Survival of the Fairies Ch. 7: Save Our Souls

Well, it certainly has been a while for this story, hasn't it?

FORTUNATELY I WROTE AN OUTLINE FOR THIS CHAPTER AFTER I POSTED CHAPTER 6.

Good thing, because I totally had forgotten where I was going with it.

But, NEVER FEAR, the outline is here.

Let's start where we left off, hm?


"Minerva of Saber Tooth at your service." Her eyes were full of excitement as she held her blade against the scarlet haired woman's throat. The cool metal lightly scraped against her flesh causing a minuscule flow of crimson to stain the exposed skin beneath the iron blade.

Erza glared down at the offending tool furiously. A sword to her neck wasn't going to stop her from protecting her friends. She had faced far worse things in this life than some cocky woman with a shitty excuse for a sword. Without a second thought, Erza's arm swung out and knocked the sword away from her neck, cutting her arm in the process. She didn't care that her arm was bleeding. She needed to take her down. Minerva prepared to attack, but Erza was quicker and kicked her in the chest, sending her flying back out of the guild.

Sting lunged for his partner out of instinct, but Rogue's strong grip on his arm held him in position. Minerva was a strong woman and could hold her own against a fellow swordsman, Sting was well aware. Understanding that loss of focus wasn't an option, he turned away from his injured partner to deal with the opponents before him. His sapphire eyes locked on to a familiar cherry blossom pink. He had long admired Natsu, but he never really paid Sting any mind. Perhaps now was his chance to finally be seen by the one person who made him feel invisible.

Sting raised his sawed off shotgun into the air and aimed directly at Natsu. He was standing alone by the bar. Everyone else had engaged in combat around them, but Natsu hadn't moved a muscle. He wondered why he seemed so calm, like he was waiting. He still wasn't seeing him. How, with a gun pointed directly at him only 10 feet in front of him, how was Sting still so damn invisible?

A loud shot rang through the bar causing everyone to still. The shot had missed him. A sigh of relief threatened to escape Sting's lips as he realized no harm had come to Natsu. Sting didn't want to take Natsu's life, not at all. He just wanted to get his attention. This is a battle and if Sting has to play soldier until the King is overthrown, he will play with the best.

Sting's relief was soon replaced by confusion. Natsu still hadn't moved. It was as if he were a statue. Confusion morphed into anger not long after.

Sting charged at Natsu, which he expected. While Minerva had made her grand entrance with the other two, Lucy had slipped away from Natsu. He had told her that there was a high chance that Sting would come for him first, so Lucy took it upon herself to make sure this would be a simple fight. It wasn't as simple as she had thought, however.

Natsu never mentioned the possibility of Sting shooting at him. As he charged Natsu, Lucy followed close behind. She used another Saber member that was getting a rather unfortunate beer stein beat down by Cana as a launching point. Springing from the poor tiger's shoulders she launched herself onto Sting from behind. She pulled her whip against his neck, choking him. Sting flailed and tugged at her whip to no avail. Lucy's legs wrapped around him tightly as she tried to maintain her balance on his back. He stumbled and wobbled knocking her back into other people, friends and enemies alike, as well as slamming her into a couple of walls. He staggered over to the bar where he tried to slam her backwards into the counter, hoping she would lose her balance and release him. This plan backfired, however.

Slamming her backwards onto the counter put her in a laying position on her back. She tightened the whip around his neck and he was consequently unable to stand up. Everything was going black for him. He was losing and he could do nothing to save himself. In one last feeble attempt to break free, he rolled violently to the right. Unfortunately for Sting, Lucy was like an alligator with her prey and she simply rolled with him. He was now below her on the counter. She sat atop his back and tugged harder. He writhed beneath her for only a few seconds more before the dark consumed him entirely. She climbed down from the counter and smirked.

"One down... 50 more to go?" She shrugged as she looked around at all of the fighting around her. Fairy Tail was holding their own really well considering what Saber Tooth is known for. She wiped her brow and took in deep breaths. Taking him down had been a bit of a challenge for her and took far longer than she had thought. All around them the inside of the guild was swarmed. It was difficult to differentiate friend from foe in such a confined space. Things were flying everywhere and the noise was out of control. Lucy worried that the living wouldn't be the only threat in this fight.

She felt a hand rest on her shoulder and immediately grabbed hold with all her might. She pulled and bent forward, tossing her partner over her shoulder and into a group of brawlers, knocking them down like bowling pins. She heard his laugh and realized what she had done. He pulled himself up and smiled, giving her a high five once stabilized.

"Atta girl, Luce! We can take' em!" He laughed. Lucy nodded and smiled.

"Right!"


