AN: What 9 months without updating? *pretends to be confused*

I had to adapt a lot of the Alvarez arc for this chapter to make a little of sense and it was a pain in the ass, that's why it took so long. I am sorry if it kind of suck?

#

When she was informed they would get Blue Pegasus' help, Juvia thought they would lend FT a motorboat to get to the island they knew Gray and the others were, but she was pleasantly surprised when she saw the large helicopter, the name "Christina" painted on its side.

"Is that a CH-47F Chinook?" Gajeel asked from her side and he was as impressed as Juvia was.

"Yes, it is." Ichiya, a short man with a square chin, reddish hair and small green eyes, said with pride. He was an old friend of Makarov's and was eager to help.

"There are just a few of those outside the army." Cana whistled, putting her hands on her hips while looking at the helicopter. "And why the hell is it named Christina?"

"Well..." Ichiya cleared his throat. "Hibiki might or not have promised the person who sold us the helicopter that he would... uh, remember her forever. So he kind of..."

"Named the helicopter after her." Gajeel snorted. "Hard to forget a woman's name when it's painted on the freaking thing."

"Is everyone ready?" Laxus asked – they had found him alongside with the rest of Raijinshuu at Blue Pegasus and Cana had almost fallen over with laughter after she found that particular information, especially since they knew the firm was known for their "personal way" of treating clients.

"We're ready." Mirajane nodded, Lisanna and Elfman by her side.

"Good." He nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. "Ichiya is flying the plane but he needs a co-pilot."

"I'll do it." Gajeel said.

"I thought you got sick while in any kind of transportation, like Natsu." Lisanna frowned.

"Not when I'm in control of it." He mumbled, not happy that everyone knew about his weakness. "That's why I don't get sick when I'm driving a car."

"Huh, that's good to know." Cana shrugged.

"Alright," Laxus got their attention back to him "Gajeel will be the co-pilot. Juvia and Freed." Juvia looked his way. "You two will cover the rest of us when we land. Blue Pegasus has some M240 machine guns that will be more than enough for that."

While Freed nodded with the command, Juvia shook her head. "No way. No. I need to-"

"You need to get Gray back, safe." Laxus told her, serious. "That's what I want, to get everyone back, including Gray and my grandfather, safe and sound." Juvia opened her mouth, but he didn't give her the chance to speak. "I analyzed the current team and you and Freed are our best shooters. We don't know what we will find when we get there, so we need to be prepared for anything." Juvia knew he was right, but she didn't like it and Laxus saw it on her expression. He raised an eyebrow. "Look, if you don't want to come-"

Juvia sighed, trying to convince herself to get calmer. "I'm sorry." She cleared her throat. "It's fine. We'll cover you."

Laxus nodded. "Let's go. The guns are inside, we can prepare in there, the trip is long enough."

#

"Caracol Island is in view." Laxus said and everyone got up and grabbed their guns. "The mission is to get in, get our people and get the hell out." His voice was loud so they could hear it over the noise from Christina. "We don't know exactly what we are going to face, but everyone here is trained to do their best job. Let's bring the rest of the family, home."

Everyone nodded and got into position by the helicopter's hatch, which was by its tail. Juvia tightened her ponytail, checked her earpiece plus her bulletproof vest and got the machine gun Laxus had spoken of and she saw Freed do the same. They would come off first, shooting if anything seemed threatening and they would cover the rest of the group until they got into the woods. Then, they'd wait.

"We found somewhere to land." They heard Ichiya's voice through their earpieces. "Get ready, I can see some people and I think they are hostiles."

"They are shooting at us, they are hostiles." Gajeel said and Juvia could practically hear her friend's eyes rolling.

"Let's do this." Laxus said at the moment the helicopter landed and everyone raised their weapons.

As much as Juvia wanted to run after Gray to get him to safety, she needed to trust her team and she needed to stick to the plan. Laxus was a great team leader and every individual who was with them was outstanding. They would bring the others back to safety.

"Freed, Juvia. Go." Laxus instructed when the helicopter's hatch opened and the two of them stepped outside, Juvia's mind already in conflict-mode, while the rest of the team was a few steps behind.

She saw three men on her left and she immediately shot them, the machine gun had a bigger kickback than she thought so she filed that information for later.

"Left is clear." Juvia said, pressing on her earpiece so everyone could hear her.

"Right is clear." She heard Freed.

"Going in." Laxus answered and she followed the group, flanking them until they got between the trees. "Go back to Christina, guard it."

"Copy that." Freed answered and the moment everyone was out of their sight, he looked her way and Juvia nodded, following him back to the helicopter. Gajeel and Ichiya had closed the hatch until the others returned and while Juvia was concerned about Gray, she pushed the thought aside and focused on guarding the helicopter.

"We're coming back." Juvia heard Laxus voice from her earpiece and he was clearly panting. "Be ready, we are being followed."

Juvia glanced at Freed, who did the same and they had a silent conversation before their attention returned to the tree line.

"Ichiya, Gajeel." Juvia heard him say. "Open the door, we'll probably need to leave here in a hurry."

"Copy that." Gajeel answered and a moment later the hatch opened, both Juvia and Freed went to stay on each side of it.

They heard shots and pointed their guns right, waiting to see where their friends would turn out to be and just a few seconds later, they saw the group come off from between the trees some people were shooting at them. Juvia saw Evergreen and Elfman staying behind for a few seconds while they shot at the enemy and the others run.

Juvia and Freed ran for a few meters and stopped at a good distance before they started to shoot so the others could get into the helicopter safe. Noticing they were being covered, Elfman and Evergreen started to run, catching up with the group.

