Omg, I liek, haz new chapter. Liek, after twenny taosand years. Liek, omg, I alive.
It's alright. Don't panic. It's just me having a brain-freeze over the fact that I finally managed to post a new chapter. Like, finally. No, really. I don't know why I'm so happy either, considering the number of times my soul left my body while trying to finish typing out this chapter.
And this chapter is unbetaed. (Oh noes!)
7. To Fly The Coop
When Gray had put a good five hundred yards between his apartment and himself, the first thing he did was crawl into some thick undergrowth, backpack and all. The knobby branches and rough bark pulled painfully at his hair and skin, but urgency had him ripping his way deeper inside. Safely hidden within the dense foliage, he began to brainstorm.
Fairy Tail would no doubt be after him soon. There was a good chance that they enlisted the help of their three dragon slayers; Natsu, Wendy and Gajeel, where their extraordinary sense of smell would be put to good use. The Exceeds—Happy, Carla and Panther Lily—might have been called upon to scout for him by air. Tonight had cloudless skies, which allowed the gibbous moon to illuminate the lands with all of its strength. The combination of moonlight and town lanterns meant that it would be doubly difficult for him to hide in the shadows. In addition, there was nothing he could do about his scent. Short of dousing his entire body with perfume, the most he could do now was keep to crowded places—preferably near food stalls and vehicles. Hopefully the many different smells mixing with his scent would be able to slow down the dragon slayers.
He would have to alternate between blending in with the crowd and sneaking through the shadows at the appropriate moments. There would be uncertain periods of time where he would have no choice but to be out in the open, exposed to any watchful eyes that might be present. That would be when his disguise would come in useful. Fairy Tail would be expecting him to either be half-dressed or donning his usual ensemble—which consisted of his hunter-green long pants, black turtle-neck and a high-collared white coat that reached mid-thigh. Natsu had seen the clothes he was currently wearing and may or may not have informed the master about it. It would be safer to assume that the fire mage had. And about his military-style backpack? Its design of black mixed with various shades of dark green and sandy brown splotches would be easy to spot in urban areas such as Magnolia. He would have to stash it somewhere first before he ventured out to hunt for a disguise.
The undergrowth he was presently lurking in would have to make do as he did not have the time to go searching for another hiding spot. As a precaution, he encased the backpack within a thick, hollow dome made of ice. It would at least be protected from the curious dog or cat that way. Though he could not say likewise for the unexpected human. He would have to be quick with his little shopping excursion for a disguise.
If Fairy Tail failed to get hold of him before he left the vicinity of Magnolia Town, they might go as far as to extend their search to nearby towns. This not only meant that he would require more than one disguise, but also meant that using certain modes of transport, such as the train, boat or carriage, would be out of the question for him. There would undoubtedly be people watching the stations and entrances of the nearby towns, waiting for the chance when he alighted to catch him off-guard. Although, he found that unlikely. Times were dangerous at the moment, and Fairy Tail was hard-pressed into defending themselves against the dark guilds. They couldn't afford to have their mages running around Fiore looking for a single comrade while their entire guild was endangered. This meant they would want to find him in the shortest time possible, before things got out of hand.
That said, Gray presumed that Fairy Tail would be going all out to find him before dawn and would be concentrating their search efforts around the places providing transport services. If he wanted to evade detection, he couldn't just rely on one disguise. He needed several. That wasn't all—they had to be as fool-proof as disguises could get. He had to ditch his current outfit and give his appearance a complete overhaul.
He mentally ran through the list of conditions to fulfil: one, he could not be shirtless or pantless or both; two, his usual ensembles would not do; three, his disguises must be inconspicuous; four, his disguises would have to reflect a personality contrasting what Fairy Tail knew him to be like.
Gray suddenly felt exhausted. This was proving more complicated and arduous that he was prepared for. Deciding to make a run for it had been a split-second decision, on impulse, fuelled by a burning thirst for atonement. Although that didn't make his resolve any less heartfelt, and despite Wendy's efforts into healing him, the last battle with Lyon and the recent heatstroke was taking its toll on his body. His sprint across rooftops and half of Magnolia did nothing to help. Huddling closer to the little ice dome that contained his backpack, he pressed his face against the ice and let his eyes fall close with a deep sigh. The sub-zero temperatures helped clear his mind.
