Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hey, everyone.

So, this one-shot, originally called What Had To Be Done, was my prompt for day 2 of Gruvia Week 2018: Misunderstanding.

In the end, after a request from glodenglowingsnowdemon (on ff.net), I decided to turn it into a multi-chapter story. Now, let's make a few things clear before we go on with the story:

1- This will be a short story. 15 chapters AT MOST.

2-Updates won't be frequent, I'm afraid. Demons is still my priority and I have a few one-shots planned, so I can't promise weekly updates for this story. Since I've already written up till chapter 4, the first few chapters should be posted by the end of June, but after that I don't know. Hope you can understand that.

3-The pairings included here will be Gruvia, Jerza and whatever couples you might request. So let me know who you'd like me to include.

Original Summary: Gray didn't want to believe it. Didn't want to face the truth that was right in front of him, because it was too hard. He stared at her in disbelief, eyes drawn to the bloody knife on her shaky hands and for a moment he worried that she might use it on him. Was this his fault? Had he broken her so much that she decided to work for Zeref? (For Gruvia Week)

WARNING: This contains mentions of MURDER and SUICIDE . Therefore be cautious when reading.

Enjoy! Don't forget to review, follow and favorite.

"Do whatever you think is right! That's the way of the Fairy Tail Mages!"

-Makarov Dreyar

"You're working for Zeref." Gray didn't want to believe it. Didn't want to face the truth that was right in front of him, because it was hard. Harder than finding out that his parents had died on that awful night, or watching Ur sacrifice herself for him. No, this was so much worse.

He stared at the woman in front of him; her long blue hair was let down and she wore a beautiful gown. It used to be the color of the sky, but now there were red stains. Blood; he had noted.

Her shaky hands held onto the knife and for a moment he worried that she was going to use it on him.

"No." Juvia shook her head, tears streaming down her face and he was confused. Why was she the one crying? She had betrayed him. If anyone should be upset now, it's him.

"There's no use in denying it, Juvia. I'm not stupid." That wasn't entirely true. He had been stupid, and blind. His love for her had blinded him to the truth and now someone else had to pay for it. He really didn't know how he hadn't figured it out before, all the signs had been there.

The first one was a few days after they had gotten together, while they were training for the Grand Magic Games. She disappeared for a whole day and he had been worried sick. When she came back that night, she made up some excuse that the others were quick to believe, but not him. Gray always knew when she was lying, or at least he had thought so.

Then, on the second day of the Games, he heard Gajeel saying that he had seen her talking to a strange person, someone he didn't recognise. They had assumed it was perhaps a fan of hers, because Juvia had become quite popular ever since they returned from Tenrou Island.

She had made many pose ups for Sorcerer Weekly and after her relationship with Gray went public, the two of them became the it couple of Fiore. Only Sherry and Ren and topped them off.

On the night that Lucy was kidnapped after they found out about the Eclipse Gate, Juvia didn't seem as surprised as everyone else. Instead, her face showed sadness and guilt. Gray was suspicious, but once he asked her about it, she denied.

Later that night he had caught her talking to the same strange woman with long black hair and golden horns adorning her head. Natsu had been with him and he was able to overhear some of the conversation. All he was able to catch was the woman's threat to Juvie, before she suddenly disappeared. The words she spoke made him feel uneasy and he didn't like it one bit. "It must be done by midnight tomorrow, unless you wish for him to be harmed."

Gray knew that the woman was talking about him, but Juvia once again denied it when he asked. She told another lie; that the woman used to be a member of Phantom Lord and was trying to blackmail her in order to get money. Gray didn't know why he believed it, but he had trusted her. He loved her, after all, and he knew she loved him back, so there was no reason not to.

"I can't believe I trusted you." It was his turn to shake his head before he gazed at the body on the grass.

They were in the middle of the labyrinth consisting of the Palace Gardens and it was the night of the Grand Ball, as they had called it. A victory party to celebrate the defeat of the greatest threat to the kingdom of Fiore in centuries: the sudden reappearance of dragons about a week ago.

Most wizards were inside the palace; drinking, dancing and having fun. Gray had been having a great time with his friends, but then Gajeel told him he was worried about Juvia's disappearance, making the ice mage worried himself. They had agreed to meet at the party, yet over one hour had passed and she hadn't showed up.

So the two of them had teamed up to look for her and the dragon slayer had led them to their worst nightmare. They found her standing in front of the body, dress covered in blood and a knife in her hands. To say they were surprised was an understatement; they had never imagined she could be capable of murder.

Gajeel had stayed hidden, giving Gray the opportunity to confront her. He now wished he hadn't.

"I'm so sorry." Juvia was still crying as she let go of the knife. "I didn't... I didn't want it to end like this."

"Neither did I." He couldn't stay there anymore, couldn't look her in the eye. So he turned around with a sigh and began walking away.

"Wait." She called for him and he didn't stop. "At least let me explain." She sounded so sad, so broken. Not what you'd expect from someone who had just betrayed the person they loved.

"I don't think I want to hear it." Gray would never admit it, but he was afraid. He feared the reason she had chosen to change sides is because of him. Because of the way he had treated her before they got together, constantly ignoring her advances. What if he had broken her so much that she decided to work for Zeref?

"Still, you deserve an explanation." Juvia said and he froze. For a few moments, there was only silence as he considered his options. Should he hear her out? Or should he just walk away and save himself the heartache of knowing he was the reason she became evil?

He didn't have a chance to decide, for Gajeel chose that moment to come out of hiding. "You'd better have a very good explanation for this mess!" He glared at her and Juvia's eyes widened once she saw him. Sighing once again, Gray turned around and walked back to her.

"Why did you kill her?" He asked, glancing towards the body once again. Her hair was the same color as the blood that filled her dress and her big, brown eyes stared at them; a look of surprise forever etched on her face. Erza Scarlet was dead.

"I didn't want to." The water mage quickly said, her expression sorrowful. "But I didn't have a choice."

"Don't give me that crap! You're the one who loved reminding me that we always have a choice." Gajeel snapped and Gray wondered why he hadn't. He knew that he should be angry at her, but all he felt was sadness.

"Not in this case." Juvia replied before taking a deep breath. "I'm not working for Zeref." They stared at her, eyebrows raised.

"Seriously, you won't even admit it?" Now he was getting angry.

"I would never betray you like that." She firmly told them and Gajeel laughed without humour.

"Now that's rich." He shook his head while the ice mage remained frozen.

"You killed Erza. Don't you consider that a betrayal?" He reminded her.

"I was forced to do that after I found out..." She paused.

"What?" Gajeel asked, raising a brow while still looking furious.

"She was working for them." Their expressions didn't change.

"Do you seriously expect us to believe that?" Gray asked.

"I'm not saying she was a spy, but they were using her. Ever since the tower of Heaven, when they realized that she could be a great asset. So they placed a tracker inside of her; one that couldn't be removed even with magic. It allowed them to know everything they needed about Fairy Tail. They've been spying on us this whole time, just waiting for the perfect moment to make a move." She paused before looking back at Erza's immobile body.

"And that moment was tonight. They were going to destroy us by using Erza. They told me that they had developed the tracker so that it could be used to control her. I know Erza wouldn't have wanted that, so I did the only thing I could think of to stop them."

"You could have told us." Gray said after a few moments of silence. He was unsure whether or not to believe her, after all, she had lied to them about so much.

"Then they'd have killed you." Juvia replied calmly.

"Wait a second, why do you keep saying say 'them'? Weren't you talking about Zeref?" Gajeel quickly noted.

"They work for Zeref; they are his greatest allies." She took another deep breath before revealing a truth that could get them all killed. "Tartarus." Their eyes widened once they recognized the name of the dark guild.

"Tartarus?" Gray repeated, disbelief crossing his face.

"Yes. I managed to infiltrate their guild a few weeks ago." Their jaws dropped.

