Phe·nom·e·non

Noun

-a fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen, especially one whose cause or explanation is in question.

Phenomenons were common on Earthland, as most magic did not have a proper explanation. The unexplainable happened all the time, and in some cases, no one questioned it. In other cases, it went questioned for years at a time.

In one particular instance, it was three years. Three very long, very difficult years for two, and three very sad years for the rest.

They both refused to look at one another as they sat on their knees before Master Makarov, his anger clear without him voicing it. "I'm disappointed in you both," he said softly, and it hurt more than anything else he could have said. "You were finally getting along in a team and then you go and nearly destroy an entire town in a petty fight?"

Natsu winced and looked at the ground despondently, "I'm sorry, Jii-chan."

"Sorry, Gramps…" Gray had taken to looking at the ground as well, unsure what to do beyond that as hot shame welled up in his chest.

"As much as I'd like to just write this off as your rivalry, it's getting to a point where you can't function while in the same vicinity and you aren't motivated enough to do anything without the rivalry." Makarov paced in front of them, thinking deeply, "You both need to fix this."

While Makarov was disappointed, Erza was irate. "I've been telling them that for years, Master!" She threw her hands up in exasperation, sending her angriest glare their way. "I swear they're friends beneath all of this." Laughter exploded through the guild, deafening after the near silence. It was amusing enough to see them get in trouble, but it was only causing an increase in the guild's amusement as it went on.

Makarov hummed, and the guild quieted again, though it was still louder than it had been. "You will both go on a mission for me, tomorrow morning. You are not to fight the entire time, and you will walk to your destination. If there is so much as a scratch on either of you caused by the other, I will consider it a failure and you will both be forbidden from taking jobs until I determine otherwise. Am I clear?"

They were both quick to nod, catching the other's eyes out of the corner of their own. The guild laughed louder as they turned away from one another stubbornly.

"Good. You will meet here tomorrow at seven-thirty in the morning. If you are late, I will count it against you. Dismissed." Makarov turned and headed back up the stairs, grumbling under his breath in annoyance, "There's going to be so much paperwork in the morning…"

Natsu huffed as he stormed out of the guild. "None of them get it! He kept hitting me with chunks of ice as we were fighting and then yelled at me when I pointed it out!" He pushed a hand through his hair, tugging at it in raw frustration as he bites his tongue to keep a groan at a lower volume. "All he had to do was move his attack two cetimeters to the left! It still would have hit the guy perfectly, and it would have been less reckless! But nooo, he's always right because I'm just stupid, idiodic Natsu!"

He continued to seeth as he walked back to his house, hitting a few trees with enough force to fell several of them. "Fuck, he's such a reckless-"

"-Asshole!" Gray shouts as he passes the abandoned park. "Why do I even put up with his shit? 'Two centimeters to the left', I'd have fucking missed! Gods, I'd never believe the human body could function without a brain if he didn't exist!" He took back roads to his apartment, he ignored how pieces of the walls and the ground beneath his steps turned icy in his rage. "Fucking hell, why are we friends? All we fucking do is yell at each other over dumb shit and he's too much of an idiot to back down! And it was just fucking ice!"

When Gray reached his apartment, he all but kicked the door in. HIs elderly neighbor raised a hand, but all he needed to do was mumble "Natsu," and she understood. He closed the door behind him, a little more conscious about not disturbing the other tenants. It didn't take long for him to flop on the couch, exhausted from both the mission and everything that had happened after.

Natsu was up with the sunrise, just as always, though today, something felt off as he watched the soft rays light up the sky in hundreds of colors, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He sat transfixed by the beautiful light as if it would be the last time he'd see it in an indefinite amount of time. Well, I do like to live each day like it's my last.

The colors gave way to the soft sky blue as the rest of the world woke up, and Natsu relished in the warmth it brought. He was quick to get dressed and return being outside before heading to the guild, already dreading the days ahead.

Gray rolled off the couch with a groan, the feeling of the hardwood beneath his bare back alerting him to reality, "...I slept on the couch…. Great." As he sits up, he rubs at the crick in his neck desperately, "Fucking- today's going to be a great day." The amount of raw sarcasm dripping from his lips could kill, and for the briefest moments he wished it. "I need coffee…"

He was on his eighth cup as he made his way into the guild, tiredly plopping down into a seat near the back where he'd likely be ignored. He caught pink out of the corner of his eye, and grimaced, "It's too early for this shit, and if he starts something I'm gonna finish it." His grip on his travel mug tightened, and small, icy crystals spread from his fingertips as Natsu got closer.

Before he could say anything, an entire pot of coffee was slammed on the table in front of him. Natsu dismissed the look Gray gave him with a wave of his hand, "I'm not dealing with you before ten am if you don't have enough caffeine in you to kill an elephant," and just like that he left again.

"See, they're friends!" he heard Erza insist, and the early risers in the guild laughed loud and too goddamn cheerful for it to be seven am.

Natsu shook his head, "Erza, look me in the eyes and tell me you would willingly deal with him bitching about not having enough caffeine in the morning."

Erza smiled, "He stops complaining when I ask him too."

Natsu rolled his eyes, "You mean when you threaten him to-"

"You are just as bad when it comes to food, flamebrain," Gray shot back, and the guild's laughter began to pick up once again.

