Hello my friends. Nothing to say up here, but there's an important note at the bottom!

Enjoy!

"Jason!" Drake shouted as he grabbed the unconscious blonde by the shirt and shook him. "Get in together man, we need to get the hell out of here!" Jason didn't say anything, and Takara looked concerned.

"Carry him, we need to get out of here!" she cried. Growling, Drake lifted with his knees and pulled Jason onto his shoulders, Takara prepping herself. With a massive amount of exertion written on her face, she created a massive plane on emeralds attached to the wall. Raising her shaky arms, the platform began to rise towards the opened floor above them.

"N-Now what?" Takara asked weakly.

"We get the others and get the hell out of here," Drake replied as he shifted awkwardly. "That's priority number one."

"Can we do nothing to help?" She asked out of curiosity.

"Going at Nashi right now is a bad idea," he told her. "Trust me, leaving her to Luna is our best bet. We just need to make sure we don't have the prison drop on our heads."

"What about Hades?" she asked, frowning. "Do you think Poseidon is-?" An explosion above them cut her off, rubble dropping down all around them. It was a good question. Drake had zero issue with leaving Poseidon to die, but if Hades had beaten him and was causing chaos up above, that would be horrific. He really didn't have an answer for her.

Getting to the top and hopping up, Drake ran as best as his memory could guide him, trying to find the exit. That proved harder to do than he'd hoped, as a lot of the hallways were currently cut off by debris or the hall just didn't exist anymore.

"Ah, Drake!" Ears pricking up, Drake turned at the familiar voice, he saw Erza standing next to a mountain of guards from the prison and several other people in suits similar to Nemesis and Eris, all of them knocked flat on their asses. Erza herself looked unharmed, dressed in her Black Wing armour. "What happened to Jason?"

"Fought and lost, by the looks of it," Drake replied, "Erza, where's the exit? I need to get him out of here." Erza made a face, but raised her hand and pointed back the way they'd came.

"Somewhere that way," she said, "I've only moved in a straight line since we got here, taking out anyone who tried to stop me. What are these explosions?"

"That would be Nashi," Drake replied, making Erza's eyes widen.

"Oh God," she whispered. "We need to vacate the prison, now. Drake, use your Sound Magic to send a message once you get to the exit. I have no idea where the others are, so we have to hope they hear you." Nodding, Drake followed Erza's finger, Takara close behind. Neither said anything, focusing entirely on making it to the exit.

After a few minutes, they managed to find they're way back. Granted, they had to climb in through a hole in the wall, but they still made it.

"Please tell me those explosions are us," Laxus said warily, standing guard at the portal.

"In a sense, I suppose," Drake replied. "It's Nashi. She's under Hades' control." Laxus flinched.

"Who's taking care of it?" He asked.

"Luna is," Drake replied, "and judging by the chill reaching us, I'd say Gray as well." Laxus didn't seemed pleased by this.

"Here, give me Jason," he said. Handing the unconscious blonde over to his Master, Drake turned back to the empty hallway.

"Cover your ears guys," he warned them. "This is gonna be loud." Watching as Takara and Laxus both did as he instructed, he inhaled as much as he could. "GUYS!" he shouted, "Nashi is fighting! She'll collapse the whole prison down on top of us! Get back to the portal and let's get the hell out of here! Any prisoners who hear this, follow any guild members! LET'S GO!" He sighed and turned around, saying, "that should reach everyone."

"Let's hope," Laxus replied, "you two, go and rescue as many prisoners as you can. We can't just leave them." Nodding, Drake jumped out of the whole again, Takara creating a stairwell of ruby. Escorting a trio of male prisoners he saw nearby to said staircase, Drake looked in the direction of the explosions.

"Be safe, guys," he muttered.

Keeping Nashi contained was easier said than done.

Gray had encased himself and both halves of Natsu's daughter inside an icy dome, which was his attempt at keeping any damage contained. It was taking up a lot of his concentration to focus on keeping the dome up, which was both melting and exploding as both girls fought their hardest.

