"Where you going?" Storm demanded when he saw Rain dressed… differently. It was the first morning she had let him sleep in since training began. Every other morning she had him up at dawn with a light, and somewhat healthy breakfast. The first time he saw the meals they were being given he was surprised. Storm figured that since he was basically a slave that would be how he was fed. But no, there was no dry bread and dirty water, no hard meats or bowls of over cooked rice. Surprisingly enough it was Rain who cooked the meals of fruits and vegetables and mouth-watering meats. It was far from five star, but that's what it felt like to Storm.

"Out." She replied in the robotic voice that was starting to get on Storm's nerves. When she felt him staring her down as she slung a bag over her shoulders she sighed. It was the closest to real emotions she had been for the last week, "I have an assignment. I will be back later. Take today off." She said before turning and leaving.

It was the first time that she had left since that day he woke up in the compound, and he wasn't exactly sure what he would do. Not long after Rain left him sitting on the side of his bed, he heard a car outside, leaving by the sound of it.

After an hour by himself, Storm was playing around with his gun when he heard a car pull up outside. He knew immediately this one wasn't Rain. Any idiot could tell the car outside just by the sound of it was a sports car.

He only turned when he heard heels clicking on the floor behind him. Storm was faced with a busty red head, who wore a tight skirt and low cut making jacket, "Don't mind me. Continue what you're doing." She said casually slipping off her sunglasses, "Maybe I should start with hello. I am Erza Scarlet."

Watching her for only a second more, Storm then turned around again, cleaning the barrel of the gun with a soft cloth.

"Are you curious to know more than just my name?" The click of her heels grew slowly louder as she inched closer to him. Erza leant against the table he was currently working on, grabbing a worn metal tin with a green wrapping, "You've got to have some questions about the organisation that took you in. Eclipse?" She waited again for a reply, "I'm going to take your lack of reply as a yes. Eclipse in a work of no legal order, it aspires for a different kind of order. Its goal is to unify the underground world. Such a goal would have been laughable just a few years ago. But we now have something to make all of this possible." Storm felt hear lean in closer to him and he could feel hear breath on his ear, "I mean Phantom."

Storm stiffened and Erza let out a short breathy laugh, "Yes, that is your instructor." Placing the cloth down, Storm then began to reassemble the gun, "The power of Phantom is… absolute. She eliminates her target without fail. Her sole existence gives Eclipse total confidence. It's the fear of her that keeps others from defying Eclipse. She is truly the most powerful assassin in the world."

The gun clicked as Storm finished putting it back together, "Hold on." Placing the gun down, Storm still didn't look at Erza, "She's just someone like me that's being used by your people. We have no other choice to live like slaves."

Placing her glasses down on the table, a grin crossed Erza's lips, "It's true we're forcing both of you to live this way. But you're not slaves. You have freedoms of which you are not aware." Finally, Storm turned to look at Erza with interest, "Like speed."

"What do you mean?"

"Though your path may be set, you can gain as much speed down that path as you wish. You just need the desire to progress. And if you're fast enough you might even reach the top." Grabbing her glasses once again, she slipped them over her eyes, "How you choose to get there is completely up to you." Pushing herself off of the table, she gave Storm one last glance, "Now don't ever think of yourself as a slave again. Act like a slave and that is how you will be treated." And Erza was gone.

…

Awkwardly, Gray fiddled with the book behind his back. Usually you would bring flowers to visit a grave, however a man visiting another man's grave, it didn't seem appropriate to Gray. During his morning spare, after tute to get his name marked off, Gray left the school grounds to visit the grave of a man he hadn't seen in a long time.

Placing the plastic covered book down at the base of the gravestone, beside a wilting flower, Gray then stood back, "Hey." He said awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. He really didn't know why he was here, but something that morning had made him want to talk to someone.

