Earthland Gray and Natsu help Edolas Fairy Tail figure out how to get into Undertown, and get in touch with the rest of the Resistance.

-----

you'll find your way
and may death find you alive
.

Rain pounded down on the ground, picking up the dirt and splashing it in rivulets up Natsu's boots. He was huddled behind the guild building with Edo-Lucy, who was currently half-underneath a hovertruck that had been pulled under a makeshift awning.

"Pass me the pink wrench." She slid out from underneath the truck, face streaked with mud, and reached her hand out to Natsu. He glanced at the toolkit next to him and passed her what looked like a socket wrench with a pink stripe down the handle. "Thanks."

"What do the colors mean?" he asked curiously, crouching down to try and see under the vehicle. There was a spark and a brief flash of magic, and Lucy cursed under her breath. "You okay?"

"Fine, spirit's just not cooperating with me today," she grumbled. "C'mon, you little... got it!" Another flood of magic, this time gentler, and something clicked into place.

"Your tools are magic?" Natsu asked as she handed the wrench back to him. He slid it back into the box and helped her to her feet, then shook the rain from his hair. He was soaked.

"It's tech magic," Lucy replied, wringing out her ponytail. She hopped up into the driver's seat of the hovertruck and turned it on, nodding in satisfaction as it hummed to life. "The tools house... they're like spirits. The can each talk to different kinds of machines, help them work again." She pressed her palm against the control panel and the truck powered down. "What kind of magic do I use in your world?"

Lucy was much friendlier today than she had been yesterday. She seemed to have gotten over her initial reluctance to interact with Natsu and Gray, so when she'd invited Natsu to come help her fix the truck this morning, he'd accepted readily. It had been odd at first, but Natsu felt like he was starting to get used to it.

"You use celestial magic," he replied, grabbing the box and following her as she hopped out of the truck and around to the back door of the building. They made their way in through the narrow entrance, then down the hallway to the storage area next to the common room. "It's still spirits, just not for tech."

"Hm." Lucy took the toolbox from Natsu and set it along the wall. Grabbing two towels from the rack, she tossed one to Natsu, then used the other to dry her hair. "Is it very different here?"

"Yes," Natsu replied immediately. "Not- I don't mean it's better or worse," he added hurriedly, even though here was absolutely worse, "but it's... you're a stranger. No offense. And my Lucy is my best friend."

Natsu rubbed the fabric of the towel between his fingers, the fear of never getting back and seeing his friends again flooding through him like a wave. He missed home.

"It's weird for everyone," Lucy replied gently. She sighed, pulling her now mostly-dry hair back into a ponytail. "I'm sorry we're all so hard on you. It's hard to see... well, you two look like them before the mission."

"What happened?" Natsu asked hesitantly. Lucy sighed, leaning against the wall.

"It was a rescue op to Acropolis that went bad," Lucy said eventually. "Natsu got hit with a blast from an experimental form of the Purging Stone, and it started just... eating away at his skin and bone. They had to amputate his arm to save him. Gray stayed behind to give everyone time to get away, and the next day Faust had him executed." Natsu's stomach dropped. "They put out a holo, it was..." she sighed. "Erza left after that, said she was going back to Undertown to get people together to take down Faust. Before we could go after her, Faust put up the Wall, and now we're stuck here."

"They executed him?" Natsu whispered.

"Bolt to the back of the head," Lucy said softly, eyes on the ground. "It was a public execution. They hoped it would 'deter further acts of terrorist violence' if people saw what happened to him." Natsu's stomach twisted, imagining his alter self watching his partner die.

"Fuck, I'm so sor—" Lucy held up her hand, shaking her head.

"Don't. It's not your fault." She gave him a half-smile, then pushed herself off the wall, stretching her arms over her head. "Let's go see if any of these idiots has come up with a plan." She grabbed Natsu's arm and dragged him towards the common area, shoving the door open and wandering over to where Edo-Natsu, Gray and Freed were gathered by the screens. "What are you assholes up to?"

