Sooo... in light of the past few chapters, I PROMISE that I won't have any cliffhangers in this chapter.

No, this is where the battles get infinitely more epic, where the... well, I guess you'll just have to see. :P

Reviews:

To LightandDarkHeart: Fortunately for you, said cliffhangers will be resolved this chapter. Also, thank you. I (semi-)pride myself on the comedy I put into these chapters. In addition, one more tidbit: Rondo form is an actual musical style- where the chorus of a song is repeated, with a verse in between: ABACA. Just a little bit of information.

To Monkey D. Bully (Guest): Wow. I get all the interesting guest names. However, if you intend to bully monkeys, do it elsewhere. I must ask, though: on a scale of One to Natsu, how "fired up" are you for this chapter?

... Alright, now let's roll!

Chapter 8: Battle Hymn in F Major, Final Movement

...

Johann looked distractedly at the group assembled in front of him. "I assume you're here to try and stop me or something?"

Gray glared at him. "Don't act like you're on top of the world or anything, you jerk."

Johann smirked. "Well, I suppose Mira or Makarov could tell you just about why I'm the guild master of one of the most powerful dark guilds out there... but first, let me explain what I can do. Who wants to be the first to witness my abilities?"

Makarov retorted, "No one wants to see whatever you have to offer!"

Mira glared right at him. "Stop fighting us and just go back to prison, uncle!"

Johann laughed lightly at her comment. "As if you can stop me. You're the one that's most susceptible to my tricks, or have you forgotten?"

Mira stepped back, embarrassed, as Johann continued. "The reason people call me the "Shadow Mantra" is because I can enslave practically anyone's mind to join my cause... and I taught Exeron everything he knows."

Lucy was aghast. "What sort of magic can do that?"

Johann put on a creepy expression. "Inverse Takeover Magic... an excellent asset for a perverted soul like mine."

All the girls immediately shied away from him (except for Juvia, who clung even closer to Gray).

Johann paused for a second, then blushed as he called out, "That's not what I meant! Perverted means twisted or corrupted! It doesn't have to mean having a sexual inclination..."

He sighed. "Stupid connotation..." he mumbled.

Solana looked at him. "Then how was I able to break your magic so easily?"

Johann finally notice her and his mouth curved into an angry grimace. "You! I'll have you know that you're the one who prevented my easy victory. If I had Makarov, you all would have been crushed."

Makarov grinned. "Can't cast Dark Fairy Law without me, huh?"

A tick mark appeared on Johann's head. "Don't anger me as such!"

He then turned to Juvia, all anger transmuted into an evil grin. "I guess you'll be on my side first... I can sense a dark jealousy and resentment building inside of you for all the times that anyone else has interacted with 'your Gray-sama.' " He used air quotes on the last part. The water mage was stunned. "H... How did you know that about me?"

Johann chuckled. "A magician never reveals his secrets. Now, if you'll excuse me... Inverse Takeover Magic - Opressor Soul!"

A dark blast of energy flew straight at Juvia, who only looked on fearfully. However, at the last second, Gray pushed her out of the way, at the same time being overtaken by the darkness.

"Gray!" Lucy yelled.

"No, Gray-sama!" Juvia yelled, in tears.

Gray was immediately overtaken by the dark aura. The next time he looked up, his eyes were entirely covered in black energy and his entire body radiated a black aura. Gray grinned evilly. "Time for you all to meet with the cold fangs of destiny!"

Gray flipped back beside Johann as he called out, " Dark Ice Make - Razor Shuriken!" Dark, razor-sharp blades of ice rained down on the group of Fairy Tail members.

Solana, feeling a little more than upset, yelled, "Sun Magic - Solar Flare!" A gigantic arc of fire blasted from a magic circle in front of her that melted each of the ice blades.

Johann glared at Solana as the rest of the Fairy Tail group moved back from his sharp gaze.

"You are beginning to get on my nerves, girl."

Solana grinned. "I get that a lot."

