Appreciate the reviews, guys.
demonwithasoul -Means a lot coming from you, believe it or not, you're the one who inspired me into writing this. I loved "Frozen Hearts."
michaluna -YES! I have updated :)
TimeBomber -Thanks! I really noticed the lack of GrayxUltear stories, so I decided to write one up.
Day one of partying was coming to a close at the Fairy Tail guild hall.
Gray sighed in exhaustion as he leaned back on the rooftop, staring off into the golden sunset. It had been one hell of a day. He had woken up after a seven years slumber, gone home to find his and his friends' worlds warped and completely different, and spent the day in awkward celebration. His senior, Lyon decided to stop by, along with his Lamia Scale cronies. Speaking of that guy…
"You know how great the difference in our strength is now, right?" Lyon smirked from his position right next to Gray. As expected, both of them were shirtless. "I mean, I was always considerably stronger than you before, but now you're a whole league behind me, Gray." Lyon boasted.
"Kiss my ass." Gray groaned irritably. There was no doubting his last words; Lyon had most likely covered some far ground in training and honing his skills in his magic. It highly pissed Gray that he was now weaker than two of his rivals, Natsu and Lyon.
"Now Juvia will definitely see how pathetic of a man you've become and fall for me, instead." Lyon said, watching Juvia below as she, Lisanna, and Mirajane inspected the guild's garden as Kinana explained the different crops the guild was growing to help sustain itself economically.
Gray chose to ignore this and began pondering. "What's next?" He thought. Before the S-Class Exams, his objective had always been clear. He would live his life perfecting his teacher's precious Maker Magic, using Natsu's rivaling skills as motivation to continue his training. Now, though, with Natsu having acquired Lightning Dragon Slayer powers, he was left behind in the dust.
Lyon glanced back at Gray and frowned. While Lyon certainly had missed teasing his junior, this depressed Gray was starting to get on his nerves. He decided to change the subject.
"I don't know if you know about this yet, but seven years ago the Magic Council launched a search and destroy operation for Grimoire Heart remnants." Lyon said, thinking of something to talk about.
"Really?" Gray responded, somewhat shocked. He then remembered that Master Makarov had spared Hades, and that there were still a handful Kin of Purgatory who were alive and well prior to his guild's final showdown with Hades. He remembered Ultear, and the intense battle they had. He remembered contemplating the sudden revival of the Tenrou Tree, that she may have been behind it. Where had she gone? Had she managed to get off the island? Or was she still there, even now? A sudden panic came over him as he thought that.
"Yeah," Lyon said after a while, studying his junior's face seriously, "Apparently Grimoire Heart's airship was seen leaving Tenrou Island by several Rune Knight navy officers prior to the island's destruction."
Gray calmed down; he had to put aside his panic for now. He would figure this out. "What became of that whole operation?" He asked.
"They've detained most of the suspected members, the branch guilds and affiliates. That information was made public." Lyon said.
Gray looked at Lyon and narrowed his eyes. "Made public, huh? So what information has the great Lyon been made privy to?" He asked.
Lyon sighed but chuckled. "Still sharp as ever, huh Gray? I'm obviously not supposed to talk about this…but since it sort of concerns the two of us, I'll tell you anyway." Gray listened closely.
"After interrogating the detained Grimoire Heart members, the Council discovered the existence of a higher league of mages within the guild called the Seven Kin of Purgatory. They suspect that they may still be at large, and responsible for the breakout of Jellal Fernandes." Lyon explained.
"Say what now?" Gray exclaimed. "Jellal broke out of prison?" Lyon punched Gray in the gut, hard.
"Lower your voice, you idiot!" He whispered. Gray rubbed his abdomen sorely. The two of them chanced a glance down on the ground to see if anyone heard them. No one was in sight. Lyon breathed a sigh of relief.
Unseen by the two of them was a red-haired mage at the doors of the guild hall who had heard the name of her precious friend, and leaned against the building where she would stay out of sight, but still within earshot.
"You know of Jellal?" Lyon asked incredulously.
"Yeah, we've met. Bit of a jerk initially, but last time I remembered him he seemed like a good person." Gray said, finally managed to catch his breath.
"You Fairy Tail clowns make friends everywhere you go, huh?" Lyon said, smiling. A moment of silence passed between the two.
"How do you know about this? The Seven Kin of Purgatory and all?" Gray asked.
"Oh, right. The Council didn't want a panicked public on their hands, so they decided to release this information only to certain top guilds in Fiore. Lamia Scale was one of them. The Council decreed to the Guild Masters that such information should only go to ones that are most trustworthy in the guild. Our Master, Babasaama-" Lyon explained as Gray interrupted with a snort.
"Your master…who?" Gray laughed.
"Ugh…our Master really needs to go by something else…I'm tired of people laughing whenever Lamia Scale is mentioned." Lyon snapped, a vein threatening to pop in his head.
"And I first thought that OUR guild name was pretty childish." Gray said, laughing.
"It still is childish." Lyon said, irrated. "Just like its members, who laugh at the sound of other people's names." He continued on pointedly.
