it makes the magical cost much lower."

"That makes sense," Erza said slowly. She looked suspicious. She was a smart woman, and she had to have some idea of what was coming.

Jellal took another deep breath, letting it out slowly. This was the part that Erza wasn't going to like. "The third step is the R-System. Once I have the body and the soul, both in front of me, I can cast the binding magic needed to restore Gray's life."

Erza's eyes widened, and she leaned slightly away from him. "The R-System? You mean, the Tower?"

"Yes."

"What about the sacrifice?" Erza asked sharply. "You aren't telling me that you intend-"

"The sacrifice is intended to become the body of the resurrected soul," Jellal interjected. "In this case, that's Gray's body. I won't need a sacrifice."

"But what about the lacrima? Where are you going to get something that powerful? Even with the other steps to decrease the magic energy needed, you'll surely need something insanely powerful."

"I'm the lacrima," Jellal said simply. "I can draw on my own magical energy. Actually doing the spell to activate the R-System doesn't require that much power, it's just the complexity that makes it difficult. That, and finding a lacrima strong enough to power the binding."

Erza didn't like that. Her jaw tightened, and for a moment, he thought she was going to cut him off. But she'd promised to let him finish, and she didn't interrupt.

"After that, it's up to Wendy. The wounds from the sword shouldn't be permanent anymore, because Gray already died. Once I resurrect him, she has to be there to stop the bleeding and make sure that he doesn't die again. But I've seen her heal far worse, and I can't imagine that being a problem."

Erza just sat there in silence, staring down at her lap. He couldn't see her face, and didn't know what she was thinking.

"And that's all," he finally said. "That's how we bring Gray back to life. Now, do you have any questions?

"Yes," Erza said, finally looking up at him. "And I want you to tell me the truth about this."

Something came over her face, and she hesitated.

"What is it?"

"Is this…is this going to kill you?"

Erza could barely sit still. She was full of so much…something that it was all she could do to stay on the sofa and think through Jellal's plan and ask him questions about it. She wanted nothing more than to get up and start pacing around. But he was already up and stalking around the room, a manic energy in his eyes, and if she got up too they might crash into each other, and everything was….

If Jellal went through with his plan, she might get Gray back.

"I don't think it will kill me," Jellal said. He didn't sound like he was lying. But he also didn't sound very sure. "I'm…probably more likely to fail at bringing Gray back."

"But it's…dangerous," she said.

Jellal grimaced.

"Is this…is this the only option? There's nothing else?"

"No," Jellal said firmly. "It's not even just about saving Gray, Erza. He's the only one who can use Oblatio. It's about saving the world. This is the only option."

Erza felt her throat tighten. But she wouldn't cry, she wouldn't cry, she wouldn't cry. It was just that…she wanted Gray back more than almost anything, but the only thing she wanted more than that was Jellal. She'd just watched losing Gray nearly destroy Natsu, who was probably the strongest person she knew. What would losing her partner do to her?

A vision of the graveyard sprung up unbidden in her mind, and she blinked furiously, wishing her eyes stung less. After everything she and Jellal had been through, she…

"I won't lose you," Erza said. "I can't. I…I don't want to, I mean."

"Erza, I don't-"

"But this is the only option we have. And it's a good one. If it works, it will bring us Gray."

Jellal nodded solemnly.

"Do it."

Jellal sucked in a breath - he'd clearly been waiting for her explicit permission. "Okay."

"What do you need from me?"

He started pacing back and forth again. "Time mostly. I know we don't have much to work with, not with Lamia Scale, and we don't know where Magnus is, but…there's a lot to work out. I'll need at least a day or two. And I need to talk to Wendy. I need to know she can do this."

"We can talk to her," Erza said.

Jellal nodded at her absentmindedly, still stalking back and forth across the carpet. "I'll need a few spellbooks, too. I have most of the materials on hand, but there are a few in the Guild Library…."

Erza just sat and watched him work it out, trying to stop her hands from trembling. She was still terrified. However much Jellal promised that this wasn't going to kill him, that couldn't stop her from imagining the worst case scenario.

But as Jellal paced feverishly around the room, marking off materials on his fingers, she wasn't sure she'd ever been prouder of her husband. The last thing she wanted to do was face losing Jellal, but this was the man she'd fallen in love with, all those years ago. He was the most impressive wizard Erza had ever met, and he was going to do what no one else would even consider. Jellal was going to bring Gray back to them.

Wendy watched Happy fly nervously up and down the length of her kitchen table, occasionally resting on the wood for a few seconds before taking off again. He and Carla had both been staying with Wendy, pretty much ever since the battle. Wendy knew that Happy was worried about Natsu, and Carla was worried about her.

Carla was always worried about her. Usually, that didn't bother Wendy, but it had been nagging at her ever since the battle. She was nineteen now, and while she had been very close to Gray, there were others who were certainly more deeply affected. Natsu, for example. Erza, who had showed up at her house that morning with red-rimmed eyes and a bloody stump where her left pinky should be. There would probably be others, too, who had known Gray since childhood, but they hadn't been there, and Makarov hadn't bothered to tell them.

"Do you guys think I should go back and check on Natsu?" Happy asked sadly. "I'm not sure what to do, he really seems like he needs space, but I dunno…."

"I'm sure you know better than we do," Carla told him.

"I just didn't expect him to run out in the middle of the funeral," Happy mumbled, dropping back down to the table top and hanging his head. "Poor Natsu."

Carla grimaced, clearly not sure how to respond. "It was a very emotional ceremony. Well done, I thought."