Around the corner, Yukino peeked her head out, watching the battle with sorrowful eyes from the basement door. Levy wasted no time and went right in for a fight, shocking Gajeel. She used her stealthy size to her advantage and weaved through the mess of swinging limbs and blunt objects as she made her way to her target. She had her sights set on one man and one man only. Lucy was dealing with Sting and Erza was taking on Minerva outside. Levy knew the three that came in first had to be the biggest threats aside from their master himself. If she was right, taking this guy out was top priority.

Gajeel lost sight of her in all the commotion and began to panic. He was supposed to have her back, but she was just so damn tiny. He plowed through the groups of fighters, tossing them aside like trash as he went, searching for his petite blunette partner. He spotted her just as she went in for the kill.

Rogue had pointed his gun at Lucy on the bar. Levy slid to his side from behind him and kicked her leg high in the air. As her leg came down it slammed onto his arm that was holding the gun. The gun clattered to the floor and she quickly kicked it away into the crowd. Gajeel grabbed the back of her black turtleneck and pulled her behind him.

"I'll take 'em on. Ya jus' watch my back, shorty." She nodded and grabbed a metal pipe that rolled across the floor. Gajeel landed a punch on him, sending him back. His back hit a juke box by the entrance of the bar. As he tried to steady himself, his hands hit a random set of buttons. A song began to blare out. Enemies by Shinedown ripped through the bar. Gajeel smiled wickedly at him.

"This' the song I'mma kick yer ass to. Remember it." Rogue looked back to the bar where Sting lay unconscious. He cursed under his breath as he dared a glance out of the open guild doors. Minerva was fighting Erza with everything she had, their swords clashing violently as they battled for dominance. When Rogue turned his attention back to Gajeel, he was already standing directly in from of him. Gajeel smirked cockily.

"Miss me?" His fist rammed into his gut before he could even process his words.

Rogue doubled over in pain, gagging. Gajeel circled him like a vulture, waiting for him to get back up. Rogue decided he could use this to his advantage. He rested on the ground, still curled in a ball despite the fact that the pain had mostly subsided. As he suspected, Gajeel went to tap him with his foot. Rogue grabbed his left foot and twisted, bringing Gajeel to the ground. Levy noticed instantly that Rogue had broken Gajeel's ankle. Wendy would need to treat him immediately. He couldn't possibly fight if he couldn't stand.

Rogue stood from the ground and went for Levy, but saw the familiar white hair from the corner of his eye. He lost focus and Levy took that opportunity to get her hands dirty. She gripped her metal pipe and swung with all her might, hitting Rogue in the jaw, knocking him back. She then grabbed a nearby bar stool and threw it at him with all the power her little body could muster. The bar stool made heavy full frontal impact knocking him to the ground. Gajeel stared wide eyed as Levy climbed onto his chest and raised a tiny fist in the air. She slammed a mean right hook into his jaw surprisingly hard enough to call lights out. Sitting on his chest still she giggled and clapped her hands, looking back at Gajeel with a terrifying twinkle in her eyes.

"I need to get you to Wendy. Now." She climbed off of the unconscious Rogue and stood behind Gajeel. She grabbed him from under both arms and huffed as she dragged him to the back room where Wendy knew to hide with the supplies. Gajeel was a big man, but she was glad it wasn't Elfman she was dragging. She would have never made it. Wendy winced at his ankle when she saw it.

"This is pretty bad... I think I am going to need to operate on it, Levy-san." She nodded and sighed.

"I figured as much." Gajeel began to sweat bullets and reached for Levy like a child reaching for its mother on the first day of pre-K.

"Oi! Yer not gunna jus' leave me here with a kid an' a knife!" He practically screamed. Wendy frowned and held up the tool he referred to as a knife.

"It's a scalpel, Gajeel-san." She corrected, insulted by his lack of faith in her skills. She couldn't blame him though. She was the youngest surgeon in existence at the moment. The only reason she could even perform surgery was because her science teacher, Porlyusica, had taken her when the outbreak hit and decided that teaching her survival medical and minor surgeries was a good idea in case she was killed and Wendy was left to fend for herself.

Porlyusica made sure that Wendy could survive on her own if she had no other choice. After finding Fairy Tail, Porlyusica's worries were laid to rest. No matter what happened, Wendy would never be alone.

"Same difference! It's pointy an' it's gunna hurt like a mother fucker." he argued vehemently.

Levy rolled her eyes and walked over to him. She knelt down to his level, which felt strange because it was usually the other way around. Feeling cocky, she patted his head. He narrowed his eyes at her as she spoke.

