Author's notes: I'm really sorry about the terribly rushed quality version of this chapter from a few days ago. This is an updated and beta'd version from the previous version. Big thanks to Catwho for being my beta. Words aren't enough to express my gratitude. I also plan to release an epilogue in the coming days, so look forward to it!

The Dragons' Ball Dance

Chapter 2

"So, what do you think of it?"

"Hmm, what?" Rogue asked his dragon slayer partner disinterestedly.

"C'mon! You know what I'm talking about! The ball, Rogue! The ball!" Sting said exasperatedly to his partner across the table.

"Oh, that…. What about it?" Rogue raised an eyebrow at Sting.

"Come on, you could try acting a little bit more interested!" Sting frowned at his partner's apathy. He was never really a guy who got excited very often. That trait of his sometimes got on Sting's nerves.

"Sorry, not interested. There's your answer." Rogue deadpanned.

Sting sighed.

"I should've known you'd say that." Sting muttered under his breath.

"Why do you have to ask me this, anyways? You know I'm not interested in that sort of thing. Social gatherings like that aren't my kind of thing."

"C'mon, you aren't the least bit interested in beating Natsu-san and Gajeel-san?" Sting asked, hoping he could coax his partner into going.

"Nope."

"Sigh… you're such a buzz killer as always." Sting complained.

"I have no need of trying to prove myself to Gajeel like that. I doubt he'd even go either. Gajeel definitely isn't that kind of person." Rogue bluntly stated, having a hard time to believe that Gajeel having a girlfriend was completely within the realm of possibility.

"Oh yeah? I heard rumors he actually does have a girlfriend. Maybe he'll go with her." Sting informed him.

"Rumors are just rumors. They don't have any solid evidence or whatsoever." Rogue scoffed, rebuffing his partner.

"Ok, tell you what. If Gajeel-san did bring his girlfriend, you're going to have to dance at the ball too, got it?" Sting demanded.

"Fine, but just one slight problem. What if he does have one and I didn't bring a partner to dance with by the time we reach Crocus?" Rogue said, pointing out the fallacy of the bet.

"Easy. Just call up the guild and get any of the girls to Crocus. It's not that far, anyways. Only 3-4 hours away, tops." Sting suggested.

"You sure have a simple-minded way of thinking." Rogue sighed.

"I like to call myself 'practical' ". Sting snarked.

"Speaking of which… are you going with someone?" Rogue asked, changing their subject.

"Well, it's not that I don't want to… it's just that I don't know how to approach her. I and the rest of the guild abandoned her. How could I go up straight to her face and ask her to be my partner just like that?" Sting lamented.

Rogue blinked in incredulity.

"You're kidding, right? You've been nagging me for the past few minutes about going to the dance, and you're telling me you don't have a date either?!" Rogue hissed.

"Well, I was hoping you already had someone in mind. So if you were going, I thought I might have a good excuse to get her to come with me." Sting said nervously, trying to avoid his friend's glare.

"Well, at least I succeeded. Partly, anyways."

Rogue simply smacked his face and wiped his hand down.

"Well, sucks to be you. 'Cause since I'm going there without a date, you won't have a good enough reason to convince Yukino completely." Rogue coldly said, leaving his friend no room for pity after trying to manipulate him.

Sting slumped in his chair, wondering what he can do to convince Yukino to come. After Minerva and Jiemma was ousted from the guild, everyone took it upon themselves and chose to change the guild's ways. The fact that Minerva had pretty much abandoned the battle against the dragons certainly helped make their case that they wouldn't want to be led by a coward.

One of their first actions was to nominate Rufus as Guild Master. Everyone had unanimously agreed on it because Rufus was one of their strongest five and aside from that, he had a good judgment of things. Rufus tried to decline, but finally relented in the end. He accepted the position on one condition; that his assignment was temporary until they could find someone they could acknowledge as strong and worthy enough to lead the guild. Makarov had offered to help find a suitable replacement for the time being.

Another revolution that occurred within the guild was to re-invite Yukino back to the guild. Rufus had acknowledged that they were completely out of line with their actions. Aside from that, Rufus also wanted someone to help him in his day-to-day paperwork. Yukino was particularly well-organized and also had a good head on her shoulders. She still had confidence issues, but Rufus' encouragement helped her get along.

Meanwhile, Sting used his mission rewards to help her pay for her bills and the like, shelving a little over 90% of his mission pays. Yukino was completely unaware that Sting had been paying her bills in her stead. The money she used to pay bills came from Rufus, so she thought he was giving her share of her job as advisor. Sure, she took some occasional missions, but she mostly stayed within the guild to manage the missions and paperwork.

