Chapter 21

Promotion?

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, only my own OC's, Energy Magic, and Ideas

Master Makarov, Mirajane, Erza, Mavis, Jynx and Gildarts?!

Frea glanced between all of them quickly before allowing her gaze to remain on Master, this was getting way too weird, why the hell were they all here?!

"What the hell is going on?!" She snapped, anger still fueled but waning now that confusion could set in. She wanted to hit Laxus, but she hadn't been able to keep herself from stopping upon hearing Master yell at her.

"Please calm yourself, it's not what you think." Mavis said with a small smile. "Laxus was only following the 6th's orders." The blonde ghost said with a small nod at Laxus, who had slowly climbed to his feet behind her.

The Lightning Dragon Slayer slowly moved away from her to stand by Gildarts, arms crossed over his chest.

Frea blinked, "Orders?" She echoed, her silver gaze snapping to Master Makarov instantly. "You ordered him to ditch me?! What the hell?!"

Master sighed a little, and crossed his arms behind his back. "Frea, I would ask that you please clam down and listen." He asked gently, and she huffed slightly but did as he asked. "This has been due to happen for a very long time now." He murmured and her head tilted, "As I am sure you remember, every year up until recently when I asked you to participate in the S-Class exams, you have thus far refused?" He said with a meaningful look and she sweatdropped a little.

"And?" She mumbled, suddenly a little flustered. Mira, Mavis and Erza smiled slightly at the look she had, and Gildarts chuckled, while Laxus remained neutral along with Jynx.

"It was with this in mind this entire Mission was formed." Master informed.

"All of us here agreed that it was time to put your skills to the test." Mavis said with a smile, "We had faith in your ability."

"We knew you wouldn't agree to do the S-Class exams when they came back around, so we decided to give you a surprise test." Mira smiled.

"This sort of test doesn't happen often, only for special cases, but I think we can all agree that this is a special case." Erza told her, Frea stared, did they really just…?

"Frea, during the very first few years since you had joined the Guild, it had become apparent to me that you were above any normal Wizard's skill level. That has become increasingly apparent over all the years I've known you, and even more so in these last few months." Master took over again. "I have watched you grow and progress, even at a rate I had never thought possible of any Mage. You are stronger than I could have ever imagined," He smiled at her, "And I am proud to have you in the Guild."

Frea blinked, blushing slightly, but only slightly, at the words.

"We gave you this mission to see how well you could adapt to something you had never faced before." Mira spoke up, "Just to see how you would react, and overcome the challenge."

"Your skills have surpassed even what I believed they could," Erza smiled, "And you have finished this test with flying colors."

"I knew ya had it in ya, kid." Gildarts smirked, chuckling slightly. "You are definitely worthy of this."

Master's smile grew wider, "Gildarts is correct! As we all know, this has been a long time coming!" Master looked to Frea and she sweatdropped. "You have passed this test with ease, and shown us just how much skill, dedication, and heart you really have. " Frea sweatdropped a little more, "It is with my power as Guild Master of Fairy Tail, I now promote you to the rank of S-Class!"

"We are all very impressed with you, and welcome your new status within the Guild." Mavis murmured.

"We had expected this to happen some time ago," Erza murmured, "Your promotion is long overdue."

Gildarts smirked. "But you were the one who never wanted to do the Exams."

"Which is the reason for the discreet." Jynx finally spoke up, smirking at her. "You showed us all your Power, Energy Dragon."

"It's about damn time." Laxus smirked, it being the first thing he had said the entire time. "You couldn't have been serious about remaining at normal rank in the Guild forever." Mira and Erza smiled at the words, nodding in agreement.

Frea's eyes passed over all of them slowly, her mind having a very hard time catching up with what had just happened.

So lets get this straight… they tricked her into fighting a Demon, were watching the entire time, and all because they wanted to promote her to S-Class?

It was true she would have never agreed to do this mission had she known what they were up to…..

So this was why Master, Mavis and Jynx had been silent? Why they had been speaking in the Master's office frequently?

They tricked me?!

She sweatdropped a little more, they continued to smile at her. I passed the test..?

I'm…. S-Class now..?

"…You guys really are crazy.." She breathed, unable to say anything else. They smiled more at the words and chuckled, Moon floated toward her and patted her n the head, smiling widely.

"I never doubted you." The Exceed murmured. Frea glanced away, rubbing the back of her neck, the blush returning.