...

"This is impossible! There's no way he could be this strong!" Natsu thought as he witnessed Exeron simultaneously pushing back Gajeel, Elfman, and his own attacks, all whlle retaining the barrier around him.

Exeron smirked. "Aww... is this all the power that Fairy Tail has to offer? I expected more from you!"

He punched the floor, and a magic circle appeared all around the barrier. "Black Lightning Avatar's Secret Art - Voltic Maelstrom!"

The floor of the dome was instantly overtaken with a powerful electric charge. Everyone within the wall was hit by the attack. Barely anyone could stand after the attack had gone through. Exeron was panting lightly, but grinned at his handiwork.

"So far, this has been to easy. Where is Laxus or Mystogan? Perhaps they'd be more of a challenge..."

"You have other problems to worry about now!"

Exeron turned his head at the voice disengagedly before his eyes widened. There was Erza, in her Lightning Empress armor, but it was now completely colored blue.

Exeron looked strangely at the scene. "Out of all the manly, capable men that could have survived the brunt of my onslaught, the beautiful woman survives." He put his head in his hands, sighing. "Fairy Tail continues to simultaneously follow and repeal gender stereotypes..."

Erza glared at him. "My armor has now been changed - it can absorb even your lightning!"

Exeron's eyes widened. "That... that is impossible. Only one place I know had the ability to make constantly evolving armor..."

His expression turned dark. "Those fools at Heart Kreuz have given you this?"

Erza smiled. "But of course..."

Exeron turned his head to the side. "No matter... I will still be the one to destroy you in the end..."

He rushed her, both of his fists sparking. "Black Lightning Avatar's Shocking Fist!"

When he punched, she used her staff to block the attack. Exeron threw an electricity-infused kick, but Erza flipped backwards.

"We're evenly matched now," Erza commented.

Exeron's eyes grew cloudy. "Oh, I doubt that. I invoke the true force of Aqua Cloud!"

Erza struggled as her mind felt like a thousand swords had pierced it, all at once. She fell to the floor as a light blue color began to fill her iris. Exeron laughed at the red-haired mage's misfortune before being silenced by a, "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"

Exeron groaned as he dropped to one knee as Erza looked up at Natsu in awe. "Natsu..."

The fire dragon slayer was more than upset at this guy. "When you mess with me, you're going to get burned... that's for sure. But when you mess with my nakama..."

It felt as if flames were radiating off of him as he continued, "Then you have hell to pay!"

Exeron glowered at his opponent. "You're not supposed to be able to stand after my attacks, let alone fight me!"

Erza smiled as she nodded to her teammate. "Natsu has a way of doing the impossible, no matter the odds."

Exeron transformed into lightning and jumped at Natsu, only to receive a punch in the face. Natsu smirked as Exeron staggered backwards.

"Prepare for a world of pain."

Erza nodded before requipping into her Fire Empress armor. "Let's see if this will help you!"

As she shot a blast of flame at the Spirit Slayer, he effortlessly dodged by jumping to the side. "Useless... isn't i-"

He stopped, his mouth agape, as Natsu swallowed all the flames that Erza had created. "Thanks for the meal! Now I have a fire in my belly!"

Exeron abruptly closed his mouth, sighing. "So I guess that means I'm not the only one with a strange palate..."

Natsu rushed Exeron with a Fire Dragon Iron Fist while Exeron charged a Black Lightning Avatar's Shocking Fist. Both Slayers yelled as their attacks met, causing a gigantic explosion that threw Erza and the others back. On the brink of losing consciousness, Erza thought, "Best of luck... my nakama..."

...

A groan in an open field next to the rubble of an icy cage.

"I swear, the next time I cast that spell will be the end of me..."

Amadeus looked to his side and was about to grab his baton before-

"Damn... that's right. I don't have that right now."

He looked at his silver Fairy Tail guild mark, on his right wrist, smiling sadly. "I remember when I got this... just a little before the mission, in silver like my baton."