"Terrorism," Edo-Natsu replied blithely from his position next to Gray, and there was an awkward moment where nobody knew if they should laugh.

"I don't think these two have been here long enough for that kind of humor," Lucy chided, and Edo-Natsu stuck his tongue out at her.

"Fiiiine. How's the truck?" Lucy gave him the thumbs up, then leaned against the table next to him. Natsu slid up next to Gray and nudged him gently with his shoulder. They'd both agreed to avoid being overly affectionate around Edo-Natsu, which made being in this strange place even harder.

The door behind them opened again and Laxus walked through, balancing two mugs of coffee and some of the flat, bread-like substance they'd eaten for breakfast. He made his way over to Freed, and shot Natsu and Gray a dirty look.

"Don't be a prick." Edo-Natsu glared at Laxus as he handed a cup of coffee to Freed.

"It's just not... right," Laxus grumbled. "Why doesn't it bother you? It should both—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Edo-Natsu was on the other side of the table, grabbing Laxus by the throat and shoving his head back against the wall. Lucy and Freed made no move to intervene – in fact, both looked casually disinterested.

"Don't you dare tell me how I should feel," Edo-Natsu growled. "You got no clue what the hell you're talking about."

"They shot him... in the head," Laxus ground out around Edo-Natsu's fingers on his throat. Natsu felt Gray stiffen beside him, and he grabbed Gray's hand reassuringly. "H-how can you... look at him?"

"I know what they did to him," Edo-Natsu whispered, dropping Laxus to the floor. "I watched the holo, same as you." Natsu glanced up at Gray, wondering if they should get the hell out of here. This conversation didn't belong to them. "This isn't the same person," Edo-Natsu continued. "He didn't kill my Gray. And they're helping us do what he would have wanted, so shut your frakkin' mouth and play nice or I'll make you regret it."

Laxus sat on the floor, rubbing his neck petulantly while Freed smirked. Edo-Natsu continued glaring down at him until he rumbled out an indignant, "fine, sorry."

"That's better." Edo-Natsu reached down and helped Laxus to his feet. "Now, let's focus." He returned to his place beside the table, flashing Natsu and Gray a smile.

Natsu looked down at the table. In the center, a 3D hologram of the area was lit up in various colors. The island-city of Imperium was in the northeast corner, surrounded on three sides by the mainland and separated from it by thirty kilometers of ocean. Louen, the closest city to their current location, rested directly on the edge of the mainland at the peak of a high cliff.

"This is where Undertown is," Edo-Natsu explained, pointing at Louen and swiping the hologram until they could see a mockup of an underground area. "It's sort of a haven for the Purged. When they take your magic, they take your SINchip too – it's an identity implant with all your information. Without it, you're a blank. You're not a person."

"If you're not a person, you can't get a job," Lucy continued, hands on her hips. "So most Purged end up in Undertown, working in the brothels or the arenas or running drugs. Glitterfolk – the rich people from Louen and Imperium – use it like a tourist attraction. It's a thrill for them."

"That's awful," Gray said softly. "This might be a stupid question, but why don't the Purged leave? Come back here?" Edo-Natsu's face hardened.

"The Wall got put up a few days after... after Gray died," he explained. "There's armed guards at all the checkpoints, and they scan your SINchip if you want in. Nobody goes out." He leaned back and grabbed his coffee from the table, sipping it contemplatively. "Plus, everything costs creds, and they won't take hacked credcards, which leaves everyone in Undertown pretty much frakked."

"But there's a Resistance there?" Natsu tapped his fingers against his thigh, a plan formulating in his head. "That's what Erza went to start, right?"

"Mm," Laxus grunted affirmatively. "There's lots of dirty goods down there. Weapons, spellcubes, fake SINchips – all stuff they could use to take Faust down. Erza wanted to destroy the Purging Stone – that's what might get you two home, though. So we need to get to her before she blows it."

