I do not own Fairy Tail


They were badly devastated.

The fight against Black Soul may have started off decently, but even though it was four against one (Ryos refused to let Detox anywhere near the dragon and the Sabertooth slayers insisted that Alida was safer with him), there was little to no chance of winning.

The monster was obviously powerful. Within five minutes of the raid, he had smashed Lutz into the ground. In a desperate attempt to protect his best friend, Onyx took the next hit and was sent head-first into the wall. That only left Ryos and March. Between the two of them, they had served some pretty bad blows onto the dragon's legs and the iron dragon slayer made sure to bolt it's mouth closed.

Things took a turn for the worst when it swiped Ryos into a nearby bolder. Much like the shadow dragon slayer had done earlier, March jumped in front of him and used her sky dragon roar to fend it off for at least a minute.

It didn't work.

Unimpressed by her feeble attempts, Black Soul picked her up by her foot and held her to his eye level. Since he couldn't open his mouth anymore, he simply dropped her from a three story height and onto the ground.

It had only been seven minutes, and Ryos was the only one left conscious. It made him wonder exactly how powerful this Master Provum was. If he had been able to control a dragon, he must hold immense power. If they couldn't defeat his dragon, how were they going to take down Clone Wyvern?

Nashi could. In a last minute decision, he had decided to leave her behind so that she would have another chance. She would have to be the one to defeat Clone Wyvern and avenge them. To think that she had lasted longer in her battle with the dragon without getting scratched than they did while bloody and unconscious, he knew that she had a chance.

Ryos clenched his jaw and brought himself back onto his feet, gripping the rock for support. He had to defeat the dragon. He tuned out the sound of Alida's sobbing and turned back for one last look at his best friend; Detox was trying to hold back his own tears and begging him not to go through with this. They both knew there was no turning back, especially at a time like this, but that didn't stop him from pleaing.

Even though he was aware of the gruesome fate that awaited him, he gave the violet haired boy one last grin and held up the Fairy Tail sign with his fingers. No matter where you are, I will always look out for you.

The boy nodded tearfully and responded with the same gesture.

Ryos felt his smile slip into a grimace when he faced Black Soul again," I know you don't intend to let any of us live, but I have a score to settle with your master. Remember this name; Ryos Redfox. Make sure to tell Pravum that he will be haunted by that name until he is on his deathbed, because as soon as he dies, I'm dragging him down into hell with me!" He turned his hand into an iron chainsaw," This is for destroying my childhood!"

The 19 year old lunged at the dragon, successfully slicing it's leg. That was the only win he achieved, though, because the beast stomped him into the ground much more vigorously than he had with Lutz. Black Soul leered as he started to squish him onto the ground like a grape. His body screamed in agony, but couldn't respond. He was pinned down and left out of options.

"Ryos!" Detox cried. The dragon slayer wearily looked to the side, curious to why the hell his friend sounded so relieved.

His question was answered when the dragon shrieked through it's closed lips and stumbled backwards. A pink haired head hopped in front of him, grinning wildly," Remember me? I'm the one that took your wings out."

The dark haired boy's eyes widened in a mix of shock, horror, and joy," Nashi?! How the hell did you get here? Y-you can't stand!" Yet, she was standing. How was this possible? There should've been no way that she could make it there on her own.

Maybe he had underestimated her.

Nashi shrugged nonchalantly and held her hand out," It's a really funny story, but I can save that for later. Basically, there's a water lock around my leg that is helping it move freely with very little pain," She tilted her head to Winter, who was sitting next to an exuberant healing wizard," It's taking a lot of magic energy out of him, so we're going to have to finish this quickly. Luckily, I have an idea, but you have to trust me and let me fight."

"I'm more experienced and older, so I should be the one that takes care of it!"

"I need the training and real life experiences, so I'll take care of it!"

Ryos smiled at the memory; she had grown up a lot in the past seven years. He accepted her hand and brought himself to his feet," Let's do this."

"W-wait," March pulled herself off the ground and stood on the other side of her hero," If Nashi-san can fight, so can I."

"We can't let the kid show us up," Lutz added as he limped over.

"She already showed you up," Onyx snorted. He nodded briefly to Nashi," It's good to see you back on your feet."

