Chapter 12

"What?" Lucy wasn't sure if she heard was right of her ears were just playing tricks on her. Gray didn't reply. Instead, he charged towards her, making hand gestures and finally shouted the name of the attack he was planning on doing.

"Ice-Make: Battle Axe:" An axe appeared to slice her in half. She ducked down in time to avoid being bifurcated. Being sliced into two is definitely a big no-no on her wedding dress especially the blood. Blood and white don't happen to be the best color combination.

"Gray. What's wrong with you?!" She shot her teammate a questioning and worried glare but it was futile. His face was void of any emotions and responses; there was only a blank face and eyes that seemed to have lost its light.

'Oh, no! That look…Not you, Gray…' Understanding dawned on her. Eyes that bore no soul and features that betrayed no feelings only meant one thing. It was him again. Mnemosyne and his puppet powers.

"Where are you?" She frantically looked around, shouting on top of her lungs for the demented man who caused all this madness.

"Heartfilia, you should really control that temper of yours lest you invite more enemies." The so-called demented man materialized behind Gray, who stood a considerable distance away from her across the street.

"Mnemosyne, what do you want." There may not have any curses included in her simple seething sentence but the time itself spelled a thousand venomous words.

"Same old thing, I guess…You." He pointed his hand in towards her. The nerve of the man! How dare he point his lowly fingers at her?!

"Gray, don't listen to Mnemosyne! Snap out of it!" She pleaded, putting all of her best effort to convey her words to reach him.

"That's Master Sael to you, you lowly creature." Gray finally spoke up. It may have been a huge difference from Erza's repetitive 'Kill Lucy,' but there's no point in pointing that out since there was not even a trace of emotion in his casual reply.

"You see, Ms. Lucy, I have found a new way to harvest your powers…" Sael paused to give a dramatic atmosphere but when Lucy didn't budge, least raise an eyebrow, he continued with faux disappointment. "You're no fun at all. Back to the topic, I have found a new form of Magic that allows me to get your powers with you being alive of not. It's called Demeter" He smiled, finishing his speech.

"And?" She crossed her arms as if to give off an air of boredom. Sael was slightly put off by this.

'This girl…Did she just mocked me?' He might be playing it cool but sometimes, this particular annoying little girl really gets on his nerves. He just huffed in annoyance.

"Whatever. Gray, finish him off. I'll just watch here and record this whole fight with my Surveillance Lacrima for you, my dear Frost to watch." He chuckled as he jumped in a roof and took a lacrima from his cloak and set it in the most perfect angle.

"Ice-Make: Lance." Gray put his fist over his other palm and created multiple lances and directed t towards her. Lucy took out her whip and activated it. Water-like substance formed a water barrier around her. The lances shattered but one was stuck on the water, freezing it and breaking it into pieces.

"Stop this, Gray!" She still refused to fight after knowing the full circumstances from her fight against Erza.

"No, can't do. He can't hear you. After what you did to him, his heart fell into the darkness and allowed me to fully hold and control him completely." Sael intervened.

"What? I didn't do anything to him." She was sure for a moment but the next; she was counting all of the things that she did that may have caused him to feel so negative about her.

"Ice-Make: Dynamic Clone." Dynamic Clone? Was it a new technique? She has never heard of that. There's no time for her to answer her rhetorical question as a second Gray appeared next to the original. Both of them made a similar hand gestures.

'Those hand gestures! They seem familiar. I've seen him made that when they fought Lullaby some time ago.' Alarm coursed through her veins.

"Open! Gate of the White Lamb! Aries!" Gold light flickered and there stood beside her was the timid Spirit.

"Sumimasen!"

"Block it, quick!" She ordered in a flash.

"Wool Wall: Harden!" Pink clouds appeared between the two and in a second, hardened.

"Ice-Make: Thousand Arrows." The original and copy Gray crafted a bow and fired barrages of arrows in high speed towards Lucy. It was just in the nick of time that the wool wall solidified.

"My, I forgot about your powers. They do seem to be troublesome, now that you've become an S-Class." Sael stood up from his seat and pointed a finger at her. Light flickered from his index and in an instant, Aries disappeared along with the wool.

"Aahhhh!" Lucy screamed as several of the ice arrows grazed her skin and punctured her left shoulder. Blood trickled from the wounds. She howled in pain as she tightly held the ice that has pierced her right shoulder with her left hand and pulled it.