"Infiltrate?" Gray was having a hard time understanding what was going on. It seemed as if his brain decided to go on vacations.

"How?" Gajeel asked.

"It was Jellal's idea." She replied. "During the past seven years he found out that my mother had been a member of Tartarus until her death when I was five. Him and Ultear figured I might be able to infiltrate their guild and they were right. It took a while for them to trust me, but I managed to convince them that I had changed sides."

"So you've been pretending to work for them while trying to figure out their plan?" Juvia nodded. It was so unbelievable and yet, they believed her. Because they knew Juvia Lockser and the lengths she'd go to protect the people she loved.

"That's insane!" Gajeel stared at her in disbelief.

"You could've gotten yourself killed." Gray shook his head.

"It was a risk I was willing to take." A guilty look came upon her face. "I'm sorry I did this behind your back, but I didn't want to involve anyone else in this mess." He understood; if he was the one facing this situation, he'd have done the same.

"I understand." Gray paused. "But still, I don't think I can forgive you." She nodded sadly.

"I don't expect you to. I know that I'll never forgive myself for this, but it had to be done." She looked back at the body before kneeling down.

"You're an idiot." Gajeel said, frustrated. "You should have told us."

"If I did, they'd have killed you." She repeated. There was fear in her eyes and also sadness, regret. Gray had never been more sure in his life that she was telling the truth. But still, the question remained, could he forgive her after what she had done?

"Maybe. Or maybe we would've found a way to stop them and Erza wouldn't be dead." Erza had been like a sister to him, one of his best friends.

"I didn't want to risk it, all I wanted was to keep you safe." Juvia said before pausing as tears streamed down her face. "But I failed and now it's too late." Before either of them could understand what was happening, she had grabbed the knife from the floor and held it against her neck.

"No!" Gray screamed, taking a step towards her. He wouldn't let her do this. No matter how angry he was or how hard this was, he couldn't deny the fact that he still loved her. Even if she had been working for Tartarus, these feelings wouldn't go away so easily and Gray knew that there would be no pain worse than that of losing her.

"Don't do this." Gajeel pleaded. Juvia looked at them; so broken and so sad.

"I'm sorry. So sorry." She said while a shaky hand held the knife. "I don't want to do this, but it's too late for me now. They know I lied and they are coming after me."

"I won't let them hurt you, I promise." Gray took a few slow steps towards her. " I'll protect you." There was no way he'd let these monsters harm her. They were the ones responsible for this mess, he reminded himself. They had forced her to kill Erza, they gave her no alternative. They were the ones who needed to pay.

"That's the problem." Juvia sniffed, trying to stop the tears. "I can't let you get hurt because of me." He almost felt like laughing at the irony of the situation; wasn't it only a few days before when he was the one putting himself in danger to save her?

"Losing you will be worse than anything they could do to me." It was the truth. In that moment, Gray realized that even losing Erza couldn't compare to it. So he knew that, even though it might take time, he would forgive Juvia. He couldn't keep hating her for doing exactly what he would have done if he was in her place.

"But at least you'll be safe. They'll have no reason to hurt you if I'm not here." Juvia bit her lip as the knife inched closer to her neck, enough to draw blood. He started getting desperate.

"Please, Juvia." By then he was right in front of her and he knelt down. "Stay. Let me help you fight against them." Gajeel nodded, a furious look coming upon her face. He watched them silently, knowing that if someone could stop her from killing herself, it would be Gray.

"You can't. They're too dangerous; they'll get us killed." There was fear in her eyes, like he had never seen before.

"We won't let that happen." The ice mage took the hand that wasn't holding the knife and squeezed it. "We'll find a way to defeat them and Zeref. I promise you." He saw hesitation cross her face, but she didn't let go of the knife.

"I lost you once." Juvia gulped as memories of his death crossed her mind. "I can't go through that again."

"You won't have to, because I won't leave you again." He gazed into her eyes, letting her see the sincerity in his. "I love you, so please let go of the knife." He was filled with relief when her shaky hand finally let go of the weapon before falling to her lap. Gray wasted no time closing the space between them before taking her in his arms.

For a few minutes, he let her cry in his chest while he held onto her and whispered comforting words in her ear. They were so lost in each other that they didn't notice the moment Lucy, Natsu, Wendy and Levy joined them. They didn't hear the shocked gasps as the newcomers noticed the body on the ground or the thousand questions they directed at Gajeel, who didn't say anything.

Juvia pulled apart from the hug and attempted to dry her tears. "I'm sorry." She repeated as her eyes focused on him.

"It's okay." He whispered, a hand gently stroking her cheek.

"I love you too." A small smile graced his features before he leaned in. Her arms quickly wrapped around his neck and she brought him closer before they kissed. It was desperate and intense; she kissed him like it was the last time, tears still falling down her face.

"Seriously, what happened here?" Lucy asked after they pulled apart and the couple turned to her.

"It's a long story." Gray answered and Natsu raised a brow.

"We have time." He told them, crossing his arms.

"Okay." Juvia removed herself from Gray's arms and took a deep breath while she prepared to explain everything. He could tell she was nervous and scared, so he took her hand and squeezed it while giving her a reassuring look.

She was safe. No matter what happened, she was alright now and he vowed to keep it that way.

So, what did you think?

Did you like my portrayal of Gray and Juvia? Do you think he should've forgiven her for killing Erza?

Have a nice day, everyone!

Chapter Text

Good morning, everyone.

So, this one-shot, originally called What Had To Be Done, was my prompt for day 2 of Gruvia Week 2018: Misunderstanding.

In the end, after a request from glodenglowingsnowdemon (on ff.net), I decided to turn it into a multi-chapter story. Now, let's make two things clear before we go on with the story:

1- This will be a short story. 15 chapters AT MOST.

2-Updates won't be frequent, I'm afraid. Demons is still my priority and I have a few one-shots planned, so I can't promise weekly updates for this story. Since I've already written up till chapter 4, the first few chapters should be posted by the end of June, but after that I don't know. Hope you can understand that.

3-The pairings included here will be Gruvia, Jerza and whatever couples you might request. So let me know who you'd like me to include.

Original Summary: Gray didn't want to believe it. Didn't want to face the truth that was right in front of him, because it was too hard. He stared at her in disbelief, eyes drawn to the bloody knife on her shaky hands and for a moment he worried that she might use it on him. Was this his fault? Had he broken her so much that she decided to work for Zeref? (For Gruvia Week)

WARNING: This contains mentions of MURDER and SUICIDE . Therefore, be cautious when reading.

Happy reading!

"Comrades isn't simply a word. Comrades are about heart. It's the unconditional trust in your partners. Please, feel free to lean on me... and I, too, will lean on you as well."

-Mavis Vermillion, as told by Warrod Seeken

Dorenbolt was in his office on the magic council's base; everything around him was messy. Papers were scattered everywhere, boxes took all the space and a few pictures had been thrown on the ground. He sat on a chair, staring at two different pictures; one from a newspaper and another from a file which consisted of a picture of a child.

"You're still here?" Lahar entered the office, giving him a disapproving look.

"I'm telling you, that's her." Dorenbolt replied and the former sighed.

"You need to let this go. This investigation has lead us no where." He took a few steps inside the office.

"Didn't you hear me? I've found her!" The agent stood up and tried to hand him the newspaper, to which he reluctantly accepted.

"Are you sure?" Lahar's eyes widened once he spotted the person on the picture whose head had been circled red.

"Look at the necklace. It's the same!" Dorenbolt then showed him the file where there was a picture of a young girl, no older than 5.

"But still, that doesn't mean that she's the one we've been looking for." The former said.

"It's been 20 years since she disappeared, Lahar. We'll never be sure, but I really believe that she's the one." The latter tried and Lahar sighed.

"So what do you suggest we do? You know she probably won't talk to us." A determined look came upon Dorenbolt's face.

