"Wait, you're fine with it? Seriously?" Mira was not happy to hear that.

"Yeah," Gray says. "I mean... if it's happening in the future, that means you guys are going to see it anyway, right?"

"That's one hell of an optimistic way to look at it..."

"Really?" Levy says, "it's okay, you know.. We can think of other ways. Like maybe you see it alone, or..."

"No, no, that means I have to pay attention to everything every moment," Gray says, "I'll miss something. I'm not in the state of mind to do that."

And that... was true. They could always compromise by just letting a few people watch it alongside him– but Gray was firmly set on being fine with everyone watching.

"Even if we see your embarrassing baby pictures?" Natsu asks.

Everyone sputters.

"Read the MOOD, Natsu!"

"It's a valid question!"

Gray is too flabbergasted to compose a proper answer, "what do y– of course n– there won't be–" he tears away with an exasperated swear before, "it's not going to show up!"

"Bet," Natsu says.

"Betting," Cana agrees, lifting the table and erasing previous scores for the new ones.

"No!" Gray yells.

And when a few people burst into laughter, Gray couldn't help but join in, albeit a little drier. Somehow, the idea of his past being shown bothered him just as much as what was going to happen– but in a completely different direction. One side was dread, and the other side, just harmless shame.

"Natsu's not allowed to see any flashbacks," Gray declares.

"Aye, leave that to me!" Happy assures, and Lisanna and Erza agree.

"This is discrimination!" he yells.

It wasn't going to make this any better– but the guild coming together for any excuse to help him bully Natsu? That made Gray feel a little better.

When they settled down around each other, Gray was in the center middle, surrounded by Cana and Erza, for some reason.

"Barricade," Mira declared. "Cause no matter what happens on screen, you're not allowed to run away."

Gray balks. "Why?"

"Cause we're gonna bully the hell out of you if you do something embarrassing."

"...is this hell?"

"I know the Moon Drip has something to do with it, but I can't for the hell of me find that book about it," Levy mutters. "It's so frustrating!"

"The Moon Drip," Loke repeats.

"You know it?"

"No..." Loke says, "but I feel like I've heard of it... somewhere before..."

"Agh, if we don't solve this soon I'm gonna go crazy!" Levy yells.

"She's usually so patient, so this is weird," Cana says, "you're stressed out or something, Levy? Want some coffee?"

"No thank you but yes, thank you!"

"Which is it?"

"Ah, he got hit," Lisanna sighs.

"That's nothing new," Loke says.

But everyone knew something was different in that one punch that made it matter more than any other they've ever dished out against each other.

"Stop picking a fight with every big monster you see, you idiot," Gray mutters.

"Why not?" Natsu says.

Mira chuckles at that. "I guess Natsu's got the natural instinct to fight any big beast, huh? Is it because you were raised by a dragon?"

"Well yeah, because if there's another big beast around that isn't one of Igneel's friends, it's intruding on our territory and needs to learn its place," Natsu mutters.

"Awh," Lisanna leans over, "so you fight big beasts because you don't like them in your space?"

"I'm not that conceited!" he insists. "But well, if they're going to invade..."

"Uhm, Natsu, Igneel had friends?" Gildarts had to ask. "Like, other dragons?"

"Obviously?"

There's a pause.

Then, "Natsu, where did all the dragons go and how did no one ever notice dragons raising kids in a nearby forest? Are you sure you weren't just teleported that day, instead of your dragon going missing?"

"I don't know, don't ask me!" Natsu yelps.

"...but Gray, that's a very interesting hypothesis," Levy says.

"That's a stupid hypothesis is what it is, who even and why would they?" Mira says, "Natsu would remember something like that."

"Also, wouldn't that technically be abduction?"

"Yeah. Not the time, Natsu," Cana sighs.

There's a deep sigh.

"It really can't be melted by anything?" Natsu asks. "Then there's no real need to worry about it, right? Sure it's freaky it's here."

"Is there really ice like that?" Lisanna asks.

"There is," Gray says, "but it's not without a price."

It was incredibly rare for Gray to be the one in no control of his emotions. He was one of the oldest members of the guild– no one's been around to see him when he was at his lowest point. The adults, perhaps, but definitely no one in this room except Gildarts.

He's been stable from the start, at least in their eyes.

Even today, it was hard to know if Gray was really alright, or, like everything else about him, he'd simply let those internal conflicts freeze over time.

"Ice Shell..." Freed says, "that's another ominous spell."

"You know it?"

Freed shakes his head. "Only by name. I have seen it in a list of forbidden, life-risking spells, though I don't know the specifics."

Any spell that could seal a monster would be terrifying. Especially if it's done through a single person's effort, rather than a collective.

"It turns your body into ice," Gray explains. "Eternally."

The air in the room went cold.

"So..." Levy covers her mouth in horror. Magic that transforms the human body– magic that converts life, converts spirit, into solid, inanimate form– "that ice that's sealing Deliora is..."

Gray nods. "She's... well, not exactly dead."

"Gray, please," Erza sets a hand around his shoulder, "calm down. You're scaring Lucy."

Gray sighs heavily. "How about you try keeping calm about this once it's your turn."

"Point."

"But your concern's true," Gildarts says, "even if they have found a way to dispel it, there's no reason to. The world is better off when the demon's not running amok."

"Unless they're trying to set it rampant around the country again?"

"What are they, supervillains?"

"Even so, it doesn't make sense," Mira says. "Why the island? Deliora's not going to be able to do much damage, and they're not going to make it ride a boat back to mainland, are they?"

"Can't it scale the ocean?"

"Seems counterproductive."

"But if they want destruction, it makes sense to dispel it on the mainland, right?"

"...Dispel?" Loke asks.

