A/N: Hello everyone, it's me again with the latest chappie and I honestly can't believe that we're almost a hop, skip and a jump away from the last chapter to my first fic. I'm still surprised that I've gotten this far, but I've got to save all the mush and stuff for the last chapter (which is nearly here btw) so for now I give chapter 28. Hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 28
She couldn't believe what was happening, no that wasn't right for she didn't want to believe that her constructed world of romance with her Gray-sama was shattering before her. Juvia took time to learn Gray's moods and no matter how much she wished it wasn't true, the ice mage was dead serious and it only served to break her heart even more. The truth was that at some point she knew Gray wasn't returning her feelings and was hoping that if she pushed enough he would actually start to feel something for her, but now she knew that she was simply fooling herself. How could she have been so stupid, he had made deliberate signs that he wasn't interested but she took them as him being awkward at her claims of love for him.
She wanted to cry, it was the only thing she had going for her at this point and yet she couldn't bring herself to sob away the pain in front of Gray. It was only until she felt a droplet of water fall onto her hand did she realize that tears had already sprung from her eyes and wished that her humiliation would end right there. Juvia had every reason to run away from Gray and seek comfort from her close friend in Gajeel, but she wouldn't run rather she would tough it out. The water mage made eye contact with her beloved with tears streaming down her face, noticing how Gray's expression had yet to change but she could see the faint signs of regret in his eyes. Juvia was well aware of the phrase of a person's eyes being the gateway to their souls and it was never more truer than for Gray, for any emotion too strong for him to express was shown through his eyes.
The water mage knew that she brought this upon herself, that she had done something that pushed Gray too far and this was the end result. Pushing was the only thing she had ever done when it concerned the ice mage and now it was her turn to be over whelmed with her back against a corner. Though he finished what they hadn't even started, Juvia wasn't about to let it end like this and if there was a way then she would do everything in her power to save their friendship at least.
"I...I understand..." She said through a shaky breath, even though she really didn't want to.
"Look, I'm..." Gray wanted to apologize, he felt like he had hurt the blue haired woman very deeply but he just couldn't bring himself to say the words out loud.
He too felt hurt, all his life he sealed himself away ever since he lost his parents and Ur to the point where he built his own personality around it and now that he began to feel once again it was just an illusion. He hated to feel like this, he hated to let the things he kept close by toyed with even if unintentionally, but most of all he hated the fact that he was just letting his frustrations out onto the people who were just trying to help or were trying to get him to be happy. His answer was not due to the heat of the moment, in fact it was a clean cut answer the ice mage had been meaning to give Juvia for some time now and he realized that this wasn't the most opportune time to tell her although he realized that a little too late.
"I know what you're wishing to say..." Juvia spoke up in a more even voice, however there was the slight hiccup as she was holding back a quiet sob.
"I just don't understand...why me?" Gray never needed to be clued in on Juvia's constant flirting, he just questioned why she'd waste her time on him. "There are definitely better people out there for you."
"It was love at first sight for me," Juvia began, trying her best to hold back any more tears from escaping. "I felt drawn to you when we first met as enemies and as time went on I learned to love not only you, but all of Fairy Tail as well. The more I was around you, the deeper I fell in love because it was who you are that made me keep chasing you."
"But why didn't you just give up every time I shot you down?" Gray pushed the question since a lot of things could've been prevented if she just gave up.
"Because you were the person who gave me the beautiful sky and the sun back." Juvia answered as a sad smile spread across her face, this time taking a seat on a nearby rock formation. "I've always been plagued by negative comments since I couldn't control my powers very well, but even though I was your enemy you chose to save my life. That was the kindest thing anyone had ever done for me without having an ulterior motive."
"Anyone would've done that for you; everything you've felt for me would most likely go for the person who saved you. It would've been the same even if Natsu was the one who saved you and asked you to join Fairy Tail." Gray awkwardly said as the intense moment was beginning to cool down, but there were still fragments of anger lingering about within him.
"If Natsu-san was the one to have saved me, I would be grateful to him but I believe that I would've still been drawn to you instead." She replied and Gray remained silent as there weren't any words he could come up with to respond to her, more so for the fact that he felt like screaming at the top of his lungs on why he couldn't understand.
"It...It was actually my dream that one day, you and I would be together and start our very own life as one." She voiced out, a very personal secret even though she expressed it more often than not to the world, but it only served to let her tears fall as reality was much harsher than her dreams.
The ice mage only looked on as he saw the sparklette of her tears fall onto the rocky floor and splatter in all directions, turning with a scoff as parts of him began to turn their anger towards him; both his brain and his damn heart.
"It's ironic how I found a way to destroy two people's dreams in the same place." Gray spoke up, his back to her although Juvia could hear the slightest tones of self-loathing come from his voice. "Lyon dreamed to surpass our master once he finished his training and I took that away from him, this spot was the exact same place he had witnessed the death of his dream seven years ago."
Lyon had forgiven Gray and wanted to make up for lost time chasing an ambition that wouldn't come true, to which he didn't mind although a lamenting thought stayed with him. Gray could never forget the pain filled words Lyon yelled at him when he discovered that Ur had died and though Ur was the one to finally destroy Deliora when the Moon Drip was complete, the ice mage felt a sense of responsibility when he noticed the crushed look on Lyon's face. Gray knew how much it meant to him and though he and his guildmates were the ones to stop him, the dark haired young man felt that it weighed entirely on him.
"Now here I am destroying yours."
The tension was too thick for words, so silence was a welcomed friend between them and Juvia couldn't help but feel guilty of how much pain she kept causing to her beloved, former beloved. The water mage was now aware that this place held a deep meaning for the ice mage and she would've never had guessed that it was the same for Lyon, however she could tell that the other ice mage didn't have as a high regard for it as Gray did.
Where did she go wrong? She had always loved him in the way she usually expressed it, but it dawned on her that it was out of tremendous fear in which things took a turn. The moment she decided to use magic to win his favor was the moment in which her harmless love became toxic and began to cause problems. She had to tell him the truth, things would need time to mend between them but so long as he learned her reasoning than she'd be satisfied knowing that Gray didn't think of her as a selfish woman.
"Gray-sam-...san, I want t-to tell you why I did this." Juvia said in an apologetic tone hoping that he'd at least hear her out.
"Fine, then tell me." Gray replied and wished he hadn't said that as harshly as he did, since he could see how Juvia recoiled at his tone.