"You can't fight like this. Let Wendy do what she does best." Wendy smiled and nodded. Gajeel groaned deeply and rolled his eyes. Levy stood to her feet and began walking to the exit. Gajeel grabbed a wad of latex gloves and tossed them at her back.

"Where tha hell do ya think yer goin'? We're partners. If I'm outta tha fight, so're you. Get yer crazy ass back in here. Ya ain't kickin' ass or gettin' yer ass kicked without me." She stood in front of the door in silence. He really took their partnership seriously. It made her heart melt in her chest like a Popsicle in July.

"I'll stay."


"Gajeel and Levy are out, but the good news is that the Saber twins are down." Lucy shouted to Natsu as she throat punched one of her attackers. Natsu noticed Yukino staring at Rogue on the floor across the room. Some of the fighting had died down as more and more people were injured. There was now a clear view of the entrance from the back.

"Yo, Luce... Gray mentioned that Yukino chick had a partner in this guild, right?" Lucy dodged chains that had come flying at her and kicked the assailant in the groin. She nodded.

"Yeah. Why?" Natsu leaned back, avoiding a flying fist to the face. He grabbed the enemy's arm and twisted. A loud cry came from the man as Natsu shoved him to the ground and put a foot to his throat.

"Don't you fucking move." He growled at the man beneath him. A frantic nod was the only response.

His golden olive serpentine eyes found Lucy. A girl had run at her with an axe and much to Natsu's surprise, Lucy made a pretty risky move. With no fear for her limbs, she delivered a powerful kick to the girl's face, no doubt breaking her nose. The girl fell to the floor in a fit of agony.

Lucy whipped her head around to face Natsu, her long, golden hair swung through the air, restricted by a tight braid and black cloth that served as a decorative ribbon at the end. Like many things about Lucy, her fighting was weird, yet oddly charming. She had this thing about naming her moves as she did them. Her favorite and most commonly used was 'Lucy Kick'. At first Natsu thought it was silly, but now it was just part of Lucy and just as he had learned to love her, he also had come to love her quirks. Not that he could really talk...

"She keeps looking at sleeping beauty number two over there. I think he's her's." He tossed his head back in Rogue's direction. Lucy glanced to Yukino in the doorway and followed her line of sight. She realized that Natsu was right. Yukino looked very concerned for the guy. Lucy sighed and made her way to the unconscious form on the floor. Natsu cleared a path for her, knocking heads and taking out legs as they went. Lucy leaned down and grabbed the man behind his arms.

"Levy really did a number on this poor guy. Who knew? Haha." Lucy laughed breathily as she lugged the man across the floor. Natsu walked to the bar and hoisted Sting over his shoulder. Lucy cocked an eyebrow in confusion.

"Might as well lock up sunshine here with them, too. If he wakes up he'll just keep fighting. He's like that." Natsu rolled his eyes and adjusted the man over his shoulder, following after Lucy as Cana, Max and Laki held down the fort. Yukino reached greedily for Rogue as they approached. Tears covered her reddened face and her eyes were puffy and swollen.

"Grab his feet." Lucy groaned at her. She didn't want to be rude, the girl was sweet and all, but this guy was really fucking heavy. Dead weight is the worst.

She nodded and grabbed his legs as fast as she could make herself move. Together they hauled the guys down the basement steps and into the cell. Lucy laid Rogue on the floor gently and Yukino immediately crawled beside him, lifting his head to cradle it in her lap. Natsu dropped Sting onto the cot against the wall, his body landing with a loud 'BOOF' on the dusty furnishing. Lucy scowled at Natsu's lack of respect for their defeated enemies. He shrugged and turned to Yukino as Lucy exited the cell.

"Yo, Yukino. We gotta lock you in if ya wanna stay with 'em." He waved over his shoulder as he left the cell. It closed with a sharp click. The pair disappeared up the stairs, rejoining the battle.

Yukino didn't answer, she just kept her eyes on Rogue as she stroked his hair from his eyes, revealing the scar across his nose. She remembered the day he got it. He had faced up to Jiemma shortly after bringing Yukino to Saber Tooth. The first time Yukino refused to participate, the master had threatened her, tried to strike her even. Rogue had attacked him immediately. He lost, but after that Jiemma left her alone. She was punished for not participating in raids, but it was never anything she couldn't handle. His favorite punishment was leaving her out in the wilderness without supplies at night. She knew he was hoping that the dead would over power her, but they never did. Yukino always emerged victorious. As awful as this punishment was, it served as a useful training for her. She later came to learn that this was how he broke Minerva into compliance. She couldn't imagine having such an awful man as a father. He was bad enough as a master. Yukino smiled and rested her head back against the wall.

"Minerva-sama has a plan. Things will be better soon, Rogue-sama. I just know it."