"I know we didn't exactly have the best relationship when you were alive. But… I don't actually know. Maybe seeing that book in a window a few days ago made me think of you. I knew you were reading the first one when you were alive, so I thought instead of flowers you might like the next one. If there is some afterlife or something maybe you could read it."

Taking a deep breath Gray looked around. Other than him there was only one other in the cemetery, an old man in the distance laying a bouquet of flowers for what was probably his wife.

"Maybe…" Gray began again, "Maybe it was a question I had on my mind ever since I got my memories back. What if I hadn't been a stubborn brat that day? If I had just done what she asked and gone to the store instead of pushing the job on to you would you still be alive? Would any of this ever have happened? I was always cold, and Lyon did joke that I had no heart, but maybe now he's right." Groaning Gray grabbed at his face, "All because I couldn't go to the fucking store!" He shouted catching the attention of the old man.

Ignoring him Gray sunk down to his knees, "There is only one positive thing to come out of that choice, one positive thing that is overshadowed by thousands of evil deeds. At least thanks to me, Rain is free of the former Phantom Master. Both of us. Although I'm still bound to the name, she's at least free."

Closing his eyes, Gray then lowered his head and touched the base of the gravestone, "I wish I had gotten to know you more before your life was cut short." Standing up, Gray nodded at the stone, "I know you're watching over the rest of the family, so please. Watch over me." He said in a strong voice, and turning to leave, "And please help me." He then added in a small voice.

…

Monday middle period, there was nothing Juvia hated more. Except for Wednesday mornings, Thursday afternoons and second period Friday. All of which she hated equally. Grumbling, she crashed her head into the keyboard of the computer a couple of times before sitting up to assess the damage. Nothing too bad, a few extra x's, v's, n's and b's but nothing she couldn't fix herself.

"You'll only make it worse by doing that. Remember last time?" Levy says from beside her.

"Yeah I changed the settings, turned the screen pink and deleted the tools bar." Juvia said remembering the last time she got angry at her assignment in IPT.

"And you had to wait for the IT guys to fix the computer, you were put an entire lesson behind in your assignment." Levy finished.

"Can't you at least help me?" Juvia pleaded. The only reason she hadn't failed this class was because of super genius Levy.

"Alright." Levy agreed leaning over towards Juvia's half of the table, "What do you need help with?"

"Everything?"

"You're hopeless." Levy sighed and then she began to go over the basic idea of Access, what their assignment was and how to do it.

When she was done, Juvia sighed and rested her face on her fist, and stared over at Levy as she appeared to be working on her assignment, "I don't understand how you can know all of this, finish your assignment two weeks early and still spend every lesson emailing Gajeel." Juvia said offhandedly.

"What?" Levy quickly snapped, her hands freezing and her face turning pink at the accusation.

"I've seen you emailing Gajeel, and I know his email is linked up to his phone." Juvia said casually turning back to her computer, trying to remember what Levy had just told her.

"So?" Levy's voice squeaked a little, "I'm helping him with school work." She tried to level her voice out, but it failed.

"With what? He's in woodwork now."

"Metalwork actually." Levy corrected.

"Still. He never needs help in either of those classes. Don't be shy, everyone knows already that you have a crush on him." Juvia laughed lowly. Glancing over the computer screen she saw the teacher watching the two of them. Her eyes quickly fell to the screen again, thankful for the high screen so the teacher couldn't see their mouths moving.

"Really?" Her voice squeaked again, but it was a lot softer.

"Everyone but Gajeel. Obviously, because if he did you two would be the next puke fest after Lucy and Natsu."

"You say the strangest things sometimes Juvia." Levy giggled.

"So. When are you and Gajeel going to become a thing?" Juvia asked.

"About the same time you and Gray become a thing."

Juvia rolled her eyes as she opened up her email, looking for Gajeel's email address, "I've known Gray for a few weeks, you've known Gajeel for a few years, and for about seventy-percent of that time, you've had a crush on each other. I just find Gray attractive so I think you and Gajeel have more of a chance." While speaking, Juvia was glad Levy was trying to hide her blushing face by trying to keep her focus on her own screen, since she was also sending a message to Gajeel.