"Then I'll just keep an eye on her, see if I can get more evidence." He pointed towards the girl's picture on the newspaper. "This girl is extremely important to us; she could help us find him. We can't give up, even if she won't admit that she's actually Juliet!"

One month later…

"Seriously, what happened here?" Lucy asked after Gray and Juvia pulled apart and the couple turned to her.

"It's a long story." The ice mage answered and Natsu raised a brow.

"We have time." He told them, crossing his arms.

"Okay." Juvia removed herself from Gray's arms and took a deep breath while she prepared to explain everything. He could tell she was nervous and scared, so he took her hand and squeezed it while giving her a reassuring look.

"Who killed Erza?" Levy asked and everyone glanced towards the lifeless body a few feet away.

"God, I don't think I can do this." Juvia was sobbing once again; guilt and regret increasing.

"Gray?" Lucy stared at the ice mage, hoping to get an answer.

"It's not what're you thinking." He replied while placing a comforting hand on Juvia's shoulder. "Come on, Juvia, tell them. They'll understand."

"Understand what?" Natsu asked, eyes narrowed with suspicion.

Before anyone could say more, there was the sound of footsteps, making them tense. Soon enough, they were joined by three familiar figures wearing hoods.

"Ultear? What are you doing here?" Gray asked once she removed it; Meredy and Jellal doing the same.

"Oh My God!" The younger girl screamed, staring at Erza's body in shock.

"It seems as if you were right once again, Jellal." Ultear said, turning to the blue haired man whose face was devoid of color.

"Oh, no." Lucy whispered, remembering how much Erza meant to him.

"I am so sorry." Levy took a step forward and stared at him pitifully. He remained silent as multiple emotions crossed his face. Shock. Fear. Anger. Sadness.

"I didn't want to. Please, forgive me!" Juvia said before he could even react to seeing Erza's lifeless body. Then she was throwing herself in his arms while everyone stared in confusion and Jellal sighed before wrapping his arms around her.

"It's okay, it's not your fault." He comforted her, much to everyone's surprise. Lucy, Natsu, Levy and Wendy were still shocked to learn that Juvia had been the one to end Erza's life. It was unbelievable, unthinkable and they were having a hard time understanding why she would do it.

"Should we tell her now?" Meredy whispered to Ultear, hoping no one would hear it, but the dragon slayers sure did.

"Let him do it." The older woman replied.

"I'm sorry, so sorry." Juvia was still sobbing and Jellal was still comforting her and it was making Gray feel a bit jealous.

He knew nothing was going on between these two; he would never doubt Juvia's love for him and Jellal had made his feelings for Erza quite clear, but it still bothered him to see her in another man's arms. Even after she had betrayed him.

"Will someone explain what the hell's going on here?" Natsu was getting impatient.

"It's a long story." Ultear replied.

"Wait, so you're in this too?" Lucy asked her, confused.

"It was your idea, wasn't it? I know Juvia said it was Jellal's, but that sounds more like something you'd come up with." Gray asked next and her eyes widened.

"Wait, so you know?" Meredy asked, shocked.

"I told him; I had to." They turned back to Juvia, who had just pulled away from the hug and was attempting to dry her tears.

"You shouldn't have. Now he's in danger." Ultear shook her head, a look of disappointment on her face.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know what else to do." The bluenette was clearly desperate.

"You should've contacted us. Why didn't you?" Jellal asked and the others chose to watch in silence and see if they could understand what had happened.

"I don't know." She looked away, biting her lip.

"This is such a mess!" Meredy said, exasperated. Now that was something they could all agree on.

"And there's no way to fix it. It's over." Juvia looked towards Erza and new tears threatened to fall. How could she possibly move on from this? Did she even deserve to? Even if she had done it to save everyone; that didn't make it okay.

"No, it's far from over." Jellal told her, determined.

"They already know what I did, so it's over for me." She replied.

"Don't say that. You know that I won't let them hurt you." This had everyone sharing confused looks.

"What's going on between you two?" Lucy asked, crossing her arms.

"I can't believe it! Are you cheating on Gray?" Levy's eyes were wide and she turned to the ice mage, who was tense.

"I would never!" Juvia shook her head, denying it.

"Like you'd never hurt Erza?" Gray bitterly asked, raising a brow.

"I thought you said that you already told him everything." Ultear was confused.

"Not everything. There are some things... I couldn't say." And his heart broke once again. Why didn't she trust him? He was her boyfriend, for Mavis' sake! He should be the one who she shared all her secrets with, not Jellal or Ultear.

"Well, you're gonna have to say them now because we're not leaving until we know the whole truth." Lucy told her, frustrated. She too was wondering why one of her closest friends would keep so many secrets from her.

"I can't! It's too dangerous!" Gajeel rolled his eyes.

"You've said that too many times and I don't care. Besides, if we're going up against Tartarus, we're gonna need all the help we can get." This had Levy's eyes widening once she recognized the dark guild's name.

"Tartarus? Remind me where I've heard that?" Natsu didn't have such a great memory.

"They're a dark guild, aren't they?" Even Wendy remembered it.

"Yes, alongside Grimoire Heart and the Oracion Seis, Tartarus was part of the Balam Alliance." Ultear explained and their eyes widened.

"Gajeel, why do you say we're going up against them?" Levy turned to the iron dragon slayer.

"You're not. This isn't your fight." Juvia answered instead.

"I agree. They shouldn't be involved in this." Ultear said and Gray scoffed.

"Seriously? You convinced my girlfriend to infiltrate them and you didn't want me to be involved?" This had everyone's eyes widening.

"Wait, what?" Lucy screamed at the same time as Levy whispered "Infiltrate?"

"Perhaps we should tell them after all." Jellal whispered, looking conflicted.

"If we don't, I'm sure Erza will." Meredy said, catching everyone's attention.

"And how exactly do you expect her to do that when she's dead?" Gajeel asked, raising a brow.

"She isn't." Jellal answered, looking at Juvia.

"She isn't?" The bluenette replied, eyes widening.

"I overheard one of them talking about their plans to get you to kill her." Her face lost all color.

"They lied, Juvia. They manipulated you; there was no tracker." Ultear said and she shook her head, disbelieving.

"No. They didn't lie, I found it." She fell to her knees, unable to keep standing.

"They wanted to eliminate her and they wanted you to do it." Jellal continued before kneeling down by her side. "But listen to me, none of this is your fault, okay? You were just trying to protect everyone like I knew you would." Once again, Gray was uncomfortable with how close they were.

"I can't do this anymore! It's too hard." Once again, the water mage broke down and Jellal wasted no time in comforting her.

It was clear that there was something going on between the two of them, but as for what, the others weren't sure.

"So Erza's okay?" While Juvia and Jellal were embracing, Natsu turned to Ultear, who nodded.

"Yes, she's safe. Jellal decided to use the illusion so that they wouldn't suspect anything." She motioned towards the lifeless body and Lucy and Levy let out relieved sighs.

"Thank goodness." The latter said.

"Where is she?" The dragon slayer asked and Meredy was the one to answer.

"We can't tell you that, it's not safe yet. We shouldn't have even said that she's alive." It was clear she was frustrated with the way things had gone, but it couldn't be undone.

"Juvia needed to know, we couldn't let her keep believing it." Ultear sighed, looking towards the crying bluenette.

"We should've never convinced her to infiltrate Tartaros. She always said she wanted to move on and we just ignored that." There was guilt in the pinkette's tone.

"She understood the risks, Meredy. They must be defeated." It was the former's reply.

"I know, but she didn't have to be the one to infiltrate. Jellal or you could've done it." Meredy argued.

"That's true. Why did you choose Juvia of all people?" Lucy asked and they shared a look.

"It's not our place to tell." Ultear replied and Gray spoke next.

"She already told me why, so I don't see why the others can't know." Before she could reply, the water mage spoke, still in Jellal's arms.

