"What do you mean?" Gray stares at them in pure shock "J-Juvia is..."

"She's not dead and if you want to save her, then you have to act fast." Uranus said, "And you only have one shot to make this right!"

Gray wants to ask them but Pluto shuts down his question by presenting a pocket watch with a water bubble wrap around it, Juvia's Life and Death watch to be exact. He stares at the watch, amazed by how beautiful it is before look at the green-haired woman, tries to search for some sort of answer.

"This is Juvia's watch..." she smiles "Her life and Death watch. Her life was ended the moment she chose to kill herself but..."

Following Pluto's finger, Gray averts his eye to the watch, still doesn't understand what's the meaning behind it until something catch his eye...The three watch hands are 1 minute away from hitting number 12.

"Juvia's Water Lock spell..."

He knows that spell, and the magic energy surrounding the water bubble is awfully similar to Juvia's magic. Gajeel runs to them and takes a look at the clock, he's impatient as always and demands to know the answer behind this watch.

"For some reason, the watch hands aren't able to stop at number 12." she explains "Juvia is fighting back her own fate, she refuses to let the clock stops, she's trying to change her own destiny."

Everyone around them is shocked, unable to process Pluto's words about Juvia's determination. Nobody knows, except Gajeel, Natsu, the two exceeds and Gray. The ice mage stares at the clock in an awe expression, his beloved is struggling to change her fate...Then does this mean...

"I can still perform a link to her, but she's not breathing..." Meredy asks.

"Of course, her body is 'dead' after all, only Juvia's consciousness is fighting for a second chance. Until you can restore her spirit back to her own body then..." Neptune sighs.

"Then we still have a chance to save her, right?" Lucy cuts in "Please, tell us. We'll do everything we can to save her!"

Saturn steals a few glances at them before swinging her staff and in front of them is the image of Juvia wandering around in a white blank space. Instead of the usual bright light, her eyes are cover with exhaustion, tiredness. Her body is fatigue, trembling as she continues to walks into a non exist destination. Her breaths are shallow and her whole is just a mess of weariness.

"Juvia!" Gajeel shouts out her name as he pounds against the image "Juvia!"

"Juvia, please look this way! We're here!" Lucy cries.

"Please come back to us, Juvia!" Meredy screams, hoping to pull the attention of the bluenette.

But Juvia keeps on moving, she looks around a little bit before walking again. Her friends are crying, begging the mage to look at them, to return to her family but their voices fall on deaf ears.

Gray turns to Saturn, expecting an explanation. He's too shocked to even react to the situation yet he knows that THEY want him to do something. By the look of Uranus, he can sense some sort of answer, like he'll be the one to go and bring Juvia back to the real world or something similar to that. But he wants a straight and clear answer, not some kind of vague and confusing response.

"She's in the Realm of Death and Reborn, an infinitive world with no visible destination. Anyone who steps foot in this world will either get lost forever or..." Saturn looks at Gray "They will be able to return back to their previous life, thus changing their unfortunate fate."

However, there are consequences if the dead choose to step foot into the Realm. Because it's a vast world with no definite escape, if they aren't able to find the way out, their spirit will be stuck inside the Realm, resulting in the dead will never be able to move on to their afterlife.

"Y-you mean she's going to stuck there, forever?"

A simple nod sends chills to those around them. They have to act fast, they have to get Juvia out of there, fast...

"Then let's go, show us the way to whatever Realm you're talking about." Natsu roars "Come on, let's go!"

"Natsu, it's the Realm of Death and Rebirth. And also, we need to have a plan. You can't be reckless or else Juvia will be in danger." Lucy protests.

"It's nice to see how much you guys care for our dear Juvia but..." Neptune sighs as she averts her gaze to Gray "Only the person that has a deep emotional connection with Juvia can help her."

Gray is still holding Juvia's lifeless body, listens carefully to what her mentors have to say about the situation. He has a good guess of what's going to come and how this mission is going to turn out if he isn't able to get her.

His prediction was correct. According to Saturn, in order to get him into the Realm, she must separate his spirit from his body and send him to the Realm with her magic. If he's unable to find Juvia or stay in there for too long, then he will face the same fate as her. His physical body will die and his soul will forever be trapped inside the Realm.

"What? No way we're going to let Gray do such a reckless thing like that. He can go but he needs our help." Erza protests.

"That's right. The Ice Prick is special to Juvia but we're also her friend." Gajeels shouts "We're going to help him, whether you like it or not!"

"Yeah, Juvia and Gray is a part of Fairy Tail, we won't him go alone." Cana agrees.