Alida wiggled away from Detox and slipped in between the Sabertooth slayers," I made a promise to help you get rid of Black Soul, and I don't break my promises."

"I'm going to stay back here..." Detox said bashfully," But I'm going to use my support magic to boost you guys up!"

"Why the hell didn't you use it earlier?" Winter gritted, but he gave a quick nod to the pinkette, informing her that he wasn't backing out either.

Nashi smirked and pounded her fists together," Alright! Give us our strategy, Ryos."

"Okay, since Alida is fighting, Onyx and Lutz are going to hang around her and make sure Black Soul doesn't hurt her. March and I will do the same with Nashi-"

"Like hell you will!"

The two briefly glared at each other until Ryos gave in," Fine. You said to trust you, and I do. The three of us will be the main offensive while the Sabers and Alida use long range attacks. If that doesn't work, we'll figure out another plan while you three switch from defensive to offensive. If we work together, we may be able to do this," Something solemn suddenly washed over his face," Before we go, I just wanted to thank you guys. I know that you could've turned me away two days ago, but you decided to trust the alleged Fairy Tail betrayer. Just know that even though the hard the past few days have been hard, they have also been some of the best of my life. Thank you," Then, in a completely out of character act, he sniffled," Ready?"

The eight (excluding Winter; he still hated all of them except Nashi and March) all shared a warm look that all said the same thing; they were a team now. Even though they may be in different guilds or no guild at all, they were able to work together and if the believed in themselves, there was nothing they couldn't do.

Nashi took a deep breath and cracked her knuckles," Let's do this."

The battle erupted.

Nashi, Ryos, and March leapt forward and each took one section of the dragon; the pinkette jumped on it's head, grinning maniacally," Guess who, bitch?! Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame!" She furrowed her hands together and slammed it into his forehead.

Ryos reformed his chainsaw hand and slammed it into the monster's chin. March held her hands out and jumped into the air," Sky Dragon Cyclone!"

A gust of air flew from her hands and catapulted into the dragon's stomach. Black Soul stumbled back slightly, but regained his bearings and through Nashi off his head. The three Fairy Tail Slayers regathered at behind a boulder," What do we do now? None of our attacks are doing enough damage!"

"Dragneel, I'd love to hear this plan you were talking about earlier," Ryos grumbled and he tried to sooth his leg.

The pinkette grimaced slightly," I don't think you'll like it."

"I don't care if I like it or not; will it work?"

She sighed and rubbed her head," Yeah, I'm positive it will."

"Then tell us what it is!" March begged," The Sabers won't be able to hold off much longer!"

"Alright, so you remember how our parents told us about the first dragon they fought?"

"You mean the robot?" Ryos replied dryly.

"If you're referring to Dorma Anim, then yes," She glanced over the rock before continuing," Our parents defeated him by forming a triple unison raid and shooting it through the dragon."

The Iron dragon slayer snorted," They shot your dad through the dragon, not their magic-hold on a minute, you're not saying-"

"All six of you are going to shoot me through the dragon with your combined dragon roars! I'll be like a bullet!" She replied brightly," Easy peasy!"

"You're talking about getting shot into a dragon! How the hell are you taking this so lightly? What if something bad happens?" The dark haired boy barked.

Nashi shrugged," I trust you guys to get me out if something goes wrong. Come on, we don't have much time."

Sensing his discomfort with the situation, March rubbed Ryos's shoulder," Come on, Ryos-san. Nashi-san can do anything! It'll turn out right."

He sighed in defeat," Fine. If you're so damn insistent on risking your life again, who am I to stop you? Finish him off, Flame."

"Flame?"

Ryos smirked," Yeah, it's your new nickname. Now let's go!"

The three hopped from their hiding space and dispersed to prepare for the final push. Ryos took over fighting the dragon while March told the Sabers and Alida their plan. They seemed just as hesitant about it as the iron dragon slayer had, but seeing that it was their only hope, they agreed.

Ryos stood by Nashi," Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yeah."

"You're brave, kid."

She grinned cockily," What do I have to be afraid of? I've got seven people to help me out this time."

March sped back," We're ready, Nashi-san. Good luck."