Natsu snapped his gaze to Gray so fast it would give a normal person whiplash, but he never got a chance to open his mouth.

"Enough," Makarov shouted as he walked down the stairs, giving them both a look. He held up a sealed wooden box, "You're delivering this to Master Bob at Blue Pegasus. This box is not to be damaged in any way or opened, nor are you two to fight the entire journey." He sat the box in front of Gray. "I'll give you enough time to at least finish your coffee."

Gray doesn't bother looking at the box as he grabs the pot of coffee with his bare hands, touches it to his lips, and chugs it. In less than a minute, the pot's empty and the box is in his hands, "Let's get this over with."

"Yeah, the faster we're done the faster we don't have to deal with one another again," Natsu says while nodding. He walks beside Gray as they leave the guild, headed for the easiest route through the forest.

They both ignored the uproar of laughter behind them.

"How long do you think they'll last?" Macao shouted, and bets ranging from minutes to a few hours rang through the guild.

Erza huffed and crossed her arms, "Have some more faith in them! They'll be able to do this." Her stance was as firm as ever, but her words only caused more laughter throughout the guild. "They will do this."

A small hum cut through the laughter, "I suppose we'll have to see." Freed was genuinely curious on how it would turn out, but not so much so that he was going to put his book down or offer much insight to how he believes it will go. "On one hand, they're Natsu and Gray, but on the other hand, they're Natsu and Gray."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Wakaba asked.

"It means," Levy interjected, "That there's no telling what's going to happen because it's them." She shrugs as if it was obvious.

Makarov rolls his eyes, "They will do it or the punishment stands."

The smell of food wafted through the air as Mira brought in people's breakfast from the kitchen, "I suppose, but they are fire and ice. In a way, they were never meant to be friends like the rest of us are, and their rivalry shows that. I almost think we should stop expecting them to play nice."

"Even you, Mira?" Erza muttered in disbelief.

"I didn't say they couldn't be friends," she answers, "I said they wouldn't be friends in the same way we are. They obviously care about each other, it's just… buried under the desire to hide that fact and punch each other. It's a different kind of friendship, and we should probably just respect it."

The silence had been deafening throughout the first three hours of their mission. Neither one had breathed a word lest they start a fight, but the silence was grating on their nerves. It would only be so long until one of them broke. Gray's foot caught a root a short while after he had zoned out to help avoid talking. It took him a moment to realize he was falling, but by then it was too late, and he'd already face planted into the ground.

The laughter that bubbled out of Natsu's throat was the only catalyst needed to start the fight they'd been hoping to avoid, "Piss off, fire breath!"

Natsu ignored him and continued to laugh loudly, "You just- ha!"

In half an instant there was a fist hitting Natsu in the face, and he went flying backwards "I said piss off!"

In less than a second, Natsu was on him, fists flaming and teeth bared, "You wanna fight, Fuck-face? 'Cause I'll give you a fight!" He was knocked backwards again by a well placed—and well dodged—punch. "Like you mean it, Elsa!"

Gray snarled, "Oh trust me, I fucking mean it!" he tossed the box to the side before Natsu has ever hit him back, and now that his hands were free, he was free to use his magic. The lance he shot at Natsu was sturdier than the ones he'd normally use, but he knew what was coming.

The lances melted the moment they were in range of Natsu's flames, and the slayer smirked, "I said, like you mean it." The punch he threw in retaliation was a wicked right hook, only made stronger by the flames, but it barely did a thing to deter Gray beyond making his skin ripple where it connected.

"You hit like a bitch-" Gray had made an ice canon in his other hand, and he was quick to fire it into Natsu's wide open stomach. It didn't do much before it melted, but there was distance between them now. "What's wrong, Ashes? Out of breath?"

"Fuck you-" The growl that left his lips was more dragon-like than human, but it wasn't what surprised them. From off to the side there was a horrid, shrill sound that broke through the air, making Natsu wince and cover his ears. "What the hell-"

Then their feet left the ground. It was almost as if gravity had changed directions, pulling them towards the noise. In the first few moments it felt like they were flying, but then the change took effect and whatever was making that sound yanked at them hard. The trees in the plant life swayed for a moment before being yanked just the same as they were, and even the air rushed towards that spot.

Gray felt his pendant catch on a branch and shatter into tiny pieces as he flew backwards, too shocked to realize that it will bruise his neck horribly later. His mind couldn't seem to catch up to what was happening around him until something snagged his wrist. He nearly lashed out, but then he realized it was Natsu, and that the force that he had been grabbed with was not intentional. It was a dull ache in his shoulder from where it dislocated due to the conflicting forces of his guildmate and whatever this thing was.

He hadn't even realized that it happened until after.

All around him there was a sound of trees creaking and snapping as the force of it pulled and pulled until it was uprooting entire trees that had been there for centuries. Pieces of them flew past him, and that's when he finally turned around enough to see.

Behind him was an unnaturally circular abyss, that at first appeared to be nothing but a void of emptiness sucking everything away, but the moment he looked a big deeper, it almost looked like a seperate star system. It would've been mesmerizingly beautiful… If it didn't appear to be trying to kill them.

When he finally looked back at Natsu, he realized that the only thing keeping them both tethered to the ground was where Natsu had wrapped his scarf around the branch of a tree and was using it like a rope. Pieces of it were in tatters, which is something he never thought I'd see. Then there was an even more horrifying crack, louder than all the other ones that they had heard.