Sting didn't do this without a reason. He wanted to try to make it up to Yukino for his apparent treatment of her. Even though everyone shared the blame, if there's one thing that he isn't, it's that he wouldn't try to make up for his mistakes. He'd heard that Gajeel went above and beyond to make up for his past deeds to his guild. He was in awe of how Gajeel would go so far to redeem himself. This made him resolved to make up for his deeds to Yukino. He preferred going subtle. Such as following her home to make sure she got home safely. Rogue had commented on how much of a stalker he was being. Sting was normally boisterous and loud, so it had amazed Rogue that he could be subtle for once. If only he did that more often on missions. Then again, when Sting got his head into something, he could really produce some impressive results. There was once a mission that that tested his patience through and through, but eventually, he came out successfully. Even Rogue was heavily impressed.

So it was simply a matter of getting his head out of fighting and eating all the time. Unfortunately, that's a tall order for him.

Sting was also impressed with Yukino's courage to close the Eclipse gate. If she and that girl Lucy hadn't closed it in time, they would have been thoroughly killed. That alone was enough for Sting to acknowledge her strength. The Magic Games had made him realize that strength was not just about power, but also about the heart and courage to move forwards without any hesitation.

After coming up with nothing, Sting got up and left the guild to hit the sack. Yukino was currently in Crocus, and helping with the reconstruction. And as if the timing couldn't be any better, Sting was also going to Crocus the same day Yukino returned.

Rogue wondered whether he should help Sting or just let him be.

Well, he would think about it when she arrived tomorrow.

The next day, Yukino returned.

She decided to have lunch at the guild and work on the paperwork Rufus assigned to her. She took a seat at Rogue's table and greeted him.

"Rogue-sama, good afternoon." Yukino nodded.

"Greetings to you too, Yukino." Rogue smiled in return.

"I hope you don't mind me doing my paperwork here." Yukino put the pile of papers on top of the table.

"I don't mind." Rogue permitted as he took a sip of his drink.

"Frosch isn't back yet?" Yukino questioned.

"No, she said she'd be back by tomorrow. I just received word from her this morning." Rogue replied. It was getting a tad lonely without the Exceeds around. Frosch and Lecter had been invited by Nichiya to visit the Exceed settlement so they could learn to know their roots better. And if possible, they could meet their real parents.

"You don't seem lonely, Rogue-sama?"

"Well, just a bit." Rogue admitted.

"Have you and Sting-sama decided on going to the ball?" Yukino asked, glancing up at Rogue as she was reviewing the document in front of her.

"Not yet, we still don't have a partner to go with." Rogue curtly replied.

"I understand." Yukino went back to reviewing her paperwork, occasionally taking a bite of her lunch.

"Do you want to go?" Rogue asked.

"Eh? Well, it would be nice, I suppose." Yukino startled.

"Go with Sting, then. He's been wanting to ask you for the past few days." Rogue suggested nonchalantly, almost making it sound like an order.

"S-Sting-sama!? Why!?" Yukino stopped suddenly in the middle of her writing.

"I don't know either, but I guess he just wants to give you a good time. He's probably trying to do this to make up for everything that he did."

"B-but he doesn't have to. I don't have anything against him. I'm just happy to be back in the guild." Yukino protested, not wanting to make him feel a burden over something she already put behind in her past.

"Now that you mention it, why did you accept us? Why didn't you just go to Fairy Tail?" Rogue wondered.

"Well, the truth is, I've wanted to be in Sabertooth for as long as I can remember. So, I couldn't just abandon that part of me." Yukino revealed solemnly.

"But we hurt you."

"That doesn't matter, after what I heard about Gajeel-sama and what happened with Cobra-sama, I felt there were some things worth giving a second chance." Yukino smiled gently, thinking how the two dragon slayers gave her inspiration.

"Besides, in a sense, you were giving me a second chance as well, did you not? That's why I decided to repay that by giving this guild another chance."

Rogue's eyes widened. He had never thought for a moment that Yukino could be so forgiving. Sting's hard work was well worth the compassion she gave out. Rogue smiled. How lucky Sting was to have someone so compassionate and kind. If he was right, then Sting definitely had fallen for her.

"Well then, all the more reason for you to go with him. In case you haven't noticed, Sting's been the one paying your bills from his missions. I think he deserves a chance to prove himself that he can give you happiness. And if I know him, he'll do whatever it takes."

Rogue smiled and left, leaving Yukino to consider her options.

Yukino felt a bit dumbfounded by this revelation, she didn't know whether she should actually consider the option or not. But her thoughts went to Gajeel-sama as an example. When Master Makarov reached out his hand to him for a second chance at life, Gajeel had repaid that favor a hundred-fold. She even toyed with the idea that it must be a dragon slayer thing. Perhaps giving him a second chance would be worth it in the end.

The day to depart for Crocus had arrived. Fairy Tail's dragon slayers had gathered at the station with their respective partners, waiting to board the train at 01.30 p.m. The dragon slayers had blanched at the mere thought of it. The rest of the dragon slayers had envied the youngest of the group, Wendy for being completely immune to motion sickness. It just wasn't fair.

