Huffah for long chapters! This baby has been in the works for a while, and I have to say, I'm pretty damn proud of myself. For all the readers who have left comments asking for updates, your pleas have been answered! Hopefully, this chapter lasts you for a while, though, because next chapter will probably take a while. There's a lot of choices I have to make and figure out to deal with, so you'll have to be patient with me.

Funny story: this chapter was done, like, three days ago? Four? Right. Anyway, you get the point. I'm a lazy creature. Procrastinators unite tomorrow and all that. Heh. Heh. Sorry.

Final note before I tell you to review because it brings me joy: I have received a very special gift from one of my many dear readers, CatPlanet. They wrote a companion piece to Evaporating, and I received permission to post it here. It'll be at the bottom, so make sure to read it after you bawl your eyes out for the ending. And then review, even if it's just to complain that I made you cry – or that I didn't, and this was just false advertising. Either way, write something in that handy little box and hit the button that says something like Review or Post or something. I haven't actually looked at one in forever, so I'm clueless. Favorites and follows are also of course appreciated. Without further ado, enjoy Chapter 18!

All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was. - Toni Morrison

If in the twilight of memory we should meet once more, we shall speak again together and you shall sing to me a deeper song. - Khalil Gibran

Porlyusica cursed, rather fluently for an old woman. "McGarden, get out." When Levy didn't move, she whirled on her. "Now!"

Levy jumped and darted for the door. Porlyusica waited until she was gone to turn back to Gray. "What did you say?" she demanded. He stared at her.

"Who is Juvia? Why am I…dreaming about her?"

"You don't remember?" Porlyusica snapped. "Why are you saying her name if you don't know who she is?"

Gray turned his gaze to his hands. They felt empty. Cold, like he had lost the warmth of someone's skin. "She's the girl with those awful sad eyes. Right?"

"You saw that too?" Gajeel's voice rumbled from beside the bed. Gray nodded. "What the hell was that, man? Why could I only see her eyes?"

"No clue," Gray said slowly. "But she said it to you too, right? That it was okay to forget – that she wanted you to."

"Yeah." Gajeel ran a hand through his tangled mane of hair. "What the fuck is going on?" Both of them turned to Porlyusica, who obviously knew exactly what the fuck was going on. She shook her head, her crimson eyes dark and unreadable.

"I don't know. You'll have to figure it out yourselves."

"Just tell us who this Juvia girl is," Gray pleaded. "We need to help her somehow."

"You already tried," Porlyusica muttered under her breath. Then, louder, "There's nothing anyone can do for that girl anymore, except to forget her. Let her go, and live your life like you always have."

"How are we supposed to do that if there's something missing?" Gajeel growled. "We're gonna figure this whole damn thing out, with or without you, old bag."

Gray staggered to his feet, supporting himself on the edge of Porlyusica's worktable until the world wasn't spinning quite as violently. "For now, let's go to the guild. It started there, so maybe we can get something out of that."

They both stumbled for the door, swaying a little dangerously. Porlyusica watched them go, torn between what they had asked of her and the promise she had made. It had only been a week, but the stupid child hadn't told her about the side-effects. Of course, Porlyusica should have known better. Potions of that sort don't simply come without severe consequences. The child had known that when she asked.

"A way to forget? Don't tell me… You want to use some sort of Ancient Magic?" Porlyusica demanded. "You're going to use magic to make your guild forget you? Don't be ridiculous, Juvia. Something that would wipe your existence from their minds doesn't exist."

"It does exist," she said softly. "Juvia knows how to make the potion. Please, help Juvia do this for her friends. Juvia can't let them be. Juvia can't leave them behind to hurt like this."

"But this is just foolish! You're going to drug them into forgetting you? What kind of idiotic logic is that?"

"Please," Juvia whispered. "Please, Porlyusica-san. You know as well as Juvia that there's nothing left to do. There is no other solution. Juvia knows you don't want to let them remember if it causes them pain either. Help Juvia protect them – help Juvia protect Fairy Tail."