One of the largest trees in the area finally uprooted, and it was headed right towards them.

He watched and fascinated horror as the largest part of it passed them, but he couldn't stop the gasp that escaped his lips when a branch hit Natsu in the head hard enough to knock him out. He went limp, dropping his scarf in the process and causing them to lose their last tether to the ground.

With nothing to hold them back, they flew right towards the abyss. As they passed through it, all he could see were stars, and then his vision darkened in spots. The force of gravity from inside the abyss was crushing. He tugged Natsu as close to him and he could before he lost consciousness, and for once in his life he prayed that they would stay together.

Gray had no idea how long it had been since he lost consciousness, but he quickly found out that the feeling of falling and slamming back first into a hard surface was not an ideal way to wake up. Everything around him felt cold, which was not as odd as one might think. Just because the cold didn't bother him, didn't mean he couldn't sense it. His body felt weak, as if he'd been fighting for a year straight. The heaviness of his limbs still did not stop their shaking, and he barely had the strength to open his eyes and to try and look for Natsu.

Natsu had been thrown a ways away from him, and based on the way he was lying, it was clear that he had hit the ground and rolled. It was dirt in his hair and all over his body, and twigs in his hair. After a few more moments of looking around, Gray figured out that the loose dirt and uprooted trees were the same ones that had been pulled across with them.

Gray himself was back against a tree, and the moment he moved, everything his nerves flaired with pain. He was bleeding from several small scrapes, and there was no way that most of his body wasn't bruised, but he stood up anyways. His arm hung limp at his side, and with a brief moment of hesitation and a grumble of self-encouragement, he grabbed his bicep and forcefully snapped it back in place. The pain was only there for a moment, and it left nothing but a bit of uncomfortable soreness as he rolled it a few times. I have no idea where we are, or anything about what just happened. Which means now is the time to ignore pain, go pick up that idiot, and figure out what the fuck is going on. As soon as he was sure that he was stable on his feet, he took a few shaky steps towards Natsu. Gray seemed to regain his balance the moment he started moving and getting to him wasn't actually a problem. He shook Natsu's shoulder roughly, trying to get a response from his guildmate.

When Natsu didn't respond, Gray sighed and scooped him up princess style. How does this dumbass always get so hurt?

Gray took another look around him trying to figure out where they could possibly be, but the only things he really noticed was that it was cold, and almost completely desolate. The clouds above him we're completely ashen, and what little light there was seem to be sourceless. It was barely light enough to see any of what he was doing. "Fucking hell…"

When Natsu woke up all he could feel was the pain of pounding in his head. He remembered his fight with Gray, but after that it got kind of fuzzy. He figured that's why his head hurts so much… or a concussion. Probably the latter.

Natsu winced as he cracked his eyes open. The light wasn't bright, but it was enough to hurt his eyes. He groaned in pain and turned his head, hoping that the light on his other side would be darker. It wasn't.

"Finally awake, Ashes?" Gray's annoying voice only made his head hurt more.

"Dude…" Natsu mumbled, voice dry and cracking. "Do me a favor and shut the fuck up for a minute." He licked his lips and grimaced when they tasted like mud. "Why am I on the ground?"

Natsu could practically hear Gray rolling his eyes as he spoke, "How much do you remember?"

"Uhhhhhh… I hit you in the face? And you shot an ice canon at my stomach... Bastard. And then...It gets fuzzy... Care to fill me in?" Natsu rolled back over to look at Gray, and then he nearly burst into laughter. Gray was covered and just as much mud as he was, and from the looks of it twice as many twigs. "You look like a fucking wreck."

Gray's eye twitched, "have you seen yourself?"

Natsu dug his hand into the mud underneath him and flung it at Gray, "enough of myself to know I don't look like that!" He immediately winced at the volume of his own voice. "Ow"

Gray watched as the mud fell short by several feet, "of course that hurt, you're concussed dumbass."

"Yeah no shit… Why else would my head hurt like this?" He flipped Gray off as he screwed his eyes shut.

"I don't know, a hangover maybe," The amount of sarcasm that dripped off his tongue would have cost him another hit to the face had Natsu taken the bait.

The look Natsu sent Gray's way was completely flat, "you do know I can't get drunk, right?"

"Bullsh- wait is that why you were able to beat Cana that one time…?" Gray's nose scrunched up as he thought back on the time that Cana, who was known countrywide for her ability to drink and not get drunk, had been beaten by Natsu.

"No. Not at all." The look on his face was still blank, and his sarcasm matched Gray's, "Of course that's why dumb shit. Alcohol burns out of my body." This time he was the one rolling his eyes.

"Well, it's not like you ever told me that, so forgive my ignorance oh great one," he bowed mockingly.

Natsu swallowed a growl, "One day I'm just gonna strangle you in your sleep…"

"Fucking do it, fire-bitch," Gray snapped. He ran a hand through his hair, already annoyed even though Natsu had been awake for less than ten minutes.

"Bring it Elsa knock off- wait…" Natsu paused and took a better look at his surroundings, "Where the hell are we?"

Gray snorted, "You're just now noticing that we're not where we were earlier?"

Natsu flipped him off again, "Hey you said it yourself! I'm concussed…" his nose crinkled in annoyance when he heard Gray snort again, "I'm guessing that's why you asked me what I remembered…"

"Clearly. But now I also know you're going to be absolutely no help in figuring out what the weird swirly vortex thing was."