"Cancel, Dynamic Clone. Ice-Make: Cannon." The copy shattered into tiny ice crystals but then the original proceeded in creating a long-barreled canon. Once done, he fired it without any warning. Although surprised, Lucy was still able to jump to her left side while holding her blood-stained shoulder, trying to suppress the substance from completely oozing out.

"You know, Heartifilia, this boy really loved you. He always put it as some sort of brotherly affection but deep down, he wants to covet you all for himself. He wants to be the one who you'll marry and spend the rest of your life with. He defied your Master's orders of not going to Tenrou Island and orchestrated a search party just to finally find you. And what did you repay him with? Nothing! You turned your back against him and made your merry way with Laxus." Sael chuckled with evil delight.

'What?' She can't believe what she's hearing. She looked at the raven-haired man before her and even though bound in the control of their true adversary, she could see there, just there. A tiny sliver of a glistening liquid threatened to fall from his eyes. 'So it was true?!' She internally gasped on what she has heard. She has always thought that maybe, when Laxus never came into her life, Natsu would be her lover. Never has she thought that Gray would like her. Sure, she liked him, his laid-back attitude, more mature demeanor and appearance all contributed to his overall charm. Hell, even his disturbing unconscious undressing added a greater effect. She knows he has a little crush on her from her very own mischievous twin Spirits, Gemi and Mini but on a scale that would actually be tied in a marriage, never once did it occur to her.

"I'm so sorry, Gray about..." She trailed off, not knowing what to say next. She just sat there on the ground, petrified. Yes, it's true that she didn't do any crime but that doesn't excuse her for inflicting an indirect rejection. While she was having fun and too full of herself in her return, she unknowingly put a huge burden on her teammates. Guilt gnawed at her.

"Oh, please, enough of the stupid drama. I have only one Surveillance Lacrima and its storage capacity is almost full. Finish her off, Gray."

"Yes." Gray walked towards her and stared at with eyes that bear no soul but despite its emotionless appearance, there is one thing that said it all. Tears. They were now falling from his eyes. He couldn't do a thing but cry at the second and last requiem of her beloved teammate and he will be the one who will sully his hands with the blood of Lucy Heartifilia.

"Ice-Make: Prison." A large square cage descended from the air and trapped her inside. Now, Lucy will have nowhere to go.

"Gray, thank you for everything. Tell that to everyone." Even bound to the control of Sael, Gray could still hear her. The tone of her voice was the tone of someone who has resigned to her fate. More tears flooded his vision. That bastard has completely taken him over and usurped control over his body. He can't do a thing but to watch as he will kill her with his own hands.

"Ice-Make: Hammer X Impact." Funny though, despite being in the doors of death the second time, she was still thinking of all the people who she hold dear. She looked at the two huge ice hammer mid-air but her mind still took her to a single face.

"I love you, Laxus." She whispered in the dead air.


Five agonizing minutes has passed since Lucy left the stadium to do Gramps' request to return back to that inn to fetch Porlyusica and she still hasn't come back! And by the way, Juvia has already finished her fight with that Lamia Scale girl. Call him paranoid and unaware of the time difference because for God's sake, it has only been five minutes and Juvia won literally in a matter of seconds but there was no way he could calm down after every stinking, same nightmare he always had, replaying like a fucking, blasted, broken record.

The third fight that day was already starting and obviously to everyone's minds, Rouge Cheney of Sabertooth will win his fight against Blue Pegasus' Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki unscathed. Laxus tried to calm himself down but the more he tried to, the more he remembered how he could be too late when Mnemosyne decided to be smart enough to corner Lucy when she was alone. Thoughts of a dying Lucy clawed itself to his mind, pestering him with the feeling trauma, regret and most especially uselessness.

'DEAD! DEAD! DEAD! LUCY IS DEAD!' It wasn't just an echo anymore. The more those words repeated itself, the more it got louder until it was screaming at him. A chill ran down his spine. Never have he felt this way. He was always hailed and enthroned as the strongest of Fairy Tail's vast array of mages, followed only by the blockbuster team of S-Class, Team Natsu but now, he might not want to acknowledge its presence in fear of it becoming real but its existence cannot be denied anymore. He was scared. For the first time in his 26 years of living in the luxury of power and inciting fear to whoever stood in his red-carpet way, innocent or not, he was the one being cornered but fear itself. His throne seems to be as not as high and mighty anymore.

'This was all Gramps' fault.' A thought escaped his mind and it was full of malice. Yes, he blamed his grandfather from everything that has befallen upon him but those things were nothing but a mere inside joke he always made to comfort himself of his own identity. It was things as piffle as perversion and anything insignificant. There was a time that he blamed him for the genes he possessed as an established perverted and hormonal young man six months ago.