"I'm not sure if I'm ready for everyone to know. It's so…complicated." She sniffled and the three members from Crime Sorciére gave her understanding looks.

"Complicated doesn't even begin to explain it." Ultear sighed.

"Complicated or not, I think at least I deserve to know the whole truth." The ice mage pushed and Jellal gave him a firm stare.

"You should respect her wishes." Gray's eyes narrowed.

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" He couldn't deny, he was getting annoyed. Extremely annoyed.

"Don't." It seemed as if Jellal was about to say something, but Juvia stopped him.

"I'm sorry; I won't say anything." He remained silent after that and she removed her hand from his arm before standing up and turning around to face everyone.

"Please, can you just trust that I will tell you everything soon? I just need more time." Gray looked at those pleading blue eyes and sighed.

"I don't like that you're keeping secrets from me." She nodded before taking a few steps towards him.

"I know. And I'm so sorry I had to do that, but there are just some things that are too hard to share." He could understand that, considering how long it took him to tell her about Ur and his parents.

"Okay. But just know, whatever this is, won't change how I feel about you. Hell, if even after learning that you killed Erza I still love you, I don't think anything could change that." Many eyes widened at this sudden confession.

Even though they all knew that these two were together, no one had ever witnessed Gray telling her that he loved her.

"I love you too. Always have." She was close enough so that her arms could wrap around his neck and he quickly wrapped his own around her waist. Without a second thought, he lean it once she did the same. The passionate kiss they shared next brought smiles to most people's faces while Ultear's showed only regret.

"She really does love him." She whispered.

"Don't beat yourself up, Ultear. You were a different person back then." Meredy was quick to comfort her.

"I know, but that doesn't change what I did. What I had her do." They had walked away from the rest of the group and were talking in whispers, but still the dragon slayers caught their words.

"She didn't go through with it. And, honestly, I don't think Gray needs to know." Ultear nodded.

"This could destroy their relationship." The pinkette looked back at the couple.

"We can't let that happen. We promised to make up for our mistakes, so we need to protect Juliet." She froze as soon as the last word left her lips. The older woman looked back towards the group and her face paled once she realized Gajeel's eyes were widened.

"Juliet?" He whispered, confused, before sharing a look with Natsu.

"You shouldn't have said that, Meredy." Ultear scolded, exasperated.

"That's it! I am done staying in the dark. You will tell me everything, now!" Natsu took a step forward and commanded at the two women in the distance.

"Natsu, calm down." Lucy tried, holding onto his arms to stop him from going after them.

"What's going on?" Gray stared in confusion; him and Juvia had just pulled apart from their kiss.

"I overheard what you said and I want to know." The dragon slayer was still screaming at Ultear and Meredy, who decided to approach them.

"Why do I keep forgetting about dragon slayer hearing?" The former rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"What did you say?" Jellal turned to them, desperate; while Gajeel turned to Juvia, a firm look in his eyes.

"They called you Juliet. Is that your real name ?" After everything that he had learned that night, he wouldn't be surprised if she had lied about her name too.

"Ultear!" Juvia pulled away from Gray's embrace and took a step back before turning to the older woman in disbelief.

"It was me. I'm so sorry." Meredy pleaded and the bluenette shook her head.

"It's true, isn't it?" Gray realized, seeing as she wasn't denying it. "Damn it, Juvia! What haven't you lied to me about?" If only he knew the extent of her secrets, he might never be able to forgive her.

So, thoughts?

What did you think of Juvia's real name being Juliet? Why was Dorenbolt looking for her?

And can you guess what her connection to Jellal is?

By the way, I know Erza being alive kinda ruined the whole murder plot, but I couldn't bring myself to actually kill her. Besides, without her, many of the plots I have planned for this story wouldn't be the same.

Next chapter: The reason for Juvia's name change is explained, as well as her connection to Jellal and what drew them to grow closer ever since her return from Tenrou Island. Also, Erza returns with a HUGE secret that could change everything. (plenty of flashbacks + Kagura and Milliana will make an appearance)

PS: Don't forget to tell me what couples you'd like me to include!

Can we try 160 hits for chapter 3?

Chapter Text

Hi, everyone! I'm back with  another chapter of this now multi-chapter story. 

One thing that I want to address is: the summary. Right after I posted chapter 2, I realized that I hated it, since it only focused on Juvia and said nothing about other important characters. So I decided to make a new one, which I'm calling Attempt 2 (who knows how many times I might change it, I'm never satisfied with summaries).

Happy reading!

"Those painful memories are what help us make it to tomorrow and become stronger."

-Erza Scarlet

Kagura stood outside of Mermaid Heel's guild hall, leaning against the balcony with her elbows while staring at the moon. It was full that night, shining so brightly and beautifully, but she didn't even notice. It had been years since the last time she'd actually payed attention to the moon or anything else, truthfully.

Her mind was programmed to think of only one two things: her brother and her revenge.

She had always wondered what had happened to Simon, since that fateful day in which their home was destroyed and everything fell apart. While Kagura managed to escape the horrible fate of the other children who lived in Rosemary Village, her life was no short of painful.

Years went by, searching for her lost brother, hoping that he was alright while constantly living with the guilt of having escaped. She never forgave herself for hiding when she should've gone looking for him.

But that was in the past, she didn't feel guilty anymore. All she felt was anger, because she'd learned from one of Simon's old friends, Milliana, that he had been murdered. Yes, her brother was dead and her entire quest to find him had been in vain.

There wasn't even a body for her to bury, he was just gone.

When she'd asked about the monster behind such cruelty, a name had been given: Jellal Fernandes. That was the man Kagura chose to hate, the person responsible for her unhappiness.

After learning this, she began looking for him instead, but if not even the Magic Council was able to locate him, what were her chances?

"Kagura?" Hearing her name, she turned around, spotting Milliana standing by the door to the balcony.

"What's wrong?" The worried look on her friend's face unsettled Kagura.

"Nothing. It's just late." It was way past midnight, but she couldn't sleep. Not when there was a killer out there who needed to be brought to justice.

"I'm aware of that." She turned around and Milliana sighed before approaching her.

"You're still thinking about it, aren't you?" Kagura nodded.

"I'm always thinking about it." Silence fell upon them as she stared once again towards the moon. Instead of the big, white circle; her mind conjured Jellal's face. Then another, the face of a little girl who couldn't be older than five.

"We need to find Juliet." Milliana's face showed surprise."Why?"

"She's our best chance at finding Jellal." Kagura replied.

"That's true. But I doubt she'll tell us where he is." The cat wizard concluded.

"We have to try. There's a chance she doesn't know of all the terrible things he's done, so we must tell her." Milliana voiced her concerns.

"And if she does? If she's helping him?" A hand reached for her archenemy sword while a cold look came upon Kagura's face.

"Then she will pay."

2 years later…

"Damn it, Juvia! What haven't you lied to me about?" The bluenette looked away, avoiding his angry eyes.

"Oh, no." Meredy whispered, sharing a worried look with Ultear.

"Why did you lie?" Sweet Wendy wondered, confused.

"Couldn't you trust us with your real name?" Lucy asked, raising a brow, before mentally scolding herself. She hadn't trusted them with her last name either, so she had no right to crucify her friend.

"I thought we were friends." Levy added, looking at Juvia sadly.

"I'm sorry. But I haven't used it in so long, sometimes I forget that Juvia Lockser is just an alias." It made sense; they thought. If she had changed her name so long ago, did she need to tell them the real one?

Yet, somehow, they had a feeling there was more to the story than simply changing her name.

"Why did you change it?" Gajeel asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"I…" Jellal was the one who answered this one.

"It was necessary. She didn't want anyone to learn of her association to me, specially now that I'm known as a escaped convict." Juvia gave him a thankful look.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Natsu frowned in confusion.

"Why would the name 'Juliet' be associated with you?" Levy asked next while her mind came up with a million theories.