"I did this so I wouldn't regret it." Juvia began, but Gray hadn't even bothered to lift his face to look at her so she decided to continue at least knowing he was listening to her. "I wished to be with you ever since what I beared witness to, I couldn't go on if you died and you never truly discovered how much you mean to me."
Gray heard how her voice was becoming shaky again and was trying to figure out what she meant by his death until he realized what she was talking about. So it seemed that he wasn't the only one to think that moment of deja vu was too real not to have happened and it unnerved him to think that it must be the same thing for Lyon and Meredy. Was the universe making him out to be a burden or something? The ice mage wanted to laugh at how bad things got for him over the years and a part of him felt like there was still more to come.
"I just didn't want us to end on bad terms Gray-san." Juvia added although it still felt awkward to place a different honorific to his name. "I know I was acting selfish, but could you help it if you witnessed the person you loved disappear from the world you shared together for good and leave you all alone?" It was a rhetorical questioned she voiced out to make her point, but she didn't expect Gray to give a short solemn chuckle to her words.
"I know what you mean all too well." Gray replied as a heavy atmosphere descended upon them and Juvia knew that she had struck a very touchy subject about the ice mage.
Juvia sat there nervously as she couldn't stop thinking that she was making the situation even worse with the more she spoke. She had said everything she wanted and it was all up to Gray to figure out what he wanted to do after, at this point it was better for her to cut her losses and wait for what tomorrow would bring. Juvia stood and slowly approached the ice mage, tentatively placing her hand on his shoulder; feeling him stiffen beneath her touch.
"I'm truly sorry Gray-san, please just...take my words into consideration." The water mage couldn't really bear to see the ice mage like that and promptly removed her hand and hastily left the cave, allowing the rest of her tears to fall as she left.
"Being selfish never ends well." Gray solemnly thought letting his own tears cascade down his face, remembering his parents and Ur in the damp cave; the same one that is the final resting place of his former master and the darkness she sealed away for him.
The shining rays of sunrise blanketed the plains of an open field as Lucy awoke from her slumber, unsurprised by the dragon slayer who decided to hold his head out the window in order to make sure last night's meal didn't end up all over them. She rubbed her eyes to sway away her drowsiness and looked onto the rest of the train car her team, along with Mira's, were riding in to find that she wasn't the only one awake. Cana stared out the train window in a sage like manner obviously lost in thought about something the blonde couldn't even begin to guess about, Erza who sat in front of her looked tense if the constant tapping of her boot were any indication of it and finally there was Lisanna who was trying to remove her brother's large arm off her shoulder.
Lucy knew that they were all competing for Gray, but it surprised her that both teams had worked together in order to secure a train for all of them to head out for Hargeon. Natsu unsurprisingly wanted to travel by foot, but was outvoted as it would only serve to delay them by days so Erza made sure he was placed inside the car unconscious. Though for that reason, Wendy had let casting Troya on the pink haired slayer slip her mind and accidentally left Natsu to deal with his motion sickness. As for the little dragon slayer, she had decided to sit at a booth by herself alongside Carla with Happy joining them so it wasn't cramped in Team E.L.L.N.'s booth; Lucy and Levy on one side with Erza and Natsu in front of them while the slayer chose the window seat for obvious reasons.
The celestial mage watched as the rest of her rivals/guildmates began to stir awake and knew that once they arrived at Hargeon the momentary truce would end. She looked over the train once more and noticed that Cana seemed troubled as she moved into a vacant booth, while Lucy decided that she could make use of the truce to talk to her for a bit. The blonde hardly got the chance to speak to some of her guildmates ever since they joined opposing teams for Gray, but right now they were just guildmates instead of rivals. Lucy carefully made her way out of the booth, making sure not to disturb Levy who had been sleeping rather soundly for a while and sat herself down opposite of the brunette.
"Crazy how things turn out, huh Cana?" Lucy asked to strike up a conversation and the brunette turned to her with a half smile, however there was no trace of her usual mirth in it.
"Never a dull day in Fairy Tail, that's for sure." The card mage replied and downcasted her gaze, picking at her fuzzy purse to occupy her idle hands.
"What's wrong Cana? You've been pretty down in the dumps lately." The blonde was willing to listen to the card mage's problems like she had done before, so she waited patiently for Cana to reply to her.
"To tell you the truth, I've been second guessing myself on chasing after Gray." Cana admitted as she found a bit of solace in the celestial mage, a friend she can come to tell her problems to when Gray wasn't around. "There's so much I've done to forget about him in the past that it's made it difficult for me in the present."
"You've known Gray for a pretty long time, so the only one worrying about anything should be me. I mean that out of everyone in this train car, I'm the one who doesn't know a whole lot about Gray and I can't count Wendy since she isn't interested in him the way we are." Lucy replied as she tried to reassure the card mage, giving her some hope in all this even if she was down playing herself at the moment.
"Well me and him don't share a very bright history with each other, sure we care for each other but there's a lot of things that are hard pressed between us." Cana said as Lucy knew all too well what she was talking about, but decided to play like she had no idea what she was talking about.
"Wouldn't that be how he is with Natsu? They do go for each other's throats more often than not, but in the end they really care for each other." Lucy offered and it surprised her when the brunette gave a short laugh at her statement.
"I wish... things would be a lot easier if it were that way. No...we had something that ran deep within both of us, but we were too young and too stupid to think clearly enough against our own selfish reasons." The blonde could tell that Cana was somewhat hurting from what she had just said and understood that her past with the ice mage was pretty twisted.
"Well dozens of authors and people do say that love isn't easy." Sure it was a common phrase usually to add some form of light hearted wording through a bit of a tense situation from what she's read, but Lucy could tell it was much more for Cana.
"No, it really isn't and that's why some people do stupid things in the name of it." Cana added as she looked back at how Gray merely did it because he loved her. "Main reason why I am second guessing myself is because I'm unsure whether or not I could let either of us relive our past."
"I know it'll be hard for you, but would you mind explaining what actually happened between you two?" It wasn't necessarily required since she could get the gist of it from her unreasoned eavesdropping, but it would be nice to hear her side of the story.
"You've been there for me before, so why not? It helps to talk things out with others." Cana said as she looked back on the years passed and her smile slowly fell before she spoke again. "Gray and I were the only kids in the guild at the time so naturally we grew close, years passed and things between us got deeper and soon enough we gave each other our firsts." She recounted as they were inseparable back then, but those were happier times between them.
