Okay, okay.

This was a really underwhelming chapter to write. It's short, and I wasn't happy with it, no matter what I did, so I simply had to do what I could. I apologize for this, but this is the best it could've worked. This chapter was necessary, as you'll see later on. However, I can promise next chapter will be much less boring.

Thank you to everyone who followed/favorited, and a special thank you to my reviewers! The feedback always helps me write better content!

Gryffindor: Thank you so much for your support! I love hearing when you all loved about the chapters, that way I can give you more! It was fun writing these fluffier scenes, and it's awesome knowing you like them! Thank you for the enthusiasm and the feedback!

Lynn: I'm always impressed by how well you can pick up on the stakes and the little hints I leave (though maybe I'm not as subtle as I think). Yes, it will be important to remember the Demon's Shadow way of making deals with loopholes, and to your point of Demon's Shadow falling at the cost of Ayrae... Well, I guess you'll have to wait and find out! ;)

Thank you to Dragonlady98 and nightmare for reviewing as well!

The sun intruded on the slumbering Fairy Tail guild, the light falling on Gray's eyes. Shirtless on his back, he scrunched his nose, frowning. Why was it light out? Did I fall asleep in the guild last night? No, I remember waking up for a job-

His eyes shot open, jolting himself awake. Scrambling to his feet, he looked around to see the floor of the guild layered with his guildmates, all sleeping soundly. Gray looked around, frowning in confusion at the guild. Something was wrong with this- Doppelganger had been there, Ayrae had been yelling, then he'd passed out. Apparently, everyone had. But why? Mystogan was in Edolas, so he couldn't have put them to sleep. What was it Ayrae had been saying when he'd crashed?

He stepped forward, his bare foot landing on something... soft. Looking down, he yelled and quickly fell backwards at finding he'd stepped on none other but Erza. His footprint still red on her cheek, he stared in horror as she yawned, slowly sitting up and rubbing her head. Gray babbled nonsense as Erza touched her cheek, blinking as if she knew something was amiss. Turning to Gray, her eyes almost black.

She asked, "What happened?"

Gray, gaping and wide-eyed in terror, stumbled, "I-I... Don't know..."

Erza stood, looking around. "It seem Doppelganger had known Sleep Magic."

Gray let out a quick breath at his escaping punishment before a sudden panic swept over him- Doppelganger had come for Ayrae. Standing, he looked with panic around the guild, cursing when he didn't see a face he was looking for. "Damn it! Erza, Ayrae is gone!"

Erza's eyes widened, her breath hitching. Looking around rapidly, she took in the same as Gray, eyes catching on the door of the guild. Ayrae's mask was pinned to the door, a knife piercing it through the forehead and holding it in place, paper wrapped around the handle. She quickly ordered, "Wake the others!" as she stormed to the door. Ripping the knife from the door and unraveling the parchment from the handle, her eyes transformed bit by bit with emotion: confusion, rage, wonder, and worry.

Gray violently kicking Natsu in the ribs once before rushing to roughly shake Lucy by the shoulders, Erza's hands shook as she closed her eyes, face twisting in what could've been anger or grief. Natsu jumping to his feet with flames dripping from his mouth as he yelled incoherently, Lucy muttering sleepily as she rubbed her eyes. Gray turned to Erza, demanding, "Well? Where is she?!"

Natsu looked around wildly, demanding answers from Gray as Erza suddenly punched the door of the guild, the wooden slab flying outward and halfway across town, splashing in the canal.

Natsu blinked. "Wait, what's going on?"

Gray hissed, "Doppelganger and Ayrae are gone!"

Natsu's flames stalled for a moment, his gaze becoming dangerously dark. "What?"

With all the yelling, the rest of the guild was slowly stirring, coming to their senses as Erza announced, "Demon's Shadow invaded. They took Rae."

The outrage was instant. Anyone still partially asleep was woken and chaos took over the entire hall. Weapons bristling, yells echoing, magic sparking in the air, bloodlust was sweeping through the fairies, everyone rearing for a fight. The only problem: they didn't know where said fight was.

Gray snatched the note from Erza's hand, eyes tearing at the curled handwriting:

Little Fairies,

Be glad your rest wasn't permanent. Shade has bartered on your behalf, and your pathetic guild will live another day. Do not attempt to interfere in our affairs.

We will not have mercy again, arrangement or not.

In the name of our Lady Kyja, we swear to the truth of these words.