The girls certainly didn't seem to be too thrilled at the prospect of their partners puking all over the place. Wendy's Troia probably wouldn't last long enough until the ride was over, which took at least 4-5 hours of travel. Casting it on Natsu would just last for an hour anyway, since he was the most often casted on.

Makarov had to order the girls to bring puke bags for the trip. As soon as the train arrived, the Fairy Tail members hopped on aboard. Makarov had Romeo, Wendy and Charle to sit with him in another stable. He worried that Wendy might also start getting overwhelmed from the overbearing smell of puke with her sensitive nose. They certainly didn't need to add another sick dragon slayer anyways.

Wendy felt sorry for the boys. She could hear their moans and groans all the way from the other side.

The girls weren't faring much better either since they had to nurse the boys and help make them comfortable. Only problem was, the coach was starting to stink from the smell of puke from the bags, so they had to open the windows.

Gajeel and Natsu kept whimpering and shuffling on their respective partners' laps. Same went for Cobra. Laxus, on the other hand, opted to lie down at the bench across Mirajane's seat. He didn't think Mira's legs could support Laxus' hulking figure. Levy fed Gajeel some iron to ease the sickness a bit as Lily looked on in amusement at his partner's suffering. Meanwhile, Kinana went further by occasionally giving Cobra a passionate kiss laced with her poison. The girls (except for Mira) blushed like mad every time Cobra got his "meal." Kinana could now use Take Over, something she finally mastered during the invasion when she protected Laki from the dragonoids. When she and Laki were cornered, Laki made a distraction so Kinana could escape.

'Don't worry about me, just go!' Laki ordered as she faced against several dragonoids.

Of course, being a member of Fairy Tail she was, Kinana immediately returned to Laki's side after Laki told her to escape.

'I can't leave you here like this! I'm not going to run away! I'm a member of Fairy Tail as well!' she declared.

'Take Over: Serpent Soul!' Kinana chanted. With her newfound powers, Kinana instantly took down the dragonoids with ease as her poison easily melted away at the dragonoids' body.

Mirajane heartfully congratulated her achievement. But what surprised her was how Kinana mastered the more advanced transformations so quickly after that, such as partial transformations. She even went beyond Mira's expectations by being able to transform her own organs to the serpent's she took over. This, all the while maintaining her human appearance. Which is why she could always feed Cobra with her poison through his mouth by transforming an organ of hers into the poison pouch of a serpent monster. Makarov theorized that while she has mostly forgotten her time as a snake, an unconscious part in her brain remembers it, which is why she was able to master her advanced transformations so quickly.

Of course, her only drawback was that she had low stamina due to being new at the practice of magic, so she couldn't maintain her transformations for extended periods.

As the sun started to set down, Crocus' main train station could be seen within viewing distance. Fortunately, the damage from the invasion did not extend all the way to the station, which was an integral infrastructure for the capital.

"Natsu-nii, everyone, we're here." Romeo called out to the others.

Natsu groaned. "Finally, it's all over."

"Amen to that." Gajeel agreed.

As everyone got to the exit with their luggage in tow, they were greeted by a familiar man.

"Good evening, mages of Fairy Tail." Arcadios greeted with a bow.

"Ah, Arcadios. So you're our greeting committee?" Makarov asked.

"Yes, the King has tasked me to pick you up at the station." Arcadios confirmed.

"Well then, by all means."

Arcadios nodded and called out one of his men.

"Chris, I'll leave you to handle their luggage all right?"

"Yes sir!" The young man saluted.

"Please leave your belongings here. My men will load them up on the carts and take them to the palace." Arcadios beckoned to the guests.

Everyone dropped their luggage on the floor and let the men do as they were ordered.

"Now then, please board the carriages waiting outside. It will be a bit of a distance to the palace." Arcadios gestured to the exit where the beautifully crafted carriages waited. 'They must be the royal family's carriages.' Levy concluded.

"No way in hell! I'm not going on another goddamn vehicle again after those 5 hours of hell!" Gajeel protested.

"Same here." Cobra deadpanned.

"For once, I agree with Metal-face." Natsu replied.

"Double for me, too." Laxus raised his hand.

"Does this mean you'll walk all the way there?" Arcadios asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Why don't you guys just go with the Exceeds?" Levy suggested, looking back at the boys.

"Laxus can just travel with his Lightning, too." Lucy added.

"Good idea, Levy. I'll also carry an extra person with me." Lily said as he transformed into his battle mode.

"It's decided, then. The ladies will come with us while the gentlemen will follow with their flying partners." Arcadios concluded.

"Romeo here will come with us as well, as he doesn't have the same motion sickness as the others do." Makarov informed Arcadios.

"Very well."