'Perversion must run in the family. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that must be it! I hate you, Gramps!' He remembered it crystal clear when he thought of taking advantage of Lucy on Tenrou Island. A bitter laugh threatened to escape his lips but he reigned it in. there was no way that he'll make a fool out of himself in the arena.

'Lucy.' The mere mention of her name even while just lost in thought was enough to bring him back from the flood of memories. Now that he could think clearly, he regretted what he thought in the first place. He shouldn't have thought of that way of his own grandfather. The way he vehemently accused his old man of being so irresponsible and selfish was sufficient enough to bring him to the deepest corners of shame. He felt sick of himself of even thinking that way. It was utter blasphemy.

"I love you, Laxus." A soft whisper carried itself into his ears. He can't be mistaken. That was her voice and not his imagination. Even if he was wrong, there would be no mugger or murderer who should be standing his way lest they invoke his wrath. No time to waste. He activated his Lightning Body Spell and flashed himself to her location. It took him less time as she was not that far off from Domus Flau.

What he saw made his blood boil in resentment. He was right. She was indeed in trouble. He's been feeling that something will go wrong today and his speculation was proven true. He should have never left her side. There, caged in an ice prison and waiting to be squashed by two large ice hammers was Lucy. There also stood Gray but to his puzzlement, the raven-haired man was sobbing. Above all the chaos, there was this serene look on her face that clearly disturbed him.

'She has resigned herself to her fate.' Reality made a hard slap on his face when he remembered an all too familiar atmosphere, an atmosphere that said that there would be someone who will be sentenced to their finale.

The seething Dragon Slayer scanned the area when he finally decided that Gray must have been controlled by that cloaked man. He was right. Sitting in one of the roof was Mnemosyne recording everything.

'No more!' Laxus decided. Without reciting the incantation, he raised his clenched fist, concentrated and blasted Mnemosyne with the full power of his Raging Bolt. It was a fitting thing to do as he was full of this man's stupidity. He should have never messed with Fairy Tail, especially the future Mrs. Dreyar because he will feel the rage of the fiancé. All the ice surrounding the two Team Natsu members shattered in tiny crystals and when the rubble cleared, there was Mnemosyne, fried and was dissolving into a mist.

'He's still alive.' Laxus concluded. It is that and there that he decided that Mnemosyne will still return and they should always prepare for his comeback but before anything else, he rushed towards the injured woman and carried her like a bride.

"Laxus." She was pale and that was when he smelled the scent of blood. Her right shoulder was bleeding. Gray was collapsed in the concrete street which in his opinion, a disadvantage. No way would he carry that bastard. That would be…well…un-Laxus.

'Stupid, fainting bastard.' He thought. Well actually that was the only coherent thought he was able to muster because the next moment, no person, even a guild member or his Gramps would be able to reach him because one, he was being kissed by the goddess. Two, he's a man who is true to his desires and was happy and content enough to ignore the Ice-Make Mage who has just fainted. Three, neither seem to want to end their position but, come on, let's be real. They need to breathe so, as painful it may seem, they need to broke the kiss.

"You know, we need to bring you to the hospital." He said in a stern voice.

"Thank you and I love you." She whispered into his ears before she once again captured his lips with hers.

'Nah, maybe later.' He thought.


A/N: Hello everyone! Just like I said in every chapter, I am so sorry for the late updates I've made but here it is. I actually don't know what happened to me that made me write a longer-than-the-usual chapter but I'm surprised and happy that I was able to produce this in just a day. So, yeah, here it is and I hope that you'll enjoy it. Thank you very much.

For the reviews, thank you so much, guys :D

twilightamanda: I seriously considered including Juvia in this chapter but decided against it in the last minute. I need to focus the story on Gray's point of view. Bringing her in would be catastrophic. :D

vampgirliegirl: Thank you and I hope you like it :D

Mromero18: Hahaha. I really love Juvia's way of thinking. It makes things interesting and not way too dark. She really bring out some comedic reliefs into what supposed to be a serious situation. :D

Painful Kiss: Thank you and I hope you find the chapter better than the previous :D

Mia Anime: I've revisited the prequel and saw your reviews. Thank you for the support. :D

P.S. On a completely different note, I've read the recent chapter of Fairy Tail. It was titled 'Air', I guess. Did Levy kissed Gajeel and one more thing, do you think that this story is too dark compared to A Solemn Vow to Take?

Reviews are welcome. Thank you! :D