Savior of the Slayers

Puzzle Pieces

Gray's POV

The journey to Hinata cove was a slow one. It wasn't slow in the sense that the group was traveling at a slow pace, it was more of a feeling of slowness. No matter how fast we traveled, I felt as though we were barely moving. 

Right after revealing the clue hidden in the necklace, we all decided to set out immediately. We had left almost three days ago and were almost to the cove, yet I was scared. What would we find when we got there? What if there wasn't anything to it? What if Ray really had changed? What if this was really just a trap? I know these thoughts were circling the others' minds, yet none of us ever said anything. 

There was no doubt that I was taking all of this Ray business the hardest. It was kind of odd, it wasn't my adopted father that had been killed, so why wasn't Natsu hurting more? Nothing seemed to make sense anymore. Everything I had ever known seemed to be crumbling away before me. My head hurt due to the constant struggle between what was real and what was made up. My mind was full of scenarios that could come out of this, and everything was beginning to blend together. 

"Gray." Lucy said, pulling me back to the present. It was dark now and we had settled down for the night. She smiled and handed me some food.

"Thanks." I said, grabbing the bowl from her. We had somehow managed to throw together enough food before leaving Magnolia, a fact that I hardly remember. All of that had seemed like forever ago, yet in reality it was only a few days.

"We should get there about noon tomorrow." Lucy said, plopping down next to me. I nodded, staring into the dark forest at the other end of the clearing. Lucy said nothing and began eating. At times like these I really appreciated having Lucy around. She always understood when I needed to just be in my head and she respected that. I really did love her. Not in the romantic sense, it was more platonic. 

"Thank you Lucy." I said after a while. She looked over at me, a hint of confusion on her face.

"For what?" She asked me, tilting her head to the side.

"Being here." I answered, looking back into the woods. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her smile and gaze at the sleeping figures of their friends. I wasn't sure when they had fallen asleep, but judging from how quiet it's been, it had been a while. Next to me I heard Lucy stifle a yawn.

"Sleep." I said, looking over at her. She grinned sleepily at me and walked over to a vacant sleeping bag. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out. I laughed, despite how tired she had been, she had stayed with me. I'll have to thank her later. 

I looked around at the sleeping faces of my friends. Natsu and Happy were sprawled out on top of one of the sleeping bags, Lisanna and Lucy were sleeping rather normally, and Erza was as stiff as a board. I felt a smile creep up on my face, I couldn't help but think of how each sleeping style fit everyone's personality. I returned my gaze back to the opposite side of the clearing and into the dark forest.

A sudden movement in the forest startled me. It happened so fast I wasn't actually sure anything had happened at all. I was just about to get up and go investigate when the light of the moon suddenly illuminated the clearing. It had be a rather cloudy night, so it was strange that the clouds had suddenly disappeared. Turning my attention back to the forest, I was able to make out the outline of a figure. Just as I was about to call out, the figure turned and walked further into the woods. I wasn't sure why, but I followed.

After many twists and turns, I ended up on a cliff side over the ocean. The water was calm, lapping against the rocks below. To my right I noticed a small cove.

'Hinata cove.' I thought to myself. Why had the figure lead me here?

"You have to leave." A familiar voice called from behind me. I quickly turned and came face to face with Ray.

"Leave?" I asked, unsure about what she was talking about. Didn't she just lead me here? Didn't she leave the hint behind so that we would follow her here?

"Get out of Fiore Gray. If you leave now then nobody will follow you." She said, staring intently into my eyes. 

"Leave everything behind, why?" I asked, still unsure. What was going on?

"I know I'm in no place to say this, but you need to trust me. Something bad is going to happen and I don't want you caught up in it." She sighed, looking rather frantic. She was telling the truth, that much I was sure of.

"You know I can't just leave, especially if something bad is going to happen. It's the job of mages to prevent bad things from happening." I responded, still not quite understanding.

"Gray, this is above you. It's bigger than you, bigger than mages, bigger than guilds. You have to leave, otherwise you might not.." She didn't finish.

"If it's that bad then why don't we tell the others? We're strong, but imagine how much stronger we can be if all the mages come together!" I argued. She was gone for years, she had no idea just how strong we were.

"NO!" She yelled. "Whatever you do, you can't tell anyone about this. I'm going against my better judgement to tell you this much Gray."

"If you honestly think I would just leave my friends behind to protect myself then you don't know me at all. I would never leave them, especially without at least saying something." I replied. I saw her flinch at that. Sure, it was a bit below the belt, but I'd b lying if I said it wasn't true.

"You don't understand, I had to go." She whispered.

"Then make me understand." I pushed, determined to get something out of her. 

"Gray, please." She begged. 

"So you aren't going to say anything then." I said, disappointed.

"I can't." She replied, hurt in her voice.

"Can you give me a hint at least. Something I can use to prepare for whatever evil is coming?" I asked gently. I could tell how hard it was for her to be here, she was trying to protect me.

"E.N.D." She said, staring at the ground.

"End?" I asked, confused.

"No, E.N.D., it's an acronym. Look, Gray, I have to go. Don't tell anyone I was here, or what I told you for that matter." She said, looking up at me. There was so much emotion in her eyes, yet I wasn't able to pick out anything before she disappeared into thin air. I sighed, turning back to the ocean. E.N.D. What did it mean? It was an acronym, so what did it stand for? Why couldn't I tell anyone? When it came down to it, I was just happy I finally got something out of her. With that, I turned away from the water and made my way back to camp, my mind swimming with more questions than answers. 

Okay, so a bit short, and a bit of a filler. I promised another chapter in 2016 and I just got back from Maui, so I'm kind of rushing here. Anyway, the plot is finally thickening. What happened to Ray on Tenrou Island? What is going to happen? Answers will come in good time, I promise. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up, but like I stated previously, I would like to finish this story by the end of 2017, which means I will have to update more frequently. Until next time!

AJ