Speaking of the girls, their fight was getting nowhere. Every move Luna made Nashi matched, and vice versa. Every left swing, every right swing, every attack was matched by the other, which sent off another shockwave of magic and flames that singed everything nearby. His ice and the girls flames were a deadly combo, the entire dome filling with mist.

Another explosion later and Luna flew through the mist towards him on one knee, gasping in surprise.

"You alright?" He asked her, making her nod and get to her feet.

"As of now," she replied, "What do we do? You heard Drake's message." Yes, he had. Drake had warned everyone that the prison was going to fall down on top of them, which wasn't a surprise all things considered. The two girls were making that a mission it seemed.

"We need to defeat her," Gray said, "I don't know much about how she's being controlled but, I doubt it's easily cracked."

"I don't get it," Luna said, "last time END resisted and the others didn't have the fight me. But now she isn't."

"Any reason why?" Gray asked as he blocked an incoming fire blast, which created more steam.

"I don't know," Luna replied, "but we don't have time to waste. Don't hold back, Gray."

"Would you assume I-" Luna gave him a look that reminded him of Natsu.

"You're trying not to hurt her," Luna said pointedly, "but it's not going to work that way. If you don't go all out, she's going to bury us both down here. So go all out and freeze her, got it?"

Gray knew on some level she was right. If he went all out on Nashi, he knew he could seriously hurt her. That was why he'd been trying to focus on keeping up the dome so Luna could fight. But Luna was right. He needed to go harder.

"Get ready," Gray said. "I'm moving my focus off of the dome, so any debris might hit you."

"Worry about Nashi and not me," Luna said, "and ignore the double negative in that request." Smirking to himself, Gray turned his attention to the brainwashed girl walking towards him.

As she did so, memories flashed through Gray's mind. He saw Nashi when she was a little girl. When she was powerless and innocent. How had things gone this far? How had they allowed a conflict of this size to engulf their children? He wouldn't allow it any more.

"Sorry in advance, Nashi!" He said.

At this, the temperature dropped. The mist clung in the air. Even the flames that exploded from Luna and Nashi dimmed and flickered. Enough was enough. He wasn't letting this go on any further.

"Ice Devil's Zeroth Destruction Bow!" A light purple bow formed in his arms, an arrow nocked. Letting it fly, it split into countless arrows and flew for Nashi, who waved her hand. A wave of flames came out to defend her, but it was dimmed and weakened because of the freezing temperatures. It missed most of the arrows, which found their target. Nashi flinched and stumbled back a bit, which Gray took to his advantage. He jumped forward and raised his hand, the bow turning into a sword.

"Ice Devil's Zeroth Long Sword!" He brought the blade over his head and swung it down, aiming to slice open Nashi's arm.

She blocked it with her arm.

Gray's eyes widened as the blade dug into her forearm, stopping as it hit the bone. Nashi didn't even react to any pain if she felt it, pushing him off with her leg. The cut cauterised immediately, barely a drop of blood hitting the ground. She advanced on him and swung her fists so fast they were a blur, more than a few of them hitting him. Growling, Gray swung the blade horizontally, making her jump back. Swinging the blade every which way, Gray sent ripples of razor-sharp ice from the blade even as the swings missed, which cut into Nashi's body and tore at her skin and clothes. Even so, she advanced through it. She grabbed the blade as he swung it again, cracking it in her hand. The blade cut her palm but she cauterised the cut again, before driving her fist into Gray's stomach. He grabbed her arm and froze it solid, the ice resisting the flames that tried to break out.

"Sorry, Nashi!" Gray shouted, pulling on her arm. He heard the bone snap as the arm bent in the wrong directions for a second, the arm going limp when Nashi tried to regain control of it.

Luna came back at this, swinging her right arm. Coincidentally the same arm Gray had broken. Nashi tried to use said arm to block the strike, but it didn't work. She was blown back with a cry of agony, before slamming into a wall of ice Gray had created behind her, which he used to catapult her back towards them and slamming his arm into her head, which sent her into the ground at his feet.