"Well done?!" Wendy snapped, slamming her hands on the table and shoving herself up and out of her chair. "Which part was well done? The bit where our Guild Master didn't even bother to tell all of his members that Gray died?!"

She was greeted by a complete, stunned silence from the Exceeds, but she wasn't going to even try to stop herself. Ever since the battle, Wendy had felt like she was getting closer and closer to a breaking point.

"I know it's…frustrating," Carla said delicately. "But Wendy, you must understand why it had to be done. Those members are needed where they are, and there's no point in getting them distracted. They're protecting Fiore, but almost as importantly, they're protecting Lamia Scale. If Fairy Tail weren't there to contain them, they would end up dead. You can't think leaving Lamia Scale is the right way to handle this, Chelia-"

"I know where Chelia is," Wendy said harshly. "I get it, okay?"

Wendy knew this wasn't like her. But ever since the funeral…no, ever since Gray's death, she had been angry. She was angry at herself for not being able to heal Gray, and angry at Jellal for not even letting her try. She was angry at Makarov for not telling the other members of Fairy Tail about Gray's death, which she considered unfair to the point of being immoral. She was angry at whatever force had let this happen to them in the first place, who had let this happen to Gray.

"Wendy!" Carla scolded. "There's no need-"

Carla was cut off by a knock at Wendy's door. Before Wendy could even think about answering it, whoever was out there started hammering at it, pounding at it, and something about the obvious desperation made Wendy's heart leap into her throat. She opened the door, and Jellal and Erza were standing there.

"Your finger-" Wendy started.

"This isn't about that," Jellal said. Wendy hadn't noticed immediately, but he looked…terrible. Tired and manic and jittery and ill. "I need to talk to you. It's urgent."

"This isn't really the best time…."

Jellal ignored her, and pushed past her into the house, Erza trailing behind him. With a flick of his wrist, he used magic to slam the door behind them.

When he saw that Carla and Happy were there, something in his face shifted. "You two need to leave. This is private."

Carla's eyes narrowed in a way that Wendy knew meant yelling was soon to follow. "I am absolutely not-"
Jellal turned to Happy. "Please," he whispered.

There was a certain energy crackling in the air, and Happy clearly felt it as well as Wendy did. He tugged on Carla's paw. "Come on. Let's…we can give them some space."

"Thank you," Erza said politely as the Exceeds exited through the window.

"I think I can bring Gray back to life," Jellal said once they were gone.

Wendy gasped. "You what?" She turned to Erza, unable to believe this could possibly be true. "Is he serious?"

"Yes," Erza said quietly, the same energy running through her voice. "He is."

Jellal held up a finger. "Don't interrupt me. I can't…I'm really…if we're going to do this, you have a part to play. It would be impossible for me to do this on my own. So I need to know if you can help me, and if you will help me."

"Yes," Wendy said.

"Wait, you didn't even hear it. It'll be dangerous, and you might not-"

"Yes. I said yes. I'll do it."

Jellal's jaw tightened, and he shook his head. "Stop. I…you need to understand exactly what it is that I'm asking you to do. Listen to what I have to say, and then you can say yes, or no, but you need to listen."

Wendy wanted to lunge at him again, shake him by the collar and demand that he tell her exactly how to bring back Gray, and how they could do it immediately. But that wasn't like her. That was just part of the rage, grief, and now impatience that she hadn't had the tools to process, and she could push it away long enough to listen to Jellal.

It wouldn't change anything, of course. Wendy already knew that however dangerous this might be, she was going to do whatever she could to help bring Gray back. But she kept that to herself, instead nodding at Jellal to continue. He outlined the spells he would need from her, and she felt a sudden surge of hope, so intense that it almost hurt, as she realized that this might actually be possible.

"I can do that," she whispered, and Jellal sighed, crossing his arms.

"There's more," he told her. Behind him, Erza looked uncomfortable, and Wendy knew they'd finally gotten to the part that Jellal thought could make some kind of difference.

"It's dangerous," Jellal said, looking her straight in the eye, instead of glancing off to the side or towards the floor, like he normally did. "Very dangerous. It will likely be worse for me than for you, but either way, I'm asking you to expend a large portion of your magical power, if not all of it. At once. That aside, we're attempting something that requires magic directly from the Book of Zeref. I'll be performing the actual dark spells, of course, but you'll still be an accessory to a resurrection. If the Council finds out, or chooses to prosecute, it's possible that we could both go to prison for the rest of our lives. And I can assure you, that's…not a good place."

That didn't matter to Wendy. Of course it didn't, not when she might have the chance to see Gray's goofy smile again. She would risk absolutely anything for that.

"I'll help you," Wendy said immediately. "Of course I will. When can we start?"

Jellal's eyes widened in surprise, and she could see the clear relief in his face as his whole body seemed to relax. "You'll help? You'll help. Erza…."

Erza reached for his hand, exhaling softly as he took it. "I can't believe we might…."

"Thank you," Jellal said earnestly, looking back at Wendy. "Thank you, Wendy. I…I couldn't have done this without you."

His hand in Erza's was trembling. Most of him was, actually, as if some of the manic energy that had seemed to be spurring him on the entire conversation was draining away. Wendy hadn't known what to expect when she'd found Jellal at the door, but it hadn't been this. Never, in a million years, had she expected the dark wizard to arrive with a way to undo all the pain and grief that the entire Guild was feeling. Jellal kind of scared her, and she frequently disagreed with his methods, but watching him slowly breathe out, still shaking…Wendy thought this might be the first time she really saw Mystogan in Jellal. And she had very much cared for Mystogan.

Despite everything, she trusted him, and she believed him. Whatever it took, they were going to bring Gray back.