Disclaimer: All Fairy Tail Characters Belong to Hiro Mashima, all other characters belong to me.

Chapter 12: Love Is Like A Shadow

Koen watched Gray as he tried to consume the drink that Koen had bought him as quickly as possible. Gray was polite but aloof and he made no attempt at small talk or even tried to hide that he wanted to get away from him as quickly as possible. Koen could not blame him, he had acted like an asshole to the man. He wasn't even sure why. Sure, the man was gorgeous and so was his boyfriend for that matter, but it's not like he'd never been rejected before. Koen mentally shrugged, it wasn't important. What was important was to keep him safe from her.

It had taken quite a while for him to make the connection but that girl was bad news. When that kid Andre just stopped coming to the club after normally coming several times a week the last puzzle piece had clicked into place in his mind. That's when he knew she was somehow responsible for the attacks that seemed to be happening to some of his friends. Bad things happened to those who caught Suki's attention. Blue Pegasus was a popular club and lots of people came here straight or otherwise. She seemed to be here all the time. Koen usually only came when he felt like it and no matter what day of the week it was he had yet to not see her there.

The night his friend, Jenner, had gotten hurt Koen had remembered that she had come on to him and then caused a scene when she had found out Jenner was not interested in girls. That in itself was not suspicious, it was embarrassing but it happened from time to time. They all knew the drill by now. He had not thought much about it in the beginning but the more he saw her the more he felt there was just something off about her. He had started watching her on days when there was no one around that caught his eye. He'd noticed something very interesting about the girl. She only ever hit on a guy after she already knew he was interested in other men. She seemed to enjoy the drama, or perhaps she was looking for an acceptable way to yell all those things at them. Koen didn't know what her deal was but it was certainly strange. He had tried to go to the Rune Knights with his suspicions but it seemed that Suki McNeely was quite wealthy and the Knights were loathe to start an investigation on someone of her stature without any hard evidence. They buried the report and recommended that he stay away from her, which he had done. He never gave her an opening against him. Pretty much got up and left whenever she was around. Except for that one night, the night he and Andre were hitting it off.

He should never have gone to smoke with the others, not knowing what he thought he knew about her but he could tell Andre was younger than he claimed and that had made him a little bit unsure. He had gone outside to think about whether he should pursue him or not.

When he returned to the table she already had her arm around Andre and Koen could tell that the boy was anxious. He took her arm off of him and kissed him trying to claim him in front of her in the hopes that she would leave the boy alone or at the very least focus her craziness at him. She did but apparently she still chose to go after Andre.

He was startled out of his thoughts when Gray got up from his stool. Koen looked at him and saw that he looked tired, as if he hadn't slept for days and he was even more determined to keep him out of harm's way somehow. He had seen how Suki had stared at him and his boyfriend while they kissed on the dance floor. Koen shuddered, the look she had given Gray and his boyfriend was more venomous than any he had seen her sport before. It truly scared him. It's what had made him decide to intervene.

"Thanks for the drink.", Gray said politely and then added more forcefully , "No offense but I do expect you to leave me alone now."

That's right, he had agreed to that in his bid to keep the mage from leaving the club. What should he do?

"Sure.", Koen agreed easily as he wracked his brain for a way to protect him. He would follow him at a distance and make sure he got to his destination ok.

Gray began to make his way back to the front doors of the club, hurrying as he tried to catch up to Sting. There were a couple of things he wanted to ask him before Natsu joined them. Assuming he joined them. Gods he was tired, all of the activities of the last two days were conspiring against him. He needed sleep, his mind and movements all felt more sluggish than usual. He probably shouldn't have had those last two drinks, they had only made him sleepier. He shook his head trying to clear it. He got far enough away from the club that he could no longer hear the loud music when all of a sudden he cursed in frustration as he realized that he had no idea where the damn restaurant was. He was about to make his way back to the club to wait for Natsu and Rogue when he heard a noise.

Gray wasn't sure exactly where it was coming from but it sounded as though someone was in trouble. There was a weird scream followed by a laugh but the noises that concerned him the most were the muted thuds of an object hitting flesh. He followed the laughs and stopped in his tracks when he saw Sting Eucliffe on the ground his body bleeding but his spirit clearly not broken.

"Is that all you got?", Sting yelled defiantly even as he laughed, "You fuckers better hope you're done before I can get up because even without magic I'm going to kick all your asses and trust me when I tell you I will not be as kind as you're being. You've gone and pissed me off."

