Chapter 22
It had been five days since Gray's been informed of what was actually happening at the guild and amongst his friends, with hardly anyone catching more than a glimpse of him before he was off. The ice mage would simply drop in every morning for breakfast before most of the guild would show up and place his order only to Kinana, who had the slightest feeling that something had happened to the ice mage recently. The purple haired waitress merely let it be and brought his order to him without another word and before anyone would notice, he'd vanish from his seat leaving behind an empty plate and the amount due for it. No one really knew where he'd disappear to for the rest of the day as they'd only seen him hang around the guild for the most part unless he was going off on a mission.
The feeling of anxiety crept on the fighting groups as none of their members had a clue to the ice mage's whereabouts. Team E.L.L.N. had their own hypothesis that he went back home, all of which were willing to take that advantage and see him; however, Erza had remembered that it was an unfair one and that the demon barmaid will find out about it. As an agreeing front, the team decided not to go since they were the only ones with information of where his home was located, but that didn't stop Natsu in the slightest. The dragon slayer opted out to track him down with his scent and on the second day of not seeing him, Natsu went on the search with Lucy at his side.
That search didn't go as planned...
The pink and blonde duo were following the scent in the direction it was leading to, but the effort was for not as Natsu had lost it amongst the commercial district with its multitude of street vendors, shops and bakeries with sweet smelling aromas. The pink haired slayer tended to grow even hungry the further they went to the point in which he couldn't take it any longer and began looking for a place with the best food, causing Lucy to face palm as her best friend went off to eat. The busty blonde deduced that Gray had intentionally walked through here in order to mask his scent from the prying noses of the slayers in order to avoid them.
Lucy had to give him credit for thinking a way out of being followed and suspected that the other slayers would get a similar response. The ice mage was a crafty one, but just knowing this fact and how he was trying to elude his guild mates from following him made Lucy worry a bit that Gray was trying to avoid them. For what reason, she didn't know and it would only further bother her in the days to come with no sight of Gray.
Lucy had later overheard how the others slayers faired and found that she was right in her assumption that they would also fail; Wendy lost it near the similar area she and Natsu had been to, while Gajeel had gone further than them yet he too lost it when he came across an outdoors perfume and cologne vendor. Needless to say, the mixture of all those scents confused him to where Gray's was located and it only gave him a headache as he tried harder to separate them to find the ice mage's. All in all, none of the bickering groups caught any sight of Gray with the sole exception of one individual who became flustered as they bombarded her with questions.
Lisanna had arrived that same early morning to give Gray back his coat as the remnants of the alcoholic stench had finally cleaned away. She had replied that the ice mage seemed to be fine like he normally was, but she could tell something was bothering him when she looked him in the eyes although she didn't get the chance to ask as he had finished his breakfast and said his goodbye. After the animal soul mage's response everyone had the same idea, that being that they would come in early as well to grab Gray before he left without another word or hair in sight, but that plan didn't go their way.
The multiple teams had come in early on the fourth day to catch him off guard and sat amongst each others' team mates in wait and that's all they did. They waited for him to show up and hours had passed with no sign of him, before they all knew it the afternoon had already began. The teams gave up after the realization of the time and figured that since he didn't turn up in the morning, there was a much less chance that he'd do so in the afternoon. Everyone was becoming restless as the ice mage hadn't been seen by any one of them save for early birds, Kinana and Lisanna which they found to be fifth day had rolled around and the same thing happened again with nothing worthy to note.
Now in the current time of the same day with night falling about an hour ago, Lucy was now sitting on her bed trying her hardest to think of a reason as to why Gray was avoiding them. She was puzzled when this came up all of a sudden and wanted an answer to give her a piece of mind in what was going on with the ice mage. The more she thought about it the more she came across the same point in time where they had last seen Gray leaving with Loke before he began avoiding them. It was a start, so she took it and prepared to summon the flirty spirit that could give her an answer as to what was going on.
"Open gate of the Lion: Leo!" Lucy called as she swung her golden key, waiting for the shimmering gold light to fade away and reveal her flirtatious spirit, but instead she was met with the sight of her maid dressed spirit Virgo.
"Punishment time Princess?" Came the monotone voice of the pink haired maid spirit as Lucy gawked in a questioning manner as a different spirit had emerged from the Spirit World.
"Virgo, what are you doing here?" The blonde was positive that she pulled out Loke's key and double checked her hand to make sure. "I'm sure I summoned Loke and I've got his key right here."
"I'm sorry Princess, but Onii-san is very busy at the moment and asked for me to come in his stead." She replied monotonously as Lucy thought about what she had said, coming to the conclusion that he was busy flirting it up with some girls somewhere in Fiore.