Amadeus sighed. "Wasn't there something that Grandpa taught me whenever my baton was away? It was some musical spell..."

He began pacing back and forth with renewed vigor around the remains of the icy cage and his unconscious friend. "Crescendissimo? No, it was shorter... Sforzando a me?"

He was instantly blasted by a stream of his own musical notes, sending him careening into the air, cursing all the while.

He rubbed is head, annoyed, as he hit the ground with a resounding thud. "I really need to brush up on my Italian..."

He got up and paced once again, groaning in frustration. "Faire de la musique? Nope... that's the wrong language!"

He facepalmed at his error. "And I just said Italian! Either I'm supposed to be acting as comic relief for this chapter or that last fall banged up my head real horribly."

Amadeus continued pacing, repeating different combinations of Italian before he paused mid-step. "Wait... it had to do with some kind of musical notation... rubato poco a poco! Diminuendo largo. Grandioso..."

He sat down, his head in his hands. "Screw this... I feel so freakin' useless without my baton!"

"You're not useless, M-music Teacher..."

Amadeus shot up, to see a barely conscious Sonza grinning up at him. The music mage breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness you're okay..."

Sonza smirked timidly. "S-so... what was that random Italian blasting yourself into the air?"

A tick mark appeared on his head. "How long have you been awake, exactly?!"

Immediately, he shied away, putting his head in his hands. "I-I don't know... I felt like I was in some sort of dream where I attacked you and threw your baton away..."

Amadeus looked away for a second. "That wasn't a nightmare- it was reality."

A shocked, guilty expression overtook Sonza's face. "It... I- I did..."

Amadeus nodded. "Yup..."

Sonza looked down in fear. "I... I'm sorry... you have no idea... I-I'll face any punishment. "

To his surprise, Amadeus began to laugh. Slightly upset at his partner's seeming illogical response, he yelled, "What's so funny?!"

Amadeus sighed. "You weren't yourself. I obviously forgive you..."

Sonza interjected, "But your baton-"

Amadeus closed one hand in front of him, and Sonza immediately quieted down.

"It's alright. I'm trying to remember a spell that can retrieve it." Amadeus took a meditative stance. "It was something about a musical notation."

Sonza stared off into the distance in confusion. "Like a sign?"

The word seemed to trigger something in Amadeus. His eyebrows knotted in effort as he repeated it over and over again. "Sign... sign... that's it!"

He jumped up with a smile and held one hand out. "Composer Magic - Dal Segno al Fine!"

A musical symbol in an S-shape with a line through it crossways and two dots on either side of the cross (like a railroad crossing sign) appeared in the air as Amadeus smirked.

"Any second now..."

...

Natsu and Exeron continued to duke it out, matching each other strike for strike.

"Heh... you make a tough opponent, thunder guy." Natsu remarked with a toothy grin.

Exeron growled at him infuriated. "With this much power, how are you still on the good side? You could probably rule the world, if you wanted!"

Natsu shook his head. "I don't need ruling power or anything like that. If I were king, I wouldn't get to see much of all of my family in Fairy Tail."

Exeron was flabbergasted and tried for a "Black Lightning Avatar's Sparking Javelin!" However, Natsu met Exeron's head with his own two hands, restraining the Spirit Slayer.

"When Igneel left, Fairy Tail became my new family, and I'm never going to desert them!"

Natsu threw Exeron backwards, where he landed in the grass. The dark barrier dissipated, and his aura returned to an electric blue.

Natsu began to walk away until Exeron's eyes flashed open. He called out, "Lightning Spirit's Fusion Bolt!" Both of his hands, one sparking blue and the other yellow, fused to create an orb of sickeningly green electricity that blasted at the Fire Dragon Slayer. Natsu was unable to react, but paused as a wall of white-and-black energy blocked the energy bolt.

Exeron scowled. "I thought I dispatched you a while ago..."