Most of the attackers within the guild had been dealt with. They suffered no casualties as of yet, but a few had been seriously injured. Max and Laki were down having taken severe damage. Outside the sound of a machine gun could be heard. Cana laughed.

"Ye-he-heah! Fairy machine gun! Fuck em' up Ever!" she shouted. Lucy groaned and kicked a guy with his face half covered by a black bandanna square in the chest, knocking the wind out of him before she landed a heavy punch to his gut making him hit the floor.

"That's not exactly a good thing, Cana! Noise attracts the dead things!" Lucy shivered and tensed her shoulders as she scrunched her nose in disgust. Cana tossed her head back and smiled at the grossed out blonde.

"Maybe they'll do us a favor and chomp down on some of these fuckers." Cana swung an empty whisky bottle, nailing a guy with long blonde hair in the back of the head as he went after Laxus and Mira who were occupied with a larger man a few feet away.

Lucy sighed and grabbed a letter opener from the bar. A woman attacked her from the side. Without even a hint of hesitation, Lucy dug the letter opener into the woman's neck and grabbed her by the hair, slamming her head into the bar. The girl hit the ground with a thud. Lucy avoided looking down and stuck by Cana to help her fight. Cana didn't have a partner and since Natsu was busy taking out his own trash, she figured she would make herself useful and help out a bit.

Minerva was fighting well against Erza. Their blades scraped and slammed together as they ran at each other over and over. It was a desperate dance of power and neither were winning until something caught Minerva's attention. From the opening of the bar, Minerva saw Sting's lifeless body being carried away and for a moment suspected the worst for her partner. Forgetting her fight, she ran for him.

"Sting!" she screamed. Erza grabbed her by the back of the neck and shoved her down to the ground. Her knee pressed hard into her back as Erza tried to subdue the screaming woman.

Minerva stopped shouting and calmed herself. She wasn't one to lose herself like this. She was well known for her unreadable and cold nature. This outburst was shameful for her, but she wasn't sure of Sting's safety, which terrified her. She seemed harsh and emotionless on the outside, but that really wasn't the case at all.

"Please... We need your help." She growled, hating the words she spoke. Minerva was hoping to just let the plan sort itself out, but she didn't feel that was an option anymore.

She didn't want any deaths. Fighting was simply a show for her father to appease him, a ruse. It had been Minerva's idea all along to attack Fairy Tail. She had nothing against them, but she had heard many things about the guild from passersby. She had heard that they had numbers, good numbers. She also heard that they were quite the formidable opponents during their occasional run-ins with trouble making groups. She had been impressed by their reputation and hoped that perhaps they could solve her problem. Nobody in Saber Tooth was brave enough to take her father on. Rogue tried once and all he got was a permanent reminder of his failure. Minerva knew she couldn't attack her father. She couldn't even poison him. He didn't trust her enough to eat or drink anything she made. He knew she loathed him. Minerva couldn't simply ask him to attack Fairy Tail as it would make him suspicious. Instead, she played on his need for power. She talked up Fairy Tail and made them seem far more superior than they truly were. She knew he was familiar with Fairy Tail's master, but he hadn't spoken with him in a long while. Anything could happen in that expanse of time. An outside group with tenacity such as Fairy Tail may just be able to take him down. They lack the fear the members of Saber Tooth live with, which would give them an edge in battle against him.

"What... You were fighting me no more than a few seconds ago, but now that I have you down you want help?" Erza asked incredulously. Minerva breathed heavy, her breaths stirring up the dirt beneath her.

"Please. Yukino, she made it here? Right? Tell me Yukino made it!" Minerva shouted in concern, straining to look over her shoulder at the woman kneeling into her back. Recognizing the girl's name, Erza nodded slowly.

"Yes... Yukino is here..." Although Yukino had told Gray and Juvia what was going on, she hadn't told Erza. In hindsight, perhaps Yukino should have informed everyone about the plan to kill Jiemma rather than relying on two members who may or may not be up to the task. Minerva sighed with relief and relaxed into the dirt.

"Look, you don't have to believe me, but I hope you will. My father, Master Jiemma... We need him to be taken down. We can't do it alone." Erza stared down at the woman beneath her. She seemed to have given up on the fight entirely. Erza glanced around at their surroundings.

A few groups were still fighting in the parking lot but it seemed a lot were down. Elfman was shielding an injured Ever whose machine gun had run out of ammo. Cana and Lucy were duking it out with another team a little bit away and in the distance Erza saw Gray and Juvia attacking a rather large man. Erza removed her knee and lifted Minerva from the ground. She turned her to face where Gray and Juvia were fighting tooth and nail.

