FINAL CHAPTER!

The soft white walls rarely listened to a word. A gently breeze passed through the ajar window, tilting new flowers towards the large room and brushing back scarlet red hair. The woman glanced back, feeling the chill and rising back to her feet. She looked squarely at the window, pulling down the vase of flowers and yanking it shut. After all, he never really liked the cold anyway.

"Erza…"

The timid woman jumped. She yelped at the sound piercing the silence, holding onto the window handle so tightly her hands turned white. Slowly she dared to open one of her tightly shut eyes, blinking as she realised this was not some demon but a kindhearted blond with a awkward smile on her face. "O-oh, right. Hello, Lucy. Sorry, you frightened me," Erza stuttered.

"So I see…" Lucy said, seriously wondering if Erza was feeling alright. She had always seemed vulnerable, but she had never seen her jump so high at just the mention of her name.

"I know, I'm late, I'm sorry," she mumbled quickly and apologetically, quickly sealing the window shut and wringing her hands together, rushing back to her seat to take back the last of her belongings. "I was just dropping off some things here. I'm on my way now, please don't tell the master-"

Lucy sighed, realising now why the barmaid was so jumpy. She had a definite sense of pride for her job in the guild. "The master already knows," she said, stopping her in her tracks. "Your shift has been swapped with Kinana's."

Erza froze on the spot, feeling herself filling with fear and distrust. "I-I'm not fired, am I…?" she whispers.

Lucy looked completely surprised, unable to understand how such a fantastic barmaid could ever think she was in the brink of exiting the guild, especially at a time when they all needed to pull together more than ever.. "Not a chance," she grinned, gently turning her back around to look into her eyes and see the seriousness. "You are very good at what you do, Erza, and even if you weren't our barmaid you would still be a member of this guild, remember?" she said, raising her hand as she showed off her proud guild mark.

Erza's eyes softened at the new yet familiar shape, reaching over and touching her own red mark across her arm. The guild marks had changed significantly, the Fairy Tail mark's wings twisted into the elegant spikes of Pixie Wing's wing, though many of the members had been keen to keep both their old and new symbols as a tribute to the terrible fate that had brought them together. Erza had chosen all three, Fairy Tail, Pixie Wing and the new Pixie Tail, her own nod to the unity of guilds while she couldn't bring herself to take away her Fairy Tail mark. "I understand," she nodded gently. "I should probably get going…"

Lucy tilted her head, suddenly remembering her confusion when she had come here. "When they said that you would be here, I didn't believe them…" she admitted curiously, her eyes glancing around the infirmary. The room looked nice, tranquil and serene, but it was clearly not the sort of place to soak in the ambience. Lucy didn't even have to look behind her to see the silent body that she had been sat beside. "But they said that you come here quite often. I don't understand… You and Gray didn't exactly talk much, did you?"

Erza looked down, feeling inexplicably guilty. "No, we didn't…" she admitted, knowing that she should have never been staying by the side of someone who was not even her friend. The words that she and Simon had uttered about the Fire Maker had been less than amicable, in fact, and now she could feel every word biting into her painfully. "I guess I just find it sad that there's no one else here…"

Lucy nodded and sighed, putting a hand on Erza's shoulder. The kindhearted redhead truly had love for everyone, the protective nature that would one day be her downfall. "We all lost a lot of friends. I think people don't like to be reminded of that…" she whispered, though she knew that many of the guild kept their distance for other reasons. Gray had been playing both guilds against each other and the days after the Grand Magical Games revealed just how much of a traitor he had been. His closest and dearest had almost all been caught in the Sudden Death and the rest found it difficult to keep visiting after weeks of unconsciousness. "I think he just reminds people of everyone we lost, you know? I mean, what's the difference between him and everyone else that died?"

"The difference is that he could wake up…" Erza murmured under her breath, unable to meet Lucy's eyes.

"So it's hope?" Lucy thought she was beginning to understand.

Erza hesitated, knowing that the explanation wasn't as simple as that, but hope was certainly one of the main reasons she remained by his bedside. "It is… a little…" she said awkwardly, looking at the walls and flowers and not to either the sleeping Fire Maker or the celestial wizard. "But… The Zeref World…" Even without looking, Erza could feel the celestial wizard tense at the words. "When that Erza took over me I could feel something for him. Something incredibly powerful, some kind of bond that I-I don't actually want to lose…"

The celestial wizard put her arms in front of her chest protectively. "That wasn't you. And it certainly isn't him."

"I know you've been looking out for me a lot since then, Lucy," Erza said, her eyes surprisingly sharp as she looked back at Lucy. It was one of those rare gazes that could make anyone flinch before remembering that they were staring at a sweet yet busty barmaid. "And I know that you've been looking for 'Natsu'."