"What if the effect wears off?" Porlyusica asked, grasping at excuses. The idea made her uneasy. Was it really okay to erase Juvia from the world like that? "What am I supposed to tell them if they come asking about you?"

Juvia shook her head. "It won't wear off. As long as they aren't reminded of Juvia, they will die never knowing Juvia used to exist. They will be happy all their lives."

"You're a fool," Porlyusica muttered, pressing her fingertips against her temples. "A fool who is too kind for her own damn good. What am I supposed to do with a fool like that?" She sighed, closing her eyes."Alright, I'll make the potion for you, fool girl. Give me the recipe and whatever enchantments it needs."

But Juvia shook her head again. "Juvia will do most of it herself. Please just make the base for Juvia." She held up her useless wrist-stumps. "Juvia has no hands to make it herself anymore."

"Fine," Porlyusica snapped, turning away. "Then just hand over the damn recipe and I'll make it."

"Porlyusica-san, will you please promise Juvia something?"

"What is it now?"

"Please, no matter what happens, don't tell anyone from Fairy Tail about Juvia. Please promise Juvia that."

Porlyusica heaved a long sigh before answering. "Yeah, I suppose that's smart. I promise."

"Wait," Porlyusica commanded as the boys reached the door. "I'll give you something that might help. Just wait there a minute." She turned to her work table and pulled open a drawer, scattering bits of paper – notes, recipes, miscellaneous shopping lists – all over the floor. She dug deeper through the mess inside the drawer, down past the ancient pens and leaf scraps to the false bottom of the drawer. Prying it up, she flicked through the neat stack of papers until she found the note she was looking for.

"Here," she said, bringing over to Gray. "If you have no other leads, use this. But only if you can't get anything out of any of your other ideas. Until, then, don't even look at it." She glowered at him. "Understand?"

Gray nodded. "Right." She turned away, more unsure than ever. "Porlyusica," he called.

"What?" she said, not looking back.

"Just… What did you mean earlier, when you said I already tried to help the girl – Juvia? Did I know her?" Porlyusica didn't answer. Gajeel ground his teeth, clenching his fists.

"Who is she, old bag? Why does this Juvia chick seem so damn important?"

Porlyusica glanced over her shoulder, her crimson eyes brimming with hollow despair. "Juvia…" Gray's heart pounded in his chest. He felt his pulse under every inch of his skin, like a living thing that wanted to burst out and soar away. He was hot. He was cold. His hearing seemed muffled, yet every word Porlyusica spoke next rang in his skull with crystal clarity. "Juvia is nothing – no, she is everything – everything you should leave forgotten. Even if you find her, you will never – ever – bring her back. It would be better if you stopped now, before you tear yourselves to pieces." She let her chin fall, let her head shut the doors firmly on the useless hope in her heart. "It's time you let her be in peace."

"Then why give us this?" Gray asked, brandishing the torn scrap of paper Porlyusica had handed him moments before. "Why help us find her if you don't want us to?"

"Because I'm old, and a fool," Porlyusica snapped, spinning to glare at him. "Because I don't want to believe that stupid child is really gone, even if I saw her go with my very eyes. I know she's gone, and I know there's nothing that you morons can do now except hurt yourselves, but I can't just leave her be." She scowled at the floor. "Really, this is exactly why I hate humans. Go. Get out already. I have things to do." She snatched up her broom and waved it in Gajeel's face. "Get a move on, you lazy bums. I don't want to see you in my house any longer."

"For Mavis' sake, old bag, we're leaving already," Gajeel snarled. He yanked open the door and stomped out into the forest, muttering profanity under his breath.

Gray backed away from Porlyusica, hands in the air. "Sorry, I got it. I'm leaving. But…" He stopped on the threshold and met her eyes, trying to communicate what he didn't have words for. "Thanks." Before Porlyusica could thrust her broom at him again, he shut the door and jogged to meet up with Gajeel.