Amadeus, who was once again holding his baton, grinned at his new opponent. "You can't take down a music mage until his song comes to an end."

Natsu merely shrugged. "Eh, whatever. Good to see ya, though."

Amadeus nodded. "Likewise."

Exeron stamped his foot on the ground, upset. "Alright, I've had enough of this stupid fighting!"

The Spirit Slayer held a hand out to both of them, and they immediately found themselves unable to move.

Exeron continued, "I'm sick of actually using my powers to fight. The avatar who trained me, Master Sprakkle, informed me that my powers will become tainted and fail me if I use them in combat for too long."

He shrugged. "That's why I'm usually sent out to take some people by storm and return them to our guild."

Natsu was mindboggled. "Why are you telling us all this?" he managed to struggle out.

Exeron kicked Natsu in the gut and sent him careening into another tree.

"Are you complaining?"

"No," Amadeus recovered. "The villain should always be allowed to gloat..." "Before he falls," the music mage inwardly completed.

Exeron nodded. "Every person you've seen from this guild... Varion, Terraneous, Solgad... even Sonza, at one point... is my doing. I am the tool of the Shadow Mantra, and the greatest Lightning mage in all of Fiore!"

There was a long, drawn-out pause before Natsu cursed, "Damn it! This would be where Laxus would have shown himself, if he was going to show at all."

Amadeus shrugged. "He's probably working on a job request, just like we were going to."

...

The blonde-haired lightning mage beckoned to the waitress. "Another round."

The waitress nodded frantically before rushing towards the back kitchen.

Bixlow stuck his tongue out at her as she walked away. "Looks like they're scared out of their minds!"

"Minds! Minds!" His "babies" repeated enthusiastically.

Evergreen was frustrated, elitist that she was. "I swear, if she gives me another evil glare I'm going to kill her!"

As the waitress returned, shakily carrying their tray, Freed, silent throughout the conversation, asked, "Why don't we just all calm down and enjoy our drinks?"

Evergreen nodded as they all took a cup. "To the Thunder God Tribe!"

Laxus grudgingly raised his glass as the others cheered. The scene panned out slightly to reveal all other patrons to the restaurant zapped and unconscious in a corner, a rune barrier surrounding them.

...

Exeron shrugged. "In any case, you're useless!"

Amadeus laughed. "I wouldn't count us out yet..."

Exeron glared at him, asking, And why would I do-"

He was zapped by a bolt of musical energy from Amadeus' baton, instantly paralyzed.

Amadeus grinned. "Conductor Magic - Terminus."

Exeron groaned. "Great... we're all stuck now."

Natsu gave a frustated cry. "Oh great..."

Amadeus' expression took on an embarrassed tone. "I guess I didn't think this one through."

Natsu retorted, "No duh, Music Box."

Exeron rolled his eyes. "Why must I be left with these two buffoons?"

...

Solana and Gray were still duking it out, dark ice meeting sunfire like never been seen before. Even Juvia was unsure who to root for in this bout.

"Come on, Solana! You got this!" Lucy encouraged.

Solana smiled. "Hey, what have I got to lose?"

She dodged another volley of Dark Ice Make - Knuckle and fired back a Sun Magic - Corona Burst! Both Gray and Johann had to shield their eyes from the insane brilliance of the light, and Solana took the opportunity to charge in and roundhouse kick both of them.

"Never look at the sun directly," she playfully chided as they were both knocked back to the ground. "You could go blind."

Cana grinned. "I swear, if we get out of this alive, I'm making her join Fairy Tail."

Makarov gave a wise grin. "We may not need to force her into anything... hopefully, she will join us of her own volition."

Johann glared at her. "Fine! You force me to use my secret weapon!"

His control over Gray shattered as he fired a dark beam of energy at Mira. Ultimate Inverse Takeover Magic - Archlord's Soul!"

However, Solana blocked the spell with her own Sun Magic - Convergent Barrier. Nine orbs of light orbited around Mira, forming a barrier and reflecting the beam off into the distance.