"When we were fourteen, Gray wanted to make us official and I swear that I was the happiest girl around when I heard it. It was the greatest feeling I've ever felt, but it didn't last long before the fear crept its way into me." A part of Cana couldn't believe she was so terrified of the things Gray was always striving to overcome; he saw a problem that could be fix with a little work and there wasn't a thing in the world that'd make him turn a blind eye to his guildmate. "I was afraid that if we went further down that path, that at some point we'd have a falling out and could never face each other again. I couldn't live without him there supporting me, so I used my fears as a final statement as to why we can't be together."
"There's no way Gray could agree to something like that, he's more of a fighter when it comes to things he knows to be right." From what Lucy could already tell about the ice mage is that he'd do anything to help or even repair a bad situation at nearly any cost.
"I believed that too, until I told him that and the only thing he did was agree." A sad smile spread across her face, usually she'd feel like crying although now she knew that the ice mage did it for a more heart clenching reason. "I never thought he'd agree to something so unbelievable and just like that our own happiness vanished with a mutual understanding, but we both left as losers and I was nothing more than an idiot."
"Come on Cana, it couldn't have ended on such a bad note, right?" Lucy asked reassuringly as she searched for something to help Cana wipe her eyes with as the brunette became a little watery in the eyes.
"Are you kidding? I tried everything I could to forget about Gray; built up a number of random crushes on guys, dated a number of them in the city and elsewhere." The card mage used the handkerchief the blonde gave her to wipe her eyes, but the memory of just doing those acts made her feel dirty as she looked back on them. "But no matter what I did, I always compared them to Gray and it was the worse thing since none of them could compare to him."
"I guess it was hard for you, but weren't you the one claiming to never date any of the men in Fairy Tail?" Came the voice of a new comer as Erza stood at their booth and both woman were surprised to see her, even if they shared the same car.
"Erza? How long have you been there?" Cana asked as she hadn't expected to see the requip mage, let alone talk to her for the trip.
"I barely made my way here, but I caught onto the last few bits of your conversation." Erza said as she sat herself down next the her blonde teammate, making herself a part of their conversation now. "I believed this would be a good opportunity to speak to some of my fellow guildmates I haven't had the chance to speak without the hostility of rival teams."
"The more the merrier?" Lucy questioned, but Cana reluctantly gave her approval and allowed the redhead to sit with them. "But Erza does have a point Cana, one of the first few things you said when I first got to Fairy Tail was that you didn't date any of them there. Do you have a reason why?"
"I would've thought that was obvious." Cana said jokingly to lighten her mood, but it failed as it was blatantly clear that she did that for Gray too. "I couldn't bring myself to date someone that we shared a guild with, not to mention that he was the only person I actually loved." She said the last bit more to herself after explaining herself, but it satisfied the two women in front of her.
Lucy was moved that after what happened to them, Cana couldn't bring herself to hurt Gray in any way although she went on a dating spree to forget about him. The card mage was a kind hearted woman and the blonde knew that there was something more about Gray that kept Cana from actually going pretty far with someone else. Erza spoke on about how she didn't understand why the brunette didn't settle this manner years ago and Cana had responded that she couldn't get close to Gray at all. He had changed from the young teen she fell in love with, but in a way that forced the card mage to shrink away from ever revealing her mistake.
"Gray does have a bit of an effect like that, but I believed that was just him growing up in a certain way." Erza inquired as the behavior he displayed was different now that she looked back on it and Cana gave a small 'hmph' to her claim.
"Sorry Erza, but that's what I meant when we both left as losers. I could never find someone like Gray and Gray..." Erza and Lucy looked on as the brunette seemed troubled in trying to explain it, but she soon found the words to keep going. "Well, it was my fault that he's like that now. In my fear of the future, I overlooked his past and realized why he agreed so easily to what I said."
"Oh right, his master" Lucy deduced and Erza had caught onto what the blonde meant as Gray did have trouble with certain things after her passing.
"Yeah, Gray had his own fear of selfishness. All he wanted to do was keep me happy, even if it meant getting his heart broken." Cana added as Lucy had guessed it right on the money and the brunette could only assume that Gray must have told them at some point. "After that, Gray grew colder and distant from people which led him to become the person you got to meet Lucy."
"Gray did strike me as a different person compared to everyone else, like he wasn't as jovial as everyone tended to be, plus he tried to keep to himself most of the time too." Lucy commented remembering the days in which Gray wasn't with them out on a mission.
"Yeah he was, but I was actually happy to see him acting like his old self again." Cana interjected, happy to see Gray be like the boy she became attached to after so long that it gave her a nostalgic feeling deep within her heart.
"Even so, don't lose heart so easily Cana." The requip mage spoke up as she crossed her arms, the card mage looking at her quizzically. "Taking a page from Natsu's book on life; it's a much more fulfilling feeling when you defeat your opponent at their best."
"She's right, don't give up just yet. You've got to prove that there is still more in you that won't back down to one last fight." Lucy chimed in as a smile spread across the brunette's face as her spirits were slowly being lifted.
"You two should have left me to be a downer." Cana replied, but she held a warm smile on her face as she looked at them. "Now you've got to face the daughter of Gildarts Clive, ace of Fairy Tail: Cana Alberona."
"That's the spirit!" Lucy cheered and for the first time in what felt like a long time they all felt like their old selves again.
The cheerful atmosphere was welcomed by everyone in the cabin and so the moods were much higher now than they were in the beginning. Cana had gone back to her group, but it seemed that Lisanna had taken Erza's seat to comfort the suffering dragon slayer while the redhead decided to wake the little dragon slayer to fix the problem. Lucy and the now awake Levy looked on at the scene between the animal soul mage and the dragon slayer, finding it adorable in a sense of what was happening. They had both thought back at what Happy said about them and both the petite blunette and blonde thought that it wouldn't be so bad if Natsu moved onto her if things didn't go so well with Gray.
Though the air was cheerful, it didn't necessarily mean that they all would start to talk to each other again since Mira and Erza were more than openly glaring daggers at each other. Sure the former rivals weren't going to talk to each other, but that didn't stop the others in doing so and Wendy had joined in to help bridge both teams together if only a little bit. Luckily for all of them, the young dragon slayer first did her duty in casting Troya on Natsu as his groaning was becoming a little bothersome and they wanted to take him out of his misery.
