Lyon found Gray at the dining room table, shuffling his deck of Braille cards, something he'd seen him doing off and on all day since they'd come home. The rest of the day had been rather active, leaving little time to think. Lyon had continued his spring cleaning binge, while Gray had helped in whatever chore he was capable of doing. Until this morning's excitement, all Lyon had been focused on was getting the house ready for some upcoming visitors: His friends from Lamia Scale had been invited to enjoy the Hanami Festival with him in the coming days. Though he would have understood if Gray had wanted to opt out of the whole thing, he was quite surprised when, upon returning home, Gray had asked him how far he'd gotten in his cleaning spree, and what still needed to be done.

"You're still okay with my friends coming over?" Lyon had asked, "I'm sure they'd understand if I had to cancel. They wouldn't want to impose, especially so soon after—"

"—It's not like they're spending the night. It's just dinner with friends. You wouldn't want to disappoint Wendy, either."

Lyon had quickly acquiesced, knowing a dodge when he heard one. Gray didn't want him mentioning the procedure he'd be going through tomorrow. He still questioned the wisdom of doing it so soon after devising the means, but he also knew the longer they waited, the more time Gray would be allowed to worry and doubt. He already had enough stress in his life.

It was more than just dinner with friends, though. The festival was in a few days. Gray would be recovering from a pretty invasive surgery by then; but the original plan was to attend the guild party, and to afterwards walk about town to enjoy all the local attractions, before returning home for dinner. Would Gray even be physically capable of so much activity so soon after what he was to go through?

But his mind had been made up, so they'd spent the rest of the day cleaning. If anything, it kept their minds off of tomorrow.

They'd had light conversations, never bringing up the hassles of this morning while he was with Cana. The floors were swept clean, linens washed and dried, rugs taken outside and beaten. The winter garden was tended, and made ready for the spring planting. They'd made a grocery list, and arranged for the Connell family to pick up Joy to spend the day with Asuka tomorrow. Gray then drowsed the late afternoon away by the pond with Joy curled up on his chest.

It wasn't until after dinner that these strained attempts at normalcy were acknowledged as exactly that: Mere attempts at avoiding the most pressing issue on both of their minds. Lyon had prepared an early dinner, after which Gray would fast for the rest of the evening and into the morning. The procedure Freed and the others had devised necessitated an empty stomach, not that Gray had much of an appetite anyway.

Lyon stirred the tea he carried, clinking the ceramic with a small spoon to let Gray know he was approaching. He noticed Joy was already slumbering on Gray's pillow, completely oblivious to her daddy's inner torment. Perhaps Gray wanted it that way. Setting the cup before him and to his right, where he always placed his drinks, he informed, "It's chamomile. I thought it would help you sleep tonight."

Gray nodded, continuing to shuffle the cards, before he paused, holding the deck up, inviting him to join in a game.

"I shouldn't. We have an early day tomorrow. And I'm pretty beat from cleaning all day. I was going to head to bed after a shower. Do you need anything?"

Shaking his head, he proceeded to lay out a game of solitaire, methodically lining up the cards in perfect rows, his touch soft and precise. Once all the rows were set up, he slowly touched the raised dots on the corners of each upright card, committing them all to memory. Lyon has never observed these feats of mental acuity without feeling a sense of awe. He had enough trouble keeping a grocery list in his head, but had little doubt that Gray could recite the list they'd made earlier today with no problem.

"You're so quiet tonight… Do you want to talk about… ?" Lyon began.

Because in all the mundane tasks they'd performed, and all the inane, banal topics that had come up, nothing was said about Gray's imminent return to life as a wielder of magic. It's been so long, and Gray wasn't shy about how he'd come to accept the idea of never being rid of those seals. Soon, he'd have access to at least a fraction of his magic. Would they be able to look forward to a better solution down the road? What about his demon slayer powers? The seal keeping those at bay were even more complex than that which sealed his magic.

