I do not own Fairy Tail or One Piece. Those belong to Hiro Mashima and Eichiro Oda respectively.

Magnolia, One Month later

"Ninety eight…Ninety nine…one hundred!" A large log leapt into the air. Coby dodged out of the way with a Soru as it fell.

It was the beginning of December, and after a full of month of light work-outs coupled with an odd job and a heavy work-out (usually spotted by Laxus if he was around), Coby was back to his normal regimen of training. He even tested out his Geppou, his most draining technique, and found out he could use more of it before his legs give out.

He recalled what Garp had told him, that the Rokushiki was a Martial Art in which to gain strength and evolve, limits had to be broken. Coby remembered how he had done just that several months ago; back in Zakuro, Pickeral, and Charybdis. Thanks to those experiences, along with the light work-outs and the odd jobs, he felt lighter on his feet and capable of using more of the techniques than before. He still has a ways to go to learn the Tekkai without a teacher as well as master the Geppou, but he will manage.

He was out in the clearing behind the Fairy Tail guild hall, the ground in a terrible state due to his Soru. The trees were riddled with holes from his Shigan, and his Rankyaku kicks had downed some of them completely. Rocks lay split and gashed all around.

Coby laid down on the ground, drawing soothing oxygen into his lungs as he dumped the remaining contents of his water bottle on his overheating head. He smiled as he felt his body relax, his aching muscles settling. He was content, in a way he had not been for some time. He felt himself beginning to doze off, and then wakefulness returned as the temperature around him dropped suddenly. He opened one eye, half-curious and half-irritated, and saw the cause of it.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself," replied Mirajane, one hand on her hip. She offered the other hand, and Coby pulled himself up. After muttering his thanks, he noticed Mirajane looking around the clearing.

"Been busy?"

"You think?"

Her arms were crossed, ignoring his light sarcasm as he began to walk towards the Guild.

"Anyways, you look bushed. You gonna have Gray set up an ice bath for you?"

"Maybe, but I'll be fine."

The two shared an awkward silence as they walked onto a side street towards the main boulevard where the Guild was situated.

"So..." He rubbed the back of his head. "How have you been Mira?"

"Fine, except for this." The goth picked up a magazine from the mailbox and showed it to Coby. Coby took it, and read it aloud.

"Special Column by amateur reporter: Interview with newest mage Coby Marinford?" Coby's eye quirked. "What's wrong with this?"

"Read it." She said, as if she knew what it entailed. The marine did so, reading the column.

"It was just me being interviewed. What about it?" Mirajane narrowed her eyes and pointed at the text in the column, to which he read.

"This is Levy MacGarden, a fellow Fairy Tail member. She tripped back at the stairs and I helped her up, and since we're new friends I decided to get her some food." He looked back up at her. "What about Levy?"

"You made it sound like you were her boyfriend or something!" growled Mirajane. When she had read the magazine this morning, she had nearly dropped her coffee mug. How could Coby go out with someone behind her back!? Weren't they partners!?

"Well, I'm a boy right. And she's my friend. So you could say I'm her boyfriend. I am your boyfriend too."

Silence fell. Mirajane's eyebrow twitched. Was he really so dense? Was he so utterly ignorant of the opposite sex as he sounded?

"In that case…" she asked. "How do you see Laxus?"

"My best friend."

"Erza?"

"I suppose she could be a girlfriend."

"Elfman?"

"Possibly a boyfriend."

Mirajane was within an ace of smashing his head up against a brick wall, followed by her own.

"Lisanna?" She regretted the question instantly, and cut him off before he could reply. "Don't even finish that." She grabbed the bridge of her nose and sighed loudly.

"Let's just go inside and see if there's anything to do…" she said, sighing at the stupidity of it all.

"Okay!" Coby grinned and opened the door for her.

The scene before them was relatively calm for once. There was no shouting, no rough- housing, no brawls, no…Fairy Tail-ness. There weren't even that many people either. Coby spotted Laxus sitting at the bar and sat on next to him, Mirajane doing likewise.