The girls (and Romeo) hopped on the 3 carriages prepared with Makarov while the boys took off with their Exceeds. Lily carried both Cobra and Gajeel. Laxus travelled on his lightning, jumping between buildings. Laxus could only use his lightning to travel in short bursts of speed. However, it could cover great distances in a single leap.

"We're here." Arcadios said to Makarov as he peered out towards the palace garden. The carriages halted in front of the palace entrance. Just as the carriages halted, the boys landed in the garden as well at the same time.

Makarov shouted out to them, "C'mon, get moving, you slowpokes!" Makarov waved over to them. The boys obliged and picked up their pace, hurrying over to Makarov and the others.

Arcadios led the group in before turning to them in the middle of the hall,

"Please wait a moment, it won't take long." Arcadios said, before heading over to a soldier standing guard at a corner, speaking to him in a hushed manner.

After he was finished, he returned to the group.

"We're going to have our audience with the King right now. We should be summoned shortly." Arcadios informed the group.

A loud gurgle suddenly broke their conversation.

"Lucy… I'm hungry." Natsu whined.

Arcadios chuckled, while Lucy stomped on Natsu's bare toes. Natsu let out a small yelp.

"Shut it! We're going to be meeting the King, so behave!" Lucy let out an annoyed hiss.

"We'll get some food as soon as our meeting is over."

Wendy and Kinana giggled, while Levy gave Gajeel a 'you'd-better-behave-or-else' glare. Mirajane also gave off a chilling look underneath her smile to Natsu and Gajeel that all but clearly said 'you heard what they said, misbehave and I'll fuck you 20 ways to Sunday, understand?'

Makarov even gave a sidelong glance to warn them to be on their best behavior.

A door opened to the far left corner side of the hall where the Fairy Tail group waited. Four familiar faces popped out from behind.

"Yukino!" Lucy called out, happy to see her fellow celestial mage to be here as well. She dashed over to her.

"Lucy-sama!" Yukino brightened, delighted to see her friend as well and embraced her in a hug.

"I didn't expect you to come!" Lucy exclaimed, as she broke away from her.

"So am I! I didn't expect to see you as well!" Yukino replied.

"Sting and Rogue came too?"

"Of course, did you think I'd pass up a chance to beat Natsu-san and Gajeel-san?" Sting boisterously replied.

"It's not a battle, you know…." Lucy pointed out, as she sweated.

"Duh. Of course not. If I can't beat them on the field, might as well beat them in something else." Sting let out a grin.

"Don't look at me. Sting here dragged me all the way out here." Rogue quickly replied.

"While this is a momentous reunion for you two, we should be getting ourselves ready." Rufus cut in, reminding them of what they're doing.

"You're right." Lucy nodded, before dragging Yukino over to the rest of the group as Yukino's guild mates followed at a sedate pace.

Rufus greeted Makarov, giving a small bow to the Wizard Saint.

Makarov simply nodded and gestured him to stand by his side. As for the Exceeds, They chatted animatedly with each other, such as Lily asking about Lecter and Frosch's trip to the Exceed settlement.

Natsu, for his part, settled for glowering at Sting.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"What, didn't you remember? We're supposed to be the honored guests too, remember?" Sting replied as a matter-of-factly.

Natsu turned away from Sting.

"What, scared of facing the eventual winner?" Sting goaded.

"Hah! You think you can beat me!? Dream on!" Natsu shot back.

"Just you wait and see! I'm gonna wipe your ass off the floor!" Natsu pointed at Sting.

"Challenge accepted."

"Oi, Salamander! You've got the wrong guy to watch out for! I'm the one who's gonna wipe you two's asses! Gihii!" Gajeel glared, headbutting the two dragon slayers.

"Oh, wanna make something out of it, Gajeel?" Natsu provoked.

"BOYS."Mirajane warned, as her Satan aura started to fill the room, all the while maintaining her cheery attitude, although everyone clearly knew she was getting pissed.

The trio gulped. They knew Mirajane could be far more terrifying than any dragon if she really wanted to.

A guard opened a door that led to another room as a second guard trotted over to Arcadios to report.

"Ah, good." Arcadios replied, dismissing the soldier.

"The King is ready to see you now." Arcadios announced to the group behind him.

"Follow me." Arcadios beckoned, leading them off to the door that was just opened.

The group of mages followed suit and halted as Arcadios held up a hand to motion them to stop. He nodded to a guard beside the door. The guard nodded likewise.

"ANNOUNCING, HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS KING TOMA E. FIORE! AND HER ROYAL PRINCESS, HISUI E. FIORE!" The guard banged his spear just as the king emerged from the vestibule behind the royal seat with his daughter.

As the king took his seat with his daughter standing at his side, the king beckoned for the mages to come.

"Mages of Fairy Tail and Sabertooth, come forward."

