A/N: This has been in my head for a while now because these two are basically a mother/daughter disaster and since Irene's not alive any more we won't get to see this. I decided I wouldn't work on it until I was done with my latest Skip Beat fic and in that time the ideas for this story evolved to something more than a oneshot.

This is AU from the oneshots, and probably very AU from the end of Alvarez/Fairy Tail.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Prologue

When Irene woke up, she had no idea where she was. She had thought she was dead – after all, she had pierced her abdomen with a sword filled with dragon slayer magic. It should have, by all means, done the job. Right now she felt incredibly weak. She couldn't feel any magic flowing through her body; instead, her entire torso felt like death. Even a slight twitch caused a wave of severe pain to wrack her.

Irene opened her eyes in an attempt to determine where she was. She could feel that she was on a couch or bed of some sort, so she knew she wasn't outside. Hanging on a wall above her she could see many weapons of several varieties, so she assumed she was in Erza's abode.

Slowly she turned her neck away from the wall to see what else she could. She saw a familiar white-haired girl sitting in a chair across the room from her – it was the girl that "killed" her squad.

"Oh? You're awake?" The girl asked her.

"Yes," Irene's voice croaked out. She could barely see the girl lift a pitcher to pour a glass of cold water for her. The girl walked over to Irene and let her take a few small sips. "What happened?"

The girl pulled up a stool. "When the others arrive, they'll explain it to you. But, Acnologia's been defeated, as has Zeref."

"When will that be?"

Mira lifted up Irene's arm to show her what appeared to be a pink tattoo on her wrist.

"A sensory link?"

"We put one on you and Erza, so that she would know as soon as you woke up. It should only take her a few minutes to get here from the guild hall."

Sure enough, Erza ran in to the room and leaned over Irene. She was followed by several other women, but no men. Irene recognized the blue-haired Dragon Slayer, but none of the others. A middle-aged woman with pale pink hair entered with Wendy. Mavis was not far behind. With them was a young woman with short, light blue hair, a blond celestial spirit mage (Irene knew she was a Heartfilia), and a young woman with long pink hair.

She felt a blanket being pulled off her and realized she was only wearing a robe. It was too painful to resist, but in some ways that was a relief: as a dragon she didn't feel much pain. The middle-aged woman was now leaning over her while Wendy looked on. They worked together to check her torso and change the dressing on the wound where the sword should have been.

"She's healing as expected," a voice said. It wasn't Wendy's, so she assumed it belonged to the woman. "Keep doing whatever it is you're doing. I'll be leaving. I'm sure Wendy can handle anything else you need." Irene heard heavy footsteps leading away from her. Wendy fixed her clothes, and the pink-haired girl set up what she recognized to be a communication lacrima.

"What's going on?" Irene said, feeling pain in her throat as she spoke. Erza pulled a chair up next to her bed.

"We'll explain after everything is set up," Mira said. "You see, this dorm is girls only, and Erza's rather strict about that. All the men that want to listen in are back at the guild waiting for the communication lacrima to ring."

Irene heard voices come through the lacrima, confirming who was listening in. She didn't recognize any of the voices.

"We're good to go then," Erza's commanding voice said.

"Then what's going on?" Irene croaked.

"Somehow, we're not sure how, the dragon slayer magic managed to kill the dragon part of you, but spared the human part," the short blue-haired girl responded.

"That makes no sense," Irene replied. "I should be dead."

"You should be, by all means," the girl confirmed. "You were wholly a dragon biologically. We have no idea how you could have turned back into a human after so long."

"But that also means you're weaker than you were and slower to heal, so you'll need to rest," Wendy's voice interjected. "The wound where the sword went through you is barely healed, and almost all of your ribs are cracked."

Irene didn't know how the cracked ribs happened, but assumed it happened after she 'died.'

"We've used runes to seal all of your magic for now," the short blue-haired girl added. "And there are more runes confining you to this dorm – Fairy Hills – and the Fairy Tail guildhall."

"Why?" Irene knew she was dangerous as a dragon, but as a human she was probably barely stronger than her daughter.

"Erza suggested that it was your transformation into a dragon that caused your madness, so we wanted to give you a chance now that you're human. Of course, we need to be very careful considering your past behavior," a masculine voice came from the lacrima.

Irene's eyes widened, shocked at her daughter's ability to forgive her.

"As our guild has several dragon slayers, we also thought it would be useful to have your expertise at our disposal," the voice from the lacrima continued. "For now, until you are entirely healed and we've decided what to do with you, you will continue to have your magic sealed. Just in case, you will also be living with Erza in Fairy Hills."

"I won't always be here, though," Erza reminded whoever's voice it was.

"So we'll have others come to stay with her – Mira, Lucy, and Wendy have already volunteered," the voice told Erza. "As has Cana, but I don't trust her with Irene."

"Fair enough," Erza sighed. "Do you have any questions?"

"Not right now," Irene admitted. Her head was feeling very fuzzy, as if she was coming out of more than just sleep. She wondered if the craziness from her time as a dragon was wearing off, or if she would still be dangerously mentally unstable. She hoped she would be sane. Not only for her daughter, but also for her daughter's guild. If they were spending the effort trying to save her irredeemable ass, she should spend the effort not to make them regret it. Besides, Acnologia was dead, and now she needed to find something else to live for.

"Good," Erza replied. She shut off the communication lacrima and the women began to file out of the room. Once again, it was only Mira.

"Would you like a sleeping potion?" Mira asked Irene. "It might be easiest to sleep through the pain rather than staying awake."

Irene managed a painful nod and she opened her mouth to welcome the cool liquid Mira poured down it. Soon, she drifted back to sleep, wondering if this was all a dream.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed!