16. Ice-Make: Reshape

"If it was okay for them to reshape the past, then it was okay for him too."

Lyon woke to metal bars closing and a key turning in the lock. He opened his eyes as a guard began to walk from the holding cell he had been thrown into earlier.

Strange. He thought as he recalled his surroundings. I don't remember falling asleep. I wonder how much time has passed.

The Lamia Scale mage looked around the cell again, his eyes falling upon a new prisoner sitting across from him. So that's what that guard was doing.

He was cuffed, same as him so he must have been a mage. Lyon wondered what he was in for. The newcomer couldn't have been much younger than himself. His gaze was fixated on the ground, seemingly unaware that the ice mage was watching him. Lyon knew it was impolite to stare but the bare brick walls of his cell had gotten boring after awhile. He just needed a change in scenery.

He wondered if his new cellmate was talkative. Lyon was getting tired of being alone with just his thoughts. However, it didn't seem likely considering he was too occupied with analyzing the dirt on the floor while trying to control his trembling hands. Was he cold? Afraid, maybe?

Was he afraid too? No, why should he be? He had nothing to do with the casting of the Eliftis spell and therefore there was no way the Magic Council could have any evidence proving he did. But if that was the case, then why was he a suspect? Was it just because he was an ice mage? Perhaps that was the only clue they had; that the caster could only be an ice mage.

Lyon sighed and leaned back against the wall, not caring much about how uncomfortable it was. If he was correct in his theory that the Magic Council had resorted to identifying suspects based on the simple pretext of them being ice mages, then he wondered if Gray had been arrested as well. He would need to check that out once he got released, if he got released.

Lyon returned his attention to his nervous cellmate. Perhaps he should try initiating a conversation. It wasn't like there was much else to do.

"So, what are you in for?"

The young mage tensed at the question, but kept his eyes down and mouth closed.

"I'm here, believe it or not," Lyon continued, shifting his gaze towards the ceiling. "as a suspect in the case of this whole early winter fiasco. I think it's just because I'm an ice mage. They probably don't have any other evidence or clues to lead them to whomever is really responsible."

He glanced back at his cellmate. Still no reaction, so he went on. "What kind of magic do you practice?"

Fifteen seconds passed with no response. Oh well, so much for a conversation.

Lyon returned to his thoughts again. If he recalled correctly, his master had told him and Gray that the only way to stop the Eliftis spell was for the caster to undo it himself. However, judging by the long duration and sheer extent of the spell manifesting over Earthland, Lyon assumed that whoever cast it wasn't intending to lift it any time soon. And considering that by killing the caster the spell would turn permanent, Lyon feared that there wasn't much he, the Magic Council, or anyone could do.

"There's a reason it's forbidden," He could hear her say. "and if you ever catch anyone trying to cast it, you must stop them."

Whoever had cast it, Lyon and Gray had to stop them. That was a direct order from their master, her last wish so to speak. Once he got out of that prison cell, he needed to find Gray. They needed to lift the spell, to take down whoever was freezing the world. As Ur's pupils, lifting the Eliftis spell was their responsibility.

"Lyon Vastia." He turned to see that the guard was back, unlocking the cell bars. "You're wanted for interrogation."

Interrogation? The guard proceeded to lead him out of the cell and down a dark hallway. I have nothing to say. I'm innocent.

After a few minutes of walking in silence, Lyon found himself in a small room with a giant lacrima in the center. A few other guards stood patrolling the vicinity, but what captured his attention the most was the man next to the lacrima working with what looked to be like some sort of magic database.

"Lyon Vastia," He said without looking away from the magic projections. "user of ice magic and member of Lamia Scale. This lacrima here is magically charged with what we call the Invenium. With a quick scan, it can accurately tell us if you hold any part in the casting of the Eliftis spell. Anything to say before I begin?"

Lyon shook his head. "Not at all. Go ahead."

What he had said about it being quick was true- within a few seconds the lacrima turned blue and the magic cuffs binding his wrists opened.

"Clear. You're free to go. Send in the next one."

Lyon wasn't sure he quite understood what just happened, but he figured it was a good thing, whatever it was. As the guard led him out of the room, they passed by his former cellmate heading in the opposite direction. Lyon could soon hear the operator of the Invenium repeating the same speech he had given him.

"Korpus Malloy- user of hypothermia magic and member of the Konungaris Legion."

So he was in the same boat as him after all, and yet he didn't say anything. That was strange. He wondered why.

"Clear. You're free to go."

Four hours and they were only just passing through the Bosco national border. If that was any indication of what the rest of the trip would be like, Gray feared he wouldn't make it. It was hard enough to betray his guild and his friends behind their backs, but having to do it right in front of them and lying to their faces?

How long could he sit there on that bench and gaze out the window as if everything was okay? How long could he make small talk with Lucy as if nothing was going on? How long could he keep reassuring Erza that his information was right as if he wasn't hiding anything?

And how long could he ignore Natsu's silent plea to actually look him in the eye and say they could trust him?