-The Shadows beneath the Queen of Mortals

His eyes tore the note apart again and again, anger boiling higher in his throat with every word, searching for anything that would lead him to his friend. Throwing the paper to the ground, he growled, "Where is she?!"

Natsu hissed, "I don't know, but I don't care! We'll tear apart the country until we find her!"

Makarov snapped, "There's no point to that, Demon's Shadow is completely untraceable!" Looking down with a terrifying aura surrounding him, it was obvious he was barely containing the absolute fury within. "I believe... we must turn to the Magic Council. They've been chasing Demon's Shadow for decades."

Levy, seeming near tears, shook her head. "They have no idea either, sir. Demon's Shadow may not even be based in Fiore."

Gray suddenly perked. "No, they can't be. When Ayrae showed up, she was in the woods North of the guild- she said she'd walked directly South for days. Several days would put you..."

Levy, seemingly mapping out the country in her mind, made rapid calculations, gasping, "Veronica! Demon's Shadow is in Veronica!"

Natsu charged for the doors, screaming, "Then let's go get Ayrae back!"

Erza latched onto his scarf, holding him back as she ordered, "Hold on, Natsu! Veronica is a smaller country than Fiore, but it would still take days to check the entire country, and we don't know how long Ayrae..." Erza couldn't bring herself to continue. It felt too much like condemning her friend.

Lucy tapped her chin, suggesting, "Why don't we split up? Small groups, sweeping across the country! We still have the communication lacrima downstairs, right? We could use them to keep connected. We just have to get there quickly!"

A murmur of agreement moved through the guild, a few cheers even rising. Gray urged, "Well, if it will work, let's stop wasting time!" Leading the charge, everyone flooded downstairs, grabbing a lacrima and partnering up. To Jet and Droy's dismay, Levy found herself flung over Gajeel's shoulder as Lily latched onto his back, lifting the two into the air. Magic of every sort was used to move, a few groups limited to magicmobiles, such as Max and Warren.

Lucy summoning Gemini to double Happy, she and Natsu took off into the skies, Erza in her Heaven's Wheel armor and taking to the skies after them, paired with Gray.

It wasn't ten minutes before the ground shook and the skies quaked with the power of Fairy Tail's incoming charge, their mission clear: fight until they had a missing piece of the guild back.

The sun had risen to its peak in the sky by the time Fairy Tail reached the border of Veronica. All laws and courtesy be damned, they weren't going to stop until Ayrae was back and Demon's Shadow was no longer a threat.

Splitting up and spreading out, they found themselves sweeping Veronica in a line moving North.

Erza and Gray quickly found a small village, only some five blocks wide. Landing in a small marketplace near the center of the village, the villagers immediately reacted. The children who'd been chasing one another through the plaza now cowered behind parents, the adults seeming completely awestruck.

Erza demanded with sword in hand, "Anyone with knowledge of Demon's Shadow, step forward!"

Several citizens quickly hid from the terrifying mage, Gray yelling, "I mean it! Anyone who knows about Shadow-"

"Stop being such a big bully, meanies!" A young girl with unruly brown hair stormed up, so short she couldn't have been older than ten. Her lips pursed in a pout, she stood with arms crossed in an attempt to look intimidating, only looking adorable. "My big brother's gonna beat you up if you keep being mean!"

Gray arched an eyebrow. "What're you talking about?"

The little girl insisted, "You shouldn't be mean! Big brother says he'll beat up bullies like you!"

Erza frowned. "We're not-"

"What're you yelling about, Tori?" A boy, similar to the young girl in appearance with the same tousled brown hair, his sharp green eyes like knives. A basket of food under his arm, he glared at the Fairy Tail wizards. Seeing them, he put a hand on the girl's shoulder protectively, cautiously looking at the pair. "Who are you?"

Gray growled, "We're looking for a friend- they were taken by Demon's Shadow."

Suddenly, the boy's already edged gaze was deadly, his grip on the younger girl's shoulder tightening slightly, pulling her slightly closer. Looking around the panicked market, he called, "It's alright! They're friends." He gave them a warning look that clearly said: if you're lying, you'll pay. "Come on, let's go somewhere private. Tori," he handed the young girl the basket. "Take this home, I'll be back soon."

Tori nodded eagerly, whispering loudly, "If they give you trouble, just use your magic, Corin!" Trotting off with the basket, the square returned to semi-normality, some still looking at the intruding wizards.

