Disclaimer: Hey guys! Firestorm40 here with a new chapter for you all. I do not own any of the characters except my own OCs. Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

Special thanks to the reviewers and to the readers who Fav/Alert this story, I really appreciate it.

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Rainfall Village...

"Juvia, let me wipe you okay? You'll feel much better I promise." Wendy spoke softly as she carefully unbuckled the water mage's shirt, peeling away the fabric that was drenched in sweat. She lightly flinched when she laid eyes on the mage's large bosom that were hanging out out of their constrains and she couldn't help but feel envy crawling up the back of her neck.

"Focus Wendy, you're getting distracted." Carla spoke up from where she was sitting, knowing that the girl was still subconscious about her flat chest. 

"Remember you're still growing, you'll get your chance soon enough." Lexi told her.

"R-Right." The sky dragon slayer nodded and quickly went to work, dipping a clean towel into a bin filled with cool water. "Thanks guys."

"I wonder if Sora and the rest of them caught up with Gray yet..." Kik mused as she made herself some hot chocolate, holding the cup in her paws. "It's been about...a couple of days right?"

"I guess so...but yeah...it'd be nice if they did though..." Wendy agreed, wringing out the excess water before wiping off the sweat starting with the neck before moving across the towel from one shoulder to the other. "I hope they're not fighting..."

"Huff...huff..." Juvia's breathing evened out and she rolled over to show Wendy her bareback.

"Fights aren't something new to them..." Wendy smiled as she moved on to the water mage's arms. "It's Natsu and Gray we're talking about...If you count Sora too."

"That's true..." Carla smiled before taking a sip of her drink, her whiskers twitching at how savory the aroma was. "Knowing them, I have a a feeling that they are doing okay."

"Mmhmm, I agree with you there." Wendy smiled with happiness. Meanwhile back inside the Avatar compound, Gray and Natsu were at each others throats. A punch here, a kick there, both of them seemed to be on equal footing as the room was filled with massive amounts of magic energy. The others could do nothing as they hoped to not get hit. The two men grunted as they were simultaneously punched and they broke away, panting heavily from trading blows.

"Hey come on guys!" Lucy shouted over the sounds of the battling comrades, hands over her chest in worry for the two of them. "Knock it off!"

"Let them do this, Luce." Sora told her.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" Gray asked as he threw a right hook at the fire dragon slayer who blocked it with a forearm.

"Right back at ya!" Natsu responded before throwing his own fists which the ice slayer dodged with ease.

"I do what I want."

"Juvia's waiting for you, bastard!" The fire dragon slayer kicked Gray away with a flamed kick before following it up with his flamed fists. "I'm waiting for you. And we need you...to bring Fairy Tail back!"

"This is stupid." Gray uttered as he socked Natsu in the face with his left fist. "Fairy Tail is no more!" He increased his magic power to create giant amounts of ice to grow out of the ground.

"That's what they all say..." Natsu tried to convince him as he used his flames to burn the ice away. "But all the memories...and bonds we shared are still there." He placed a fist over his heart while making sure he kept eye contact with Gray. "Fairy Tail's right here. Has been and will always be."

"Your solution's right there, isn't it?" Gray asked him lightly. "If it's as you say, then you'd have no need for me so leave me alone won't you?"

"I will go my way, you go yours." Natsu replied simply.

"Gray..." Lucy, Lucas and Happy whispered as they looked at their former comrade with sad eyes. Sora just watched with narrowed eyes

"Fairy Tail is no longer a part of me." The ice demon-slayer stated almost heartlessly. "So could you please drop the whole 'best friend forever' act with me?"

SLAP~

"'Best friend forever' act?" Enraged by the words that were coming out of her friend's mouth, Lucy overcame her fear and walked right up to him to deliver the blow. Gray for his part didn't look like he was in pain, rather he was unfazed by the pain from the slap. "It wasn't an act! We're comrades till the end! Please don't say things like that!" She looked away as tears dribbled down her cheeks. "I don't want to hear it..."