"If he's busy flirting then he may as well be useful here, so if you don't mind Virgo, could you please drag Loke's butt here?" The blonde let the lion spirit do his thing as he has been for years now, but she just wants him to at least come when she needs help with something.
"I'm afraid he is not flirting during this time, Onii-san is busy with an important matter and it is drawing much of his attention." Virgo replied as Lucy felt a sudden pang of worry for her friends, hoping it was nothing like the eclipse incident all over again.
"Is there a problem in the Spirit World, do you need any of our help?" Lucy was always ready to lend a hand for her spirits and she can always count on Fairy Tail to have her back on this matter like they did before.
"Do not worry Princess, the situation is nothing very serious that Onii-san can't handle. If you need any assistance, feel free to ask for my support." The pink maid spirit knew very well that she had to do all in her power to stop Lucy from interfering with the countermeasure of the potion, so she had to act as Loke's replacement for the time being in order for the lion spirit to get enough time to complete his work.
"Thanks Virgo, I guess I just needed to talk with Loke about whatever business he had with Gray a few days ago. Something must've happened between them because after that, Gray has been avoiding us and going to the guild for the day." The busty spirit mage knew that her best option would land on speaking with Loke about this matter, but she was positive Virgo can just can be just as helpful.
"I'm sorry Princess, but I do not know all the details of what happened that evening. Your prince and Onii-san had an altercation with one another, which soon lead to an argument between them. What it was about and who won is something I am unsure of, but Onii-san did return with a tired expression on his face." Virgo didn't like lying to her friend, she knew what exactly happened between Loke and Gray, but it was better that Lucy didn't know in order to help her later on.
"Well I guess that helps me a little, but do you know if any of the others heard or saw what happened?" Lucy asked, trying to hide the blush that was beginning to form after hearing Virgo's comment about Gray being her prince.
"No one else was aware of what happened, he only told me bits of it once he returned after I questioned why he looked stressed." Virgo replied as Lucy sighed to herself, now knowing that the only person who would tell her anything was busy and the spirit in front of her isn't fully informed on the details.
"Well thanks for showing up Virgo, you can go back now." Lucy said with a kind smile as her maid spirit bowed to her before disappearing in the same gold shimmer she came from.
"Something happened, I just know it. For now I guess I'll have to wait for things to play out, but I just hope Gray's fine wherever he is." The blonde thought to herself before going off and getting ready for bed.
At another part of Magnolia in the Strauss residence, Lisanna sat at the edge of her bed hugging one of her old plushies Natsu had gotten her years ago, collecting her thoughts together of what's been going on these past few days. She knew what was going on with Gray and she reasoned it as him trying to cope with the truth of what's been going on. She had her own questions of why so many people were interested in Gray all of a sudden, including her elder siblings, and Loke's revelation helped put all the pieces in place.
Lisanna was still trying to learn what kind of person Gray is, from past experiences to the current ones that make him who he is today. The young Strauss had already heard Mira tell her about what he's done for her, and is very grateful for setting her older sister straight by the way, but the things she heard Gray say pained her heart. She wanted to learn of his past at some point, yes, but Lisanna felt sorry for her new found friend upon hearing him yell at Loke of the losses he's suffered. Even Mira wasn't aware of the skeleton's in Gray's closest so she made a mental note of not telling her everything when she returned, so when she had to repeat her findings to her older sister, Lisanna took some liberty to make it as vague as possible.
The young white haired girl didn't enjoy lying to her sister, but Loke had a point in trying to turn everyone back to their normal selves. Most people would have done the same and she really wanted to help comfort Gray, but this kind of situation was beyond her and she needed to leave things in Loke's (somewhat) capable hands. So this where she is now, one of the possibly few people unaffected by whatever it is that everyone else has and the only one who knows the truth behind Loke's plan.
"It lands all on Loke, hopefully he can get Mira-nee and the others back to who they are instead of being Gray obsessed." Lisanna thought to herself as she looked out of her bedroom window and into the night sky, with the moon slowly rising higher in the sky.
The following day there was no change at all and it was now putting everyone on edge as Gray wasn't around for nearly a week. It was just puzzling how they all had no real idea of where the ice mage could be and even the great sense of smell that the slayers possessed wasn't any help to the search as they continuously lost the trail. Loke took this as his opportunity to talk some sense into Gray and try to get him on board on his plan, since he was a key component for his plan to work. As for the rest of the guild, they had no idea that their missing ice mage was simply walking down the streets of Magnolia with one destination in mind, all the while holding an expressionless face as he mulled over his thoughts.