Gray ran to help the man he now considered a friend. He quickly called upon his magic and aimed it at the man who was hitting Sting with what looked like a lead pipe.

"Ice Make: Lance"

The man backed off as he tried to evade the shards of ice from Gray's spell.

"Sting are you ok?", Gray yelled from his position at the mouth of the alley.

"Oh yeah, I'm just peachy.", Sting replied sarcastically, "I just discovered what it feels like to be masered and I gotta say, not fun. Oh, and guess what? I've just been informed that being gay is bad. Who the fuck knew?"

Gray snorted at that. He could only imagine these guys were not used to dealing with someone like Sting Eucliffe.

"GRAY, WATCH OUT, MASER AT 3 O'CLOCK!", Sting screamed as he saw another man aim a maser at Gray .

"Ice Make: Shield"

Gray turned to his right and saw the man aiming at him and made a thick shield for himself . He felt bad for Sting but he had no desire to experience that ever again. He felt the probes get stuck in the ice and relaxed.

"GRAY, BEHIND YOU!", a vaguely familiar voice yelled out.

Gray turned around but he was too slow to block the pipe that hit him across the face. He began to bleed profusely.

"Shit!", Gray yelled. He kicked at the man who had attacked him keeping him back but now Sting was defenseless again and he could see more men in the alley all holding some sort of weapon. He looked for the owner of the voice and saw Koen grappling with one of the masked men. He seemed to be trying to keep the man from attacking Gray. He did not seem to be very good at fighting.

"What are you doing?", Gray asked him.

"I'm trying to help!", Koen answered even as another man joined his fight.

Gray screamed "Ice Make: Hammer" and a large hammer appeared above the larger man attacking Koen stunning him for the moment.

"Run to the club and get help! I don't know how long I can hold them off", Gray told him urgently, "Hurry!"

Gray began to feel faint and he cursed, He couldn't afford to pass out. He had to protect Sting.

"Damnit, Sting. This restaurant better be worth it!", Gray said in an attempt to lighten the mood as things started to look bleak He tried to ice his wound but there was so much blood he couldn't quite pinpoint where it was coming from.

Sting laughed shallowly. "Rogue and Natsu will be here soon to save our sorry asses, just hold on!"

ooooo

Flashback

A little girl, aged 7, walked hand in hand with her father. She had shoulder length white hair and cornflower blue eyes. They were headed to the neighborhood park. The little girl was excited as it was rare for her father to take her to the park, she was usually taken by her nanny who was not as fun. She also knew that she could expect to get ice cream on the way home. It was just something that they always did when he did take her.

It was a beautiful sunny day in the spring, the sky so blue it seemed to have scared the clouds away. There were flowers blooming everywhere in every color in the rainbow and her father had let her pick some wildflowers from a small field on the way to the park. Suki remembered those flowers well, their bright colors made her cheerful and she promptly turned them into a bouquet and presented them to her father who accepted them with a sad smile. That gave her a little bit of a pause but she quickly forgot about it as she raced to the park her father chasing behind her.

Suki loved her father. He was handsome, funny and kind and unlike her mother he always made time for her. Suki knew that she was very lucky, her parents were well off and she wanted for nothing. There was not much for her to hope for except maybe that her mother was nicer to her.

She had noticed over the past few months that her parents did not act as happy as they used to and Suki had tried to be on her best behavior, snippets of an overheard conversation had made her believe that the change might be somehow caused by her. She thought she had seen tears in her father's eyes a few days ago and it had shocked her. Her mother had always told her that men were strong and they did not cry, no matter what. Come to think of it her mother had been making a lot of remarks about real men to her friends, whatever that meant. Suki thought there was no realer man to her than her father.

They spent a lovely afternoon at the park. Her father took her on everything she wanted. He pushed her on the swings, went down the long slide with her and made the merry-go-round spin so hard that even as she laughed Suki thought she might fly off. She started to notice little things as the afternoon wore on. Her father seemed distracted and whenever he thought she wasn't looking his smile disappeared and was replaced by an expression she had never seen before, one that she instinctively did not like. At one point she thought she saw his eyes turn shiny as he looked at her although he quickly turned away. Suki began to get a very bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She was a smart girl, this was not how their visits to the park usually went and a sense of dread began to overtake her as she saw the day begin to darken. She knew, she just knew that they had to stay in the park, maybe forever. If they didn't her world might just blow apart and she wasn't ready for that. She had several friends whose parents had fallen to the dreaded D word but she had never thought that her parents would be next. She also knew that the father was always the one to leave and that would leave her with only her nanny and her mother. Her mother, who was cold and never had any time for her.