With relief, Juvia saw Gray and the others and they seemed unhurt at first glance.

The moment everyone had passed between her and Freed, they started to walk backwards, still shooting and it seemed as if the more people they shot, more took their place. They stopped at the hatch, still not going inside the helicopter until they were ready to leave and the propellers were still too slow.

"Freed, Juvia! Inside, now!" They heard Laxus through their earpieces after a minute. "We are ready to go!"

Juvia was the first to move, walking backwards just in case, Freed just a few steps in front of her and they stopped almost at the same time, finally getting inside and the hatch closed just a second before they took off, they still heard shots being fired.

Breathing heavily with adrenalin, Juvia turned around seeing the people she went there with and the people they had just saved and she finally saw Gray, just a few feet away from her and his eyes met hers. They moved at the same time, Juvia putting her gun away just in time to embrace him.

Gray put a hand on her jaw and kissed her for a moment. "What are you guys doing here?" He asked.

"We thought we'd help out a bit with rescuing Master." Lisanna said, a few feet away from them and Gray glanced her way, an arm still around her waist and Juvia's arms around his torso, happy to be with him.

"So we brought Laxus." Mirajane said happily while she checked on Makarov.

"This helicopter is great. Is this a Chinook?" Natsu seemed to be hurt by the way he was holding onto his right side. He looked up in Laxus direction and grinned. "Okay, let's fight, Laxus!"

"Shut up." Laxus rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You all..." Makarov said and their attention went to him and Juvia tightened her arms around Gray when she saw the older man's eyes water. "You're the best family a guy could ever have."

Everyone was smiling when Juvia looked around and she felt Gray kiss her temple and Laxus got their attention. "Everyone should just sit down. When we land, we'll exchange information."

With nods, they agreed and they were quick to go sit on and strap on their seatbelts. Juvia turned to Gray the moment they were seated. "Are you alright? Did you get hurt at all?"

"No, I'm fine." Gray grabbed her hand. "But Juvia..." He hesitated. "We saw some of their equipment and it's far more advanced than we thought."

Juvia felt cold run down her spine. "Well." She cleared her throat and squeezed his hand. "Okay, we need to defeat them sometime in the next three weeks."

"What?" Gray frowned in confusion.

"We are getting married April 13th." She told him. "Juvia doesn't care we are at war, this is happening. I waited too long for this."

He looked at her in exasperation and then chuckled. "You are unbelievable." The blunette smiled. "We will get through this."

"I know." Juvia nodded and looked to the ring on her finger; she could feel it in her gut not everything would be alright.

#

Juvia snuggled closer to her fiancée as the celebration raged on around them at Fairy Tail, Mirajane, Lisanna and Elfman trying their best to serve every costumer. They were all happy Makarov was back but the people who had been in the rescue mission were clearly concerned. Gray was too, if his hand gripping hers was any indication.

"This calls for liquor!" Cana's voice brought Juvia back from her thoughts and the loud answer of: 'We'll drink the place dry!' made the blunette smile a bit.

"I never thought you guys would join Blue Pegasus." Gray said and Juvia noticed Freed pouring them some beer.

"Serving customers is not a bad experience." The green haired man told him and Bixlow, who was a few feet behind him, laughed.

"But I only feel at home in run-down bars like this!"

Juvia glanced at Laxus, who was sitting on the opposite side of the booth and a thought occurred to her. "Erm... Laxus-san, you participated in that, did you not? That... how to say it... 'service' they provide?" It was no secret Blue Pegasus sometimes offered more than just the usual service.

Evergreen, who was seated next to Laxus, leaned on the table and fake whispered: "Only now and then." She giggled. "And it was a sight to see..."

"We don't need to go into it." Laxus glared at Evergreen and Juvia could swear she saw his cheeks get pinkish.

Chuckling, Juvia took a sip of her beer and put her glass back on the table, Gray did the same and then looked down to her. He was clearly exhausted and would drop hard when they got home.

"We should go home." Juvia told him.

Gray shook his head. "Not yet. We need to decide about what to do if Alvarez really attack us."

"That won't be decided tonight, Gray-sama." She squeezed his hand and sighed. "I just want us home."

His eyes softened with her words so he leaned to give her a quick kiss on the lips. "I want that too." He told her. "We'll be home within the hour, okay? Then you can fuss all over me if you want." He rolled his eyes playfully.

Juvia offered him a small smile. "You say that as if you don't like it when Juvia fusses over you. Or if you'd have much choice about it."

"I know I wouldn't." He untangled their hands. "I'll get us something to eat." She opened her mouth to argue, but Gray spoke before she could. "I need to stretch my legs." Juvia sighed but nodded.

Once he was gone Juvia looked around and she could feel the tension in the room even when her friends were laughing. They didn't want a war, of course, but sadly it was no longer an option. It was just of a matter of 'when' instead of 'if'.

All she wanted was to be at home with Gray, lying on their couch with Snowball sleeping peacefully by the end of the couch.

Juvia saw him next to Natsu, Gajeel and Elfman, and Juvia could see they were starting one of their many silly fights when they heard Makarov call for their attention. She got up and stood next to the booth, trying to see the small man, who was on top of a table.

