A/N: So this is what happens when I get together with my bestie, AnyDreamWillDo19. We pretty much go crazy with theories about what's going to happen next. Sooo... Yeah. Have fun reading, guys. (:

Random stuff about the story: Unintentional Gruvia. Yes, I ship it; however since it's not strictly canon, it's pretty one-sided since Juvia is an obsessed stalker (and I ship Gray and Juvia with other people, too...). This is strictly THEORY. ...Although you have to admit Mashima-sensei set this up perfectly and I will be very disappointed if something like this doesn't happen.

And I just have to say it in case you haven't heard yet: FAIRY TAIL ANIME IS COMING BACK IN APRIL! :D

Anywho... I no own anything... just this theory...

And if you like it, review! I have been known to be persuaded to continue one-shots (even though the second part of the first one I did isn't up yet... many apologies if anyone reading this is waiting for a second chapter of Lucky Day; I promise it's coming eventually!). (:

Goodbye, Hello

"Would you really kill your own father?"

Gray froze just as he was about to deliver the final blow, his ice sword poised right next to the Ice Demon Slayer's neck. "What did you just say?" he asked slowly, eyes narrowing, breathes coming out in white clouds in front of his eyes.

"You heard me," Silver grinned. "What's the matter, Gray? Don't you recognize your old man? I'm crushed."

Gray's grip slackened on the older man's collar, his eyes widening slightly, as memories long-buried surfaced in a rush. Suddenly, so much made sense – why it was that the ice that coated the Village of the Sun had felt so familiar, yet different… "Impossible…" Gritting his teeth and tightening his grip once again, he steeled himself for what he knew he had to do. "He died a long time ago – and, if by some miracle he was still alive, you couldn't be him. He'd never do something like this." Even though he'd said it, however, he wasn't sure even he himself believed his words.

"Oh really? Then why do I know things about you that no one else possibly could?"

"I dare you to prove that you know anything about me!"

Silver's grin widened. "You were born and lived the first few years of your life in Gara Prefecture of Isvan before moving to Shema. Your birthday is March 15th of the year X766. –."

"Anyone could find that information!"

"On your sixth birthday, you got a red bicycle and you were disappointed that it wasn't black."

Gray tightened his grip. "Still not good enough!"

"You were born too early and because your mother was a non-mage, the doctors were positive you wouldn't be able to use magic either. By the time you were two, however, you already had a powerful latent magical ability."

The Ice Mage swallowed harshly. That information wasn't exactly something just anyone would know or could find out. The only reason he even knew the second part was true was because Ur had told him many, many years before when she had agreed to train him in Ice Magic. He felt sick; this man couldn't be his father! His father wasn't like this…

Silver chuckled. "You believe me now – don't try to hide it; I can see it in your eyes."

"Gray-sama! What are you waiting for? Finish him off!"

His head jerked slightly at the sudden sound. Juvia had finally caught up to him. He knew what he needed to do, but now he wasn't so sure he could. He couldn't even move; he was frozen in place by the strange chill that had nothing to do with the temperature around them that had settled into his bones.

"'Gray-sama'?" Silver mocked, bursting into laughter. "So polite, yet she wants you to kill your old man! How interesting!"

Juvia froze. "Gray-sama, what is he talking about?"

Silver was the one to answer. "I'm his father, girl; didn't you notice the resemblance?"

She fell silent, and though Gray couldn't see her face, he was sure she was just as frozen in shock as he was. He gritted his teeth; he had to stop thinking about this and just do it already! But… But what if he was telling the truth? If he was telling the truth – well, that changed everything.

"I can hear him inside my head, you know," Silver whispered, instantly catching Gray's attention. "I can hear him shouting for me to let him go, to not fight you." He paused, grinning. "But this isn't his body anymore! He's still here – oh, yes, he's still here! But he is powerless!" Silver chuckled. "I've had quite a bit of fun with this one, you know. After Deliora stole his family – well, he was willing to do whatever it took to take his revenge. I think you already know the price he paid. Slowly – ever-so-slowly – I took over his mind until he no longer had control. Knowing this, can you kill me, Gray Fullbuster? Can you kill your own father?"