"Are you ready for ice cream, monkey?", her father asked,

"No, there's still daylight!", she said as cheerfully as she could manage, not wanting to let on that she knew something was wrong, "Come push me, Daddy! I want to fly like a bird."

Suki tried to get her father to push her on the swings again, anything to keep them there. She went from ride to ride trying desperately to keep herself calm against the futility of her efforts. No matter how hard she tried, she could not make time stay still. All she could do was hold on to this one perfect memory in the making for as long as she could.

End of Flashback

Suki watched Natsu enter the club from the back with his black haired friend and she felt hatred consume her. He was a liar. He was handsome and charming and kind but he only pretended to like her, played with her emotions and then acted like he didn't know what he was doing all along. Just like her bastard of a father, he had abandoned her for another man.

She had foolishly let her defenses down that day, fascinated by his pink hair, his warmth and his beautiful smile, a smile that seemed to intimate that everything would somehow be ok again. But it wasn't, his actions just brought all her pain back. The smug look on his boyfriend's face as he flaunted at her that Natsu was his to possess reminded her of that other man, the one who had selfishly taken her father away from her. Moved him to another country that her mother would not let her visit. Her father had promised to write and to visit but she had never heard from him again. She was left alone in a big house with only her mother's resentment and scathing attacks for company.

Koen ran faster than he ever had before, he spotted the club in front of him and pulled the door open. He ran inside trying to find the Master of the guild or anyone he could recognize that could come help. Just his luck the first person he recognized was Gray's boyfriend and his friend.

"You have to come quick!", Koen pleaded, "Your friends are in trouble."

"Hey, aren't you the guy who hit on Gray?", Natsu said slowly.

"Yes, never mind that now. I'm telling you Gray is in trouble.", Koen said agitated. "He's losing a lot of blood."

Natsu found himself covered in fire without consciously remembering calling on his magic. Rogue looked at him somewhat amused. Natsu put his fire out looking at Rogue sheepishly.

"Take me to Gray.", Natsu ordered, "Rogue go find Erza and the others. Hurry."

"No. Wasn't Gray with Sting?", Rogue asked.

"Sting! Yes that's the other guy's name.", Koen said excitedly, "He's down."

Rogue's eyes began to glow dangerously as he calmly said to the man who had come searching for them. "Let's go."

All three men ran out of the club.

Suki watched them leave. She would make Natsu pay for making a fool out of her. He would come to regret his lying ways right before his end. He would pay for her father and his lies. Tonight, she smiled eagerly as she grabbed an object from her purse, she herself would participate in the beatings for the first time and it seemed the festivities had already started. She slipped out of the club quietly.

ooooo

It had been about 30 minutes since they had gone out in search of this Suki and they had not been able to find hide nor hair of her anywhere in the club. They returned to the room dejected but needing to come up with a plan of action. They heard a knock on the door and Eve opened it to find Gajeel, Juvia and Fernan on the other side.

"Salamander and Rogue are on the move.", Gajeel said urgently as they entered.

"What are you talking about? He and Gray were going out with the Twin Dragons", Erza asked.

"I don't have time to catch you up on gossip right now, Red", Gajeel said, "Some guy just ran in to say Sting and Gray were in trouble and the two of them ran out with him. We gotta move while I can still track them."

"Agreed.", Erza said, "Let's move."

Erza, Lucy and Juvia let Gajeel take the lead and followed him out of the room leaving the Blue Pegasus mages with their guests. Fernan sat next to Andre and looked at him nervously.

"Are you ok?", Fernan asked carefully.

"I'm fine, I'm more worried about them.", Andre replied.

Master Bob looked at the two nervous boys and said, "Don't worry, this is what they do. I need to get in touch with their Guild Master. I'll be right back, Eve and Hibiki are right here if you need anything."

They settled in to wait.

ooooo

Natsu was trying very hard not to panic. This was Gray, how much trouble could he really be in? He could take care of himself, would probably yell at him for interfering. Except the last mage that was attacked was masered and killed and this guy said that Gray was bleeding out, his mind supplied helpfully. That wouldn't happen to Gray. Gray was young, he was strong, he was capable. He started to feel a little guilty realizing that some of these thoughts were probably similar to the things that Gray had been thinking when he had been missing. He really should have let someone know where he was. He became more and more angry. Those bastards better not lay a finger on his Gray unless they wanted to face the wrath of a dragon. Wait, what? Did he just say his Gray? Ugh, focus. You're about to go into battle, you've managed to spend most of your life not thinking now is not a good time to start. Ok , just breathe. Don't think about Gray, think about all the asses that you're going to kick.