Personally, Lyon was more scared that Gray would find himself with no choice but to use those powers again one day. He knew without a doubt that Gray would do it, without hesitation, and he'd often wished that seal had been prioritised over the other. Better, in his opinion, to be completely denied one's powers than to have access to one that would kill you if you tried to use it.

Gray continued to play his game, taking more time to line up each card he placed down, keeping them in perfect rows, almost obsessively. This one game could last an hour if he kept at it like this.

"... If you're worried about tomorrow—"

"—I'm trying to concentrate."

Lyon couldn't figure out what to say. Gray was obviously nervous, and using this game as a poor means of distracting himself, and to avoid having to talk about it. Just as he'd done all day today, and which Lyon had allowed. He could understand how overwhelming this all must be for him. His life has been pretty much on a set pattern lately. It was peaceful, predictable. He was comfortable in familiar surroundings, and confident in his ability to navigate in stranger ones. He grew stronger every day, and his newly-adapted fighting style was developing into something that would impress the likes of Erza in terms of technique, and Natsu in terms of badassery.

It took a long time, but everything was finally coming together.

The return of his magic, even though it was something he and everyone else has longed for since the beginning, was a very big change, and threatened to unravel that precarious balance he'd just recently been able to achieve.

"Are you still here?"

Lyon started, quickly apologizing. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to go quiet on you. I was just thinking. I know all of this was so sudden, and that the procedure itself will be difficult to go through—"

He jumped and stepped back when Gray abruptly scattered the cards off the table, fists shaking in rage or trepidation, he couldn't tell. His breaths were carefully controlled, as he tried not to relapse to how he was earlier today.

"Easy! Easy, it's okay. I'm right here. And I believe it's going to work. You do, too. Remember? And the others are doing everything they can to minimize the chances of failure, or of rebounds. Lucy informed me that Freed and Natsu had practiced all day, to be able to do their parts as smoothly and consistently as possible. And the rest of the team is at this very moment working out every contingency and scenario that could happen tomorrow. It's going to be okay."

Lyon had slowly approached while he spoke, pulling out a chair and sitting down as he saw that his growing nearness was soothing him more than his words of comfort were. In fact, they seemed to do little to affect his mood at all. Allowing him a few minutes to gather himself, he waited patiently, giving him the next word.

Finally, anger still cast in his words, he spoke.

"I don't know why I'm so conflicted. I want my powers back… but I don't. I want to be able to protect my friends, go on adventures with them, and create things with my ice. I miss the ice. I want to feel that closeness, that… intimacy… with the cold that I've been denied for so long. I… I want to be able to feel master's warmth in my ice again. But… but what I have to do… what has to be done to me, to get it back. *shudder* It feels so… wrong… so… vile, disgusting… how I would regain my powers the same way they were taken away. How… "

At this extended pause, Lyon surmised he was unable to continue, but knew what he was wanting to avoid having to say.

They may as well be strapping him back down to that dreaded table.

"Do you want to give Loren a call?"

They should have thought of calling the therapist earlier, before they'd even told Gray about this plan. His input would have been invaluable. But it wasn't too late to—

"No. He'd do a damned good job of talking me out of this."

There went that idea. So be it. Loren would definitely have some choice words for all of them when he heard of this afterwards.

Instead of continuing with more empty words of encouragement, Lyon rose from his chair and gathered all the scattered cards together, before returning to the table, and setting the deck down before him with a soft thud. He pushed it towards Gray, saying, "It's been such an active day. I may need some help winding down. Why don't you deal us a game while I get myself some of that tea?"

Grateful for the distraction, and for the company, Gray nodded as he picked up the cards, slowly and methodically shuffling them a few more times as Lyon rose to fetch the tea pot and an extra mug. In situations like this, words weren't always needed. Lyon understood how simply having a friend nearby could make all the difference when facing the unknown. Or in their case, a fear well known. He would provide his brother the company he needed.

And if they should wake up late tomorrow, they wouldn't miss anything. It's not like the others could start without them.