The conversations were light hearted at best and the time on board the train flew by them without their knowing as the hours passed seamlessly with each conversation that was started. By the time the train had finally arrived at Hargeon, it became a race for the harbor with Natsu leading the charge as he was more than happy to get off the death trap on rails. Of course when he finally made it, waiting for the others to arrive, he had forgotten that they needed to find a way across the vast ocean to the island. As breathless as they were, Teams Mira and E.L.L.N. faced each other in a comradely way with Wendy merely looking on at the two teams along with the Exceeds.
"Well this is where our truce ends, wouldn't you say Erza?" Mira asked kindly, in the sense that her challenging message was kept hidden beneath her smile very well.
"Yes you are right Mira, now we are back to being rivals." The redhead replied in turn, catching on to the meaning behind her words with an equal amount of challenge.
"I just hope you guys find yourselves a boat, ours is waiting for us further down the harbor." The white haired demoness added, waving good bye towards her childhood rival. "Good luck to all of you, hopefully we see by tomorrow!" She called out as her team continued to walk away from them and Natsu looked slightly unnerved after her claim.
"She's right Erza, how are we going to get to Galuna without a boat?" Lucy hadn't realized that Mira was a master planner from her years of being a matchmaker, so it was obvious that she'd come up with a way to get her team a boat to the island.
"We can always swim there since it's not like we really need one of those floating torture chambers, right?" Natsu offered and they looked at him incredulously, the same look he got when he offered to go walking instead of taking the train. "Or maybe a boat's just fine too."
"In any case, we don't have a means to cross the ocean while they already have a head start on us." Levy voiced as she sat down on a few crates, somewhat miffed that they were losing their lead even if both teams arrived at the port town at the same time.
"No need to worry about that, I had a feeling that Mira would try to contact someone ahead of time so I did that as well." Erza had motioned them to follow her as they walked down the other half of the dock to a somewhat shady looking port.
"I don't know about this Erza, this looks like a pretty rough neighborhood." Lucy voiced her concerns as more than once she was stared at with lustful eyes, luckily Natsu was around to make sure no one tried anything to her or the equally concerned Levy and Wendy.
"It's okay Lucy we're already here, they should be arriving any minute now if they followed my instructions carefully." The requip mage replied as she looked out at the vast sea and Levy could only imagine who the woman got to take them to Galuna.
The petite blunette looked across the horizon too, nothing looking remotely close to an object until a small dot appeared. The dot grew bigger as it came closer to the coast and Levy could make out the shape of a ship as it was no more than a few hundred yards out although she grew worried again. It was mainly due to the tattered black sail embolized with a massive skull and crossbones flapping proudly with the sea air. The blunette could not believe Erza had managed to get pirates to ferry them all the way to Galuna, she didn't even want to question the how of all of it as she was dumbstruck with the main idea of the red head knowing pirates.
"Avast ye wizards! We've come by the request from Big Sister." The captain, who Levy presumed as sounding like a stereotypical plunderer of the sea, shouted as he docked and had the boarding plank come down onto the dock. "The crew and I will get ye passage to the island of Galuna."
"Yo pirate dude, it's been awhile! How's business been for ya?" Natsu asked as he tried to inch away from the ship, but Erza had caught him by the collar before he managed to get away.
"Tis not well, me sea legless boy-o. These waters hold no treasure to plunder, all there is are those scurvy dogs of the magic council." The captain replied as they all boarded, Natsu the most resistant until Erza unceremoniously carried him on. "What this old seadog would give to live back in me youth."
"Piracy is not a long term job in this day and age Captain, I've told you before to turn over a new leaf and set yourselves up as security detail for ships." Erza said as Wendy got to work casting Troya on Natsu, but it took a little more time as she had to cast it on herself first since the effects of motion sickness were starting to get to her.
"Aye Big Sister, we'll come around to it." He replied getting back to the helm and getting the ship back out towards the sea. "Will the little lass with hair as blue as the sky be alright? She seems to look as fearful as deadman staring straight at Davy Jones's locker."
"Oh don't mind her, I'll speak to her." The requip mage replied as she walked down towards the deck to confront a worried stricken Levy. "Are you doing okay Levy, you seem scared."
"Well I'm not sure if you noticed Erza but we're on a pirate ship, run by real pirates!" The petite girl could only describe the crew just as she had imagined them, although she was caught off guard when the ship wasn't as dirty as she thought it'd be.
"I know that, plus there is no real reason to be afraid Levy. They are harmless and would jump ship before laying a hand on anyone I know." Erza tried to reassure her, but was met with an interesting look of curiosity from Levy.
"Now that you mention it, I am curious why both the captain and his crew refer to you as Big Sister?" Honestly, Levy never thought Erza would be called that by people like pirates.
"I met them several years ago when I went after Lucy, Natsu, Gray and Happy after taking an unauthorized S-class mission and I required a means to get to Galuna. I defeated them all into submission to acquire their loyalty so they'd even traverse the waters to the island and somehow they all admired my strength to where they referred to me as their elder sister." Erza explained as Levy could find it rather plausible of such an event actually happening. "Although I'm positive that I'm younger than all of them."
"Now that you've explained it, there's no more doubt in me that says you don't have everything under control." The solid script mage admitted as Erza gave an understanding nod before walking off to see if the ship was at top condition.
Levy had decided to stick to Lucy for personal reasons and the blonde had explained that the crew were rather nice people after the redhead came around and showed her some of their talents. The blunette was rather impressed at some the things that they had been able to do and learned that most of them got stuck in the business when things started to turn for the worst in their lives. She had also learned that after they had managed to establish relations with the residents of the island, they managed to find a decent amount of work before the small port town was finally made on the island.
Wendy watched silently as everyone was enjoying themselves on the ship, even if Levy still had her reserves while Natsu had made his way up to the Crow's Nest to see the view. She on the other hand was busy trying to figure out a very confusing ordeal she had back at the guild as it still boggled her mind. Sure she had a close relationship with Gray on a sibling like level, but she never outwardly say such a thing due to sheer embarrassment and didn't know how he'd take it. So when Lucy had said that, she was momentarily dazed that the blonde knew how she viewed Gray until her memories flooded back in of her latest interactions with the ice mage and tried to follow up the conversation.
"Come now child, what bothers you? You've had that expression ever since we've left the guild." Carla finally said as Happy had gone off to join Natsu up in the nest.
"Sorry Carla, it's just that I can't recall why I ever felt the courage to tell Gray that I wanted him as an older brother." The twin tailed girl replied as it just randomly happened and it spiraled ever since she met Carrie and went to her cafe.