Corin nodded to the nearest empty alley. "Come on, we need some privacy." Walking toward it, it was obvious they were supposed to follow. Gray and Erza shared a quick glance, deciding they had to follow every lead, trailing him to the alley.

Corin turning, he quickly asked, "Who did you lose? A kid or infant?"

Erza shook her head. "No, a girl our age. Her name is Ayrae."

Corin nearly fell over, leaning against the wall, Erza stepping forward in case he went all the way down. His heart pounding, he took a few seconds to process. "A-Ayrae... She made it."

Gray demanded, "You know her?"

Corin nodded slowly. "We- We were trapped in Demon's Shadow together, forced to fight. We tried to escape together, but we were separated. I looked for her for months, but I couldn't find her."

Gray narrowed his eyes. "So you gave up and just hid here?"

Corin snapped, "My little sister needed me! By the time I made it back here, to my home, our parents were dead. Rae was resourceful, I knew she'd be too well hidden for me or Shadow to find her- Victoria needed me more than her." Putting a hand to his forehead, he sighed. "But if she's back there again... Well, you won't like this answer, but she's probably not coming out. Not as herself, anyway."

Erza's cold edge was chilling to hear. "We won't let that happen. Just tell us where Shadow is."

Corin hesitated, glancing around nervously as if expecting to see the walls eavesdropping. "... A village only a few miles West. Be careful, the entire village is made of Demon's Shadow wizards."

Gray frowned. "You're not coming? I thought Ayrae was practically a sister to you."

Corin closed his eyes. "You don't know the hell I went through there, the things I saw. They currently think I'm dead, hiding right under their noses only a few miles away. This is how I protect my sister, and it has to stay this way." He gave them a warning look. "Ayrae was my sister, yeah. But I won't risk Tori's life."

Gray glared at him. "You're Scribe, right? Ayrae's mentioned you before. I know she'd go to the ends of the earth for you, and you won't go a few miles to save her?"

Corin snapped angrily, "That's not my name!" Taking a shaky breath, he shook his head. "I-I left that name behind. But if you somehow find Rae, tell her I'm sorry. Say... Thank you for giving me my name back." Corin turned, walking away down to the other end of the alley.

Gray glared after him, albeit curious about what he meant by 'gave his name back'. "Come on, let's go. We'll call the others on the way."

Erza slowly nodded, offering an arm to pull Gray back up into the air. The two taking to the air, Gray (who had managed to keep his plain blue shirt and black pants on) reached into his pocket, pulling out the small green lacrima out. Yet as he activated the crystal, waiting for it to connect to another lacrima, he couldn't stop thinking about Corin. "How could he just ignore this? Ayrae needs us."

Erza looked forward with an unreadable expression, her heart heavy. She could understand, but it was difficult not to be angry. "Corin was like Ayrae, Gray. He was kidnapped and was forced to fight for his life. We have no right to make him go there again."

Gray couldn't answer. He could remember Ayrae talking about her older brother, the one who she could never describe in detail without talking about her hellish background. But he could remember her reverence of Corin.

They'd been sitting on the rooftop of the guild on Ayrae's first night, the girl unable to sleep for reasons she didn't explain, Gray never asking, simply staying up with her. They'd been playing several different games, though the one they'd settled on was one they'd invented: the Secret Game. They each told the other one thing to keep a secret, Gray having devised this to put Ayrae's paranoia to rest.

Yawning, he looked for a constellation while asking, "Rae? Were you an only child?"

Aryae, sitting up and staring at the sky the best she could, three-fourths of her face currently coated in bandages, including one of her eyes. "Technically, I think so. I never knew my birth parents. I was raised by another family member, and I had a lot of adopted siblings." Her visible eye gleamed with the starlight. "My brother, Corin, was the best. He helped me with my magic, and made sure my other siblings didn't pick on me. His magic was much better than mine. When I... left home, he's the one who told me to go South, where you found me." Ayrae was glad the bandages hid her flushed cheeks fairly well.

Gray smiled. "Seems like we owe having you here to your brother."

"Yeah. I owe him a lot more than I can give back."

Gray shook himself from the memory, letting out a breath. Ayrae needed him- so what if Corin wouldn't come? They didn't need him, not when all of Fairy Tail was coming.

Yet he hadn't yet noticed the lacrima had turned purple- the color to indicate someone was blocking the connection.