"It's not just the name, is it?" Lucy realized once she looked closely at Juvia and Jellal. She thought back to their behaviour ever since they returned from Tenrou Island and how they seemed to have grown a lot closer.

It didn't make sense why they would suddenly become such good friends when they had nothing in common except for Erza. The red head had many comrades, after all, and Juvia wasn't even the closest one, so for Jellal to suddenly take an interest in her; it wouldn't be about that.

Also, he had become rather protective of her lately, Lucy realized, something which had once led her to believe there might be something going on between the two. However, it was clear now that they weren't together in the romantic sense. No, their connection ran much deeper than any of them could've anticipated.

"What do you mean, Lucy?" Gray asked, clueless to the thoughts running through her head.

"My real name is Juliet Fernandes." Juvia answered with a sigh, earning shocked reactions from everyone who didn't know.

"Fernandes?" It took Natsu a while to get it, but when he did, his eyes widened.

"So you're Jellal's sister?" Wendy asked.

"Yes." The bluenette confirmed with a nod.

"How? Erza never mentioned it and she knew you since you were young." Gray wondered.

"Erza didn't know because I didn't know it myself." Jellal replied, making them even more confused.

"Jellal's memories were erased even before he was taken to the Tower of Heaven." Ultear explained this one.

"So he didn't know he had a sister?" Lucy asked, to which he confirmed with a nod.

"I only found out when all of my memories returned, six years ago." Remembering that moment, his face contorted with pain.

6 years before…

Jellal sat down by a tree, head in his hands while he was overwhelmed with memories. Ultear and Meredy stood in front of him, worried.

It had been a few weeks since they had freed him and the three of them had been traveling around, no destination in mind.

For now they were staying at a small cottage in the middle of the woods; it was close to the once beautiful village of Antartica, which had been destroyed years ago by the demon Deliora. The house had been abandoned for years, but a few days before the three of them had found it and decided to settle there for awhile.

"How long will this last?" Meredy wondered and Ultear sighed.

"I don't know. Memory spells have never been my specialty." The blue haired man groaned and both frowned.

"It must be so difficult for him having to relive it all." The young girl said.

"It'll be even worse when he fully remembers Erza." Ultear said, a guilty look upon her face once she thought about all that she had put the poor man through.

"Oh, god! What will we tell him?" They had refrained themselves from telling him exactly what had happened with Erza Scarlet, knowing that even though Jellal didn't fully remember the woman, he still cared a lot about her.

They didn't want to break his heart, but if he remembered exactly who she had been and started asking questions, they wouldn't bring themselves to lie to him.

"Juliet." They turned to him just as he removed his hands, allowing them to notice that his eyes were wide in shock.

"Jellal?" Young Meredy took a step forward, kneeling down in front of him.

"I lost her." Ultear did the same before placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Who did you remember?" She asked, glancing at him worriedly.

"Juliet. My…. My sister. She was gone." Their eyes widened.

"A sister?" Meredy wondered, confused.

"That can't be right." Ultear removed her hand, staring at him in disbelief.

"I remember it now, she disappeared when I was 7. Before the tower; but someone erased my memories of her." Jellal frowned.

"Who would do that?" This question plagued his mind for the years to come, although he never got an answer.

"I'm so sorry. I should've told you much sooner." Juvia apologized upon seeing the look on her brother's face.

"So you did remember it." Gray turned to her.

"Yes, but I thought Jellal was dead. I only found out he was still alive when we were at the Tower Of Heaven." The mention of it made Lucy, Natsu and Ultear frown while the pain in Jellal's face intensified.

"Now I see." Levy nodded, understanding. She guessed it mustn't have been easy for Juvia to learn that her brother was evil (as he was back then) and that's probably why she had kept it to herself.

"Why didn't you tell him then? Maybe if he knew, he wouldn't have hurt the rest of us." Lucy asked, frustrated.

"Yeah, you could've convinced him to stop." Natsu agreed.

"I was still processing. It's not easy suddenly discovering that you have a brother and he's evil enough to take your friends hostage and try to revive the darkest wizard of all time." Juvia confirmed Levy's thoughts. However, the petit bluenette remained unaware that this wasn't the real reason why she'd kept her discovery a secret.

"That's true." Lucy nodded.

"This is all so insane! I can't believe that all this time you had a brother and I didn't know!" Gajeel yelled, looking pointedly at the water mage.

She knew that he was feeling upset because she hadn't told him. After all, she used to tell him everything. They had been best friends for years; since she had joined Phantom Lord at the age of 14, when he was barely 17.

However, even he understood that some secrets were too dangerous to be shared and if there was one person who would go as far as keeping all to herself in order to protect the ones she loved, that was Juvia.

"I'm sorry." It was all she could say in response.

"There's one thing that still bugs me." Lucy said, catching their attention.

"What is it?" Ultear asked, deciding to join in the conversation. She knew how hard it was for the siblings to talk about this, so she was ready to help by providing some truths.

"How did you know Juvia was your sister? I mean, didn't you say she disappeared when you were just 7?" Levy frowned at this.

"That's a valid point. How did you recognize her?" Even if they had been siblings, it would be hard to recognize someone after so many years.

Jellal sighed before proceeding to explain the moment he knew that Juvia Lockser was his long lost sister.

5 years before…

It had been two years since the disappearance of Fairy Tail's strongest team and the alleged destruction of Tenrou Island. Searches for them had narrowed down considerably; the Magic Council had given up after just a few months and, with the marking of one year since that fateful day, so did Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale.

Everyone believed them to be dead, so when it finally sinked in, they chose to move forward. T he lasting members of Fairy Tail finally went back to their lives, going on jobs, drinking, dating and even getting married.

The main event of the past year had been Alzack and Bisca Connell's union and now the birth of their baby girl, the first child to be born after the tragedy, occupied every newspaper and magazine. Everyone was talking about the couple; some clearly expressing their joy while others focused on the fact that Asuka Connell would never know Natsu Dragneel, Erza Scarlet and so many others.

Because of this overexposure of the little girl; Jellal, Meredy and Ultear, who had recently founded Crime Sorciére, also came to know of the joyous occasion. Needless to say, they were happy for the couple; having already changed so much in the two years that had passed.

They read the articles about Fairy Tail with sad smiles; guilt and regret overwhelming them with each picture of the people they had hurt. However, when it came to a picture of Gray Fullbuster and Juvia Lockser in an article about whether the couple would've gotten together or not if they had survived, Jellal's eyes widened.

"It can't be." Ultear and Meredy gave him weird looks, confused by his reaction to the picture.

"Is something wrong?" The 15 years old asked.

"That's Juliet." Shocked expressions came upon their faces.

"What?" Ultear asked, taking the paper from his hands and looking closely at the picture. In it, Gray was shirtless as usual and wore a pair of swim trunks while Juvia wore a purple bikini with white polka dots.

"How do you know?" Meredy asked, curious.

"The necklace." He pointed towards the black, heart-shaped necklace hanging around Juvia's neck.

She would never take it off, although no one would notice since it was usually hidden behind multiple layers of clothing. "I remember it clearly, my father gave it to Juliet for her 5th birthday. It has a picture of our family inside."

"That doesn't mean it's her." The older woman warned him. "After all, I'm sure many girls have similar necklaces."

"No, this is her! I don't know why I didn't realize it before, but I am sure now." Jellal took a deep breath before pointing once again towards the girl in the picture. "That's Juliet!"

"That must've been so hard for you." Lucy gently said once Jellal was finished.

"It was. Finding Juliet only to know that I had lost her…" He paused, swallowing hard as tears threatened to fall. "But it's over now. I have her again and I'll never let her go." He looked pointedly at the water mage, who smiled before taking a few steps towards him.

"I won't let go, either. I promise." The siblings hugged once again and now that they knew the truth, everyone just smiled.

"Aww, this is so sweet." Wendy gushed, feeling happy for Jellal once she remembered everything his counterpart had done for her.