"I don't believe I can be much assistance there as neither I have any knowledge where you gained the bravery to stand up to Carrie and claim that stripping young man as an older sibling." The white furred cat still couldn't believe what had transpired that day, but she still had her own worries to focus on.
Her clairvoyance had shown her that whatever Gray was about to do to everyone was at this point in time, but she couldn't understand what exactly is supposed to happen. She was unsure if she should warn the others or allow it to happen as Wendy and Happy were supporting him in his actions. It worried her that it wasn't so very clear to show whether it was out of mal intent or not as the young man had a face filled with regret to consider it as a ploy against his friends. All Carla knew was that she needed to find a stand in all this before it was too late and she could only assume that she had a few hours left before it happened.
"I guess it just happened on the spur of the moment, after all Carrie was being pretty forceful and all over Gray just when I was around." Wendy said as she looked out onto the ocean, the sun growing closer to being hidden by the horizon as the island was becoming visible now.
"Well in any case, if you believe in the ice mage I can only assume that there is no need to worry about this and just accept what has happened." Carla replied as she crossed her arms and made her way up onto the rail, watching as the lights of the port town came into view now.
For obvious reasons, the pirates had docked in a special area where they wouldn't draw any attention from the small town and placed down the boarding plank once the coast was clear. Oddly enough Levy's short lived fear subsided once they got off the pirate ship as its crew and captain held tears in their eyes seeing their Big Sister get off as well and wished her to stay a little longer. Natsu of course was the first to run as fast as he could to the more crowded area of the dock before he was forced to relive another minute on the boat, fearing that Troya would wear off soon while still out at sea. Lucy, Happy, Carla and Wendy went after him leaving Levy with Erza and the pirates, who were waiting on her answer.
"I'm sorry gentlemen, but this is my stop. I need to rescue someone dear to me before he's taken away again." Erza said as she looked off in the direction in which the group went off to before turning her attention back towards the captain.
"Aye, we understand and will await for ye here, tomorrow at dusk." The aged captain replied with Erza giving him a nod before he got his ship back out to see with a few crew members still calling out to her.
"There sure are an odd bunch." Levy spoke up as they began to walk after the others and the requip mage simply smiled at her claim.
"You never know what type of people you'll meet on an adventure." Erza replied picking up the pace a bit, the sensation that Mira might catch leads to a certain village was growing the more they dilly dallied. "In any case we have to hurry to the only village that was established on the island before this port town."
"How is the village here, what's it like?" Levy asked as she spotted a group of multi haired colored individuals sitting near the entrance of the town that laid before the forested area of the island.
"My team and I had quite a confrontation a few years ago on this island and when it was all over, we became quite good friends with a village of demons living here." Erza answered her as the blunette paled at the sound of demons actually existing in their world and really living amongst humans." But don't worry, they are a very kind people and a few of the demonesses got attached to our Gray during the time we stayed, so I'm sure they can provide us with some information." The requip mage tried to reassure her as she noticed how tensed she became at the claim of a demon village.
"You've all made a number of friends out on your jobs I see." Levy joked once they finally grouped up the others, "But I couldn't believe that even a demoness would fall for Gray! Just how much time did Gray spend with Loke?!" A small mental image of the flirty spirit formed in her head and she couldn't begin to figure out what the strawberry blonde taught the ice mage.
"I guess we have, but do you guys have any idea where we're supposed to go now?" Natsu asked since Lucy had told him that they had to wait for Erza to come up with a plan on figuring out if Gray was here or not.
"We'll head for the village Bobo lives in and ask around if they've seen Gray come through there. I'm sure the village chief can be helpful to our cause, but we must hurry since Mira will no doubt be searching for it soon enough." The redhead informed the team and they all set out into the forest, using Natsu's keen sense of smell to locate the scents of the chief, Bobo or any of the other demons they came across.
To say Levy was intimidated was somewhat of an understatement, since she stood in front of a large wooden gate which was supported by steel beams that reinforced it as she could see two guards standing at the top looking down at them. She was pretty nervous as they wielded magic guns, however it faded away as friendly smiles grew across their faces at recognizing Natsu, Lucy and Erza and began shouting orders before the large wooden gate opened up before them. The pink haired slayer took the initiative and made his way inside as the rest of the group followed him before they were greeted by a familiar demon standing alongside his long sideburn father wielding his staff.
"Isn't this a sight to see, it's been years since you Fairy Tailers have come back to the island." Bobo's friendly state was rather calming to Levy even if he was in his true demon form, but the older looking one was making her uncomfortable as he stared intently at Natsu and Lucy.
"Yes it is nice to have you back here, hopefully this time you will destroy the moon!" Moka exclaimed as the villagers began to gather around, laughing at their chief's wish of destroying the moon even though their curse had been lifted.
"Yeah we'll get back to you on that." Lucy commented although Natsu pumped his fist while he held a victorious grin.
"Don't worry about it old man! Once Happy manages to get me there, that moon's gonna be toast!" Of course he was still willing to destroy the moon just as he had seven years ago, but aside from himself and Moka, everyone was sure that wasn't going to happen any time soon.
"Aye, sir!" Happy exclaimed only fueling Natsu's motivation, but he too understood that there was no way he'd be able to fly high enough to land his best friend on it's surface so he'd just support him verbally.
"Yes well that will take some time, we here on serious business." Erza began and regained the attention of the chief, Bobo and the rest of the village. "We're wondering if you have any information on whether or not Gray's been through here or is even on the island."
"You guys are looking for Gray?" Came the sweet tone from within the crowd as one demoness was excusing herself through her fellow villagers, her blue skin and darker colored hair making her stand out aside from her more profound demonic features.
"Ah Lulu, I guess you would know something." Bobo spoke up as their human and cat guests looked at him, "Well you see, I went into town with my father for supplies for most of the day well into the night so I wasn't able to notice anyone arriving."
"It is understandable, but what about Gray? How was he when you saw him Lulu?" Lucy asked as the blue skinned demoness thought back at yesterday before she replied to the blonde.
"Well he was fine really, but he came along with a green haired woman. By the way, she was a little bit fearful of us even though we welcomed her with open arms." Lulu replied and Levy could no doubt see that happening, even she was little surprised by them only holding back her nervousness by the mere fact that her friends were very friendly with them. "Me and the other girls were pretty happy to know that he actually remembered the Demon-Wiggle-Waggle." She added and a couple of giggles came from the crowd of villagers.
"I mean seriously! What did Loke teach him to make demonesses act like that!?"Levy mentally questioned as the best representation of a successful flirt was Loke and she doubted even he would be able to make any headway with a demon.