"Yo."

"Morning." Coby stretched his arms out.

"You know, there's a special announcement going on a week from tonight," said Laxus as he took a sip from his mug. The marine quirked an eye at him.

"Eh? An announcement? What for?" Mirajane sighed and bopped him upside the head.

"Are you kidding me Coby?" asked the girl incredulously. "What we've been training for all this time!"

The marine snapped his fingers as he remembered.

"The S-Class Trials!" Laxus nodded.

"Yep. The announcing of the candidates is next week." He looked back at the guild. "Hence why you see so little people. No Erza, no Gray, no Natsu. They're all out on jobs at the last minute in order to impress Gramps." Coby turned around, seeing the…vacancy of the Guild at large.

"Wow…I guess you're right." He turned back up towards the taller blond. "Is Makarov off doing something about the trials?"

"Yeah, he's busy right now. Dunno what. I got a job to do an hour so I don't really pay attention to such stuff."

Coby nodded and a sip from his drink. "I see then…" He looked at the clock and perked up. "Oh, I have to turn in my rent to the landlady!" He got up and jogged towards the door.

"Be sure you be back here by six tonight alright!" called out Laxus. Mirajane looked back at Coby with a curious glance then turned to her drink.

"Got it! Later!" And Coby shut the large door and ran down the street towards his apartment complex.

He did not see the raven watching him from a nearby tree, nor hear it take flight and follow him.

-X-

One Hour Later

Coby was in a particularly foul mood as he walked out of his apartment.

"Stupid landlady..." he muttered as he put his hands in his pockets and walked along the ledge of the canal. Apparently even though he paid the whole rent of the month he was still a smidgen behind. The old woman egged him for it, calling him "irresponsible" and such. He offered to do some chores for her but she declined, saying he wasn't going to shirk out of his debt so easily. Being tight on money, again, he would have to ask Laxus or Gildarts to treat him to dinner, again.

Living on the fringe, with only the pay from a few light jobs, wasn't working.

Something in the corner of his eye drew his attention. He glanced down an alley, and saw a gathering of people walking slowly along the opposite street. They were dressed in black, and clustered around what looked like a horse-drawn carriage. Curious, Coby jogged down the alley to get a closer look.

The carriage was a hearse. Coby stood where he had halted, stunned by the revelation, as the solemn cortege passed him. On the side of the hearse, in gold plate, were the words: Cariniea Theradyr. He heard weeping among the mourners.

Saddened, Coby lowered his head. Then as the end of the cortege reached him he fell in behind, following the mass of people. He didn't know why he was doing it, but it didn't matter for the moment. He had until six.

-X-

"Thank you young lady!" proclaimed the plump bookkeeper. Levy bowed, holding the large book in her hands.

"Thank you miss!" Levy MacGarden beamed as she skipped out of the bookstore. Her recent job in looking after the bookstore was working wonderfully, and the owner was gracious enough to not only give her a small purse of Jewels, but also giving one book for free. The bluenette loved books, so it felt like the holidays came early.

Speaking of the holidays, it was just around the corner and she needed to think of gifts in good time. She would need to ask some of the girls at the Fairy Hills dorm.

"I still gotta take Coby to the archives!" she thought as she skipped along, using an alley as a short cut. "He did say he wanted to see the geography and history books!" She smiled, making a mental note to ask him on it.

Since their meeting the previous month, Levy had come out of her shell somewhat, as Erza had put it. It was all thanks to meeting Coby Marinford that she was able to blossom as she was…

And then she was exhausted, as if all her energy had drained out like water. She felt her eyes grow heavy, and she slumped to her knees in the alley.

On a nearby roof, invisible from the street below, a small brown creature poked its head out. On its head was crown of sorts, made of leaves and a small cape. The creature giggled and scurried away.

-X-

Coby didn't hear anything, aside from occasional weeping and muttering. He just felt…depressed for some reason.

As he saw the happy scenes around him, the families doing their shopping, the cheery signs and jolly scenes, he realised why. It was not the funeral procession that was upsetting him, not really, but the knowledge that this would be his first holidays without a family.

