AN: This is a sequel to Fighting Redfox, which you must read first in order to understand the events of this story. Both stories are interconnected.

I had been struggling to write for sometime since my brother's death involving heroin. As I wrote in Fighting Redfox, this sequel contains drug usage; not all who are drowning within the drug's hold are bad people. Not at all. Sadly they just made one bad choice. The rest were made against their wishes, against their better judgement, which could have/may have led to their untimely end. It's not up to us to determine their fate, but we must help them do what is right through encouragement. This story has strong redemption themes as well: there is still hope for the ones still caught in narcotic traps.

Storyline: [AU] Recruited by a man named Sting after personal tragedy, Mest Gryder begins his descent down a dark path he thought was his destiny. Little does he know, that same destiny would carry him to the better half of his life. With a family of his own, Gryder knows about sacrifice. After witnessing a crime, he once again finds himself and all those he holds dear in the destructive way of narcotics - something he knew all too well. It will be the fight of a lifetime for both Gryder and Gajeel in this Fighting Redfox sequel. [Two-Plot Convergence/Crime, Drama]

*Major character death warning

Two separate plots - the past and the present - collide as events unfold.

*Rated Mature - There is intense language, violence, drug usage, and some sexual situations. Reader discretion is strongly advised.

*I do not own any of the media.

*I do not own any of Fairy Tail - that's all Hiro Mashima.

You can find this playlist on Spotify: Finding Gryder Playlist

Finding Gryder soundtrack

Music By Audiomachine:

| The All Spark - Steve Jablonsky

| I Will Find You

| Between Heaven and Earth

| Nevertheless She Persisted

| Live Free or Die

| Cities of Dust

| Wars of Faith

| Hunted - Steve Jablonsky

| Avow

| All Is Not Lost

| Dauntless

| Descent - RED

| Ain't No Grave (Epic Trailer Version) - Hidden Citizens, Adam Christopher

| Fading - Decyfer Down

| Into the Fire - Thirteen Senses

| The Time is Now - Atreyu

| Feel Invincible - Skillet

| If Today Was Your Last Day - Nickelback

| Dangerous (album version) - Shaman's Harvest

| Remember We Die - Gemini Syndrome

| Fate - Our Last Night

| Wanted: Dead or Alive - Bon Jvi

| Get Ready - Rare Earth

| Ready To Change - Heartist

| Let's Go To War - Nothing More

| Carry On My Wayward Son - Kansas

| Shots Fired - Hidden Citizens, Laney Jones

| Alone In A Room - Asking Alexandria

| Riser - Dierks Bentley

| I Ran (So Far Away) - Hidden Citizens

| Tear Down the Wall - Art Of Dying

| Dark On Me - Starset

| I Am Machine - Three Days Grace

| Breathe Into Me- RED

| I would Kill /Lie /Die For You - Atreyu

| Unbecoming - Starset

| For Your Sake - Too Close To Touch

| One For The Money - Escape The Fate

| Skeletons - Heartist

| Painkiller - Three Days Grace

| White Rabbit - Egypt Central

| My Demons - Starset

| Not Gonna Die - Skillet

| I Just Wanna Run - The Downtown Fiction

| Peace of Mind - Dead By April

| Gives You Hell - The All-American Rejects

| Leap of Faith - Big & Rich

| Father of Mine - Everclear

| Destruction of Myself - From Ashes to New

| Mean What You Say - Sent By Ravens

| Gunslinger - Avenged Sevenfold

| Let It Die - Starset

| Far From Home - Five Finger Death Punch

| Do You Really Want It - Nothing More

| The Resistance - Skillet

| See You Again - Carrie Underwood

| Paperthin Hymn - Anberlin

| The Boys Are Back in Town - Thin Lizzy

| Frontline - Pillar

| Playing With Fire - Dead By April

| I Am An Outsider - Three Days Grace

| The Death of Me - Asking Alexandria

| Ready For This - Hidden Citizens, Sam Tinnesz

| Hell, Or High Water - Woe Is Me

| Can't Stop - Leeland

| The Ghost That's Haunting You - Trivium

| Back From The Dead - Skillet

| Don't Lean On Me - The Amity Affliction

| Rx (Medicate) - Theory of a Deadman

| Life is Beautiful - Sixx:AM

| Halo - Starset

| In The End - Black Veil Brides

| The Time is Now (Ballast) - Nothing More

| Carry On - Avenged Sevenfold

| Immortalized - Hidden Citizens, Keeley Bumford

| Die For You - Starset

| So Say We All - Audiomachine

| My Way Out - Audiomachine

| Through The Darkness - Audiomachine