Milly isn't quite sure what to think about her situation.
She's a child again, that much she knows. It's very weird, being a toddler. At first she only had a limited understanding of what was happening, but it's gotten better over her two years of being a different person. The whole "remember slowly" thing is probably so that she isn't freaking out about all this as much as she could be. Hopefully that's the case.
She does wonder how she ended up here though. She vaguely remembers dying, but it's a huge blur, and she can't remember exactly how it happened. Really everything after Lelouch di- Nunnally was crowned empress is blurry. It's frustrating, not to be able to tell how she got here. But she is here, and that's the important thing.
Milly likes her new mom. She's a sweet woman who knows exactly what she wants and won't take no for an answer. Just like Milly herself really. But her mom always seems sad, staring out the window at times, looking for someone. Her father, she soon found out, who had left them a long time ago.
"He's a wizard," her mother told her as she brushed her hair, brown this time instead of blonde. His name is Gildarts, and he belongs to a guild called Fairy Tail. He's a wandering spirit, I always knew he wouldn't stay. Domestic life just isn't for him." She chuckles, but her tone is laced with melancholy. Milly wonders about her father, and how this whole "wizardry" thing works in this world, but she doesn't ask.
Her mother calls her Cana, and Milly decides she likes that name. Cana. It feels like a fresh start in this new world.
They don't have much, but Cana doesn't mind. After a lifetime of dealing with the rich and noble, it's nice to not have to worry about all that. Her mother works at a local inn, and sometimes Cana comes along to talk to the customers her mother deals with. They always tip her mom extra when she goes, so Cana does so as often as she can.
One day, when she's five, her mom brings home a small white puppy, and Cana literally jumps with joy. She doesn't care that it's childish, she is a child now so she can get away with all the things she couldn't in her past life. She's been wanting a pet for a while now, but they never had enough money for one.
"She's your responsibility," her mother tells her. "You need to make sure to remember to feed her and walk her every day. And play with her, dogs need lots of love."
"I will! Thanks mom!" Cana pulls her pet close. She has experience with both Arthur and a cat she got later on in life. Sure, cats are different than dogs, but if anyone can pull this off, it's her! Her new puppy licks her cheek and she laughs. "Her name is going to be…" She searches for a name and lands on an old one. "Cecile." She doesn't know if anyone else she knows is here, but if not, she will always remember them.
Her mom bends down and rubs her head, a gentle smile on her face. She isn't as energetic as she used to be, but she always makes an effort. Cana notes the bags under her eyes, and worries.
It's a few months later when her mother passes away from illness. The funeral is small, with only close friends and family attending. Cana barely acknowledges what's going on around her, everything seems no numb. When it's all over, she stands alone at her mother's grave, Cecile by her side.
It wasn't fair. She had already lost enough in her life as Milly, why did the world need to take her mom away as Cana? The grave in front of her blurs as tears well up in her eyes. She quickly brushes them away, in case someone was watching. Cecile nudges her leg and she bends down to pet her. She and Cecile are all alone in the world now, they need to stick together.
No, that's not right. Gildarts. Her dad. He could still be alive!
Cana is older than she was when her mom first told her about him. She understands more about the world she lives in now. Magic is a part of everyone's daily lives here, but some devote their life to its practice, and are called wizards, like Gildarts. They work in guilds like Fairy Tail. If Cana can find Fairy Tail, she can find her dad. At least she hopes.
The leader of the Fairy Tail guild is named Makarov, but everyone in the guild calls him Master. He's a small older man with a large smile, who welcomes Cana into the guild.
"You're looking for Gildarts, hmm?" He says. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid he just left. But you're welcome to stay as long as you'd like."
"Thanks," Cana says. "Do….you know when he'll get back?"
As if he can sense the hidden meaning behind her question, Makarov sighs. "I'm sorry miss Cana, but I'm afraid he'll be gone for quite some time. Gildarts is one of our top members, and he almost always picks missions that can last for months, or even years."
"I see." Cana grips Cecile's leash tight and tries not to let her disappointment show. She really wants to meet her dad, and she won't be able to do so for another few months at the least.
Pull yourself together Cana! You may have changed your name, but your still Milly Ashford! A few months is nothing to accomplish a goal! She strengthens her resolve. She can do this! She'll wait as long as it takes!
Cana sorts out her cards once again, Cecile resting on her lap. It's been a few months since she came to Fairy Tail, and one month since she decided to join herself and learn some magic. Of all the types, card magic seemed to speak to her. There were just so many possibilities with it! Currently she was working on a spell that would shoot lightning, because that sounded super awesome.
She likes her new guildmates. Older members like Macao and Wakaba are very nice to her, and while she is treated like a kid, people also take her seriously.
Master Makarov comes over to her. "Cana! I'd like you to meet my grandson, Laxus. He's a few years older than you, but it'll be nice for both of you to know another kid in the guild." Cana agrees, feeling excited. She hasn't been around people even close to her age in a while, it'll be fun!
Then the blond haired boy walks over, and she freezes. She can't fully explain, but there's something about him. She knows, she knows he's from her world. Reincarnated, like her. Again, she can't explain how, but she knows. Judging by the way he looks at her, like he's seen a ghost, he feels the same way.