"Thanks; I'm gonna need lots of it," She took a deep breath and made made her fists burst into flames," I'm fired up!" Ryos stood in front of her and place his hands together. She smiled confidently and took off, jumping onto his hands. He easily caught her feet and threw her into the air," Iron Dragon Roar!"

The attack hit her feet and shot her forward at a faster speed. March and Alida stepped up next so that they were side by side," Aether dragon roar!"

"Sky dragon roar!"

The two attacks melded together with the first one and sent her flying at a frighteningly fast pace. Onyx and Lutz bolted forward and cupped their hands around their mouths," Shadow dragon roar!"

"White dragon roar!"

Like earlier, the attacks combined with the trio's, creating a six way unison raid. Nashi was merely inches away from penetrating Black Soul when she spun around and aimed at the behind her," Fire dragon roar!"

She shot into the dragon with a sickening splat-like sound. Like predicted, the dragon roars that were serving as her force only bounced off of the monster's armor-like skin. It did, however stumble back and into the opposite canyon wall.

The dragon slayers began to cheer, but was stopped short when Winter stumbled forward. His energy had been completely drained by this point, but he mustered up enough energy to yell," Where the hell is Nashi?!"

March screamed bloody murder," She didn't come out other side!"

Everything next seemed to happen in slow motion; Winter charged the wounded dragon, only to be swatted to the side and knocked out. Alida started sobbing and clung to Lutz's leg. Onyx placed one hand on the tiny girl's head and the other on his best friend's shoulder. Much like the Aether dragon slayer, Lutz was crying. March clenched and unclenched her fists with silent tears slipping down her cheeks," NASHI!" Much like Winter, she began to rush towards the Black Soul," YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT!" Ryos lunged forward and yanked the 13 year old back before she could do something irrational, too shell shocked to do anything himself. March was hysterical," Ryos, we need to do something! What do we do?"

"I...I don't know-"

"Look!" Detox yelled as he pointed up at the dragon. Everyone turned to Black Soul, only to see him bleeding profusely out of any opening in his body (Lutz quickly covered Alida's eyes in order to save her from future nightmares). The Violet haired boy couldn't hide his grin," I think she's attacking him from the inside! She's still alive!"

Black Soul swayed slightly before collapsing onto the ground. A cloud of dust rose into the air from the impact, filling the air around them. An eery silence consumed the six as they waited. As soon as the dust settled, the great black dragon was dead.

Ryos regained his bearings quickly and rocketed forward faster than his feet wanted to allow. As soon as he reached the carcass, he formed his hand into a chainsaw and dug it into the spot Nashi flew in. In one fluid motion, he sliced open the dragon's stomach.

The creatures internal organs spilled out, along with a barely conscious Nashi. She tried to cough the blood that had filled her lungs out, but only ended up choking. Once her throat was clear, she started screaming.

The iron dragon slayer's eyes widened," Detox, what the hell is happening to her?!"

His friend flew forward, a faint look of surprise on his face," Oh my Mavis, she is one smart girl."

Ryos, on the other hand, was in hysterics," What do you mean she's smart!? She's hurt! She could be dying for all we know! And all you can do is comment on how she killed the dragon?"

"I don't think you understand-"

He brushed his partner off and kneeled down next to the pinkette, quietly scooping her hand up in his and placing her head on his thigh," It'll be okay, Flame. It's going to be okay."

She looked over at him while grimacing in pain," Please don't leave again."

"Don't leave, Ryos! You're my best friend!"

"You're better off without me in your lives."

Ryos nodded firmly and squeezed her hand," I'm not going anywhere. Not this time."

She allowed herself to smile before screaming again. He stared down at her injured leg, which was glowing a oddly calming red. March slid next to him and took Nashi's free hand. The pinkette used all of her strength to place the hand that March took on her cheek," It'll be okay..."

"N-Nashi-san..."

The glow around her leg was beginning to fade and her screams were reduced to whimpers," D-don't worry 'bout me guys. I'm g-gonna...be...just...fine..."

Nashi smirked as she closed her eyes and went still.

March let out a strangled sob and buried herself into Ryos's side, and all he could do was wrap his arm around her. It couldn't be. This was impossible. He had just gotten them back and-

The pink haired girl sneezed.