Walking through the forest together, silence fell like a wall between them. "So…" Gray said, not sure what they were supposed to talk about. "Should we go straight to the guild?"

"Nah, I want to check up on Levy first," Gajeel said gruffly, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "She mighta gotten lost on her way home."

"Sure," Gray agreed. "But doesn't she live in Fairy Hills? How are we gonna get in?"

Gajeel bared his teeth in a grin. "Wait and see, little ice mage."

"Huh?" Gray snarled. "What was that, metal face?"

He heard it then, a sudden, gentle sound.

Gajeel snarled, balling his hands into fists, but Gray froze. "Be quiet," he hissed at Gajeel. "Listen."

The silence stretched on, unbroken, stiller than water on the surface of an undisturbed pond.

"You're losing it, man," Gajeel muttered, scratching his ear. "I mean, I'm in the same boat, but when you start hearing stuff I'm not, I think it's a sign that one of your screws came a little loose."

Again. Long and slow, almost lost amidst the natural forest sounds, someone sighed.

Gajeel frowned. "Okay, I heard that one. What…" The wind whispered through the trees, raising the hair on Gray's arms.

He shook his head. "Your guess is as good as mine. Let's just check in on Levy and get started figuring this shit out." Not waiting for Gajeel to answer, he started off in the direction of Fairy Hills.

As it turned out, it was relatively easy to scale a tall oak tree just next to Levy's dorm room and slip in through the window. Gray made a mental note to remind Levy to lock her window if she didn't want unwanted visitors popping into her room whenever.

At first, Gray couldn't see anything through the messy, haphazard stacks of books that cluttered the room. Then he heard the sounds of someone muttering to herself in what sounded like gibberish. There was a thump, and a pile of books in the corner of the room shivered. Spiky blue hair appeared above the mound and vanished a moment later.

"You here, Shrimp?" Gajeel called in his usual low rumble, stepping easily between the walls of books of every kind imaginable. Levy squeaked, and a heap of books toppled over. She peered over it, adjusting her red-rimmed glasses.

"Gajeel? Gray? What are you two doing here? You should be resting!" she scolded, climbing unceremoniously over the books and dusting herself off. Studying their serious expressions, she frowned. "Did you need something?"

Gray jabbed his thumb at Gajeel. "Metal eyebrows here wanted to make sure you got home safe."

Gajeel averted his eyes. "Just… It's easy to lose you, since you're so damn tiny."

Levy scowled. "Well, you've successfully ascertained that I'm capable of getting home by myself. You can go now. In case you hadn't noticed, this is the girl's dorm." She turned her back on them with a huff, bending down to begin the process of re-stacking the fallen tower of books. Gajeel stayed where he was, hands in his pockets, surveying her casually. Gray rolled his eyes and went to help her. The first book he picked up was weighty, thick. Flipping through the pages, he noted the odd lettering and tiny text. The thing could easily have been twice the size if the author had written bigger. Something about the book was uncomfortably familiar, like finding an old possession in your closet.

"Hey, Levy, what is this?" he asked, holding out the book to her. "Some kinda spell book? I think I've seen it before somewhere."

Levy stared at it. "I… I don't know," she mumbled, reaching for it. "I've never seen it before." Gray frowned and handed it over.

"What does that mean? It's yours, isn't it?" She wasn't listening, flipping feverishly through pages. Her lips moved silently in a language Gray didn't know.

"Wrong, wrong, all wrong. Damn it!" She slammed the book shut, dropped it on the floor, and ran past them both to a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf against the far wall. As she started pushing aside books, tossing them into precarious towers of books and sending the whole mess crashing to the floor, Gajeel reached for the mysterious tome she had dropped. "Don't touch it!" Levy snapped, almost hysterically. "Don't touch anything until I figure this out. Just stand there and...don't touch."

"Just tell us what the fuck is going on!" Gajeel snapped back. "Why are your panties in a bunch all of a sudden?"

"My panties are not in a bunch!" Levy shrieked, chucking a particularly thick book at Gajeel's head. He ducked, and it went sailing through the open window. "Agh!"