His name was Tamaki Shinichiro, but now he goes by Laxus Dreyar. He specializes in lightning magic, and doesn't seem too bothered about being in a new world.
"I was screwed over in the last one," He tells her. "This time I'll be strong enough no one will look down on me again."
Cana decides she likes Laxus. He has a loud sense of humor and spends most of his time either training or pulling harmless pranks in the guild. The two decide to combine forces in both measures, Laxus helping Cana with her lightning spell, and her helping him in turn with what became known as "The Dreaded Sparky Tuesday." Cana feels more like herself than ever before.
"Do you remember what happened?" She asks him one night. Laxus had just gotten back from his first job, and they decided to go to the nearby pastry shop to celebrate."How you got here, I mean? My memories are way too hazy."
"Yeah, same here," He says. "I think I was on the highway, so maybe a car crash or something? Ugh, what a lame way to go!" He shoves his cookie in his mouth. "But really, the last bunch of years of my life are totally fuzzy. You think whatever sent us here did that on purpose?"
"Maybe. I mean, it can't be a coincidence! Not if both of us can't remember!" Cana frowns. It's so frustrating! "Maybe something got both of us, and didn't want us to remember what it is so we won't know how to defeat it!"
"Yeah! We'll just have to get a lot better with magic, and then we can kill the thing that killed us!" They both know that this is just wild speculation, but it's nice to have a goal in mind, or in Laxus' case, something to blame.
Cana celebrates her sixth birthday soon after that. With her guildmates, and Cecile, and her new friend by her side, it's one of the best birthdays she's ever had.
"Cana, can I speak with you for a bit?" Makarov asks her.
"Sure, no problem." Cana clears up her cards and follows the guild master into a seperate room. It's been a year since she first came to Fairy Tail. Gildarts came back again, but she had been out at the time, and he was gone when she got back, meaning the waiting game started all over again. "What's up master?"
"We have a new guild member coming in," he informs her. "His name is Gray, and he's your age. I was hoping you could talk to him, make him feel welcome." A new guildmate her age sounds fantastic, but Cana can't help but notice worry etched in Makarov's face.
"Sure, I can do that! It'll be fun!" She tells him. Makarov sighs.
"Then you should know…. He's had a very rough time recently. Have you heard of Isvan, and their issues with Deliora?"
"Yeah." Isvan is a country way up north and somewhat east, if Cana remembers correctly. They're generally known for being wild and somewhat barbaric, but Cana lived in Japan long enough to disregard stereotypes of countries and their people. Deliora is a demon created by the evil Zeref a long time ago that supposedly can destroy whole cities in one night. He's also apparently dead.
"Well, Gray is from Isvan. His whole city was destroyed by Deliora, and he is the only survivor." Cana gasps. That sounds horrible! Now she can tell why the master was hesitant in telling her. The poor kid probably needs some friends badly.
The next day, Cana is carrying her food back to her table when she bumps into a dark haired boy.
"Ow! Yikes, I'm sorry about-" She's frozen, and she could swear her heart stopped beating for a moment. There's no way this can't be real this isn't happening-
But it is happening, and right in front of her is Lelouch Lamperouge, her Lulu, very much alive and well. Cana wants to scream. She wants to grab him by the shirt and shake him, demand that he tell her why he did all those horrible things, what happened to her childhood friend, what went wrong. She wants to hug him and never let go. All of those things run through her head at once, and before she can consciously make up her mind, her arms are around him and she's squeezing him tightly. He's here. He's alive, and he's here. The rest will come after.
Lelouch/Gray lets her hug him for a moment, before he pulls away. His eyes (dark blue, not purple) search her, as if looking for something just beyond his reach. "Do….do I know you from somewhere?"
Cana's heart breaks, just a little. Of course, of course he wouldn't remember. At least not totally, he seems to know that he knows her, but not who she is. Or who he himself is. It hurts a lot, that he doesn't know himself.
But maybe it's a good thing. After all, in the end, he had become something so twisted she could hardly call him the person she had known. If he remembered, he might have been as he was when he died, not as she knew him. And even though Cana desperately wanted to know what went wrong, she'd rather start over fresh than see him like that.
"Sorry," she tells him. "I thought you were someone else for a minute. Anyways, I'm Cana." She holds out her hand. "It's nice to meet you."
Gray hesitates, than shakes it. "Gray. Nice to meet you, I guess."
Laxus takes them both out on a low level mission, with Makarov's permission. There's some monsters terrorizing a nearby village, and they put out a request to the wizard guilds to save them. It's the first time Cana and Laxus get to see Gray's magic in action.
He calls himself an ice make wizard, and it turns out to be just that. With a few hand motions, he can create anything he wants out of ice. With his ice, Cana's cards, and Laxus' lightning, they manage to clear out all the monsters in less than a day. The three split the money and Laxus pays for train tickets home. It's when they've all gotten comfortable in their compartment that Gray speaks up.
"Why are you guys so interested in me?" He asks them. "You obviously already know each other well. What do you want with some new kid?" Cana slides a glance at Laxus. They can't really tell him the truth about how they know him, so some fibbing is necessary.