There was no turning back now, as he might not get another chance such as this. Next time would have his friends keeping a very close eye on him, preventing him the slightest opportunity to slip away—not that he would be as determined to do so then. It had been surprisingly difficult to leave Natsu behind. It would be hell to forsake a whole clique of friends.
What should he do now, then?
Should he wait until tomorrow when Fairy Tail would be uncertain as to whether he was still in Magnolia and had lessened their search efforts, or should he make use of this head-start and get out of town as soon as possible? The former was tempting, given the fact that he was weary and stressed out. Sleep would do wonders for his mental state. However, that would mean remaining in the same spot for at least five to six hours and deeply asleep. The level of his exhaustion would make sure of that. If one included three dragon slayers into the equation, it would be of little surprise if one of them sniffed their way to his hiding place in half an hour. He would surely be caught then. Besides, sleeping meant delaying his search for Lyon's whereabouts.
That sealed his resolve. Sleep could wait. Also, sleeping on a train or carriage would be far more productive—at least he would be making some progress and be headed somewhere while asleep, as opposed to if he slept here. Swapping his white coat for a plain black hooded cloak, he pulled the hood over his head and cautiously emerged from hiding. Priority was change of clothes. Wigs, sunglasses and whatnot could wait.
The undergrowth he was lurking in lined the back of a row of terraces. He crept along the walls of these terraces, making sure to keep in the shadows. When he got to the end of the row, he peeked round the house. The lane before him was fairly busy despite the time—it was now he realised that the row of terraces were more accurately a row of shop-houses. Opposite him, on the other side of the road, was a row of shop stalls. After making sure that there was no Fairy Tail mage around, he darted forwards, out of the shadows and into the crowd. He was careful to keep his head down and covered by the hood.
It was unfortunate that the shops on both sides of the street sold everything but clothes, and the one textile shop Gray found had nothing suitable. He kept to the fringes of whatever crowd there was—ready to slip back into the shadows or lose himself in the throngs of people should the need arise—and pretended to look over the nearest stall's goods when there wasn't. The bright glow of the lamp posts overhead lighting up the streets made him feel edgy and horribly exposed. His pace quickened unconsciously and he hurried along, careful not to make eye contact with anyone. It was only when he turned the corner into the next street that he found what he had been searching for.
Several purchases and a trip to the dressing room later, a different person stood in place where Gray had once been. He regarded his appearance appraisingly in the mirror. He wore a baseball cap, a navy-blue sweater with a hoodie, black ripped jeans and sneakers. Tipping his cap down and shadowing his face further, he smiled sardonically as the boy in the mirror did the same. Perfect. Now he looked like the average rich teenager. His cloak had been folded into a makeshift bag, into which he had stuffed the components of his second disguise. There was no time to sift through more clothes. That could be done when he stopped by another town. Right now, he wanted to quickly get out of Magnolia.
Gray began to make his way back to the copse of trees and undergrowth that he had been hiding in. The crowds had thinned and the lights from the lamp posts had been dimmed somewhat to conserve energy. Despite his brand new appearance, he was mindful to keep his head lowered. Now that he was so close to achieving his goal of leaving Magnolia while evading detection, his heart pounded against his ribcage like it hadn't previously. He had not been expecting to make it this far in his post-recovery condition. His pulse quickened. He could almost taste freedom. Soon he would be free of the burdensome atmosphere in Fairy Tail—or, at least, that was what it felt like because of his decision to hunt Lyon down by himself. All that was left to do was retrieve his backpack and high-tail it out of Magnolia.
He returned safely to his hiding place with only one scare—when he had rounded a corner and spotted Macao and Romeo heading in his direction. Thank goodness Macao had been distracted by his son's attention on one of the stalls; he was able to swing around and walk rapidly away.
Now, he needed to decide on what mode of transport would best suit his journey. He needed one that was mobile and adaptable to the situation. That crossed out trains. If he was cornered in a train, it was truly game over—jumping out of a train that was going at a hundred and twenty miles per hour was suicidal. Carriages tended to fill with people and travel a tad too slowly sometimes. Not to mention Magnolia Station would be one of the first places Fairy Tail would check. It would be ridiculously easy to catch him waiting around the platforms as traffic was slow at this time of the day.