"Did you run into Gray last night? Cana and Lucy came to my room last night saying he was looking… how did Cana put it…" Levy said trying to find the words.

"Scrumptiously deliciously yummy?" Juvia filled in. Those were the exact words Cana had said to her the night before when in the bathroom.

"So do you agree with her?" Levy asked with a sly grin. Juvia sighed happily and slipped down onto the table, her left arm flat on the table with her head resting on her elbow with a silly grin on her face telling Levy everything, "I'm starting to think I missed out on something."

"It wasn't down your alley anyway Lev." Juvia said in a dreamy voice, "Your type is more big, muscly and pieced." Juvia added, almost perfectly describing Gajeel and Levy squeaked.

"Juvia! Levy!" The teacher scolded the two sending them quiet once again.

…

Impatiently, Ultear tapped her fingers on the bench as she waited for one of the school's administrators to search something on the computer for her. She tried not to make too much of a noise, afraid that she might scare the administrator into thinking she was angry. She was, but just not with them.

"I'm sorry miss, Mr Vastia is currently in a class." The administrator finally said.

"How about Gray Fullbuster?" Ultear suggested. They nodded and turned back to the computer to check Gray's schedule.

Beside her, a man entered carrying a paper package, "Excuse me." He asked the lady next to the man currently looking after Ultear and he handed over the package, "Could you please deliver this to dorm room 556 in F block." He asked and the lady took it with a soft smile.

"Of course. She's been impatiently waiting for this for weeks." The lady spoke to him as if they knew each other well, or at least he delivered frequently.

He chuckled and Ultear couldn't help but feel it felt familiar, "She needs to stop using it so fast. I threw in an extra this time in case I'm late with the next delivery."

"How sweet. I'll make sure she gets it." The lady put the package aside and quickly wrote on a sticky note, before slapping it onto the package, "Anything else?"

"I don't believe so, thank you, have a good day." He said and as he turned Ultear froze. Before his face was mostly obscured by a high collar, but now he turned to face her, giving her a short nod before leaving. She saw it. The blue hair, the sharp dark eyes and the swirling red tattoo over his right eye.

"Siegrain?" She asked in a broken voice, reaching out to grab the man's shoulder. When her hand touched him, he looked around her making a questioning hm sound.

"I'm sorry?" He asked.

Ultear quickly shook her head and pulled her hand back, "No, I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else." Although they were so similar in appearance, right down to the tattoo, this couldn't be Siegrain.

"Right." He nodded again, "Have a good day Miss." He said before turning to leave again.

A little shaken up, Ultear turned back to the administrator, "Gray is also currently in class. I could call him out for you."

Ultear shook her head, "No, thank you. Could you just tell me what room Lyon is in?"

"L4. Straight outside, turn left and it's the big building on your right. L4 should be on the bottom floor, back right corner. It'll be written above the door." He instructed. Ultear thanked the man as she left. Following the man's instructions she found herself at a door with only an L above it, the number had obviously fallen off long ago. Knocking, she pulled open the door and glanced around for the teacher. At the front of the room. Instantly she knew it wasn't her brother, given it was a woman.

"Can I help you?" She asked stopping her teaching immediately.

"I'm so sorry for interrupting. Mr Vastia's room…?"

"It'll be behind you." The teacher replied kindly. Ultear looked over her shoulder and could see her brother through the glass door.

"Of course it is." Ultear winced, "Again, sorry for interrupting." As she went to leave, she quickly locked gazes with the pink haired girl she had caught in Lyon's house yesterday. She smiled warmly at her seeing the panic in the girl's eyes, instantly calming her before leaving.