"Well, you're the only kid around besides us!" Laxus tells him. "We all need to stick together."
"Yup," Cana chimes in. "We've decided that you're going to hang out with us. You can't back out now. If we fight, we fight together!"
"You're a weirdly intense person, has anyone ever told you that?" He says dryly. Cana nods with pride. He's told her that before, in fact. Not that he'd remember. She's always thought of it as one of her greatest strengths.
Gray is an interesting person. He reminds her of when she first saw him and Nunnally after Japan was conquered, but he isn't as angry, more subdued. It's almost like he's either purposely clamping down on his emotions, or he's just drifting through life without really thinking about it. It makes sense, Cana supposes. He just went through something horrible after all. But it still hurts to see him like that.
"I'll take that as a complement," She tells her friend. "Now, when we get home we're heading straight to Benly's Pastry Shop. I for one am in the mood for some cookies!
Whoever Lelouch became in the end, now he his Gray, and her friend once more. And she'll make sure he'll never go down that dark path again.
A few months later, Cana meets the next people from her world. She's walking along the riverbank when she sees a red haired girl and a blue haired boy walking towards her, and she knows who they are. Cana wants to run over and hug her friend, but since Gray didn't remember, she isn't sure if her other friend will remember either.
Her heart soars when the girl looks her way and recognition immediately flashes in her face. She sprints over. "Milly!" The blue haired boy follows her.
Cana smiles wide. "Hey Kallen! It's been a while!" She gives her friend a big hug. "Oh, and it's Cana, by the way."
Kallen nods in understanding. "I'm Erza. This is Jeremiah, remember him?" She points to the boy. Cana does remember him, they met a few times in their past life, enough for her to recognize him.
Jeremiah smiles politely at her. "I go by Jellal now. It's a pleasure to meet you again." They shake hands. "We just joined Fairy Tail. Judging by your tattoo, you're a member as well."
"Yup!" She grins at them, but then her smile falls. "Have you….have you seen the others yet?"
Erza perks up. "Others? Who else is here?"
"Well, there's Laxus, master's grandson, who used to be a guy named Tamaki. He was part of the Black Knights. Also-" She's interrupted by Erza.
"Wait, Tamaki's here? Wow, that's a bit of a shock."
"Yeah," Cana hesitates. They're both very close to Lelouch. How will they take this? "Well, Lulu's here too. But he can't remember his past life like the rest of us can. His name is Gray now, so don't call him Lelouch, or Zero or anything like that." She can she surprise fill their faces, and almost feels bad for springing this on them. But they can't go see him without knowing.
"Zero. Lelouch," Erza whispers, skaking. "He's here. Alive. He's Alive!" Jellal sinks to the ground. Erza clenches her fists together, then looks up. "You say he doesn't remember?" Cana shakes her head silently. "Then we can start over," Erza says to herself. "We can start over." She looks Cana in the eye. "Take us to him."
They share stories that night in Laxus' room. Erza and Jellal's friends were all fast asleep at this point; they seemed to have brought a group of people along with them, some of whom joined Fairy Tail as well. Cana tells them how she came here to find her dad, who's out on a mission. Gray is hesitant, but tells them about how the Demon Deliora destroyed his city, and how after watching everyone he loved die, he wandered south and west until he came here. There was obviously parts he was leaving out, but they let him keep his secrets.
Then it is Erza and Jellal's turn. They are surprisingly able to tell the whole story, but it helped that there were two of them, and one could pick up where the other left off if they couldn't carry on. It is a long story (although it might have been shorter if not for being constantly interrupted by Cana's horror and Laxus and Gray's fury), about how they were captured into slavery by dark wizards, building a tower called the R-System that could supposedly revive someone from the dead. They and their friends tried to escape, but were caught, and Erza was tortured. Jellal freed her but was taken himself. Cana shudders when he describes how they tried to control his mind.
"How did you escape?" Gray asks him.
"I wouldn't let them sway my loyalty from where it truly belongs," Jellal says, looking Gray square in the eyes. Gray most likely doesn't know what Jellal means by that, but the rest of them do.
In the meantime, Erza had discovered her potential for magic, and started a revolt with the rest of the slaves. She had rescued Jellal, and they fled the island with everyone else, ending up here.
"Master Makarov's friend Porlyusica healed my eye," Erza tells them. "But I can't cry out of it. It's still better than nothing though." She stokes Cecile, who has made herself at home on Erza's lap, with shaking hands. Cana agrees wholeheartedly. It almost feels silly now, worrying about her dad when her friends have gone through hell in the few years they've been in this life. She vows to meet Erza and Jellal's new friends and make them feel as welcome as possible, even if they aren't reincarnations.
When they all leave for the night, Erza gives her a big hug, to Cana's surprise. "It's nice to be here." Erza tells her. "It almost feels like coming home." Cana couldn't agree more.
(As it turns out, their memories are fuzzy as well. It can't be a coincidence.)
Three siblings join Fairy Tail, and at this point Master Makarov is considering adding a seperate dorm just for them kids. The middle sibling isn't reincarnated, but the oldest and youngest siblings are. Cana can tell princesses Cornelia and Euphemia from a mile away. So can the others, although they don't seem to happy about it.
