Marlow looked… weathered, haggard and scraped against confinement and isolation. Prison was not a good look on him.

His long black hair had been shaved. Prominent shadows roosted in the hollows under his eyes and within his cheeks. When he spoke, his words slurred together, lilted almost in chant. Even his movements were sluggish and clumsy, barely enough strength of mind to control his limbs. As Gray watched, the mercenary staggered where he stood, but quickly recovered, bracing himself with a large hand on the cell bars. The very sight of the man made his own gut coil tightly, hot with anger.

"We didn't 'come' for you," Gray snapped.

"Keep telling yourself that, pretty boy," Marlow leered. He still had his bite, one thing Helheim hadn't taken from him. Marlow's glassy eyes returned Gray's glare back to him.

"We just came to ask some questions," Lucy said. Marlow's head swung to her, robotic and slow. "It would be in your best interest to cooperate with us."

Lucy's words were brave, but Gray could see her hands trembling.

"Is that so?" Marlow drawled, stepping back into the shadows. "From where I'm standing, I don't have to do a damn thing."

Gray's hand fisted around his anger, fingernails biting into his palm. "You can stay here and rot then. We have no problem with that."

Marlow crossed his arms, the muscles of his hands twitching beneath his skin. Exhaustion hung from Marlow's chin, a deep seated fatigue that pulled at him even as he spoke.

"He's getting worse, isn't he?"

For a few moments that seemed to stretch into forever, no one said anything, waiting and expecting. The cell block had grown strangely quiet, the other prisoners settled back into their own cells and succumbed to their own magic-induced torpor. Only the dull roar of the air moving through the atmosphere remained, wavering to the beat of Gray's heart.

Lucy broke the lull. "Yes, he is." Gray watched her step closer to Marlow, approaching the bars despite Officer Rosencrantz's warning. "We need to find Zeref's library. You told us back on the Christina that the only way to do that was to find your companion. Is that true?"

"I would say so, since she's the only one who really knows how to get there," Marlow said. "That is, assuming she still has the map."

Gray and Lucy shared a look, the spark in her eyes matching his own. So there was a map, now?

"But even without a map, you'd have to have a general idea of where it is, right?" Lucy prodded.

"You don't understand, this place isn't just somewhere you go." The mercenary rubbed a hand over his buzzed hair. "Getting there is difficult enough, but once you get close, everything changes."

Gray stepped forward, too, peering up at Marlow through the twilight. "And what the hell does that mean?"

But Marlow simply shook his head, lumbering farther back into the cell. His shoulder hit the wall hard as he slouched, letting himself drop down with a groan and a heavy thud. The man rested his head back against the wall and grinned.

"I'm not gonna make it that easy, tough guy. You know how this has got to go."

Oh, Gray could show Marlow just exactly how easy it would be to make him talk—when a soft hand laid itself upon his shoulder, warm and gentle. Juvia looked up at him, her eyes calm and deep like dark water at the bottom of a well. She was nervous, he realized, and doing her best to hide it. After all these years, Gray had learned how to see through her cold mask of apathy and numbness. Juvia was a code he had finally deciphered, finding someone who cared truly and deeply for her friends and those she loved behind the mania and the fervency. Gray wanted to keep her far, far away from Marlow and his poison. She had wanted to come along, though, and he had to trust her.

Juvia stepped past him towards the cell, stopping just before the bars and peering into the darkness where Marlow lurked. Officer Rosencrantz's grip on his weapon tightened, but he remained in place and remained silent.

"Do you remember me?" Juvia mumbled, her soft voice ringing clear in the hushed din of Helheim.

Marlow looked up at her from his spot on the ground, blinking through the haze of his stupor. He had a good poker face, but Gray could still see the exact moment a single spark of recognition flickered in his eyes.

"I never forget the faces of my enemies," he grumbled. His gaze dropped quickly.

"And I never forget the faces of people who hurt my friends."

Juvia stepped closer, raising her hands to delicately grasp the bars.