Walking over to the correct room, Ultear stopped to watch him through the window, which was covered mostly in coloured paper and posters. Up this close Ultear could him blabbing off something about the Alvarez Empire from over a thousand years ago. On the board he had a fairly well drawn map of the peninsular that Fiore sat on along with surrounding counties marked such as Bosco and Seven along with Alvarez up in the north. Magnolia, Hargeon and Crocus were the only cities marked, along with a red dotted line leading up from Bosco to Magnolia.

Clipping the lid on the pen, Ultear decided it was time to interrupt. Knocking, she again opened the door without waiting.

"Ultear?" Lyon exclaimed surprised when he saw his sister opening the door, "Hold up a second." He said before turning back to the class, "Three pens here." He put down three different coloured whiteboard markers on the front desk which was unoccupied, "In red I want the other paths taken by the Empire, in blue I want Fiore's forces listed down the side and in green I want the different Empire generals down the other side." He pulled a black one from the back of his pocket, "If I take too long number the generals and which path they were on." Lyon ordered slapping down the pen before taking Ultear outside.

As soon as the door clicked shut most of his class was up fighting over the pens, "And here I thought you were a stick in the mud kind of teacher." Ultear teased.

"Excuse me but my students actually like me. Why do you think I get invited to memories day every year?" Lyon said smugly.

"I don't even know what that is." Ultear rolled her eyes, "Anyway I'm here for something serious." She lifted the yellow envelope she had been carrying and handed it to him, "I was going over the footage work caught last night at the opera."

"Exciting." Lyon said sarcastically. Although she wanted to be in front of the camera, Ultear worked behind the scenes at a local branch of a huge TV network.

"You do know there was a murder there last night. Right?" She asked as he pulled out the contents of the envelope and flipped them over.

"I think I heard something about it." Lyon looked uninterested as he scanned the still of some man in a suit obviously the reporter, "This is a nice picture." He held up a second one. Ultear had obviously stopped it mid-sentence and he was making a funny face.

"Not the point." She snatched the photo from his hand, "Do you know where Gray went last night?"

"No, he just said he was busy." Lyon continued to flip through the photos. They started with the reporter and beautifully dressed people filing in to the hall, but then eventually the people were gone, bar one red haired woman as she exited the theatre.

Ultear leant over to see which photo he was looking at, "Here." She quickly stopped his flipping. In the distance, he was a little blurred, came out a dark haired man carrying a large case, "This was taken a few minutes after the murder."

"And?" Lyon flipped to the next one which was the same man, this time, clearer, "No."

"Who does that look like to you?"

"No." Lyon repeated shaking his head shoving the envelope and photos back at Ultear, "It can't be him."

"I think you need to ask him where he was last night. Because I'm going to have to hand this over to the police and if they catch him, he's going to need a damn good alibi." She said almost too calmly sliding the photos back into the envelope.

"I'll talk to him." Lyon said even though he wasn't even sure how to begin.

"Get him to come and see Mum soon now. I don't want him to be taken away before she seems him again."

…

After class, Levy stayed behind. It wasn't unusual for her to stay after class if it was before either of the lunch breaks, or the end of the day. Sometimes it was to work on assignments, sometimes it was to take advantage of the school's system. She didn't often do the latter, but she knew how to. If she did it was to bypass the schools administration rights to access social media and websites to download movies and TV shows using the schools internet rather than her own.

Today, her task was an assignment, but not hers.

"Whatcha doing shrimp?" A familiar voice came from the door. Speak of the devil.

"Looking over your draft. I'm surprised you got it done this fast, but because of that it's not your best." Levy said without turning to face Gajeel. He came over to her and pulled out Juvia's chair, sitting in it so the back of the chair was against his front.

"I know I only sent it to you last night, but you don't have to sacrifice your lunch break to look over it for me." Gajeel insisted.