He could not return home. Not now, and probably not ever.

The cortege entered the graveyard. Coby followed until they reached the open grave, watching as the coffin was lifted reverently from the hearse. All eyes were on the coffin as it was lowered into the grave. If the mourners were aware of his presence, they did not acknowledge it. Coby stood there, watching the proceedings. Seconds became minutes, minutes became an hour.

And it was done.

The mourners knelt in silence, eyes closed, as a slab of clean, polished marble was laid over the freshly-filled grave. Coby's eyes were drawn to it, and to the small puddle of water just next to it, left over from a shower of rain earlier in the day.

He blinked, wondering if his eyesight was getting worse. He blinked again, adjusted his glasses, but to no avail. Though there were mourners all around him, only his face was reflected in the water.

Then he felt it. A twinge…barely a flicker, a spark of awareness that seemed to vanish even faster than it appeared.

That same feeling…

"Funerals…quite sad don't you think?" said a man's voice. Coby saw him in the puddle, about three meters away.

Now he was confused. Was he losing his mind? Had the whole gathering been just a figment of his imagination? Had that feeling, that need to follow…? What was going on?

"The departure of a loved one, whether they be family or friend, always tears a void within one's heart." The man walked forward. Coby could see him clearly in the water; his hawk-like nose, the black glasses that concealed his eyes, the short dark beard. He was tall and broad-shouldered, clad in a dark suit.

"Yet, for some, a funeral can be seen as…relief, a gift to some."

The man smiled a little. The sky was darkening, and Coby felt the wind chill him to the bone.

"What are you talking about?"

"A person can leave their loved ones gifts and wealth, maybe power as well. A death of a person can relieve them of an emotional burden. A cripple, a dependant, one who needed constant attention and meaningless care. Or perhaps that person was simply…an annoyance that won't be remembered any time soon."

The man shook his head, chuckling. He gestured towards the grave, and a slightly intimidated Coby looked.

The grave no longer said Cariniea Theradyr, it now read Catherine Kilgore Dreyar.

Dreyar…

Coby drew a sharp breath, his blood turning to ice.

My son, was a danger to the guild…

The man removed his glasses, revealing black eyes that had an amused but wild look in them. He smirked.

"Ivan…Dreyar…" muttered Coby, as the man was staring right back at his reflection in the puddle, smiling with all the malice in the world.

"Hmm, well then, ole Makarov must have filled you in about me then. Yes, I am Ivan Dreyar, in the flesh."

Coby wanted to spring up, to confront him, or else run for his life. He couldn't possibly fight Ivan Dreyar, who was Laxus' father and Makarov's son. His martial arts would serve him little against the son of Makarov.

But by the same token, running wasn't an option either.

Coby knelt where he was, shaking with fear he had not felt since he faced Blackbeard.

No, this was far worse. Blackbeard was random, unpredictable, but his power was well-known. A Shichibukai and a powerful pirate, he could trounce the third strongest crew member of Whitebeard's camp.

All he had on Ivan Drevar was his name, and the power of his father and son. Nothing else. The power was great, and he was exiled for something cruel, and now Coby had a feeling that the action transcended normal malice.

Could Ivan be here to kill him…just because he made friends with his son? Could he be that heartless?

"Why so afraid Coby my dear?" oiled the man. He grabbed Coby's right shoulder and hauled him to his feet. "When men are talking, it is customary that they talk face to face."

"What do you want…" muttered Coby as he felt his feet leave the ground, Ivan's grip tightening on his shoulder. "I didn't do anything wrong…"

"Oh no no no no!" Ivan shook his head as if he were talking to young child, a smile forming on his face. "Of course not my dear Coby, I am just here to have a little chat with you is all." Coby bit his lower lip as he felt his heart pound.

"First off" said the man, looking away in thought. " I'm here to tell you that I am…intrigued by dear Laxus' growth so far. And rumor has it that you are his newest friend, yes?"