Arcadios stepped forward, leading the mages in. As he reached the podium, he stood aside and kneeled. Makarov gestured his children to do the same, although some of them clearly had to be yanked down by their partners.

King Toma nodded. "Mages of Fairy Tail and Sabertooth, you have all fought valiantly against a great threat to mankind. Such courage truly cannot be measured by any sort of thing that exists within the world. Courage begets strength. All of you who have fought in the invasion opened a new tomorrow where mankind can live on. There is no doubt that you courageous mages are the strongest mages I have ever met. Rise now, please."

The group stood up. King Toma got up from his seat and stepped forward to the group of mages in front of him. Hisui followed suit as well.

This time, the royal family kneeled before the mages. "On behalf of the people of Fiore, I thank you. Words of thanks aren't even enough to express my gratitude. I cannot even begin to imagine how," Toma said, as he started sobbing. Hisui likewise shed a single tear of gratitude towards the mages in front of her. Even the guards in the room kneeled before them, following their king.

The group of mages were in awe of the king's humbleness. But they quickly composed themselves and gave the royal family a full blown smile.

Natsu began, "What are you saying, old man? We just fought to protect the people we cared about. You don't have to say thanks to us. Fighting to protect our loved ones is natural. There's no need for gratitude." Said Natsu as he grinned.

"Natsu!" Lucy scolded at Natsu's rudeness.

Natsu simply ignored her.

"He's right, Your Highness. You needn't to bow your head for something so natural." Makarov bent down to pat the king's shoulder, gently assuring him. Makarov grabbed his hand so he could stand up.

King Toma looked up at the mages, all giving off a warm glowing smile that assured the king gratitudes need not to be spoken. All that mattered for them was that they could live to see another day, and enjoy life with their loved ones.

"Yes, you're right." The king said as he stood up with his daughter, understanding what the mages meant. Living life to the fullest and protecting your loved ones is more important than anything. When something threatens those, it's natural to step up to the plate regardless of the risks.

The king wiped his tears away with his handkerchief that he took out from his coat.

Meanwhile, Hisui took notice that of the mages gathered, only 15 was present. An odd number.

"Excuse me, but isn't there an uneven number among you?" She asked.

"Well, my children already have partners of their own, so that leaves Sabertooth." Makarov said, glancing towards the guild members in question.

"I'm going with Yukino." Sting informed them. "It's Rogue here who's not interested in the dance." Sting said as he jerked a thumb towards his best friend.

"I'm sorry, I'm just not suited for this sort of thing." Rogue said as he nodded his head in apology to the king.

"That reminds me….. Gajeel-san, who's your partner?" Sting asked, turning to Gajeel.

Gajeel put his left arm over Levy's head and leaned on it. "She's right here." Gajeel smirked.

"Gajeel!" Levy shoved his arm away. She hated it when he did that.

"Gihi!"

"Hah! Told you so!" Sting turned towards Rogue with an 'in-your-face' expression.

Rogue simply smacked his face.

"Fine… I'll dance. But who am I going to go with? Got any bright ideas?" Rogue narrowed his eyes at Sting.

"I'll go." Hisui suddenly proclaimed. Everyone's heads snapped around to face the princess.

Rogue could only blink and gawk at the princess. He did not expect that. Especially after he found out about his future self from Natsu.

"W-wha!? What are you saying, have you gone mad!? I'm the one who played you around like a fiddle. I'm too dangerous to be around with you!" Rogue heavily protested.

"That was a different you. The you right now is different. And you know what you must do prevent yourself from falling into the darkness. Am I right?" Hisui calmly stated.

"But that doesn't change the fact I'm the one who did it! Why are you saying all this!?" Rogue said, trying to change her mind.

"Because I have faith in you." Hisui said with conviction in her voice and eyes.

"The flow of time has changed completely. Right now, we are heading towards a future yet to be determined. Meaning, that you may just very well not turn into that man I knew of. It's a gamble I'm willing to take on you."

Rogue was almost floored by those words. "B-but I don't… I don't even think…" Rogue stuttered, at a loss for words.

Sting sighed and smacked his friend with a White Dragon's Iron Fist.

"Stop blubbering and just get this over already! You got yourself a date, so deal with it!"

"B-but…." Rogue kept protesting.

"Look, she's not the only one who trusts you to take a different path. Isn't that right, Natsu-san?" Sting glanced at the fire dragon.

"Yup."

"Me, Rufus, Orga and Yukino… We're all behind you, man. You won't be 'him'. I guarantee it."

"Sting…. Thank you." Rogue said as he gave in. Sting simply grinned at his longtime best friend.

Hisui took out her hand and helped Rogue up to his feet.

"Now then, that's already out of the way, why don't we discuss tomorrow's events in detail? Follow me." Toma beckoned.

The king led the mages to another room. This time, it was an even larger room from before. Adorned with beautiful chandeliers and lush carpets with intricately sculpted walls, the room was fitted with a long table to the center and right. It was clear that this was the dining room.