"That's your father?" Erza asked in a dull monotone. Minerva nodded. Erza cracked her neck and grabbed her sword.

"Dead or alive?" Her words were nonchalant like as if she were asking if Minerva preferred one lump of sugar or two in her tea.

"D…dead." Minerva mumbled. Just wounding him wouldn't change his ways. She knew her father had to die.

"Consider it done." And with that, Erza began walking towards the end of the battle.


Gray ran at full speed when he saw Jiemma in the distance. He was the last one to enter the parking lot, no doubt allowing his meat puppets to fight his insignificant battles. Juvia tailed him, ready to fight alongside him. Gray pulled out his knife and prepared to attack. Jiemma saw him coming, though. He dodged Gray's attack and tossed him aside like yesterday's garbage. Juvia knew not to hesitate no matter what. She cocked back her spiked bat and made it seem like she planned to strike his knees. When he went to defend the area, she instead landed a crucial blow to his side, the nails of her bat ripping into his flesh. Blood and skin adorned her bat once more. Just how many times had she cleaned it now? He gripped his bleeding side and hissed out a curse.

"You'll pay for that with your life." He threatened. Jiemma swung out his arm to strike Juvia, but Gray dove in front of her, taking the blow.

"Gray-sama!" She shouted. Gray wiped his mouth and stood to his feet, wobbling a little.

"Don't worry about me!" His bravery made her chest tingle. Jiemma lunged for the boy, no longer able to contain his rage after being injured so easily, by a young girl no less. Gray dodged his attack and slid behind him. His knife dug into Jiemma's back, but unfortunately not anywhere near any vital organs. He was injured, but he wasn't dying. Jiemma roared with fury and once again launched him back. Juvia was about to go in for another hit when he tossed Gray back, but someone beat her to it. Out of seemingly nowhere, a flash of white hair swung in front of her, landing a heavy blow to the back of Jiemma's head with a large piece of broken lumber.

"Personally, I prefer to use my pistol, but with your's and my brother's proximity to this brute, I couldn't risk it. Hope you don't mind my little visit." Lyon chucked the wood to the side and swiped his leg out in front of him, knocking Jiemma to the ground.

Juvia and Gray gaped at Lyon. When the hell did he even get there? Jiemma grunted and grabbed the boy's leg with a powerful grip and pulled, causing Lyon to slam onto his back, knocking the back of his head into the concrete of the parking lot. He began to see double when Jiemma rolled on top of his much smaller form. He wrapped a single hand around Lyon's throat and squeezed. Lyon gasped for air and clawed at Jiemma as he kicked his legs desperately trying to get free. Gray became filled with rage and plowed into Jiemma from the side, jamming his knife into his ribs. Jiemma released Lyon and hit the ground. Gray left his blade in Jiemma's ribs, opting to rearrange his face a bit. Jiemma didn't bother trying to protect his face, instead he pulled the knife from his ribs. Juvia knew what Jiemma planned to do within an instant and cocked her bat back at top speed. No matter how quick she was, in that moment he was faster. The knife jammed into Gray's right hip. He gasped in pain and was thrown from atop him. Jiemma lunged for Juvia and kicked her to the ground.

"So this is the all-powerful Fairy Tail? Did that rotten child dare lie to me?" His voice was low and ominous as he loomed over her.

She gritted her teeth in anger. Anger at this man, Saber Tooth, herself... She knew how to fight, so why was she in this position. She trembled with rage as the sting of incoming tears pricked at her sinuses. He reached for her head and placed the entire palm over her face. He squeezed mercilessly while Juvia screamed in pain. Gray and Lyon both scrambled to her aid, but stopped when they saw Erza leap into the air effortlessly with her sword in position to kill. As she landed behind Jiemma, her sword went straight through his back and out his chest, stabbing the gravel between Juvia's thighs. His hand fell from her face and he slumped against the ground in front of Juvia.

"I'll have my sword back now." Slowly she pushed into his back with her foot until her blade was fully removed from his lifeless body. She looked down to her sword and frowned. She hated taking lives, but she knew well of Jiemma's tyrannical rule over Saber Tooth. He was a wicked man long before this new world order began. Death was the only ticket to freedom for Saber Tooth.

Minerva gaped at the scene with teary eyes. Her father hitting the ground, lifeless, was an answered prayer. Erza looked over her shoulder to where Minerva was standing. Behind her a few lesser injured Saber Tooth members stood silently watching. Erza smiled softly and raised her sword in the air.

"You have your freedom!" She shouted to them. The members behind Minerva erupted in cheers. Their voices filled Minerva's heart with hope, a hope she hadn't felt in a long time. Her tears flowed freely when she heard the voice she wanted to hear most behind her.