Beside him Rogue looked completely calm and focused, although if you knew him well you could see the tension behind the calm façade, could recognize the cold fury that burned in his eyes. The shadows that roiled around him made him look like a harbinger of death and that did not bode well for anyone stupid enough to stand in between him and his mate.

Natsu sped up leaving Koen behind as his nose caught Gray's familiar scent and what was more worrisome, lots and lots of his blood.

"Snowflake?", he called out when he couldn't find him right away. Rogue was still somewhere behind him.

"Look who finally made it!", Sting said cheerfully although weakly. He wouldn't admit it but these guys were getting some damn good hits in now that Gray had almost passed out from what he could only imagine was blood loss. Head injuries were a bitch.

"I can't even leave you alone for a few minutes", Rogue said from the shadows, his body mostly incorporeal at this point. "Care to tell me which of these gentlemen did this to you?"

"Flame Brain?", a voice came out of the alley. It was weak but the owner seemed alert. Natsu followed the sound to find Gray slumped against one of the alley's walls still trying to fight even though he could no longer hold himself up. It was not a bad idea, at the very least it protected his rear from attack.

"I'm here, be a good princess and just hang on for a few minutes while Rogue and I take care of these guys.", Natsu said as he tried not to notice how much blood was covering the other's body, "We'll get you some help, ok?"

"Not a princess", Gray protested," Natsu.... so tired."

"Rogue, how many?"

"Six... Well, five now."

Natsu started with the one that was holding the lead pipe that smelled like Gray's blood.

"Fire Dragon: Roar"

The man screeched as the pipe liquified in his hands and he fell to the ground, struggling to rip his mask off before it could finish adhering to his skin from the heat.

"Stay down asshole, that was just a warning shot. I don't usually use magic against non mages but the fact that you are willing to beat up on 14 year old boys is making me reconsider that rule."

Gray looked at Natsu from his position, he couldn't remember the last time he had seen him so angry. He looked like a beautiful wild animal that was hunting its prey. He looked behind Natsu and thought he saw something in the distance but it was too far for him to make out. The blood that continued to try to seep into his eyes made it difficult for him to see. His eyes kept trying to close on him but he fought the drowsiness. He needed to see what it was.

Rogue made his way towards the man standing over Sting. All the shadows in the alley seemed to gather behind him and the man couldn't decide if they were shuddering in agony or writhing in anticipation for feasting on him, but he could clearly see his doom written in Rogue's eyes as his body dissolved into those shadows and he wrapped himself around the man. "Shadow Dragon: Waxwing Flash" Rogue cast his spell dispassionately and the man screamed, first in terror then in pain as he felt countless shadows curl around his body and then draw away, peeling small slices of his skin with them. Rogue appeared behind him, solid only long enough to throw a shadow sleeved uppercut into the man's gut.

The man coughed, groaned and said with a stammer, "Wh-who -- what are you?"

"Who I am is not important, what's important to know is that you should never attack a dragon's mate.", Rogue said coldly already casting his next attack "Shadow Dragon: Slash". His arm lengthened into a shadowy whip which he used to lash the man several times until at last with a final whimper, the beaten form crumpled to the ground.

"Hey love?", Sting said, "Not that I'm not enjoying watching you go all dark and protective but you might want to go faster, there's still three others and some of them have masers."

"I wouldn't worry about the masers.", Rogue said confidently with a brief reassuring smile at Sting as he felt a pair of probes sail harmlessly through his incorporeal body and ping harmlessly against the wall, "You can't catch what you can't touch, but thanks for the warning." His smile then went as dark as the shadows massing about him as he turned find his next victim.

Natsu stood in front of Gray, the polar opposite to Rogue's impassiveness. He was all fury, his flames burning hotter to match his mood as he picked his next target. The heat was almost overwhelming to the already weakened ice mage.

"Natsu, too hot!", Gray uttered as best he could, his brain was beginning to slow down, "Too much."

"Oh, sorry.", Natsu answered as he moved further away.

With Natsu no longer in his field of vision he was able to see the object again, it was getting closer. It was a person, and they seemed to be running. Gray blinked his eyes trying to help them focus on the person that was coming.