"Everybody, I'm sorry." Makarov sighed. "My mission was pointless. Alvarez will attack us." Juvia's breath got caught in her throat. "They're an enormous empire and they're going to send their forces against this country-"

"Yeah? What about it?" Natsu's loud voice interrupted Makarov. "How many times do you think we've fought for this country so far? And the enemies have always been powerful." Juvia couldn't help it, and she nodded, agreeing with his words. "Our determination to protect what's really important makes us strong. Sure, we're scared! That fear is like a heavy weight we gotta put down, but we don't know how." Natsu walked amongst their friends so he could face Makarov. "But everyone's gonna help out! I know it! You know what's really scary? The idea that these days that we love so much will go away."

Juvia walked to the spot Natsu left empty between Gray and Gajeel. Her fiancée glanced her way and when Juvia took his hand, he squeezed it, their attention returning to Natsu.

"This is about keeping it so I can sit and laugh with my friends again! And for that, I'd fight anybody!" People started to murmur in agreement. "It ain't about winning! We're making a stand to keep on living! That's what we're fighting for!"

Everyone cheered, their spirits clearly lifted by Natsu's words. Even Makarov looked fired up to protect their home, their friends and family. Gray put his arm around Juvia's shoulder and Juvia snuggled closer to him.

"They think they can threaten my family?" Makarov said, loud. "Well, we'll make them regret it! We will give back everything we get and more!"

"I'm all fired up!" Natsu yelled.

#

Juvia closed the bedroom door and frowned for a moment when she didn't see Gray on the bed. She had gone down the stairs to put some food for Snowball while Gray took a shower. Noticing the balcony door opened, Juvia walked over there and saw Gray, only in his underwear, eating a chocolate bar.

Of course he had noticed when she stepped on the balcony, but he kept looking forward until Juvia put her arms around his middle and kissed his shoulder.

"Gray-sama, let's go to bed. Today was very tiring, you must be exhausted."

Gray hummed in agreement. "Want some?" He showed her the chocolate bar and Juvia shook her head. Gray ate the last bit of it and pulled her so he could hug her. Juvia saw his expression, he was still tired but also very focused. "I'm really grateful to you, you know?" Juvia frowned in confusion. "You're always by my side. No matter what."

"Um..." Juvia was lost for a moment, Gray rarely spoke about his feelings – he was more of an action guy – and whenever he did, it always threw Juvia off her game and melt her insides. "No, it's just that... Juvia..."

"You know Alvarez is coming and you know perhaps we will have to postpone our wedding, right?" He asked, gently and Juvia offered him a sad smile. "If that happens, when the war is over, we'll get married no matter what. So let's focus on the fight ahead, okay?"

"Okay." Juvia whispered, feeling butterflies inside her stomach – almost three years of loving him, of being held by him, of his touches and kisses and yet she still felt as if it was that first night all over again.

She put a hand on his cheek and her thumb caressed it slowly. He had grown so much in the past few years; he went from someone who never wanted to settle to having a home, a fiancée and planning to grow their family soon.

Alvarez could attack at any moment, at any second and she might not make it, but in that moment Juvia realized she already had more than what she ever thought it was possible. She loved him and was loved back; perhaps if the time came for her during a fight, she could go without regrets.

"I love you." She told him and usually Gray's eyes would soften with the words, but that night his face hardened and took her by surprise. "What's wrong?"

"Don't say it like that." He told her and she frowned. "As if you think something bad is going to happen and you have to say it."

She shook her head. "Juvia wasn't-"

"You were." Gray tightened his arms around her. "Just stop it, okay?" He asked. "I don't want to hear any good-byes."

"Alright." Juvia pulled him down for a kiss and Gray took advantage of it, deeping it. His hands went from her hips to the back of her thighs, pulling her up from the floor.

Juvia wrapped her legs around his hips and shrugged the robe, letting it fall on the floor, the cold air a contrast with her skin – each second Gray's hands were on her, she got hotter and hotter, her tank top suddenly feeling very constrictive.

"Bed." Juvia whispered when Gray kissed her jaw and he hummed in agreement, taking her back to their bedroom.

#

If there was something Juvia was sure she'd never get used to, was how Gray made her feel when they were together. They had been together for three years, had been through all types of set-backs but they always ended up back in each other's arms, like it was supposed to happen.

Gray moved on top of her, his mouth sucking a nipple, a hand between them while his thumb worked its magic and bringing her closer and closer to the edge while she had her hands on his ass, urging him to keep going.

"Fuck." Gray groaned, teeth scraping her nipple, and he panted.

"Gray-sama." Juvia moaned, trying to bring him even closer to her, body arching. "Please. Oh, god, please."

Thankfully it seemed Gray knew exactly what Juvia was pleading for because the next moment one of her legs was over his shoulder so he could slide even deeper, his hands were on her hips, holding her still and then he was moving fast and purposely hitting the sweet spot inside her.

"Gr- ah, Gray-sama." Juvia moaned, her whole body aching as she tried to get there. "Oh, oh, oh." She bit her lower lip, panting, just waiting for that wave, that amazing wave that she knew would wash over her soon.

She didn't know if she imagined or not, but she could swear she heard a whispered 'I love you', but she couldn't think anymore because Gray moved in a perfect way that sent her over the edge with a loud wail.

"Fuck." He grunted, hips moving a few times, she felt his seed inside her before he slumped on top of her, face hidden on the junction of her neck and shoulder.

Juvia took a few moments to bask on the feeling of her muscles so relaxed she felt she was floating, Gray's weight on top of her and her hands roaming on his back. He started to kiss her neck, his hand traveling from her hip to settle it just on top of her breast.

"Do you think married sex is going to be this good?" Gray asked, exiting her so he could lie next to her.

The blunette giggled and snuggled closer to him, feeling every muscle of her body relaxed. "Yes. Until we are old and tired of it, that is."