But what really caught the mages' eye was the food on top of the table.

"Yahoo! Food!" Natsu and Sting's eyes lit up like two children in a festival and instantly made a beeline towards the long buffet table and grabbed whatever they could pile on their plates. Happy went straight to the biggest grilled fish on the table and tried to lift it for himself, but to no avail. Lily went to help him before he made a mess by transforming into his battle mode and lifted the plate for Happy.

"Careful, Happy. You're liable to make a mess here." Lily grabbed the plate the fish was on and took it over to the dining table for Happy.

"Oi, Salamander! That one was mine!" Gajeel barked as Natsu took the last piece of pork fillet on the buffet table.

"Finders keepers, losers weepers." Natsu replied in turn, grinning in victory.

"Why you…!"

"Guys, knock it off!" Levy and Lucy shouted in unison. The girls groaned. Couldn't they just go through one day without fighting? The two best friends then dragged them to their seats. With Gajeel's towering figure, Levy had to create a rope and lassoed him by his torso. Lucy likewise dragged Natsu by his scarf.

They made sure the two dragon slayers wouldn't be sitting near each other so they sat between the two. And just as they started to fight again, Cobra spoke up from Kinana's side.

"Natsu, Gajeel - you guys can go all-out if you want, but if you're sure, then I'll tell the girls what you guys are planning." Cobra threatened, knowing full well what they wanted to tell their respective partners. Natsu and Gajeel immediately clamped up, looking nervous as if their lives were hanging by a thread. The girls, on the other hand, became curious as to what their boys were up to.

Rufus and Makarov sat at the head of the table with the king, while Hisui sat between Mirajane and Kinana. Laxus took his seat at Mira's right side, between his grandfather and her. Yukino took her seat across Mira and sat between Rogue and Sting. Rogue sat across the princess, while Sting took a seat by Rufus' side.

Off to Rogue's side, sat Sabertooth's Exceeds. Fairy Tail's Exceeds took their seat off to Cobra's side. Charle sat on Wendy's lap between Lily and Romeo, while Happy sat beside Romeo, scarfing the giant fish he got from Lily halfway down.

Arcadios stood guard by the entrance.

"Ahem, shall I move on to the explanations for tomorrow, then?" The king began.

Everyone looked up at the king, some with their food still in their mouths.

"There will not be much in tomorrow's schedule, aside from the ball dance. But however, the dragon slayers will participate in a parade around the city in the afternoon. This is held so that the people of Fiore can have a glimpse at their heroes."

"After the announcement of the ball dance's winner, once the clock strikes midnight, there will be a fireworks festival. In other words, this will be an all-night festival." The king continued.

The girls seemed very pleased with the arrangement. The boys on the other hand, were completely indifferent and simply continued eating.

"A parade? That sounds fun! I can't wait!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Will we be accompanying our partners too?" Levy asked the king.

"Yes, if you wish." The king nodded.

The girls seemed ecstatic about participating in the parade. They couldn't wait for tomorrow to come now and started chatting in anticipation about it.

"Oh dear, I almost forgot. How long will the time gap be between the parade and dance? I hope we can have enough time to pick our dresses." Mirajane realized.

"The parade will begin at approximately 11.30 a.m. to around four. The ball dance will begin at 8 o'clock." The king explained, answering Mira's question.

"But there's no worries about what you're going to wear. We have that taken care of." He reassured.

"Oh, very well then."

As soon as dinner was done, the guests of honor started to leave for their rooms to retire for the night. They were led to their rooms by the guards assigned to them. The boys and girls were separated into two rooms. And arrangements were made to make sure that that there wouldn't be a fight in their bedroom by separating Natsu, Gajeel and Sting in separate beds far away from each other.

Makarov was given a room to himself.

The next day after having breakfast, the dragon slayers got themselves ready for the parade. There was much excitement for the event as the floats were being prepared.

As the final preparations were done, the dragon slayers hopped on their own floats. Natsu and Lucy took the front followed by the others. Sting and Rogue were on the same float as Yukino.

The parade was a festive event. Everywhere the dragon slayers went, they were greeted with cheers calling them heroes of Fiore. Every time they passed through people were in high spirits and jubilant.

Heroes.

It was a burden they fully realized, but were willing to take on regardless of anything. Deep in their minds, as Cobra can agree with everyone else, they swore that they would fight to protect their loved ones no matter what.

As the parade finished and they returned to the palace, the girls went to their rooms and took their bathing equipment to the large showering room to refresh themselves. The boys had a late lunch in the dining hall and quickly scarfed them down.

Two hours before the ball, the girls were led by Princess Hisui to the Royal Dressing room. Their jaws dropped when they saw the collection of dresses and gowns in the closets.