Cornelia, or Mirajane as she's now called, is aggressive and impulsive. As soon as Makarov helps her change her demon arm back to normal, she and Erza are brawling in the guild hall, sending everything flying. Cana does the smart thing and clears out with the rest of her friends and the other Strauss siblings.
Euphemia, or Lisanna, is just as much as a sweetheart as she was before the SAZ massacre. She recognizes Gray and Cana immediately, but seems to understand Cana's look and says nothing. They agree to talk later. Elfman is just as nice, if lacking in the self confidence department. No matter, if anyone can help with that it's Cana. Laxus and another one of the R-system survivors, Simon, strike up a conversation with him that the others join in on, leaving the girls to talk.
Cana tells her about the others, and Gray's strange situation. She handles it with grace, as to be expected. Then she informs Cana about her own experiences in this world. "It's wonderful to be back with my sister all the time again," Lisanna tells her. "It's strange having a big brother who shares both parents as well, but I think it's even better, and so does Mira. She's almost as protective of him at this point as she is with me." She sighs.
Cana picks up on it. "Is she kinda overbearing?"
Lisanna smiles. "A bit. Not that I don't understand, after everything. But I can take care of myself now. I wish she'd see that." The two sit in silence, lost in their thoughts. Cana never thought she'd be talking to people like princess Euphemia this casually, but everything is different now, and she decides that she likes it.
She turns back to her new friend. "Well! Gray is turning seven in a few days. I was wondering if you and Elfman would like to help us set up a party! Mirajane can join too, of course."
Lisanna's eyes sparkle. "We'd love to! I'm sure I can wrangle Mira into helping. It'll be fun!"
Mirajane seems to heavily disagree with this assessment when they bring it up with her, and Erza seems pissed at the idea of letting Mira help at all. Eventually, Lisanna convinces her by pointing out that Gray doesn't remember being Lelouch, and therefore can't really be held accountable for the things he did. Neither of the feuding girls are very happy, but they reluctantly agree that Mira should pitch in.
The birthday party goes off without a hitch. At Cana's prodding, most of the guild is there to celebrate. Erza buys tons of cake from Benly's but once she discovers how much she likes the stuff they have to stop her from eating it all. Gray is shocked at first, but he ends up smiling more than Cana has ever seen him smile in the months he's been here. When it's all over, he catches her in the back trying to convince Mirajane to give Gray the present Lisanna guilt tripped her into buying. As soon as Gray approaches, she thrusts the present into his hands with a short "Happy Birthday."
Gray gives a small smile, and Cana can see tears welling up in his eyes. "Thank you. For all of this, I mean," he tells Cana. "I didn't think I'd make it to seven. I don't know why I did, why I'm here when everyone else is gone. But. But I'm glad I'm here, and I didn't think I would be. So thanks." He rubs his eyes and walks away, present in hand. Cana can't quell her smile. She looks at Mirajane, finding a shocked and somewhat guilty expression on her face.
Mira isn't as standoffish with Gray from that point on. Cana counts that as a win.
Cana and Erza are sparing outside when the next person arrives. Erza has picked up requip magic, meaning she can change out her weapons from inside some sort of pocket dimension. She's recently been figuring out how to use requip on her armor as well. Cana's best chance is to hold her off at a distance with her lightning and wind card spells. Still, it's super difficult. Erza is quickly proving herself to be one of the best wizards and fighters out of all of them, with only Mira, Jellal, and Laxus able to match her. Cana has lasted a minute so far, and she counts that as a win.
Lisanna calls out their names just as Cana is hit in the stomach with the but of Erza's sword, sending her flying backwards. Before she can get up, she hears Erza scream. Fearful of what could make someone like her friend yell so loud, she struggles to her feet, to find Erza launching herself at a pink haired boy….?
Oh.
Suzaku yelps and jumps away just in time. "Wait, just let me explain!" He says.
Erza won't hear any of it. "No way! I've heard far to many excuses from you! After everything, you have the gall to come here! I don't want you anywhere near Gray! Find a different guild, dammit! How do we know you won't just betray us again?" She lunges for him once more, but Lisanna rushes forward and stops her.
"Erza please!" She says. "Hear him out. Things are different now with him, just like they are for all of us!" Cana makes her way over, eyeing Suzaku wearily. Jellal and Erza have told her about all the things she didn't already know he had done. It's a pretty bad list. Still….
"Most of the people here have done pretty bad things," she murmurs. Erza and Suzaku look up at her, varying emotions in their eyes. "This whole thing is a second chance for everyone, right? So let Suzaku have a second chance too." This seems to strike a chord with Erza, and she lowers her sword and backs away, still glaring at the boy.
Suzaku looks up at her with hope. Cana looks away, and she can see him deflate. She can forgive him for what he did to the others, what he did to her, but she can't forget. "Anyways. I'm Cana now. What do you go by?"
"My name is Natsu this time around." Natsu offers a weak smile. "Born again in a fantasy world, raised by a dragon who just recently disappeared, it's all been pretty crazy. In a nice way though."