"I'm so relieved. I really thought that they were doing it." Levy whispered to Lucy, who nodded. "Yeah, me too."

Natsu joined in on the conversation. "I gotta say, I never would've seen this coming."

"Same. But I'm glad Juvia has someone else, she deserves it." Gray said while approaching the rest of them.

"How are you holding up, stripper?" Gajeel fixed him with a worried look, knowing it mustn't be easy to discover that the woman he loved had lied about so many things.

"I'm okay." He replied, glancing towards Juvia and Jellal with a smile. "I'm happy for her." Unknown to him, this feeling wouldn't last for soon enough he would learn about Juvia's biggest secret and the real reason why she'd come to him. The question remained: would their relationship survive it?

Meanwhile, in the outskirts of Crocus…

Erza Scarlet sat on the bed of the small cottage, arms crossed over her chest while she awaited Jellal's return. It had been over half an hour since him, Ultear and Meredy had left and she was starting to get impatient.

Part of her wanted to just ignore their concerns and join her friends at the Grand Ball like she was supposed to. However, her brain didn't let her forget that there was a powerful enemy out there who had specific plans to eliminate her that night. So she had no choice but to stay put until the danger was over.

Sighing, she stood up and walked towards the empty table where she had been sitting a few hours before, when Jellal filled her in on everything regarding Juvia and Tartarus. It was still hard to believe that the bluenette had been manipulated to kill her, but Erza understood why Crime Sorciére was concerned.

After all, the entire basis for their plan to infiltrate Tartarus was to save the world from them and with Juvia believing they intended to use her in order to wipe out all of her friends, there was no doubt in the red head's mind that the water mage would do it.

As gentle, warm and innocent as Juvia was; she could be capable of murder if the people she loved were involved.

Erza had seen it on Tenrou Island, so that's why she decided to stay behind. But if there was one thing Erza Scarlet hated it was to wait.

Waiting meant not knowing and she didn't like that. She wanted to know already whether Juvia had done it or not and what would happen next.

"Why are you taking so long, Jellal?" She whispered before sitting down on the table, laying her head on it.

Looking towards the door, the temptation to just open it and escape was overwhelming. Her mind went through her conversation with Jellal and she considered the facts.

Tartarus had said it would be done by midnight; it was already past that. Juvia surely wouldn't wait to kill her if everyone's lives were at risk.

Besides, she wasn't some helpless damsel in distress; she was Titania Erza Scarlet, queen of the fairies. She wasn't meant to stay behind.

With that in mind, she got up from the chair and began walking towards the door. As soon as her hand touched the doorknob, however, she finally remembered the real reason behind her acceptance of Jellal's suggestion that she stayed behind.

Sighing once again, Erza let her hand drop before pressing it against her stomach.

There was no one else there. No one was watching. She didn't need to pretend anymore, didn't need to ignore the truth that she had discovered a week before. It wouldn't help anyways; soon enough she wouldn't be able to hide it.

"I've got myself in quite a mess." She whispered, staring at the door. "If being pregnant wasn't terrifying enough, Tartarus have decided to eliminate me now of all times."

Erza walked back towards the table and sat down once again. "At least this time I have Jellal; don't know how I could do this without him."

So, thoughts?

Jerza fans, are you goink crazy like I was when I came up with the pregnancy idea? Just to be clear, there is a very specific reason why I chose to go with this plot. It's not just because I adore Jerza and want them to be happy.

On another topic, what did you think of Kagura and Milliana's introduction and all the flashbacks?

Next chapter will be called Why We Met. It will focus mostly on Gray and Juvia's relationship once he learns her biggest secret, which ties her to Meredy and Ultear. You'll also get to learn more about how Erza got pregnant and Tartarus will (finally) make an appearance.

Can we try 180 hits by the 26th of June?

Chapter Text

Heyyy, everyone.

You're just rocking with your comments; I'm very pleased to see many people are enjoying this story. And we haven't even gotten to the best parts or the other ships' involvement.

Until around chapter 6, the focus will be on the reveals regarding Juvia. After that, we'll have some NaLu, GaLe and Lyredy scenes. So if you ship these other couples, just wait a bit. I have nice plots planned for all of them.

Ps: I've made plenty of changes to the canon storyline here, so don't be surprised if many things happen differently than in the manga. For example, I've considered that Gray and Juvia's first meeting happened a few weeks before the Phantom Lord Arc; it'll be explained in this chapter.

Happy reading, everyone!

"Remember that everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something, and has lost something."

-Lucy Heartfilia

In a hidden mansion, miles away from everything…

"I don't like this." Kyoka, goddess of the slave planet, said.

"She's talking too much." Torafusa, one of the nine demon gates, added while they watched through a magic mirror as Juvia Lockser explained her backstory.

"It won't be long till she starts talking about us." Tempester spoke, staring at the screen with narrowed eyes.

"I wouldn't be so worried. Remember that my macro curse won't allow her to do so." Seilah reminded them, smirking.

"That's true. Although I think that Jellal's getting suspicious with the information we've had her give him." Kyoka voiced her concerns, staring at Jellal's figure cautiously.

"I wonder how he found out about our plans to eliminate Erza Scarlet." The former said.

"Doesn't matter. Just because Juliet Fernandes didn't actually kill her, doesn't mean it's over." Keyes told them and the demons smiled.

"Of course not. We'll still have plenty of opportunities for that." Kyoka said.

"Besides, now that we know Juliet is capable of murder, we should use that to our advantage." Seilah reminded them while making a book appear; the name Juliet could be read on the cover.

"What do you have in mind, Seilah?" A new voice asked as a woman entered the room. Her appearance was hidden behind a hood, but a few locks of blue hair could be spotted.

"Alison. I was beginning to wonder where you were, dear." Keyes told her with a sinister smile on his skeleton face.

"I was taking care of business. Don't you remember?" The woman raised a brow in his direction.

"Of course. Now we have a new job for you." Kyoka said and she turned to the demon, an interested look in her eyes.

"Do tell." Alison closed the door behind her before walking towards the center of the room, where the Nine Demon Gates were reunited.

"Retrieve Erza Scarlet." A surprised look crossed her face and she froze. A few moments passed before she recomposed herself. "Shouldn't be a problem. Where is she?"

"I'm okay." Gray said, glancing towards Juvia and Jellal with a smile. "I'm happy for her."

"Good for you, man." Natsu patted him on the back.

"I have a feeling that's not all there is to the story." Levy voiced her concerns.

"Same. There are many things left unexplained." Gajeel added, frowning.

"Let's give them time before we ask more." Wendy wisely suggested.

"Yeah, with everything that happened tonight, I think they'll need it." Lucy glanced towards Erza's lifeless body and frowned. "Do you think they're telling the truth about Erza?"

"Why would they lie? You know how much Jellal loves her." Levy replied.

"If Juvia had actually killed her, I don't think he'd act this way; sister or not." Gray added.

"But can we be sure that she's still alive?" Gajeel wondered; something didn't feel right about this whole story.

"I won't be sure until I see it with my very eyes." Natsu was quick to say before crossing his arms and glaring at Ultear and Meredy, who stood in the distance, watching the siblings reunite.

"We still have questions." Gajeel loudly told them before taking a few steps forward. The two looked surprised for a moment, but nodded.

"We'll answer them as best as we can." The older woman said, but soon enough Juvia spoke having broken apart from the hug. "Thank you, Ultear, but I can handle it. This is my story, after all."

"Good. Because there are some things that still don't make sense." Natsu told her and she raised a brow.

"Such as?" Levy was the one who started questioning.

"Well, Jellal mentioned that you disappeared when he was seven. Where did you go?" Juvia sighed; knowing this question would come. She exchanged a glance with Ultear, who gave her an unsure look. "If I'm going to tell the truth, I'll have to tell them everything."

"Are you sure?" Meredy's eyes were wide; she didn't think this was a good idea.