"There was a time when I would have never forgiven such acts." In the dimness of the cell block, Juvia's voice echoed eerily off of the stone walls. "I would have hunted you to the ends of the earth. There would be nowhere you could hide or flee to that I couldn't find you until I'd had my retribution."

Juvia's hands tightened on the bars. The metal groaned in her grip, straining under the pressure of her ire.

"Juvia should take your life for what you did to my friends… and to me."

The atmosphere hardened in a single moment, an atlas weight crushing down on Gray's shoulders. He watched as every muscle in Juvia's body tightened, coiling like a lion ready to leap. The dry air of the cell block thickened, wet with a dense mist that pricked his skin with cold needles of panic. Marlow shrank further into himself, his eyes holding defiance and terror. The moving air of Helheim swirled through the moisture, vapor trails hugging Juvia's body like snakes falling from her neck. Officer Rosencrantz gasped in alarm, blubbering a warning as he repositioned his weapon with a snap, pointing the bell at Juvia's back. A low drone resonated from the horn, a distant siren-call heralding of danger. Gray's stomach flipped at the sound, his blood thrummed in his veins. Lucy's hand raised to her key pouch—but Gray knew at that moment that there was nothing that he or anybody could do if Juvia became reckless.

"But," she said, releasing the bars. "That time has passed, and I am no longer that person."

The mist dispersed into nothing within seconds. Officer Rozencrantz lowered his weapon, fingers trembling against the bronze metal. As the drone died into silence, Gray released a breath, droplets of water kissing his cheeks and brow.

"I have people who are dear to me, now. And they have taught me to believe in second chances." Juvia tilted her head at Marlow, considering the man cowering behind the bars. "Even when they are less than deserved."

Marlow uncurled, and for the first time, his resolve was cracked, shaken apart in the threat of her storm. Juvia was fully capable of taking his life, that much was clear—and there wasn't a damn thing he could do to stop her. She had given him a taste of what she had endured at his own hands. That he had taken her by surprise before was a complete fluke.

"Your friend, the girl," Juvia continued, voice tinged in sadness. "She's not well, is she?"

Marlow's eyes snapped to her, his gaze clearer now than since they had come into this forsaken place. The mercenary leered up at Juvia, his mouth opened and closed loosely, unsure of what to say.

"I heard you talking to each other, only for a moment before I passed out from the pain. Nobody talks to their friends that way unless something is very wrong."

"I… She's…"

"We know better than anyone what those books can do to someone. We can help her. But first we need to find her, and we can't do that without you."

Marlow's brow hardened, leveling a malicious glare at Juvia. "You don't want to help her. You want to help your friend. You couldn't care less about what happens to Konza!"

Juvia frowned at the mercenary. "Yes, we do want to help our friend. He's very important to us, and we don't want to lose him. But Konza is in just as much danger, perhaps more. And we can help her, want to help her. That's just who we are."

"So you can throw her in a cage like this?" Marlow growled, sitting up as he tossed his hand around his cell. "Konza wouldn't survive in a place like this. She wouldn't-"

"But she would have you, wouldn't she?" Juvia blinked. "You can keep her safe. Out there, she's all alone, with nothing but those books to rely on. Heed my words, Zeref's books will do her nothing but harm. If we find her, we can find Zeref's library and destroy it… and free her."

"How do you know?" Marlow grumbled, his voice tight. "How can this place be any better than where she is now?"

"Because…" Juvia unbuttoned her coat, lifting the hem of her shirt to reveal the angry, massive scar along her pale stomach. "I know."

The sight of the wound was too much for Gray. Closing his eyes, he turned away. A vice of unease locked his lungs against his ribs. The memories of that day during the war flooded his mind, flashes of a crime he could never outrun—the chained collar around his neck, the hatred slopping like tar through his veins... a pain so cold it burned… the splash of blood that wasn't his own. Then, her love bringing him back even as she faded away. Tears stung Gray's eyes, squeezing them shut. It was something he and Juvia refused to talk about… or, more like they couldn't talk about it. Gray would give anything to never see Juvia like that again.