Johann scowled. "Fine. You want to play rough, so will I."

His body began to glow black and distorted as he screamed at the top of his voice, "Takeover Magic - Abomination Soul!"

Mira nearly screamed as painful memories returned to her.

This... this was the demon that had haunted her more than any of those whose souls she had called upon.

This was the black sheep of their family - the true abomination.

When the transformation was complete, Johann resembled a twelve-foot, obsidian golem with spines protruding from everywhere. He had sharp claws and teeth that gnashed and foamed. Even his eyes took on a sickening yellow color.

Lucy regarded the new development with nothing but the finest of disgust. "That's the insane amount of power you have?"

Johann chuckled. "Indeed... now, arise, my slave!"

Mira screamed out in panic as she was overtaken by dark energy, not even fazed by any of the shields Solana had for her.

"Mira!" Everyone screamed. But, it was too late- the damage had been done. Mira's hair had turned entirely black, and her dress was now a dark silver. She had talons on each hand, with gigantic, black dove wings, completing the image of a demon.

Johann chuckled. "I have complete control over her in this form. I can make her kill her nakama... won't that be a sight?"

Solana was having a hard time keeping her cheerful demeanor. "Don't speak like that! She... she can't hurt us... right?" she timidly inquired.

Johann laughed. "Foolish girl! Witness the true power of my slave!"

Johann motioned with his hand and Mira swooped down at supersonic speed, slashing Jet and Droy with her talons before flipping in midair and carrying them up into the air.

Levy panicked. "Jet! Droy!"

Lucy angrily screamed, "Let them down now!"

Johann shrugged. "If you insist..."

He nodded and Mira let them go, hurtling towards the ground.

Though Solana turned away too fast to see both boys being caught by a gigantic hand (courtesy of Makarov), Solana glared angrily at the evil mastermind.

"I've had enough!" She shouted, an outburst that startled even the guild masters.

"You can't make people your puppets - the whole point of humanity is to have free will. We make choices, whether good or bad, and determine our own fate through the consequences that await us. No matter where you go on this green earth, you'll find people living with their own choices... and you, you monster, are stripping their humanity away from them."

Her voice was filled with malice. "You sicken me... I'm going to eliminate you."

She began to obtain a black-and-white, spotted aura around her, and her hands pulsed with a similar-colored energy. Her eyes switched around - the irises were a blazing red while the pupils were a stark white.

"You take Mira," Solana instructed the remaining Fairy Tail members.

"The monster is all mine," Solana's rage-filled face met Johann's unreadable air of cockiness.

Juvia frowned. "But how are we supposed to hurt one of our own?" Juvia lamented.

Makarov smiled. "We don't need to knock Mira out- just stall her long enough that Solana will finish off the guild master."

Cana couldn't help but feel concerned for the young girl. "But Master... are you sure she can?"

Makarov grinned. "Of course she can! I can tell that she's a girl you don't want to mess with... without facing dire consequences."

Everyone focused on the upcoming battle, Mira staring emotionlessly at her opponents.

(I want to stop this battle but I can't! There's nowhere else to go! So let's finish this, once and for all!)

Lucy called out, "Open, gate of the Lion! Loke!"

The orange-haired spirit smirked as he entered the battlefield. "I see we have a fight on our hands, Princess. Perhaps afterwards, we can finally go on a date!"

Lucy blushed, embarrassed and frustrated. "Just stall her, Loke!"

Loke's eyes met Mira's emotionless ones and he nodded. "I shall do as you say, Princess."

Levy nodded, her Solid Script-writing pen at the ready.

Without warning, Mira dove down towards them, her talons at the ready.

Loke dashed towards the falling Takeover Mage, his fist glowing in golden energy. He jumped into the air to meet Mira, and they exchanged several punches before Loke was slashed by one of her talons and sent to the ground. He struggled to recover as Mira dove in for the kill. Lucy, true to her ideals, grabbed one of Mira's hands with her whip.