"Oh, lucky you, raised by a dragon," Erza mutters under her breath. Cana inwardly sighs. Erza and Jellal had told them all the truth about Lelouch's last few months, and how Suzaku was the one that had donned the Zero mask and killed him. It was a massive relief to know Lelouch wasn't as bad in the end as she had thought, but it still hurt. And while she knew Suzaku killing Lelouch was planned, it was hard to look at him now. So she does understand where Erza is coming from, but she's decided to give him another chance, and she'll stick with it.
The four head inside the guild hall. Natsu stiffens, and Cana follows his gaze to where Gray and Jellal are sitting together. Jellal can always be found either by Gray's side, or with his fellow R-System survivors, and it's a rare occasion to see him alone. Gray seems somewhat weirded out by the amount of attention Jellal and Erza give him, but has mostly accepted it. Cana chalks that up to the small part of him that recognizes them.
Natsu makes his way over to the pair. He stops in front of his former best friend and opens his mouth, but nothing comes out. Gray stares back, and Cana can see mistrust in his eyes. "You got something you want to say?" He asks Natsu.
That seems to snap Natsu out of it. "Yeah," He says. "I'm new here. It's nice to meet you, I'm Natsu. I hope we can get along."
"...Sure." And just like that, the tension is gone from the air. Cana lets out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Maybe things will work out between them all after all.
Things calm down for a while after that. Everyone thinks Natsu and Lisanna would get back together, but they decide not to, at least for a while. According to Lisanna, they both agreed that they needed more time to get used to both this new world and their new selves. They still obviously care about each other, but they've decided to stay friends for a while before figuring out if they want to take the next step. Cana, as someone who loves drama, is somewhat disappointed, but she understands why. Mira isn't particularly happy about their closeness, but decides to let it slide, seeing how happy Lisanna is.
The other R-System survivors fit in great with the rest of the guild. Cana gets along particularly well with Sho, who has also decided to use card magic. They end up sharing all the new spells they learn with each other, as well as their general sunny additude. Wally falls in love with gangster movies, and focuses on magic that allows him to morph his arms into weapons. Simon studies shadow magic, as well as telepathy magic under Warren. He gets along with Elfman immediately, due to both of them being relatively quiet in an extremely loud guild. Millianna, whose name Cana adores, is a massive cat lover, and is trying to figure out how to style her magic around that.
Laxus is thirteen now, and lords it over the rest of them. He's made some new friends, one of whom is also a reincarnation, apparently a member of the Four Holy Swords. Her name is Evergreen, and she despises Gray and Natsu with a passion, even after learning the truth about what happened. The boys retaliate by constantly pranking her, an activity which Cana happily joins in on. Laxus and his other new friends, Freed and Bickslow, are more amused than anything, although it has devolved into a prank war more than once.
Cana herself mostly does jobs with Gray, Erza, and Jellal. The four of them mostly do bounty jobs. Erza and Jellal blast away anyone foolish enough to stand against them, while Cana and Gray nab their target from behind with more stealthy magic. It's nice, she thinks, to spend time with her friends like this, to be able to help them in their battles.
Cana is eight when Natsu crashes through the door to the guild hall, carrying an egg almost as big as him. "Check it out guys!" He yells, as if they couldn't see already. Nonetheless, they all gather round. Even Erza and Mira stop their daily brawl to check out this new thing. Cana looks at the egg with interest. Cecile, now all grown up, sniffs it eagerly.
"What do you think is inside?" She asks aloud.
Natsu hugs the egg with enthusiasm. "It could be a dragon egg! It has flames on it and everything!" He doesn't say it, but they all know Natsu misses the dragon that raised him. Igneel, Cana thinks he was called. Of course Natsu would be hopeful for a dragon egg.
Sho pokes said egg. "That would be so awesome! So how do we get it open? Break it?"
Lisanna snatches the egg away from them. "No way! You need to keep it warm until it's ready to hatch. Like so!" She uses her takeover magic to turn into a bird, then covers up the egg. "I can take it from here."
Natsu grins. "I'll help too! I want to see what it'll end up being!"
"As much as the idea of Natsu trying to take care of anything is hilarious," Erza says, "I think it'll be good for him, to learn how to take care of something."
"And as much as I hate to agree with Erza," Mira adds. "She's probably right about this."
Gray leans over to Cana. "Wow, Natsu being responsible and Erza and Mira agreeing? I'd better start writing my obituary, the world must be ending." Cana snickers, and mentally does the same.
Some weeks later, the egg hatches, and out comes not a dragon, but a flying blue cat. Cana watches Natsu's face pale while everyone else oohs and aahs.
"A cat huh," he says. "That's nice." Cana smirks and leans over.
"Rest in peace, Natsu," She says teasingly. "You had a good, if somewhat short, life." Natsu just sighs.
Millianna squeals and launches herself on the blue cat, knocking it out of the air nearly suffocating it with hugs.
They name the cat Happy, who quickly attaches himself to Natsu and refuses to let go. They end up getting along like a house on fire, and are always seen together from then on. It's good for him, Cana realizes. He acts a lot happier with Happy around.
When Laxus is fourteen, he makes S-Class. Erza and Mira don't take this development well.
"Come on, get your asses into gear!" The redhead shouts at them. "You'll never make S-Class at this rate." Gray groans.