"Dispel–" Levy repeats, and then drops the book in her hands. "Oh my god. Dispel!"

Everyone turns to her just in time to see her screech frantically and get right up. Loke, registering the words, finally, finally remembers.

"That's right! The Moon Drip is dispel magic!" Loke yells, "why did it take me so long to remember this?!"

"The magic of the moon can dispel anything!" Levy adds, "they gather the moonlight in liquid form, and it's the strongest magic canceller in the world! That's why they're in Galuna– the distance to the moon and everything!"

"WHAT?!"

"Wait, Loke, Levy– explain from the beginning, what?!"

"This is unmeltable magic– but Moon Drip is magic that destroys the formation of spells, erasing magic seals and runic sequences," Loke says.

All magic, even those that have already taken effect, are put in place by magic spell circles. Most people no longer need to understand the words that make up the spell circles, but they do, in fact, exist as a part of the magic activation. Thus, Moon Drip is able to worm its way into the formation and erase them, and thus is able to break any spell.

"What– so they do have a plan to dispel the ice!"

"Wait– if that happens, what happens to Miss Ur?!" Lisanna says, racing toward Gray, who was going a whole shade paler.

"But the question of why remains," Gildarts says. "Does the person melting it even know that the ice is a person? Even if they didn't, what would they want with Deliora?"

"Shit," Gray whispers. "Shit. I know– I know someone who wants to melt it."

All attention whirls to him.

"But no... he wouldn't be here, right?" Gray says. "He wouldn't..."

"That's certainly the fastest way, but..."

"Violence isn't always the way to go," Lisanna says. "If they refuse to tell, then the Cold Emperor guy is just going to keep hiding and we'll never find anything."

"Their mission is almost done, too. They won't risk it now."

And that certainly was the easiest way to understand things.

"We'll need to stop the ceremony, first and foremost," Erza says. "So understanding the situation would be most ideal."

"I see.. The ritual-looking thing we saw the cult do was a group-casting for Moon Drip," Freed observes. "Gathering so much magic in one place for three years can't be good for anyone. If the moon itself is changing colour, no wonder the villagers' bodies have been affected."

"Hey, Gray... if this Cold Emperor is the guy you're thinking about..."

Cana trails off, but Gray bites his lip.

She doesn't finish her sentence.

(Can you win? Can you fight?)

There had to be a way to go about it other than that.

"That's right," Mira says, "it's all coming full circle."

"But I really can't help but worry. Those guys are affiliated with Lamia, aren't they?" Lisanna says, "do you think Master Obaba is aware of this?"

"Even if they're no longer part of that guild, I'm sure she wouldn't approve of this."

"Then, once we get out, we need to tell her," Levy says. "If this happened only recently where we're from.. Then there's a chance we can genuinely stop this before it gets too far."

There's short laughter in the room. Tense as the situation was, it was really nice that there were still opportunities for little bits of lightheartedness around.

"Will you ever start taking this seriously?" Lisanna teases.

"Wh– of course I'm taking this seriously! It's an S class, I know that!" he snaps, "just– ugh! Not at that particular moment, no, alright?"

When Cana looks over, Gray is still nervous– but there's a small smile on his face.

"Geez, you're hopeless, Natsu," he says.

"Watching him like that really calms you down, huh?" Mira chuckles. "Must be nice to be able to fall asleep anywhere, anytime."

"Well, he is a jungle kid," Loke says.

Gray yelps, "crap!"

"A flashback!" Levy cheers, "we get to see what happens!"

"Wait, no!" Gray yells again.

"We get to see baby Gray!"

"We don't need my babyhood!"

"Well, we'll learn more about your master," Erza says, "and what happened with Deliora, if context clues are right. If you don't want us to see–"

"No! I mean, yeah– I mean," he sputters, "I don't really mind, just– do we have to learn this?"

"There's so much snow," Laxus says.

"It's Isvan, after all," Gildarts laughs. "It's like that almost all-year round!"

"Ah, someone grab Natsu! He's not allowed to see!"

"WHY?!"

Gildarts whistles. "Just as gorgeous as when I met her!"

"What? When was that, then?" Gray says, "does this woman not age at all?"

"They say that all women in snowy countries are gorgeous because they're ageless like the ice in the horizon..."

"Gildarts, I think you're talking about the Yuki-onna, and I have the horrible feeling that you've met one before and they just failed to kill you."

"Huh?"

"So that's your magic master?" Mira says, "what, she's super pretty!"

"She's got the same hairstyle as I used to," Lisanna says, swooning. "It looks so good on her, though. Maybe I should go back to it..."

"Oh come on, ladies, what on earth?"

"Uhm... forgive me if I'm just being ignorant due to lack of cultural knowledge," Erza speaks up, "but isn't she... awfully lightly dressed for the weather?"

And, looking over now, she's right.

Sure, Ur wore a jacket, but it was just one jacket. This was full fur coat season.

"I guess it's fair for an ice mage," Bickslow says.

Gray stares at the screen, not so sure if he should tell them that she usually wears less. Well, for training, as long as it's easy to take off and keep track of, who cares about clothes? Gray also stopped wearing winter layers because he didn't want to bother looking around for two undershirts all the time.

And Gray sighs, looking upon that.

All he thought about was revenge, back then. Has he ever thanked Ur for all she'd done for him? Definitely not.

And the thought hurt just a little more each time.

"Oh, it's a spirit we haven't seen before," Cana says.

"It's the one you said looked like a person, right?" Lisanna turns toward Loke, who nods.

"Bringing a musical spirit out for entertainment, huh?" Erza says, "spirits are surprisingly versatile."

"Well, it's a business, after all," Loke chuckles. "Everyone's got to have something to bring to the table."