"When else am I supposed to do it? The sooner I check this for you the sooner you can fix it so I can look at it again." Levy said simply. She usually looked over Gajeel's assignments. He wasn't the only one she helped, but he was the only one she helped for free. She used to help everyone once but it was affecting her own grades so Cana put her onto the idea of charging people. The numbers thinned out immensely and Levy was able to bring her marks back up, and there were still those that were still desperate enough for her help gave her a little extra cash on the side.

"You know I feel bad that I'm the only one that doesn't pay." Gajeel grumbled as he watched her highlight an entire paragraph, and writing a note on the side telling him what to fix.

"Don't be silly. You're my friend, if it was Natsu, Loke, Lucy, Meldy, Cana, Juvia or even Gray that asked me for help I wouldn't charge them either. Don't feel so special." He always found it amazing how she could still talk to him, and draft his work or do her own assignments or pretty much anything at the same time. Just the way her eyes were so focused on one thing… Gajeel quickly shook his head.

"Oh good I walked in at perfectly the right time." A new voice came from the door to the classroom. This time Levy turned to look, and even Gajeel did, "Lucy said I'd find you here. So you'll help me?" Gray asked. After his visit to the cemetery, Gray decided it was time to kick this mission into gear, working by himself wasn't going to work, so he was going to have to enlist the help of the others. He had already run into Cana and slyly asked her if she could keep an ear out for any gossip. It was broad, and he was going to get a bunch of unimportant crap, but anything right now would help him.

Beside her, Gajeel couldn't help but snigger. "You want help with school work?" Levy asked. Usually help for school work didn't come in until two weeks before exam week, which was four weeks away. Wow. Levy thought to herself, there isn't much longer left of school.

"Actually no. This might sound weird, but can you break through the school admin rights?" Gray asked, "More specifically, can you do it on this?" He asked showing Levy his laptop. Personal laptops weren't hooked up to the school's system, so it was beyond Levy why he wanted to break the administration rights on a computer that shouldn't have them in the first place.

"Why do you need that? Your computer isn't linked up to the school's system."

"Right. Can you link it up first and then break the restrictions?" Gray asked like it wasn't a strange request.

"Sure…" Levy said sounding a little unsure.

"Great." Gray said putting his laptop down beside her, "Can you have it done by the end of the week?"

"I'll try."

"Thanks Levy." He said before leaving.

"Weirdo." Gajeel said grabbing the laptop and opening it. Inside he found Gray had left a couple hundred jewel laying between the keyboard and screen.

"Woah." Levy's eyes widened as she picked up the jewel, counting how much was there.

"Damn, now I feel even worse." Gajeel grumbled closing the laptop, "He payed you and I'm still mooching off of you for free."

"It's okay Ga-" Levy began to try and convince him that it must have been as mistake and she would have to give the money back.

"I know. To pay you back how about dinner Friday night. Just the two of us." Levy's eyes widened and she became a stuttering mess.

"I - me - us - uh…" She didn't even know what to say.

"I'll take that as a yes then." Gajeel said getting up and patting her on the head. As he left he smiled to himself, reciting Juvia's email over in his head.

"She likes you, you great big idiot. Stop pretending you don't know what you're doing and ask her out." That wasn't the entire email, but that was the line that stuck with him. He was going to have to thank Juvia later.

…

Later that night, after dinner, Gray found himself lost. Not physically lost, he knew where he was, but he was just confused. When leaving for dinner, Loke requested he meet them in the common room, and now, almost an hour after dinner and Gray was in the common room, alone. Watching the TV as it flicked between channels thanks to a tenth grader Eve who couldn't decide which show he wanted to watch.

"Yo." A twelfth grader, and one of Eve's friends Hibiki said to Gray as he dropped down on top of the lounging Eve's stomach, snatching the remote up from him, "Hanging out alone tonight?" Finally the flipping of the channels came to an end.

"Loke told me to meet him in the common room but I'm beginning to think he lied." Glancing at his phone again Gray sighed looking up at the TV screen.