'Lucy...' Gray thought as he watched her cry. 'Jeez, don't do this right now. You're making me feel guilty.'

"Urgh..." Suddenly, the celestial mage felt a sharp pain in her abdomen and collapsed to the ground in a fetal position. "My...my stomach...it hurts...nghh..."

"Luce!" Sora screamed out in worry.

"Mary?" Gray asked when he sensed the petite woman standing behind him.

"Who are you people?" She questioned cheerfully, acting all innocent and sweet. "Gray's friends from before? The ones from that guild that no longer exists?"

"What did you do to her!?" Natsu threatened, taking a step forward to help Lucy. However something wrapped itself around his body and something heavy clamped around both his wrists. "Woah..."

"Guys!" Sora said, before he was also wrapped up too.

"Magical chains?!" Virgo yelped as Goumon, using the distraction to get some strength back, used magic-sealing handcuffs to diminish their power.

"Natsu! Gyaaa!" Happy attempted to help but fell short as Abel used Mr. Cursey to control him. 

"Not Mr. Cursey!" Lucas said as he was chained up as well.

"Huh...you've saved us the trouble, Mary-san..." Goumon spoke as he kept a tight leash on his captives.

"You weaklings shouldn't have gone in the first place...dear me..." Mary spoke as she looked at Lucy's trembling form, a finger placed on her lips as sadistic thoughts raced through her mind. "Does it hurt? It hurts, doesn't it? My black magic..."

"GRAY!" Sora roared as he attempted to be by Lucy's side despite his restraints. Goumon had a hard time reeling him back; he even dug his heels into the ground in hopes of slowing the wild dragon slayer down.

"Don't move." Jerome spoke as he appeared amidst the fray, putting the tip of his sword near Lucy's head.

"This is what you get for sticking your noses into other people's business..." Gray commented dryly from behind his 'comrade'.

"Snap out of it, Gray!" Natsu yelled at him angrily. "You're being possessed by a demon!"

"I'm perfectly sane." The ice mage informed him and stripped out of his clothes to revel the Avatar symbol branded on his chest in the exact spot where his Fairy Tail mark used to be. "I destroyed that 'family link' of ours of my own accord. Now does that answer your question?"

"He erased the guild's mark...?" Happy whispered as he,Lucas and Lucy looked up to see what had happened.

"No way..." Sora gaped.

"Gray..." Infuriated, Natsu furrowed his brows and clenched his teeth tightly. Stating that nothing else can be done, Gray ordered his 'comrades' of Avatar to throw the intruders into the jail cell before walking away.

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Elsewhere...

"Someone's approaching, Gajeel..." Lily warned as he looked over his shoulder. The Rune Knights decided to make camp in preparation to attack Avatar.

"Yeah, I hear em." The iron dragon slayer mused before his nose crinkled up. "This smell though..."

"Thanks for waiting..." They turned to see Levy approach them, dressed like a member of the council. A couple of the other members greeted her cheerfully and she apologized for making them wait for her. "Everything went smoothly at first...but boy, getting out was just painful."

"But you did a good job." Gajeel told her as she released a tired sigh.

"I assume you heard about what happened to Gray right?" She asked and the slayer nodded his head. "I wonder what happened to him...it's like his entire heart's been engulfed in darkness..."

"Got nothin' to do with me, frankly." Gajeel snorted in response. "Our job's to stop their 'purification' from happening."

"Nothing to do with you?" Lily questioned. "Gray used to be a comrade of yours, wasn't he?"

"He sure as hell ain't one now." said Gajeel as he looked at them with a frown on his face. "If the 'purification ritual' of theirs pulls through, lots of innocent people will die. You telling me I should consider a man who's involved in that crazy ass plan, a comrade of mine?"

"Will you be able to fight though?" Lily continued to question how strong the slayer's resolve was, watching as the dragon slayer stood up abruptly and walked to the edge of the patch of grass with a non-readable expression on his face. "Against one that used to be our own..."