The two Fairies froze and looked back down at the fire dragon slayer, only to see that she had sat herself off of Ryos's lap and was now diving back into Black Soul's blood," It worked!"

Ryos blinked. Then he blinked again. After about a minute of gaping at the ecstatic girl, he reached forward and yanked her up by her collar," What plan?! Was this all some kind of joke?! We thought you died!"

She shrugged," Detox said that dragon's blood could heal my wounds, and he was right! I can't believe you thought I was dying! I said that it'd be okay...well, I was hoping that it'd be okay. Seriously, that hurt like hell!" She giggled and kicked the dirt," I can walk again! I can-oh my Mavis, we defeated the dragon. We...beat...Black Soul!" Without warning, she launched herself onto Ryos, wrapping her legs around his stomach and arms around his neck," We actually did it!"

It was extremely hard to be mad at her now that everything was okay, so he rolled his eyes and hugged her back," I knew you said that I wouldn't like your plan, but I didn't think that it'd be that bad."

"Thanks for cutting me out of the dragon."

"What kind of a friend would I be if I didn't?"

March ran in from behind Nashi and threw her arms the two of them while sobbing blissfully," We did it! Nashi-san can walk again, Black Soul can't hurt anyone, and now we can all go home!"

Reality hit Ryos like a brick; he had promised that if he survived this battle, he'd return to Fairy Tail. Nashi seemed to be thinking the same thing, because she was smirking at him," Yup! Guess who's coming with us?"

"Ryos-san and Detox-san?"

"Correct!"

The Violet haired boy shot his friend a look that said what the hell did you sign me up for? He nodded back, as if to say It's time.

Nashi suddenly pried herself off of Ryos and backed away," Wait, where's Winter?" She saw his unconscious form almost immediately after she asked and rushed forward to him. In one quick movement, she hoisted him onto her back and brought him back over to where the Sabers and Alida had joined the others," Is he going to be alright?"

"Yeah, he just got swiped while low on magic energy. I say give him a few days and he'll be fine," Ryos titled his head," Do you want me to carry him instead? He seems a bit heavy."

"Nah, he's not that bad. Once I had to carry Leo to Magnolia all the way from Harogeon because he wouldn't listen to the man we were hired by. I kept telling him not to try and open the door with his head, but no-"

Lutz rose his brow," Uh, we're near Oak Town, Nash. It's going to be longer than you-"

March giggled cutely into her hand," Don't try and convince Nashi-san otherwise! She can win any arguement and can definitely carry Winter-san back!"

Onyx grinned and ruffled her hair," I agree. Anyways, it's about time we start to head home. Our parents are probably worried."

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After a lot of convincing, Ryos was able to coax Detox in following him back to Magnolia (if he was going to have to face his parents, his friend could). The 19 year old only agreed to come if they dropped by Sabertooth first so that they could clean themselves up, get something to eat, and relax a little bit before returning to Fairy Tail (they all knew he was stalling).

Nashi didn't protest. She really needed a shower because she was currently caked in dragon's blood and kept getting weird looks from people.

Thankfully, Lutz and Onyx offered her their bathroom to use while they went to the guild to reunite with their parents. March, Ryos, Detox, and Winter (who was now awake) decided to stay behind, while Lutz invited Alida to come with them. It was somewhat obvious that they were going to invite her to join Sabertooth.

After Nashi was all cleaned up and wearing her pajamas (her old clothes were forever stained), the five headed home. Ryos refused to ride a train because of his motion sickness, so it took them the rest of the day return home. Winter was complaining about how Nashi got his jacket covered In blood with March defending her in the background while the Detox and Ryos upheld a conversation between themselves. At one point, the support mage tapped into his telepathy and communicated his nerves with his friend," I don't know if I can do this."

"No one' showing to make you," Ryos replied," But facing them is something I have to do."

It was around 10:30 P.M. when they finally reached Magnolia. Since March's house was on the outskirts of town anyways, they stopped by and dropped her off. The 13 year old squealed in excitement and hugged all four of them before racing towards the front door and flinging it open," I'M HOME!"