I'm going to break. Gray thought as the train lurched forward in its struggle to pass through the accumulating snow. What was usually a peaceful journey was now a ride filled with tension and unwanted suspence as the once safe and sturdy means of transportation was now at the snowstorm's mercy, vulnerable to the slightest damage to its tracks and putting it at risk of toppling over at any moment. I can't hold it in much longer. Just like this train, I'm going to break.

While everyone else held their breath as the train continued its struggle, Gray found himself too immersed in his own dilemma to even realize how dangerous of a situation they were in. If anything, it was a perfect distraction for the others so they wouldn't put too much thought into what he had told them. Just sitting amongst them was slowly weakening his facade and any more questions or doubts would shatter it.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Lucy said, clutching the edge of her seat as the train lurched again. "At this speed, we could probably make it there faster by walking anyway."

Erza shook her head. "Walking wouldn't get us there any faster. As slow as this train is going, it's still quicker than by foot in this weather."

"Hey, look at the positive." Natsu chimed in. "It's slow enough that it doesn't make me want to hurl."

Lucy grasped her seat again as the train lurched once more. "With all this back and forth, I think I'm gonna hurl."

Happy edged towards Natsu. "Well, just in case you do, I'm gonna go sit on the other side of Natsu."

"Hey! That means she'll throw up all over me!"

"Relax, Natsu! I'm not gonna throw up!"

Well, he was right about it being the perfect distraction. Those three could argue the whole trip if it would keep them from interrogating him.

Gray could only pray that they would arrive at the next station soon. They would be transferring trains at that stop and there was a good fifteen minutes in between their arrival and departure. It wasn't much, but at least it gave him some time to get away from the others, even if it was for just a few minutes.

He was losing his grip on the facade he had put up, his ever-growing guilt dragging it down harder and harder. The false confidence he was displaying was disintegrating, the lies and half-truths more difficult to produce.

Gray turned his gaze away from the window and looked over at Natsu, Lucy and Happy sitting across from him. The moment his eyes settled on them, he regretted the decision. They were still arguing, about what Gray couldn't say. He couldn't hear them. The voice in his head was too loud, overpowering every other sound each time Gray reminded himself of what he was doing.

Can't you see you're betraying them? They put their complete trust in you and this is what you do with it?

But nothing bad was going to happen to them. It wasn't like he was leading them into a trap. He was just distracting them, pushing them in the wrong direction. He was doing the right thing. He was going to lift the Eliftis.

But don't they want to lift it too? You have the same goal here, don't you? Why can't you let them in on what your plan really is?

They wouldn't understand. If they knew he was letting the Konungaris Legion use a forbidden spell despite their good intentions, they wouldn't approve. They simply wouldn't allow it. They wouldn't understand, they couldn't understand! Pelphides was right, he was the only one who could help them. He was the only who could understand them, the only one who could sympathize with their need to fix a wrong!

The only one who could allow it.

But why? Why can you allow it? How can you allow it? Sure, you share a similar notion of guilt from your past mistakes but by allowing them to go ahead and fix them implies that you're willing to do the same, are you not?

Is that it? Pelphides did offer you a stake in the spell's power, power that can reverse any spell, so long as you were a witness. Are you strong enough to resist an oppurtunity like that, or is that what you've really been hoping and waiting for all along?

He couldn't keep denying his growing urge to accept that oppurtunity and to release his hold on the door that was blocking it from coming in. He had justified the Konungaris Legion's usage of the spell, so why couldn't he justify his own? He was no different from them, and them no different from him. If it was okay for them to reshape the past, then it was okay for him too.

"Gray!"

A voice, other than the one in his head. Was someone calling him? Had he defeated his inner turmoil?

"Gray!"

Someone was holding his shoulder, shaking him. He turned away from the window of which he had unconsciously returned to and found Erza sitting next to him and shouting his name.

"Gray! Will you answer me already!"

"Erza?" He was still regaining awareness of his surroundings. He couldn't remember ever zoning out to that intensity before. "What are you doing?"

"I could ask you the same thing." The requip mage replied, her eyes falling upon his hands, or rather, what was in his hands. "You've been sitting there for the past five minutes making ice cubes, Gray."

Gray followed her gaze and looked down at his unintentional creations. They were larger than last time, perfect cubes too. Their solidity was impenetrable, not a single drop of water and not an ounce of wetness. Just simply frozen. Perfectly solid and frozen.

"We've been calling your name like a hundred times!" He could hear Lucy say. "Are you alright- hey, why are you smiling, Gray?"

Was he? He hadn't even noticed. "It's nothing, this is just a result of the Eliftis, remember? A magic power-up for ice mages? Lyon's been experiencing it too, it's nothing to worry about. I just think it's funny, though, that this is all I can do. I can unconsciously create some ice cubes, perfectly solid I should add, but still, just ice cubes."

Gray turned his gaze back to the window just as their train was inching its way into their transfer station. "We better start going if we want to make it to our next train on time."

The others took his advice in silence and began gathering their things. Was that a good sign or a bad sign? Honestly, he didn't know anymore, but did it matter?

