A/N: Thank you to everyone who is reading this story! There is one thing that I want to make clear, though. Yes, this is labeled a Jerza fic. No, that does not mean that it will be limited to only Jerza interactions. Nor will the story be revolving around them alone. So if that's what you want, sorry. There will be other pairings in this story (such as Nalu, Gale, Lyvia, and many more), and they will all receive their own screen time. Now you have been warned, so if you have any complaints later on about pairings or a lack of Jerza, I don't wanna hear 'em.

Thank you again for reading! :) I hope I haven't scared too many people away. Please give my story a chance.

Chapter One – New Enemy

Lucy

My heart fluttered nervously in my chest as we gathered around Master Makarov, preparing to hear the grave news he had for us. He had been pacing angrily around the second floor of the guild and muttering to himself for the past hour, ever since he'd returned from the Guild Master Meeting. It was obvious that they'd discussed something big, and while Fairy Tail's Master was by no means what one could call calm, he rarely got this worked up over the meetings. The last time I could remember him being this agitated was during the Grand Magic Games, which had concluded over six months ago already.

The ghost of a grin tugged at my lips as I recalled the spectacular and entirely unexpected victory we'd pulled out, launching us back up to the top guild in Fiore after seven consecutive years of losing. Of course, those seven years were a blank in my mind, as I'd been part of a group in our guild that had been frozen in time on our guild's sacred Tenrou Island after the attack by the black dragon of the apocalypse, Acnologia.

As I looked around me, I noticed that the group I stood surrounded by today was the same group that had joined hands on the island as we prepared to meet our fate all those years ago. And something about the unnatural stillness that had come over Makarov when he'd summoned us all to the second floor combined with the fact that only the Tenrou Group, as we'd come to be called, was present had my hair standing on end.

"Listen well, my children," Makarov called in his harsh voice. His eyes were troubled, and I thought I could just detect the faintest glimmer of…fear.

This is definitely nothing good…so why am I here?! I shifted nervously as my gaze flicked to the other mages standing around me. Natsu and Happy. Gray. Erza. Mirajane, Lisanna and Elfman. Laxus and the Raijinshuu. Juvia and Gajeel, with Pantherlily standing defiantly at the muscled Iron Dragonslayer's feet. Levy and Cana. And Wendy, with her white Exceed, Carla. Even Gildarts stood before the Master, his arms crossed and his brow furrowed as he watched the small, elderly man attentively.

I sighed to myself. Ever since we'd unlocked our Second Origin, our magic power had increased dramatically. I was even feeling confident in my own fighting abilities, and with the Twelve Zodiac keys in my possession, I would be a match for most mages in battle. And yet, I still felt woefully ill-equipped to handle the kinds of missions that Makarov sent us on when he wore that look on his face. Just because I can fight doesn't mean that I want to!

But of course, none of that mattered to Master Makarov. He cleared his throat and leveled a piercing stare at each of us in turn. "Terrible news has reached the Council," he began, shadows falling over his face, "of a darkness sweeping the land. It leaves nothing but death and destruction in its wake, and there have been whispers of another dark wizard, one even more powerful than Zeref."

Gasps rang out around the mages gathered before the Master. "More powerful than Zeref?" Mirajane asked in disbelief.

"We couldn't even manage to defeat Zeref, during the battle of the Eclipse!" Gajeel growled, clenching his fist in the air.

"We still don't know where he went. For all we know, this dark wizard could be Zeref himself!" Cana's dark eyes danced with fury as she rubbed the scar on her shoulder; a relic of our battle with Zeref after the Grand Magic Games' conclusion.

"Damn that bastard!" Natsu snarled, flames shooting from his clenched fists. "I won't let him get away again!"

"SILENCE!" Makarov bellowed, and everyone promptly settled down. "This is not the time for rash butting in! The foe we face this time is undoubtedly stronger than anything you've ever faced before."

I shivered with apprehension. "But during the eclipse, we not only battled Zeref, but a legion of dragons led by Acnologia himself!" Though in the end, the three Dragonslayers of our guild had joined forces with Sabertooth's Sting and Rogue to defeat the dragon king, we had all barely made it out with our lives. Sometimes, in the dark silence of the night, I still awoke in cold sweats, screaming from the nightmarish memories.

Everyone turned to look at me, their eyes reflecting their thoughts of agreement. Makarov wore a contemplative look as he rubbed his jaw. "Indeed. The enemy this time is one that threatens the entire world. But not just our world. The Spirit World may even be in danger if they succeed."

"Oh no…" I gasped, instinctively reaching for my keys where they hung in their pouch on my belt. Spirits can't die, though! What's going on?

"What are we going to do, Master?" Erza asked in that infallible way of hers.

"Hmmn?" He raised an eyebrow at her as he peered around at all of us, crossing his arms. "We are going to do the only thing we can do, for the future of our world; fight. We will form an alliance with other guilds to bring down the ones who are threatening our world."

"An alliance?" Gray asked in surprise, jerking back slightly.

"An alliance," the elderly Master confirmed. "With five other guilds—Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, Mermaid Heel, Sabertooth…and Crime Sorcière."