"You stay away from my friend!"

Levy grinned. "Solid Script - Chain!" Three silver chains appeared from the symbol, circling Mira until she was restrained, unable to move.

Juvia nodded, glaring menacingly at Lucy. "I'll take it from here, Love Rival."

Lucy sweatdropped. "Why do you keep calling me that?"

She put Mira in a Water Lock, keeping her from moving further. Mira struggled against the chains, unable to breathe, as Makarov looked on sadly.

"I'm sorry, my child, but this is for your own good..."

Mira's eyes took on a black aura as her face twisted in anger at those words. She opened her hands as a black tornado of energy surrounded her, moving further and further out until the water lock and chains exploded, sending everyone flying backwards (Lucy's whip was miraculously intact).

Mira moved closer to the Master, who shied away nervously. "Now, Mira, don't be insensitive..."

She immediately teleported up to the master and grabbed his neck, choking him as she called, "Insensitive? You're the insensitive one!"

As Makarov gagged, she continued, "Forcing me to leave the guild, just because I have no power?"

She threw him backwards. Makarov struggled to regain his breath, panting heavily as Mira edged closer.

"She's under an illusionary takeover magic... that's one of the most twisted things I've ever seen..."

Lucy struggled to get to her feet, Loke already having vanished at the attack.

"Mira... don't do this..."

The eldest Strauss sibling glared at the takeover mage. "You, always happy-go-lucky, not even stopping to think of everything I had to go through! You guys give me absolutely nothing for what I do!"

She formed a black orb of energy in her hands and blasted Lucy, throwing her back, covered in a black, icy substance, frozen in unconsciousness.

Makarov was in shock as Mira only gave a sick grin. "Oh, don't worry. She'll be able to move... in about a week."

Makarov was the only one still standing, cringing as he realized the danger of a possessed, disillusioned former S-class mage.

"I hope Solana's almost finished..."

...

The sun mage grimaced, numerous slashes from the obsidian demon slowly leaking blood.

"I hope that Juvia and the others are holding Mira back O.K.. I'm almost out of magic energy, but I can tell the demon is weakening."

Johann roared at the sun mage and spoke, his voice gravelly and broken. "Gi-give up now, or you shall su-su-su-suffer!"

Solana's eyes narrowed, determined. "I can take all these attacks, but I hate fighting a broken record."

Johann appeared to get upset at this, before firing off a barrage of obsidian spikes from his back. I grimaced, as those were the cause of my lacerations.

"Here goes nothing... Eclipse Magic - Into the Void."

Every one of the spike missiles disappeared into a black-and-white portal, appearing behind him and striking him in the backside. The guild master roared in what I hope was pain.

"You-you'll never defeat me!" the beast roared.

Solana panted, exhausted from their long battle.

"Wrong," she finally added. "Though I'm not inclined to fight, I have the power inside of me to turn whatever you have for me against you. Face it - you are who you are because of jealousy and a greedy desire for power.

"Now, I hope I'm not wrong when I say this, but I think Mira was exposed to your dark powers when you first used them, right? She was barely a year old, and she already leaned towards darkness."

Johann dashed up to Solana and punched her in the face with a spike-covered fist. The sun mage landed flat on the ground several feet away, sliding a little before she groaned.

"That... will make me sore for at least a week."

Johann's glare at the girl returned. "How-how did you know that?"

Solana sighed. "Call it a curse. Whenever I use my Eclipse Magic, it triggers my Galaxy's Eye Magic, which allows me to sense residual traces of magic and how recent they were. Call it instinct."

Johann opened his mouth before a black burst of energy caught Solana off-guard, sending her flying back yet again.

"You-you will not win this!"

Solana grinned. "I'm afraid that I already have."

She then began to glow, her entire body radiating her Eclipse aura.

"I'm going to use all of my magic energy left to break you and make sure you never harm Mira or anyone else of Fairy Tail again!"