"So this is what you were talking about before." Natsu muttered, remembering the words spoken by them a few minutes before

"I know, but that doesn't change what I did. What I had her do."

"She didn't go through with it. And, honestly, I don't think Gray needs to know."

"Whatever it is, you can tell me." The ice mage was quick to tell his girlfriend.

"I know you won't think like that once I'm done, but you deserve to know." Juvia took a deep breath before looking right at him, blue eyes filled with sadness. "When I was five and Jellal was seven, I was kidnapped. I remember that night clearly; it was my 5th birthday and I had fun playing games with him and our father. I was so happy, until he came. The man who took me away from my family and ruined my life."

"Who was it?" Lucy couldn't hold her curiosity any longer.

"His name was Hades; and he used to be the master of Fairy Tail." Their eyes widened once they remembered the man that they had met on Tenrou Island.

"Hades?" Natsu whispered, disbelieving.

"Wait a minute! If he was the one who took you, does that mean that…." Levy started and Gray finished her thought.

"You were with Grimoire Heart, weren't you?" Juvia nodded slowly, a guilty look coming upon her face.

"Yes. I was brought to the place where Ultear was also being kept." This had everyone glancing towards Ultear. "Back then she was Hades' only recruit and we quickly bonded over loneliness and bad parents; since he told me my father didn't want me anymore and had sent me away." Juvia paused and sighed."Of course, it didn't take me long to figure out he was lying, but by then I was in too deep and constantly supervised. So I had no choice but to follow his orders if I wanted to stay alive."

"That makes sense." Lucy said and the others agreed.

"But still, it doesn't forgive everything you must've done as a member of Grimoire Heart." Gajeel spoke next.

"I disagree. If I managed to forgive Ultear for everything she did, it won't be hard to forgive you." Gray sincerely said.

"Besides, compared to the rest of us, Juvia didn't do anything that wrong. She didn't kill anyone in cold blood like me; I always managed to protect her from that." Ultear added and Juvia tensed.

"It's not entirely true. I did some awful things." Her hands held tightly onto the heart-shaped necklace that she constantly wore.

"You didn't have a choice. Master Hades would've killed you otherwise." Meredy reassured.

"It was a matter of survival; we understand. I can forgive that." Gray said and Juvia couldn't help but to smile.

"Thank you, my love. I can't believe how supportive you're being. It's so…unexpected." He laughed at this.

"Trust me, I'm freaking out here. But nothing I've heard so far has convinced me to hate you or resent you. All I can see is how much you suffered and I hate that you didn't tell me before." Tears were brimming in the corner of her eyes.

"I was so scared. I didn't want to lose you." He shook his head before fixing her with a reassuring look.

"You won't. I promised to always be there for you, didn't I?" She nodded, unable to formulate words.

"You two are so sweet!" Meredy happily told them.

"Yes, I just wish I had seen it sooner." Ultear sighed.

"But you did. You saw how I was falling in love with him and you decided to step back. I'm always grateful for that." Juvia told her and Gray's eyes widened.

"So you told Ultear about me? Is that how she found out?" The older woman shook her head.

"No, it was the other way around. I knew exactly who you were ever since Hades told me about my mother's death by your hand. He wanted to fuel my hate for you and need for revenge. It worked just perfectly." She looked down in shame. "I just wish I hadn't dragged Juvia into it."

"It's okay; I've forgiven you for that." The water mage quickly reassured her before smiling. "Besides, if you hadn't pushed me towards Gray, I would've never found the happiness he brought into my life."

"So that first date, it was your doing?" Lucy asked, recalling Juvia and Gray's first encounter a few weeks before the battle between Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail.

"Yes. I sent Juvia there to kill Gray, but she couldn't bring herself to do it." Ultear replied and the memory brought matching smiles to Gray and Juvia's faces.

About 1 year earlier...

"Why do you care enough to comfort me when you don't even know me?" Gray was surprised, for many reasons.

"To be honest, I'm not always like this." He hoped she'd understand what he meant."But Mirajane has been pushing me to be nicer, so I'm trying."

"You're doing a good job." She allowed a sincere smile to take over her face and he gave his own in return.

"I'm glad." They were silent for a few moments, until the faraway ticking of a clock let them know it was already midnight.

"We should go." Juvia didn't know why she suggested it. This was the perfect moment to finish what she had come here to do. They were alone there; no one would be witness to her sins.

"Okay." He nodded slowly, although she could tell he didn't want to.

"But before we do..." Unexpectedly to both, she closed the distance between them as her arms wrapped around his torso while her head rested on his chest. "Thank you." There were so many meanings to those words that he didn't know.

Gray's expression softened as he returned the hug. "You're welcome."

She pulled apart a moment later and lifted her head to stare at him. He was looking at her in a way only one person had before; a mixture of compassion, happiness and understanding. It made her feel cared for and she couldn't deny that she liked the feeling.

"Juliet..." His hand was suddenly reaching up to touch her face and she froze. There was desire in his eyes now and determination. She was torn between being scared and anxious.

"Yes?" The next thing she knew, he had leaned in and then his lips were touching hers in a passionate kiss.

"You were the first person aside from Ultear and Meredy who ever showed me compassion, understanding. You were the first to ever care and I believe that's why I started to fall in love with you after just one date." Juvia turned to her boyfriend, smiling brightly. "And of course, when you chased the rain away during our battle; I knew it."

"Believe it or not, Gray, but you were the reason why Juvia chose to leave Grimoire Heart. You were the one who brought her into the light and I'm so thankful for that." Ultear spoke next and the ice mage approached the water mage, smiling.

"I'm glad I could point you in the right direction." His arms wrapped around her waist and she wasted no time wrapping her own around his neck.

"I love you so much. Thank you." Instead of replying, he leant it as she did the same.

While the couple shared an intense kiss, Natsu turned to Ultear in confusion. "Wait, so Juvia actually left the guild?"

"If she hadn't, I don't think they would've given her the same treatment back on Tenrou Island." Lucy remarked, remembering Erza and Juvia's tale about their fight against Meredy.

"That's not true! I would've never hurt her, even after she left. But I didn't know who she was." The pinkette said, staring at them guiltily.

"What does that mean?" Now they were really confused.

"You see, after realizing that she was in love with Gray and finding out that Jellal was still alive during the Tower of Heaven incident, Juvia realized that Hades had lied to her for all these years, so she decided to quit." Ultear answered.

"But, as I'm sure you know, no one just quits a dark guild. Getting out alive is nearly impossible." Meredy continued and they nodded, understanding.

"So how did Juvia manage to do it?" Gajeel asked, curious.

"We helped her." The older woman replied. "I always saw her as a little sister, someone I wanted to protect. So after she told me about Jellal, who I'd never known was actually her brother, and of her love for Gray Fullbuster; I decided to put my desire for revenge aside and help her."

13 years earlier…

"Okay, where are you taking me?" Ultear asked while Meredy and Juvia guided her. She was blindfolded and the two girls held her arms and helped her move towards their destination, which was a surprise.

"You'll see soon enough." The 12 years old replied while sharing an excited look with the child.

"I can't wait to see your face, mamma. You'll love it!" The pinkette added; she was almost jumping with joy.

"Okay, we're here." Juvia finally removed the blindfold and Ultear's eyes widened once she spotted the picnic basket on top of the beautiful flowery towel that once belonged to her mother, Ur Milkovitch. There were three glasses, a bottle of juice, many cupcakes and a big strawberry cake besides the basket.

"Happy birthday!" Meredy screamed happily.

"We were supposed to say it together." The bluenette complained, frowning.

"You've done all this for me?" Ultear couldn't deny her surprise. Even though the three of them were very close, she wouldn't have expected them to even remember her birthday. She never celebrated them anyways.

"Of course. Juvia told me that you never had a birthday party, so we wanted to give you one." The 7 years old replied.

"Don't you like it?" Juvia asked, still frowning.