When there was no indication that it was a joke, Natsu stilled, "I'm sorry… The what?"

Gray shrugged, "Well, I have no idea what else I'm supposed to call it. Give it a few days… You got hit in the head pretty damn hard with that tree branch."

"Gray…" Natsu said slowly, contemplating what he was going to say next. "Did you hit me in the face with a tree branch?"

It was Gray's turn to give him a flat look, "No, the vortex thing did. Were you even listening to anything I said?"

"...I'm having trouble believing you."

"Then keep having trouble believing me," his fingers twitch does if he was having issues stopping himself from hitting Natsu. "You'll remember in a few days when that damn concussion heals, and then you get to be just as fucking confused as I am."

"Okay… Yeah, whatever," Natsu waved him off, "Well, we don't know where we are, neither one of us knows anything about this place, and as of right now we don't know how to get back… So first things first: food, water, and shelter."

Gray looked him up and down like he was an idiot, "You say that like we're preparing to be here for a while."

"Better safe than sorry, right?" Natsu shot back, "and it's definitely better to know where those things are now than when we're dehydrated and starving."

"Oh, as if we'd get to that point… well you might, considering how much you eat," Gray jabbed.

Natsu flipped him the bird yet again, "Well, I'm going to go look for them, thank you very much."

"Not with a concussion you're not," Gray argued.

Natsu glared at him, "I can move just fine, I can take care of myself stripper."

"You weren't aware enough to realize that you didn't know where you were," Gray said firmly, "so sit the fuck back down hot shot...And I haven't stripped since we left this morning."

"Oh really," Natsu said, "then where is your shirt?"

"It's on my bod-" he looked down, and stood still for a moment when he saw his bare chest, "God fucking dammit fucking shit-"

After Gray's initial search of the area came up completely empty for all but his shirt, they decided that they both stay there for the night, hidden in the pile of timber and trees. They could keep searching in the morning.

Gray did not appreciate being woken up as early as he was, not that he could tell it was early by looking at the sky, but his body knew what was early and what wasn't. The amount of light nor the temperature had changed even slightly. It was almost if they were trapped in a controlled box that had premade settings. It didn't make any sense.

"Morning, Frostbite," He heard Natsu say from somewhere behind him. He groaned loudly, "I suggest we go ahead and get a MoveOn."

How the fuck is this bastard so cheery this early? Gray rolled back over, and ignored him.

"Gray~," Natsu said joyfully, "Get up I'm kicking you in the ribs."

"Fuck off, fire breath," Gray mumbled, "I'll get up later." For a brief moment there was silence, and then he yelped as Natsu's foot connected with his stomach. "What was that for?"

He laughed quietly, "I said I do it, so I did. Now get your lazy ass up, and let's go."

Gray rubbed his eyes, digging the palms of his hands into them and desperately trying to run the sleep out...or the annoyance either worked. "You could barely stand without falling over yesterday… So how the hell do you have the balance to kick me right now?"

Natsu rolled his eyes, "Well, dragons heal fast, so dragon slayers heal fast too… honestly, Gray you think you know this by now. Especially considering how many times you've hurt me in a fight, and watch me pop right back up."

"Nah. I just assumed it was part of being an annoying little roach."

"Oh look," Natsu smiled when he realized his plan worked, "You're awake enough to insult me, so you're awake enough to get up! Let's go. I'm hungry."

Gray groaned as he pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the exhaustion that had seeped into his bones overnight. "You suck."

Natsu responded without missing a beat, "And you swallow, which I'm sure the plethora of people you've slept with are well aware of." His voice was still overly cheery, and he was smiling widely, completely ignoring the death glare at the Gray was sending his way.

"I'm not a whore-" Gray snapped.

Natsu remained cheery, loving the reactions he was pulling from Gray."Could've fooled me, but that's not the point. If I don't get to eat today, I might eat you instead."

"Kinky," Gray responded. He hadn't thought about what he was saying at all, but watching Natsu trip over his own feet was definitely worth it.

"I swear-" he broke off into a fit of angry mumbling that didn't even vaguely sound like Fiori, only looking at Gray once it was over, "I really am going to stab you one day."

"Oh yeah? You and what knife?" Gray's smirk quickly turned into shock when Natsu pulled a small, inch and a quarter long knife out of his wristband, "Since when do you have a knife?"

Natsu rolled his eyes, "Since I was six, and usually it's for cutting off parts of edible plants, but it's still a knife, and I'll still stab you."

Gray stared for a moment, "You're insufferable."

"I'm also still hungry, and I'm not afraid to leave you behind," He slipped the knife back into his wrist band, never actually intending to use it against Gray, but he didn't need to know that.

"Fine… I'm getting up."

After the mess that they were now tentatively referring to as that morning, they began their walk in silence. Unfortunately, they really had landed in a completely barren wasteland. The dirt beneath their feet was cracked and dry as if it hadn't come into contact with water in millions of years, despite it being muddy and slick only yesterday. This sky never seemed to change no matter how far they traveled, and they never ran into anyone. It's as if they were the only living beings there.

They trekked on for hours, covering several miles, yet it still seemed as if there was nothing. They were both dead tired by the time they finally spotted something in the distance.