Behind the reaches of Gray's gaze, Marlow watched him closely, surprised and harrowed. For Gray's stone-cold persona to crumble so easily… it spoke volumes of strife and grief. Juvia smoothed her shirt and buttoned her coat, eyes lost in dark memories. Even Lucy had looked away. After all, it was directly after that fight that Gray and Natsu had clashed in the deadliest battle of their lives.

"You care about her, that's easy to see." Juvia spoke up, smiling at him. Gray turned back to her, wiping the tears from his cheeks. "And I believe that before all this started, she cared about you, too."

Marlow gulped. "We… we kept each other safe. When we founded Ruby Manticore, we had no ambitions. Just a home for wayward souls, away from society's stifling laws. A place for friends to feel safe. We may have been a dark guild, but we were still family."

"Not much different from a regulation guild." Lucy nodded.

"We didn't mean to find the library. We stumbled upon it by chance. She picked up that first book and something… changed. She became obsessed with Zeref, and learning everything she could from him. At all costs. Even if it meant sacrificing our guild mates… our friends."

"It'll cost her much more than that if we don't act quickly." Juvia knelt down before his cell, eye level with Marlow, equals in stature. "You can have her back, the way she was before. If you care more about her survival than about getting out of this place, which I think you do, then you need to tell us everything you know about the library and where it is."

Marlow was quiet. Gray could see the struggle behind his eyes, and he couldn't blame him. Had he been in a similar position—weighing his own life behind bars against Juvia's life as Zeref's slave—it was not an easy decision to make. But he knew without a doubt what he would choose. Marlow opened his mouth, words ready on his tongue. When they didn't come, he shut it once more.

"Your ten minutes is up," Officer Rosencrantz stated. "You have to leave. Now."

Nobody moved. Juvia held Marlow's gaze for a small eternity, waiting, relying. Finally, she stood up and turned away, walking back down the cell block the way they had come. Reluctantly, Gray and Lucy followed her, quiet as they resigned from their interview. Officer Rosencrantz sheathed his weapon, taking up the rear of their small group. Gray's hands clenched as he walked away from Marlow for the second time, disappointed. Despite all their efforts and Juvia's amazing performance, they hadn't gotten what they came for. They were still at square one. Gray peered sidelong at Lucy. Her chin hung low, weighed down with frustration and dismay, lips pinched to keep her despair contained. Gray wanted to reassure her that they would find another way, but it would have been an empty promise. A silent tear trailed down Lucy's cheek, tracing the misery in her frown.

"Wait."

The voice trailed after them through the dark tunnel. Everyone stopped in their tracks. Gray didn't want to turn around, didn't want to give himself false-hope. Juvia took the chance for all of them. With a quick about face, she rushed past Gray and Lucy, past Officer Rosencrantz, and back down the cell block. Gray's feet instinctively followed her, Lucy falling into step beside him. Rosencrantz protested, his demands falling on deaf ears. Returning to Marlow's cell, the mercenary was standing at the cell bars. They stood before him, expecting and hungry for his secrets and stories. Marlow's eyes darted between all of them, wanting for trust, but firm with conviction. After a beat, he took a deep breath through his nose and nodded.

"I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything I know."

Stepping out into the sunlight, the three Fairy Tail mages stopped at the entrance of Helheim. Officer Rosencrantz stepped before them, authority returning to his posture.

"I'll be needing your medallions back, please."

One by one, they all removed their amulets and returned them to the soldier. Holding them loosely in his gloved fingers, Rosencrantz stared down at them for a plaintive moment. A few seconds passed in silence before he lifted his visored gaze up to Lucy.

"I hope you got what you came for. I really do. I wish the best of luck to you all."

With that, he turned away and returned to his post. Gray took a deep breath, reveling in the feeling of fresh air in his lungs and warmth on his skin. Life was good outside of Helheim, a fact he took for granted far too many times. Juvia was silent beside him, her gaze dropped to the ground, contemplating what had just occurred. Gray looped an arm around her waist.