Although carriages and cars provided good cover—it would be plain insane, for even Fairy Tail, to halt every vehicle just to make sure a certain Gray Fullbuster wasn't hiding in one of them—they were inconvenient in the long run, given the ruggedness of forested and mountainous environments. He would be forced to travel on the main roads and the last time he checked, mountains did not have petrol kiosks every few miles or so to refuel one's vehicle.
The only options left were to either travel on foot or on horseback. The latter was clearly the more favourable and logical choice, but the difficulty lay in acquiring the animal itself. How in the world was he going to obtain a horse? The only horses available were harnessed to carriages and owned by companies or individuals. He could see only two ways of getting a horse: renting or stealing. He would return the horse once he returned, of course, and in the occasion that he was unable to do so he could always pay its owner back with a reasonable amount of jewels. He hoped it would not have to come down to theft.
Gray reached his hiding place without any further interruptions. Finding his backpack intact and undisturbed, he felt his racing heartbeats slow. Vanishing the ice dome, he swiftly stored his cloak and his new clothes in the backpack before shrugging it on. All he had to do now was get the hell out of Magnolia. But how was he supposed to do that when he had basically rejected all of the solutions he had come up with? They were too expensive, too slow, too inconvenient or too risky.
He slumped against the tree next to him, exasperated. He was also admittedly reluctant and somewhat apprehensive about emerging out into the open, having just endured a nerve-wracking shopping spree. At a loss of what to do next, he absently popped a handful of small ice cubes into his mouth. He relished the freezing temperature and crunching sound made as he chewed on them. Swallowing the crushed pieces, he was suddenly aware of how parched his throat was. He needed a drink. Yanking his water flask out of his backpack, he downed its contents in a few thirsty gulps. Looking at the empty flask in slight annoyance, he realised it would have to be refilled before he set out on his journey. There was no telling when he would next be able to do so from a reliable water source.
Water. Where was the nearest source of clean water? Right, there was a fountain in the middle of Magnolia, which was fortunately not too far away. His desire for more water forced him out of the undergrowth. Reaching his destination at a dash, he fled once he had filled his flask to the brim. As he ran, he absently noticed how the moonlight glanced off the water in the canal next to him. He ran for a while more before he was struck with a sudden idea. Slowing to a walk, he studied the calm surface of the flowing water. Could he exit Magnolia by underwater means?
Definitely.
An involuntary grin lit up Gray's face as he stopped and bent a knee to crouch by the water channel. It was one of the few waterways that cut through Magnolia Town and there was a good possibility that it led to a river, or maybe even the sea. The swirling waters reflected the moonlight into his eyes, shimmering like a lifeline. Maybe, if he were to fashion a helmet of ice around his head, he would be able to breathe underwater for a short period of time. His backpack could be towed along encased in ice. In no time, he would be out of Magnolia. This could be his best escape route yet. Leaning forwards with one hand braced on the cement, he stretched his other arm out, intending for an experimental dip of his fingers into the water—
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Shocked and caught unawares by the sudden voice, Gray attempted to spin around and get back on his feet at the same time. He only managed to unbalance himself and pitch sideways towards the dark, glittering water of the canal. Before he could fall in, however, hands grabbed tightly at his shirt and he was forcefully hauled back. His feet found the ground for barely a second before momentum had him tumbling backwards into another's chest. An unknown pair of arms closed around him almost automatically—as if by instinct, he thought fleetingly—before he and that unknown person landed hand on the pavement.
Sparing a moment to catch his breath, he began to struggle free—but the arms around him were remarkably strong, caging him in, and managed to hold him fast. He could not get free while in this inconvenient position—flush back-to-chest against this mystery person whose long legs, clothed in dark, baggy pants, stretched out restrictively on either side of his own legs. To get up, he would have to push off from this person himself depending solely on the force of his elbows and knees. He could manage that, maybe, if not for the way his arms were constrained to his sides. It would have been near to impossible to get up using the strength of his legs alone, as he would have to support the unknown person as well.