Gray was a completely lost in what he should even do now since after all the confusing predicaments he was placed into, they only surmounted in nothing gained for his own good. A part of him hated himself for believing the things that were happening around him and yet he couldn't lie that another part of him was actually happy he had those experiences. He never really felt so elated to be close to someone before and it brought about a new feeling that was a major change of pace to how he usually was, but of course all good things come to an end. Sure he was angered that Loke burst his bubble, in laymen's terms, but he couldn't really hold it against him when he was simply looking out for him.
The ice mage couldn't deny that Loke was destroying something he was feeling glad about having, but he understood that it was for the better instead of living a lie and his friends wouldn't be living the same one. Even so, he was still at a loss since his own damn heart wouldn't stop with the senseless amount of odd pain whenever he thought about his time with the others and it was grinding on his nerves. That's why he decided that instead of walking around for hours or hanging around the forest in the outskirt, he'd look for assistance. He systematically created a way so that the others wouldn't follow or find him, but that also caused a setback on him as well.
It meant that he couldn't talk to Michael for some help or guidance into at least calmer waters and he didn't want to bother the Cromwells while they were busy with their cafe, not to mention that Erza and Levy knew the two locations so there was the chance of a run in sooner or later. Although he did have one last person he could go to for guidance that he hadn't introduced to anyone nor shown where he was located at. The man that was like a second father to him; Michael's father, Morgan.
Morgan had been there ever since he was a kid when he stumbled across his shop on his mission to save Ur from her untimely demise. He took that place as Makarov was more of the grandfather he hadn't met and Gildarts was a fun loving uncle he didn't have, although Gray could oddly see him as a father figure towards Natsu for some reason he couldn't quite put his finger on. Sure it was through the influences of the missions he's gone on, the friends he made along the way and being a part of Fairy Tail that shaped him into the person he is now, but it was by Morgan, Michael and the Cromwells that made sure he was a decent human being instead of some cold a-hole people would love to avoid.
They all gave him semblance to what being a part of real family felt like when he lost two of them prior to joining Fairy Tail. Don't get him wrong, Fairy Tail did just as good a job as them, however he felt a bond between them that differed entirely. That's why he was going to Morgan for help as the old man would have some wisdom to him with the years that have passed him by.
Gray lost himself in thought for the rest of his walk, going through the street in his casual manner with his hands in his pockets as he passed the many shops and people in Magnolia. Sure it had been years since he's been through these streets, but a quick refresher course from the last time he came by was all he needed to maneuver through the streets expertly. It wasn't long before he stood before the oak door with its familiar open sign at its middle, a large window pane at its side to give any passerby a somewhat good look-see into the store and it's large sign at the top which read "The Spirit of Books". Sure the sign was a bit corny, but Gray remembered Morgan's explanation that he got the idea for it when he visited Joya and it sounded better in the other language they used their, but it didn't help customers locate his shop since they couldn't read his sign. Waving away the old memories and without another moment to waste, Gray entered the shop and at the same time the man at the register looked up to see who was coming into his shop.
Gray met eyes with the man and a fond smile, the one of which resembled a father seeing his child again, greeted him as the ice mage gave his own smirk in reply. Morgan stood in his usual book keeper's apron with his casual clothing underneath it and Gray could tell that the old man wasn't expecting him to drop by. The older man was nearly in his fifties, the noticeable wrinkles when he smiled and the grey streaks in his raven hair were indications of his age, yet he still was as spry as he was when Gray first met him. A short chuckle came from the widowed father and Gray took his time to come up towards the counter as Morgan crossed his arms.
"You know, youngsters like you don't come in as often as they used to." The older raven haired man said as Gray leaned his back on the side of the counter.
"Really, well that's a shame. Places like this were ones I spent my childhood coming to all the time, they had pretty good reads if you looked hard enough." Gray casually replied as another chuckle emanated from Morgan and the ice mage let a smile creep on his face.
"Well sometimes those kinds of kids grow up and lose their imaginations, also losing the ability to see a story for more than what it is." Morgan replied as he went over to change the sign to close, it was a pretty slow day anyways.
"That sucks, the imagination is a powerful thing and it can create just about anything a person could think of. Me of all people should know, I use it all the time." Gray replied with another smirk and Morgan once again chuckled at his response.
"Of course a great maker mage such as yourself uses that as his most powerful weapon, but not every person is a mage such as yourself. As much as I enjoy our chats, is there anything I can help you with today Gray?" Morgan asked as Gray sighed to himself before getting into a more comfortable position.
"Those fatherly senses must be tingling aren't they, but at least they're still functioning for the most part. Mind if we take this upstairs?" Gray replied as Morgan began leading them towards the staircase leading up to his home.