Coby couldn't reply. His shivering was growing worse.

"Answer when a man of greater power is talking to you, boy…" Ivan growled. The pink-haired boy nodded fast. The man smiled.

"Good. You see, I have an investment in my dear son that I cannot have…compromised in any shape or form in the near future. You've been traveling together with dear Laxus, so I wanted to get the message clear to you."

"About what?" whispered Coby. He felt pain in his shoulder, seeming to rise with his fear.

"Make sure nothing bad happens to my good son." Ivan smirked. "Other than that, this is my belated greetings for you joining Fairy Tail and bonding with my dear Laxus. I am his father after all. It's only natural. And…if anything bad were to happen my investment…"

He brought the boy in close, and Coby felt his breath on his ear.

"Let's just say that …" Ivan grinned, teeth bared. "You would rather prefer death's embrace then what I have planned, specifically for you."

For an instant Coby felt himself falling, and then he was flying across the graveyard. He yelped in pain as he slammed into a tree, the wood splintering under him. He slumped to the ground, his head swimming. He saw Ivan standing there, his hand stretched out towards him.

"Also, my dear Coby," oiled Ivan as a small twister formed around him, and his feet began to turn to paper dolls. "Give Makarov my regards. Oh, and tell Gil…"

He grinned as the paper dolls formed a whistling cyclone around him, and his face began to disappear.

"…I said hello."

Darkness

-X-

He could hear them.

Coby could hear voices muttering all around him. His eyes fluttered open, only to squeeze shut against the blinding light.

"Coby! Are you alright?" asked one of the voices. Coby turned his head, easing his eyes open. He was on a couch, with a quilt over him. He looked the other way, and made out a group of figures standing nearby.

His vision cleared, and he could see them. Makarov, Mirajane, Elfman, Lisanna, even Erza.

"What are you guys…doing here?" groaned Coby as he sat up.

"You're in my house Coby," answered Makarov as he looked up at Coby. "And for the record, I should ask you what were YOU doing out at the graveyard?"

"Yeah!" added Lisanna, stepping up to Coby's side. "It was getting super late and Natsu was very very antsy, so he went out after sniffing your chair and-"

"He what!?" they all exclaimed. Lisanna nodded.

"Yep. Snuffed the place where Coby sat to get his scent."

Coby looked as bewildered as he felt. He glanced at Mirajane, who appeared to feel the same way.

"But were it not for Natsu," said Erza, "he wouldn't have found you and Levy and brought you back to Master."

"Wait, did you say Levy?!" Coby bolted up, eyes wide with fear. "Where is she? Is she okay?" The dwarf held out a hand to steady him. The hand expanded, growing so large that the sight of it was enough to subdue him. Mirajane looked away, face sour.

"Easy Coby, she's at a friend's house now . She was unconscious, but unlike you it was from odd circumstance."

"Yeah." Elfman commented. "She said something about 'Magic Exhaustion' or something." Erza cupped her chin in thought.

"But Levy wouldn't exhaust all of her magic power on the spot," she mused. "It was in an alley way, not necessarily a good place to practice your spells."

"So she's okay?" asked Coby, looking at Makarov. The old master smiled and nodded.

"Yes. There's no need to worry. While my friend is a bit…" he glanced sideways, "anti-social…she's a fine doctor. Levy will be up and about in a few days, good as new!"

Erza nodded. "Mm-hmm. All she needs is rest."

Coby let loose a sigh. It would have been terrible if something had happened to Levy. But Makarov trusted the doctor, and he trusted Makarov.

"I have to thank Natsu and this doctor when I can then," he said, rubbing his head.

"Speaking of, Natsu said he wants to fight you too, but feels that fighting you now would be too unfair so he's out with Happy." Lisanna crossed her arms and puffed her lips. "He should be here, silly nilly."

"Figures." Mirajane rolled her eyes.

"Besides what Natsu is doing," said Makarov as he looked at Coby. "What were you doing out at the cemetery? It was freezing and you were unconscious!"