"I get that you want to beat Mira, but why do we have to train for S-Class as well?" He gestures, to him, Cana, and Jellal. Cana privately agrees, but she's too exhausted to say anything at this point.
Erza smirks. "What is it that Cana likes to say? If we fight, we fight together!" Dammit Erza, using my own words against me! "If I'm going on S-Class quests, I want to take my team along with me!" She's been training with them nonstop ever since Mira made her announcement that she was going for S-Class. Laxus, who very much favored Erza over Mira, agreed to train them when he got back from his first S-Class quest, which should be soon. The work is already hell, and Cana rues the day. Natsu, the lucky bastard, isn't technically a part of their team, and was able to skip out, claiming he had other things to do. He's totally getting it when all this work pays off. Months later, Makarov nominates all of them plus Mira for S-Class, and Cana hates the glint in their guild master's eye.
"RUN, DAMMIT!" The five are charging through the forest as fast as they possibly can. They're on Tenrou Island, where the trial is taking place. The Master dropped them off at the shore, and told them to retrieve a hidden artifact deep within the woods, then make it back to the beach safely. It sounded easy at first, but Cana didn't realize that would mean facing all the monsters and evil plants that reside on this damn island.
Erza turns around and nails the beast chasing them with summoned swords, pushing it back with a cry. Gray takes the time to form a bow and arrow, shooting it in the eye. The animal falls back, but more take its place. Cana pulls out her cards and decides to try a new trick. "Card Magic: Entrapment!" She flings her spells, and the land true. Four of the six remaining beasts are zapped away inside her cards.
Jellal jumps over a root on the ground and turns around in midair, blasting a beast away with his cosmic magic. Mira shoots the last one down with her satan soul, and the five dive underground into a nearby cave.
Cana lights up one of her cards. "Think we're safe?" She can see Gray shake his head in the dim light.
"Not yet. We still need to find the artifact, remember? We've been searching for a while now, I'd have hoped we'd have gotten closer."
"I think we have." Mira motions deeper into the cave. "I can feel something down there. Something powerful. It might be the artifact." Cana focuses, and sure enough, there was something further in. They set off, Erza and Mira in front and Gray, Cana, and Jellal in rear. Further and further into the darkness, until….
Something growls, deep and grating. Four eyes emerge from the darkness, followed by five pairs of limbs, each with razor sharp claws at the end. Another pair locks the thing onto the floor. It lunges for them, and Cana leaps back to avoid being mauled. Claws scrape against the side of the cave as it makes another go, swiping at the wizards with lightning speed.
"Ice make: Shield!" Gray yells, and the monster crashes against the ice. It's yowl shakes the cave.
"What the hell is that thing?" Jellal says, a bit of fear in his voice. "It's creepy!"
Gray's eyes narrow. "If it lives in a dark cave, it probably has a weakness to light. Cana, can you shoot lightning at it when I lower the shield?" Cana nods, not trusting herself to speak. She readies herself, and when the barrier falls, she activates her spell. The monster cries and falls back, two of its limbs disintegrating. Cana sighs in relief.
It's a short lived feeling though, as the monster convulses, and out grow four more limbs, with even sharper claws then before. The shoot towards Cana, and she barely dodges in time, claws scraping her side. Cana feels the place where it hit. It feels wet.
Don't panic Don't PanIC DON'T PANIC-
"Erza! Pin down it's limbs, but don't cut them off! Jellal, aim for its feet! Mira, go for the head!" Gray yells.
"Got it! Requip!" Erza summons twelve of her swords and releases them all at once. Her aim is true, and the monster is pinned to the wall. Jellal and Mira fire their magic at the same time, and the creature lets out an ear piercing scream. Then it disintegrates into nothing.
"We won!" Erza breaths. Cana would like to celebrate but she's hurting very much right now. The redhead walks over to her, and summons a different set of her clothing. "Here." She tears some off and wraps it around Cana's side. "Are you alright?"
"Never better." Cana manages a weak smile. She can do this, they're so close. "Lets keep going." They continue walking, Cana leaning onto Gray for support. Eventually, they see something glowing up ahead.
"We found it!" Erza races forward, followed shortly by the rest of them. There at the end of the cave is a glowing lacrima, illuminating a small old stone with the Fairy Tail insignia carved onto it. Erza grabs the stone and looks down, before frowning deeply. "And some of master's magazines. Eww."
Mira glares at the things. "This kind of stuff should be illegal!"
Jellal picks one up and flips through it, making a face. "You know, if we're S-Class now, we have a duty as powerful wizards to destroy these things."
"We could always wait until we get back to Makarov and burn them in front of him. Teach him a lesson," Cana adds helpfully. Gray laughs.
"As much as I'm all for that, maybe we should focus on getting out first. We still have an entire island to trek through before we reach the beach."
Everyone groans and gets ready to fight once more.
Cana left the Fairy Tail guild a regular mage, and is returning with her friends as an S-Class wizard. She feels an immense pride in her accomplishment. Even so, she can't help but wonder what Gildarts would say about it. She still hasn't seen her dad in almost five years of being in the same guild, and she won't admit it out loud, but she's starting to lose hope.