"It… Looks kind of like a forest…?" Gray mumbled, and it was a fair assessment.

None of the plant life seemed to be the right color, as they were all a similar ashy gray to the sky and the land. If they didn't clearly seem to be thriving, Natsu would believe that they were dead. Some of them were so dark they looked like they had been burned to death, and others we such odd shades of blue-gray or yellow-gray that they would be considered sick in a normal setting.

"At this point… I'm done questioning it," Natsu shook his head, as they got closer, "I'm just hoping it's not a weird hallucination."

"If it is, I might use your knife to stab myself," Gray responded.

Natsu nodded, "think there's anything to hunt in there?"

Gray shrugged, "You're the one who can smell things from miles away."

"Only if I know what I'm looking for," Natsu retorted. Against his better judgment, Natsu allowed himself to trail his fingers across the leaves and bark of the odd trees and shrubbery as they finally entered the odd forest. "It's all definitely alive… But it's weird…"

"How so?" Gray asked.

Natsu ripped a leaf off of one of the trees and passed it to Gray. "It feels like there's magic running through it. Plants on Earthland don't do that."

Gray's nose scrunched up, "That is weird… Why do you think it's like that?"

"Off the top of my head, I have no idea… But if we have to spend a while here, I'm sure I'll figure it out," he responded. Natsu pulled off another leaf and began twirling it between his fingers curiously. Nothing in the odd world they ended up in made sense when compared to what they knew.

It was almost like this world had an entirely different set of natural rules that it followed.

"Stay quiet, okay?" Natsu murmured.

Gray looked at him as if he'd grown a second head, "I didn't think that word was in your vocabulary."

"I'm trying to listen for wildlife to hunt," Natsu explained, "You know, so we can eat? Now keep your mouth shut."

"Fine, fine. Whatever."

As they continued into the forest, the foliage made the already dark planet seem darker. The shrubbery seemed to swallow every bit of sound that was made, even their footsteps. They didn't come into contact with a single animal while they were in there. "Maybe the animals can't eat anything from here?" Gray threw out.

The sound of sniffing filled the air as Natsu tilted his head back, "None of it smells toxic, so I don't know why."

Gray gave him a sideways glance, "Are you sure you were raised by a dragon and not a bloodhound?"

"Pretty sure dragon noses are stronger than bloodhound noses," Natsu quipped, "so yes, I'm sure." His stomach rumbled loudly almost as soon as he was finished, and without a second thought, he reached over and pulled a berry off a nearby bush. He shoved it in his mouth before Gray could stop him.

"What the hell are you thinking! What if it's toxic-"

"-It isn't," Natsu interrupted, the same grin from that morning stretched across his face.

The frustrated sound that left Gray's lips was somewhere between a groan and a sigh as he brought his hands up to rub at his eyes again, "You're so fucking stupid… What if that had killed you?"

Natsu stared at him blankly, "I can burn most toxins out of my body the same way I do alcohol, and those I can't don't affect me that much… In other words, we can find any animals, so why not test the berries if I know they can't hurt me? And now we know that you can eat them too." Berries were pulled off the bush quickly and efficiently, and Natsu passes as many as he can to Gray. "They're pretty sweet too."

"...and you're sure these won't kill me?" He asked one last time.

"Yes, Gray, now eat," Natsu confirmed. He kept picking berries, and after a minute or so, he mumbled to himself, "I may not like you, but I'm not going to kill you."

If Gray heard him, then he didn't show it.

The night air was nippy yet again, but when they compared it to what they thought was the daytime, it honestly wasn't that much colder. Nothing really seemed to make sense in this world, because it was as if everything is frozen and one single moment of time, unmoving and unchanging.

It was the permanent cold, chilly air that would later make Natsu feel like a fool for not having noticed it earlier. While they ate as much of the fruit as they could find, he distractedly reached up and scratched at his neck. Every muscle in his body tensed, and his brain seemed to freeze as he realized that the familiar weight that should be there was not. "Gray…"

Gray looked up, pieces of berry squishing out of the side of his mouth as he ate, "What?" Gray looked off into the distance where Natsu's gaze had been drawn when he stilled in shock, but he found nothing that would have made him freeze like that.

"Where is my scarf?" Had the question come from anyone else, it would've seemed completely unimportant when compared to the situation they had found themselves in, but that was not the case here. Natsu's voice had gone frighteningly soft, "Gray, where is it?"

Gray's eyes went wide as the realization that the concussion was preventing Natsu from remembering what had happened included the details of what happened to his precious scarf. Shit… He doesn't remember that yet… as he remembered it, the outcome of the poor scarf must've shown on his face, as Natsu's question only got more frantic when he asked once more. "It's uh… It's gone flamebrain…"

"What do you mean it's gone, Gray?" Natsu hand visibly shook where it was held against his bare neck, hovering just over the massive scar that Gray had only seen a few times. "Where the fuck is my scarf?"

"It's gone, okay!" While Gray knew it probably wasn't the kindest way to put it, he figured that right now bluntness was what was needed. "It was destroyed when we got to sucked through the stupid fucking portal thing! … It took my necklace too so just… We just have to deal with it."

Natsu was still shaking, but he seemed more upset than angry, "Yeah… deal with...it…" He quietly sat his hands in his lap, still staring off into space, and Gray couldn't help but feel a small pang of sadness for him. It was the last thing he had of Igneel's, just like the necklace had been his father's.