Gray snorted. "We'll have a couple of decades before that."

"Let's enjoy it, then." Juvia smiled and kissed him. "Sleep now." She whispered, noticing he was clearly tired with all that happened that day. "You must be exhausted."

"I guess old and tired isn't that far from coming, huh?" Gray asked, amused, pulling her closer to him like he grew used to.

"If you weren't tired after today, Juvia would be really surprised." She said and Gray just closed his eyes.

Juvia didn't sleep right away, instead she waited for him to fall asleep before she went to the bathroom to clean herself with a wet towel and then returned to his side. Maybe it was the bad feeling she had inside her chest that made her just stare at him for some time, as if she wanted to memorize his face without any worries.

"Juvia does love you." She whispered, gently touching his hair. "You have no idea how much." The blunette kissed his lips lightly and, by instinct, Gray pulled her closer. She smiled and tried to sleep.

#

"Argh, I'm too tired to cook." Juvia said when they got home the two days after Gray's return. It was an exhausting day they spent trying to figure out the best way of defense in case of an attack. Makarov had provided them with dossiers about the highest ranked officials he could remember from Alvarez and their records were chilling. Most of them were psychopaths who have killed many people because of Zeref's orders.

"Let's just order something." Gray looked as tired as she felt. Juvia could see he was as worried as she was, both had seen war, they knew what was coming. "Is pizza okay?" Juvia hummed in agreement while she picked up Snowball's food. Gray kissed her cheek and went to grab the phone.

Juvia could hear Gray on the phone in the living room when she finished feeding the dog. She was about to join him when both their phones chirped at the isle in the kitchen. Juvia sighed and went to grab her phone, unlocking the screen. It was a text message from FT and the words chilled her blood.

From: FT

19:33: Code Black

She unlocked Gray's phone and checked: he had received the same message as her which meant someone sent it to every member of the firm. It wasn't good and under their current circumstances, it could only mean Alvarez was attacking or about to attack.

Losing no more time, Juvia went to the living room, holding their phones. Gray had his back to her.

"...yes, large. If you could add a couple of sodas-"

"Gray-sama."

He turned. "-it would be grea-" Noticing her expression, he frowned. "I'll call you back, sorry." He hung up the phone and stepped closer to her, clearly worried. "What is it?" Without saying a word, she handed him the phone and the moment he read the text, he looked up at her, alarmed. "Now? It's too soon!"

"I know. We have to go." She told him and Gray nodded. "Juvia will get the Kevlar."

"I'll get the guns." Gray told her and before he could leave, Juvia put her hands on his cheeks and pulled him down to a kiss – she didn't know when they'd get the chance again. Gray was scowling when she released him. "Don't do that, I told you."

"I know." Juvia told him. "Just in case."

"Stop it." It was his turn to cup her face in his hands. "Go get the Kevlar, put it on and do not take it off until we are safe, do you hear me?" Juvia nodded and Gray was the one kissing her lips. "Stay by my side all the time, don't stray away. Now go. I'll meet you in five minutes."

Gray ran down to the basement where he kept their best guns and Juvia took a few breaths before she ran upstairs to get ready, a bad feeling following her.

#

Juvia and Gray had just got inside the firm when they heard the commotion, everyone inside was either on the phone or running to get something done. Juvia looked to Gray and the moment their eyes met, they knew it was something huge.

"Juvia, Gray! Good, you are here." It was Cana who caught their attention, she looked worried and just like everyone else, it seemed, she was wearing a bulletproof vest.

"What is happening?" Gray asked. "We put on our vests, took our guns and drove here. We didn't see anyone being attacked. Is it really Alvarez?"

"They are coming. They will reach Magnolia in six hours." The brunette told them.

"How the hell did they get their army together in forty-eight hours to attack us?" Gray was confused.

"They didn't." Cana answered. "It's their elite troops, it's a group of people coming to Magnolia, they are coming from every direction. We've notified as many people as we could. Erza, Mira and Lisanna have been calling every single agency and firm like ours for an hour, since we heard. They must have some plan." Gray nodded.

"Are the people in the dossiers here?" Juvia asked.

"Some of them." Cana nodded and they went to her desk where Cana looked through some folders while Gray put his bag with the guns and ammo on the floor. "These are the ones who are confirmed coming here: Invel, Ajeel, Brandish, Dimaria, God Serena, August and Wall." She gave them the folders. "Nasty motherfuckers, crazy and ruthless. We have to prepare."

"Of course." Gray said between gritted teeth. "Who has eyes on them?"

"Levy and the rest of the nerd squad." Juvia turned around and saw her best friend there. Usually Gajeel would be smirking and telling people how he would kick some ass, but that night he looked stern and it spoke a lot about how serious the situation was.

"Where is she? And Gale-chan and Anna-chan?" Juvia stepped closer to her friend to give him a hug. "Are they safe?"

"Yeah." Gajeel nodded. "I sent them out of town to a safe house earlier today alongside Jet and Droy." Juvia sighed in relief to know the children were far away "I had a gut feeling this was going to happen sooner than we expected and I wasn't going to take any chances. She had just put the kids down when she connected her equipment and noticed Alvarez' moves."

"Levy-san didn't go quiet, I take it." Juvia raised an eyebrow.

Gajeel snorted. "Went kicking and screaming and she has learned some colorful language since we met but she knows Anna and Gale come first. Made me promise not to die, though. It will very painful to me if I upset her like that."

"Not only her." The blunette offered him a smile.

"So Levy, Droy and Jet are sending us information?" Gray asked.