"That's not a rescue mission, that's a suicide act. Who knows if Gray will be able to find her." Lyon steps in and backs up for his friend.

All their protests fall on deaf ears as Gray smiles at Juvia's body, he can't hold back his excitement, knowing that she has chosen him to be her rescuer. His lovely bluenette is an idealistic and romantic girl, of course she would want a prince charming to save her from the darkness. Gray is no prince charming but he's sure to be the most important person in Juvia's life. They have a lot of emotional attachment as they have always been inseparable from the beginning.

"Enough!" master Makarov cuts in, ending all the protests at once before turning to Gray "What do you think, Gray? Are you willing to do it?"

"Gramps, that's a silly question, don't you think? He smirks, steam rises on his right body as the devil slayer marks appear "Juvia is the most important person in my life, she's my will to live. I've promised her that I'll protect her and I'm planning to keep that promise."

Most of his guildmates disagree with his decision but decide it's best not to step in. They all know how important Juvia is to the young man and understand the feelings he has for the water mage. Despite his attempts to show that he's not interested, his actions speak otherwise... Over time, they notice how Gray acts when Juvia is near. Yes, he complains a lot but that doesn't stop him from giving her small smile and returns the affection. The way he cares for her, protect her, comfort her in the most soothing way has shown his true feelings toward Juvia, how much he loves her and wants to be with her.

"You...You better be back with Juvia or else..." Gajeel gives him a stern look before lower his voice "Just...be careful..."

"You still have a match with me, Gray! Better get your ass back here with Juvia." Nastu grits his teeth as he wishes his friend the best of luck.

"Good luck, Gray-san."

"Be careful, Gray."

Gray smiles at the wishes, feeling grateful to have a loving family like Fairy Tail before someone taps on his shoulder, he turns around and notices Lyon. His rival seems to have difficulty finding words to wish him good luck, scratching his head and averting his gaze onto the ground.

"I know it's sappy and you probably think I'm just messing around, but..." letting out a sigh, Lyon faces him "Be careful, Gray. I'll be here waiting for you and Juvia's return..."

"Yeah...thank you, Lyon."

Saturn swings her staff and Gray gasps out of pain, feeling something inside him is forced to leave his body and before the ice mage even realize, he saw his body falls back into his friends' arms. Holding his hand up, Gray is shocked to realize that his body is now translucent.

Looking down at his body, he sees how his friend has put him right beside Juvia's body, so close that he's sure once they wake up from this deep slumber, the bluenette can jump onto him immediately. Gray sighs, looking at his family one last time before turns to Saturn, ready to be transported to the Realm.

The young mage gives him a small icy blue lacrima, telling him to use it to get back to the real world once he's able to find Juvia. She also stated that he has limited time to find Juvia before they both stuck inside the infinite world forever.

3 hours, he has 3 hours to find and bring Juvia back...

Juvia...I'm coming to get you now so please...wait for me...

******************************************************************************

With Saturn's magic, Gray has been transported to the Realm of Death and Rebirth and it's way worst than what he has in his mind. The world is white, the whitest of white, not ivory, not eggshell, not cream, just the purest white that a human could imagine.

"Well, this is going to be harder than I'd thought..."

The ice mage wanders around, hoping to find some sort of direction but sadly, he finds none. It's not the time for him to be depressed, he needs to find his lovely water mage and he needs to find her fast. Time is running out yet the more he walks, the more he feels lost.

No one is here for him, no one is here to help him, no one is here to give him direction. Gray is alone in this pure white world and the thought of getting lost scares him.

He's felt lost before when the nightmares consumed him at night, the world around him was pitch black and empty. His own desolated world. He remembers those nights when he's gasping, thrashing around the bedsheet and crying out for help, those nights were horrible. The nightmares of Ur's death and his parent's death haunted his mind, leaving him so weak and so vulnerable. But then, in those nights, he felt a warm hand touched his face. He remembers the soft lullaby she sang whenever he's having nightmares and the way she held his hand tightly, reassured him that she's here and she would protect her beloved.

His Juvia was so kind, letting him sobbed on her chest as she held him close. Sometimes she would give him kisses on the forehead, sometimes she would cry with him, other times she would whisper encouragements into his ears. A sweet, selfless girl with a heart of gold. Just thinking about it makes Gray's heart clenches, he wants to meet her, his beloved Juvia...

"Juvia, where are you...?"

A weird sensation snaps him out of his thought, the world around him suddenly change. Dark black swirls appear and before he knows it, he was sent to another place.

"Magnolia?"

He was in Magnolia, a once lively town now empty and uninhabited. He can see it, the regular vendors and shops, Lucy's apartment, the long river, and then Gray spot his guild building, Fairy Tail. Running toward the building, the man walks in only to find the guild is completely empty.