"No, sweetheart, I do. I'm just surprised, that's all." The 18 years old was quick to kneel down by her side, placing both hands on her shoulders.

"We wanted it to be a surprise." The bluenette replied and Ultear wasted no time hugging her tightly.

"Thank you." For a few moments they stayed like that, until they heard a small voice.

"I want a hug too, mamma!" They pulled apart and extended their arms, smiling at Meredy.

"Come here." Juvia called and the pinkette ran towards them, laughing.

Soon enough the three of them were holding onto each other, content. For the first time in years, Ultear's mind wasn't on her mother or her vendetta against Gray Fullbuster; she felt happy. The three of them did; it was good to know that they still had someone who cared after losing everything.

"So you weren't all bad." Levy told Ultear and Meredy eagerly nodded.

"Of course not! Ultear might've been a villain back then, but she was always good to me and Juvia. She always took care of us and we were grateful for that." The others smiled; it was nice seeing this softer side of the former villains.

"But how exactly did you help Juvia?" Lucy asked.

"I knew a powerful spell that could make someone unrecognizable. That way, Juvia could move around freely and Hades wouldn't be able to find her." Their eyes widened. Now that was a clever plan!

"The only problem was, the spell was so powerful that even we weren't able to recognize her; which is why I fought against her back on Tenrou Island." The pinkette added.

"I see now. That was clever." Levy praised and they smiled in return.

"It was. I never thanked you for protecting her then, Ultear." Jellal spoke, reminding them of his presence since he had been quietly watching the conversation so far.

His mind had been focused on Erza as the feeling that she might be in danger overwhelmed him. But then again, this whole night had been no short of dangerous for her.

"No problem. I was happy to help; Juvia was always so loyal and kind. She didn't deserve to be trapped with Grimoire Heart." This had the bluenette smiling once she pulled apart from the kiss to catch her breath.

"So let me get this straight. Juvia and Jellal are siblings, but when they were young she was captured by Hades and trained to be in Grimoire Heart." Levy decided to get all the details they had learnt that night.

"Yes." Juvia said, turning around to face the rest of the group while Gray kept his arms wrapped around her from behind.

"And you were sent to kill Gray during that first date, but didn't go through with it. Then during the Phantom Lord battle you fought against him, but he didn't recognize you until after the fight and that's when you knew you loved him." Lucy continued and the water mage nodded.

"Why were you in Phantom Lord anyways?" Gajeel brought up a good point.

"I was sent there to infiltrate the guild since master Hades wanted to know if they could someday join the Balam Alliance." Juvia replied.

"What about Fairy Tail?" This was the question in everyone's mind ever since Juvia and revealed that she used to be a member of Grimoire Heart.

"I wanted to join the guild because of Gray. It wasn't Hades' plan." Relieved looks came upon everyone's faces.

"One more thing, since you were a member of Grimoire Heart, can we assume that you also use some form of lost magic?" Levy brought up another crucial point.

"That's right. I forgot to ask." Natsu said before turning to Juvia expectantly.

"Well…" She was about to answer when she felt it. The familiar dark presence that constantly haunted her dreams. They all felt it and Jellal's face paled while Ultear and Meredy suddenly looked nervous. "They're here."

A few weeks before...

"You look beautiful, Erza." Jellal said and she smiled at him, a small blush coloring her cheeks. "Thank you."

They were outside of Lamia Scale's guildhall and it was 2 weeks before the Grand Magic Games began. A party had been organized so that all the contestants could get to know each other before the big day; which meant that most of the magical guilds in Fiore were there.

Crime Sorciére, per Meredy's request, had decided to join the party; taking advantage of the fact that it was a masked ball so that no one should recognize them. Just for precaution, though, they had also used magic to make themselves unrecognizable.

"So, shall we dance?" Erza extended her hand at him. She wore a beautiful dark red gown matched with a pair of red high heels she wouldn't be caught dead in if Lucy hadn't convinced her to wear them. Her mask had been taken off a while ago.

"We shouldn't." Jellal was quick to say while frowning.

Erza sighed, remembering their conversation a few months before when they had been reunited after seven long years. He had explicitly told her that the only reason he had chosen to live was so that he could make up for his mistakes; and that involved hurting her.

When she had told him that she forgave him for everything, he'd accepted it but reinforced that he had yet to forgive himself. A fter a fight that led to a desperate kiss; they agreed to stop hiding their feelings and confessed their love for each other.

However, per Jellal's request, they agreed to wait until he felt like he deserved to be with her.

But that was over two months ago and Erza was tired. "Come on; it won't do any harm. You can punish yourself later." She didn't await for an answer and grabbed his hand before leading him along the huge gardens, taking advantage of the fact it was deserted.

Once they reached a spot far enough from the party that no one should walk in, she stopped before turning to face him. His eyes showed guilt and regret; as usual. He wore a blue tuxedo, probably chosen by Meredy since the pinkette had good taste.

"You make it really hard to stay away from you." Jellal admitted while his arms instinctively wrapped around her waist.

"It certainly doesn't seem like it. I've missed you." Erza replied while wrapping her own around his neck as they began swinging to the faded slow song.

"I've missed you too." He tensed when her hand touched his cheek, but relaxed once she just used it to remove his mask.

They danced for a good while, until he felt like it was time to go. Being alone with her only served to increase his desire to be with her and he couldn't allow that.

So he tried to step away, but she didn't let him. Instead, her arms tightened around his neck and she brought his face closer so that she could kiss him.

As surprised as he was and despite the constant reminder of why he shouldn't, Jellal couldn't help but to reply.

When they were forced to pull apart because of the need for air, his mind finally started working again and he cursed himself for being weak. "We shouldn't have done that."

She rolled her eyes before grabbing his face with both hands. "Stop being so stubborn. I haven't seen you in weeks, so we deserve to at least have tonight." Her stare was firm and determined; he'd be lying if he said it wasn't tempting.

"Erza, I…." She put a finger on his lips while shaking her head.

"Don't talk. Just let go." He stared at her with uncertainty. "Tonight." Would one night make such a difference? He had been punishing himself for seven years, so maybe he deserved it.

For once in a long time, Jellal didn't waste time thinking about it and just let go. He allowed himself to be happy, to kiss her again and, when her hands started unbuttoning his tuxedo, he didn't push them away.

Instead he allowed his own to trace the back of her dress and unzip it. He didn't even know why he did it, but once she stepped away and allowed it to fall to the ground, he realized that he didn't care.

Erza awoke, almost jumping from her chair. Her face was warm and red as she thought of the events of that night.

It had been passionate, desperate and amazing. An experience she never wanted to forget and now, she never could.

A hand once again rested upon her stomach and she smiled. That night had produced the most precious life for them and no matter how difficult the situation was or how unready they were to become parents; Erza knew that both of them would stop at nothing to protect their child.

"You couldn't have chosen a worse time, though." She whispered, thinking of all the events happening that night. Looking towards the clock on the counter, she noticed it was 12:45. "Okay, now I think it's safe enough to join them."

Standing up, Erza started walking towards the door, only for it to be swung open.

So, what did you think?

Did anyone expect Juvia to be a part of Grimoire Heart? I've been dying to do this twist for a while now and I think it worked well with this story.

Can you guess what her true powers are? A hint: it's the real reason why she was sent to infiltrate Tartarus instead of Jellal or Ultear.

On another note, Jerza fans, did I do alright with the flashback? And what'll happen now that Erza's been found?

Next chapter will be called Linked Pasts. Juvia's secrets won't be the only ones revealed as everyone learns something that Gray has been hiding since the Games. This time there'll be Gruvia flashbacks and some Badass Erza moments.

Ps: Check out my newest Jerza One-Shot, Everything Led Back To You. It's based on the amazing song by Ed Sheeran, All Of These Stars. Plenty of angst with a happy ending.

Shall we try 200 hits for chapter 5?