Johann's armor glowed black as a dark barrier formed around it. "We-we'll see about that."

Solana's hair turned half-black, half-white as she grinned. "Eclipse Magic - Dark Quetzalcoatl's Dazzling Surge!"

She opened her arms and a gigantic, black-and-white-spotted creature that resembled a dragon, but with a long, flowing crest appeared from the small girl. Johann was awestruck at the display of magic energy.

"So-so much power..."

Solana screamed as her Quetzalcoatl avatar lunged at the golem, tearing through the shield it had created and wrapping around the golem.

"Can-can't move!"

Solana then nodded silently, her eyes closing as the Quetzalcoatl exploded in a blinding flash of white-and-black light.

Solana crumpled backwards to the ground as the guildmaster was shot, unconscious, out of the rubble of his destroyed transformation.

...

Mira charged up a dark breath attack at Makarov, who had accepted his fate, before suddenly blinking. Her hair and dress returned to their natural shades and her talons and wings disappeared altogether. Mira struggled to keep her balance for a second before she sighed.

"So... it's over?"

Makarov grinned. "Yes, my child... it is."

...

Lahar and the rune knights were there moments later, taking the remaining six Shadow Mantra members into custody of the Magic Council. Exeron still blubbered mentally about how horrible it was to be kept locked up with imbeciles, Terraneous getting upset at his "non-awesome" remark. Johann found himself unable to use Abomination Soul any longer, completely destroyed from Solana's impressive attack.

Lucy had unfrozen when Johann was defeated, and all the others slowly regained consciousness. It was a bit rough to get Natsu and Amadeus un-paralyzed, but Solana was able to use her Solar Orbit spell to remove the paralysis, even though she was exhausted and pretty much out of magic energy.

As the group from Fairy Tail regrouped from their insanely long fight, Solana struggled to keep her footing, being helped by Sonza and Levy. Makarov smiled at the young sun mage.

"So, the hero of the day is finally awake."

Solana giggled. "Please. I just did my best to help my friends."

Lucy held up her hand, which had her pink Fairy Tail guild mark, and smiled. "Friends? Why not make us your family?"

Solana was overwhelmed with emotion, tears already glistening form her eyes as they all smiled back at her.

"I would love nothing more." She answered. The others cheered at the sun mage's decision.

"So, you know the way back, Gramps?" Natsu asked.

He was met with an embarrassed shrug. "Well, actually, I-"

Mira nodded. "I can show you guys the way back."

Fairy Tail's strongest slowly began to walk back towards Magnolia, into the distant sunset.

...

What? I promised no cliffhangers, and all I could think of was a cliche ending. Plz dn't h8 me br0s.

...

Anyways, I hope you all liked this last chapter. I'm sorry it took so long to write, but I like the final product. :)

However, I'm not sure where to go from here. The way I see it, I have 3 options:

A) Rush back straight into the canon with the Fighting Festival Arc,

B) Move into another, original arc as the Fighting Festival goes on in the background,

or C) Just write a couple filler chapters for fun.

(I'm eventually going to do all of them, with the exception of option B; in which the case the Fighting Festival is moved to the background since it's another Lightning fight. This is just a general poll of what I should do next.)

Feel free to choose one of these options, as well as give me feedback on the chapter, through a review. They motivate me to write these chapters faster! (hopefully with a quicker response time than this one... *sheepishly chuckles*)

FOR THE RECORD: I know my characters must seem overpowered. That's why, if we move to the Fighting Festival, I'm probably going to restrict Solana's Eclipse Form and Amadeus' Rondo Form, or at least keep them from their ultimate "avatar" attacks. Those things are seriously broken, and I'm only going to bring them out when they're needed. (The previous paragraph might be anticipating an argument that isn't there, but again; general notices, everyone).

Well, that's about it for now. I hope y'all enjoyed it, and I'll take the next step depending on your decision.

So, until next time, my friends,

-E.D.