"It's no longer a question of 'can'," he ground out from between clenched teeth, tightening his grip on both the Demon Slayer's collar in one hand and his sword in the other. "I know what I have to do. Just like the other demons, you can't be allowed to live, and I have been given the task to make sure your life ends here and now. I have to do it. That's all there is to it."

"Hm. And maybe if I let you see him again? Could you still then?"

Gray swallowed hard. "I will do whatever I have to do in order to protect this world. One person who has done wrong is of no consequence."

"Not even if he is family? Hmph. Alright. We shall see then." His head fell back limply for a moment, eyes closing. When they opened again, the sharp edge had disappeared replaced with the same caring and loving eyes Gray remembered.

Gray jerked backwards slightly, the sword in his hand moving several inches away from Silver's neck in the process. He was speechless. His father – after so many years apart – was now right in front of his very eyes.

"Gray," his father breathed. "I don't have long. Listen very carefully to me, son." He waited for Gray to nod numbly before he continued. "You have to kill me. It's the only way – we both know that. Don't hesitate. Just do it." He paused to smile. "I can die a very happy man having seen the man my son has become. I am very proud of you, Gray. And I also apologize – for not being there for you all these years and for letting my anger get the better of me. I let my need for revenge over-shadow everything else to the point that I was willing to do anything to defeat the monster that stole my family from me – even if it meant selling my soul to the devil." He closed his eyes suddenly, his face twisting in pain. "Do it, Gray; for the sake of the world, kill me and this demon within me! No hesitation, you hear? Don't you dare disobey your old man!"

"Still confident, Gray-sama?" the demon mocked, retaking Silver's body. "Are you still so sure you can kill your own father?"

He wasn't – not at all. But he did know his duty. "Ya know," he murmured much more confidently than he felt, "that old man always taught me to obey my parents. And you heard him yourself, didn't you? He told me to kill him." He paused for a moment before raising his head to meet Silver's gaze head-on. "So I guess I have to obey, don't I?"

The hard look in Gray's eyes then told the demon everything he needed to know. Gray didn't want to do it – but he was sure as heck going to do it anyway. He was a child still – a child who had seen far too much in his lifetime – a child not afraid to slay a demon. As Gray moved the blade back to his throat, he knew it was over – he didn't have enough power to make a come-back at the moment, and by the time he did, he would be dead – or at least sealed back into the book from whence he'd come and he'd have to wait for someone to find him again and release him. He closed his eyes to wait for the end.

But it never came.

The presence that had been straddling his body as it lay on the ground all this time sudden vanished from above him. When he opened his eyes – well, he had certainly never expected the girl to save him, that was for certain.

Gray was fuming. "Juvia! What do you think you're doing? I have to kill him!"

"Chigau! You can't kill him, Gray!"

He stared at her, shocked for more than one reason, from where she had tackled him down into the snow. After a moment, he finally found his voice, spitting out each word like venom. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill him. That's why we're here, in case you've forgotten."

"You can't kill him," she choked out. "Juvia knows he's been possessed by a demon, and Juvia knows why we're here – Juvia hasn't forgotten, Gray. But Juvia just can't stand it. Juvia knows how much it would kill you inside to kill him, and Juvia wouldn't be able to stand it knowing why you're hurting so much! So you can't kill him. There has to be another way!"

"There isn't! You know that as well as I do!" Gray shoved her off of him and stood back up. But it was already too late.

"You should have killed me while you had the chance, boy," Silver cackled from where he now stood several feet away. "But now it's too late. I've recovered, and this will be the end of you and your little girlfriend!"

"You can't win," Gray stated confidently. "Not in a magic battle – or enchantment or whatever-the-heck else you call it. Not when I can redirect everything back at you."

"But it takes a lot of energy, yes? You're worn out – tired. Can you still use the demon's magic, Gray Fullbuster?"

He couldn't deny he was exhausted. But he couldn't lose – not here, not now. He wouldn't get another chance, and as long as even one of the demons remained, Earthland would eventually fall. As the cold winter wind whipped around them, he knew what he had to do. "Juvia. We've done it once; do you think we could pull it off again?" He could see her nod out of the corner of his eye. He held his hand out to the side and felt her grasp it tightly. If they both put everything into it, a unison raid might be just enough to slow Silver down long enough for Gray to deliver the final blow. He took a deep breath; this had to work.

"Juvia… will save Silver-sama."