"If it helps, I saw Cana heading up to the senior library before. Maybe that's what Loke meant."

Sighing Gray pulled himself up from the couch, tucking his phone into his pocket, "It's worth a shot. Thanks man."

The senior library was two floors just for seniors above the auditorium. Where each dorm had their own common rooms, the senior library was more of a co-ed common room rather than a library. The first floor of the library was for both the year elevens and twelves, mostly only the year elevens used it. There were few books, as most were in the actual library and it was mostly filled with computers for those who couldn't access the computer rooms or the day students. On the top floor however was year twelve exclusive. It had a small kitchen and a large lounge room like gaming room inside, and then a large rooftop café that was only opened for functions.

When he got up to the top floor, there he found Natsu, Gajeel, Loke and Cana battling it out in an intense game of Mario Kart. Unfortunately Lucy had gotten herself trapped between Natsu's arms when she decided to sit on his lap and now every time he dropped down below fifth position he would tense up and squish her. On another couch Levy sat with his laptop trying to figure out what Gray had asked of her to do and on the couch next to Natsu and Lucy, Meldy and Juvia sat with a bowl of ice cream in hand and a large green tin between them that was very familiar to Gray.

"Thanks for telling me where you were." Gray said hitting Loke on the head as he found a spare seat on the couch next to Gajeel.

"But I did!" Loke grumbled, thanks to Gray he fell of the edge of the map and dropped down from first to eighth place.

"Common room to me means the one in the dorm not this place." He looked over at Juvia as she pulled the lid off of the tin with the back of her spoon and dumped a heaping pile of chocolate powder onto her ice cream, "Where in Magnolia did you find Milo?" Gray asked in disbelief. It wasn't something found very easily in Fiore. He knew of one store in Crocus that supplied it and that was it.

"Ordered it from Bosco." Meldy told him while Juvia intently mixed the Milo in with her ice cream, "Juvia is obsessed with it. She only shares it with me because I pay for shipping."

"You can only get it in Bosco. I don't know why though." Juvia spooned the now chocolate ice cream paste onto her tongue and smiled dreamily, "It's amazing."

"Actually I know of a store in Crocus. Sells all sorts of food from Bosco." At Gray's news, Juvia's face lit up.

"No way!"

"I'll pick you up a tin on our next three day weekend." Lucy told Juvia.

"You going on a trip next weekend?" Gray asked knowing the weekend after this coming weekend was a three day weekend.

Lucy laughed shaking her head, "Well yes, but they kick us out on three day weekends. We have more than most schools to give the boarders a chance to go home and see their families."

Gray did his best not to freeze up. If he wasn't done by next weekend, he was either going to have to return to Erza and a furious Jude or, go home to his family.

"Not to mention make sure we're all ready for formal the weekend after that!" Meldy said excitedly. Shit, shit, shit. Gray looked down to hide the panic in his eyes. It felt like he had only joined here a couple of days ago, but the more he thought about it, the quicker his time was running out. Soon whoever was targeting Lucy was going to strike, no doubt about it, and had been completely distracted. Glancing up he saw Juvia and Meldy laughing about something and he quickly cast his eyes away from Juvia. He allowed himself to be distracted by her. But no more.

Brother help me.

First off I have to say, that senior library is actually a thing at my old school, sadly the only thing I know about it is from my sisters since I changed schools before I use it.

Secondly. This chapter was inspired by my dessert. I was eating milo on ice cream a few nights ago and thought it would be fun. Tonight. Milo, ice cream and rice bubbles! You think I'm insane? You don't know nothing.

Thirdly. I had too much fun with this chapter and I apologise to anyone here to reads Juvia in Wonderland. I know what I want to write, I just can't put it down.

Fourthly. (Yes that is a word. I didn't believe it either!) REVIEW MY BEAUTIES! I love each and every positive review I get! But seriously. I don't bag Bixanna when it appears in Gruvia stories.

ANYWAY be well readers!