"If she can at all," Freed added, running a hand through his close-cropped hair. "Getting into the Acropolis is going to be next to impossible. The only way to get to the island is a ship or the maglev, and they ident-scan everywhere."

"Why don't we leave that part of the plan to them," Edo-Natsu suggested gently, tapping on the map in front of them. "We gotta focus on figuring out how to get past the Wall."

"You said nobody with magic can get through it, right?" Natsu leaned forward and examined the dotted line that indicated the barrier.

"Mhmm," Lucy said, pointing to three open sections on the map. "There's three gates, and they're guarded, but even walking through there would kill a mage. The barrier's some kind of tech they developed from experimenting on magic-users." Natsu shuddered. "We can't use magic within a hundred feet of it either, so we can't bomb it or anything – unless we had spellcubes, which are conveniently on the other side."

"But we could get through it," Natsu said, gesturing to himself and Gray. "We don't have our magic."

"You don't have SINchips, though," Freed argued. "They scan everyone when they walk through the gate. They'd flag you as blanks and take you straight to Imperium."

"But what if we got SINchips?" Gray interjected. "How hard is it to remove one from someone?" Edo-Natsu looked at him, contemplating the question.

"They're implanted here," he said, holding his hand out for Lucy to point at the webbing between his thumb and index finger. "It wouldn't be too hard to cut them out."

"So, what if we drew some of the Magehunters out?" Gray said slowly. "Set a few bombs off, made some noise... they would send someone, right?"

"And we could dust 'em and take their chips!" Edo-Natsu exclaimed, suddenly full of energy.

"The problem remains – you still look like a wanted Purge and a dead man," Freed interjected. "Even with the chips, you'd never make it past the guards." Gray sighed, but Natsu put a hand on his shoulder.

"Leave that part to me."

~

It took longer than expected to lure the Magehunters to their position. Laxus and Freed did their best, lighting up random abandoned villages or raiding larger towns for supplies, always brazenly using their magic. After three weeks, Gray was starting to lose hope that the plan would work.

He sat in the common area of the guild, flipping through the datapad on his lap – he and Natsu weren't allowed to leave the building, both because he could be recognized and because they were necessary for the next step of the plan. Gray was getting antsy, though. He could only read so much before he wanted to throw the datapad across the room.

Footsteps pounded down the stairs and the common room door slammed open. Edo-Natsu and Wendy stumbled in, both bleeding from various places. Edo-Natsu had a giant smile on his face, and held out a small plastic box.

"We got 'em!" he shouted triumphantly. Wendy sighed, pushing him down to sit on the couch and running her hand over the cut on his shoulder.

"Are you guys okay?" Gray asked, taking the box from Edo-Natsu and peering into it. Two tiny bits of tech sat inside, barely visible unless he held them close to his face. "Did you..."

"We're fine. There were only two – it was a close scrap, but we dusted 'em," Edo-Natsu replied, wincing as Wendy's healing magic knitted a cut on his cheek back together. Up close, Gray could see that while they were both battered and bruised, neither of them had sustained serious injuries. "Lucky they were both about your size – uniforms are in the bag." Edo-Natsu pointed to the rucksack that Wendy had deposited on the floor. "Where's Natsu?"

"Still working with Gajeel," Gray responded, setting the box on the table and opening the rucksack. He had learned a few weeks back that these bags magically held more inside that what seemed possible from the outside, so he was unfazed when he managed to pull out two full sets of armor. The Magehunters wore tactical gear – thick leg and chest-guards, covered by a jacket with a hood. He held one out in front of him, taking in the size.

"This should work," he murmured. "I'd better let Natsu know and see if his part of the plan's done."

Finding Natsu wasn't hard – he and Gajeel were holed up in an area that the guild referred to as 'the workshop.' It was full of junk they'd salvaged from various ruined cities, and gear they'd lifted from dead bodies. Natsu and Gajeel were leaning over a workbench, and Gajeel was using his magic to bend a piece of steel around a mixture of powder and green chalk.