This was too much attention, she never liked having so many people praise her at once, she had never been very good at taking praise. And this was making her nervous, everything they had said….

They only seemed to find her embarrassment more amusing, though. "I know you will continue to make me proud." Master told her, "Everything that has happened in the past has never over-shadowed just how proud you have made me." She blinked at the words, knowing exactly what he meant by it. Master Makarov had guessed why she had never wanted to participate in the Exams a long time ago, because she had never trusted herself with such a responsibility, especially after she had slipped up, and Shadow had taken control to go on a rampage and harm the Guild all that time ago.

His words made her look away from him quickly, unsure of what to say in response. She heard no lie in his voice, she could tell he was being completely honest. Even the warm and happy feelings flowing off of everyone around her made her even more uncomfortable.

Her eyes widened, now wait a minute….. She looked to Laxus to see him smirking. They had a re-match to settle, and now that they were officially the same rank in the Guild, and the blonde man accepted that… it meant that he had finally recognized she was strong enough to compete against him.

Laxus nodded at her, confirming what she was thinking with the simple gesture. She smiled, before this instance, she had always been the Mage who could go head to head with him and was willing to, but he had never accepted she was the same skill-level as him.

He must have been willing to go along with trying to promote her to S-Class, even if this exact plan had not been the way he had wanted to go about it. But even more so, he had been the one to leave her to fight alone, even if he had been told to do so, she knew he wouldn't have hesitated to step in should he feel the need to.

He had accepted she hadn't needed the help. He had accepted she was strong enough to take care of things on her own.

She smirked, a wide fang-revealing smirk that made everyone else smile wider. "Alright, you guys are still crazy, but if this is what you all want, then I'll live with it." She shrugged slightly, "But now, we definitely need to have that re-match Laxus." Laxus nodded, agreeing with her completely.

"Shall we head back?" Master suggested, beginning to walk back the way they had come, "The Council will have to be notified, and the Guild ought to be aware of the change as well." He smiled as everyone else began to follow.

Gildarts, Erza, Moon and Mira walked beside Frea, all smiling still as they began to praise and congratulate the newly appointed S-Class even more, causing Frea to become more flustered.

Laxus fell in step beside his grandfather and the two ghost girls, listening to the Mages behind him with closed eyes and crossed arms, smiling at the words. He was going to have to get used to this now… and he was looking forward to it. Because now, he was going to give Frea his full respect, he had to, they were the same Rank in the Guild now, weren't they?

"When did you get back?" Frea asked, her attention turned toward Gildarts for now.

The Train bumped along its tracks as it continued to bring them back to Magnolia. Moon sat comfortably in Frea's lap, with Erza sitting beside the Energy Dragon Slayer, Mira across from her, and Gildarts sitting next to Mira. Laxus and Master were sitting across the aisle, Laxus silent and slightly green, with Master listening in. Jynx and Mavis sat across from Master and Laxus, talking away happily on things, Frea had thus far not bothered to listen into.

Gildarts hadn't been around since the GMG, this was the first time she had seen him since meeting him that day beside the river in Magnolia, when he had admitted to her he wouldn't be accepting the role of Guild Master against Master Makarov's wishes.

"Makarov sent me letter telling me he was going t,=o test you." Gldarts replied, "I figured I might as well head back and see how it went, as well as congratulate the rest of the Guild on winning the Grand Magic Games." He smirked, "Besides, I miss my Cana!" He suddenly looked so…. Gushy as he thought about his recently found daughter, and Frea smiled nervously at the sudden change in behavior. She was certain Gildarts missed Cana, but Cana hadn't been so enthusiastic about him sticking to her so much….

"I'm curiuos as to how you managed to bypass the Nullification Magic?" Erza asked, taking Gildarts' momentary distraction as a chance to ask her own questions. "That could not have been easy,"

"I've never seen anyone get past Nullififctaion Magic that strong before." Mira put in as well and Frea shrugged,

"It wasn't really so much different from stopping Asuma from taking my Magic back on Tenrou." She murmured. "Being an Energy Mage, I can take absolute control over my Magic Energy, and keep anyone or anything from taking it."

"That's what happened with the Eclipse Gate as well." Moon put in,

"Yes, but the instances with Asuma and the Eclipse Gate were a bit different than this one, they were stealing my Magic, the Nullification Matter was only taking control of my Magic Energy to stop it from working, and make it disappear." Frea explained. "I would never have realized it, or even noticed the Nullification Magic doing so, if I hadn't….. eaten it." She grimaced at the thought, her stomach was already starting to churn and twist, the uncomfortable sensation she felt whenever riding trains was not helping.

