Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own anything.
This story was thought out while listening to the song Amnesia, by Shikata Akiko (http:/ www. / watch?v=Pxq83t8lUEs). It is awesome so, do listen to it. ^^
Amnesia
Gray opened his eyes only to stare at the dark sky.
He closed them again and a pained frown was etched on his features.
Blinking he, once again, opened his eyes. It was still dark, the sky held no stars and his body seemed to weight a ton.
Slowly he managed to get his bearings – or, at least, to regain the feel of his body. Every muscle ached and he was lying in something uncomfortable. His hands grasped what was underneath and were met with cutting, chipped edges.
He managed to sit up, crossing his legs and looking around.
Darkness enveloped everything but he could still see the things, the place, where he was.
It was a garden.
One that seemed to have been abandoned for quite a while.
Light started to glow weakly from what seemed to be lamps. Lamps that were now skeletal and gloomy, despite the light that they were supposed to bring.
Dark bushes seemed to enclose the space, their green so dark that it seemed black.
Large slabs of stone, that were chipped and where something moss-like seemed to be growing (this moss being black and shiny) in the gaps, trying to take over the stone.
Gray sat in one of those stones and, passed the tips of his fingers over it, idly. When he lifted them back up, they were covered by dark grey dirt. On the slab, four streaks showed the yellowish-rose stone that lay underneath, covered by the dirt.
Here and there, vegetation tried to grow in between the cracks of the stones and in places where the moss didn't reach. There weren't many.
In the middle of this square there was a fountain in a black stone. It had a good number of cracks, almost as if something large and hard had crashed against it. Strangely, it still worked, as water continued to come out of it and splash down. There was one thing that caught his eye, though. The water that came out of it was black.
So black that as it splashed, reflected the spots of light and reminded him of silk.
'What the hell am I doing here?' was his first thought after being entranced by the movement of the water for quite a while. He looked up. 'Where the hell is this?'
His hands closed in fists while he finally decided to get up. The dark haired youth looked down his body. He had no shirt (and somehow that didn't surprise him, on the contrary, it felt quite natural), a black pair of pants and black boots were all he was wearing.
Although he's making all these discoveries, there was a feeling that he couldn't shake.
'What is this emptiness I'm feeling…?' he ran a hand through his hair, feeling something akin to an iron band curling around his chest and constricting it, making his breathing difficult.
At a pace that would rival a snail's, Gray knelt and got up. His surroundings seemed to be spinning and he managed to walk to a stone bench and collapse upon it before slipping to the ground once more.
He stayed there, breathing heavily and trying to get his breath, his fingers were scrabbling on the smooth stone.
He wanted to know what that emptiness was…
Natsu's figure was outlined against the sky, from where he was, at the top of a cliff.
He was staring to the horizon, watching the sunset that was painting the sky and the world with warm, rich oranges.
His stance was a depressed one, shoulders slumped and hands opening and closing continuously, almost as if he wanted to grab something but was unable to catch it.
He hasn't found him.
He has been searching for him for so long and still, no sign.
The noise of armour came from behind and he turned to see Erza. She was determined, a fire lighting her eyes.
But, Natsu wasn't feeling like that.
His hopes seemed to be in vain and despair was crawling up and taking place, fully, inside him.
It was no use. It was all in vain.
He might as well give up on this fruitless search.
Suddenly, a feather came out of nowhere and landed on his arm.
The pink haired one grabbed it.
He contemplated it for a long time, twirling the piece of fluff between his fingers, before nodding.
He turned his back to the sunset and exchanged a look with Erza who nodded and hurried to get in step with him.
They started walking, resolutely.
Gray realized that he was inside a maze. The dark-green vegetation enclosing the space perfectly. The dark haired youth hadn't been able to go too far, beside the garden where he had awakened, there was another, smaller and in the same chipped slabs of stone, square. He had only seen these spaces, differing from the corridors of the maze.