Morgan's bookstore may look small from the outside, but it was quite spacious on the inside with plenty of room to showcase all the available books he had. A good alley way for the various deliveries he'd receive and re-supplies, doubling as a moderate home space on the second level that was suitable for him and his family. Gray had often visited when they decided to close the shop for the day and was accustomed to how their living arrangements were, but as he stood now it felt a little empty. The main reason was that the elderly man's only son had moved out some time ago and took his belongings with him to wherever he moved to in Magnolia.
"Have a seat Gray, I'll get us some coffee." The greying man went off into the kitchen, while Gray made his way over to the living room and sat on one of the available couches.
Gray looked around the furnished home to see that it hasn't really changed that much since the last time he was there, save for the few new additions in the home. He always noticed the pictures of Michael and Morgan together on many of the walls, but amongst all that there was still the one old picture above a shelf that didn't deter his attention from it. It was a photograph of a much younger Morgan standing happily next to his wife, Lillian, who held a baby Micheal in her arms. Although Micheal grew up to have his father's looks, he did get his mother's hair and eyes which did save his appearance. Of course Gray was simply joking when he thought like that.
"Although you can make good on a social call, I know you've come to me for help right Gray?" Morgan said a he handed the ice mage his drink, while he got comfortable in his own chair.
"Like I said, those senses are still working." Gray joked as he took a sip of his coffee, slightly icing it so it was cool enough for him to drink. "But you're right, something big's come up and I'm at my wits end."
Gray had recounted to Morgan all that has happened to him in terms of his situation and the older raven haired man listened on carefully. He was quite surprised of what kind of situation his pseudo-second son was going through and a part of him felt proud of what was happening. Although in his younger years a familiar response like...
"You are but a fool for questioning the workings of the universe! A man's- no all of man's greatest fantasy is that of the unobtainable harem! Surrounded by beautiful women who are fond of you and want you for their own no less, yet you question it!? There is still much you need to learn young one, before you can truly appreciate the value of the divine gift that has been bestowed upon you."
...would've been what he responded with, but as time went on those kinds of ideals were left behind after he met Lillian. He married such a wonderful woman and there was always that part of him that he found embarrassing as years went on which will always stay with him till the end. For now he'd help Gray with his unique problem.
"Although such a situation is amongst the rarest things to happen to a person, I'll help you as best as I can." Morgan replied as the ice mage finished his recounting of what was happening to him and waited for his reply.
"Any help is appreciated really."
"For starters, you must stop being a coward." Morgan said as Gray nearly choked on his coffee from that remark, caught off guard by his claim.
"Gray Fullbuster is no coward old man!" The ice mage retorted as the older man simply reclined further into his seat with a knowing smile on his face, crossing his arms in a superior fashion.
"Oh really? Avoiding your guild mates and allowing someone else to fix a problem you are stuck in sure sounds like you're running away from it. Only cowards run away when faced with a problem Gray." The ice mage clenched his teeth as Morgan's claim made sense and he hated to be called a coward of all things, next to demeaning nicknames he didn't like.
"What do you suggest I do huh, besides avoid being a coward?"
"Help your Loke friend out to bring your friends back to normal and after that, tighten your bootstraps and directly choose which one of those women is truly your soul mate." Gray simply gave him a confused looked and Morgan sighed to himself as the young man had yet to get the concept of a destined person for him. "What I mean is that amongst all those girls you've come across, only one holds a very dear place in your heart that you couldn't live without them."
"Don't you get it, they are all under the effects of a potion so it's all one sided anyways. What good would it be if I did something like that when they don't reciprocate the same feelings?"
"Yes I'm well aware of that Gray, but what I'm saying is to benefit your own happiness as you now discovered how closely you are connected to the people you know. You've learned the feelings you possess for someone of the opposite sex and now it's up to your own decision to choose which one is truly your life long partner. You are the keeper of your own heart Gray and only you know the person who has the key to open it." The older ravenette said as he took a sip of his coffee, wondering what Gray's reply would be.
"Say I do that, then I can mark it down to at least four people and even then it's still difficult to decide. C'mon old man, cryptic crap is something I don't like trying to solve at all." Gray could withstand it sure enough, but a cryptic message that revolves around this sort of thing reminds him about Terrance and look where it led him.
"It's not something that I can help point you in the direction of, Gray. Take me for instance, I was never really one for following a general direction, but after I met Lillian things started to change." The greying man had a nostalgic feeling in him as he reminisced upon old memories of his time with his wife. "She became someone I wasn't willing to lose, someone I'd climb over Mt. Hakobe travel to Joya and back again just to have in my arms again."