"Bad move..?" Moon murmured, looking toward her grimacing partner with a sympathetic smile. Frea glanced away,

"Necessary evil." Frea mumbled. Mira smiled sympathetically at Frea,

"Hopefully it won't hit you too hard." The white-haired Mage, "But you're ok though? No injuries too serious?" Mira asked, her concern making its way into her voice. Frea could tell Mira's blue eyes landed on the cut on her cheek, and she smiled in reassurance.

"No, no, a little sore, but I'm fine." She answered, licking her thumb so she can wipe the dried blood off of her cheek and neck. Her chest hurt a little from those ribs that were probably cracked, and her whole body was aching slightly from being hit by the Demon's Magic, though she wasn't in any serious condition.

She was out of Magic Power too, that alone made her feel a little light-headed, but she hardly noticed.

"What about the 'Energy Lance Storm' Spell you used?" Erza continued with her questions, and Frea blinked at the knowing look she received from the red-head. "It seemed awfully similar to something Rified used.."

Moon and Frea smiled sheepishly, oh yes, similar….. more like a copy. "Yeah…. I had to copy Rified's Death Lance Spell back in Crocus when I was fighting with Naraka, and sort of just decided to use it again.." Erza and Mira blinked, while Gildarts finally stopped thinking about his daughter, and the attention of the others across the aisle was peaked.

"Copy?" Erza, Mira, Gildarts, Master and Mavis asked all at once. Frea looked between them,

"I copied the concept, and made a version of it specifically for my Magic." She explained a little more.

"Magic Mimicry." Master murmured, smiling as he glanced away, eyes closing and crossing his arms over his chest. "A rare skill, I'm impressed you're able to use it." Mavis and Jynx nodded in agreement, with Gildarts doing so soon after.

Erza, Mira, Frea and Moon all exchanged glances, never having heard of such a thing before. "Master, would you care to explain?" Erza asked.

"It's a very rare skill that was developed by some of the most Powerful Mages in the world. It's the ability to mimic a type of Spell used by a different Magic type, and create your own Spell that works the same way, only it's base is your own Magic." He smiled a little more. "The perfect recreation of someone else's Spell, using your own Magic."

"So it's like Copy-Cat Magic?" Moon elaborated, looking to Master with an understanding expression. Master looked up, glancing toward the Exceed with a surprised look.

"Almost, Copy-Cat Magic is a Magic used specifically for the perfect copy of any type of Magic. Although Copy-Cat Magic looks exactly like the Magic it is copying. It is an exact copy, unlike with Magic Mimicry, where your Magic creates a copy of the Spell to be used with your own Magic." He paused, "But Copy-Cat Magic can never achieve the level of power of the Magic it is trying to Copy. It is true that the power of the Copy-Cat Magic User may decide how powerful the copy is, but no matter how powerful they are, the Copy-Cat magic will not be as powerful as the original."

Moon nodded a little, "Unless the Power of the Magic that is being copied is very low, in which case the Copy-Cat magic can reach the same level of Power as the original." Moon answered, "Or, the Magic being copied isn't very hard to master as if you were learning it all on it's own."

Everyone looked to Moon, eyes wide and blinking in confusion. Master nodded slightly, "Yes, that is correct… I'm a little curious as to how you know so much about Copy-Cat Magic?" He asked and Moon shrugged, looking a little nervous.

"… I can use it, if I want to." Moon replied. "Kyo used it, and he taught me the basics."

"Why the hell didn't I know?!" Frea snapped, looking shocked and slightly annoyed. Moon glanced up at her Partner, blinking.

"You didn't ask..?" Moon replied rather weakly, "It really isn't something I use often, I prefer Memory Magic, it's a bit more practical." The Exceed shrugged, "Look, I was only trying to create a connection between Magic Mimicry and Cop-Cat Magic. Relax." Frea stared at her Partner, it wasn't so much that Moon hadn't mentioned it, it was the fact she hadn't sensed that sort of Magic in her Partner before now.

Though... she hadn't actually ever come across anyone who could use Copy-Cat Magic, she wouldn't have the slightest idea what it felt like.

"Who is Kyo?" Mira asked, causing both Frea and Moon to look her way.