"Levy," Gray said, doing his best to stay calm in the face of Levy's unusual frenzy, "What's the matter? Just take a second to calm down and explain it to us."

She ignored him, pulling a short, fat book from where it was wedged in the back of the shelf. "Found it!" she crowed. The pages were a fuzzy blur as she flipped through them, sending dust into the air. Gajeel sneezed. Levy finally stopped on a page and turned to face them, her cheeks flushed. "Okay, so here's the thing. Remember Porlyusica saying you were cursed?"

"Yeah, but–" Gray's interruption withered and died under Levy's displeased glower.

"Well, she wasn't exactly lying. Except what's wrong with all of us isn't a curse, it's a spell of sorts. Or, to be specific, a potion." Levy looked pleased with herself. "Actually, it's a very complex process involving a lot of preparation and–"

"Get on with it," Gajeel interrupted impatiently. "What did that old bag do to us? I'll beat the shit out of her until she fixes it, even if she is just an old hag."

Levy sighed. "It wasn't Porlyusica, Gajeel. It was whoever we all forgot about."

"Juvia," Gray blurted. "It was Juvia."

Levy nodded. "There's something about her name… She was important to us, once. I don't know where she went or why we had to forget her, but we're going to find out."

Porlyusica's voice, soft and bleak, spoke in Gray's ear. "Even if you find her, you will never – ever – bring her back. It would be better if you stopped now…"

"…before you tear yourselves to pieces."

Gajeel was nodding in agreement. "If she was one of us, then there's no way she's getting left behind, whether that's what she wants or not."

Gray thought about that. "One of us… Then she was part of Fairy Tail." He stared at Levy. "Are there any empty rooms in Fairy Hills?"

Levy shrugged. "Sure, there's a room down the hall that's been empty for…ever," she trailed off to a whisper as she understood what Gray meant. "We have to go look."

"What?" Gajeel demanded, still trying to work out Gray's meaning. He followed them out of the room, all three tearing down the hall to the end, where a door waited, a sign reading VACANT hanging from a loose nail in the wood.

Three steps from the door, Levy gasped and clutched her head. Almost in slow motion, she crumpled to the ground. Gray reached her first, but excruciating pain turned his vision into static, and he doubled over in agony.

Gray-sama, Juvia's gentle voice whispered.

No.

Gray-sama, it's okay to forget. Please don't do this.

"No," Gray gasped, forcing his feet to move. He lurched forward a step and almost fell next to Levy.

Gray-sama.

Another step.

Tears. She was crying for him.

Another step.

Please, stop. Please, Gray-sama. Juvia is begging you.

His fingertips brushed the rough wood of the door, the cold smooth metal of the handle.

Juvia has already been forgotten by all the others. Please let Juvia go now.

"I can't."

The door opened under Gray's hand, and he half-fell, half-stumbled into a room smelling of dust and sweat and tears.

In the center of the wide bare floor lay a crumpled boy with ice blue hair and staring, blank dark eyes. He didn't see Gray at first, only the girl he had been waiting for until he forgot how to do anything else – eat, sleep, breathe. All that was left was the waiting.

"Ju…via?" he asked, his voice a dry rattle in the base of his throat. Gray stared at him, almost frightened of the gaunt, starved, broken figure before him. "No… It's Gray…" the boy sighed. A tear slipped down over the bridge of his nose to the floor, dragging a wet trail through the grime coating his face like a second skin. "I thought… Juvia would come…back…" He blinked, slowly, and Gray held his breath, afraid the boy's eyes wouldn't open again.

"Who are you?" he asked, dragging himself another step forward into the room. A star burst into a million colored lights behind his eyes, sending meteor chunks in every direction. The world spun. "Who…is Juvia?"

"That's…the wrong question, Gray…" the boy breathed, his thin chest rising with every difficult lungful of air. "You should…be asking where…she is… not who… How could you…of all…people…forget Juvia?"

