"Another…" Laxus mumbles as he downed his drink, looking only at the bar. His eyes, filled with shame, swim with unshed tears. He sighs, and Mirajane looks at him with sorrow as she gives him another beer.

He just came back from a mission, with Freed's rapier in hand. Everyone is sad, the only ones not aware of the news are off on jobs.

Lucy Heartfilia, Celestial mage, sits at the bar next to the Lightning Dragon Slayer. She hesitantly lays a hand on his back, rubbing it in soothing circles. "Laxus…."

"What?" he grumbles, not looking up.

"It's okay to be sad."

Suddenly he whips around and yells, "YOU THINK I'M NOT SAD? ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS IN THE WORLD IS DEAD BECAUSE I COULDN'T PROTECT HIM! HE'S DEAD! HE'S DEAD AND HE'S NEVER COMING BACK! IT'S MY FAULT! It's all my fault…"

With the end of his rant, he turns back around and beats his fists into the bar, the whole guild staring at him, not even blaming him for it.

Lucy, not to be deterred from helping a friend in need, pushes away his drink and gives him a hug.

"You know that's not true, Laxus. Freed was a capable mage; he knew the risks. He loved you like a brother. He wouldn't want to you tear yourself up like this. You know it wasn't, and still isn't, your fault. It's okay to be sad, Laxus." Lucy says, smiling softly at the normally scary Dragon Slayer.

His eyes water even more, and he starts to sob, embracing Lucy and burying his head in her shoulder.

Mirajane wants to 'aww,' but knows that today, of all days, she shouldn't play the matchmaker, and instead, just serve the drinks and try to deal with her own grief.

Laxus, finally done sniveling into Lucy's shoulder, lets her guide him out of the guild hall, probably for a more private location so that he can let go some more.

They get back about an hour later, Laxus looking sad but not guilty like before. Lucy and Laxus still haven't let go of their hands, which are, in fact, woven together right now.

"Mirajane…. A round of drinks for everyone here." Laxus states, and the barmaid looks at him in shock, as do a fair amount of people.

Lucy, finishing his statement, looks around and shouts, "For Freed. We drink to his chivalry, his kind heartedness, his loyalty, his bravery. To his friendships, his honor, his help, and, most of all, his love for everyone here. A drink to honor the bravest, most chivalrous and loyal person that loved this guild. To Freed!"

Everyone, raising their drinks up high, chants, "To Freed!"

All who bear the guildmark of Fairy Tail, that day, they drank, they sang, they partied, they danced, all in Freed's honor.

Lucy holds Laxus close as he cries over Freed's rapier, the only thing he could save of his beloved friend, at the funeral.

Makarov, grim as can be, holds the honor of saying the obituary.

"Freed Justine was a man who had the honor, the chivalry, and the compassion that would have made a knight proud, and he could've been a great one. But instead, he joined Fairy Tail, and we became his family. His spells and incantations were remarkable, the talent he had for them was renowned. However, his most glowing achievement, would probably be the fact that all of us, here today, were all touched by Freed's life, be it through his magic, his friendship, his help, his spirit, or his loyalty, and, yes, even his love. He will never be forgotten, and as long as anyone of us who has been touched by Freed and his kindness, his chivalry, his honor, he will live on, through all of us."

The coffin closes over the rapier, and is lowered into the freshly dug grave. It might have just been Laxus' power, but a thunderstorm brewed, rain falling down in a picturesque scene that everyone would have thought to be too cliche to happen.

Said Lightning Dragon Slayer continues bawling his eyes out as Lucy comforts him, guiding him away from the grave after they've been there for an hour or more, starting to feel the chill together. The last ones to leave the grave, they take one final look at the gravestone, and leave.

A lone figure stands on the hill next to the graveyard, his next task not a fun one. With raindrops already running down his face, he moves towards the death site, his puppets moving just barely enough to follow him.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there, buddy. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. How about I just stay here and reminisce about the good times for a while, huh? That'd be fun." The figure, a cloak obscuring his body from both the rain and a human's vision, kneels down by the gravesite.

"Do you remember that one time when we took all of Evergreen's bras and hung them up outside the guild? You were drunk, but boy, did you think it was a good idea. The next morning you were stone, so I'm not sure exactly how much fun you had. But it was fun while it lasted! Remember the drinking contest where you kept up the tally for Cana and Bacchus? I remember how shocked you were at how much liquor went into their bodies! You had the funniest look on your face, like you just couldn't believe that they did that, and you thought it was so weird. Oh, boy, remember that one time when you bet Elfman that Laxus was more of a man than he was? He took that the wrong way entirely! Demolished the training grounds after Laxus beat him to a pulp. Hey, remember that…"

After three hours sitting beside the grave of his friend, the Seith mage stands up, soaked to the bone and not caring a bit about the cold, and bids his farewell.

"I wish I was there when this happened. I don't know if I could have helped, and I probably wouldn't have been able to do anything in truth, but I wish I was there for you in your last moments. You deserved it. I'm gonna miss you, buddy. You're irreplaceable, to me, to the guild, to the team."

As he turns to walk away, he pauses, and underneath the simple gravestone, his dolls carve into it, with careful precision, 'A Truer Friend and a Kinder Heart never lived.'

Freed Justine

X764-X797

A Truer Friend and a Kinder Heart never lived.