"Yeah…" Coby looked out the window next to the coach, seeing the rain fall in the night sky. "The cemetery…"

Lightning crackled outside. For an instant, Coby saw the face of a bearded man, lip stiffened high as he smiled down on him. He screamed as the thunder boomed, jumping from the couch and hitting the floor with a crash.

"Don't scare me like that!" Mirajane barked. "Nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Are you scared of lightning?" asked Elfman.

"Coby!" Lisanna ran to Coby's side. "Are you okay?"

The boy stared at the window, eyes wide, mouth opening and closing in silent stammering. The window was empty, but for the pelting rain.

"H-He was here…" Coby grabbed his head, looking down at his legs. Makarov leaned forward, concern etching his face.

"He was here? Who Coby?"

Coby looked up at him, his face a mask of terror and despair. He gestured at the dwarf to lean closer.

"Ivan," he whispered.

The thunder roared, and the lightning flashed. For that single moment, Coby saw Makarov's mouth form a slight 'o'. The room was silent. Coby felt something in his pocket, which he was sure had been empty a moment ago. It was thin, and made of paper. He pulled it out and held it up.

It was a paper Shikigami doll.

For an instant, Makarov actually looked shocked. His face returned to normal, then twisted into the darkest, most terrible glare Coby had ever seen upon it. The dwarf's eyes blazed like twin stars, his fists clenched at his sides.

"Erza, Mira…" he said quietly. "Could you please give me and Coby some privacy?"

Mirajane wasn't going to back down. She wanted to know what her partner had said.

"But-"

If looks could conjure weapons to kill, Mirajane would have been nailed to the wall by Makarov's stare as he turned his eyes and growled "Now…"

The thunder roared, as if summoned by his fury. Lightning flashed through the room, casting his face in dire relief.

"Got it." said Mirajane, her courage spent. She left the room, dragging Lisanna and Elfman behind her. Erza made to follow, but she stopped and gave Coby one last look before following her fellow magi.

Coby then felt himself being tugged. Makarov walked up the stairs, Coby forced to follow, leading him to his bedroom.

"Are you sure?" the dwarf said, staring hard at Coby as he closed the door. He was no longer the kind, goofy old man Coby knew. He saw a terrible rage behind his master's eyes, held in place by an iron will. He nodded.

"What did he look like?"

"Tall, broad shoulders, black hair and eyes, hawk-like nose, and a beard…" Coby sounded off.

"What did he do? Do you remember anything?" Coby looked down, remembering the incident.

"I was out on a walk…and I felt compelled to join a funeral procession to the graveyard. But when I got there…all the people disappeared. When he appeared… I was only afraid for a moment…but I got so frightened it almost seemed…unnatural."

Makarov growled and looked away.

"Illusion Magic…and Compulsion Magic. He's not let up I see." He looked back to Coby. "Did he do anything else?"

Makarov was confused. His son was exiled only ten years ago, yet Ivan was walking around in the open without care. He had obviously been using his Illusion Magic to fool townspeople and mages alike.

He was also furious. He was furious with Ivan for harming Coby, who was like a son to him as all of the members of the guild. More than that, he was furious with himself for letting Ivan walk into Magnolia undetected. He had installed detection and alarm wards himself, with the help of his old friend Yajima, a specialist in Ward and Flattening Magic. He was a member of the Magic Council, a mage beyond compare.

Yet Ivan had found a way. Ivan had entered Magnolia without anyone noticing until it was too late. Ivan had hurt Coby, and almost certainly Levy too. He felt sick at the thought of the damage Ivan could have wrought, and might be wreaking at that very moment. Just like when he had been expelled from the Guild…

He halted his train of thought. He didn't need to be tormented by those memories, not now.

"Only…roughed me up a little…" The pink haired boy nursed his shoulder. "He just threw me and my head hit a tree. Nothing big, I've had worse." Makarov growled.

"Regardless of the physical damage," he growled. "Are you sure he didn't do anything else?"

