Edited: 11/9/16

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, all I own are my OCs

"What do you think, Blayze? Time to head back?"

The bright orange exceed rubbed his head thoughtfully. "Yes, I think so. We've been gone for so long, it'll be good to relax at home again." His black eyes narrowed at the girl walking beside him. "Why we couldn't have just stayed there when we arrived this morning, I don't understand."

The young girl blinked at him. "I had to get coffee," she said as if it should be obvious.

Blayze sighed. "Mira would have given you perfectly good coffee at the guild," he reasoned.

She looked at him over the brim of her cup. "You should know by now that while in Magnolia, the only coffee I accept is from the Dream Bean Coffee Shop because-"

"They have the best coffee in all the kingdom of Fiore," he finished, rolling his eyes, "I know. You say that every time we go there."

She smirked, "So why ask?"

He glanced at her questioningly. "I just would have thought that after being gone for so long, you'd want to be at the guild with everyone," he paused then looked at her with worry filled eyes. "Is it because of what ha-"

She cut him off quickly, "No, Blayze, it wasn't because of that."

"Then why?"

She rolled her eyes and smirked. "I told you. I wanted the best coffee in Fiore. Now, quit yapping and pick up the pace."

He gave her an exasperated look and sprouted his wings, but when she turned away, his brows furrowed in worry.

Raven, you need to tell someone what happened, he thought. Keeping this to yourself will eat you alive.

Back at the guild, some members were in an uproar.

"What?!" Lucy gasped.

"Gajeel!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Him? Are you kidding? Why'd you let him in here, Gramps?" Grey shouted.

Erza looked furious, "I don't mind Juvia, but he's the one that destroyed our guild."

"Now, now, remember what I taught you. Yesterday's enemy can be today's friend, right? I know you kids don't like it, but as the master of this guild, it's my duty to help those who have gone astray find the right path. Give him a shot. You might find out he's a nice guy," Makarov stated.

"And besides, if Raven of all people can accept him, so can you," he said offhandedly and got just the reaction he was expecting.

"What?!" Grey yelled.

Natsu and Happy paled. "S-she's back?"

Erza's eyes widened. "She's returned? Where is she?"

Just like that, Gajeel was forgotten.

Makarov smiled. "Yes, she and Blayze checked in with me this morning, but they've been out for most of the day. No one else knows she's here either, but they should be back soon."

"I didn't expect her to come back so soon. Did she say how the job went?" Erza questioned.

Makarov nodded. "It was a success."

"And I thought Erza coming back was scary," Happy whimpered.

"Same here. B-but hey, it's been a while. Maybe she's not so terrifying anymore," Natsu said hopefully.

"I doubt that," Grey said seriously, "I bet the job will only have made her stronger."

Natsu and Happy sweatdropped.

Lucy sat at the bar and turned to Mirajane. "Hey, who's this Raven girl they're talking about? And why are Natsu and Happy so scared?"

Mirajane blinked. "I forgot that you've never met her. Raven is one of Fairy Tail's S-Class wizards."

"What?" Lucy exclaimed, "I thought you and Erza were the only female S-Class wizards."

Mira shook her head, smiling. "No, Raven is one also. You haven't met her because she's been away for about 8 months on a job."

"Eight months? Wow, what job would take that long?"

"She had to take out a dark guild that was causing trouble in Crocus," Mira explained.

"She defeated a dark guild all on her own?" Lucy asked.

Mira nodded, "It was supposed to be a year long job, but she finished up early which isn't surprising. She's always finished jobs faster than expected."

Jeez, Lucy thought, Just how strong is this girl?

Before she could ask, Mira continued. "As for why Natsu and Happy are so scared, it's because Raven has beaten them up quite a bit," she laughed. "Happy gets on her nerves, and Natsu is constantly challenging her to a fight."

Lucy sighed. "He seems to have a habit of doing that. So, what kind of magic does-"

"She's back!" Elfman bellowed.

Lucy turned around, expecting the reaction to be much like when Erza had arrived, but instead of deathly silence, everyone started talking and shouting excitedly. Lucy just stared curiously at the door, waiting for her to walk in. She was nervous at the thought of meeting another S-Class wizard, especially one that put that much fear into Natsu.

You were afraid of Erza to, she told herself, This is no different.

But despite her reassuring thoughts, her heart still pounded, and she held her breath, waiting for the terrifying girl to walk through the doors. And she didn't have to wait long. Just a few seconds later, the doors swung open revealing her.

Lucy sweatdropped. This was the girl everyone was so afraid of?

Raven was a short, slim girl with thick black hair tied back in a messy braid, sparkling violet eyes, and had an amused smile on her face.