"Much as I wished to see him do that again, is he still around the village somewhere with the green haired woman?" Erza asked her, but Lulu shook her head in response pointing up the mountain towards the Moon Temple.
"I'm afraid not, when sundown came they both left for the temple together and we haven't seen him since." The blue skinned demoness was rather curious as to why Gray was with her than with his team and the thought of those two being together didn't cross her mind, since Lulu didn't believe they were a couple based on how they acted around each other.
"Then that's where we'll go, if anything he couldn't get your help since none of you can enter the temple." Erza concluded, but a short giggle diverted her attention towards the main gate whereupon she set her glare towards her rival and her team.
"Thank you Erza, so it seems you've already given us Gray's location." Mira began, turning to walk off towards the mountain top. "But don't worry, I'll still let you be with him every now and then since you are his friend."
"I won't let you She-devil!" Erza charged forward with all her might as Mira simply side stepped her. "I won't let you lay a single finger on Gray!"
"Hey!" Lulu spoke out representing all the demonesses as Erza had made it sound like an insult of what they are, however Lucy calmed them down.
"She doesn't mean it offensively, it's more of basic fact." The blonde began, but the villagers were confused by her claim. "She's actually a takeover mage specializing in Satan Soul, so Erza was merely pointing out her takeover form. My guess is that she usually fought her in that form."
"Satan Soul you say?" Moka appeared to be in deep thought and both Lucy and Levy were curious to know if the old chief knew about that magic type.
"Do you know of this magic?" Levy asked as the long sideburned old man looked up at her and nodded his head.
"I have, but it is a tale for another time. For now you're leader is calling out to you at the moment." Moka replied as he extended a claw towards Erza as she was busy grappling with Mira, their heads butted against each other with stern and unwavering looks on their faces.
"The rest of you get to the Temple, I will meet you there later!" Erza said as Mira was proving that she still hadn't lost her touch when it came to fighting, struggling to push the white haired barmaid back. "Go! I'll hold Mira here!"
"Let's get going then! C'mon Happy time to hit the skies!" Natsu hollered as Happy picked him up by his vest and flew off, quickly followed by Wendy and Carla as they flew off after them. Leaving Lucy and Levy to run into the forest towards the mountain, of course without missing Lucy's complaints of having to run all the way up there.
"You guys better start running for it, I'll follow Natsu by air." Lisanna said to Cana and Elfman as she transformed her arms into wings, quickly chasing after the pink haired slayer while the other two made a mad dash after the blue and blonde duo.
Though they all wanted to keep things civil, in the end it went down to Natsu's way of handling things as both teams began to clash against each other when they encountered a rival. Natsu couldn't bring himself to try and hurt Lisanna so he made it a simple race against her, becoming giddy every time she managed to get ahead of him and Happy, while Carla tried to keep up with them even though Wendy was asking her not to push herself too hard. Down on the ground Elfman took on his were-tiger form to increase his speed as he allowed Cana to ride on his back, but soon enough they too had to face off against the opposing team. They all understood that it was simply ridiculous to actually fight so hard over one guy, but they all changed the tune of it into a spar between guildmates and the winners get Gray. It made it an easier pill to swallow instead of fighting their own friends, their own family over a trivial subject of liking the same person.
So it turned into an interesting square off as Lucy faced off against Elfman and Levy took on Cana, each dodging the others attacks remarkably although Levy had a little more difficulty as she provided support and was usually guarded by someone. Elfman on the other hand was surprised the blonde was keeping him at bay when they crossed paths, utilizing her spirits effectively with his beast forms and was proving her defense was as solid as can be. If he encountered her with one of his stronger beasts, she'd summon her bull spirit to stop him in his tracks, when it came to faster beasts then it became target practice as he dodged her archer spirit's precise arrows. It really amazed him that they were nearly up over half the mountain and he had yet to pass the blonde, even he was beginning to believe that Lucy's tactics were manly in making sure he couldn't get past her.
Cana on the other hand was proving to be a challenge for Levy as her card magic gave her an array of fighting abilities from range, while the blunette was positive she didn't want to get too close to the brunette to fight hand-to-hand. Creating defenses and attacking from range was Levy's best option, however she couldn't use her more powerful ranged spell of fire in the forest lest she wanted to set the area around her ablaze so she opted out by throwing other useful items she could think of. The brunette was rather impressed that Levy was keeping up with her for this long as it is, sure she was a support partner in the S-class exams, but she didn't believe she could hold her own for the duration they were going at it. Most of the spells she was using were concussive attacks that would render Levy a little bit dizzy and unable to continue, but Cana had to admit that her solid script magic was holding pretty strong when blocking her cards and yet she had to end their little battle since she could see the steps leading towards the temple's entrance already.
"Sorry girl, but this'll sting a little." Cana said aloud as she threw a lightning card at Levy, but the blunette quickly recognized it and began writing her magic out in the air.
"Solid Script: Rubber!" A blob of pinkish goo appeared before Levy swallowing the card whole as sparks reverberated around it, but the goo held it's form and the lightning faded away as Cana hadn't seen anything like that happen before.
"What was that?" The brunette couldn't help but ask as the pink blob took the brunt of the attack and was unfazed by it, given that it wasn't that powerful but it would still give a nasty feeling if a person was hit by it.
"Gray put it to a test in the past knowing that rubber cannot conduct electricity, so that attack won't be able to do anything." Levy replied remembering when the ice mage asked her to create some rubber to cover his hands in so he could "help" Laxus pull out a couple shards of glass from his back when he crashed through a window; he didn't volunteer to do it, more like no one else would do it for the same reason that he'd shock you when he felt a sudden sensation of pain.
"He tested something like that?" Cana knew Gray read plenty of books in his spare time, heck she's seen how many he tended to buy a few years back, but she didn't realize that he'd picked up a few things and try them out to see the extent of what they could do. "No doubt he'd probably got Laxus to help test it at some point."
"It was a bit of well known knowledge that it couldn't, but Gray was the one to show me how it looks in practice." The blunette was referring to that day, watching as sparks flew out of Laxus' body as they connected to Gray's hands, but he didn't flinch at all and continued to pry out pieces of glass.
"Obviously, but I'm more concerned that he'd try doing something that could get him electrocuted." Cana replied and before Levy could add anything else, Natsu unceremoniously landed on his rear end as an exhausted Happy landed on his head breathing heavily. Which was later followed by an equally tired Lisanna as she dropped her bird form and stood bent over with her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath.