Gray glanced at her. "Nani?"

"Juvia read once that demons can be defeated without killing the host. For Gray-sama, Juvia will save Silver-sama with this unison raid."

Gray sighed. "Whatever you say, Juvia…" He didn't place much stock in her words – after all, most of what was known about demons was just folklore. Whatever she was planning, chances were high that it wouldn't work. Without another word, he took her other hand in his and, taking up a position that looked much like they were going to perform a dance, prepared for the unison raid. Combining their two magics was the easy part; releasing it as one was another story entirely.

Silver laughing at their 'sorry attempt to defeat him' only made Gray more determined for this to work. Closing his eyes, he willed with all of this being for this to work; he wouldn't get another chance. He felt the last of his magic combine with Juvia's, pulsing powerfully before it released. He opened his eyes to see the blue and white spiral of their combined powers shooting straight for the stunned Demon Slayer.

The force left destruction in its wake, tearing up the ground – or rather the sheet of ice and snow they had been battling upon courtesy of Silver's power. Underneath was something Gray could not have known was there but Juvia would have known about as she worked to catch up to the cold force field they were fighting within. The water of the lake they were now standing upon was sucked into the force created by their unison raid, creating an even more frigid combination of ice and freezing water. When the horizontal tornado hit, it hit with much more force than any of the three could have predicted – yet it had been exactly what Juvia had hoped would happen.

With a deafening shriek, a black form seemed to depart from Silver's body, wailing in pain and protest. As Silver fell back, unconscious, onto the ice, a black book fell from his cloak.

"Gray-sama, now! Destroy the book!"

His eyes grew wide, but he quickly recovered. Summoning the very last of his magic, he fulfilled his quest. "Ice Make: Lance!" As the shredded pages fluttered back to the ice, he felt a sense of peace engulf him. It was over.

He never felt as his exhausted body hit the ice.

He didn't know what he had been expecting when consciousness finally found him again, but six people standing over him, whom he didn't recognize, glaring down at him, hadn't been it. "Yare, yare," he muttered, rubbing a hand over his eyes. "After all of that, not exactly where I was thinking I'd be waking up…"

"Oh really," muttered a tiny man with a white mustache who was standing at the end of the bed. "Yes, I suppose after all of this we should have handed you over to the Magic Council – except for the fact that there isn't one anymore."

Silver cringed. "It's what I rightfully deserve, to be sure…"

"Yes, it certainly is," a young lady with fiery hair spoke up in a harsh, clipped tone. "After killing ex-councilors and almost two of our members, I'd say you deserve much more than jail time."

"Now, now, Erza; that's a little harsh isn't it?" The white-haired girl was still scowling but at least she seemed a lot less angry than the other girl.

"No. It most certainly is not."

Silver cleared his throat. "I may have no right to ask this, but where is Gray?"

"No, you most certainly do not have the right to ask that," the red-head – Erza – snapped back.

"Erza," the old man cut in before she could carry on. "I know Gray is your friend, but now is not the time to hold hostilities."

"Master, I will not condone –."

"Neither will I. I will ask you to be silent or to leave." She fell silent as the mustached man turned his attention back to the man on the bed. "Now then, if I may ask why you even care?"

He closed his eyes, shoulders slumping. "You may not believe me but that boy is…my son…"

"What?!" Without even looking up, he knew they were all furious. He didn't know Gray's relationship with each, but he had known from the moment he had woken up that they wouldn't be pleased.

"It's true. Juvia heard; Juvia saw."

He looked up to find everyone's attentions focused on the blue-haired girl whom he now remembered – she had been there as well.

"What do you mean, child?"

"J-Juvia knows that Silver-sama isn't a bad person – like Juvia and Gajeel-kun, he just made some bad choices. Please do not be angry with Silver-sama; he was blinded with anger and hatred and thoughts of revenge. You all forgave Juvia and Gajeel-kun for what we did and we acted on our own – Silver-sama didn't have so much of a choice to fight Gray-sama. Please. Juvia doesn't think that Gray-sama would be angry at Silver-sama."

Deafening silence rang through the room before the guild master nodded. "You have spoken wise words, daughter. Fairy Tail has never been a guild to turn anyone away, after all."

"What are you saying, Master?" Erza spoke angrily. "This man –."

