Ch. 17

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Gray fell to his knees on the floor in disbelief. Juvia was gone from her bed, something he wanted, but not like this. Members of the guild gathered outside, staring at Gray, wanting to comfort him.

"What the hell was that?" Natsu stuttered.

"It's like she just reverted back to her old ways, before the guild..." Lucy observed.

Gray slowly looked up to see Magnolia's sky suddenly covered in gray and black clouds, rain pouring heavily over the now dark city.

"The Rain Woman..." Erza muttered under her breath.

Gray carefully stood up and clenched his fist,
"We've gotta find her now!"

Everyone behind him nodded and started to spread out and search for their water mage. Team Natsu, Gajeel, and Levy checked outside of the guild into town. Happy, Lily, and Carla flew through the puffy clouds, looking for Juvia from the sky.

"Where could she have gone?" Happy questioned his fellow exceeds.

Lily shrugged his shoulders, "There's no telling, I just hope we find her."

Down on the ground, Natsu and Lucy searched by the river,
"Maybe she is near water being a water mage?"  Lucy hypothesized holding her umbrella over her head.

The rain kept falling even harder as Natsu and Lucy continued to walk. 

"Natsu do you want to share the umbrella? You'll get sick being wet in the cold," she asked him concerned.

Natsu rolled his eyes, crossing his arms,
"No need to worry, I can keep myself warm."

Lucy sighed as they continued their search.

Gajeel and Levy were in charge of looking on the outskirts of Magnolia, wondering if she got far enough to try and leave town.

"Gajeel...I'm worried about her, where could she have gone?" Levy sighed.

Gajeel kept his hands in his pockets and stopped in his tracks, 
"I'm terrified."

Levy stopped walking and turned to him.

"Seeing Juvia act like that again was a memory I thought I had locked away, How we were in Phantom Lord, much less what I did to you...I didn't want to have to confront that again and I can't see her doing that either..." he trailed off.

Levy looked at him with a heartfelt smile, her eyes gazing into his.

"Gajeel, I forgive you for that. And so has everyone else, including Juvia. You both are one of us and always will be."

Gajeel sighed with a slight grin,
"We'll find her, and figure out what the hell is going on here."

Gray and Erza were in town, searching for her throughout Magnolia.

Gray had not said a word since they left the guild, keeping to himself. Erza trailed behind him, trying to figure out what to say to make the situation better. The rain kept falling down, the little raindrops soaking their once dry clothes. The sky only grew darker the longer they searched. Where could she possibly be? 

"Gray, I think we should try her apartment," Erza said quietly.

Gray only nodded as he changed direction to her apartment building. Gray was so angry he felt ice chips form on his hands in his pockets. He took a deep breath as the air started to grow cold. He exhaled, seeing his frosty breath disappear in the atmosphere. The pair reached the apartment complex. Erza turned the doorknob and noticed it was surprisingly unlocked. The lock had been broken. Erza opened the door and saw her apartment in shambles. She stood there in shock as Gray slowly approached the door. 

"Gray, I don't think you should-"

He ignored her and shoved his way into the door, he stopped in his tracks and stood in awe. Juvia's apartment was dark and only lit by the light outside, which was barely any to begin with. All of her Gray dolls were found shredded and torn across the floor. The room looked ransacked, nothing in her apartment was safe from damage. Gray turned his head and saw writing on her walls in paint,

Drip. Drip. Drop.

Next to it was a concerning insignia, the Phantom Lord mark.

The two Fairy Tail members found themselves stunned, unable to find the words. Gray felt his hands lightly tremble as he slowly stepped back.

"What-What the hell is that doing here?" the ice mage stuttered.

Erza felt her heart sink,
"Maybe Lucy was right, she thinks she's who she used to be, a part of Phantom Lord."

Gray gritted his teeth,
"After everything she has done to change for the better...why now?"

"We should look for clues to see if we can pinpoint her current location."

Suddenly, the ground started to shake, making them stumble. They looked out the windows to see the rain falling even harder and the ground rumbling. The wind started to pick up, rattling the windows.

"Gray!" Erza yelled as she body slammed him to the ground. The windows shattered, making pieces of glass fall on top of them.

They both looked up to see a dark figure levitating in the sky, staring at them.

"I've been waiting for a round two," he spoke.

Erza felt her body twitch,
"Impossible."

The man flew through the window and lifted Erza by her wrists,
"How sad your fate will be," he started to cry.

"Let go of her! Ice make-" Gray was interrupted as the stranger pushed Gray and threw him into the wall.

Gray struggled to get up as he looked at the airspace mage,
"Aria?!"

Aria had tears streaming down his face,
"Oh how cruel this will be indeed!"

Erza kept trying to jerk her wrists free, she started to use her magic to summon a sword. Aria quickly slammed her to the ground. She winced in pain, her sword fading.

"See you soon ice mage."

Aria and Erza both disappeared in front of Gray. 

"This is worse than I thought, I need to warn the others!" Gray stated as he jumped out the window on an ice slide.

Gray continued on foot towards the guild, running as fast as he could. All he could think about was the guild's safety and worrying about where Juvia could be, his heart started to race. The guild was in sight as he picked up the pace. He suddenly stopped in his tracks, the guild hall was surrounded by a dark aura.

"What the hell is this?"

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