"What now, Milady?" She spun around to face him. Both he and Rogue were being held up by Yukino. She stumbled forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing into his shoulder.

"He's... Gone!" She cried. The members gathered around her and bowed.

"Master Minerva, what would you have us do?" one spoke up. Minerva's eyes widened and she shook her head. She didn't want to be the Master. She didn't want to be where her father once was, but she knew someone fit to lead.

"No. I am no Master to you. Sting will take over, Saber Tooth will be as it should have always been. A family for those without."

Sting was a bit childish at times and had a tendency to sometimes take on more than he could handle, but she knew this was exactly the right choice. She knew Sting's heart and that was the kind of heart this guild needed if they were going to make it out here. This world has gone to the dogs, but there is still hope for the future and with Sting as their new guild master, the future was looking a little brighter.

"Milady... I don't th-" She smiled and pressed a finger to his lips.

"Are you questioning my judgement?" she challenged. He shook his head in response.

"I have faith you will lead us well." She assured him.

Juvia and Erza helped Gray and Lyon walk to the group. Erza placed a hand delicately on Minerva's shoulder. She smiled at the woman who granted her freedom.

"Thank you. It means more than you know." The scarlet haired swordswoman patted her shoulder and continued to help Juvia cart the boys off. As they passed, Yukino whispered a 'thank you' to the pair that had helped her. Juvia smiled and nodded. Gray felt bad for not being the one to finish Jiemma off, but as long as the bastard was dead details were merely details he guessed.

He was proud of Juvia for getting her hit in. She did some real damage, but he wished he had gotten more action. One might say he got too much with his current condition, but he highly doubted being tossed around like a rag doll constituted as action. At least not action to be proud of. He was proud though, regardless. He protected Juvia and his brother when they needed him and that was something he hadn't done before. Juvia had been saving him from day one, but now that he thought about it, this was the first time he had ever managed to protect her from harm. It felt pretty damn good. His body would disagree, though.

"A REAL MAN CLEANS UP HIS MESS!" Elfman shouted at the Saber Tooth members that were still able to stand. They all stared at him wide eyed and fearful. Minerva winced and looked off to the side shamefully. Yukino smiled halfheartedly and patted her shoulder. Evergreen swatted him with a stick.

"Quit yelling, meat head!" He frowned and crossed his arms.

"I'M NOT A MEAT HEAD. I'M A MAN. YOU STOP YELLING FIRST, WOMAN!" He argued. Lucy laughed nervously and looked to the sky.

"It's getting dark. If the dead didn't find us earlier, they're about to." She sighed and looked back to Cana. Natsu was standing beside her handing her a bottle of beer.

Pretty much the only runs Cana made were booze runs. She would go out on group missions and bring in as much booze as she could carry from various places. Houses, businesses, didn't matter. If there was booze, she'd find it. Makarov had no objections. What's a bar without booze? A bad one, that's what. Besides, in this hell-hole, booze was a life saver. Literally. Pain relief, sanitation of wounds... Cana's old friend Vodka has you covered. Cana took a well-deserved swig of the beer and smiled.

"Fuck it. I say let 'em. Ol' fireball here has been dyin' to bust out his new toy for weeks." She nudged the now maniacally grinning Natsu. Lucy widened her eyes and shook her head slowly.

"Oh, God no... NO." His grin only stretched wider and he nodded.

"Oh, HELL YEAH." He laughed and ran inside the guild. Lucy ran after him with her arms in the air.

"Natsu! There aren't any rotters near here yet!" He smiled and looked back at her over his shoulder as he ran, jumping over the unconscious as he went.

"It's always good to be prepared, right, Luce?! Hahahahaha!" She groaned at his attempt at a 'responsible adult' excuse. As she ran after him to try to persuade him from breaking out his new dangerous toy he acquired on their last mission before Juvia and Gajeel came along, Elfman and Evergreen had come to an agreement and began cleaning up all of the debris.

The able bodied Saber Members began gathering the unconscious and bringing them into the bar. Erza nudged Jiemma with her foot and crossed her arms. Sting and Minerva approached from behind.

"Minerva. He is your father. What would you have me do with his body?" She asked without turning around. Minerva stepped away from Sting and stood beside Erza. She looked down to the man she once called 'father' with nothing but disdain and overwhelming joy.

"Leave him for the night walkers. Let there be nothing left." She spat on his corpse and turned on her heel, returning to her partner. Erza closed her eyes and nodded.

"As you wish." She turned and joined them on their walk back to the bar.