Moon paused a moment, and Frea looked away from Mira back toward Moon. She could easily feel the uneasiness coming off of her little Exceed Partner, and she suddenly felt a little bad for her.

No one in the Guild had tried to ask Moon about her past as far as Frea knew, and she was glad for it. It had become clear to her that anything related to her Partner's past caused the Exceed pain, and she herself had never pressed. She preferred to let Moon talk about it on her own time, Frea had never been one to press things of people who clearly didn't want to talk.

"He used to be my friend, several years ago." Moon replied quietly. "He passed away some time ago, since then I've been on my own." Moon mumbled, rubbing her arms a little.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Mira said softly, Frea glanced away from her Partner, but gave her a small squeeze just to comfort her a little.

"I suppose Natsu's going to want a fight when we get back." Frea murmured, looking out the window with a small smile, trying to steer the conversation away from Moon. Everyone smiled (besides Laxus) at the words,

"True, he probably won't be happy once the announcement is made." Erza commented, "He might even try to challenge you in some attempt to become S-Class."

"He's too much of a hot-head." Frea chuckled, "Unfortunately, I may not be in the mood…" She frowned slightly, her stomach flipping suddenly. No, by the time they got back, the effects of eating the Nullification Matter was bound to catch up with her by then, and she was not going to be happy when it did.

She still couldn't believe that they had tricked her like this, she wasn't sure how to feel about it to be honest….. should she be happy, mad, or indifferent? Or maybe she was supposed to feel proud of herself for having achieved an accomplishment such as being promoted to an S-Class?

She was… surprised, and the fact she had been promoted…. Didn't really see to have an impact on her. She had never wanted to be S-Class, never felt the desire to…. This was going to be like receiving a gift she hadn't known she wanted, and she wasn't sure she did want it still.

She wasn't going to argue with Master's decision on this though, because he was right, she had held this off for long enough, it was time to just accept it, she supposed. They had all gone through the effort of putting it all together and keeping it a secret, just because they knew she wouldn't have gone along with it had she known what was really going on.

Frea blinked, and adjusted a little to pull the Demon-Sealed Lacrima from her pocket. Several pairs of eyes turned toward her and she glanced to Master Makarov,

"Did you want me to destroy it?" She asked him quietly, and he glanced her way. Master took a moment to contemplate it, before shaking his head and holding out his hand,

"There is no need, I have faith your Spell should seal the Demon away for a very long time. I shall keep it safe, before handing it over to the Council." Frea nodded slightly, handing it over to him without argue.

"Energy Dragon," Jynx said as they stepped off the Train in Magnolia one after the other.

The sun was begging to rise over the town, they had arrived just a the new day began to start. People were beginning to set up shops in the market, others got up to walk through the town. Without a cloud in the sky, it would prove to be a beautiful day.

Frea glanced to the ghost, eyebrow raised, Jynx smiled slightly. "I assume you would like to know, that Chase and Aisha have made it back to the Guild safely."

Frea binked, yes she was happy to hear Chase had made it back fine, she really couldn't care less about Aisha though.

Jynx seemed to sense what she was thinking, because the small ghost shook her head and sighed, smiling only slightly. "Despite what happened the first time you two met, I would hope you'll settle things sooner or later." Jynx murmured, Frea frowned slightly.

"Don't count on it." She muttered and Jynx looked at her silently, smile disappearing. Silence passed between the two of them for a few minutes, not very long in all honesty, perhaps only a second or so, but it felt like an eternity. The tenseness pricking at the air between them was becoming increasingly thick as the days past, Frea had to wonder if this was how it was going to be between Jynx and herself from now on.

"Do as you wish, Energy Dragon." Jynx said in a low tone, glancing away and letting her red eyes fall closed. "Just know, Aisha will indeed have a part to play in your future. Unexpected things are about to begin, be ready." With those last words, Jynx had disappeared into a purple haze, once again leaving before Frea could question her.

Aisha would have a part to play in her future? What the hell was that supposed to mean?! Why would that annoying MoonLight Mage have anything to do with her future?!

She huffed slightly, her agitation with Jynx's mysterious behavior was wearing on her patience, she really wished she could bop the damn ghost on the head. Unfortunately, she was fairly certain her hand would simply pass through the Spirit, and that would only make her less happy.

But she was slightly put on edge now, Jynx said things were about to start happening… and she knew by now, that Jynx had an impeccable sense of when things were about to go down. No matter how annoyed she was with the ghost, it would be stupid to ignore what Jynx said. So, for that, she was going to be on high alert for awhile. She needed to be ready for whatever was about to 'begin', not wanting to be caught unaware.