"We got the SINchips," Gray said, coming up behind Natsu and kissing him on the cheek. Natsu sighed in relief, rubbing his eyes.

"Grenades are almost done," he said, gesturing to the pile of round, metal objects next to him. "Most are just smoke bombs, but a couple have lightning in them. Freed bound some of Laxus' magic to the metal, hopefully they'll work near the Wall."

Gajeel finished manipulating the metal and handed the final grenade off to Natsu, who began to set them in a crate, stacking them carefully.

"This plan of yours is mental," Gajeel grumbled, leaning against the counter. "Glad it's you two going and not me. No offense." Gray shrugged.

"We don't have much of a choice," he said softly. "It's that or be stuck here forever, which isn't particularly appealing." He shot a look at Gajeel. "No offense." Gajeel snorted.

"All right you two, get in here so we can implant those chips!" Levy's voice rang out from down the hallway and Gray sighed. Natsu lifted the brought the box out to the foot of the stairs before heading into the common area.

Having the SINchip implanted in his hand made Gray feel queasy – he made the mistake of looking down while Levy injected it, and the sight of the tech sliding under his skin made him want to throw up. He swallowed hard against the nausea creeping up from his stomach.

"You'll have to cut it out once you're past the Wall," Freed explained. "Hopefully you make it there. They'll likely report it as stolen almost immediately." Gray nodded, looking over at Natsu, who already had his chip and was letting Lucy apply a dark powder to his hair. It covered the pink almost perfectly, leaving him with unremarkable brown hair that flopped over his eyes.

"You got everything?" Edo-Natsu stood in the doorway, dressed to travel with a bag slung over his shoulder. Louen was a three-hour drive from the guild's current location, and Edo-Natsu had offered to take them there in the hovertruck.

"Yeah, I think so," Gray said. The bag beside Gray was stuffed with clothes that would help them blend into Undertown, several bottles of clean water, a few processed food bars, more of the hair powder for Natsu, an encrypted datapad, and something Edo-Natsu had called a credcard that apparently had some kind of currency on it. Gray finished adjusting the Magehunter cloak over his shoulders, then stood and slung the bag over his shoulder.

"Good luck," Laxus said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're gonna need it."

"You're not helping," Levy grumbled, hitting him with one of her gloves. She looked at Gray, tipping her visor over her eye. "Looks like it's working. Gray's showing as Caleb Dean, twenty-three, lives at the barracks on Chanyeng row..." She turned her head to Natsu. "And you're Tellum Frey, twenty-six... looks like you're allergic to shellfish." Natsu snorted, snapping the last part of his uniform's legplate in place and standing.

"We'll get it memorized on the way," Gray said, feeling uncomfortable under everyone's scrutiny. "We'll get to Erza as quick as we can and see what we can to do help. Hopefully we can figure out a way to take the Wall down and get you guys in."

"I hope you make it home safe," Wendy said in an uncharacteristically gentle voice. "I'm sure everyone there misses you." Gray's chest felt heavy, thinking of everyone that Wendy had lost and would never see again.

"Let's get going," Edo-Natsu interrupted, tipping his head toward the stairs. "We wanna travel while it's still dark and the sun's up in six hours."

"Thank you for everything," Gray said, looking around at the ragtag group. "Sorry for... y'know." He gestured at his face.

"Natsu's right, it isn't your fault," Laxus grumbled, reaching over and grasping Gray's shoulder. "Sorry for being an ass." Gray nodded silently, feeling like he might cry. "Now get outta here."

~

The ride to Louen was uneventful. Gray sat in the back of the truck, sprawled across both seats and flicking through the datapad. He'd read over every piece of research that the guild had done on the Wall, the Magehunters, and Undertown, but he went over it again, trying to commit everything to memory. He could hear both Natsus in the front seat conversing quietly, but he didn't join them.