"These aren't all mine, actually. Some of them are hand-me-downs; some belong to relatives," Hisui explained. "Feel free to choose whatever you like." She smiled.

"Oh, and if you need any adjustments, Jean here can fix it right up for you. He's the best tailor in all of Fiore." Hisui nodded to the man behind her.

"You mean one of the best in Fiore, my lady." The man said modestly. "My older brother is on the other side helping the men with their suits."

As the girls tried on the dresses, Wendy was a bit troubled with her choice of dresses as she never really dressed up and did not know how to choose the right one for her.

"Is there something wrong, Wendy?" Lucy asked.

"Ah, Lucy-san! Actually, I don't know which dress to choose. They're all beautiful!"

"Hmm…. How about this one, Wendy?" Lucy took out a shoulder-less light blue dress with a small white bow on top of the chest area. The skirt was filled with white frilly fabrics folded between the blue ones. It was simple yet elegant enough for someone of Wendy's age.

"Do you really think so, Lucy-san?" Wendy asked her opinion.

"I think it would look good on you. It goes well with your hair." Lucy gave out her honest opinion.

"All right, thanks Lucy-san!" Wendy said as she took the dress from Lucy.

"Ah, I almost forgot." Lucy remembered, as she summoned Cancer.

"Yes, Lucy-sama?"

"Cancer, can you go help anybody who needs an updo? You could start with Wendy."

"At your command~ebi."

Cancer dismissed himself as Lucy went back to surveying the dresses.

As for the boys, they were also getting ready for the ball and were currently choosing their suits, although they got fussy whenever the suits they chose had the wrong measurement, meaning that they had to get their measurements taken. But the biggest problem was Gajeel, who was forced to gel his hair down. As expected, he was close to going on a rampage when Jonathan, their tailor and hairdresser suggested it. Luckily, Makarov had figured that this would happen, so he asked Jura to come that morning so he'd more or less babysit the dragons. A magically-focused palm was enough to knock Gajeel out.

The boys finished before the girls. The gala wouldn't start for thirty minutes, but some guests could be seen roaming the Grand Hall. Some they could see being from the guilds, such as Gray and Juvia, Macao and Wakaba, Cana and shockingly, Bacchus, as well as the rest of the other guilds. As the men entered, none of the girls seem to be ready yet.

"Tch. Figures we'd be here first." Gajeel groused.

"Yeah… Hope Lucy's not gonna take long." Natsu agreed.

"Say, what did you want to talk about with Bunny Girl?" Gajeel asked, remembering what Cobra said last night. Looks like he wasn't the only one with a secret.

"I'll tell you if you'll tell me." Natsu replied, wondering what Gajeel wanted to tell Levy as well.

And so, they shared with each other what they wanted to say to their partners, since both of them had the feeling they knew what the other wanted to say.

"Sigh… I can't believe it. You too?" Natsu said exasperatedly.

"Not like I have a choice. If we want a chance of beating Acnologia's ass, I need to do this."

"Can't be helped. Man, this is already killing me just thinking about it."

"Yer not the only one." Gajeel snorted.

Meanwhile, Sting and Rogue were having a conversation of their own as well.

"So, you too huh?" Sting asked.

"Yup, if we ever want to have a single chance of beating Acnologia, we have to do this. Not to mention that I need to control the darkness within me as well if I want to prevent myself from doing something I'll regret."

"Me too. After what happened at the Games, I know I need to get stronger too."

Laxus was greeted by the Raijinshuu as they tried to tease him. Laxus decided that it got a bit annoying, so he turned the tables around on Evergreen. Hopefully, that'd take the attention away from him.

Romeo hung around at his father's side.

A loud banging was heard as the guards announced the arrival of the king. Makarov and Rufus followed suit as well.

After another 30 minutes of waiting, the girls finally arrived. All those present at the hall turned to see the maidens entering the hall gracefully. Several whistles could be heard while Jason, who had exclusive access to the ball photographed the girls furiously.

As for the male dragon slayers, some of them could only gawk at them. Particularly, their partners.

Natsu's eyes widened like saucers when he caught sight of Lucy. She was wearing a frilly red dress with a backless top that slit down the middle held up by the neck. The best part was that her make-up wasn't overdone. She kept it as simple as it can be, putting on a red lipstick lightly with some thin eyeliner as a last touch. She also put her hair up in a small bun at the top of her head, and let two curled strands of hair frame her face.

He gulped. He had always thought Lucy was pretty cute, but only now he had realized that she was this beautiful.

"Hey, what are you standing there for? C'mon, let's get going!" Lucy grabbed Natsu's arm away.

"Whoa, hold on, Lucy!" Natsu called out.

For Gajeel's part, he let out a low whistle while Lily smirked at his partner. Maybe this would finally get that lunkhead to admit his feelings.