Lucy supposed, that if anything, it was her outward appearance that was intimidating.

She had on a form fitting gray tank top, black skinny jeans, and knee high black combat boots. Around her waist was a weapon's belt with a sword sheath on her left side that held a katana and on her right side was a dual blade dagger. Lucy could see the tip of its twin peaking out of her boot. On top of it all, she wore a black cloak that was bright blue on the inside.

As Lucy was taking in her appearance, others were crowding around her to welcome her back, and it wasn't until Raven shifted to the side that Lucy saw an exceed, resembling a fox, standing at her side.

Raven smiled slightly when everyone came forward excitedly, and her smile grew when she saw Erza approaching.

As Erza pulled her in for a hug, she said, "It's good to have you back, Raven. It's been too long."

"Tell me about it," she said as they let go, "I know it's been a while, but I wasn't expecting a new guild hall and this many new members."

Erza glanced at Gajeel. "Yes, a lot has happened in your absence."

Before she could reply, the breath was knocked out of her as someone yanked her in for a hug.

"I'm so happy that you're back home, Raven," Mira said, hugging her tight before pulling back, "The guild hasn't been the same without you."

She smiled slightly. "It's good to be back. I've missed all of you guys."

Then, a little blue bullet came flying at her.

"Raven!" Happy cried, latching onto her, "I'm so glad you're back. I've missed you so much."

She patted his back and sighed. "This one, not so much," she said, dryly.

Mira and Erza chuckled at her words.

Suddenly, Happy was gone, and Natsu stood in front of her grinning and fists blazing. "Now that you're back, it's time for a fight! It's been getting too boring without you here."

She raised a brow, crossing her arms. "How many times do I have to tell you, Natsu? I'm not interested in fighting you."

"We'll see about that!" he yelled, swinging his fiery fist at her.

She ducked under it and delivered a swift punch to his stomach that sent him flying back into the wall.

"Idiot," Grey muttered.

"He should know better by now," Erza sighed.

"Natsu!" Happy cried and went flying to him.

Feeling a light weight on her shoulder, she turned her head and found Blayze looking at her.

"You could've handled that better," he commented.

Raven blinked innocently. "What? He came at me."

Blayze just shook his head at her.

Smirking, she looked away and saw someone new standing in front of her.

The blonde girl held out a slightly shaky hand. "Hi, my name is Lucy. I just joined the guild recently."

Raven shook her hand, "I'm Raven."

"It's nice to meet you, and if you don't mind my asking, who's this?" Lucy asked, staring at her shoulder.

"Oh, this is Blayze, my exceed," she explained.

"Nice to meet you, Lucy," Blayze said politely.

"Um, you to," she murmured, looking surprised.

"Raven!" Erza called, "Let's sit down, and I'll tell you everything that's happened while you've been away."

"Sounds good," she replied, then turned back to Lucy, "It was nice meeting you, Lucy. If you'll excuse me."

She gave Lucy a small smile and made her way to the table where Erza, Grey, Levy, and Natsu sat with Blayze trailing behind her. She took the place next to Levy and across from Erza, and Blayze sat on the table in front of her. She sat quietly, listening as Erza told her about Lullaby, Galuna Island, Phantom Lord, and the Tower of Heaven. As she had been talking, Mira and Lucy had joined them, and everyone at the table added their own comments during the stories. When Raven heard about Jellal and everything that happened because of him, her jaw clenched as anger coursed through her body.

When Erza had arrived at the guild all those years ago, Raven had been the first one to knock down the walls she had. Erza had explained to her what had happened to her as a child and how she escaped. And aside from Gramps, Erza was the only one who knew about Raven's past before Fairy Tail. The two of them had become close over the years, and when they both made S-Class, they became even closer. Erza had become a dear friend to Raven over the years, so to hear what Jellal put her through made her furious.

She gripped her coffee cup until her knuckles were white. "I should have been here. I don't care if Jellal was possessed, what he did is unforgivable."

"It's okay, Raven. It's all over now," Erza assured.

Raven locked eyes with her. "Is he dead?"

Erza took a deep breath. "The Tower collapsed, and Jellal was in it. By all logic he should be dead."

"But?" she prompted.

Erza sighed. "But I believe that he's still alive."

Raven's response was not what any of them were expecting. "Good."

"Why is that good?" Grey asked.

She glanced over at him, and everyone saw that her violet eyes were hard as stone. "Because that means that I can kill him myself."

After a few moments of uneasy silence, Mira broke it, "So, Raven, why don't you tell us about your job? Master said that it was successful."