"If our paths are different, that doesn't make us anything but enemies." He stated clearly while avoiding Levy's look of sadness. He didn't want to have any distraction and right now his mind was telling him that Gray was the enemy. "And that's why we have to stop it. The purification ritual."

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"Are you okay Lucy?" Lucas asked with concern as he, Sora, Happy, Lucy and Natsu were currently sitting on the cold stone tile of their jail cell. "No more stomach pains?"

"Yeah...I'm good." The blonde replied with a small smile.

"Where's Virgo?" Happy questioned when he couldn't spot the pink-haired maid anywhere.

"She's been sent back because of the sealing stone..." Lucy replied as she looked at the cuffs around her wrists.

"That damn Gray..." Natsu growled as he rested against the wall with a scowl on his face. "What the hell happened to him?"

"There must be a reason for this." Lucy wondered as she thought about it. "He could have been possessed by something...or...or maybe he's under someone's control..."

"Yeah..." Sora supported her suspicion with a vigorous head nod. "Gray wouldn't do something like this...Something's up..."

"Someone's coming..." Lucy spoke and the three of them watched as Goumon shuffled into the chamber.

"Where's Gray?!" Natsu spat as he rushed at the door, slamming his shoulder against the metal bars and glaring at the Avatar member. "Bring him here! Let me see him!"

"Gray, along with everyone else, isn't here anymore. They've all gone to prepare for the purification ritual..." Goumon told them. "And I've come here to get some information from you, even if it means by force."

"Purification ritual?" Happy asked in confusion. "What's that?"

"The purification of the soul." The old man explained to them almost like a school teacher explaining a simple problem to a child. "And death is the only way of attaining it. The smell of death will only bring Zeref closer to us."

"Don't involve Gray in such strange things!" Lucy frowned with distaste.

"Mm? So you've noticed..." The Avatar member turned to face her with seriousness in his voice. "That...That I've been cosplaying as Lord Zeref..."

"Who the hell cares!" The blonde spat at him while Happy added that he had no idea what the nutjob was saying.

"My admiration for him is so strong that I got this done back in the east." He pointed to some kanji writing etched in the middle of his forehead. "I don't really know much about the language but apparently it's read as Zeref."

"Umm...sorry to disappoint you but, that's read as 'matcha'." Lucy told him much to his horror and embarrassment.

"Sh-Shut up, little girl!" Deciding to get serious and put her in her rightful place, he used his magic to attach Lucy's chain to the ceiling. The celestial mage yelped as she found herself dangling off the ground.

"Lucy!" Natsu and Lucas yelled.

"That freak...he's controlling the things in here!" Happy growled as he got to his own feet.

"Let go of her!" Sora growled threateningly.

"Heh." The Avatar member waved his hand to throw the boys back from some unknown force and had them pinned to the opposite wall. Juggling with the keys, he unlocked the door and sauntered in without fear towards Lucy. "Just stay there and watch...my torture show."

"Lucy!" Sora struggled against the hold. "Damn it..."

"I can't get this off..." Happy angrily pounded his paw against the handcuff but it didn't budge an inch.

"I can't go into my Neko Form!" Lucas exclaimed, struggling against the cuffs.

"These are all anti-magic restrains, you see..." Goumon mused as he summoned an array of torture tools on the table, making the girl shiver in fright and she quietly swallowed the nervousness lodged in her throat.

"Whipping. Candle wax. Watering...Roping...or even the licking of your feet." He listed off methods much to the mage's disgust. "Where oh where should I start fist?"

"You...You're really...sick!" She commented before yelling at him to stop bowing to no one in particular. 'It must be his way of coping with disappointment or something...'

"Alright, I've got it!" He had a eureka moment and turned to face her with a smile on his face. "We'll start with the licking! It hurts the least!"

"No way! Just the thought of it..." Lucy struggled against her binds with worry. "Ewww that's disgusting!"

