Disclaimer : Fairy Tail does not belong to me. I gain no profit from writing fanfiction.

Pairing(s) : One sided GrUvia, LyoVia and LyoRay

Rating : M

Warning(s) : Implication of sexual abuse.

Chapter 6 - Was it you?

Gray didn't know where he was. His heart was pounding violently against his ribcage as his onyx eyes darted left and right, irises dilating in the unforgiving darkness.

Nothingness.

That was all. Had he faded to nihility?

Wait. What was that?

A sound... A voice. Was it human?

Wretched soul. For what purpose do you seek me?

Purpose? Gray had no purpose. All he wanted to do was escape the hell out of the never-ending caliginosity.

Speak, lest I choose your words for you, youngling.

Gray moistened his dry and cracked lips with his tongue, trying not to appear intimidated. He opened his mouth to speak, yet in his confused and fear-induced state of mind the only words that were formed were childish and silly.

"Who the hell are you? And where the fuck are we? Am I dead? Are you dead?"

A humorless chuckle, seeming to reverberate off the walls that had to exist somewhere.

What do we have here? An Innocent and Pure. How cute.

Gathering up the remnants of his courage, Gray yelled, "Answer me! What is going on? Who are you?"

Me? I'm sure you know who I am, despite the... Circumstances. Youngling, I was born from the hatred you bore, that which you still bear. I live within you. I am you. Good host, rest well. And think a name for me while you're at it.

"That doesn't explain anything-" It was no use. The presence of the being was gone. "Damn it! What kind of bullshit was that! The thing was easily a hundred years older than I am!

Gray's consciousness was leaving him.

Good. About time I wake up from this stupid dream.

I just... Hope that the nightmares... The memories of that horrible night... Leave me alone for once.

Lyon...

Why?

The first colour that entered Gray's vision when he opened his eyes was white. White, like the colour of Lyon's fashionable coat.

White, like death.

Abruptly, he shifted his gaze from the ceiling and looked around him. The clock on the wall informed him that it was six in the morning.

Then he saw blue.

He mustered a weak smile at the woman who had her head buried in her arms, sleeping peacefully. Although he found her advances annoying at most, he still appreciated her gentleness and care. Noticing that both of her hands were wrapped around the pale fingers of his own left hand, he slowly curled his fingers.

Long eyelashes fluttered open.

"G... Gray... Sama?"

Knowing Juvia, he half expected her to throw herself at him and literally cry a river, wailing out loud how much she had worried and missed him. Instead, she surprised him by merely tightening her hold on his hand, a loving smile decorating her face.

"Welcome back, Gray-sama."

Pulling her seat even closer, Juvia leaned in and murmured, "Gray-sama has been asleep for ten days."

Ten days? His dream hadn't seemed that long.

Gray nodded weakly. He had not forgotten his unsettling dream, and he had not forgotten what had happened to him.

Rape. I was fucking raped.

Putting on a mask of indifference, he quietly requested for a drink.

Moments after Juvia left the room, Natsu entered.

"Hey, Ice Princess."

Gray did not respond.

Since Gray was in the infirmary, someone must have examined him for injuries. Everybody must already know.

Natsu stood beside his bed, his expression unreadable.

Is he going to pity me now?

"Who did this to you?"

Taken off guard, Gray croaked out, "What?"

"You look in control of yourself now. I just need your word. Who did this to you?"

In control of myself? When had Natsu witnessed me not being in control? What have I said in my sleep?

Taking Gray's slow reaction as hesitation, Natsu pressed, "Don't hold back even if it's someone you care for."

A line of tension formed between Gray's eyebrows. "You sound like you already know."

Natsu's sharp emarald eyes bored into his head.

The dragon slayer calmly asked, "Was it Lyon?"

Gray started at the name, flashes of silver hair and pain mixed with pleasure crossing his mind.

"I... I don't know."

Natsu took a few steps closer and bent down, staring into Gray's eyes. "It's a simple question. Yes or no?"

Too close. Too intimidating.

"Back... Back up."

Unconsciously, Gray's hands settled into the familiar ice-making pose. "Don't come any closer."

The pointy-eyes of his rival seemed to soften just a fraction, but the dragon slayer did not move out of Gray's personal space. Gray could feel his heart thumping, picking up speed as it did so. Natsu's hot breath fanned his face as the fire Mage who appeared to be a lot more serious than usual began to repeat, adamant on receiving an answer.

"Gray. Tell me who did this to you. Just tell me. "

Perhaps Natsu was simply trying to help in that straightforward way of his, believing that beating the culprit up would solve everything. Unfortunately, he could not have known that his method brought recent horrible memories back to the surface.

Gray's whole body went stiff for a split second, then he was shaking. Why was he shaking?

Just tell me. Tell me, and everything will be over.

Tell me.

Pain. Pleasure. Disgust. Hatred. Pain.

One man. Two men. Three men. Four.

Lyon.

"Gray-sama!"

Juvia burst into the infirmary, the glass of water originally in her hands thrown to a side, disregarded and forgotten. Quick as lightning, she shoved Natsu roughly out of the way.

"Pardon Juvia, but Natsu-san is unsettling Gray-sama." She shielded Gray with her body, wrapping her arms gently around his quivering torso. Resting his head against her bosom, she cooed all the while like a mother to her baby, "It's okay, Gray-sama. Juvia's with you. It's okay."

Natsu's demeanor changed with the presence of a third person, and he crossed his arms with a childish pout.

"I wasn't even doing anything to the Ice Block. I just wanted him to-" A sharp glare from Juvia shut him up.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, the voice that left Gray was tiny but firm."I don't know. Stop interrogating me. I can't give you answers because I don't have any."

Natsu eyed him silently from the corner of the room as he continued.

"The necklace. The spirit. I don't know shit. Stop asking."

A frown marred the fire mage's face. That wasn't what I asked him. And what's with that tone? He sounds like he's repeating something he's said a thousand times before.

The pink-haired Mage opened his mouth, but Juvia cut him off before he had the chance to speak.

"It is as Gray-sama says. Please leave, Natsu-san."

Although Natsu looked ready to protest, one look at Gray was sufficient to change his mind.

"I'll go inform the guild. Everyone's worried sick. Erza's probably gonna hit your face against her chest plate and injure you even more. Lucy's probably going to cry like a baby. And Wendy's been guilty for not being able to heal you immediately, so make it up to her. Happy misses you too.

He made his way to the door,his back to the other two in the room, his soft smile hidden from sight. "I missed you, Droopy-Eyes." With that, he bounded off.

Gray turned to Juvia, his next words relieving her momentarily only to be immediately replaced by worry and confusion.

"It wasn't Lyon. I think. I hope. I can't be sure. No, it's not him." Whispering under his breath like a mantra, he laid back against the fluffy pillows. "It wasn't Lyon. It wasn't."

It wasn't Lyon...

Was it?

Yes, guys. Dreams is back with an uneventful and short chapter. Lyon didn't even make an appearance. (He's going to appear in the next chapter. Promise!)

Hiatus officially over, but I have a part-time job now. Squeezing time for writing is difficult enough as it is, and writer's block just had to pay me a visit now of all times. I'm sorry.

The plot is slowly (very, very slowly) coming to light. Gray's memory is fuzzy. What resides within him? Will Gray give it a name? What is up with his necklace? And how will the love triangle play out now? Is Natsu going to meddle?

Those questions, and more, will be answered later in the story. I'll update as soon as I can!

As always, reviews are love and motivation ~

- Dreams