She could sense Blayze staring at her, and she knew that he wanted her to tell them everything. After a moment she glanced up at them with a bored expression.

"There's nothing to tell, really. It was a rather small guild called Dark Python, and it was made up of mostly lower level wizards and only a handful of strong ones. It wasn't hard to find them because they didn't exactly try to keep their hideout a secret. When I arrived, the weaker ones attacked first. Once I took them out, the stronger wizards finally decided to show themselves. They were a bit difficult, but nothing too bad. Then, it was just a matter of waiting for the Council to show up and take them away." She sighed, "The only reason I was gone so long was because getting to Crocus took forever. The job itself was simple."

Mira smiled. "I'm not surprised. I knew you would get it done just fine."

Lucy stared at her in amazement. "That's incredible."

"Thanks," she said a bit uncomfortably, "But really, it was no big deal."

"Alright," Erza said, "How about we get some drinks?"

As everyone got up to go to the bar, she gave Erza a grateful look, and she simply nodded in response. Erza knew that she got flustered when praised and had taken the attention off of her.

As everyone got their drinks, Raven stayed at the table and stretched out, making herself comfortable.

"You should've told them," Blayze said, frowning. "If you're not going to tell Master, you should at least tell Erza. She would understand."

She leaned back and closed her eyes. "There's no reason to tell her. It's done and over, and I'm fine."

He scowled. "No, you're not. Why can't you just admit that it has you worried?"

She stayed silent for a few minutes. "Because doing that won't make it any better. It won't solve the problem."

"So you're just going to ignore it until it goes away?" he demanded.

"That's what I do best." She opened her eyes and smirked, "Oh, stop frowning, cat. It's not a good look on you."

She grinned as he rolled his eyes and groaned. She closed her eyes again as everyone came back to the table talking with food and drinks in hand. She stayed that way while Mira got on stage and sang. For once, the guild was nice and peaceful.

That is, until Gajeel got on stage. At the sound of his voice, Raven started chuckling. He actually wasn't too bad, but everyone started yelling, and eventually, Natsu had to be his usual stupid self and start a fight with the Iron Dragon Slayer which, of course, caused everyone to fight. Raven let her head thump against the table as the sound of fighting filled her head.

Well, she thought sadly, the peace and quiet was nice while it lasted.

Just then, her sensitive ears picked up the sound of something coming at her face. Quickly, she snatched Blayze from the table and pushed her chair back just as a flash of metal passed right in front of her.

Scowling, she looked over at Erza fighting Elfman. "Watch where you're swinging that thing, Scarlet!"

She glanced down at Blayze with brows raised, and he looked up at her with wide eyes. "You wanted to come back here, why?"

And then, to top off her good mood, a chair slammed into her back, causing her to fall from hers, and Blayze went flying from her arms with a startled yelp. She slowly stood up from the ground and glowered at everyone still fighting.

"I've had enough of this," she growled. She stalked over to the middle of the room and knelt down on one knee, while placing the palm of her hand on the ground. Black mist formed all around her and pulsed for a few seconds. Then, with a few words, the mist exploded around her like an atomic bomb. The force of it sent everyone flying into the walls, effectively stopping all fighting. Satisfied, Raven stood up, the only one unharmed.

"Much better," she said before taking her original place at the table, putting her feet up, and closing her eyes once more.

Lucy struggled to grab on to the edge of the bar. Once she did, she pulled herself up and stood on wobbly legs, taking in the sight.

Everyone was strewn across the room. Some were against the walls, some on tables, and some had even flown through the doors and landed outside. She was shocked to see even Erza lying dazed on the ground. They all, like her, were groaning and struggling to get up. She shook her head, trying to clear it. One second, she was sitting on a stool, chatting with Mira, the next, she was flying over the top of the bar. She had no idea what had caused such an explosion until she saw Raven leaning back in her chair, looking half asleep.

She gaped at the girl, wondering what she had done, until she heard a groan next to her. Looking down, she saw Mira sitting up. Feeling like her legs were gonna give out any second, she plopped down next to Mira and looked at her confused.

"What the heck just happened?" she exclaimed, "What did Raven do? And what kind of magic was that?"

Mira looked at her with amused eyes. "What Raven just did was her own version of a bomb. And she did it using her dragon slayer magic."

Lucy's eyes widened. "So, she is a dragon slayer?"

Mira nodded, looking proud. "Yup, Raven is Fairy Tail's Shadow Dragon Slayer."

Alright, so with this chapter, there wasn't any super important changes. I mainly just fixed some grammar mistakes and added a bit more detail about Raven's mission, but I'm already a lot happier with this chapter than the original one.

I hope you guys enjoyed it!

Until next time:)