It was Cana who answered. "Yeah. Warren is receiving the info and sharing, Max is there helping too. They are with Makarov and Polyuska upstairs."

"Everyone gather around." Erza's loud voice echoed and everyone who was in the lobby stepped closer. "We are under attack. Some troops are coming this way and I know we can take them, what trouble us is that we have at least 7 high ranks from Zeref's cult and they are absolutely insane. They will hurt civilians and they will fight dirty but they are here for us, we are the ones who took a prisoner and damaged their ego. We have to use that in our advantage.

"We will meet them outside Magnolia. We cannot bring our fight here, do you hear me? We will get help from everyone, some of them are on the move as we speak. We predict their first forces will come in by the western side and we will have to push him back out until the reinforcements come from the capital." Erza told them and showed them some papers in her hand. "I will assign people to each point we know there are troops." Erza stepped aside and a very nervous Warren took a step forward.

"Levy-san has been sending us intel. From the east they have attacked some villages, they wiped them out near Bosco." People started to whisper, afraid and Juvia grabbed Gray's hand. "And they are still coming forward."

"We have sent distress calls to everyone we can think of but I'm afraid they will only be able to get here in the morning." Erza told them, her mood somber. "Which means that tonight, we are the only barriers between them and this town." She looked around. "I hope all of you know what we signed up for." Juvia nodded and noticed more people doing the same as well and she felt Gray's hand tighten around hers. "Come get your assignments."

"Stay here." Gray told her and Juvia did as told, looking after their heavy bags and, like it had been happening since they learned about Alvarez, she felt a bad feeling inside her chest. She didn't tell her fiancée otherwise it would freak him out, but it was there and worse than ever. Gray returned to her side a few moments later. "We are going to the western side of town and we need to go now. They are close by. It's a scout's team as far as we can see, around twenty or so, and we need to take them down. Mira, Elfman and Lisanna are coming with us so we will do this the fastest we can."

"Alright." Juvia nodded. "We can do it!"

#

The Western side of Magnolia was a mess, there were around twenty soldiers just like Gray had said it would be and the team didn't even have time to get off their motorcycles before they started to shoot.

Taking cover behind a building, the five of them shot back but their mission was to push them away from town.

"Cover me." Juvia told her teammates and before Gray could disagree, she received a nodded from Mirajane and knew it was a good plan. Juvia ran from behind the building to behind a fountain, her shooting range was much better, then.

Shooting three guys to the ground, Juvia returned to stay behind the fountain to reload her gun when one of the soldiers, a big large guy, stood behind her. She only had time to turn before he shot her three times on the chest.

Her breath got caught in her throat with the pain – the Kevlar had taken the worse of it, but it still hurt like a son of a bitch. She saw the man get taken down and a second later Lisanna and Gray were by her side, Juvia fighting to breathe and taking off her Kevlar, otherwise she wouldn't be able to breathe properly.

"I'm alright." Juvia took a deep breath once the vest was off. "I'm alright."

"Juvia..." Gray frowned.

"Give me my gun." She was still a bit breathless, but controlled. "Give me my gun and we will finish this."

Thankfully for them, once the team found out the best ways of taking them down, their enemies were down like flies.

No one messed with Fairy Tail at their town.

No one.

#

Once they returned to FT, there were already new orders for them. They had to reload their weapons and divide into teams once again and Juvia was glad to have ended up with Gray, alongside Laxus and Wendy. She was even glad the team who would meet them at the field for support was Lyon's team which was most likely a well thought move from Makarov.

It didn't matter, they needed to defeat the threat otherwise they were as good as dead.

Thankfully, Laxus had a motorcycle of his own and was willing to take Wendy with him, Erza rode her own bike while Gray rode with Juvia until they needed to stop for the night to get some rest.

Gray analyzed the red marks on Juvia's stomach from where she had been hit earlier and his face clouded with anger.

"I told you to be careful." He sulked and Juvia pulled down her shirt. "Being shot three times is not being careful."

"Juvia is sorry." She tip-toed and kissed his lips. "We should get some rest." To lighten up the mood, she said, happily. "Gray-sama, I thought we could use this!" She pulled the sleeping bag from her things. "A sleeping bag for two!"

Gray rolled his eyes. "No way." He scoffed. "Too hot in there." Juvia pouted adorably.

"Come to think of it, where's Laxus-san?" Wendy wondered.

"He said he was hungry and ran off somewhere." Gray shrugged. "Maybe he's going to catch a bear and eat it."

"I wonder what they taste like!" Erza was all but drooling.

Juvia looked apprehensive. "It's dark, perhaps one of us should go find him."

Gray sighed. "I'll go. Everyone, prepare to sleep."

The blunette nodded and put her sleeping back on the floor and lied inside waiting for her fiancée. Erza got in next to her for a few minutes because of the cold but as soon as Gray appeared, Laxus on tow, the red-haired woman went to her own sleeping back while Gray slipped next to Juvia, arms around her.

"I thought you said it was too hot." She tried to lighten up the mood and was rewarded with a snort. "Was he alright?" Juvia asked quietly.

"Yeah, just thinking." Gray kissed her forehead. "Remember the rules for tomorrow, huh?"

"Be by your side all the time." She chuckled. "Juvia is very needed to have your back."

Gray snorted. "You are, so let's not have any surprises tomorrow, please. You know who is coming from the south and he is a sadist son of a bitch. If I tell you to run..."

"Juvia won't listen because wherever you are, is where Juvia has to be."

He groaned. "Juvia..."

She kissed him, long and sweetly. "Let's sleep, Gray-sama. Tomorrow will be an eventful day."