Natsu didn't say anything else for the rest of the night.

When Gray awoke the next morning, it wasn't to shouting or being kicked by Natsu. He felt pleasantly rested like all the times he was lucky enough to sleep in- which was the first sign that something was amiss. He bolted upright, and found Natsu in the same closed off position he was in last night, still staring at that one spot. "...Natsu?" Hearing his name after hours of silence seemed to jolt him out of his thoughts, and he turned to Gray, eyes wide, " You good?"

His eyebrows drew together and his nose scrunched up, "Yes? Why wouldn't I be?"

Gray shook his head, "Okay weirdo. What time is it?"

In an instant, Natsu switched out of the confused state he was in, and flipped right back into the sassy, sarcastic demeanor Gray was used to, "Oh I don't know Gray, let me just pull out the clock we don't have, or look at the non-existent sun to tell the fucking time."

"No need to be a bitch, Natsu," Gray shot back, unfortunately it didn't get a rise out of him that he wanted. Instead Natsu rolled his eyes and ignored him, shoving some of the berries from yesterday in his mouth. "Also my fucking stomach hurts, so I'm not one hundred percent sure I trust you on the not being poisoned thing-"

Natsu flipped him off without hesitation, "You're used to eating meat, and so am I. the lack of it all of a sudden and the massive intake of nothing but fruit is probably going to give you diarrhea. We need to find some animals or something."

For a moment, Gray was silent, then he found something to pick at, "Or something? What other meat would we eat, dumbass-"

"Insects are edible, and full of protein," Natsu responded, smirking when he saw Gray gag. "What? Can't handle the crunchiness? Too much of a picky eater?"

"I swear you're not fucking human, that's nasty," Gray's whole body shuddered at the idea of putting any kind of bug anywhere near his mouth, "And I honestly think water's more important to find."

Natsu nodded, "Yeah... Wanna try the creepy woods again?"

Gray shrugged, "Sure, let's go through the creepy forest where we might die, no big deal." Natsu smiled brightly, and Gray groaned. "I hate you, you know that, right?"

"Yep!" The grin only stretched across his face more, becoming almost impish.

"Overly cheerful bastard," Gray murmured, "Alright, we can go explore the creepy words in the never ending nighttime of this hell world." Natsu whooped and seemed to bounce with each step in that direction, but Gray could only form one coherent thought.

The concussion knocked the rest of the sense out of him, didn't it?

The cold breeze on Natsu's neck made him shiver and forced the flashes of his scarf being ripped to pieces—or rather the single flash he got of it before being knocked unconscious—to the forefront of his mind. He could see Gray rolling his shoulder out of the corner of his eye as they walked deeper, and the flash of him grabbing Gray's arm was suddenly right there with other flashes. His brain felt like it was pulsing again, just like when he woke up.

Movement caught his eye to the left and he snapped his head in that direction, but the strange shadow was no longer there.

Gray stared at him for a moment, then followed his eyes, "there's nothing there, dumbass."

"No," Natsu agreed, "there isn't."

It was silent for almost the next hour, and Natsu used it to ponder. I don't think I've ever hallucinated, so it can't be that, can it? I mean I still have the concussion, but… I swear that was real… Eventually the sound of running water trinkled in the very edge of his hearing, and he followed it, checking every now and then to make sure Gray didn't lose him.

The sound grew louder and louder until they could see the stream of crystal clear water right in front of them, and with a triumphant bark of laughter, Gray rushed forwards and dipped his hands in to drink.

Natsu yanked him backwards though,knocking him to the ground, "Stop it dumbass. We don't know if it's contaminated or not."

"It's not like we have the tools to check. What's it gonna do? Kill me?" Gray rolled his eyes and nearly ripped Natsu's hand off his shirt.

"We don't, but we collectively have the tools to make it safe," he narrowed his eyes and looked at Gray as if he was a child that he had to teach, much like Igneel had once done for him. His hand lit on fire as he called for his magic, "I'll boil the hell out of it and you can cool it down so you can drink it. It should kill off any bacteria, and I can make it hot enough to kill off even the tougher bacteria. The extremophiles or whatever the Fiori name for them is."

Gray seemed far more fixated on Natsu's flames than his words, and he drew his ice to his hands, making a small Fairy Tail symbol. He stared at it for a long silent moment, then he looked back up at Natsu, "I could have just had you melt my ice the whole fucking time."

Natsu stared right back as he processed the words, and as it truly clicked for both of them, they groaned simultaneously.

Three hours later, they were back in the open desolate space they started in, and neither had said so much as a single word nor looked at one another. They picked at some berries they found, quiet and annoyed at their own stupidity. It wasn't until Gray handed Natsu two ice cups for him to melt the inside of that he finally spoke. "I can't believe we're this dumb."

"We're not dumb," Natsu argued, "We're completely fucking stupid and we don't have a single braincell between the two of us." He was quick to hand Gray back his glass of water, sipping on his own happily. The scratchiness of all the dirt he'd inhaled over the past few days was finally fading as the much needed water slid down his throat and chilled his insides. "And the way you looked at your hands after you made the guildmark… did you even try to draw on your magic before now?"

Gray flipped him the bird, face twisted and jaw clenched, "No, why the fuck would I? The ethernano here feels weird and I didn't know if it was safe! And it's not like you did either!"