"We win Lisanna, Happy and I got first place." Natsu cheered as Happy rolled into his arms while Lisanna was still trying to catch her breath and Levy created some water for her to drink seeing as the young Strauss looked like she really needed it.
"Yeah, but I had you beat for most of the race." Lisanna finally replied once she caught her breath as their "race" went from a straight line into a crazy flurry of banks, dives, loops and barrel rolls before reaching the entrance of the temple. "Besides, Happy deserves a little more praise for being able to keep up with me every time he used his max speed." She said, patting the cat's blue fur as he smiled tiredly up at her.
"Thanks Lisanna." He replied before being placed back on Natsu's head and getting a chance to rest, to which Natsu wasn't against for his little buddy really did a good job and could see the figures of Carla and Wendy making their way towards them.
"Honestly, how can you be so reckless Happy? You knew that you were pushing yourself after using your max speed for a fourth time." Carla reprimanded once she landed with Wendy, but in a more concerned way instead of her usual tone when he was goofing off.
"Sorry Carla I won't to something like that again, but I still won though." Happy voiced out as a small grin spread across his face and Carla let out a sigh before she too gave off a smile.
"Well it looks like most of us are here, we're just waiting for Lucy-san, Elfman-san, Mira-san and Erza-san now." Wendy said as the group looked off into the forest to see who'd come first since the last person on each team would signify victory once they arrived.
It wasn't long before the sound of something bushling in the leaves was heard and before anyone knew it, three figure emerged from the trees as they soared through the air and everyone looked on at them. Lucy was being carried princess style by Loke as he had a winning smile on his face through his jump and right beside him was Elfman's were-tiger form as he was busy focused on trying to beat the strawberry blonde that he failed to notice the branch sticking out before he collided with it face first. The suited spirit gracefully landed in front of the group while the big tiger man landed on his back, clutching at his nose in pain before dropping his transformation so Lisanna could see the damage.
"So it seems that the lion is in fact superior to the tiger, Elfman." Loke said proudly as he let go of Lucy, smiling gleefully at the larger man's defeat as the other merely pouted that his beast form couldn't beat the spirit.
"It's not manly to boast like that Loke." The large Strauss said as Loke merely laughed at his claim, giving small apologies towards the muscular man as Levy handed a little bit of ice she created to put on his nose.
"C'mon big guy, you know I don't mean it. It's just a little joke." The strawberry blonde straightened himself before turning around to look at the others. "Alright so the gang's all here, but where are Mira and Erza?"
"Turn around and you'll see them." Cana replied as the spirit turned and watched as two streaks of magical aura clashed between each other as they rose into the sky, the sounds of battle being heard pretty clearly given the distance they stood from the streaks.
The group watched as a dark streak continuously went for harsh strikes against the lighter streak and they all could've sworn that they could see the air reverberate once they crashed into each other. The force behind each blow was incredible and it was surprising to say the least that this could've been an everyday thing if Mira had not changed her ways and still fought with Erza, but it didn't help boost anyone's confidence as they continuously fought each other in a dazzling display of light and power all across the island before it turned into a single stream of light spiralling between light and dark heading straight for them.
"Everyone move!" Loke commanded as the teams quickly dispersed from the entrance as the stream of light crashed at the foot of the stairs before bouncing up and into the temple with everyone running right after them. It took some time before the dust settled and once they did they watched as their leaders laid breathless on the floor each facing opposing directions with their feet being the only part of them facing each other.
"I beat you Tin Can, I got inside the temple first." Mira said exasperated, her Satan Soul form damaged severely as a few parts of her claws were broken and bits of her outfit were shredded with only minor wounds on her person, surprisingly for the extent of battle the two were doing.
"Not on your life you balloon chested floozy." Erza retorted as it was the first time in a long time that the group had ever heard Erza use insults on someone, but even she was exhausted from going all out against her old rival and her state could prove it. Much of her Ice Fairy armor was shattered and would take time to repair, the one armor set she was waiting to show Gray one day that would match the blade he gave her for Christmas which she only used for the last attack before they grappled each other into the state they were both in now. "My back hit the floor before you did and you know it."
"If that's the case then my tail hit the floor at the same time and I've got the cuts to prove it." Mira shot back as they both struggled to get to their feet, but in all their arguing and swaying of their battle worn bodies they both held pleased smiles.
"I guess we can rule out who won the race up here then." Lucy said as it was pretty much pointless to guess who came first since no really saw them up until they both stopped and the others had to agree with the blonde.
"True, but it was a little entertaining to say the least." A new voice said as everyone searched the area to locate it, all of which were sure that it was Gray's baritone voice until Natsu caught sight of him walking down a staircase. "Here's one more game if you're up for it; it's called follow the leader."
"Gray went that way, we have to go after him!" Natsu exclaimed as he was the first to rush forward in the direction Gray went, making sure to be careful or else the floor would give out on him again.
"At least help ones who are too tired to move as fast as you flame brain." Gray's voice rang out again and he slightly stepped back realizing that Erza was too tired to keep up with him and both Lucy and Levy were trying to support her.
"Sorry Erza, but we've got an ice princess to catch!" Natsu said as he picked up the Titania and piggybacked her since he had the most strength in his team at the moment, once again picking up the pace in the direction Gray's scent was leading him.
Elfman had a similar idea as he picked up his elder sister and carried her himself since she was in a similar state like Erza, although he too was a bit tired from his confrontations with Lucy and her spirits. In the end both teams had to follow the sound of Gray's voice and Natsu's sense of smell to pick up the trail, which of course the dragon slayer had tried to lose the other team but couldn't find a way to shake them off as he continued to follow the ice mage's scent. The dragon slayer couldn't believe how much of a maze the temple was since he usually busted through ceilings and floors the last time he was here, but this time every corner he took led him down a flight of stairs before winding up in another chamber or hallway with another staircase. It was becoming rather tedious to constantly walk down the stairs and with Erza on his back he was growing tired, but he wouldn't let his opposition know about that so he toughed it out as much as he could. He would've expected Wendy to heal the two, but she ended up exhausting herself a bit healing the others as they waited for Mira and Erza to show up so in the end the dark haired girl didn't have enough magical energy in her, leaving the two women in a weakened state.
"Man how far does this thing go on?" Natsu questioned as he finished climbing down another flight of stairs, but this time he stood in a long hallway that was slowly giving way to natural rock formations the deeper it went.