He clearly wanted to say more, but gave up, knowing how stubborn she was. "Good night, Juvia."

"Good night, Gray-sama."

#

The next day had been such a clusterfuck almost nothing went according to plan. Whenever they thought they were one step ahead, they were not. Even with every single agency helping, they were quite fucked.

Natsu and Lucy ended up meeting Gray and Juvia when they faced Yura Invel and his men at a clearing and shots started to get fired.

"Natsu, Lucy, Juvia." Gray said, getting their attention. "You three go. I'll hold them as long as I can. I can probably kill the bastard and there's one fewer enemy for us to worry about."

"Gray..." Natsu was offended until Gray grabbed him by the kevlar.

"You will take them away from here and protect them." He looked into his friends' eyes and they had some sort of conversation without words. "Now go."

"Gray-sama..." Juvia shook her head.

"Juvia." He pulled her for a kiss. "I'll find you when this is over, okay? Go and help take Zeref down."

"But-" She tried, but he kissed her again.

"Go help with Zeref, this is bigger than any of us. Please." Juvia felt Lucy's hand on hers, pulling her towards the trees and, with tears in her eyes, Juvia let herself get taken.

Not a minute after they started to run in the direction they assumed would lead to Zeref, gunshots echoed on the forest and Juvia stopped.

What was she doing? Capturing and killing Zeref was a priority, but what would her life mean if Zeref was gone and so was Gray? She wasn't meant to kill Zeref, she was meant to stay with Gray, come what may.

"Juvia, we have to run!" Lucy said in a whisper and Natsu was right behind his girlfriend.

"Go." Juvia told them. "I will go help Gray-sama. You two go and find Zeref." She looked at Natsu's eyes and she saw understanding there: he knew if that was the say the world went to shit, she would want to go with Gray by her side.

"But-" Lucy tried but Juvia put her hands on the blonde's shoulder.

"Juvia's place is by Gray-sama's side. Lucy-san, Natsu-san, go and find and try to find Zeref." Juvia said. "Only with him gone we have a chance, okay? Juvia is going to Gray-sama because if this is it, that's where I want to be. We will hold them as much as we can in whatever way we can but you have to go."

Lucy's eyes watered but she nodded and started to run in the opposite direction. Natsu nodded and ran after his girlfriend and when Juvia was sure they were gone, the blunette started to run back to where she could hear the gunshots and then nothing.

She found her fiancée hiding behind a rock and she went immediately to his side and the moment Gray saw her, his eyes widened.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" He asked. "I told you to leave!"

"Juvia is not leaving you. Ever." She told him. "For better or for worse, remember?"

He was evidently exasperated with her. "We are not married yet."

"We are in all that matters." She kissed his lips lightly. "Let's face whatever, together."

"Fucking stubborn woman." Gray muttered, pulling her for a deep kiss and then cleaned his throat. "I've taken most of them down, but I'm out of ammo and that crazy fuck Invel is still out there."

"He's out of ammo too, probably." Juvia said. "And now we are in two, we could take him."

"Unless he has some secret weapon." Gray pointed out. "And you are without your vest." Juvia looked down and cussed at herself, she had forgot to take it after she was shot the day before. If he indeed had a secret weapon, she was fucked.

"If he does, we're screwed either way." They looked into each other's eyes for a moment and nodded. If they were going down, they would fight until the end. "If this is it: I love you."

"Not more than I love you." Gray pulled her for a kiss that poured all his feelings to her, his love, his fears, his hopes, his hopelessness. It was so bittersweet Juvia couldn't help but to reciprocate in kind. Once their lips unlocked they breathed hard for a few moments before Gray took a deep breath and told her: "Go left and I'll go right and let's see if we can ambush that son of a bitch."

"Okay."

Slowly, they came out from behind the rock and saw some movement by the trees and when they were about to advance, a gas bomb fell between them. It wasn't pepper gas or anything but it smelt familiar somehow.

Juvia's eyes widened once she realized she really knew that scent, she had smelled it before, years ago with Vivaldus. That gas was meant to control them.

"Don't breathe in!" Juvia yelled at Gray and covered her mouth and nose, watching him do the same but they couldn't hold on forever, not when Invel threw another smoking bomb where they were. Soon enough, they were coughing and tearing up. "Fuck!" She cussed.

"What the...?" Gray said and as the gas dissipated, they could see the figure of Yura Invel coming towards them. "My head..." He put a hand on his temple. "Everything is going dark..."

Juvia felt her body stiff, as if she couldn't command it to move. "My body..." Juvia whispered. "Won't do what I tell it."

"Will Lock." The white-haired man said, approaching the couple. "This gas seals a person's mind and makes them my willing puppets. Whatever I command, you will do it." Juvia's mind was getting hazy but she fought it the best she could. "You two will now fight to the death. You have zero say in the matter." Juvia's heart stopped at his words. "I will only order you to only stop when of you is dead. The other one, I'll bring to the battlefield and watch as he or she butchers your friends."

"What'd you just say?" It appeared Gray still had some of his mental faculties as he tried to reach for the other man, but his body seemed to be as reluctant to move as Juvia's was. "Guh... My head." Gray looked down for a moment and when he looked up, she saw he had been caught up by the gas. That was not her Gray-sama. "Juvia..."

Instinctively, Juvia groaned at him without meaning to. "Gray...."

Inside her mind, Juvia screamed to herself. 'Not gonna happen! If it means harming a single hair on Gray-sama.... Juvia would much rather take her own life while she still has her wits about her!'