Makarov, gazing into Coby's brown eyes with his own, demanding answers. Anger boiled within him. Ivan had harmed one of his Guild, one of his children. He kept on staring, trying to find an answer from within.

"Yeah…he did say something…"

"What did he say?"

"He said…to give you his regards and to say hello…" Coby looked at him straight in the eye this time. "To Gil…is it Gildarts?"

Makarov breathed out his nose angrily and snatched the shikigami out of Coby's hand and stared down at it, hoping to burn it with by his glare.

'So that's why you went to all the trouble…' Makarov seethed mentally.

It clicked. It was never Ivan's intention to kill one of Fairy Tail's own. It was too easy, too simple. He wanted lasting damage, but to also send a message.

He could come and go into Magnolia as he pleased. He could harm or kill any member of Fairy Tail, and be gone before anyone could possibly intervene. He could kill in the guise of a Fairy Tail member, and let the guild take the rap.

That was his message. It was a show of power towards the father from the son.

Makarov looked out of the window, and into the dark sky of Magnolia as the rain fell. He saw Ivan's reflection there.

"No matter what you do my dear father," the face said, grinning. "I can kill your 'family' any time I please. I bested you in your attempt to protect the town. What you thought was your haven, your sanctuary, is now your deadly wilderness, bare naked. And I had mercy, just so you can torment yourself knowing that I am clearly your better. What will happen if I drop by again? Will the axe be dropped or be stayed? I have that power. Live with that," He bared his teeth into a grin. "Dear ole Dad."

But for his self-control, Makarov would have punched the reflection with a giant sized fist. He turned away, and back to Coby.

"Was that all?" he asked.

Coby nodded. "Yeah…he threw me against a tree, disappeared into a bunch of those paper dolls and I passed out…"

The sinking feeling in Makarov's stomach grew worse. It wasn't Ivan himself, it was merely a clone. Ivan could have been nearby to disable the wards, and have the clone sent in. Or be with Coby the entire time as Coby spoke with the clone?

The scenarios ran though his mind, all of them leading back to the same terrible thought. Ivan could have twisted Coby's neck like a screw, whether in or out of illusion, clone or no clone. He could have done even worse things to Levy as well.

'This means war, Ivan,' thought Makarov darkly.

"I see then…" Makarov closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Listen, Coby." He opened his eyes and looked at the boy. "How about you stay here with Laxus and I for a while. It would be for your protection."

Coby opened his mouth to decline, not wanting to be in more debt…but he saw the master's point. Ivan could easily infiltrate his apartment.

"S-Sure. Will I still be able to help Mirajane?" he asked. Makarov nodded.

"Of course. Listen to me though." Makarov stared directly into Coby's eyes. "Laxus must not know of what happened."

Coby was confused for a moment, then understood. "R-Right…"

"And don't tell Gildarts either."

"Why? How do Ivan and Gildarts know each other?"

"Let's just say…" Makarov glared to the side, "that those two have history. But Laxus cannot know what happened today. Understood?" Coby nodded.

"Even if he asks, deny it. Deny everything. I'll take this up with the council. Ivan is an exiled Fairy Tail member, so this must be brought forth. I have a good friend with some sway on the Council, and we can make some stronger wards around the town. I won't let this happen again." Makarov leaned against the coffee table. Coby nodded and stood up, staring out the window.

"Say…Master? Who was Cathy Dreyar?"

Coby jumped as he heard the sound of wood breaking. He turned, and saw Makarov's grip destroying the coffee table, his face a mask of rage. He breathed deeply, and Coby saw his self-control re-assert itself. Makarov freed the table from his grip, and looked sadly at Coby.

"You noticed her maiden name was Kilgore right?"

"So then-"

"Catherine Dreyar was Ivan's wife, my daughter-in-law, and Laxus' mother," said Makarov sullenly.

"I won't ask how she died," replied Coby. Now was probably not a good time to pry into Makarov's past.

Ivan's monologue, the one about how people remembered their loved ones, wandered unwelcome into his mind.

