Frost

41

The group that the trio was afraid of consisted of two celestial spirits, a dragon slayer, and an exceed with muscles. They just came to investigate the screaming, which, Virgo confirmed, was caused by her. "My chains got tangled, and I fell over them. The sound of them hitting the rocks made them run away," the Virgo explained with a stoic expression. She didn't even look amused. Loke could see her face because of his regulus magic, but he didn't want it too bright so that they wouldn't be visible to the trio at the end of the tunnel. It always surprised him that Virgo could always keep a straight face.

"Why didn't you untangle them yourself?" Loke questioned, pointing to the now-untangled chains thanks to Pantherlily. Gajeel snorted. "That's the dumbest question I've ever heard. Do ya really think she could untangle the chains if she was tangled up in them?" Loke frowned and didn't say anything else to Gajeel. Only a smirk appeared on the dragon slayer's face. The two began to argue, and Lily watched with disappointment. When they were running through the tunnels before, there was only constant bickering between both Gajeel and Loke after Pantherlily became quite about directions through the tunnels. It was for petty reasons, too, like how Gajeel didn't have enough space to run faster because of how "slow" Loke was moving.

"Guys, just calm down. Lucy and Happy are at the end of this tunnel, right? We just need to grab them and get out of here," Lily said. He kept his voice quiet enough so that he wouldn't startle them. It would be bad if the guy that was with them felt threatened enough to attack. However, Gajeel has different plans. He spoke loud enough that his voice echoed through the tunnels. Loke covered his mouth before Gajeel could say another word.

"We need to be quiet. You don't know how strong that Asa guy is!" Gajeel lulled Loke's Hans away from his mouth and frowned. "If he's a challenge then I'll fight him. I can guarantee you that I can beat him to a pulp."

Virgo looked looked at the three guys and sighed. She started to walk alone, and then they eventually noticed and caught up to her. Loke walked along next to her, taking small glances at her every now and then. After a little bit of walking, he finally had the guts to ask her what was wrong. Virgo only shook her head. "Nothing's wrong. I don't think that guy with Princess is a threat. Instead of fighting me, he ran away with them. I also think that if he had bad intentions he would have done something to them by now."

Loke blinked a few times, and then he came to the realization that maybe, just maybe, Virgo was right. Besides Happy and Lucy, Virgo was also with Asa. The only difference was that none of the three knew that she was there. She was able to tell what type of person Asa was, and, despite the little arguments that occurred between them, Asa seemed practically harmless. Now that Virgo thinks about it, Asa doesn't even use magic.

"That guy . . . He uses potions," Virgo whispered. They were getting closer to the room. Loke could see the trio moving around. He then noticed that the taller figure—most likely Asa—was standing in his place. "I think his night vision potion still might be in effect."

"Night vision!?" Loke hissed. It was clear enough for Pantherlily and Gajeel to hear, but he didn't believe that it was loud enough for anyone else to hear. Gajeel places a hand on Loke's shoulder, and the group stopped moving. "What do you mean 'night vision'?"

"Asa is a potion user. He makes his own potions and he has this one potion that gives him night vision. He drank it when I was following them so that he could see, but he never looked back at me. I don't know how long the effects last," Virgo explained. A smirk appeared on the dragon slayer's lips, and he nudged Lily's abdomen with his elbow.

"I can definitely beat that guy to a pulp."

"Shut up Gajeel. Not everything has to be a fight, okay? Virgo doesn't think he's a bad guy, so let's take things easy," Loke said. The group continued once more. When they reached the entrance of the room, the sounds of screams filled their ears. Eventually, everyone grew silent.

Asa, Happy, and Lucy were all crowded in the corner furthest away from the entrance of the room. Lucy and were squeezing each other, and Happy was smushed in between them. Lucy has her arm outstretched with one of her golden keys—which happened to be Virgo's. When she saw who entered the room, her arm dropped to her sides, and her eyebrows furrowed.

"Are you serious?"

•••

Juvia has been bouncing in her seat ever since she found out about Gray's whereabouts. Turns out, Natsu, Gajeel, and Lily were the lucky ones when it came to splitting up. Natsu kept his promise, and he found Gray.

Levy and Juvia's tunnel led to the other side of Margaret. It was a mile or so away from Lamia Scale. The two girls stopped by for rest—Juvia was squeezed by Lyon her whole visit while he cried into her shoulder about how much he couldn't wait to see Gray again. She couldn't lie that even she cried with him, for she couldn't wait to see her beloved ice mage for the first time in forever.

Now, wizards from all over Fiore were waiting at the guild hall for Gray Fullbuster's return. Many warm and familiar faces lit up the room with the most excitement in months. Even Makarov was having a good time. But Juvia didn't care about the celebration. She only cared about Gray.

Every time the door opened, someone new would enter. Every single time, Juvia's hopes would go up, but she was disappointed each and every time. "Don't worry Juvia. I'm sure they'll be back in no time," Erza said. She gave Juvia a half hug. She returned earlier that day with Cana, who immediately went straight to the bar. Juvia could tell that Erza was just as excited to see Gray as she was.

"I know. But I want him here now. I wonder what's taking them so long?" Juvia asked aloud. Erza looked at her and sighed. Together, the two waited for Gray to walk through the doors of the guild hall. They were both eager.

Erza was served a slice of strawberry cake by Lisanna, who smiled at them and explained how much she couldn't wait to see Natsu and Gray back at the guild. "Those two always made this place more exciting. I bet as soon as they saw each other, they probably hugged and then fought each other," she laughed. Erza agreed.

Juvia looked at the two girls and then sighed. Her eyes moved towards the guild doors. She watched as the doors opened once more that day. Mirajane entered the guild hall with a bright smile upon her lips. The water mage looked away as the guild doors closed once more. Mira practically sprinted towards her sister, and Lisanna's eyes widened when she felt her older sister's hands on her shoulders.

"Wow, Mira! What's gotten into you?"

"You guys are definitely in for it. They're just as excited to be here as I am!" Mira exclaimed. Erza stood up from her seat with wide eyes, but, before she could say anything, the guild doors slammed open. Everyone gasped as the open doors revealed two wizards—a dragon slayer and an ice mage. Natsu wrapped his arm around Gray's shoulders with a large smile and exclaimed, "We're back!" The guild hall erupted with cheers.

Gray looked around him and watched as everyone clapped for him. Now that they could actually see him, he could celebrate with them. This was the best feeling he has ever felt in his entire life.