Lucy bit her lip. Erza had an uncanny way of hearing every single slither of information that made its way through the guild doors and it made her undeniably one of the strongest allies to have within the guild despite her physical weakness. Though she needed strong allies, Lucy knew that wasn't the reason she had become her close friend after the Ripple, why she had kept an eye on the blue exceed, or why she had been constantly searching for a 'Natsu'. "OK, fine," she held up her hands. "I was curious if there really was a Natsu, that's all. And I was never not your friend, Erza, but after the Grand Magical Games we all needed to take care of each other…" she said, her eyes filling with tears at just the thought of all the lives that had been lost. She had even been convinced that she was one of the dead, still unable to explain just how she had woken once the dragon slayer disappeared into the gate. It was a miracle she had never wanted to give much attention, terrified that she too should have been ripped from her own world.

"You have your reasons, I have mine," Erza told her seriously. "Besides, if I hadn't hit him…"

"Erza, they already told you that had nothing to do with it!" Lucy exclaimed, her eyes wide as she realised that the guilt was still gripping her friend. "And it wasn't you, it was that other Erza! You know that!"

Erza gritted her teeth, forcing her words through. "I hit him and he didn't wake up, Lucy. Polyusica and all of the doctors can say what they like, but that is truth," she said, her eyes staring back at Lucy's with the trembling power lying deep within, ready to strike at any moment.

Lucy sat on the end of the bed beside her, though she was suddenly slightly terrified of the barmaid. Everyone knew that as wonderfully happy-go-lucky and smiley as the redhead was, it was not wise to get on her bad side. "Erza, you know that you couldn't have done this. Polyusica said that his soul is gone. Look at him; he hasn't aged or needed food or water in weeks. Nothing you did to him could have done this."

Erza turned away. "I know that," she admitted, her voice soft but strained. "Every part of me knows that, but I still want to protect him. I-I have memories, I still have so many memories of emotions that aren't mine, and I can't help but wonder if they could have been mine. If all of us could have been friends. Their guild, their nakama… It seemed nice, didn't it?"

Lucy hesitated but nodded. She hadn't been able to push the image of Fairy Tail, the other Fairy Tail, out of her head since they had consumed them with their powerful emotions. It was one of the reasons she had been obsessively searching for 'Natsu', for the missing link and the one who had made her feel more powerful, more emotional, braver with every step. The two guilds Pixie Wing and Fairy Tail had joined together at long last but already there were problems and it would take generations to become the place of hope and light they had touched. "It did…" she admitted softly.

Erza wasn't watching Lucy's reaction. She was staring at the man on the bed, her eyes wide as she froze in both horror and excitement. "He's… waking up…"

"What?" Lucy jumped up, standing near Erza as if she could somehow give her some stability.

They both stared, realising instantly that Erza had been correct. He was moving, a feat that he simply hadn't done for weeks, his arms twitching slightly as he became aware of the sheets beneath his fingers. His eyes twisted more forcefully shut, a displeased frown across his face, and eventually opening his eyes and adjusting to the blinding new light.

"G-Gray?" Erza whispered softly while Lucy could only stare wide-eyed.

Gray pulled himself up before he answered, his hand to his head as the visions blurred together. A overpowering flow of emotions, turmoil, torture, sadness and pain span through his mind, emotional distress only narrowly compensated by a feeling of passion of his guild. His mind was spinning, his head aching and filling him with new nausea. He put his hand on the back of his head, feeling through his black hair for some lump to confirm his fears. "Did someone… Knock me out…?" he asked.

Erza blushed deeply. "I, uh, well, uh,-"

"You-you're actually awake…" Lucy stuttered.

Gray glanced back to both the girls, realising that they were both the cause of his pain and what was making it endure. His eyes blurred, pinching the brow of his nose in a desperate attempt to focus on what was happening and his last conscious memory: The gate, Zeref, Natsu, something cold inside of him… He shuddered. "How long was I out?" he dared to ask.

"Um…"

He glanced up, trying to read the expressions of the two girls. Neither one wanted to be the one to break the truth, and from that he was certain it had been a considerable amount of time. The more his eyes focused, however, the more he could see the expressions within his nakama. He could see the anxiety in Erza's stance, see the way Lucy dared to speak up and his eyes went wide as they fell on Lucy's hand. Quickly he snatched out, dragging her hand closer, eyes pinned to the bright pink mark.

"Hey, watch it pervert!" she yelled at him, trying to pull her hand back.

"Pixie Wing…" he realised, staring at the sharp wings resting on the back of her Fairy Tail mark.

The blond blinked, realising that he was noticing the new guild mark with interest and that there would be many painful things left to explain. "Uh, yeah. Pixie Tail… That's what we're calling ourselves now, you know…" she said, swallowing hard.

Slowly, he began to understand. "I'm back in my world…"

The rest of the day was spent delving into so many explanations that the time passed without notice. Lucy and Erza told of the death toll from the Grand Magical Games and the tentative and terrifying meetings between Fairy Tail and Pixie Wings in the following weeks. They had only been a new guild for a few short days and there were clearly many difficulties left to face. When they spoke they were cautiously optimistic, explaining how the two combined would be stronger than ever and most of the devout followers of Mavis Vermillion had been killed by her hands or so terrified by the entire experience that they had been willing to turn back to an official guild. Pixie Tail's promise of a new beginning for many of the broken families in Fairy Tail and Pixie Wing was a desire they all clung to desperately.