"You did phenomenal back there."

Juvia looked up at him, her deep blue eyes troubled, and tried her best to smile.

"He and I are very similar," she said. "We'll both do anything for the people we care about. Had life gone a different direction for me… had I never met you, it could've been me in that cell."

Lucy took a shuddering breath. "I know what you mean. Sometimes, I have to remind myself that it was pure luck that I found my way to Fairy Tail. If Natsu hadn't rescued me, I… I don't know what I'd be doing today."

Gray nodded. He didn't exactly have a squeaky clean past either. Had Gildarts not found him when he had, there was no telling where he would have ended up. The past was full of unfulfilled possibilities, lost paths of darkness that they had narrowly avoided by the grace of circumstance. Gray pulled Juvia against him, comforted by her strength.

"You referred to yourself in the third-person," he mumbled. "You haven't done that in years."

Juvia started. "I did? I'm sorry."

"No, no don't be sorry. It was good to see that there's still a little bit of the old Juvia still in there."

Juvia blushed, rosy pink blooming on her pale cheeks. Gray smiled at her. She was cute when she blushed.

"And I don't think we could have gotten the job done without her," Lucy said. Her eyes sparked with determination, a new strength sprouted from solutions and endings. "We have somewhere to start. A location and a means. That's a lot more than what I hoped for to be honest."

"There's still one problem, though," Gray pondered as they started walking—away from Helheim and the ghostly moans of its forgotten denizens. "I've never even heard of this place. How are we supposed to find it?"

"Maybe Levy and Natsu found something. They've been researching all day." Lucy looked down to her wedding ring. "And even if they haven't, we won't stop looking."

Natsu stood abruptly from his seat, slamming his book down on the table.

"Calibran."

Levy startled, jumping back in her seat. "What?"

Natsu didn't look up, his eyes fixed on the words of the page in front of him. His fingers brushed over the printed ink, ghosting along the name of a kingdom from eons passed. But he knew this word, recognized it with a distant intimacy that pulled longing from his heart. His mind flashed to the memory of the lush green valley and his family, associating a place and a time from traces of a life long ago. It was so sudden and unexpected, Natsu thought he was having an episode.

"It's not an episode, brother."

He didn't need to look to know that Zeref was there, standing just beside him like another shadow. His brother's spectre was uncomfortably close, his chin hanging over Natsu's shoulder.

"It's familiar to you, like an afterimage from the sun that just won't go away," Zeref spoke slowly. "You weren't there for very long, but the heart remembers where it belongs."

"Natsu? What is it? What'd you find?"

Glancing over to Levy, Natsu swallowed past the dryness in his throat. Happy watched from his own seat at the table, his ears perked.

"Calibran. I think that's where Zeref's Library is." A quick look over his shoulder, and Zeref was gone.

Levy rose from her seat, rounding the table to stand by his side and read over the passage. Her lips pinched as she scanned the book, thoughts flooding her eyes. Shaking her head, Levy turned to Natsu.

"Are you sure about this? According to this book, Calibran hasn't existed for over 400 years, well before Fiore was established."

"I know it seems crazy, but…" Natsu frowned, his words failing him. "I can't quite explain it. It's a gut feeling. But I'm positive about this."

"Natsu, we're gonna need more than a 'gut feeling' here," Levy said gently. "Talk to me, tell me what you're thinking."

Natsu looked to Happy. His little friend nodded, an encouragement that gave him the spur he needed. Picking up the book, his fingers splayed across the page, Natsu took a deep breath.

"I think I was born there," he said. "Zeref and I are from Calibran."

A/N: This chapter is much shorter than usual, and I'm sorry for that. But serves its purpose as we launch into the next leg of the journey. The name Calibran is not canon, but is something I've had in mind since I started this fic. It feels good to be writing this again!

EDIT: This chapter has been edited for content and style 2/22.

As always, read, review, and enjoy!