"I see, you don't seem to understand why it's classified as torture." Goumon explains as he prepared for the torture, holding out a bottle of salt water. "We start with the dipping the soles of the feet in salt water in a fixed position. And then a goat will start licking the soles for the salt content."

"That doesn't seem to be too bad..." Happy commented dryly.

"But as time goes by, the barbs on the tongue of the goat will tear through the skin and to the meat...even then, the goat won't stop and will keep going till it reaches the bone."

"...I take back my statement. That seems to hurt more than imagined." The Exceed trembled while Natsu and Lucas nodded in agreement.

"So let's try it out!"

"Noooo!" Lucy screamed as the man latched onto one of her legs and peeled off her stocking in slow motion.

"Damn it..." Sora growled, clenching his hands into fists as he could do nothing but watch.

"So tell me, who sent you here." Goumon commented after he peeled off the other stocking and bounded her feet together with rope. "Before the feet of this girl are no more."

"Mfff! Mfff!" Lucy tried to talk but she had her mouth bounded by some rags. Her feet were already covered in salt water and ready for the punishment.

"I told you!" Natsu yelled at the old man in frustration. "We're here to take Gray back!"

"Don't make me repeat myself, boy!" Goumon spat back. "Gray is now our comrade."

"No, he's our friend." Sora argued as Lucy watched a goat approach her, its tongue dangling out of its mouth in anticipation to lick her feet. "And if he doesn't believe in himself...then we will."

"Shut up!" Infuriated at the answer he got, Goumon proceeded to stretch Lucy's arms and legs out till she was in a spread-eagle position. The girl looked up in horror as he towered over her with an axe held high above his head. "We're not going to do the licking anymore! I'm just going to split her in half!"

"LUCY!" Sora screamed, pouring every single ounce of strength he had against his restraints which began to cracked under the pressure.

"Let's see if you still 'believe' in Gray!"

"STOPPPPPP!" The dragon slayer watched in horror as the weapon swung down towards Lucy's body. However a blast of cool air whistled through the room and both the weapon and its wielder were soon frozen solid. Lucy opened her eyes slowly for a peek, seeing the axe hovering right above the girl's stomach and she couldn't help but let out a whimper of relief.

"Gray..." Natsu whispered as the man stepped in with a neutral expression on his face. Snapping his fingers, he used his ice magic to freeze all of the handcuffs, making it easier for them to be destroyed.

"Ah, damn it!" He cursed, shaking his head to change his hairstyle back to the way it used to be. "All that hard work, gone because of you people." Pulling out his phone from his pocket, he processed to punch in a number and held the device to his ear. "This is a Code Blue...we've got trouble."

"Who's that he's talking to?" Lucy whispered as Natsu stood behind her with a confused look on his face. Sora with his enhanced hearing could hear every word and was surprised by whose's voice was on the other end.

"I have feeling I know, but are you okay Luce?" Sora asked her with concern and she nodded her head in response. "That's a relief..."

"No..." Gray continued to speak, ignoring them for a minute. "That's not it...yeah..."

"The markings..." Happy pointed to the receding markings that turned out to be fake.

"They must have been part of this hoax." Lucas said.

"I don't know...you talk to him..." Gray paused as he listened to the voice on the other side. "Yeah..." He tossed the device to Sora who looked at him weirdly. "Put that to your ear."

"It's been a while hasn't?" Sora mused as he put the phone to his ear like Gray asked him to.

"Is that you, Sora...?" A voice all too familiar floated through and the dragon slayer had a huge grin on his face as he rubbed his head. "My, my...I haven't from you in so long. It's nice to hear from you again."

"Same here, Red..." He smiled and watched as Natsu, Lucy, Lucas and Happy looked at him with smiles of their own. The scarlet-haired knight grinned on the other end as she enjoyed hearing his voice once again after the one year skip.

"Now tell me, what have you done to Gray's undercover mission?"

That's a wrap for this chapter! Hope you all enjoyed it. I will have the next chapter up soon, look forward to it. Comment on your favorite parts and don't forget to vote!

Be sure to review. Until then, see ya!!!