"I think…we should all get some sleep." Makarov sighed. "It's been a rough day…"

"Yeah…" Coby sat up from the bed and followed the dwarf down the hall. "Hey Master?"

"Yes?" Makarov turned, only to be near tackled from a hug, the taller boy on his knees hugging the dwarf.

"Thank you…" Coby burrowed his face into Makarov's small shoulder. Makarov offered no resistance and returned the embrace, much how a father would do a with a relieved child.

"Everyone in Fairy Tail is my family, and you are my son," he said, as Coby squeezed tighter. "I would never abandon you."

"I…" Makarov heard him stammer. "I miss my parents…and this is my first holidays and I almost died and…and!"

Makarov patted his head.

"It's okay. We will be with you, every step of the way."

"That's right!" Coby and Makarov perked up and looked down the hall. The whole gang was standing by the stairs, Erza in front, all smiles. Makarov sighed.

"I thought I told you to stay downstairs."

"We heard you guys in the hallway," said Mirajane grinning. "And my ears were sharp enough to pick up on that."

Lisanna ran up and joined in on the hug. "We can spend the holidays together! You don't need to be alone!"

"Yeah." Added Elfman. "The holidays can be pretty lonely if you only celebrate yourself."

"That's right." added Erza, smiling warmly at the stunned Coby. "We're all friends and family to one another. If one of us falls, we help each other up, and keep them smiling."

Coby didn't know what to say. He felt a lump forming in his throat, tears stinging his eyes, and joy overflowing his heart.

"What's going on here?" added Laxus from behind the kids, his head poking out the stairway, dripping wet thanks to the rain. "I come back from a job and it's a friggin' party in here." He grinned as he saw Coby, and nodded at him. "Yo. Coby."

"Alright you brats!" Before Coby could let loose the water works and so much as mutter Laxus' name, Makarov's arms expanded, growing big enough to draw them all in. "Group hug!" The former sullen and angry Master now a happy grinning-like-a-fool dwarf.

"Whoa! Gramps! Personal space!"

"Gah! Jeez Erza your armor is killing me!"

"What perfume do you use! It's smelly!"

"My perfume is top brand! Take that back Brunhilda!"

"Or more like your lack of fragance you demonic ogre!"

"Sis! Erza! Quit fighting!"

"I can't breathe…"

Coby was flabbergasted. The memory of the cemetery vanished like smoke on the wind as he laughed. He cried tears of joy, and smiled with his Guild mates. His comrades.

His family.

-X-

Index of Magic:

Magic: Compulsion Magic.

This magic is capable of manipulating the emotion of a person to a hightened degree. If the target feels a tiny bit sad, the target becomes depressed. If the target feels good, the target is influenced as if he/she won the lottery. If the target feels irritated, he/she becomes outright violent. Because of the chaos a magic like this can cause, it is considered banned in countries with a ruling Magic Council such as Fiore and Caelum as well as in countries affiliated to the Greengate Federation. In countries like Basco and those under the banner of the Duchy of Lacui, it is not outlawed.

FUCKING FINALLY I FINISHED

I apologize for the lack of update. You see, when the holidays come, there's this thing called "living with parents", or "no PC lab for my undivided attention" and "said parents pressuring me to get a social life/girlfriend when it is actually okay so far with my friends and I don't need a GF(yet)".

Also there's finishing up Dragons Dogma, Next Game+, Halo 4, it's multiplayer, Mass Effect 3 and it's multiplayer…

And general laziness.

I did promise the Trials would start, but I had to add this in: Ivan will be important down the road and I hoped I characterized him as best as I could. What happened to him during the Magic Games arc was a blunder of epic proportions and he deserves better, otherwise: he gets the title for most anti-climatic villain in shounen. And he will not be titled that in this story.

Next chapter should be when the Trials have selected their candidates, and we get some drama going.

Also, Index of Magic will be brought forth whenever a new magic comes into play during CMM. I didn't do Feelers because it was mentioned in Pansy's bio and you saw his 4th Feeler ability first hand.

Leave your thoughts, Girls poll is still up, and I hoped you enjoyed.

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