...I hate it. DISCLAIMER:

I do NOT own Fairy Tail!

BTW, I'm back! After not updating in forever...and not being able to update again until June... Sorry... School got in the way. Luckily, I'm a high schooler now!

Another BTW, I was planning on making the chapter longer, but all the recent Fairy Tail chapters are not helping me or motivating me whatsoever. Sorry if this chapter is kinda all over the place. Plus I might be posting a redo of chapters 535 and 536. Don't quote me on that.


After setting sights on their former master and somewhat of a father after almost two hundred years, he is suddenly need to be the savior again to these three poor children, "Cosimo-San," Rogue mumbled under his breath. He was confused why he was this far away from Stella, but he was still relieved to see him.

"Gajeel-Dono, Rogue-Dono, Lucy-Dono," the old man gave us three a cheeky grin. His smile was true. This astonished the young boy. Seeing the elder smile like that was something new. He thought if the old man smiled any bigger, he would cry. He gripped the cloth of his grandfather's clothing as a way to signal him. Cosimo looked at him with that same wide smile. He could even see a tear near his left eye, "Shu-Chan, could please let down the net?"

A request from his grandfather was something he couldn't refuse and that's what he did. He ran over a tree where the rope was located. After cutting the rope with a pocketknife he keeps on him, he signaled, "Okay, it's coming down Cosimo-Ojji!" Lucy fell to the ground with a sore bottom and yell.

Gajeel went to help Lucy out of the bushes while Rogue went to talk to Cosimo, "Cosimo-San, I sure you know why we've returned," Rogue 'greeted' Cosimo. The old man chuckled at Rogue's greeting. It was pathetic, but it was just like he remember the siblings. Lucy being as sweet and sarcastic as always. Rogue being colder than ice and having an uneasy feeling about him. And Gajeel, who was the same smiling, fight, cocky idiot that wants to do nothing but eat, iron of course.

"You kids haven't changed a bit," he settled down his chuckled with Rogue sweat dropping at his teacher. He's still the old geezer he knew. He sighed. Nostalgia clouded his head. He remember all those times when he thought things were hopeless and they were rejected by everyone. The only one that could even look their way was Cosimo and he became their caretaker. Magic sensei, educator, and just a father figure.

"Gajeel! You're pulling my leg off!" Lucy whined in the background. Lucy was still stuck in the bush and the only thing that stuck out was her pale calf with her foot attached. Gajeel was pulling her foot to try and get her out. Soon the grandson, Shu, joined Gajeel in trying to get the brunette out. Im sure you can figure out how that disaster went. Rogue ended up yelling at them for being stupid and pulling the bush out of the ground. Lucy spent the last hour picking thorns out of her flesh.

"Sensei-Chan, may I ask you why you are all the way out here?" Lucy asked, suspiciously. She rose her eyebrow, as she waited for an answer.

To the elder man, it seemed like a hundred years before he spoke to the children, well to him. Just to delay his reasoning, he cleared his throat with an "Ahem..." he paused, "Years, no centuries ago, after you children went off on your own, when Stella was still a radiant country and matched its name fairly well, there was a protest going on in the kingdom. I thought nothing of it, thinking it would go away after a decade or two. But that wasn't the case." Cosimo paused again. He looked down at the child next to him. There was innocence in the eyes of the youngling and Cosimo just wanted to cover up the boy's ears, fearing that this story will violate that innocence, "Shu-Chan, how about you go and play near the cottage, don't worry nothing's going to get you there."

Shu's childish orbs gazed up at the old man and the vividity of his deep violet stands shining added to the small boy, "Cosimo-Ojii? I want to stay here with you. And there's no one in the cottage right now," the crimson eyes of Lucy gazed at the boy with pity. Those sweet, sad, and pure words shaved down the shell of her. She could tell the little boy have seen some horrible things in his short life. Horrible things that no person must see.

Cosimo sighed with reluctants, letting the little boy have his way. Yet, Shu's wish being granted didn't bring any joy to his round and childish, yet mature face, "I served as the Head Priest for Stella, acting as a judge and a minister. I preached about how pleasant magic was to this world and spoke nothing of the horrors of it. And that was my fault. Wizards and mages were seen as divine beings for a time, at least before the knowings of Zeref, Acnologia, and the Books of Zeref were founded. When people of this country heard of the dangers of those evil beings from countries like the Pergrande Kingdom and Fiore, they began to mistrust magic," Cosimo's eyes dulled a bit as his pupil's dilated from the tragedy, "Then a protest against mages was born. Mages were killed by the citizens again and again and again. I was targeted many times for execution by my former followers. Since the Royal Family were wizards, they were executed. Well all except for one," Cosimo looked down at Shu again with eyes of pity.

"This child's real name is Abel z'n Stella, fifth son of His Majesty Louis-Phillipe z'n Stella VI and youngest his siblings. I originally fled with his elder sister, but..." all three of them could tell she was either killed or captured from the look of Cosimo and Shu.

"Gajeel, Rogue..., I..." Lucy began to mumble.

Gajeel's instant answer was, "Nope, not gonna happen."