Gray his head hung in silence as he listened, trying to gather the courage through his failure. His parents were dead. His best friends were dead. Pixie Tail was painfully similar to the ambition he had when he first began turning both guilds against one another, and he had even payed the price he had said he was willing to pay for it. It stung deeper than he could explain and with no cold inside of him to make his head or heart ache he knew that every emotion flooding through his body was his own. This was now his own guilt to endure, his own loss to overcome and the Fire Maker had never felt so cold.

He listened carefully but upon hearing his worst nightmares confirmed, Gray spoke very little. Eventually, they were able to pull small pieces of information from the Fire Maker: He had come from the world of Zeref, he had witnessed a world that had desperately tried to become their own, he had sensed darkness and pain that he could not bare, though he had somehow always felt hope lingering beneath.

"That world is broken beyond repair," he said eventually, frowning as he did so. "It is desperate, it claws at everything good that remains and refuses to let go," he said through gritted teeth, pulling his knees to his aching chest.

Lucy looked genuinely surprised, leaning a little closer and trying to tell herself she wasn't being caught in his manipulative words. "But… They gave up our world for their own. Why would they do that if there's nothing there?"

He glanced up, staring between Lucy and Erza and remembering their counterparts. He had felt Gray's love for them both, his determination to save them and the raging anger if he even so much as suggested double crossing them. It felt strange to not feel the powerful emotions brimming beneath the surface now, and heartbreaking as he realised these people were near strangers. "It isn't empty," he admitted. "I learnt that hard way. They have this sense of kinship and I'll admit that they're very, very powerful. More powerful than anyone in this world, definitely more powerful than I am. But that sense of power comes from other people. Still, it's only a matter of time before they start tearing each other apart and they end up right where we are."

"That's a very negative way of looking at it…" Lucy frowned.

"Yeah well, I'm not exactly all rainbows and sunshine," he hissed, still feeling the blade of grief deep inside of his heart and finally knowing he didn't need to play the part of the Ice Maker for another moment longer. He could finally be angry, passionate and bitter without worrying about his every step.

"I think you're wrong, you know," Erza said with a sharp nod. "I don't think that they'll tear each other apart, or if they do they'll pull it together. I know that sense of… Nakama that you were describing, I remember it clearly when she took over. She had faith."

Gray's mouth turned into a thin straight line. Gray the Ice Maker had faith too, right at those last moments. He had had faith that he had to be better than everyone saw him. He had faith that they should fight for their own world and ignore what should have been obvious. As the Fire Maker grew weaker under the eye of the Eclipse Gate, the Ice Maker had grown stronger, but not as strong as he had suspected. "As soon as the Eclipse began to charge I could feel my world, I could feel it was real and it still existed. I had to get out. I had to run away. That bastard still thinks he 'overcame' me or convinced me that his world is so much better. I honestly don't think he understands how close to being me he is. He thinks that his nakama can overcome anything, but his darkness and desire for revenge is stronger than he realises."

"But you said you wanted to make Eclipse into a way of saving everyone from the Sudden Death…" Erza reminded him slowly, wishing desperately that he had some kind of plan to turn it back around and save everyone that had passed away in the Grand Magical Games.

His eyes sunk down, but instead of the cold sadness he was burning with a passionate anger. His fists gripped tightly, so hard that his entire body shook with his tensing muscles. "There was nothing I could do that wouldn't harm this world more. Eclipse destroyed their world," he explained, receiving disappointed and confused looks. "Ultear told me that I was connected to the breaking of the parallel universes. Maybe that's the reason why I could see what she couldn't. They were convinced that the Eclipse Gate was there to move things back to the way their world should have been, they had convinced me that it could do the same for our world, but I could feel without a doubt that whatever was behind that Gate was the end of the world. Zeref was convinced that the world would destroy itself and in all honesty, that guy seemed to be the only one that actually made sense."

"You mean… That world is… Destroyed now?" Erza asked curiously, unable to shield the pain that that knowledge caused her.

Gray flinched, more than he would have liked to admit. The world itself may have been broken but the people he had found had had more heart than he had ever seen. He had felt love and happiness and passion and determination from every one of his counterpart's closest friends, and they had even extended that faith to himself. It had been a world where even the most tortured of lives could find something or someone to fight for. "I'm certain," he said, his voice stiff. "It was always supposed to be this way. Our world survives and their world crumbles."

A MASSIVE thank you to everyone that has read this, reviewed, inspired, contributed and even just lurked. I seriously love you guys for this lol This story has over 2,500 views and an AMAZING 75 reviews! WWZ has over 5,500 views and 33 reviews! This is so incredible so thank you all, and I couldn't have (finally) finished this without you!

Special mention to Kori no Kobito, Zunifex, CabbageGirl99, BlueFlaw and juststrolling23 for your multiple reviews - and to everyone else who has also posted reviews! You have actually given me so many ideas, even those that I may not have mentioned haha

Oh, and did anyone notice the return of the 're-' chapter titles?

I'm not sure what I'm writing yet, I have some ideas but I may be taking requests or suggestions! I may even add more bonus chapters like last time? Who knows!