Eventually, they came up near the edge of the sparsely wooded area they'd been travelling through, and Edo-Natsu powered the truck down. In the distance, Gray could see Louen, lit up like stars under the blanket of night. He sat up slowly, stretching and hopping out of the truck.

"Grenades," Natsu said quietly, pointing to the crate. They both began gently loading the metal contraptions in to the pocks of the Magehunter jackets. Natsu pulled a thick square of fabric out of the bag, reaching over and tying it behind Gray's neck.

"It's a straight shot down this path," Edo-Natsu said quietly, handing them one of the round alchemical lanterns that had been sitting in the back seat. "You remember everything? Anything we need to go over?"

"I think we've got it," Natsu replied, reaching over and clasping Edo-Natsu's hand. Edo-Natsu shook his head, pulling Natsu into a tight hug, then turned to Gray and hugged him as well.

"Good luck, guys," he whispered, pulling back from Gray. "And thanks."

"Thank you," Gray replied. "And I'm sorry for everything." He stepped back and the two of them looked at each other for a moment, then dropped their gaze simultaneously. Gray felt a twist of guilt in his stomach.

"I'm gonna give you guys a minute," Natsu said softly. He pressed a kiss to Gray's cheek and took the datapad, then wandered ahead along the path. Gray sighed, then turned back to Edo-Natsu.

"Are you okay?" he asked when he saw Edo-Natsu's expression. Edo-Natsu was breathing shakily, and it looked like he was trying hard not to cry.

"I... I just..." Edo-Natsu squeezed his eyes shut and ran his hand over his face, sighing deeply. "I'm probably never going to—to see you again. And I know you're not... mine... and..." He broke off, swallowing heavily and pressing his ring against his lips. "I just miss him so much," he whispered after a moment. "I didn't get to say goodbye." Gray's heart twisted, and he stepped forward, placing a hand on Edo-Natsu's arm.

"I'm so sorry," Gray said softly. "I wish I could bring him back. I wish I could be him for you." He pulled Edo-Natsu into another hug. Gray felt tears on his shoulder, and he ran a hand through Edo-Natsu's hair, just like his did with his own Natsu.

"Is it..." Edo-Natsu broke the embrace slowly, sniffing and refusing to meet Gray's eyes. "Would it be... I mean... I know it's not..."

Gray exhaled softly, reaching up to touch Edo-Natsu's chin. He ran his fingers over the rough, scarred cheek, watching Edo-Natsu's eye flutter shut at the touch. Slowly, Gray leaned in and pressed their lips together.

Edo-Natsu made a soft, desperate sound, bringing his hand up to brush through Gray's hair. He kept the kiss chaste – soft and gentle – but Gray could feel the emotion he poured into it. After a moment Edo-Natsu broke away, pressing their foreheads together.

"Goodbye," Gray whispered, wishing he could fix this somehow. Edo-Natsu smiled, letting go of Gray and wiping at his face with the back of his hand.

"Goodbye," he murmured, stepping back and gesturing for Gray to follow his own Natsu. "Just... make sure you tell him, okay? Every day. Don't let it be too late." Gray felt his own tears spilling out and running down his face, and he nodded, crossing his arms over his stomach. "Go. Make it home. Be happy."

"Thank you," Gray whispered, then turned to run off after Natsu, trying desperately to hold in the sob he knew was coming.

Why did this have to be so fucking hard?

~

Natsu wasn't far ahead, and Gray forced himself to keep his eyes forward when he heard the soft hum of the hovertruck powering up and pulling away.

"You ready for this?" Natsu stood up from his position where he was crouched near the edge of the trees, peering across the flat, grassy area that led up to the Wall.

"No," Gray whispered, grabbing Natsu's wrist. "And if we fuck this up royally and end up dead, I love you." Edo-Natsu's words sat heavy in his heart, and he swallowed down the tears that were threatening to spill out again.