"You're almost there actually, I'm standing right here." Gray's voice called out and the group looked everywhere until they noticed his silhouette standing near the end of the hallway with bits of his background illuminated quite ominously.
"Final stretch guys c'mon!" Natsu cried out as he picked up the pace with renewed vigor, but Lucy began to feel a sense of foreboding from all this until she realized why the hallway seemed so familiar to her.
"Wait! Natsu!" She called out to him, but he didn't listen and in the end gave chase knowing that this entire thing didn't feel right just by walking down this and it grew even worse as she could tell that a large chamber was up ahead past Gray's silhouette, more like a huge cave with the sound of the ocean pounding against it outside. She was growing nervous as they closed in with every step feeling heavier than the last, but all of it dissipated as Gray finally stepped out of the shadows and smiled at all of them.
"Took you guys long enough." Gray said once they all reached him and all of the Lucy's worries came for naught as nothing bad had happened and she already tried sensing out for any of the others, but she didn't feel any of their presences nearby.
"Are you okay Gray? Where are Laxus and the Thunder Legion?" Erza asked as she got off of Natsu's back and decided to stand on her own two feet, Mira copying her as well although Elfman and Lisanna protested her actions.
"When the big guy was away, I managed to slip by and escape. As far as I know, they think I got away in one of the boats at the dock and heading for the mainland." Gray explained as they all showed signs of relief that their ice mage was safe and sound, hiding out in the lower depths of the temple.
"It's good to know that you are alright, now come with us we'll take you home." Erza said, but Gray shook his head as he walked a bit deeper towards the cave and they all looked at him curiously.
"Actually Erza, I was wondering if you all wouldn't mind taking a trip down memory lane with me?" The ice mage asked and he knew that there was no way they wouldn't refuse him, especially his team after what they knew about this cave.
"Very well Gray, we understand your wishes and will follow along." Erza replied knowing that there was a full consensus to stay nearby the ice mage if something happened when they weren't looking.
Although it was a trip down memory lane, the ice mage remained silent throughout it and Mira's team was rather curious what this cave had that meant so much to Gray for him to consider it a memory. Team E.L.L.N. sans Carla and Levy knew all about it and had asked Gray if he was fine with them telling his story about their time on Galuna. The ice mage merely replied with a grunt they knew to be a go ahead and told the others of the events that took place on the island of the moon. Needless to say they were shocked that such a life changing event happened to their dear ice mage on an island they considered was of no importance ever since they stepped foot on it and Lisanna couldn't help but feel the most sympathy for Gray out of the whole group. She couldn't believe how much Gray had gone through in the few days he spent on the island and having to give his final goodbye to his master as she melted away into the sea because his former senior wanted to fulfil a long awaited dream. Mira understood how demons could ruin the lives of people, she was skeptical at best with the villagers even though she hasn't spoken to them directly, but those who cause nothing but pain and destruction were the ones she was always labeled as back in her old hometown.
When Erza and Lucy recounted what happened here, she felt a pang of guilt shoot through her heart as she remembered the night she yelled at Gray to leave her home when she believed he never lost those important to him. He had outright admitted that he had in a vague manner, but it was overwhelming to know that she was walking down the same cave system that had destroyed his life prior to joining Fairy Tail. Cana hadn't learned of this, sure she knew his backstory and what brought him to the guild, but she never discovered what exactly happened when he went after Lucy, Happy and Natsu back then. Years ago she vowed that she'd be there to help him through it if he ever came across the thing that ruined him, but instead his team was there for him and where was she? She was busy getting drunk back at the guild while he suffered through his emotional past and fought back to claim his future. She gritted her teeth at how much she had failed to do in the past and wished that she could take it all back, just so she could actually prove that even though they weren't so connected like they used to be, she was still there to support him in his time of need.
Carla had learned a few dark things concerning the ice mage and every single bit of information that she was given only served to prove that the young man had only known suffering throughout his life. He lost all those he cared about, two families by the same creature and would later on face hardships that were every bit gruelly as the last with him actually dying at one point. Gray had suffered so much and yet he goes on living his life and Carla had began to grow a sense of respect for the stripping young man as he refused to give up when he has been walking through hell itself to live another day and it slowly dawned on her that this was why Wendy looked up to man as her older brother. The reason being that no matter how hard life got for him, he was always looking out for others and never backed down to make sure that their future's were secured even if his was lost in the process. The white furred Exceed would have admired him a little more if it weren't for the fact that the same scene from her vision was beginning, the group had stopped moving and Gray was kneeling in front of a puddle as the others waited for him to stand up again.
"It's good to know that you could all make it, but this is where the trip ends." Gray said in a straight voice though his face showed regret like that of committing a crime he really didn't want to and Carla immediately reacted upon it as she summoned her Aria and grabbed a hold of Wendy while the ice mage jumped back from the group.
"Happy quickly take to the air and follow me!" The white furred cat called out as Happy soon followed after her, but forgot to latch onto Natsu to take him along as well.
"FREED DO IT!" Gray yelled as Freed stepped out of an overlooking cliff edge and drew his rune writing rapier, already forming the first stages of his giant rune barrier around the teams. Many tried to flee before the barrier was completed, but their exhaustion had slowed them down and they couldn't escape in time.
"Gray what are you doing!" Erza shouted as she banged on the rune barrier looking at Gray with worried eyes of what they had made him do. He didn't return her gaze as he downcasted them away from her and took another step back as she continued to bang on the barrier, though she didn't have the energy to try harder.
"Happy get to Toby on the roof and tell him to start the ritual!" Gray commanded, but the blue cat was confused about everything that was going on and turned to Carla for support, to which she nodded for him to follow his instructions and rushed his way out of the cave through one of the many small crevasses in the cave walls that illuminated the rather dark cave.
"It doesn't have to be like this!" Lucy cried knowing which ritual he was referring too, hoping that Levy could break the barrier wall soon before it was too late, but she knew that the petite woman was trying her best as it was.
"I'll try to contain it as long as I can Gray, hopefully this does it for sure!" Freed called out as he continually rewrote the barrier every time Levy would break a sentence, but he also tried his best to keep track of when the beam would come, hoping that those preparations he had made would hold out against Moon Drip long enough before it broke his spells.
"I'm sorry you guys, this is the only option left. It's better this way." Gray solemnly said as he turned his back to them, the cave illuminating into a light purple glow full knowing what it signified as he caught the magic circle on the ceiling at the corner of his eye.
"The Moon Drip's already begun"