The five young wizards enter the guild hall to various shouts. This of course is typical for Fairy Tail, but she notices that they're centered around one person in particular, someone she's never seen before and who is being dogpiled by the other kids. Sho, who is grabbing onto the man's arm, notices them first and calls out:
"Cana! We found Gildarts! We kept him here until you got back!"
Cana can't move, her breath stolen from her. That man….is her dad? It almost doesn't seem real. That after so long, it was finally happening. What could she say to him?
Gildarts manages to shrug his attackers off him and walks over, curiosity clear in his eyes. "So you're Cana huh? Nice to meet you! What's up?" Oh god. Oh wow, it's really happening. Cana struggles to find her voice, and clears her throat.
"Hello. I'm Cana Alberona. My mom is Cornelia Alberona….and I'm your daughter."
Silence. He stares at her blankly. Cana's throat sizes up. What will he say? Is he mad at her? Does he not want a daughter?
But then his face breaks out in the biggest grin she's ever seen, and the next thing Cana knows, she's being swept up off her feet and held in his arms. "You're my daughter? I have a daughter! This is amazing, oh my god! You! A daughter! Mine! Oh my god!" And he starts sobbing as he holds her, and her heart soars.
Gildarts Clive is a crash magic wizard, which means he can destroy anything he touches. He's a drinker, lazy, and a total goofball. And Cana loves him so so much. She spends hours talking to him just the two of them, making up for lost time.
"I've been to many places, and met many wonderful women," he tells her, "But your mother was the only one I ever truly loved."
The other kids love to be around him too. She might be jealous if she didn't see them as her family just as much. But she did, so it was all good. Natsu gets along with him particularly well. He's become more energetic since he found Happy, and is generally looking for a good brawl. Gildarts creams him every time of course.
Lisanna decides to stop going on missions, and takes up a place at the guild bar. When asked why, she says that she isn't really up for all these adventuring things.
"It was fun for a bit," She tells her friends, flipping through a book on how to make drinks. "But I'm not a fighter. I don't enjoy fighting at all, and I really don't enjoy hurting others, even if they deserve it. I'd rather provide support from here in the guild."
Mira ruffles her sister's hair. "Don't worry about it Lizzy. We support you one hundred percent, whatever you do."
"Yeah!" Elfman agrees. He's had a recent growth spurt, and is now taller than any of them. "And if anyone has a problem with it, they can take it up with us!"
Lisanna smiles. "Thanks sis, bro. All of you make sure to help a lot of people out there for me, okay?"
"Absolutely," Natsu says, smiling like the lovestruck fool he is. Gray elbows him in the side.
"That means less destruction of towns, got it flame brain?" Gray's been calling him that for a while now, but there's no heat to it."
"This is Natsu we're talking about. That's probably impossible," Happy quips. Natsu gasps can leans back over his chair, clutching his chest.
"Betrayed by my own friend! What travesty is this?" They all laugh, but Cana notices Grays sounds a little forced. She wonders how much of what happened between Lelouch and Suzaku he's aware of.
Macao brings his young son to the guild one day, and all Milly can see is the boy who pretended to be Lelouch's sibling, who killed Shirley. "Romeo" isn't even being subtle about it, immediately latching onto Gray, who looks distinctly uncomfortable.
She knows it isn't fair. It's hypocritical of her, to be angry. It's just like Mira's early anger towards Gray, and Erza disliking Natsu. She called them out for how they were acting, and here she was doing the same thing. She tries to calm herself down, but for the rest of the day, all she can see is red.
Gray pulls her aside as they're leaving the guild hall, leading her to the riverbank where the kids have all sparred plenty of times. He looks her in the eye with more seriousness than she's ever seen. "Cana, I need you to tell me the truth."
Cana blinks. "About what?" Gray frowns.
"You know what! You all know what! Everyone seems to know me, and each other. They look at me like, like I'm someone else, someone they know well. You hugged me like an old friend before I even introduced myself. Jellal and Erza haven't left my side in years. Mira seemed to hate me for a while, and Evergreen still does. Really, Elfman and the R-System kids are the only ones who don't act that way around me. And this Romeo kid now. Even before I came here, Lyon was the same way!" He takes a breath, Cana seems to have lost hers.
"I was going to call you all out on it. It's weird, and I'm not good with people, but no one will leave me alone. Except….except I feel like I do know all of you from somewhere! Even though I don't! I keep feeling - feeling at home with people I don't know yet, I can't look Natsu in the eyes sometimes," He pauses, and puts a hand to his stomach. The same place, Cana notes with apprehension, that Suzaku stabbed him in their past life. "And Lisanna! I feel guilty around her, all the time. Why-why do I feel guilty?"
He looks so lost, and she feels horrible. Of course he would know something was up. Gray is just as smart as he was in his previous life, even if he has less of a chance to show it. And really, they'd all been terrible at hiding it, too caught up in their various feelings for him. Cana makes a split second decision.
"If I tell you….it's going to sound really really weird," She says.
Gray is stubborn. "I don't care. I can take weird."
She takes a deep breath. "A lot of us….we remember a past life we all had. Part of it, at least. And we all get this feeling around people who are also from that past life, like you. You're the only one who doesn't seem to remember."