"Now, then." Invel's voice was hypnotizing. "Whenever you're ready, you may not rest until one of you lays dead."

'No, I refuse to harm Gray-sama. Anything but that!' She took a step forward and so did Gray, she could see his menacing eyes on her. 'I could never bring myself to harm a single hair on his body, and yet...'

She couldn't have guessed who threw the first punch, or who kicked the other, or threw oneself on the ground first. Juvia hit the man she loved while he hit her back, tears in her eyes while inside her mind, she just screamed in pure agony.

She didn't know for how long they fought hand on hand, but the effects of the gas weren't as strong as they had been before and she could think more clearly, even control her body slightly better than before.

'Why is Juvia bringing harm to Gray-sama like this?' She thought to herself, seeing a red bruise on his cheek and blood coming from his mouth. Not even when they were enemies, she had hurt him like that. 'It cannot be! These actions are unforgivable! The very thought of Juvia hurting Gray-sama...' She thought, feeling another punch on her stomach while she managed to bring him down and punch him in the face. 'Juvia would rather simply meet her end at Gray-sama's hands but that too is unacceptable! Gray-sama would surely blame himself...' Juvia knew if Gray killed her, he would never forgive himself. He could never move on, not after all he had gone through. 'If that's the case, then the choice is obvious. Yes, Juvia shall end her own life, here and now!'

Juvia got off Gray and she could feel him trying to grab her feet as she ran to where the bodies of Invel's troops were. She had to act fast, while she didn't lose her mind once again. 'Before my consciousness fades away completely, Juvia will...' She got one of the guns lying on the ground. 'You have nothing to fear. Muster your courage and fortitude, Juvia!' She thought to herself and saw Gray do the same and reach for the rifle. She needed to act fast, before he did something that would haunt him forever.

She was hurting him. Not with her fists, not with her punches. He was hurting because he was hurting her. He was in pain because he couldn't stop and the only guarantee they had was that supposedly Invel would take whoever stayed alive, with them.

Juvia needed to save him.

"Any and all resistance is utterly futile. Will Lock completely imprisons one's mind. The two of you lost your ability to reason and until one of you drops dead, you won't stop."

Juvia took a deep breath and with the last control of her body, she yelled at the white-haired man: "Juvia's body is far too small for these overflowing feelings to ever be imprisoned within it!"

Invel looked surprised but Juvia's gaze went to her fiancée, her love, the man she'd do anything for. The man she was going to die for.

Her words seemed to have woken him a little, but just like with her, not enough to stop their fight.

Looking straight into his dark eyes, his beautiful amazing loving eyes she would always remember whenever she went after what she was about to do, Juvia smiled and she hoped he could see how much she loved him. She couldn't express how much, never could.

"Words cannot express the joy Juvia has felt by loving you, Gray-sama." With one swift move, Juvia grabbed the rifle in her hands, turned towards her and with the bayonet, she stabbed herself under her breast and to her utter surprise, she saw her fiancée do the same the bayonet right under his chest.

"Why... did you go and do... something stupid like that?" The pain of the blade was close to unbearable but seeing Gray's eyes, wide in shock as he tried to stab himself hurt her even more. He was still wearing his Kevlar, he wasn't hurt as much as she was.

"What...?" Juvia managed to speak between the pain. "Gray-sama... this cannot be." She panted, tears in her eyes. He had been willing to do exactly what she was doing: dying to save him.

"I could never... hurt you. That's why I... and yet..."

"Ahh..." Juvia moaned in pain and fell to the ground on her side, pain irradiated from her stomach to her whole body but Juvia just wanted to look at Gray. If this was the last few moments of her life, it was him she wanted to see.

"I wanted to... protect you." The gas made his words slurred, but it was her Gray speaking to her. Her Gray, her love, the man of her life. "No matter what the cost... but... I couldn't."

Even in pain, even knowing she had hit herself in a very delicate area and she would have just a few hours to live at most, Juvia's heart couldn't help but to beat faster while looking at him. "No..." She managed to smile at him despite the pain, she didn't want his last memory of her as a crying mess. "Your words bring Juvia such joy... Gray-sama."

Juvia's eyes were closing but she was very sure she heard him say "I love you" before she lost consciousness.

#

She mustn't have been out for too long when she opened her eyes, pain hitting every cell of her body, so much she couldn't move much. Juvia looked down and brought one trembling hand to the darkening spot on her dark blue shirt where the bayonet was still in place.

Her blood, she thought and she looked to the ground and saw a pool of blood surrounding her.

Throughout the years Juvia had been injured a lot and she always tried to keep her head clear, but seeing where she was stabbed – most likely on her liver which promised her a very painful death – and the fact probably no help would arrive anytime soon, she knew what it meant.

She was dying.

She started to cry, breathing hard and in so much pain she wanted for it to be over already. Fear washed over her like a cold blanket: she was dying.

'I want to see Gray-sama one more time.' She thought, trying her best to keep her eyes open; she knew if she lost consciousness again, it would be for good. 'One more time.'

Oh, she always thought when the time came she'd accept it, she'd be grateful to have lived that far and to have met the amazing people she knew, that she would rejoice meeting the love of her life.

But at that moment, none of it was true as she sobbed in agony.

Juvia tried to fight the pain and she didn't want to go, not yet. She had so much to live for; she was supposed to get married in two weeks and then have her whole life with Gray by her side. They were supposed to spend their honeymoon at the beach. They were supposed to start trying to have a baby in a few months. They were supposed to grow older together.

Now, she couldn't. Her future was gone;

She was wrong before, the time she had spent with Gray wasn't enough. It would never be enough.