"Don't talk like that," Natsu murmured, pressing a kiss to Gray's palm. After a moment, he added, "I love you, too." Then they both looked at each other, took several deep breaths, then nodded and burst out of the trees.

As soon as the guards along the perimeter of the Wall were in sight, Natsu and Gray both reached into their pockets and dropped their first smoke grenades, coughing as the thick mixture swirled up around them. A few paces after that, Natsu threw a lightning one in between them. It laid still for a moment, then exploded into silvery-white lines that arced out in every direction.

"GET BACK!" Gray shouted at the guards, reaching up and pulling the mask Natsu had fashioned over his face. Between it and the hood, only his eyes were visible. "The gas is poisonous – GET BACK!" Another set of smoke bombs, these ones laced with green, gave off a sickly, toxic vibe.

"IDENTIFY YOURSELVES!" one of the guards shouted, but Gray could see that he was hesitating, staring at the cloud of smoke and lighting that was heading for the door. Gray and Natsu slowed for a moment, dropping several bombs and waiting until the smoke was thick enough to barely see through before continuing their sprint towards the gate.

"COVER YOUR FACES!" Natsu yelled, voice rough from coughing. "They're attacking, we need to close the gate!"

Gray faked a stumble, dropping to one knee for long enough to roll his last two grenades as far forward as he could. They managed to land about ten feet away from the guards, and as the smoke began to swirl around their ankles, the panic on the guard's faces was clear.

"Marcus, get the controls!" one of them shouted, pulling out the pistol from his belt and aiming it behind Natsu and Gray. "You two, scan and get in here!"

"Caleb and... Tallum," Gray wheezed, skidding to a halt in front of the guards. Something beeped next to him. "We were after... Fairy Tail... attacked us." He wasn't faking the breathlessness, or the hoarseness from the acrid sting in his lungs. "Lightning one... then poison... gotta get inside."

He gestured to the cloth covering his face and the guard's eyes widened, raising his arm to cover his mouth.

"I'll call down to headquarters and get them to – what the..."

As Natsu and Gray slipped past the two guards and into the city, Natsu rolled the last lightning grenade back towards them. It went off almost immediately, crackling and stunning both guards. Smoke swirled up around them and Natsu grabbed Gray's hand, turning right and dashing away from the door.

A few side alleys later, they were both leaning up against a wall, panting heavily and tugging the masks from their faces.

"Holy shit," Natsu wheezed, rubbing his hands over his face. "Holy shit, okay, we did it. Now we just have to make it to the lifts. You have the map?"

Gray reached into the bag and tugged out the datapad with shaking hands, fingers trembling so badly he could barely pull up the map of the city. He leaned over and kissed Natsu breathlessly. Natsu's fingers wound tightly in his hair, and they stayed like that for several seconds, both thankful to have lived through the first part of their plan.

"We can take the back roads most of the way there, but we'd better hurry," Natsu whispered eventually, pulling back and letting out a deep sigh. "We'd better get rid of the chips, I'm pretty sure those two idiots weren't the only ones watching the Wall."

Gray nodded, voice still stuck somewhere in his stomach, as Natsu pulled a pocketknife from his jacket and reached for Gray's hand. It hurt a hell of a lot more to have the chip cut out than put in, but after a few minutes they had bandaged their hands, destroyed the SINchips, and were on their way to the lifts.

Gray followed Natsu numbly as they weaved through the alleys and back roads. Anytime they ran across citizens, they were nodded to or bowed at respectfully, or in some cases regarded with fear. At one point they saw a group of officers shouting frantically and heading towards the front gate, but nobody stopped or questioned them.

The lineup for the lifts was dead – it was early in the morning, and it seemed like most people were coming back up rather than heading down. Gray eyed the contraptions suspiciously – three flat platforms surrounded by glass walls, with enough room on each for about ten people. A machine stood in front of each lift with a tiny screen affixed to it, and Natsu gestured for Gray to get out their credcard.