"Woah, didn't think you had that much determination in you old man." Gray wasn't aware that he felt that strongly for his deceased wife, it actually was surprising how serious he was as he explained what he'd do.
"You know how all those children's books and fairy tales go by now, the power of love is the strongest emotion known to man. That alone can help strive a person to do incredible things, even accomplish the impossible if they tried hard enough." That was true in any regard, Morgan was truly willing to do whatever he could to get his Lillian back.
"You really think I could pull off what you're saying?" Gray was confident in his actions, but at times like these where he is unfamiliar with his situation he tends to second guess himself.
"I'm positive that you can, but first you've got to make sure your friends are back to their usual selves before you tackle on the next step." He replied with kind smile as he could tell the message was getting to Gray. "Now quit acting like a coward and face this problem head on like the man I know you grew up to be."
"Thanks old man, I needed someone to set me straight." Gray stood up as Morgan followed after him, giving him a hearty hug before he left; an act he wished he had done those seven years ago when he disappeared from his life, like his dear Lillian.
"Go get 'em and make sure to introduce me to your new girlfriend." Morgan joked as Gray left with a smile on his face, for once having his head clear after so many days of confusion, pain and anger.
Most people would assume that six days worth of such emotions and feelings couldn't be so easily resolved in a nearly two hour chat, but most people weren't Gray. The ice mage has spent years trying to cope with his own guilt, anger and remorse for what he's done in the past which has made him obtain a very useful skill. His skill of adaptation, which is how Gray is capable of facing the thing he was running away from head on. The ice mage knew that a confrontation could end with catastrophic results as he still needed time to get used to the situation he was in, so he prayed to any gods that would listen and Mavis to give him strength in not blowing his top on one of his guild mates unless it was Natsu.
With a brand new mindset, Gray set out to talk with Lucy if she could call on Loke. The lion spirit was the first person he needed to speak with in order to get things back on track, at least he was grateful that he didn't knock him out the first chance he got. He understood that Loke was doing the right thing as he went off to search for the antidote and actually found one, but he could of at least try to tell him in a way so that he wasn't feeling so empty right after. Gray scoffed to himself as he thought back about that and realized that sometimes Loke was just a little too extravagant to be subtle. The ice mage merely let it go and continued to walk towards the guild as his thoughts were only going to worsen his mood the more he dwelled on them instead of looking towards the future. Luckily he was saved from his thoughts when a hand clamped down on his shoulder and the recognizable cologne wafted into his nose.
"Speak of the devil." Gray muttered as he turned to face an exasperated Loke who looked more than glad that he was able to locate the ice mage in this pretty large city, but there was still a few feelings the ravenette was leaving under his watch for the time being.
"I've finally found you, ya icy bastard! Don't you know how hard it's been to look for someone who strips all the time, but there isn't a trail of clothes to follow!?" Loke exclaimed as Gray was surprisingly fully clothed and was met with a smirk in reply.
"Don't say unnecessary things." Gray coolly replied as Loke did a double take before he realized that the mage in front of him was back to who he is. "I was actually on my way to talk to you."
"Look I'm sorry that I didn't tell you in a calmer way, but it was a pretty big issue that needs to be dealt with." The strawberry blonde was truly sorry and was willing to apologize to the ice mage in any way possible to make it up to him.
"That doesn't matter to me right now and I want to leave that behind me, it's bad enough to have remember it alright." Gray said in a stern voice and the lion spirit knew that he was dead serious with what he was saying. "Although I still resent the fact that my emotions had been toyed, I'm going to overlook since I've come to a decision."
"What decision is that?"
"Which one is there dumbass, I'm going to help you get rid of this damn potion." A smile crept on Loke's face as he placed an arm around his friend's shoulder as he started to move again with Gray at his side with a gleeful stride in his step.
"Now that's what I'm talking about! I've got most of the things I was looking into done, all I need you to do is hold out until the right time comes around for me to administer the elixir to everyone and this whole business is over with." Loke remarked happily as he went further into discussion about what the properties of the emotion potion had that made everyone behave in the way they are now. Even so, Gray was still skeptical and worried of what the future holds since he still needed to deal with everyone in their current state of wanting him.
He may have a clearer head, but there was still so much that needed to be done before things could ever be the same again. His mind was already in the right place, being as collected as always, but his heart and emotions were fireworks and flames that were ablaze with confusion and anxiety as to what would happen next. He had the knowledge that someone will add more fuel to that flame and he hoped that he would calm down enough to stop himself and apologize. His heart may be all over the place, but he'd try and maintain control until this was all settled and behind him. Because he was Gray Fullbuster and he was going to see this through the end, you can count on it.