He glanced once more at the ice cubes in his hands, still perfectly frozen and with no seeming desire to begin melting. The more he looked at them, the more their solidity mocked him. This wasn't all he was capable of, freezing things wasn't the only thing he could do!

He clenched his hand, trapping the ice cubes inside. Whoever said that the past had to stay in the past was an idiot.

He could melt his own ice. He was going to prove that it didn't need to stay frozen forever.

Cana walked past the bakery for the third time, the warmth from its freshly baked goods begging her to step inside and away from the cold air freezing her skin. The offer enticed her and internally she was nodding yes but her legs refused to comply with her mind's desires. Instead, they were siding with her heart which was more intent on figuring out what was wrong with her best friend and couldn't care less about her body's discomfort.

Cana stuffed her gloved hands deeper into her pockets as she left the aroma of hot bread and pastries behind her. She had forgotten her hat at the guild but despite her freezing ears, she wasn't going back for it. She just didn't have the heart to face anyone at the moment, especially Gray.

She had known something was up from the very beginning. How could she not- the ice mage had been her first real friend. She could read him like an open book as could he with her. When he had returned from that job with the rest of his team, the one that hadn't gone as smoothly as had been expected, she knew something was wrong. She hadn't pushed him to open up, her experience telling her he'd come around eventually, but now she was regretting that decision.

He never did fully come around. After the summer snowstorm hit, he opened up a little but not entirely. He may have fooled everyone else, but not her. He was still hiding something from them, Cana was sure of it.

But why? What did he have to hide? Why couldn't he trust them?

Unless-

No! How dare she even consider it. Gray, her best friend, a loyal and trusted member of Fairy Tail- he'd never engage in something as bad as the Eliftis spell. He has nothing to do with it. He's better than that, I know he is.

Cana stopped walking. Her feet were exhausted from trudging through snow and she could feel her fingers start to numb. She knew she'd have to return to the guild eventually as she couldn't stay out in the cold much longer. She also couldn't avoid Gray forever and this weather wasn't helping much with forgetting about him either. She had to confront him already. Whatever he was hiding, she needed to go and force it out of him.

Cana took a deep breath and turned back in the direction towards the Fairy Tail guildhall. She hadn't been there in the past few days so for all she knew, Gray might not even be there. Though, when she thought about it, that may not be a bad thing.

What was she so afraid of anyway? Whatever was going on could not be as bad as their current situation with the Eliftis, so she really had nothing to worry about. She'd just return to the guild, tell him to spill it, he'd open up about whatever it was he was hiding. She'd tell him he was making a big deal out of nothing and things would then go back to normal.

Well, except for the snowstorm part. Cana had no idea as to when that would go back to normal.

As she began trudging through the snow again, she caught sight of a young girl standing on the other side of the street. Normally, Cana would pay no mind except that she was currently freezing to death in her winter coat and gloves while that girl was dressed in a simple sweater and not shivering in the slightest.

"Hey, you shouldn't be out here like that!" She shouted as she made her way over towards the girl. "Do you not have a coat?"

The girl turned to face her and Cana automatically noticed the fear in her blue eyes. "Is something wrong? Anything I can help you with? You look scared."

"Are you a Fairy Tail wizard?" She blurted out. Cana simply nodded. "I need to find Gray Fullbuster, before it's too late!"

What connection did this girl have with Gray? Cana was sure she'd never seen her before., but she obviously knew something she didn't. "How do you know Gray? And what do you mean by too late?"

The girl sighed. "I should've told him from the start. I'm such an idiot. He's falling right into his trap."

This was getting nowhere. Cana grabbed the girl by the shoulders and spun her around to face her. "Hey, I don't know who you are but if you know what's going on with Gray, then I demand you tell me! But not here, I'm about to freeze to death. There's this really warm bakery just around the corner that I've been dying to go to. Would you mind talking this out in there?"

The girl stumbled back a bit as Cana released her from her hold. "Uh, sure. Actually, I think it's about time I told someone."

"Great." Cana said. She was growing more curious as to what this girl knew. "But let's hurry, though. I swear, I can't feel my fingers anymore!"

So I finally finished my first year of college and can now spend more time writing! Thanks to everyone who's been so patient while waiting for this update, I do apologize and to make up for it, I tried to write a longer chapter this time. Hope this satisfies!

So a few things- first off I'm going to admit that the part in the second scene with the ice cubes may have also served as a metaphor to show my utter disgust and hatred for how the horrid Gruvia pairing is panning out in the new Fairy Tail episodes. Gray doesn't need nor want Juvia! End of story! (I believe I warned about some Gruvia bashing in this).

Secondly, I really hope I'm doing an okay job with developing the plot in accordance with the development of the characters. Or in other words, I'm trying to make sure their actions (especially Gray) aren't just random and that it's clear why they do what they're doing. Does that make sense? If not, just ignore it. If you understand what I'm trying to say, let me know what you think.

Okay, this is getting way too long so thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed (I dumped a lot into this chapter, though the real good stuff is coming next chapter) and as always, feedback is appreciated!

-britishsconesahoy