"Quickly," Natsu hissed, grabbing the flat square from Gray's hand and pressing it against the screen. It came to life, displaying a list of fares. Natsu scanned through them hastily and chose the appropriate options while Gray kept an eye out for guards. "C'mon, let's go."

They scrambled onto the lift and stood frozen for a moment before a robotic female voice announced, "Lift three, going down. Destination: Entertainment District." Then they slowly began to descend.

"Quick, change," Gray urged, tugging off the overcoat and unbuckling his chestplate. He grabbed the clothing from the rucksack that Lucy had packed – heavy, dark pants, plain long-sleeved shirts, and thick jackets with hoods – and began to pull them on instead.

"Oh, wow..." Natsu breathed. Gray finished pulling the shirt over his head and followed Natsu's gaze. They had exited the lift shaft and were now descending in what seemed like freefall into Undertown.

It was a chaotic mess of ramshackle buildings and neon lights, people and speeder bikes and vendors of all shapes and sizes. An enormous vidscreen along one wall advertised a cage fight between "Wildfist and The Phoenix," and another showed a sultry-looking woman whispering for people to join her at the "House of Negotiable Pleasures." Apartment balconies leaned out of the walls several stories up, lights and banners hanging from them and flapping in the recycled air.

"We have to find Erza here?" Gray murmured, tugging on the jacket and pulling up his hood, and urging Natsu to do the same. They shoved the stolen Magehunter gear back into the rucksack, and Gray hoisted it back onto his shoulder. "Where do we even start looking?"

The lift dinged, the robotic voice announcing, "Entertainment District reached. Enjoy your visit to Lower Louen. Have a pleasant stay." The doors swooshed open and Natsu and Gray stepped out, looking around them in amazement.

"Well, if you were part of a Resistance where would you hide?" Natsu murmured, reaching back to grab Gray's hand. He looked so strange without his pink hair. "I mean, it's not like we can just go around asking for her." Gray sighed, rubbing his temples.

"We should rent a room somewhere," he said, trying to remember Wendy's advice. "Grab something to eat and start looking once we've had some sleep. What about that place?"

He gestured across the street to a neon blue sign that read cheap rooms available. Natsu looked dubious, but they headed over to speak to the woman at the window.

"No good," she announced when they'd haggled her down to what they hoped was a reasonable price and presented their credcard. Gray's stomach dropped. Shit, did they report it already? He looked around furtively, hoping he was being discreet.

"No good?" Natsu asked, confused. The woman frowned at him, shaking the card and tapping it against her screen again.

"Red flag," she said.

Gray grabbed Natsu's arm, tugging him down the street in the other direction. They wove through the crowds for a few minutes, dodging behind stalls and around carts with various (and likely illegal) substances on display, but eventually came to the conclusion that nobody was following them.

"Well, fuck," Natsu grumbled as they sat down on a concrete bench in the center of the road. A speeder bike swerved past them, back seat loaded down with crates. There were puddles on the ground, and Gray wondered how rain made it all the way down here. "Now what?"

"I don't fucking know," Gray sighed, resting his face in his hands. He was still riding on the adrenaline high of not being shot when they got through the Wall, and his brain was running a million miles a minute, trying to take in all this new information.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, then Natsu bumped Gray's shoulder.

"Got it," he said, grinning at Gray, who looked up to where Natsu was pointing. The neon billboard from earlier was still advertising for the cage fights, but this time it was welcoming amateurs to fight "Reigning Champion Wildfist" for a chance at a thousand credits.

Gray considered arguing against the idea, but he could see by the smile on his face that Natsu had already made up his mind.

"Well," Gray sighed, "you have done dumber things for less money."

~

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Gray hissed, pulling the hood of his jacket further over his hair and glancing around furtively. They had finally made it to the arena, and were now watching a long, snaking lineup of people move slowly through the front door. Pretty girls and shady-looking men prowled up and down the line, shaking credcards in the air and shouting.

