Disclaimer – Fairy Tail's not mine

Chapter 1 – Beginning

I was running, my breathing was coming fast and my blood was thumping on my ears. Maybe I wasn't too late. But as I was approaching the end of the tunnel everything started to tremble. When I finally entered the cave I recoiled, backing up a step. Deliora's roar was filling the cave, pieces of the ceiling falling and some stones crumbling while others fell into the inside lake.

I had to get closer but my body was paralyzed. It was waking up, my nightmare. Another thought hit me. Ur. I forced myself to go further inside the cave, to the lake. I even entered the water. Taking some of it in my hands I looked at it sadly. My master, where are you now?

I was brought back from my musings by a voice, shouting at me. "Gray, you're there?"

So Natsu was here already. He was saying that we had to crush the monster. Suddenly a voice cut into our conversation, "He he. You have no chance. I'll deal with him… to surpass Ur… I have…" Leon. He wasn't very coherent as he dragged himself up.

"You're the one that has no chance. Leave." Natsu answered.

Deliora's roars grew in intensity as I watched a completely out of his mind Leon looking dazedly at him. "Finally we meet… Deliora!" He continued his tirade until he was standing up.

"Now… I'm going to… surpass you…" I didn't let him finish his sentence. Hitting him in the back, I saw as he lost consciousness and flopped to the floor once again. I could feel Natsu's surprised gaze on me. I returned to the lake. "That's enough Leon. Let me take care of this." I got into that dreaded pose, "Iced Shell!"

In the background I could hear Leon's voice but nothing registered. My only thoughts were that this was our last choice, nothing else could defeat him, the consequences didn't matter now. The freezing breezes were surrounding me, starting to come across my arms and torso like huge nails across my flesh, I felt how they were ripping my pants. But suddenly Natsu was on my way. "Natsu. Get away from there!" I ordered. He answered me something but I couldn't overhear him due to the sharpness of the wind that was making the air around me colder with every breath. Now it felt as if the nails were starting to pierce through my skin, deeper and deeper. Scorching pieces from me. Natsu looked at me, his eyes full of disappointment and sadness. When he spoke I could hear him clearly, it was as if the spell around me had stopped and only he and I existed, "I tried to stop you because I don't want you to die. But apparently you didn't hear me."

I looked at him, baffled. But he kept talking, "Go ahead, you can use that spell, if that's what you want." He turned his back to me and approached the monster. I was still in such a state of shock that I called him without noticing. Around me the winds were decreasing in intensity due to my lack of focus.

In that precise moment Deliora raised his arm. He was going to attack and I had broken the spell that was our only salvation. I heard myself shouting at Natsu to get away, to run but he, stubborn as usual, was approaching the monster head on, flames growing on his fist.

Time seemed to slow down as Deliora's arm was over its head. A crack appeared on the hand, growing and running through the whole arm, then down the rest of the monster's body. That immense figure was collapsing and crumbling before our very eyes.

I was beyond shocked. Despite what my eyes saw, my brain couldn't comprehend what was happening. That the monster was disappearing in front of us. Behind me Leon was saying something in an anguished voice.

When there was only a pile of crumble I absentmindedly felt my hands tremble. I wouldn't be admired if my whole body was trembling but I only felt my hands move without my willing as I continued to look.

Leon kept sobbing and lamenting. Natsu turned around and with a large grin on his face turned to me, complimenting my master, "Your master was extremely strong!" I could sense his gaze on me but my eyes were downcast. Finally tears streamed down my face. I brought my hand to my eyes as I heard my master saying 'I'll seal your darkness'

I finally answered softly, "Thank you, master."

Soon after Lucy, Erza and Happy appeared.

After "destroying" the moon they were recovering from the injuries in one of the village's houses and Gray was lying in bed. He still couldn't believe they had just defeated the monster that had terrorized so many people – including him. He kept replaying the events from the cave in his mind. But… there was something strange… Had Natsu really said that? That he didn't want him to die…

'That's something so out of character for him to say… we usually fight like cats and dogs… not that I think he would want me to die but… What did he mean with that?'

He stares at the ceiling. His injuries had been patched up and as he raises to sit they twinge with pain and discomfort. In that precise moment Lucy enters the hut. "Gray, you're awake!"

She smiles and kneels on his side.

"Yeah, yeah. How much did I sleep?" She smiles at him and pours water into a glass. "Around one day. You don't have to worry. Everything's alright." She held the glass to him. He nods and gratefully accepts it. He didn't even know how thirsty he was until he started drinking.

"Gray, can you walk? The villagers are throwing a party at us. Do you think you are able to go outside?" Lucy was concerned. Despite the discomfort cause by the injuries and some minor pain, Gray nodded and started getting up. When he was standing Lucy gave a scandalized shriek. Surprised he turned and noticed his undergarments were missing. He quickly covered himself and started looking for his clothes.

"As I was saying, dress up and come that the dinner is starting" she was blushing a little as she left the hut. 'How the hell did that happen?' Gray wonders as he is grabbing the clothes, dressing up and went to the hut's entrance. He took a deep breath and got ready to face the outside.

The wind was howling and its strength was raising snow. Natsu tried to look ahead the path but it was useless, the snow kept blinding him. He sighed and adjusted the arm that was currently on his shoulder. They had to find shelter and soon because it didn't matter how much warmth he could produce or how much cold the other could bear, they needed some sort of protection otherwise they were in trouble. As he walked some of the wind was cut. Slowly he approached and noticed that it was a cave on the side of the mountain. It went quite deep what meant the wind didn't reach the opposite wall. They entered the cave and thankfully the floor was somewhat levelled, with some spiky rocks here and there. Rocks that could be easily dislocated if needed. Natsu dragged Gray and clearing some space on the farthest wall, he cautiously dropped Gray to the floor.