"—is no different from Gajeel and Juvia. He's no different from you either, Erza."

"Me, Master?"

"Hai. He's no different from any of us. Lisanna, Gildarts, Mirajane, Laxus. Myself. All of us have lost our way at some point. The important thing is that we make it back to the right path. Wouldn't you say?"

She was silent for a moment before turning to Silver and suddenly he was staring at the top of her head as she bowed. "Forgive me. In my worry, I have forgotten myself."

All he could do was nod. They were… accepting him? If six people glaring at him hadn't been what he was expecting – well, he really didn't know what to make of this… After a moment, he spoke again. "And what of my son? I… I at least want to know he is all right before I leave again…"

"He hasn't woken yet," the guild master murmured. "In typical Gray fashion, he over exerted himself…"

Silver sighed. "Not like I gave much choice."

"Don't say that, Silver-sama. It was that cursed demon from that cursed book. But Juvia never doubted Gray-sama; Juvia knew he could do it!"

"The book…" His eyes grew wide. "Where is it?"

"Gray-sama destroyed it after our unison raid," Juvia beamed, pulling out the tattered remains.

"That explains a lot," he murmured. "That book is dangerous to destroy. He shouldn't have done it – not then when he was already so greatly weakened."

"He'll pull through." He looked up from the remains of the book to the scarlet-haired woman. "He always does. That's just Gray – he's so stubborn that even if someone killed him he'd forget to die."

Silver chuckled. "Yeah. That sounds like him, alright…" He paused. "By the way – Juvia, wasn't it?" She nodded. "How did you do it? A unison raid itself shouldn't have been enough to drive that demon back to its book."

"Uhm, well… J-Juvia noticed as she caught up with Gray-sama that your path of battle had moved on top of a lake – a salt lake. It was a gamble to think it would work, but Juvia read in a book once that demons can't stand salt so…"

He smiled. "Arigato, miss. If you hadn't… Well, I have no doubt that Gray would have killed me like I told him to."

"Juvia couldn't let him. It would have killed Gray-sama inside to do so. Even if it was a risky chance, Juvia had to try for his sake."

"He's lucky to have a friend like you in the guild."

"Anyone in Fairy Tail would have done the same, Juvia is sure. We're a family after all."

"Still," Silver gave her a lopsided grin. "I wonder if he knows just how lucky he is to have you – and everyone else here. This really is a family; I knew that the instant I realized where I was, with all of you angry about what I've done." He swung his feet from the bed to the floor. "Which is why I cannot stay here. He has built a life for himself, and that life doesn't involve an old man like me. I am happy enough just knowing he is alive and safe and everything I had ever hoped he would be. Perhaps we will meet again sometime."

"I don't think you should leave."

He turned his head, smile falling, to the blonde girl who had yet to speak. "Why is that?"

She ducked her head. "Because you never know when something twisted will happen and time will pass and you may never get another chance to see him. At least stay long enough to talk to him."

"I think it would hurt if you left without saying goodbye again," the salmon-haired teen beside her added. "He'd never forgive you for that."

"Natsu may be a blockhead, but he's right."

They all turned towards the door where the black-haired Ice Mage was leaning heavily against the door frame, a guilty Levy just behind him.

"Oi! Shouldn't you be resting?!" Erza clearly wasn't happy as moved towards him, glaring at the blue-haired script mage behind him.

"Gomen'na, Erza-chan," she murmured. "I tried; I really did!"

"I'm fine, jeez," Gray muttered as Erza came to his side to support him far enough to get him to a chair. He glanced up to his father as he sat down. "Were you really planning on leaving without saying anything?"

Silver sighed. "I was. I think I've interfered enough in your life. I'm not about to ruin a good thing."

"A good thing?" Gray scoffed. "Fairy Tail is a 'good thing' that you would ruin? How is my Fairy Tail family a better thing than my real family?" He almost laughed. "Ya know, I think I understand how Kana felt a little better now. Knowing who your real father is but not being able to get there… Only for me, it was the other way around. And now you're here and you think it'd be better for me if you left? Are you stupider than Natsu?"

"I resent that," Natsu muttered which only earned him a sharp elbow in the ribs from Lucy.

Silver chuckled. "Can you ever forgive me, Gray?"

"Yeah," Gray smiled back. "I don't think that's going to be a problem."