"Amateur night!" one man yelled, holding a datapad above his head. "Fight or place your bets! Will the champion finally be defeated?!" The crowd murmured and jeered, people tossing credcards to the hawkers while they swiped their fingers over screens, entering names and bets.

"It'll be fine," Natsu reassured Gray, trying to ignore the nervousness bubbling in his chest. "You can't use magic here, so it'll just be some totally average person. I can take 'em." Gray huffed, and Natsu bumped his shoulder reassuringly.

The throng of people was dense, but eventually they made it to the side entrance, where a tall, intimidating-looking woman with a metal eyepatch was taking names.

"You fightin'?" she asked roughly, looking Natsu up and down with her good eye. He nodded. "Whadda you want us to call you?" Her fingers hovered over the datapad.

"S-salamander," he blurted out, clenching his hands into fists. She raised an eyebrow and tapped in the name, then glanced at Gray, whose face was still hidden under the hood.

"You?" she asked. Gray shook his head hurriedly. It had been three years, but he was supposed to be dead. "All right, door's back there, if you got anything valuable don't bring it." She ran her finger down the list. "You're third from now. Might not be long, depends on how quick Wildfist takes 'em out. He ain't gentle." She leered at them and Natsu shifted uncomfortably. "If you don't end up in a puddle of your own blood and piss, prize money's collected back here. Good luck."

"That wasn't reassuring," Natsu grumbled as they stepped over to the door. Gray sighed sharply, reaching out and grabbing Natsu's hands.

"I don't like this," he said, voice hushed. "Something doesn't feel right."

"I know," Natsu replied, squeezing Gray's hand and shrugging, "but we don't have a lot of options." He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Gray's cheek. "Besides, if I can hold my own against you, I'll be fine."

"You'd better be," Gray grumbled, turning so that he caught the next kiss on his lips instead. He sighed, pressing their foreheads together. "Go kick some ass." Then he released Natsu's hands and drifted back into the crowd.

The locker room smelled like sweat, blood and urine. Natsu made a face, crossing his arms over his chest and shivering. Nobody else appeared to be there, but after about ten minutes, a short, scarred man opened the door and scowled at him.

"You're up," the man squawked, scowling at Natsu. "Name?"

"Salamander," Natsu replied, trying to come off as more confident than he felt. He shook the nervous energy out of his hands, wishing that he could feel the familiar tingle of his magic. Gods, he really, really wanted to go home.

"Ladies, gentlemen, beings of unspecified gender – what a night!" Natsu could hear the roar of the crowd in response to the announcer's boisterous voice, and he shivered. How many people were out there? "Wildfist, our reigning champion, has taken down three – count that, three – contenders in less than fifteen minutes!" Another roar, shaking the stadium.

The scowling man gestured for Natsu to climb the stairs behind him. They were wooden and splintered, and the handrail was missing in some places. They led up into an area that Natsu couldn't see very well – a spotlight was shining directly in his eyes. He raised an arm to block the light and could make out that he was standing next to a metal door. It slid open and he stepped inside.

"Tonight, we've got a new contender!" The door clanged shut behind him and he could feel the thud in his chest. "Let's hear it for the Salamander!"

The stadium filled with boos and chants like take him down and break his bones. Natsu swallowed, trying to ignore the shouting, and turned to face his opponent.

He was older than Natsu, and taller as well. Dark hair ran down the center of his head, and the rest of his skull was shaved. Blood trickled from his nose and he wiped it away with the back of his hand, spitting on the ground. He was shirtless and shoeless, and a myriad of thick white marks covered his torso, including a Purge mark on his chest. An uneven, messy scar ran from his cheek down his neck – it looked like some sort of burn.

Natsu felt his pulse skyrocket as the man's eyes met his – dark, hard, and horrifyingly familiar. He took a step back, exhaling hard.

"Gray?"