Still, for all the time he had been wandering through the labyrinth, there had yet to some changes in the horizon. Gray paused and looked at the sky. It was the same, there had been no change for all the while… there had been no moon. Only the twinkling of the stars seemed to have brightened.
However, everything seemed to have stilled, to be frozen in time.
He resumed his walk, passing another lamp. It was broken and raised, corpse-like against the night, a pale yellowish glow surrounding it.
Gray felt a bout of dizziness followed by an urge to run, get as much distance as possible between him and that thing.
He found himself back at the lone square, away from the lamp and the closed garden.
He let out a yell, frustrated.
There was something that he should know but which he knew that he didn't know.
That something was important.
He missed it, immensely…
The dark haired youth yelled until his voice was hoarse and failed and cracked, his legs losing their strength and making him kneel hard on the stone floor.
They were hurting. So did his fists when he started hitting the cold slab, unmindful of the bits of stone that cut his skin, making tiny rivulets emerge from there. The light stone underneath quickly became stained with a dark fluid.
He managed to gather enough strength and breath for his final yell. It came from the depths of his being and tried to attain the skies.
He wanted to have it back. He knew that he lost something.
And he had to have it back.
Complete darkness fell over the world and engulfed everything.
Only silence remained.
Gray opened his eyes only to stare at the dark sky.
He closed them again and a pained frown was etched on his features.
The dark haired youth blinked his eyes and opened them. It was still dark, almost as if he hadn't opened them, the sky had only few, faded stars. His body felt immensely heavy and it seemed that he would never get up again.
Slowly, he managed to get his bearings – or, at least, to get back the control of his body. Every muscle of his body ached and the place where he was lying was incredibly uncomfortable. His hands grasped what was underneath and were met with cutting, chipped edges.
He managed to sit up, crossing his legs as he looked around.
The darkness seemed to recede a little and he managed to apprehend where he was.
It was a garden.
An abandoned one where, lamps sprouted from the slabs of stone like long bones that had been plunged into the earth. A weak glow was starting to emanate from them.
Gray moved, getting up. He got to the fountain which continuously sprouted black water. Gray plunged his hand in the glossy water only to feel a chill that went straight to his bones – the hand was nearly frozen when he took it from the chilly liquid.
He straightened and gave a couple of steps back, cleaning his hand on his leg pant and started to run. The fleeting thought of 'Where is my shirt?' lasted less than a second as he left the square of the garden and started running through the maze.
After what felt like ages, he found himself on the small square, after having crashed against that revolting lamp that emanated a yellow glow.
He stopped and looked around but something strange compelled him to yell, venting his feelings and confusion.
When his voice got hoarse, a searing pain hit him in the stomach, making Gray double and sapped his energy to remain standing; he fell in a heap on the ground. He got the overwhelming need to try to retch his stomach's contents. He only managed to dry heave, saliva falling from the corners of his mouth.
Darkness fell over him like a curtain, not talking long to engulf the world.
Gray opened his eyes, only to stare at the dark sky.
He grasped the cold, biting surface where he was lying at the same time that he pressed his eyes closed.
He couldn't breathe, he didn't know anything although one thought passed through his mind, fleetingly.
'Won't this hell come to an end?'
The world became darkness.
A/N: Yes! Finally! This story is finally written down! *dances*
Can you believe that I had it in my mind since January? But it wouldn't be written in a satisfactory manner until now. ^^'
As I said before, the whole plot to this story came to me while listening to that song (now let's hope that listening to it again doesn't awaken the bunny…). I don't know Japanese (safe for some minor things) and didn't bother to look into the lyrics so they don't have anything in common.
Still, I'm not completely happy with how the story ended up. I think it could be a bit better… meh…
Anyway, I do know that there are a lot of questions to be answered – I just don't know if I'll ever come up and do a sequel/prequel/whatever the bunny has in mind. I have too much on my plate for now...
My biggest thanks to Nightslayr for betaing this. (I'll be waiting, don't forget! :P)
As usual, feedback is highly appreciated.