Gajeel was fast asleep in the back room. Wendy had managed to fix him up quite nicely. During the surgery he nursed a bottle of Jack like it was his lifeline. Wendy informed Levy he may be a bit sick when he woke up and gave her a bottle of pain killers. She warned her to monitor his intake. Last thing they needed was for him to accidentally become addicted. Levy agreed that he would never have the pills to himself. She was always with him anyhow. There was no need for him to be alone with them. If he needed anything she would be there. Wendy tended to the other injured. Fortunately none needed surgery. Some stitches and bandaging, but no surgery. She had her work cut out for her. Levy told her she would bandage if she stitched. Wendy agreed.

Night fell upon the guild quickly. They could hear the broken screeching of metal fence scraping concrete and knew the army of rotting meat sacks had arrived. After all the noise they made today it was inevitable. Natsu jumped behind the bar and pulled on his new favorite accessory. Juvia narrowed her eyes at him from across the room and crossed her arms over her chest.

"The lighter and Hairspray was bad enough, Natsu-san. Now you really will burn everything down!" She scolded. Lucy sighed and tossed her head back.

"Heaven take me now..." She whined. Mira giggled beside Natsu and shrugged.

"It has been a bit nippy out." She reasoned. Lucy gawked at her, wondering why she was surprised that she was humoring him. That's just how Mira was. Too kind for her own good.

Juvia rolled her eyes and lay back on the table she was sitting on. On the table beside her, Gray and Lyon were chatting quietly among themselves. She smiled at the pair as they were lost in their own little world. It must have been so nice to learn that he was alive all this time and found himself a safe guild to call home. Juvia looked around for Gajeel and became worried when she didn't see him. Levy was bandaging up Ever's ribs a few feet away.

"Levy-san... Where is Gajeel-kun? Is he alright?" She stopped bandaging and froze. She had completely forgotten to inform Juvia of his injury. She must have been so worried when she couldn't find him. She nodded and continued bandaging.

"Yeah…he's fine. His, uh…ankle was broken pretty badly. Wendy had to perform surgery on him. Screws." She winced at the last bit, feeling sorry for her partner. She knew he would not be happy about sitting out for such a long time. He was bound to get antsy. Juvia's eyes widened momentarily before becoming sinister slits.

"Who broke his ankle?" She growled as her navy eyes scanned the room. Levy's eyes flitted to where Rogue and Yukino were sitting. Juvia followed her gaze and locked on to her target once she found it.

"Yukino-san's partner. Juvia sees." She would have given him an unpleasant parting gift for his actions, but he was Yukino's partner. She just wouldn't do it. Her anger faded and she took a seat beside Levy.

Natsu was already heading outside to greet the stench hoard. Lucy followed after him and readied her whip. They found multitudes of them surrounding the fence and climbing over the broken gate. Natsu laughed and prepared to fire. Just his luck that he would come across a flame thrower.

"Get ready to taste Igneel's flames, bastards!" And with that he unleashed a hellfire that Satan himself couldn't control. He created a barrier of fire between the dead and the guild. One by one they walked into the fire and fell victim to its destructive nature. Lucy lowered her whip and frowned.

"You didn't save me any." She pouted. He smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they watched them burn.

"Next time, Luigi." She smiled. That was the first name he called her when they met. He had forgotten her name as soon as she said it. He called her Luigi for a straight week. It used to annoy her, but now it was a fond memory.

"Yeah. Next time."

"What happened to you?" Gray asked Lyon. He chuckled and shook his head as he looked to the floor.

"Really, Gray? You wandered off and you are asking me what happened?" Gray frowned. He was right. In all the panic, Gray had separated from him. Everything was happening so fast and there was so much screaming and turmoil. The city handled the outbreak with as much grace as a Chihuahua on stilts. It was just too much for him. He ran and hid. He thought Lyon had followed him, but he hadn't. An entire year passed and the whole time, both thought the other had died.

"Yeah... Right. I'm... ah... I'm sorry." Lyon nodded and patted his shoulder.

"You're here now. And alive! That's all that matters. To answer your question... I searched for you. Weeks went by and nothing. So, I traveled west and found Lamia Scale. Been there ever since. I take it your experience was similar?" Gray felt a guilty jab in his gut. Weeks. Lyon had searched for him for weeks. Gray searched for Lyon as well, but gave up after only a single week. He had come to accept that those close to him simply didn't live. It was no surprise that Lyon would be the same. When he found him at the gas station he wanted to bring him back to Fairy Tail, but he knew that Lyon had found a family in his absence. Perhaps it was for the best.

"Yeah. Something like that... I'm glad you're back. Thanks... for the help." He peeked at Lyon out of the corner of his eye from under a thin curtain of messy dark hair. Lyon smiled at him and nodded.