Without even thinking about it, Natsu had returned the rude gesture and his body tensed. "I release little bits of magic constantly, of course I knew my magic worked!"

"That's the dumbest shit I've ever heard, why would anyone do that?" Gray asked. The cup in his hand began to crack.

"Slayers have to," Natsu said flatly, part of the cup was melting and his water dripped all over the cracked, parched ground, "so fucking fight me, Snowflake."

Nothing else needed to be said. Gray took the bait, throwing a punch right at Natsu's jaw, and even as he was kicked in the side in return, he didn't lessen his attacks.

Neither one of them knew how long they fought for, but it didn't matter. Bruises and burns and frostbite were familiar in the unfortunate world of unfamiliar things they'd been thrown into, and they relished in that pain and discomfort. Even the bite in their usual insults didn't seem to be as ferocious.

Neither one of them could deny that it felt like a small piece of home that they managed to bring with them, so as they lay there, backs on the hard, flat dirt of the strange world they'd been brought to, they smiled.

"I still hate you," Gray mumbled, breath coming out in heavy pants as he rolled his shoulder.

"Ditto, ice bitch," Natsu responded, but there was no real heat in it as he broke a chunk of ice and sat half on his still pounding head and the other half in his mouth. He mumbled continuously to himself about memories he had remembered from just before coming here, but even the odd, never ending silence was more desirable than his mixed up thoughts after a while. Gray built a small house of ice over his body to block out the sound of his voice, and Natsu didn't spare him a glance, only continuing to mumble and mutter. "Fuck… how hard did I hit my head?"

As the week progressed, Gray's ice houses got more and more elaborate, almost as if he were challenging himself to add the details of his actual home. There were a few things Natsu recognized, from the obvious things like the flower boxes out front to the less obvious things like the nine dents in the door from various skirmishes between the two of them, and one from Erza. She had been pissed.

There was nothing to do around except for forage for food and fight one another, and it was starting to wear on them both. "...I bet I can get into your house by tomorrow."

"What, tired of sleeping out on the dirt? I figured you'd prefer that to the cold, dragon-boy," Gray teased, popping one of the weird berries into his mouth.

Natsu scoffed, "as if I'd ever like the cold. I'm just bored and want a challenge."

"Of course. If you find your way in, I'll let you warm it up a bit," Gray offered.

There was a brief moment of silence between them before Natsu realized what he meant. "Wait… You don't think I can do it!"

Gray laughed loudly at the rage in Natsu's eyes, "Of course not! Why else would I have offered!"

"Bitch. I'll get in easily-"

"Nah," Gray cut him off, "If you're serious about this challenge, then let's set rules."he paused for a moment, and when there was no rebuttal from Natsu, he laid them out "You can't melt anything to get in, and I have to let you in."

"So I just have to annoy you until you open the door, got it," Natsu nodded to himself, already having plans. Hope he likes screaming.

"Good luck annoying me through sound proof ice." Before Natsu could process what was said, Gray had darted inside, the icy door slamming behind him.

"FUCKER!"

Gray didn't really bother to check on Natsu outside of a couple quick glances. The idiot had circled his "house" several times, like he thought Gray would have made a mistake somewhere. He clicked his tongue and wrinkled his nose, the fact that his rival seemed to think his ice could be imperfect enough to let him in rubbing him the wrong way. When he walked past the font window though, the idiot was staring off into the wastelands like it was going to swallow him whole if he looked away. That fucking liar, he's still dealing with the concussion isn't he?

For the first hour, Natsu walked in circles around the hour, looking for any faults or entry ways that weren't locked. "Damn it Gray, I outta knock the shit out of your smug ass…" There wasn't a single point that he could break in without melting something, and that was an automatic failure. He huffed and crossed his arms, glaring at the door as if he could melt it that way and get away with it. Bastard. Maybe if I make a lockpick? He didn't say I couldn't break things, just no melting… Unless he would count that as melting because "I'm not strong enough to break ice with my bear hands," or whatever- Eyes, being watched. Danger-

Natsu whirled around, staring backwards into the empty wasteland, feet spread into a fighting stance and fists already raised. Every hair on his body was raised in something akin to both fear and excitement, but no matter how much he looked, there was nothing there. Behind him the small screech of a window opening drew his attention back to the house, causing him to whip around once more.

"Damn, what's got your panties in a twist, flame-brain?" Gray was staring at him as if he'd grown a second head, but Natsu ignored him in favor of turning back around, "There's nothing fucking there."

He continued to stare for a moment longer, but the horrible feeling of danger never quite went away. He slowly lowered his fists anyways, instincts screaming at him, "Yeah… okay..."

Gray shook his head, completely exasperated, "Your concussion probably isn't as healed as you think, dumbass." He slammed the window shut and walked deeper into the ice house, unbothered by Natsu's weird behavior.

It took Natsu almost half an hour before he realizes he could have gone in through that window, "SHIT."

Natsu kept bouncing in place, unable to sit still as his instincts screamed at him. No matter which way he looked or how long he watched. The shadows seemed longer, and everything that moved became an enemy in his mind for the few moments it took for him to realize nothing was there.