Lucy's rebutted, "But what these people are going through is partly our fault!" she didn't think before she yelled, but she continued on anyway, "Magic has been used for horrible things over the last few centuries. The Dragon War. The Alvarez Massacre. The Dragon King Festival. And Zeref's Rising. The Tartaros War. And Tenrou Island. And so many more tragedies so many more have suffered because of it. But this slaughter of mages in Stella, those mages have nothing to do with those events. And all three of was there at least once or twice. There's no need for more to die!"

"Lucy!" Rogue intervened, "Have you thought about your own condition?! Sooner or Later you are going to become that girl you was back then. And you know damn well that it's most likely going to be sooner! These lives you want to save! What if in the middle of 'helping' these people you end up killing them? We do want you to live, but if you try to help them, we're going to have to kill you!" Rogue scolded her.

Lucy started to tremble and her head started to swell. Inside her consciousness there was a voice whisper, no yelling, "Kill them! Kill them all! They're in your way right? All you gotta do is kill them all!" she knew that voice so well that her sanity was commencing to destroy itself.

She fought for her sanity and somehow won the battle, but the war was far from over.

"I am going. Kill me if you want." there she stormed off into the forest.

Rogue face palmed at the girl's stubbornness, "I swear, sometimes I feel like just literally ending her live," as he mumbled his annoyances, he lifted his finger in the direction where Lucy ran and a miniature black shadow shot from his finger.

"Still as caring as ever, I see," Cosimo reminiscenced over the days where he was the caretaker of the three in front of him. A small smile creep upon his old visage.


The Next Day:

"Dammit, where the hell is that Icy Bastard! We need to get moving!" Natsu shouted loudly, lighting his fist into flames, "I'm gonna kill him!" today was the day that the team Mistress Mavis assigned to chase after the trio of siblings would be dispatched. Erza, the team leader, along with Natsu, Wendy, Levy, and Warden were waiting at the train station for the last of the group, Gray.

Ignoring Natsu, Wendy went to Levy and asked, "Levy-San, about that book you showed us yesterday," she gained Levy's attention a moment after, seeming to be in deep thought, "W-Who do you think is Lucy-San, Gajeel-San, and Rogue-San father?" Wendy mumbled, barely loud enough for Levy to hear her.

Levy looked at Wendy as a small child who couldn't fend for herself half the time. She remembered when Wendy first walked into the guild hall. Levy had so many emotions having a twelve year old walk into a guild that wasn't safe at all to be in there. Fairy Tail has made so many enemies over the years, that it was difficult to know when someone was going to attack. Thoughts were going through her mind that she shouldn't even be here. But... She has done so much that it was almost a crime to look down on her like this, "Wendy, I'm not sure..." Levy couldn't finish her sentence. There was a lump in her mouth that blocked her reply.

"Levy-San, I know you're sad about Gajeel-San and Lucy-San going away, but isn't that a reason to fight to get them back?" Levy's eyes widened a bit from the girl's reassurance. She never thought of the situation like that, "And you're going to need our help to do it right? You know you can't do this on your own. So please, Levy-San tell us. Lean on us. And ask us for help if necessary. We're your friends, right? And that's what friends are for." Levy's orbs sank down to the determined visage of the small blunette.

Levy felt like her reason to fight was establish in her conscience and was standing strong. These emotions conflicting inside her broke down her trust and love for her best friend and the one she loved. Levy tried to her sadness and previous feelings of distrust in, but had to let them out. In a desperate attempt to keep her feelings inside, she clung to Wendy in a tight embrace, silently tearing up a little.

Wendy's lips maneuvered into a smile grin and kind eyes. Wendy place a hand on Levy's back and feathered her hand upon back. Levy twitched at the touch, but didn't let go. She sobbed more with another vain attempt to stop herself.

After about a minute of their embrace, Natsu called, "Levy! Wendy! The train is here!"

Levy pulled herself back. Wendy gazed at the older girl's face. Plastered with dry tears, messy mascara, shiny, narrow, hazel eyes, and sweet smile. Levy wiped away the remaining tears with her right index finger and blinked a couple of times, "Thanks, Wendy, you helped me a lot. I guess you're not the same girl you used to be." Levy's smile widened.

Wendy, with her trademark face of resolution, she replied, "I'm not weak anymore. I've fought beside all of you and tried my hardest. Sure, there were times where I was powerless, but there was times I was powerful. Besides I'm fifteen now." with that, they walked to the train to aboard it.

"What took you two so long?" Natsu furrowed his eyebrows with confusion and a bit of annoyance, "If you took a second longer, Erza would of blown my head off... or maybe slice it off..." the pinkette tried to imitate how Erza would of caused his death with a sword made of nothing except harmless air. Levy and Wendy continued on the train, ignoring Natsu's idiocy.

And this is the guy that's supposed to lead us to Gajeel and Lucy? Levy mentally asked herself, "H-hey!" Natsu soon caught up with the two and they took their seats.

The train was silent. Nothing was said. Nothing need to be said. They were on a mission to judge their fellow guildmates. They were on a mission to decide if their fellow guildmates are to be kill or not. They are on a mission. A mission should be done at its fullest potential without doubt. Yet, they doubt if this mission is even justifiable. They doubt if one will be more lenient or strict with the three. People who love them are on this mission. People fought aside them are on this mission. People who know they must save the world are on this mission. People who are not willing to make a choice are on this mission.