They could hear her parents yelp in surprise, their shock quickly morphing into relief. Seeing that the girl was safe, the older kids headed towards the guild. This time, there wasn't much talking. Everyone (except Winter, who wasn't much of a conversationalist in the first place) was nervous about facing their parents again.

Ryos stopped once they were in front of Fairy Tail," I don't think I can do this."

Winter rolled his eyes and muttered something about him being a wimp before heading inside himself. Aqua squealed in delight and tackled her brother to the ground, smothering him with hugs and panicked mumbling," Winter, you're back! Don't ever leave without telling anyone like that again!"

He smiled and rubbed her head fondly," I can't promise that, sis."

Nashi nodded supportively and followed the boy in, coaxing the other two with her," Come on. The worst they could do is be upset because you left. It's not a big-"

"SHI-SHI!"

"-deal."

Aqua had pried herself off of her brother and forced her best friend into a hug," I was so worried! What happened? We only got note about you being safe, but we didn't know if it was real or not! You're parents were a wreck! I swear-who are they?"

Ryos paled while Detox edged away towards the bar, murmuring something about getting a drink. Nashi sighed and pushed her friend off of her," I'll tell you in a minute, but there is something I need to do first," her blue haired rose her eyebrow curiously, but allowed her to do what she needed to.

There was only a few wizards still in the guild at this time of night; Mira was cleaning glasses in the corner and listening to Kolas as he shared his latest adventure with her. Droy, Jet, and his wife, Eliza, were huddled in a table chatting about the couple's son, Maverick. Mansi Strauss was showing Sterling Dovev something she from her college class. Wakaba and Cana were drunk off their asses while Macao fiddled with his cup half-heartedly, occasionally mumbling something about his missing granddaughter. Nashi, feeling a little guilty, yelled," SHE'S AT ROMEO'S!" That was enough to send the old man flying out of his seat and towards his son's house. That only left one couple nestled in the far corner.

Without a word, Nashi grabbed Ryos's wrist and dragged him over to a the couple," Hi Aunt Levy! Hi Uncle Gajeel!"

The dark haired boy's eyes widened in fear when he realized what was going on," Nashi, I don't think-"

Levy interrupted him by gathering her god-daughter into a large hug," Where have you been, young lady? Do you know how worried your parents have been?"

"Of course, Auntie, but I have someone I want both of you to meet."

The woman unlatched herself from her god-daughter and scanned Ryos thoughtfully," Dear, he's shaking. Is he alright?"

Nashi frowned and looked at her friend; The powerful fallen fairy Edge was shaking like a leaf. His face was begging her to let him leave, even though both of them knew he didn't want to. She rubbed his arm reassuringly," Come on, you can do it."

Gajeel lazily glanced up from his food," Who the hell is this? Don't tell me ya finally got a boyfriend."

"You're 18 and you've never had a boyfriend?" Ryos chuckled as he began to feel more comfortable," That's pathetic."

She crossed her arms defensively," I could if I wanted to, but I'm...Uh...shut up!"

"Don't pick on her," Levy scolded," It's not nice. That goes for you too, Gajeel. You should know better," Her husband grunted," Anyways, what is your name?"

"Uh...U-Uh..."

"Why's the kid stuttering so much?"

The blue haired woman sent him another glare," Gajeel, stop picking on them!"

"It's not my fault that the kid can't speak straight."

"Oh, come on," She paused and observed Ryos more, making him uncomfortable again," He kind of looks like you, Gajeel. Same black hair, same red eyes...," Levy started choking up," You know, he has the same eyes that Ryos did."

"R-Ryos? You're n-not gonna call me Edge?" As soon as he said it, he regretted it. He wasn't ready yet! What if they hated him? They probably hated him. He did abandon them after attacking the baby of the guild.

"He's our son and we named him Ryos, not that silly name-" She blinked, processing what he just said," Ryos? Is that you?"

He stared at the ground and scratched his head nervously," Yeah...I'm sor-" The dark haired boy was immidiately silenced when his mother pulled him into the most loving hug she could muster. It was only then that he realized how much things had changed in the past seven years; Levy's head only reached his shoulder and she had grown her blue hair out. She used to be taller than him," M-Mom, I'm sorry-"

The solid-script mage was too busy sobbing into her lost son's shirt to realize that he was trying to apologize," Gajeel! It's him! He's back!"