He sighs, scanning around the hall before his eyes land on his regular seat at the bar. A smile creeps on his face, remembering how he and the bluenette used to spend their time at the guild. They would order Caramade Franks and some drinks and talk about a bunch of stuff with Cana hugging her wine barrel and Mirajane just laughed at whatever jokes she heard from her guildmates. Juvia would confess her love out of nowhere and made him flustered, which only caused both women to laugh out loud.

He turns his head to the request board, remembers how the water mage would scan around the board, trying to find the 'perfect' quest for them then timidly asked if he wanted to join her in a mission. Her expression was so cute back then, with determination fills the blue orbs as she's sure that he would accept to go on the mission with him.

Well, he doesn't have much time to kill. Gray walks out of the guild, only to realize the landscape has changed drastically and the guild building is no longer behind him. He's at Akane beach...

Is this some kind of magic?

Either way, he scans the area, hoping to see the familiar blue head. He proceeds to walk towards the beach and once again, smiles as he recalls another great memory he has with Juvia. It was when they're preparing for the Grand Magic Game and his group decided to crash at Akane beach to begin their training. While he was focused on his ice power, Gray noticed Juvia from afar, who was putting her best at controlling the cubes of water she had around her. He also remembered how they destroy the beach while training, leaving a huge mess for master Makarov to take care off while they went back to the inn. That night was scary, he had to deal with a drunk Juvia who just kept on clinging and crying her heart out at how 'Gray-sama refuse to see her in her swimsuit'. What an experience, something that he'll remember for the rest of his life.

Because of this, Gray refused to give Juvia any alcoholic drink. Even when they lived together, Gray would constantly avoid having alcohol in his house, knowing that Juvia couldn't handle the drink well. She would become a huge mess and it would be a pain in the ass for him to comfort a drunk and overly emotional Juvia.

Another wave of magic hits the world and Gray, once again, finds himself in the city of Crocus. Gray is getting frustrating, why showing him all these scenes and changes it drastically, is there some kind of message that someone wants him to decode? 'Lucky' for them, he doesn't have Lucy or Levy or Freed's wisdom so it's going to take a while before he can even realize what messages he needs to know.

Walking through the city, Gray stops himself in front of a small restaurant, the one that he had gone out to eat with Juvia and that bastard Lyon... It was quite good, the foods were delicious and they had a good time. Juvia got all flustered at Lyon's compliments and annoyed the heck out of him by saying that her heart belongs to Gray. It was funny and he couldn't deny how amusing it was too witness a weird triangle love between the three of them. Juvia would look at him and smile, enjoying his company as well as the food she had ordered.

"Wait a minute...The landscapes change every time I remember something about Juvia..."

Whenever he recalled a significant event with Juvia, the landscape changes as if it encourages him to try to remember more. But even with these memories, he still can't find Juvia. Where can she possibly be? She's not at the guild, she's not at the Akane beach, she's not at Crocus...then where is she?

Gathering his thought as Gray tries to figure out other places that she can possibly step foot in before a light flashes in his head.

Juvia is very happy that she's been able to be here with Gray-sama...

Where is that place again...?

As long as she can be with Gray-sama, that's enough for her...

Why can't he remember it, it's like it just magically disappear in his mind.

Gray-sama, would you like to take the bath first or eat dinner first?

A house deep in the forest...

Gray-sama, your body...what are those marks...?

The ongoing rain...a gloomy woman sits in front of the door...

This house is filled with memories we made together, so Juvia told herself that he would come back someday, for sure...

Gray snaps out of his thought as something hit him, he realizes it now. That place, it must be that place. The place where they had shared tons of memories together...Those six months that they lived together under the same roof...The Amefurashi Village...

With that thought in mind, the next thing Gray knows is that he's in the Amefurashi Village. She has to be here, he's one hundred percent sure about that, it's the only place she can be. Sprinting towards the house inside the forest, their previous house, the place that has filled with many, many memories together.

Reaching the house, Gray pants, feeling the rain pouring down his whole body. It was depressing, gloomy, full of sadness and sorrow. The rain, her rain, the thing that represents her burdens and also expresses her vulnerability to the world. With a trembling hand touch the doorknob, Gray bits his lips...

Is he being overly confident?

What if she's not here?

Questions after questions, Gray starts to doubt his conclusion. He's too afraid to open the door, fearing that she's not there like he's expected her to be. This is the place where he left her for the undercover mission, something that resulted in her broken heart. Would she really want to be here, where the memories of being left alone fill every single space of the house?