Gray didn't know why, but somehow those words stabbed through his chest, scraping his heart raw around the edges. "I don't know," he panted, pushing forward another step. He could almost reach out and touch the boy now. "I want to remember." The plaintive whisper came from somewhere deep and old and forgotten inside his chest, somewhere that had been burned down to ashes and leftover longing when he forgot Juvia.

"Gray," Gajeel's voice said, distant and ragged, from the doorway. "Let's get him to Porlyusica. He's starving himself to death."

It took them a whole hour to drag the half-dead boy out of the empty apartment and through the woods to Porlyusica's tree, all the time fighting through the bone-splintering pain blurring their vision. They had left Levy in her room, curled up asleep on her bed. When they finally got to Porlyusica's, she took one look at them, pulled the boy into her house, and slammed the door in their faces.

The farther they got from Porlyusica's, the less they hurt, until the pain had faded entirely and nothing was left but the heaviness in their limbs. "It must happen when we run into something that reminds us of Juvia," Gray mumbled dully, stumbling next to Gajeel back towards Fairy Tail. Gajeel grunted.

"He knew her. He remembered her, so she must not have drugged him," he muttered, slumping sideways a little.

"I bet Porlyusica knows him."

"Just means the old bag has someone to help her hide whatever it is she wants to hide."

Gray rubbed his eyes. "He didn't seem to want to hide it. Actually…" Gray tried to make his fried brain work. "It seemed like… He didn't know she zapped us with that potion. It was like she let him remember her, because for some reason she didn't want to force him to forget."

Gajeel laid a hand over the left side of his chest and pressed down, like there was an ache there he wanted to suppress. "You think…You think it woulda hurt this much if she hadn't made us forget her before she left? Or would it have been easier, remembering her after she was gone?" He gritted his teeth. "It just fucking hurts, man. I don't even get why."

"You loved her," Gray said tiredly. Gajeel looked at him like he'd just slapped the dark-haired dragon slayer. Gray made the effort of waving his hand in a placating gesture. "Nah, not that kinda love. Not like whatever's going on with you and Levy. But you loved her, like a sister, or maybe a mother, or a friend you'd die for in a second. I think…I did, too. We all must've." Gray tripped clumsily over a root and tried to regain his balance. "Why else would she go so far just to disappear? And why else would this hurt so damn much?"

Gajeel shook his head, slowly. "This is so fucking wrong, I don't even know anymore. I need a nap."

Gray squinted at the grey sky. Thick cumulus clouds were gathering over Magnolia. "Maybe if we sleep long enough, Juvia'll just come back on her own, riding on a unicorn over a sparkling rainbow bridge, bringing presents for all the good little girls and boys."

Gajeel snorted. Gray snorted in agreement, which turned into a chuckle. Gajeel barked a laugh too, and soon they were bent over, laughing so hard tears streamed from their eyes and their wasn't enough time to breathe between fits of laughter, clutching their sides in desperate hysteria.

It's okay. Juvia isn't coming back, so…

It's okay to forget now.

Gray shuddered, his fingers tightening against his ribcage. "Goddammit. Why…" He sank to his knees in the dirt, clenching his sides and gritting his teeth to keep the hard ache in his throat at bay. Beside him, Gajeel was lying spreadeagled on the ground, his fingers twitching spasmodically.

"Honestly… You two are so pathetic," a resigned voice remarked drily. "Go home and get some rest."

Gray didn't look up at Porlyusica. He watched her shadow shifting on the ground in front of him instead, too exhausted to do anything but watch as she pulled a tiny sphere from her pocket and tapped it. "Makarov, send a couple of your kids down here. These idiots are losing it a little. I can't carry them home by myself."

At home, after Elfman had come and lugged him and Gajeel out of the forest, Gray lay in bed, stared at the blank white ceiling, and thought.

There's something wrong with this.

No matter what he did, he couldn't get that thought out of his head. Something was missing. There was a piece they didn't have yet, something that would make everything whole again.