"I wasn't planning to fight, but I didn't travel all this way to sit back and watch my brother be beaten to death." Gray frowned. Okay, so Jiemma was a tough bastard, but did he have to say it like that?

"Yeah, yeah." He rolled his eyes and carefully shifted his position. Wendy had just stitched him up a half hour ago. It stung like a bitch. Lyon placed an ice pack against the back of his head and sighed.

"So, she accepted your partnership." He observed. Gray's eyes found Juvia talking to Levy a bit away. He nodded.

"Yeah. She did. But, we're just friends right now. Taking it slow." Lyon laughed.

"So old fashioned." He teased. Gray shoved him gently.

"Shut up." Lyon watched Juvia for a minute and sighed.

"Lucky man." Gray's eyes narrowed and he flicked Lyon's ear.

"Quit checking her out. Pervert." He laughed and shook his head.

"I would never!" Gray rolled his eyes.

"Tell that to the "Winter Babes" Special I found under your mattress." Lyon squawked like a strangled chicken.

"THAT WAS 3 YEARS AGO, ASSHOLE." Gray smirked and shrugged.

"Still happened." Lyon crossed his arms and looked out the window. Flames were everywhere.

"THE LOT IS ON FIRE!" He screeched. The saber members all gathered at the windows to watch. The Fairies simply carried about their business. Gray shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. That's just Natsu." Lyon blinked at his reaction. All that fire... Just Natsu... Totally normal. What the hell is this guild?


Later that night, all of the Saber members bunked with the Fairies, including a single Lamia member. Lyon insisted on staying in Gray and Juvia's room, but there was the matter of sleeping arrangements.

"You can sleep on my cot, I'll take the floor." Gray offered. Lyon told him that he couldn't possibly, but Juvia got irritated with their constant back and forth that was quickly escalating into a fist fight. She practically shoved Lyon down onto Gray's cot. That settled that. When Lyon had fallen asleep, Gray lay awake in the dark on the floor beside his cot. He noticed Juvia's arm hanging off of her cot and decided to use it as an excuse to see if she was awake.

He crawled over to her and gently placed her hand back onto her cot. She sighed in her sleep and rolled to face him, but she was fast asleep. He smiled and nodded to himself. Of course she was asleep.

"I think I like you... more than before... And I ... I wanna protect you." He whispered to her. She didn't wake up, but somehow he felt his words reached her.

On his cot, Lyon smiled into the dark. He was glad that his brother had found someone worth surviving for. His little secret confession tugged Lyon's heartstrings. It reminded him of when they were younger and Lyon was being bullied. Gray wasn't always the bravest, but when he found something worth fighting for, he protected it fiercely. Gray had protected Lyon that day and when he asked him why, his exact words were "You're my brother now. I wanna protect you." Lyon closed his eyes and rolled to face the wall.

'Goodnight, Gray.'


The next morning they said goodbye to the members of Saber Tooth. They had a few hours journey to get back to the Saber Hotel/ Casino. Jiemma was a pretty big fish before everything went down. The Saber Tooth digs were pretty ritzy. Once they all departed to start a new life without their previous dictator, Juvia turned to Gray and grabbed his hand. He stared down at her hand in his nervously. Seeing his reaction, Juvia pulled her hand back.

"Oh, sorry, Gray-sama. Juvia was just excited to tell you... She is ready to get her mark." Gray scratched the back of his head awkwardly and stammered.

"R-right. Yeah. Just uh... Ask Laxus. He'll take care of you." She smiled and waved at him excitedly as she ran off to find Laxus. Lyon leaned against the door frame and smirked.

"Taking it slow, huh?" Gray groaned and tossed a piece of wadded up paper at him.

"What do you want Lyon?" He chuckled and shrugged.

"Nothing." He gave Gray a small salute before disappearing into the hall. Gray leaned against the wall and slid down until he was sitting. So many emotions he was feeling. His brother was back, the battle was won, Juvia was safe... Alive. If Erza hadn't swooped in when she did, there is no telling what Jiemma would have done to Juvia. He made a mental note to thank her later. Things were looking up. The world was still hell on Earthland, but even so, things didn't seem so bad now. Gray chuckled quietly to himself.

'Maybe it's just my imagination.'


AUTHORS NOTE:

I FINALLY FINISHED IT!

FINALLY!

NOW I WILL SLEEP FOR A VERY, VERY LONG TIME.

Next chapter will feature JERZA.

THAT'S RIGHT. I'M BRINGING IN JELLYBAE.

Next chapter update should be for either One of Us or The Sea Fairies.

Whichever one I am in the mood for I guess.

Hope you like it!