Her husband, the great Black Steel Gajeel, was too busy gawking and crying to respond," That's our kid? But he was 12...he grew up...he-" Much like his wife, the man threw himself onto his son," Damnit kid, we didn't know if you had died or not!"

Ryos was in pure shock," You're not mad at me?"

Levy slapped her son's chest," Of course we're not mad! You came home! You're safe and alive, and that's all that matters to us! We can be a family again!"

The 4th generation dragon slayer felt his eyes gloss over," You still want me? Even after all those rumors and-"

"Why the hell wouldn't we want you?" Gajeel grumbled," From what we've heard, you're a fucking badass!"

"L-language Gajeel."

"Sorry, Shrimp. I'm just so fucking happy!"

Nashi grinned joyfully, elated that she had reunited the Redfoxes again," Ryos, I gotta go find my parents. Come to the guild tomorrow, I'll introduce you to everyone, okay?"

He nodded at her with tears pouring down his cheeks," Thank you, Nashi. For everything."

That suddenly reminded her of something she had to do. The pinkette gave him a thumbs up before searching the guild for the one person she needed at the time. He wasn't here anymore, so he must've started to head home. She erased any trace of hesitation from her body and flew out of the guild and straight into Winter's back," Oh, ow! Sorry, Winter."

Said boy grunted," Aren't you going to head home?"

"I gotta do something first."

"What?"

Without warning, she wrapped her arms around the boy's middle and forced him into a hug. He stiffened and didn't return it, but she pressed on anyways," Thank you for saving my life."

Aqua let out an audible," Awww!" In the background before slyly commenting that she'd give them some alone time (there was also something hinted about safe sex, but neither of them picked it up).

Once the Fullbuster daughter was gone, Winter tried to push the pinkette away," Uh, you're welcome...Don't hug me."

"Why not?"

"I don't like you. We don't like each other. We're not friends-"

"But I want to be your friend."

Winter flinched," Why? Lutz was right, I'm a-"

She pulled away quickly and grabbed his face with her hands, making him look her dead in the eyes," Winter Silver Fullbuster, what Lutz said was not true! Sure, you may be an asshole on the outside, but now I know that you are just as sweet and caring as anyone in this guild! I would be honored to call you my friend-"

This time, Winter was the one to pull her into the hug. It took her awhile to realize what was happening, but once she did, she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her head onto his shoulder. His hands tightened on her back, almost as if he was nervous that she would pull away and laugh at him. When she didn't, he relaxed again," Thank you."

"For what?"

She felt one of his hands rise off his back and hold onto hers," For everything."

"Thank you. For everything."

Nashi choked up; so he had been listening that morning. Not only that, but he understood what she meant," Oh Winter...I think this is going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

He chuckled and pulled away, ruffling her hair as he did so," Don't think I'm going soft just because we're friends now, got it?"

She rolled her eyes fondly," Geez, you're such an asshole."

He snorted at her comment," Yeah, sure. I'm gonna head home now, my parents are probably worried. You should do the same."

"I will."

"Good. Night, Flame Brain."

She watched him disappear into the distance, trying to wipe the silly grin off of her face," Goodnight, Winter."

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Detox played with his straw while eavesdropping on Ryos's reunion. His parents were excitedly chatting about letting him stay at their house for as long as he liked and begging him to tell them stories about his adventures. He frowned jealously, wishing his parents were like that.

He knew better, though. They weren't going to accept him. Hell, they'd probably try to send him back into the foster system. Maybe they'd realize that he was still alive and try and kill them so that they wouldn't have to deal with them ever again-

"Excuse me, do you need a refill?"

Detox lazily glanced up, only to be met with a purple haired bartender. Where had the white haired one run off to? He gulped," Uh, n-no, I'm fine."

She smiled generously," Okay. Do you need anything else from me?"

Tell her she's your mom. Tell her she's your mom. Tell her she's your mom.

"N-no. Thank you."

Kinanna nodded and was about to leave, but something drew her back," Are you new around here? I've never seen you before."

Shit, she's still talking to you. What should I say? Tell her she's your mom.