-Officers' Barracks, Rune Knights Garrison, Era-

Mest stared ahead, dumbfounded as he rewound in his head, more than once, what he'd just heard. He was on his com lacrima, so he couldn't see the speakers' faces to gauge whether they were serious or not. He really wasn't all that familiar with them either, having not worked with them all that much, so listening to the subtle nuances in their voices to ascertain deception wasn't helping either. So he had to settle for a more direct approach to determine whether he'd heard right or not.

"The f*ck?"

"So you're saying you won't do it?" asked Gajeel.

"You want me to brainwash a judge!"

"Just to make him forget some top secret intel."

"This is a public servant. I mean, the ethics involved..."

"It's not like we want you to force him to do something he'd never agree to do."

"That may be true, but—"

"—It would also be for his own protection," added Juvia, "and for Gray-sama's!"

"But you'd be defying an official decree by the Council if you exposed the existence of the other necromancer, and what he's been doing to those villagers."

"Defying the Council is our national pastime. Come on! You made the entire guild forget about Lumen Histoire!" said Gajeel.

"That was on orders from Master. It wasn't my decision to make."

"At the time, you didn't even know he was your guild master. You did it as a professional courtesy. A favor. Now your own memories are no longer scrambled. You'd be doing this for a guild mate," reasoned Lily.

"But you want him to sign official documents. There'd be a paper trail. What would happen if you started exhuming the body, and the judge found out? At best, he'd assume he just forgot ever signing the permit. Unlikely. At worst, he'll know you will have done something illegal, and will rescind the permit and have you arrested."

"We're willing to take that chance," Gajeel affirmed.

"Well I'm not! The last time I acted so impulsively, I almost cost us the war!"

…

" … But if you don't help, many more lives could be lost. The guild could be attacked again. We may never find who's really responsible for all those lost villages. And Gray-sama may not be so lucky next time," Juvia somberly replied.

That struck a chord.

"Look, we get it," said Gajeel, "You screwed up. Water under the bridge. That's why you went back to the Council, right? For Fairy Tail. To make amends. Believe me, I know the feeling. But we need this. We've been running around in circles for weeks trying to get a damn signature on a stupid piece of paper. I refuse to let that stop us from solving this case. If you won't help, we will dig up that asshole's grave, and we will get arrested if it comes to it. But it's better than worrying about 'what ifs' and doing nothing. Are you in or not?!"

"... Damn it! Fine! But it takes time to do what you want done. There's more to it than just teleporting all the way across the country and flipping a switch in the guy's brain. I'd have to be there for the meeting, so I'd know exactly what I'd have to change without leaving any chance of suspicion. But I'm still tailing Commander Barrack on top of my own official duties. We're still short staffed due to Tartarus and the war. I don't have that kind of time to spare. It'll be weeks before I can leave here."

"That's fine," appeased Lily, "I doubt we'd be able to get another appointment with any of the judges around here for a while anyway. We've actually been discussing heading back to Magnolia for a few days. We could use the break. Let us know when you can come out, and we'll try to set something up."

Ending the call, Mest stared down at the com lacrima, lamenting how he'd managed to get himself involved in such a convoluted plot. Then, a small smile graced his face. Why was he so shocked by what's become such a well known trademark of Fiore's number one guild? It was so rare to get involved with the rest of the guild. He'd have to make it a point to stop by more often. He must be losing his immunity to their over-the-top antics, if he would allow a little bit of criminal mischief and interference in judicial procedure to bother him now.

-The next morning-

After waking up to a soft knock on the door, followed by a series of more rapid knocks interspersed with high pitched shouts of "Gray-ni! Can Joy come out to play," Gray was more than happy to take his time to visit with Bisca and Asuka. He went over feeding, play, and nap time schedules—as in, whenever the heck Joy wants—, packed a bag of toys and snacks that he hadn't deemed necessary until that morning, and invited them to sit for some tea while Asuka had an impromptu Gesture Speak lesson.