"Ah, lighten up man." Gray said, calming down at last and getting serious. "So what were you saying?"
"Our Master handpicked a few people in our guild to tell this information to. Jura and I were amongst the ones picked. The Council asked us to work with them in finding these Kin of Purgatory, and to assist them if they ever manage to discover their whereabouts." Lyon said. He turned to Gray. "As for why I'm telling you this…there's a certain Kin or Purgatory whose name you'll find familiar-"
"Ultear." Gray said, looking at Lyon. He remembered that he wasn't alone when Ul had told them the story of her daughter, Ultear. Lyon was with him as well.
"...yes, Ultear. Did you know her, as well?" Lyon asked.
Gray smirked. "I know her plenty, alright. We fought each other on Tenrou."
"What was she like?" He asked.
"She…was totally psycho. Remember how Ul told us about her? Well, apparently she thought that her mother had abandoned her for the two of us instead. After she almost killed Juvia-" Lyon's hands clenched- "we fought. She's strong, VERY strong. I'd say she was even stronger than Erza." Gray said. "But, she remembered Ul, and I explained that she really did love her, and never stopped loving her. After a while, she gave up fighting me. The last time I remember, she saw me off when I left to find Hades."
The two were silent for a moment. "Well, that's something." Lyon said. "According to official reports we received…she was last spotted with someone matching Jellal's physical description and another Kin of Purgatory with pink hair somewhere in the Worth Woodsea."
The air became deathly quiet.
"You…you're not kidding?" Gray said. The knot in his stomach loosened. She was alive, Ultear was alive! He was immensely relieved. "When?"
"About two months ago." Lyon said. "That's the last intel we ever got on them."
Gray understood. She was probably working with Jellal and Meredy to stay hidden, wherever they were. If she was with Jellal…chances were they were up to something, or perhaps they were just focusing on staying alive. However, there was the constant danger on them being caught. He shuddered, imagining the utter terror she had to endure on a daily basis for the past seven years. For her to evade capture for this long…Gray couldn't help feeling a mixture of pride, respect, and pity for her.
"You said other guilds were told about this, right? Do you know which ones?" Gray asked.
"No. The Council didn't tell us that much. They didn't want this to become a scavenger hunt, as information on them could have been accidentally leaked. The last thing they want is was an interguild competition for high-level fugitives." Lyon said.
'Smart move, but it works more in favor of Ultear, Jellal, and Meredy.' Gray thought. The lack of competition in the hunt made the whole campaign for their capture much less enticing, which meant hiding was considerably easier than it could have been.
The sky was pitch-black, save for the moonlight. The doors of the Fairy Tail guild hall opened, and the silhouettes of Jura and Sherry could be discerned from the light. The two ice mages distinctly heard farewells being exchanged between Lamia Scale and various Fairy Tail members. Lyon stood up.
"Well, I think it's time for us to go." Lyon said, standing up.
"Alright," Gray said, standing up with him. The two jumped from their position on the roof, and joined the crowd.
"You take care of yourself now, alright?" Lyon said.
"Right. Thanks for everything, Lyon." Gray said, smiling.
"Later eyebrows," Natsu said, smiling.
"I told you, my name is Yuca!" The thick-browed mage responded, annoyed. Most of Fairy Tail's members stood in front and waved and shouted farewells as Lamia Scale disappeared from sight, before going back inside to continue celebrating.
Gray turned towards the guild hall, ready to join the others when Erza held her hand out, blocking him. He looked at the red-head's face. She had a serious look. "We need to talk." She said.
The two walked off behind the guild, safe from eavesdroppers.
"Yeah, what is it?" Gray asked cautiously.
"I overheard you and Lyon." Erza said.
"...Of course you did." Gray said, sighing.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it, especially right after hearing Jellal's name." Erza said apologetically.
"Oh…right…" Gray began awkwardly.
"So, I guess it's obvious what we have to do." Erza said.
Gray raised an eyebrow. "And that is?" He asked.
"We find them." Erza said slowly, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Gray relaxed, then smiled. "Well, I'm not against that idea. You excited to see Jellal, huh?"
"Yes, I'm happy to hear he's doing far better than a prison cell these days…but I'd like to see how things are going. And what he's up to, hanging around with two women for the past seven years." She said, puffing out her cheeks and turning around.
Gray laughed quietly. "Wow, never thought I'd see the jealous side of the fearsome Titania."
Erza whipped around, her face as red as her hair, glaring at Gray.
"Whoa, I was just kidding!" Gray said, putting his hands up. "But I know how you feel, I'd like to see Ultear again. And how she's doing."
The two were silent for a while.
"So…just the two of us?" Gray asked.
"I don't know…I think we should bring Natsu and Lucy with us. They've always cooperated with us. And…maybe Wendy as well. She's sort of on our team now, right?" Erza said.
"Fine." Gray agreed, as he really didn't have a better alternative.
"I think we should head out tomorrow. The sooner we act, the better." Erza said, as the two began walking back to the guild.
Gray nodded, his usual bored expression hiding his excitement well. He looked up at the starry sky.
'Wherever you are, Ultear, I hope you're alright.'