In desperation, he did the only thing he could do. "Ice-make—"
"Gray."
The voice was dimly recognised. He knew this person—knew him. But it couldn't be—
Turning his head to the side he caught a glimpse of golden hair, almost silver in the moonlight. For a moment or two he also saw moonlight strike and illuminate two blue-tinted rectangles of plastic before being reflected back into his eyes. And he knew this scent: wild and ferocious. Clamping his fingers down on the arms constricting his chest, he forcefully peeled them away. Twisting his upper body around as much as he could in his current position, his eyes widened as he saw who it was.
I know. It's been nearly two months. But life has been incredibly busy. And tiring. I fell asleep halfway through dinner one night. It was that asfkardhcsvtaga. And still is. So be warned that my next update won't be coming any time soon... maybe in a month or so.
Warning: The below text contains spoilers of the anime. Not that anyone needs it... so this is 'just in case'. x3
I hope there isn't any confusion over the current setting of Fire and Ice. I should have mentioned from the beginning that this story originates from the end of the Tenrou Island arc. As of this chapter, I've watched episode 114 of the anime and read chapter 266 of the manga.
In this fic, all Fairy Tail mages and their allies involved in battle with Grimoire Hearts have escaped with Tenrou Island intact and undestroyed. Following the manga, Hades/Purehito remains dead. Ultear, Meredy and Capricorn defected. Bluenote, Rustyrose and Kain Hikaru are still active. The whereabouts of Azuma is unknown. Zeref is on the loose and Acnologia has not revealed itself. Grimoire Hearts has not been dissolved but is without a guild master. Due to the defeat of the Oración Seis, the Balam Alliance is left with two guilds: Grimoire Hearts and Tartaros. In this fic, the Dark Guilds remain a threat to Earthland, or more specifically Fiore. They continue to wreak havoc while searching for Zeref. I will assimilate Acnologia's appearance later on into the story.
Meanwhile, all past and present events in this story are entirely of my own doing.
As mentioned in one of my earlier chapters, I wrote that Gray is an S-Class mage. That's right— I've taken liberties and made several of the trial's participants S-Class mages already: Natsu, Gray and Cana. I may or may not explain my reasons for making Makarov do so (because Makarov is the one to grant his mages S-Class status, no?) in the future. But for the moment, let's just assume Makarov granted S-Class status to Natsu and Gray for their courage and fighting prowess, and to Cana for finding the grave of Mavis Vermillion (for that was the original objective, wasn't it?). Apparently, from what I read in the manga, defeating Makarov seems to be the last stage of the trial. But, again, let's assume that the last stage was to find the grave of Mavis… It's my story after all! *shot*
That isn't all—I am sure all of you have noticed my new addition to Fairy Tail's current list of magics: the dragon-form of dragon slayers. I won't be elaborating much on how that works here in this A/N. But some of you may be curious as to how in the world could a new ability of dragon slayers surface within the little time between the events on Tenrou Island and present. Once again, we shall assume that the 'little time' was not so little after all (because of yours truly here) and that the duration of that time is approximately four months; during which, Earthland discovers this wonderful new ability, the 'ultimate' dragon slayer attack, which allow dragon slayers to transform into a dragon of their element. However, know that using that 'ultimate' attack/move/magic does not make them a dragon. Want explanations? The [more or less] full details will be revealed in [much] later chapters.
As for Lyon… I'm sure many of you are wondering how in the world he could have suddenly advanced into a dragon slayer. I'm sure the answer's all there in the anime itself. No worries if you can't figure it out… this will be explained, too, in the future. But it's a no-brainer, really :/ A clap on the back for those who manage to figure it out!
I will stop here because I only intended to clarify the above matters in my story. Anything more than what I have already said will be spoilersss :3
My lovely, lovely reviewers, you have not been forgotten. Your comments really hearten me and are the reason why this chapter was posted today and not a million years later. A really, really big thank you to darkhuntressxir, 27CansOfTuna, simply anonymous, Rewinsan, MiyuTanemura, Saany and Master of the Hellish Yard. You people don't know just how awesome you are! D;