Bisca knew what was to happen today, and didn't mind allowing this time for Gray to psych himself up enough to face this upcoming trial. Asuka at least was enjoying this extra time with her big brother, and Gray in turn appreciated the cheer and sense of wonder that always seemed to overflow from her daughter. If a few extra minutes to stay and chat could ease some of his anxiety, she'd be happy to indulge him.

Lyon got them back on track upon receiving a message to bring with them the tabletop fountain that Loren had gifted them, which had found a place in the library. That is, the former mud room off to the side of the foyer that had become Gray's quickly growing library, thanks to Lucy's enthusiastic hunt for Braille edition pieces of literature.

There was no hint of a need to hurry in the missive. No one was trying to rush them. But Lyon was of the opinion that further delay would only make the anticipation worse. So with a bit of effort to hide his own unease, he bid the ladies a good morning as they left, and gathered their things before taking the lead towards the guild.

Their late start proved to be beneficial to them. Most of their guild mates were off on jobs by this time, so there was less concern for piqued curiosities. Mira met them at the doors, and led them to the infirmary. Because nothing instilled confidence like doing something that necessitated being in range of emergency medical equipment.

When Lyon said they'd planned for everything, he could have easily been accused of understating the fact. Upon entry into the private treatment room, the first thing that stood out was the real bed, with its rich, smooth sheets and soft, downy pillows; which had replaced the hard, uncomfortable infirmary bed which usually took up this room. So someone had taken Gray's reliance on touch into account, and had anticipated the chances of him associating the surface he'd be lying on with that table from the chamber. How very shrewd of them.

The window was open, letting in cool, fresh air, allowing for little chance of confusing this room for one of dampness, dirt, and decay. No one would mention to Gray that Freed had placed soundproofing runes throughout the room to keep his inevitable screams from reaching the outside. He didn't need that mental image to ponder.

Someone had even thought to scent the room with essential oils infused with snow drops, since the actual flowers were no longer blooming this time of year.

"Who's all here?" asked Gray.

"Porlyusica and Wendy of course," answered Lyon as he handed the small fountain to Erza, "and your team, Freed and Levy, Master Makarov, Cana, Loke, Laxus, and… I believe you're Capricorn?"

"That is correct, Master Lyon. My lady requested my services in this endeavor."

That was unexpected. One could understand Loke being here, but Capricorn?

Not sure what to even think of his presence, Gray turned towards the sea goat's master and simply inquired, "Lucy?"

"It was Loke's suggestion. He thought it would be prudent to have some extra men around to… *ahem* to help keep you steady. And that it'd be a good idea for us girls to hang back, in case you… just in case."

That was a good point. Glancing back at the bed, Lyon noted how there were no restraints attached to it, but it wasn't because they hadn't foreseen a need for them. He also thought he should take a moment, before things get underway, to pull the girls aside and ask them to not make a sound until it's all over, as well. Gray would be too out of it to be able to distinguish voices, other than whether they sounded feminine or not. Just one more trigger they could control.

"... Appreciate the consideration. Can we get started?" was Gray's soft response.

You didn't need to be a dragon slayer to pick up the slight quiver in his voice, or notice the cold sweat appear along his neck and across his brow. But he allowed Lyon to lead him forward, half listening to his soft explanations of all that had been done to the room to make him more comfortable.

The bed was a simple twin size mattress on a metal frame, the legs of which sat on risers to give them a height more sufficient for their needs. There were no head- or foot boards. Upon sitting on it, Gray could tell right away that an extra soft padding had been laid on top for more comfort, but he could also hear the crinkling sound of a waterproof cover underneath it, all of which was covered with the bed sheets.

Because why soil a brand new mattress with blood and sweat, and potentially piss, if he was to be honest with himself? It's a good thing he went before they left the house. At least there wasn't much in his stomach to vomit right now, but that didn't stop the sudden onset of nausea that would intensify the closer they got to actually starting this procedure.

He barely noticed when the sound of trickling water reached his ear from where Erza had set up the fountain close to the head of the bed.