Taking the bow out again, Gray aimed it down at Nashi and let arrows fly at her, making sure not to hit anywhere vital even as she defended against him. She tried to reach out with her left arm, but she was met by Luna and another exchange of equal blows, which only sent Nashi deeper into the ground. Gray stepped on Nashi's chest, trying not to feel guilt at how frail and skinny she felt underneath him, and aimed his open palm at her face.

"Knock any sense into yet?" He asked aloud. If Nashi had an answer to give she didn't vocalise it, instead opting to struggle against his foot.

Gray made the mistake of letting up even a bit.

With a speed he didn't think she had left, Nashi drove her fist into Gray's knee. He felt the bone shatter immediately and his leg go the wrong way, making him cry in pain as he bounced back. Nashi got to her feet at inhuman speed before delivering a kick to Gray's stomach. He flew back and bounced awkwardly as he tried to avoid using his shattered leg, but it was harder than it looked.

Nashi was now focusing him. She dodged Luna's attacks and came for Gray, aiming at his leg with all she had. He managed to dodge them, but at the expense of landing on his back from an awkward dodge. Nashi jumped up and aimed down at him with her feet, but she was blown off course by Luna who smashed into her. The two halves engaged in a fight again, Luna taking a page out of her other half's book and aiming for Nashi's broken arm. This made the brainwashed pinkette back up and lose the advantage. Luna pressed her and eventually got her pinned up against the wall, matching all of her struggling limbs with her own to keep her there. It didn't do much good, as Nashi smashed her head into Luna's to free herself. Nashi grabbed her other half by the arm and swung with all her might, sending her towards Gray. Gray caught her and put her back on her feet, looking at her.

"We need to catch her, now," he warned her warily. "An elongated fight with do nothing for any of us except Hades." Luna nodded, rubbing her eyes.

"I have an idea," she said, "but when I say now, you need to listen to me, okay? Do what you need too to catch her." Gray watched Luna warily for a moment, nodding slowly.

"Right behind you," he said. At this, Luna burst forth and slammed her right foot into Nashi's midsection, who hadn't been prepared for the speed of her attack. Gray summoned a massive cannon that rested of his shoulders, and he aimed it square at Nashi.

"Ice Make: Sub-Zero Salvo!" An enormous barrage of ice erupted from the end of the cannon, flying for the two girls. Luna expertly twisted in place as Nashi did, which put the other girls back to Gray's attack. The blast slammed into Nashi, causing her to roar and tumble into Luna and hit the ground. The two squabbled on the ground before Luna pinned her twin down and held her there, both squirming as hard as they could.

"Gray, now!" Luna shouted angrily as if he had any idea what she was doing. Deciding to follow his own plan, Gray summoned the bow once more and aimed the single arrow at the pair. He couldn't get a clear shot, no matter what he tried to do or how he aimed, Luna managed to cover his shot.

"I can't hit her without hitting you!" He shouted back angrily.

"So?!" She demanded. Eyes widening momentarily before his face hardened, Gray pulled the bowstring back and aimed the arrow at the center of Luna's back.

"Ice Devil's Subzero Prison!" Letting the arrow fly, Gray watched as he hit his mark. The arrow lodged itself in Luna's back, and as soon as it did ice began to spread. It spread in all directions across her body and soon crossed over to Nashi's, covering both girls in a layer of thin yet impenetrable ice. Before long both girls were covered head to toe in ice, and neither of them moved even an inch. Nashi's face was frozen in an expression of rage and incredible pain. Luna's looked pain as well, but she looked more defiant than anything.

It was only now Gray came to terms with his injuries, which he hadn't even noticed before. Nashi had shattered his knee, which made even the slightest movements unbelievably painful. He had cut and bruises all over his body, some of which oozed an uncomfortable amount of blood. When had he been cut? He barely remembered. The fight, her movements, it was all a blur to him.

Even at half strength, she had done this much damage to him.

Gray took in the scope of the damage as he iced over his entire leg to dampen the pain. Sure, he wasn't aiming to kill her, but it was still an incredible amount of fight she'd put up.

He was knocked out of his thoughts as the prison around him rumbled. Looking around, he watched as walls and ceiling collapsed all around him, making him frown.