She had no clue how long she just stayed lying on the dirty ground, crying and in agonizing pain. So... that was dying, huh. Despair, unbearable pain and cold.

She was so cold and in the back of her head she knew it was because of all the blood she had lost. It wouldn't take long now, she couldn't feel her legs anymore, the rest of her body was numb and she had to fight to keep her eyes opened.

She was so tired. So, so tired all she wanted was to sleep. Fighting to stay alive exhausted her and maybe if she just took a nap...

"Juvia!" She heard Gray's voice when she almost had her eyes closed and she gathered all her strength to open them again. She saw him kneel next to her and he gently turned her around. What was he doing there? He had left, why was he back? Was it a hallucination because her blood loss? If it was, she was glad it was him she was seeing. "Juvia? Juvia, don't close your eyes." His tone was desperate and he looked so afraid... she never saw him like that. It broke her heart. "Don't speak." He said when she opened her mouth and he started to put pressure on her wound. "I'm sorry, that bastard still controlled me and took me away, but I finally overcame the gas." He looked down to her and paled. "Don't worry. You're going to be alright." He tried to convince her, but man, was he a shitty liar.

She knew it wasn't true, she knew she was dying. "Gra-"

"Shhhh. You'll be okay." Gray looked around in a frantic seek for assistance, but there was no one else around. It was just them. "You have to be okay. I just need to- there must be someone-" He looked down to her, pleading with his eyes for her to be alright. "I'll find someone to help you."

"There's no one." Juvia managed to croak.

"No. No." He shook his head, his face in an expression of pain. "There has to be someone." Juvia gathered all her strength to shake her head. "No!" He all but yelled. "You can't do that, Juvia." He said, tears falling from his eyes. "You can't make me love you, make me want to marry you and be with you forever and then leave me." He sobbed, a hand cradling one of her cheeks sweetly. "Please don't leave me too. I won't be able to take it. Don't leave me." He whispered in such a painful tone, Juvia started to cry again. "Please, don't leave me alone."

"I'm sorry." She said, sobbing. 'I'm sorry for hurting you, I'm sorry for loving you, I'm sorry for leaving, I'm sorry for being selfish', she wanted to say, but instead, just whispered: "I'm sorry."

Gray held her close to his chest and Juvia could see her vision darkening. It was time and she needed to make sure Gray knew.

"Juvia..." She whispered, her strength almost gone as she put a hand on his cheek. "Will live on within your heart, Gray-sama. That's why there's no reason to be sad."

"This isn't happening." Gray sobbed, thick tears coming from his eyes and staining his face. "Juvia..."

"Juvia's life will forever and always belong to you, Gray-sama." She smiled between tears and her vision was almost completely black when she couldn't feel her hand anymore and let it fall on the ground, where her blood had stained it. She did manage, though, to whisper 'I love you' before darkness took over her.

And for a second, before her mind went blank, she could swear she heard Gray's scream of agony, asking her to come back.

#

The first thing she realized was how she couldn't breathe with something deep inside her throat, the second was that when she opened her eyes, everything was unfamiliar and the noise from the machines' beeps was driving her crazy and she couldn't fucking breathe.

"Juvia!" She knew that voice. She loved that voice. Juvia searched for him, but her eyes were still adjusting to the light but she saw a blurry figure with dark hair and felt a warm hand on hers. She knew that hand. "Doctor! She's awake."

Her blue eyes were finally focusing more and more and by the time she could see properly, she saw a team of people in white rushing towards her, everyone speaking at the same time and the warm hand was gone while she craved it back.

"Sweetheart," a female's sweet voice said "I need you to cough. Cough and we can take this tube off of you, yes?" Knowing Juvia couldn't answer, the lady counted. "On three, okay? One, two, three." As instructed, Juvia coughed and the tube slowly moved from deep her throat. "Atta girl. Very good, darling."

Juvia couldn't stop coughing and her body ached with it, her chest, her throat, her side, everything. Even when someone put an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth, Juvia kept coughing, her throat felt sore and tender.

"Deep breaths, honey. There you go." Sweet lady said and Juvia was finally stopping the coughs gradually while taking deep breaths. That went on for a few minutes until Sweet Lady said. "Wonderful, my dear. I will get the doctor, he will want to talk to you. But there's someone here who didn't leave your side for a moment since you got here."

Juvia looked around and saw Gray by door – far enough to not to get in the way of the medical professionals but close enough to know if something was amiss. The moment their eyes met, Juvia started to cry and Gray took a few steps closer to her bed, grabbing her hand and his own eyes were shining with unshed tears.

The blunette moved her oxygen mask for a second and Gray took the hint and gave her a kiss on the lips and damn her if it wasn't the best thing she ever felt. She laughed and cried when Gray dutifully put her oxygen mask back on her face.

"I thought you died." He told her, a few tears falling from his eyes. "I asked for you to come back."

"I..." She panted, voice rough. "Listened." And that time, when Gray started to cry again, she knew they were tears of joy, just like hers were.

She was alive and so was their future.

#

AN: I can't believe there's just one more chapter to go! *3*

Kevlar does not stop stabbings, as far as my research told me, but they can be quite an obstacle so that's why Juvia's stab wound is much more serious than Gray's. She hit a major organ, her liver, while Gray got lucky and it's a much simples wound. Liver wounds take a while to make someone die, but if there's no medical attention, said person will die from exsanguination, which was pretty much how Juvia died in chapter 499, that's why I had to make Gray leave with Invel, so she could bleed out. Mean Bonney, I know. We'll talk about it more in the next chapter. :)