Gray blinks. Once, twice. "Wow. That's very….intense."
Cana starts. "You believe me?" He shrugs.
"Like I said, I get these weird feelings. Right now, it feels like you're telling the truth. And it does make sense. It's just. I don't know. Let me think about it."
They reconvene later that night with everyone from the other world, plus Happy, who Natsu told everything to a long time ago. They all sit in silence as Cana tells them what happened. More silence when she's done.
Lisanna speaks up, hesitant. "So, what do you think? How are you feeling?"
Gray looks away. "Like I told Cana, I don't know. I can tell what you're saying is the truth. But at the same time I don't know. I don't know who this "Lelouch" is, beyond feelings. I can't be him, if that's what you want."
"It isn't." Mira says immediately. "We like you now, not for who you were" Mira certainly does. She's probably the most happy out of all of them that he doesn't remember. But it's the truth. Gray is Lelouch, even if he doesn't remember. At the same time though, he's his own person. Cana knows they all can see it. And while she liked who he was, she likes who he is now just as much, if not more.
"We don't blame you for anything, and we don't hold you to any standards besides the ones you've set in this world," Lisanna says.
"Which aren't that great," Evergreen mutters. Laxus shushes her.
"Don't sweat it kid," he says. "You're great. You, Gray. Don't worry about it."
Romeo looks apologetic. "I'm very sorry Gray. I let my emotions get the better of me. If you want me to keep my distance I will absolutely do so."
Gray seems to contemplate this, but ends up shaking his head. "Nah, it's alright. I don't really mind, now that I know. I just hope you can like me for who I am right now, instead of who I was." Romeo beams.
"Absolutely!" He reaches over and hugs Gray, who returns the hug after a moment.
They all part ways for the night. Gray and Natsu stay late to talk to each other about something. They next day, they seem much closer. Cana debates demanding information from them, but decides to let it go.
Cana is thirteen when a dark haired woman walks through the door of the guild hall, three kids trailing behind her. She recognizes them immediately, and dashes over. "Sayoko! Rivalz!"
Rivalz jumps up and hugs her tight. "Milly! Great to see you! Hey, hang on, why are you so much older than me? No fair!" They all laugh, and it's so nice to see her friend again.
Sayoko gently breaks them up. "Introductions first please." She points to herself. "My name is Ultear, and Rivalz here is Rouge."
The blond haired boy pipes up. "You would know me as Gino, but now my name's Sting. And the pink one here is Anya, a.k.a Meredy." He mentions towards said girl, who gives a small smile.
Cana smiles back. "I'm Cana now. Good to see you all!"
"Yes," Ultear says. "However, there is someone I'm looking for. Is Gray Fullbuster here?"
Cana frowns. "I'm guessing you know who he is then?" Ultear nods.
"I've guessed. I would like to see him, please." Cana hesitates, then waves Gray over. Sting, Rouge, and Merudy all perk up, knowing exactly who he his. Ultear doesn't move. As soon as he comes, he frowns.
"Hang on," he says slowly. "You look just like-"
"Ur?" Ultear says softly. "She was my mother. I was looking for her students. I'm so glad I found you."
Gray drops to the ground right there, eyes wide open without really seeing anything. "She's your-your mother- oh god, I'm so sorry. I killed her. I killed your mother oh god I'm so sorry-"
He's cut off as Ultear wraps him up in a hug. "It's alright," she says. "It's not your fault. You didn't kill her. I don't blame you. It's okay." Cana, knowing her time to leave, drags the others away to meet everyone else, questions filling her mind.
(She finds out the whole story later, along with everyone else. Her heart aches for both of them, but they seem to have found solace in each other. Gray ends up picking up time magic from Ultear, and they practice their ice make magic together, in honor of their mother.)
Cana is fifteen years old now. The kids of Fairy Tail are now the teens of Fairy Tail, and everyone is making a name for themselves.
Natsu has been dubbed 'Salamander' by the general public, for his fire magic and general destruction. Erza is 'Titania the Fairy Queen'. In another life she probably would have found the title weak or ditsy, now she wears it with pride. Laxus and his Thunder Legion have been getting tons of personal requests from all over Fiore. Cana herself as been dubbed 'The Fortune Teller' and while that really doesn't cover the extent of her abilities, she does think it's really cool. Mira loves being called the 'She-Devil', flaunting it wherever she can. Romeo has been learning ice make magic from Gray, and goes on all sorts of missions with Stinge, Rouge, and Meredy. With a father and a large family who loves him, he seems much better adjusted than in his previous life.
The only ones who aren't really in the Public eye are Jellal and Ultear, which seems to suit them both just fine.
Gray has been given the title 'Zero'. None of them really know how to feel about that. Eventually they collectively decide that it has a new meaning now, and leave it be. Gray's happy with it, and that's all that matters.
Everything is wonderful, but it still feels like something is missing.
Then Natsu and Happy charge into Fairy Tail, a blonde girl with celestial keys on her belt in tow. "Everyone, she's here!" He calls out.
Cana meets Shirley's eyes, and her bright smile, and finally feels complete.
Thank you for reading! This just popped into my head one day and I had to get it down. If enough people want me to, I'll write some more in this story. Hope you enjoyed!