"Ugh, save your own daughter next time Flame Brain," he hissed angrily. Pushing his magic outward, Gray froze the rubble.

All of it.

His magic raced throughout the entire prison, freezing everything in place and stopping more from collapsing. The rumbling didn't stop, but for now nothing was falling on his head. That was a plus. Now he just needed to carry both girls to the portal out of here.

Great.

As he was about to go to them, he heard footsteps behind him. Turning. he watched as a redhead in a tight, black dress walked up to him.

"Wow," she said in a light and uninterested tone, "you froze your best friends own daughter?! That's so cruel!"

"You've got two seconds to explain who you are or get the hell away from me," Gray warned, aiming his hand at her. He had more than enough magic left to defeat her. He hoped she bet to much on his broken leg, it would be the end of her.

"Oh, I'm just one of Hades' confidants!" She said happily. "You know, like those two we let you capture to get here! Oops, was I supposed to say that?"

Gray stared at her in shock.

Let us?

"Anyway, Hades wanted me to deliver a message to some fairy before I got out of here," the woman said, "you're a fairy, right? You'll do!"

Gray wanted nothing more than to freeze her and let her die down here, but he'd be a fool for not hearing the message out.

"What is it he wanted us to know?" He demanded. The redhead smiled brightly, which made him even more confused by her.

"He wanted to thank you for taking the troublesome pink-haired one off his hands," she said. "After all, we've got what we wanted. Bye now!"

Gray watched as a portal opened up behind her, but he was having none of it. Sending a tendril of ice across the ground, it raced for the woman as she stepped through the portal. It caught her foot, but it was too late. She disappeared through it. Gray watched for any reappearance, but there wasn't one.

What the hell did that mean? Did Hades want this to happen? He'd planned this out?

He didn't have time to think about it right now. Now, he needed to get these two out of here and back to the guild. Using his magic, he forced the two statues of Nashi and Luna to slide across the floor as he thought quietly to himself.

If Hades wanted this to happen...Then we're still playing in palm of our enemies hand. We need to get one over on him. But how?

Elise was freezing. She and her Dad had been fighting some dumb asses in suits and then the prison froze over. Now she was cold, pissed, and had to listen to her Dad yell obscenities in hopes Gray heard them.

"I don't think Gray can hear you, Dad," she said as he said something about Gray's mother.

"I'll just have to repeat it to him once we get out of here," Her father replied. "Bastard stole our fights." That was true. Gray's ice didn't seem to target people in the guild, but it sure did target those enemies. That short guy and hunched over girl with silver hair had both been annoying as hell. The guy kept mocking them and the girl kept crying. What can of weird combo was that? At the very least she could thank Gray for shutting them both up.

Although, it did confuse her. Those two hadn't seemed like your everyday guard, but more important. Yet the fight between them had barely been a fight, more like the other two dodging and annoying them by not shutting up.

Well, maybe that just meant Hades barely had anyone strong to help him. That would be good, huh?

Shrugging her shoulders at her own thoughts, Elise walked beside her father as they headed for the exit.

Little she did know at the time she was only half right.

Not exactly how I envisioned this chapter, but hey, one thing at a time.

Also, I just wanted to say something here. A recent critical review has had me thinking. About whether or not the story is too dark, too long, etc. For a few days I've been thinking if I want more opinions on this, and I am open to anyone who has thoughts on either of those things, but in the end I've decided one thing.

I will stand by what I've written.

It may not be the best and I may have made many mistakes, but this is my story, and I'm proud of it and myself. What was once a barely cohesive plot line has evolved into what I think is my best attempt at an actual story since I started writing a decade ago. I don't care if it's really long or if I focus too much on trauma as a tool for evolution. I will stand by what I wrote, mistakes and all, because I'm proud of it. Because this story, this journey, has documented my change as a writer. Going from work that's pretty lackluster to what I'm really proud of. And I won't apologise for that. Never.

Anyway, leave any opinions if you have any. I'm curious!

Chapter 366: Outcome of The Outbreak