Levy was wearing a backless light green dress with inch-wide shoulder straps. This was accentuated with her gold earrings and a new yellow headband patterned with black flowers.

Kinana also donned a simple purple dress, to accentuate Cobra's theme.

Mira likewise chose a golden yellow dress and let her hair up like Jenny's. The yellow fabric went perfectly with her white ivory hair.

As for Romeo's reaction, he blushed like mad once he saw Wendy emerge from the entrance. Wendy let her hair down and tucked the right side of her hair back. She also wore a white headband with a little bow to the right. The girls gave her a light lip gloss to accentuate her lips. To top it off, she wore two small crystal earrings.

Romeo always thought of Wendy as nothing more than a friend. But seeing her like this for the first time made Romeo realize she looked really good. And cute nonetheless.

Yukino and Hisui approached their partners each wearing a violet dress with feathers sticking out on the arms for the former, and a white dress adorned with flower-shaped fabrics for the latter

As Arcadios banged his sword on the floor, he announced;

"Please settle down! The king will now say a few words."

"Good evening, everyone. For your valiant efforts in dispelling a threat to mankind, and for your bravery, I would like to humbly thank you all. To celebrate, we have decided to hold this ball in honor of the seven brave mages crucial to the battle."

"I now declare this ball to be open! Dragon Slayers, you may open the dance." The king announced.

As the king finished his little speech, the dragon slayers stepped forward once the music started flowing.

The music was slow and soothing. Lucy recognized it as a minuet. As they gently swayed, Lucy thought of that mission where they had to attend a ball like this. It was a good experience for Natsu, otherwise she would've ended up with stubbed toes by now.

She looked around at the other dragon slayer couples. They were all a pretty good match for each other. She was happy (and hoping) that they would most likely end up together in the future. And so, the guests and the dragons danced the night away while forgetting how much time has passed. They all had fun so much that it seemed they were without a care in the world.

By the time the clock reached 11.30, Most of the guests, including the dragon slayers, were all tired from the dancing and was content on waiting for the fireworks show to start.

Natsu and Lucy went out to the balcony outside the hall to get a better view of the fireworks later.

"Aaah… that was fun!" Lucy said, even though her legs were starting to give out.

"Yeah," Natsu leaned on the railing to look up at the sky.

Lucy took a seat on the small bench on the balcony hall. The night breeze was utterly soothing. As she took in the chilling, but calming air she noticed from the corner of her eye Natsu seemed to be deep in thought.

"Natsu, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing… it's just…." He sighed.

"!?"

"Lucy, I'm….. sorry. Truth is, I'm… going on a trip with Gildarts and Sting."

"Eh!?"

"Gildarts came by to Crocus when it was my turn to help with the rebuilding here. He offered me and Sting to go with him on one of the 50-year missions he tried to complete. He said that it would be good enough training to help us get stronger."

"What!?" Lucy gasped.

"And since this mission is an SS-rank mission, there's a good chance that I might not return."

"I'll come with you." Lucy cut in, daring him to stop her.

Natsu on the other hand, was unfazed.

"No."

"Why!?"

"Because I care about you." Natsu replied.

Lucy took on a shocked expression, feeling as if the oxygen was punched out from her.

"Look, I don't know why, but I just can't bear to let you in danger. Not if I can help it."

"Are you looking down on my abilities, Natsu!?"

"No, I'm not!" Natsu roared.

"Then tell me why I can't go with you!"

"Because… I LOVE YOU!" Natsu panted.

Lucy felt as if she ran into a wall she shouldn't have been going for.

"I love you, Luce…. That's why I want you to be as safe as possible. And I know you want to get stronger too, but this is too dangerous for you." Natsu continued.

"And that's not all, Metal-face there is also going to spy on Tartaros with Cobra. All of us are going away to get stronger somehow. Gajeel's thinking of searching for kinds of magic to get himself stronger. Tartaros' a good lead to start with." Natsu explained, knowing that her best friend would be devastated when she found out he's taking on another risky mission and she would want to be in the know before Gajeel got up and left.

"I'm really, really sorry Lucy." Natsu pleaded.

"Promise me you'll come back. Promise that we'll go on adventures forever!" Lucy said as she sobbed about her partner's goodbye.

"I will, I swear on it."

Natsu promised as he kissed her forehead. At the same moment, the fireworks went off.

"I'm glad I could share this moment with you before I go." Natsu said to Lucy while they looked at the fireworks going off in the night sky.

The guests in the Grand Hall were able to see the fireworks as well through the glass ceilings of the palace. As they took in the beautiful display, some would etch this in their memories because it would very well be their last memorable memories.

Author's notes: And that's a wrap! I plan to release an epilogue soon so keep an eye for it. Speaking of which... Big thanks to all my reviewers and followers. Your words and follow notifications has been the driiving reason for me to keep going. Thank you all! Remember, keep an eye out for the epilogue!