Detox rubbed his arm anxiously," I'm just visiting, but I'm sure that my friend...is joining," He slumped in disappointment when the reality of the situation weighed on him; there was no way he'd be able to tell Kinanna the truth. Not yet, at least. Ryos, on the other hand, had already fessed up and was thrown headfirst back into his old life," I need to go."

The violet haired boy spun off of the barstool and out of the guild. No one noticed he was gone until Ryos began searching for him. In fact, he didn't stop looking until 12:45 when Kinanna said she recognized the description he was giving her.

That was all the information Ryos had needed to know that his friend was gone.

"You're being too hard on yourself; no matter what you do, they still care about you and are probably worried that you haven't contacted them in the past seven years! Not only that, but in order to protect yourself, you set up a reputation that makes you look like a bad guy!" Detox ran a hand through his hair," We're 19. Isn't it time you handled the situation like an adult?"

The iron dragon slayer smiled sadly," You're still a hypocrite."

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Nashi cautiously entered her house, scanning the area wearily. Even though it was late, she could see that the kitchen light was on and hear her parents talking," I need to go out and look for her again, Luce."

"No. It's my fault that she left, so I should be the one to look for her."

"Luce, it's not your-"

The blonde haired woman sniffled," No, it is. I'm too hard on her. I have to understand that she's an adult now and can make her own decisions. I shouldn't be bossing her around as much as I do."

The pink haired girl nervously made her way towards the voices, fear bubbling in her stomach. What had she done? Aqua was right, the Dragneels were a mess and it was all her fault," Mom? Dad?"

Her parents flipped around at the voice, dropping their mugs as they did so," Nashi? Is that you?"

Lucy didn't need an answer. She flew at her daughter and wrapped her into a warm hug," Nashi Layla Dragneel, do you have any idea how worried we've been?!"

"I'm sorry, mom-"

"What were you doing this entire time? Hanging out with gangs? Trying to be independent?" Her daughter groaned; sometimes Lucy was so weird," If this was a lesson about me being a control freak, I think you went overboard!"

Nashi pulled herself away from her mom and rubbed her arm sheepishly," Ah, it's actually a funny story...you see, March and I went to Sabertooth to try and bargain some chocolate off of them, but we accidentally stayed to late. Sting, Rogue, and Yukino let us stay at their house, but all of us fourth generation dragon slayers had a very frightening dream about a demon child killing Lutz. So, I..went into my Fahrenheit rage and set off to find Ryos Redfox, 'cause he was in the dream too."

Natsu's eyes widened," Isn't he a murderous criminal?"

"Dad, let me finish! So anyways, we found Ryos and his friend, Detox, when they tried to kidnap Lutz and Onyx. I got really mad about that, so I fought the iron drago slayer and ended in a draw. After that, Ryos told us about a looming dragon attack, so we decided to help him. Then, I remembered what Ryos did back when I was 11 and passed out. When I woke up, he was talking about sacrificing himself to the dragon, and I couldn't let him do that, so I went and fought it myself-"

"YOU FOUGHT A DRAGON BY YOURSELF?" Natsu cried," Those things are dangerous! Are you hurt? Did you defeat it? What happened?"

Lucy frowned," Did it make your clothes vanish? Is that why you're in your pajamas?"

"Mom! What kind of dragon does that?! Why are you so weird? Never mind. Anyways, I got badly beaten by the dragon, and I would've died if Winter-"

"Please don't tell me you're talking about Fullbuster's kid."

Nashi huffed," That's it, I'm done! You two keep interrupting my story, so I'm going to bed! Goodnight-"

She turned around to stomp up the stairs, but was bombarded with hugs by her parents," We're glad you're safe, Nashi. We love you."

The pinkette smiled and hugged them back," I love you guys too."


Hey guys! This turned out to be a really long chapter, but it wrapped up the first arc. The next chapter will introduce most of the current Fairy Tail guild members that you haven't met yet, and then there will be a short fluff chapter of sorts after that. Once those two are done, I'm going into the next arc, which I am titling the Crimson Crow Arc. That arc will introduce one of the member of the Nashi+Winter team, and I have already briefly mentioned her before, so see if you can guess who it is! Thanks for reading!

-uprisingdragon