Gray closed his eyes, trying to block out the thoughts sending his head spiraling into confusion, and next thing he knew, it was dark.

A different kind of dark – flashes of light erupted in the edge of vision all around him. The creaking of metal, roaring booms of explosions, and shouts of his friends charged the heavy air. Gray blinked. He knew this scene, this place. It was Crocus, in the battle after the Grand Magic Games. But why was he there?

She's in danger.

Who?

Someone smiled through the darkness. A flash lit her face, and for the barest second Gray caught a glimpse of bright, deep blue eyes.

Juvia?

She's in danger.

The metal dragonoid crept up behind her. He saw it, saw its mouth open, saw the glow deep in its throat.

Don't let her die. She can't die. Not here. Not now. Not because of this.

Don't let her die.

Juvia was going to die?

Was that what Porlyusica meant? When she said he had already tried to save her?

Don't let her die.

Maybe, if he saved her now, when he opened his eyes, she would still be there.

Maybe this was what he had to do to bring Juvia back.

Don't let her die!

No, he couldn't let her die. Not the girl with the desolation in her eyes. Not the girl he had forgotten.

Not the girl who tugged at his memories even when she hadn't wanted so badly to make him forget.

Light imploded in his vision, and burning, infinite agony seared through his skull, through his brain, through his eyes. He thought it would never end.

Someone screamed – no, howled, howled in pure torment. Raw pain a thousand times worse than his own reverberated in her voice. That, more than the unbelievable torture of the laser cutting a hole through his head, broke Gray down into nothing.

And then he woke up, and everything was so much worse.

He could still hear her scream ringing in his ears, on and on and on and on and on, until he thought he'd lose his mind.

"Shut up," he ground out. "Shut up!" He tossed the sheets to the floor, threw himself off the bed and stood, looking wildly around the room. Nothing to break. Nothing to hurt. Nothing to ruin. The sound of a heart being shredded into bloody mist filled his veins, becoming his heartbeat, surging under his skin. "Shut up!"

Ice crackled around his bare feet, frost creeping across the floor. Frozen stalagmites grew from the wooden planks, matching stalactites jutting from the maddeningly white ceiling. Gray's breath caught on the icy air, puffing into white clouds and then dissolving. The world dissolved into ice and the cold numbness of freedom.

The screaming stopped, and Gray blinked.

Someone was crying.

"Juvia?"

The crying stopped.

"Juvia?" Gray repeated, whirling on his heel frantically, trying to find the source. It had been coming from near the window…

Juvia is so sorry, Gray-sama.

"Juvia, where are you?" Gray demanded. "Talk to me, please. Where are you?"

Juvia… In the end Juvia is just a coward. Juvia thought this would be better, but no one is happier.

"Where are you?" Gray took a step toward the window. "It's okay, Juvia. Let me help you."

Juvia is so tired. So, so tired… Juvia has to go soon. You'll be able to let go then, right?

He couldn't stand how hopeful she sounded. "Don't go, Juvia. I want to help you. I want to save you. You have to come back to us." He was almost to the window. It was colder there. Even through the numbness, Gray felt it.

Before Juvia leaves, there's something she always wanted to tell you…

"Don't go. Just wait a minute!" He reached out frantically, praying he could find anything, anything solid. Anything he could hold onto to keep her there, with him.

I love you, Gray.

And then she was gone.

Intense stuff, if I do say so myself. Yup. Did I make anyone cry? Sorry. I really got into this chapter, though. It was great.

As promised, here's CatPlanet's companion piece, written specifically for this fic. Can you tell I'm super excited? I'm super excited.

Water.

Some call it the lifeblood of, well, life.

Everything alive needs water.

Even a certain Fire Dragon Slayer who hates ice and everything related to it.

Some call it the symbol of rehab, healing, rebirth, hope, life.

So it's no wonder Juvia was proud to be a Water wizard.

Even if she was slowly Evaporating, like water does when the cycle continues.

Isn't it great? I think it's great. Feel free to leave CatPlanet reviews too. Show your appreciation!