"What the fuck is going on?"

crack

Natsu's attention snapped in the direction of the sound, once again finding nothing. I can't see it, I can't hear it. I can't sense it. I just know that it's there. What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck-

Gray's walls weren't really soundproof and he knew that. Gray had heard him when he went quiet and saw him, and he had responded to a few of the insults he lobbed his way. He knew he could be heard, and that it had just been a thing to piss him off more. But he had quieted down anyways If there was something there, then he didn't need whatever it was to find Gray too.

There was a flash of a shadow out of the corner of his eyes, and this time when he looked, it was a lot more solid, but it vanished quickly once more. "Gray, there's something out here-" He'd already slipped back into his fighting stance, magic flaring up.

"No there's not," Gray shouted back, "you have a concussion and I've been watching you run around like a chicken with it's head cut off for about four hours now. Lie down, moron." Gray sounded pissed.

"Yes there is!" Natsu was beginning to panic a bit as he kept watching the horizon for the odd shadowy shape. "I can't smell it or sense it but I saw it for a split second and I can sense and all of my instincts are screaming at me-"

Gray's eye twitched visibly, "Just lie back down idiot. Your head's probably just worse off than you thought." The window slammed shut, and with the noise Natsu was thrown into his thoughts again.

It can't be the concussion… I heal from bad concussions in no time, and that one was only a minor one… it can't….. I saw it. I saw it… I sensed it and I still sense it. Am I just paranoid? All that's here is Gray and I and I'm used to so much more noise… everything is silent. I'm not going crazy am I? I saw it. I saw it I saw it I saw it….

Gray didn't see it. Maybe I do need to calm down...I'm not lying down though… I'd fail the challenge then… I can at least still win that, right?

Natsu continued to rattle at the windows and the door, half tempted to just bust in now, but then the hairs on his neck stood up again. Nothing's there. Nothing's there. You haven't seen it since earlier anyways and it's not real. Gray already told you that. Maybe my head's more messed up than normal and that's all. Nothing's there.

Danger

Natsu couldn't keep himself from looking, his body reacting long before he could stop himself. He dove to the side as he turned, narrowly avoiding what looked like a pointed rod of shadows as it stabbed deep into the ground.

Tail. It's a tail-

Natsu felt his blood run cold as he looked into the dark, unseeing eyes of the thing that had been watching him, but they weren't as unseeing as they looked. They couldn't have been with the way they stared deep into his very soul. His limbs seized up in a fear unlike anything he'd ever felt as it opened its mouth like a snake, jaw unhinged and rows of black teeth ready to snap him in half.

It was the rancid smell of death that finally made him move.

He barely managed to get out it's way as it took a mouthful of dry dirt instead. It turned back to him, head tilted and the crumbling dirt pouring out of the side of its mouth as the wide bat like ears seemed to hone in on his rapid breathing. It looked starved, and like Natsu was going to be it's first meal in years.

What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck

It's long tail reached out for him again like a whip, and Natsu's magic flared as a panic response as he struggled to dodge, but they did nothing to it. It didn't make so much as a sound as the flames dissipated, instead lunging at him with large dripping claws that could skewer his entire body if they wanted.

Natsu rolled under it and bolted towards the door.

Get away get away get away

Natsu barely recognized his own voice as he screamed, the terror making him feel like he was underwater, "GRAY OPEN THE DOOR!" He banged on it to no avail, knowing that if he melted the ice, then the weird shadow creature would follow him inside.

DANGER

.

.

.

Gray had fallen asleep comfortably, using frost like a blanket and pillow, perfectly at home in the ice. The silence was blissful for him, though it wouldn't have mattered anyways. He's always been a heavy sleeper.

That's why he was so weirded out when he was woken up by Natsu shouting. He could sleep just fine in the guild, so why would that wake him up? It took him a moment to realize that the odd pitch of his voice had come from fear, and then another to remember the bet they'd made earlier.

That dumbass…. I'm surprised he figured out the walls aren't actually soundproof, but did he really think I would let him in if he pretended something? Damn…. Just because he's a decent actor he thinks he can get away with waking me up? Fucker… as soon as I'm done napping I'm gonna kick his ass….Or I could do it now. Damn it, I wanted to sleep-

Not even his ice could compare to the coldness he felt as he heard the loudest, shrillest pain filled scream he'd ever heard in his life rip out of Natsu's throat.

This work is dedicated to all of the following:

Akira, who inspired me to take this from a short oneshot to a full story, even if it took me more than a year to start it.

Pine, for her wonderful art and ideas as we ping ponged back and forth about all of the first chapter of this long work ahead of us.

Bailey, for putting up with my BS constantly and beta-ing for me even at 3am when I'm ready to cry because I can't remember how to spell a word.

Ceru, for allowing me to give her snippits of dialogue to see of they fit, even when I wouldn't give her the rest of the chapter.

Monny, for allowing me to use one of her biggest headcanons and change it just a bit to match what I needed it too to fix some plot holes.

Burrito and Jaci, for putting up with my bs about this story as well as letting me just talk through things to them to make sense of it all.

Maria, for being my lvely internet mom and encouraging me to keep going even while I panicked over this, and even helped me with afew key details.

Everyone in the FTLGBTales discord, for always being there for me, even in the most disasterous of times.(no one redid their intros and I can't find all of your usernames 3)

and all of you who are reading this right now, for showing me that people really do enjoy what I've done.

All of you are very dear to me, and this never would have come about if not for a specific series of events that helped me. I love all of you, and happy reading.