Rolling him onto his back he checked the other's injuries. His action was met with a groan, it looked like Gray was waking up. When black eyes opened they looked straight into Natsu's, they were mildly questioning. "Natsu? What's happening?" He tried to sit but Natsu's hands promptly motioned so that he remained lying. "We're somewhere in the Northern Mountains (1). A snowstorm caught us unaware and I found this cave to shelter us. By the way, do you have anything - provisions, medical kit, anything?" Natsu hadn't had the time to assess their provisions before. Gray just threw a small bag at him. It contained some dried food, a bottle of water, a small med kit and a blanket. Natsu looked at his satchel and added his own. Well, it seemed they didn't have much but what they had would be enough to help them pass the night. Coming closer to Gray, Natsu covered him with the blanket. In response an eyebrow was lifted. It said 'What the hell do you think you're doing?'

Natsu didn't answer but made sure to show the other he should remain covered. "I'll be right back. I'm going to see if I can get something for us to eat." And he left the cave.

Gray was left without reaction. What did Natsu think he was? Some sort of damsel in distress? He uncovered his torso and was trying to get up when a sudden pain flared in the part of the leg he had just uncovered. Oh good. So his injuries were of this kind, were sensitive to temperature, and cold one at that. Grumbling he sat on the floor and leaned his back to the wall. His back was mostly bare (his shirt being shredded) so the chill that ran his body made him grab the covers. This was a weird situation given his apprenticeship with Ur. Now he sported injuries that contradicted his chilly being. He pulled the blanket to his chin. As there was nothing else to do he looked at the place he was in. In the dim light he managed to see that the cave's walls had some indents and further there was the entrance.

Outside he saw the blizzard. Usually this weather wouldn't bother him – it could even make him nostalgic – but today… He shivered with cold. Why did he end in this predicament?

Trying to bury himself more in the covers, he looked at the cave's entrance, waiting. Right now he couldn't do much else.

In the same moment, Natsu was fighting their dinner. He was grumbling under his breath at Gray's stupidity. The wild beast was giving some fight and that was distracting him a bit but the irritation wasn't leaving. Few moments later the beast was dead and he started dragging it to the cave. Having lost his distraction he remembered the incident.

They were in the middle of the forest and surrounded by enemies. There were more than ten to each of them but they could handle them. Natsu used his fire to knock out the ones that had the bad luck to stand in front of him. Irate shouts and cries of agony followed. He turned and noticed how Gray was coolly (no pun intended) freezing and incapacitating his foes. Natsu grinned and focused in a massive guy. These guys were easy to deal and soon they would be returning to the Guild and life could go back to normal. What he wasn't expecting was to hear some out of place growls. He shifted his attention partially but then his enemy decided to charge. Natsu dodged and drew a punch. He was surprised as the guy blocked the blow! They were standing there, hands clasped in a momentary balance. Looking closely Natsu noticed the gloves and the vest, that had scales. Could they be…? Dragon scales? But weren't they supposed to be a rarity? The man, watching his reaction, smirked. "Do you like it? Made of true dragon scales. One of the better robberies I ever did…"

He flexed one of the arms that was clasping with Natsu and tried to kick his chest. Natsu gasped with the force but managed to release one of his hands.

"If you like rarities you have to see our little friends there." He whistled with his free hand and Natsu heard the growls multiplicate. They were at least three. With a strong pull he managed to throw back the burly guy. Turning around he saw how Gray had incapacitated all his enemies from before but now was backing down to three large beasts and the mage that apparently controlled them. Each beast had approximately the size of a lion, had a mane with what appeared to be pieces of stone, two angular horns, one with a miscellany of red and yellow while the other was just yellow. His paws were edged claws, pointy teeth and a tail that on its end had a flame from where a slick black sting sprouted. One could notice that on the very tip a green liquid was dripping and when it fell to the floor it eroded whatever it fell on. How the hell did they have these beasts? And a person to control them – it was not easy.

He barely had the time to assess all this because his senses rang and he had to go back to his fight. Now he truly regretted having split the group and only coming with Gray to this mission, while Lucy, Erza and Happy went on another mission.

Because these beasts were of the worst foes against an ice mage – hell, against any mage except perhaps a fire or a stone mage…

He really had to hurry and finish with this guy to go help Gray. Standing up he returned to a fighting stance, fire circling him. Behind him the beasts' grunts intensified and some came to a stop with clatter. Maybe things were going better than hopped. Maybe he should give more credit to Gray's magic – not that he didn't do usually but these beasts could be quite a handful. He dodged the fist that came in his direction and made a hole on the ground instead. Kicking the guy's legs, the brute fell to the ground and as he was rolling over to get up Natsu, with a flaming leg, kicked the guy in the face, lifting him – despite his immense body – and sent him flying against the bark of an old tree. The tree broke and its halves fell. Now that should finish his part.

Natsu turned and saw that Gray had already taken down two out of three beasts and their controller. He was now fighting the last but something in his movements started Natsu. Looking more closely he noticed that Gray's shirt was ripped and his chest and right arm had three large gashes, where he had been injured. Natsu seethed with anger. Gray was in trouble. Not many had sported these injuries and survived.

Now Gray was backing against a tree – as if thinking which would be the best move – and Natsu started moving. He reached the place, his gaze locking with Gray's in the precise instant the beast pounced.

TBC

(1) I don't know the name of the mountains where they faced the Vulcans so I took some liberties with the geography and other things.

A/N: I'm so sorry about the flashbacks. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter, the 2nd is already under work, I'll update after my round of tests and reports. College is a bitch really. Enough of my rants, R&R please ^^

And if you have any suggestion for a new title…I know this one is lame.