Natsu's right hand ignited as he cast his next spell "Fire Dragon: Crushing Fang". He swung his hand in an arc striking the assailant with his fingertips. The man took the brunt of the blow and began to scream as his clothes caught on fire. The remaining two men tried to edge their way to the alley's entrance using the shadows to hide.

They realized the severity of their mistake and paled as suddenly, Rogue's sinister laugh echoed all about them and the shadows they previously looked to for safety opened countless glowing red eyes and hungry mouths. They knew there was no hope of escape and little hope of mercy even as they screamed for it, but Rogue had no intention of letting them off easy. They had hurt his beloved and they were in his domain now. His shadows enveloped them with a cacophony of hungry snarls which could not fully muffle their screams. After a few moments, Rogue's vicious smile faded as he turned and headed back over to Sting. His shadows quickly followed him, revealing the two men, unconscious, clothing torn, and covered in small scratches and bite marks.

As Rogue knelt next to Sting, the shadows which only moments ago were things of nightmares now became a soothing and cool blanket which wrapped tenderly around his mate and comforted him. The malice in Rogue's face replaced with concern and care.

Sting looked up at him and grinned, "I warned them there'd be hell to pay. You're one scary dude but I love you."

Rogue just smiled.

"Fire Dragon:--"

"NATSU, GET DOWN!", Gray yelled as loud as he could but unfortunately it sounded louder in his aching head than it did to Natsu. Still, he was a dragon slayer and he heard the warning but did not react fast enough. He felt a pair of pricks in his back as his body became rigid but not as much as you would expect since he was able to channel electricity thanks to Laxus. He tried to get an attack out before the device began to drain his magic.

"Lightning Fire Dragon: Roar"

He slowly turned and aimed his spell in the direction from which he was attacked but they had already moved. He turned again trying to find his assailant only to see Suki aiming a magic pistol at him.

Gray panicked and slowly got up from his position against the wall. He got into his maker molding stance and with the last of his energy cast the only spell he could think off that would protect Natsu until Rogue could help him. He only hoped Natsu's body heat didn't work against it.

"Ice Make: Cocoon"

Natsu's body became covered in ice, spikes jutting in every direction as Suki screamed in frustration at having her quarry taken away from her. She shot at the ice anyway but the bullets bounced off of it, chipping little pieces of ice in the process. Gray collapsed, keeping himself awake by sheer willpower. He needed to keep his spell up so he could keep Natsu safe. He wouldn't let anyone hurt the man he loved.

Suki soon turned her gun on Gray.

"If you're going to get in my way, I suppose I'll have to kill you instead."

Strong arms caged her from behind pinning her arms to her sides as she struggled against him gun still in hand.

"That's enough!", Koen bellowed, "You have hurt enough people, Suki."

Flashback

"Suki, I have something I need to talk to you about.", her father said when he found her.

They both sat down in one of their home's large couches.

"What's the matter daddy?", Suki looked into her father's eyes trustingly even as she saw the suitcases that were littering their large foyer.

"I'm afraid I have to go. I won't be living with you and mommy anymore."

"But why? Don't you love me anymore?", Suki began to cry.

"Don't ever say that monkey.", he picked her up and placed her in his lap wrapping his arms around her protectively, "I know you won't be able to understand this very well now, but I loved you before you were even born. I wanted you so much that I tried to deny who I was and for a long time it worked."

"I don't understand.", Suki said desperately, "What do you mean deny who you are? Is this about mommy, is she making you leave?"

"Suki, you need to understand none of this is your mother's fault.", her father said seriously, "It was me. I convinced myself that I loved her because I wanted a family, I wanted you."

"But I can't do it anymore, not to her and not to myself.", her father sighed, "I had to tell her the truth. She has asked me to tell you the truth as well."

"When love happens it can happen between any two people, remember that monkey. A lot of people love someone of the opposite gender but others fall in love with people that are like themselves. I am one of those people."

"I have fallen in love with someone and it is my hope that someday you will meet him and love him as well, but I know that will not happen soon and that's ok.", he said calmly.

"I know you will be angry with me and sad and that's ok too but I hope when you are done with all that you realize that even though I may seem different to you right now I am and always have been the same person.", he groaned in frustration, "I wish you were a little older right now, I don't really know how much of this you are really understanding."

"Daddy!", Suki wailed. "Please don't leave me with her, take me with you!"

"I'm sorry, monkey. I can't.", her father said fighting back tears of his own, "If I took you with me I would be arrested and you would end up back here anyway."

"I will come visit as often as I can", he promised, "and I will write you letters. Would you like that?"