Now seated on the mattress, he could only listen as Freed took his turn to speak. He adopted a very clinical, no-nonsense way of speaking, the better to get through this as quickly as possible while sounding calm and professional. All to ease the worry and doubt they all felt, and knew that Gray was feeling many times more right now.

"Now that we're all here, I wanted to explain everything that you should expect from here on out. Gray, you're to lie down and raise your arms, so your hands are rested by your head. Laxus, Lyon, Loke, and Capricorn will position themselves at the head and foot of the bed in order to help keep you from moving too much. It's vital that the marks I'm to add to the seal are targeted precisely.

"As for the marks themselves, there will be a total of four, each of varying width, but not depth. As you've been informed, I'll have to cut deeply enough to ensure the seal is properly compromised. You need to prepare yourself, for I won't be making separate strokes with an ordinary blade. Upon studying the runes, I'd discovered that doing so could also change the rules in unpredictable ways. Say I was meaning to write an 'E', but the seal reacted upon reading an 'F' before I'd completed the final stroke. We can't chance not knowing what would happen. Therefore, I've prepared four blades, each one having the appropriate shape for their respective marks. I will need to press down on each one very firmly to the correct depth. They have all been finely sharpened, so they will slide in quite smoothly.

"For each set, Natsu will be touching the blade itself, while I will grasp and control it from the grip. I've cast runes on each one to inform me when Natsu has heated the blade to the perfect temperature. I will stab quickly, but the blade must remain long enough to cauterize the wound. This is where it gets tricky. We don't want to risk the wound widening due to the burn spreading beyond the limit of each mark, let alone damaging more tissue than necessary; so Natsu will have to draw the heat away, then return it, allowing the wounds to cauterize in short bursts. Once the wound has completely cauterized, I can then remove the blade.

"I wanted to give you a short rest between sets, but Porlyusica informed me that it would be better to move on to the next one right away. It's best not to allow the pain to let up, or your body would lose some of the analgesic high that would result from all the endorphins that will be flooding your system… I'm sorry. I didn't want to distress you. Do you need me to stop?"

Gray had grown more and more fearful and anxious with every step revealed, and Freed would swear he saw that he was fighting back tears. Gray closed his eyes tightly, taking deep, shuddering breaths, before he quickly shook his head no. "Keep going."

" … Okay… There's just a little more. This part is very crucial. Though all four markings are important, the first two markings on their own won't have any effect on the seal. This is important, because if at any time we need to stop, we can do so without harm, so long as we do so before the third mark. But as soon as we place that mark, there's no going back. The stop gap which keeps your remaining ethernano from leaking out will disengage. It'll act as a one way valve, allowing your magic to only flow out, and you'll succumb to magic deficiency before long. Only by placing the fourth mark will the drain cease, and the flow of magic may go both ways again.

"There's just one more thing you need to understand, and no one will think any less of you if you choose to back out once you hear this. After I'd gone over the parchments, I'd determined that we'll only be able to unlock a small portion of that seal. It would allow ethernano to just barely trickle into your origins. We're still not sure if you would be able to fill them to capacity, but if you could, it would take months to do so, and that doesn't account for how much you would expend from using magic. With regular magic usage, you'd likely never fill your stores completely."

"On top of that," said Levy, "the volume of ethernano you could release would be the same as before. Provided that you're able to store enough, you'd be able to use your magic like normal, until it runs out. Being a maker mage, you could maybe pool enough for a large creation, but then your origins would be tapped out. We have no idea how long the cool down time would be before you could try again. You can't force more to go in than the seal will allow. The rebound would be excruciating."

"Now that you've heard all of this, are you still ready to begin?" asked Freed.

So much to risk for so little gain. What fool would accept such terms?

But he hadn't just been playing cards late into the evening last night. The act of shuffling and dealing the cards, the feel of those smooth cards in his hands, the quiet words exchanged between two players, and the repetitiveness of those competing sensations throughout the night had lulled him into a rough sort of peace. He'd been able to concentrate on the game play just enough to allow his focus to wander off and on.

