Frost

17

Porlyusica wasn't busy at all. In fact, she had finished examining the syringe a little over two days ago. She didn't find much, except that the syringe was indeed enchanted. It changed her perspective a whole lot, especially since so many possibilities have been flowing through her mind about what could—no, will—happen to Gray if he tried to gain attention.

The enchantment was an invisibility enchantment, so the ice mage was wandering around invisible and clueless. However, it was different from anything she's seen. Gray wasn't able to be heard, nor was he able to be touched. The only problem was that if he tried to move things or use his magic, his magic power would drain slowly.

So the old woman needed to find a cure and fast. It's been a while, and who knows what Gray has been doing. The entire time.

Porlyusica has assumed that none of the fairies knew what could happen to their comrade since they were asking her to collect their data. But they were investigating on their own. What she needed to focus on was how Gray had gotten injected in the first place. Porlyusica placed a hand on her chin, and she jumped when she heard sudden knocking from the door.

The old woman grunted and made her way over with her broom in tow.

Raising the piece of combined wood and hay in the air, Porlyusica opened the door and found the Salamander at the other end. "How impatient are you!? It's only been two days!"

"Yeah, and I figured you'd be done since you are the best of the best, right?" Natsu hummed with a smile. The old woman frowned and smacked him in the head.

"I said don't charm me! It'll only make me want to hit you more!"

Natsu shook his head and pushed Porlyusica to the side so that he could walk in. The old woman raised an eyebrow and shook her head before closing the door. She made her way in after the dragon slayer.

Natsu looked around the room. Everything was the same; nothing had changed since the last time he had been there.

Natsu had been hoping that Porlyusica had been doing some research about the syringe, and he wanted to prove that it was enchanted. Fortunately, his theory was correct. Not only did the syringe include Gray's blood with solid evidence, but it was enchanted.

Porlyusica have began to dig through cabinets until she found a plastic bag. She tossed the bag to Natsu, who jumped and looked at the syringe. The dragon slayer's eyes widened with confusion, then shock, and finally anger.

The syringe was dry, and not only that, but it wasn't even one whole piece. "What the hell is this!?" Natsu roared. Porlyusica shrugged as she dug into the cabinets to look for something else. "It's your syringe."

"I already know that! What happened to it!?" Natsu's fists were gripped around the syringe so tightly that he nearly shattered it to even smaller pieces. Before he could do that, he placed the syringe in a safe place.

"I washed it."

Natsu's face fell. His heart skipped a beat. Porlyusica washed the syringe? All the dragon slayer could do was blink. He watched as the woman grabbed a small black box from the counter and opened it. Natsu didn't pay any mind to it, for his head turned back to the syringe that rested on a nearby counter.

"Wh-wha-"

"Don't lose your hope. I'll tell you why I washed it in the first place," Porlyusica sighed as she made her way over to Natsu. She lifted the box up to his face and showed him what was inside. There lying alone in the box was the needle of the syringe. Gray's dried blood left small flakes in the interior, but everything else inside was white.

"The disgusting smell was coming from the syringe itself. Everything inside it was just water. During the examination, I discovered that the smell was just because the syringe was dirty, dug out from the trash. The needle, however, is a different story." Natsu went to pick up the shiny piece of metal, but Porlyusica swatted his hand away.

"I found out that the needle didn't fit correctly inside the syringe. That's when I was able to get some deeper information. It was handcrafted, and whoever made it assumed that it would fit. If you look at the syringe, the slot where the needle is supposed to go is slightly damaged.

"Therefore, it makes sense that the needle is enchanted. I proved myself right by testing it on an insect. It had disappeared within ten hours, maybe less."

Natsu blinked and looked back inside the box. The needle did look tinted in some areas, covered in a blue powdery substance.

"This is enchantment?" Natsu questioned. Porlyusica nodded.

"It's different from Wendy's enchantment. It's the major difference is that it's visible, unstable compared to hers." Natsu hummed, and he looked at the old woman.

"Is there a cure for it?"

"That's what I've been looking for," Porlyusica sighed.

•••

Gray had awoken in his bedroom. The ice had gone away, leaving the walls damp and the ceiling dripping drops of water. He blinked a few times before he looked around his empty bedroom. Of course, everyone had left, and no one had expected him to be there. The only clue he did leave was his lacrima, but someone had turned it off.

He wanted to call someone.

Gray tried to stand up, but his legs wouldn't stop shaking, and he collapsed back onto the floor. He was weak, and he was tired.

Maybe he would just rest for a little bit longer. "Only a little bit . . ." Gray spoke to himself. He was able to make his way over to his cold bed that showed no sign of life in the apartment. Soon, Gray closed his eyes and relaxed his head on his soft, soft pillow. He snores loudly, but no one was able to hear him.