"Daddy?", Suki asked trying to calm down so she could enjoy her last minutes with her father, "Do you love him more than me?"

"No baby, I could never love anyone more than you.", her father told her before he hugged her tightly and walked out of her life forever.

Little did either of them know that Suki's mother had heard the entire conversation. She felt used and betrayed by the man she had called husband for 10 years. She felt betrayed by Suki for asking her father if she could go with him to get away from her. She looked at Suki and all she could see was a tool to hurt the man she had loved, who had never loved her back.

Suki's childish request created a very unhappy life for her. A life that consisted of her mother imprinting her bitterness and newfound hatred of homosexuals onto Suki. She kept Suki's father away from her using any means possible, burned all letters before Suki could see them and drafted up some of her own that she knew would devastate the girl. Suki held on to her father for as long as she could but after his neverending absence she gave up and eventually came to believe and espouse everything her mother ingrained in her.

End Flashback

"Don't you dare touch me with your filthy hands!", Suki screamed at Koen as she continued to struggle against his hold. "You freak!"

Suki felt a sharp sting as her face was slapped roughly by the gauntleted hand of a red haired armored woman who was surrounded by a terrifying dark aura and appeared to have glowing red eyes . She seemed to be trembling with some emotion as she barked, "No one here is interested in anything you have to say. Now, shut the hell up or I'll knock you out myself."

Erza removed the gun from Suki's hand and restrained her with some cuffs. She handed some cuffs to Rogue and Juvia so they could restrain the remaining assailants. Juvia was confused to see the men shying away from Rogue.

"Lucy can you run back to Pegasus and ask Master Bob to contact the Rune Knights, I believe we have completed our mission."

"Wait, this was your job?", Sting yelled, "Gray and Natsu I'm so gonna kick both your asses after this. You could have warned us, you bastards!"

Gajeel looked around for someone to fight but they were already all down. He was disappointed to have missed all the action. He saw Gray and ran over to him, "Hey, Ice Prick, are you ok?"

Gray heard Gajeel's voice and finally allowed himself to let go, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as he succumbed to unconsciousness. The cocoon that surrounded Natsu dissolved into sparkling nothingness.

"Gray?", Gajeel yelled. He shook him gently but received no response."Shit, he needs a healer."

"Gajeel, take him back to Pegasus. They have one there.", Erza commanded.

He nodded and picked up the ice mage gently making sure not to jostle him as he ran. Juvia went with him to make sure Gray was ok.

The rest of them waited in silence for the Rune Knights to come and collect the prisoners. Master Bob had sent Hibiki and Ren over to check on the mages. Once the prisoners were in the Knights' custody they transported Sting and Natsu back to the Pegasus guild. They were both suffering from Magic Deficiency Disease due to the maser's rapid drain of their magic.

Erza entered the room where Andre and his family waited.

"Is it really over?", Rika asked.

"It's over.", Erza assured her, "We were able to get everybody."

"Thank you so much!", Rika said as she smiled at her son hoping that this information would help with his nightmares.

"Where are Natsu and Gray?", Andre asked once he realized the mages were not anywhere to be found.

"They were hurt in the fight, but they should be fine. They are both very strong.", Erza said, "They're being healed in the infirmary."

Bob was all smiles as he entered the room carrying several bottles of champagne. He opened one and began distributing glasses around to all the room's occupants.

He raised his glass up in the air in a toast. "To Fairy Tail, who came in to protect those who would be ignored by the authorities and to Andre who was brave enough to help us stop them from doing it to anyone else."

A chorus of "Cheers" was heard throughout the room. Bob raised one last silent toast to his friend 'Stefan, I hope this will give you peace. I miss you old friend.'

He made his way over to Erza, "I called Maki to tell him the news. We will be transporting all of you back on the Christina as soon as Gray is ready to be moved. Our healer will accompany you there but we're not really equipped to deal with the types of injuries they have. Porlyusica will be there waiting when you arrive."

ooooo

A/N Yes, Suki is evil but she wasn't always so. At one point she was good and sweet and she was betrayed by someone who should have loved her most of all for the sake of exacting revenge on the man she had loved. It makes me rather sad because Suki loved her father very much and her mother's selfishness and hatred took him away from her and turned her into a monster. Does it excuse her behavior? No at all! But none of us is born with hatred, it is a behavior or attitude that is very much learned through our interactions with the world around us. Had Suki been allowed to continue her relationship with her father I feel she would have grown to be a much different person.