He liked that peace. He'd been able to experience some form of it in different ways since he'd lost so much of himself to the necromancer's whims. What Natsu had been unable to understand yesterday morning was that he'd made peace with the hand he'd been dealt. He could have allowed himself to wallow in self pity and despair at his lot in life. But he'd chosen to work hard, and to play that hand with every intention of winning the whole pot. He'd learned new skills, and was training to achieve as much independence as his body would allow. He'd done all these things because he'd had no other choice.

Now he did. And this peace he'd gained was now threatened. But he'd never been one to hold onto anything selfishly. And just as he'd chosen to take the harder road before, in coping with his disabilities, in training to perceive the world without sight, and thriving despite his crippling fears; he would once again refuse to remain as he was. How he was now was no longer good enough, not when he had been given the opportunity to go even further.

Such were his thoughts last night. Such was his determination. His desire. His need.

To protect his peace, and that of his friends, he would get stronger.

Because he was that fool.

With one last, deep, shuddering breath, he replied with a firm, "I am."

Hearing no doubt in that answer at least, Freed stepped away, allowing Porlyusica and Wendy through.

"Gray-san, if you'd remove your shirt and shoes, you can lie down and get comfortable."

"I can lie down at least," he murmured, scoffing at the idea of comfort. As he reached for the first button, his hand stalled, hovering as he felt a pang of self conscious shame. There were a great deal more people here than he was comfortable being with in such a small room, and he was about to expose his scar-ridden body to them all. Wendy saw his hesitation, already knowing the reasons behind it. She stood to his side and leaned close, whispering, "It's okay, Gray. They're all battle scars, each and every one. There's no shame in them."

Blinking at the memory of similar conversations from before, he breathed a heavy sigh of acceptance as he slowly undid each button, allowing Wendy to help him pull the shirt off his right arm, the shoulder of which he still found difficult to pull back at certain angles due to the ever present wound along his chest. A thick padding of gauze covered the silicon padding which still took the place of real skin.

Due to all the injuries he'd sustained from the attack on Magnolia months before, his entire body was now riddled with new scars, on top of the older ones from the chamber. With the amount of scar tissue throughout, it was difficult to isolate enough of his own skin that could survive as new grafts. Outside of his knowledge was the fact that he'd have to travel to Cala Valley for the surgery, since there was the closest hospital with the necessary know-how and resources needed to do it. Any trip far from the security of the guild was automatically a no-go, until the danger of the unknown necromancer was neutralized.

The wound was always an attention getter, but what also drew everyone's gaze, a far better sight, was the silver necklace he wore proudly once more. None of them could ever know all of what it meant to him, of being able to wear it again; but to them, seeing it back where it belonged was a hope-filled reminder of how far he'd come.

Kicking off his shoes, which Lucy moved aside, Gray brought his legs up as he twisted to lay down, letting whoever was doing so to adjust the pillows and rearrange the overhead lights he could now feel the warmth from.

It was now Porlyusica's turn to finish briefing him in what was about to happen.

"We're going to monitor your vitals throughout," she informed as Wendy applied the electrodes of the heart monitor, "Wendy will also insert an IV so we can administer a continuous flow of vasodilators. These will prevent your blood vessels from narrowing, which can occur during panic attacks. This is a proactive measure to protect your heart... as well as to prevent you from passing out."

Gray raised his eyebrows at that.

'Lovely,' he thought.

A steady beeping sound started issuing from the heart monitor, and he was familiar enough from his own constant use of it to know that his pulse was already elevated.

She continued, "At the first indication that your stress levels have risen beyond what your heart can handle, or any sign of rebound or unforeseen troubles, I'll have them stop the procedure. But it'll be out of everyone's hands should anything happen past the third mark. Do you understand?"

Were all these graphic details and warnings a final attempt to talk him out of this? Because at this point, he was with Lyon in this, and really just wanted to get this over with.

He gave a short nod, then with another deep, steadying breath, he gave his final ascent.

"I'm ready."

Next Chapter: Gray relives his nightmares, while all his friends bear witness.