"Are you coming?" Frea's attention snapped toward Moon, who had paused a little ways in front of her. The rest of their group had already begun to head toward the Guild Hall, after having exited the Train. She had fallen slightly behind, having been stopped by Jynx almost as soon as she had gotten off the Train.

Moon blinked at her, noticing how tense she was so suddenly, but not exactly quite sure why. Frea took a small breath and began to walk forward, "Yes, sorry." She replied, where she caught up.

Moon took a seat down on her shoulder silently, casting one last confused look toward the Energy Dragon Slayer but not questioning it. She guessed it had something to do with Jynx, and although she hadn't heard what the ghost had said, she could tell it was something that had struck home with Frea.

Laxus POV

Laxus glanced sideways, without turning his head to look back at Frea. He narrowed his eyes slightly, the ghost's words ringing in his ears. He was fairly sure that other than Frea herself, he had been the only one to hear the very few words that were shared between the two.

'Just know, Aisha will indeed have a part to play in your future. Unexpected things are about to begin, be ready.'

That was a dire warning if he ever heard one, and he was slightly surprised to hear it come from the ghost no less.

Laxus himself had never taken the time to get to know Jynx since he had found out about her existence back on Tenrou. He had had the opportunity to do so, considering she had stuck around since coming back from the seven year gap.

But he didn't like her, and he didn't know why. He accredited some of his dislike, into wariness for her. There was something darker about Jynx, and he hadn't needed to get to know her to be able to sense that darkness from the ghost.

It wasn't a darkness you would usually associate with Dark Mages or evil things though, it was just a feeling unlike anything he had ever felt before.

He had also come to tell that Jynx was one to hide things, several things, and he had the feeling that most of those 'things' she was hiding, were relatively important.

The other thing he didn't like, was the idea that Jynx had been around since his Grandfather had joined the Guild. Even Makarov didn't seem quite so thrilled with having her around half the time, and the Old Man's wariness of her was completely confusing. He hadn't a clue why the Old Man acted that way, but it didn't make him any more inclined to trust Jynx.

He let his eyes move back to the path ahead, now he knew for a fact, his uncertainties about Jynx were shared by none other than Frea herself.

He sighed silently, at least Frea had the sense to be wary of the ghost, he would consider her a fool if she wasn't. He smiled slightly,

To be honest, in all the time he had known Frea, he hadn't truly ever thought of her as a fool.

The Guild began to become filled as the sun rise up over the town that morning, everyone falling into what they did best, whether it was drinking, arguing, eating, laughing or talking. It was turning out to be a regular day within the Guild, well, almost regular.

There wasn't any brawling going on.

"What are they doing?" Lucy asked, glancing toward the three boys sitting at a window near the Guild entrance. She blinked at it, finding it rather odd that Gajeel, Gray and Natsu were all staring out the window so intently. Her question caught the attention of the people sitting around her, sitting at the same table she was.

Solana, who had come through her Gate earlier, was sitting at one end of the table, fussing over Happy who sat in her lap, enjoying all the attention. The red-head didn't even seem to register that Lucy had said a thing,

Loke who was sitting beside Solana, and who had come through his Gate at the same time Solana had, glanced toward the boys, eyebrow raised. "No clue."

Wendy and Carla glanced toward the sight too, but they didn't seem to have any idea either. "It's a little weird to have them all sitting there like that." Wendy murmured.

"Certainly, especially seeing how they aren't bickering." Carla commented,

Lily crossed his paws over his chest, gaze fixed on his Partner. "They have the look of a hunter waiting for its prey to crawl into sight." He muttered, earning sweatdrops from everyone at the analogy.

"They're waiting." Chase murmured, resting his chin in his hand as he glanced toward the three with a bored expression.

"I agree." Aisha murmured, leaning back in her seat beside the Energy Mage with her arms crossed over her chest and eyes closed.

The two of them had come back to the Guild last night, surprising everyone by just how at ease Aisha suddenly seemed to be. While the New Member still wasn't one to join in on conversation regularly, she was clearly not as tense as she had been, that could probably be accredited to something Chase had said or done while out on their Mission.

"Waiting?" Loke, Lucy, Carla, Wendy and Lily questioned, blinking at the words. Chase nodded, looking to them and shrugging slightly, eyes closing.

"They think something's up." He said in slight amusement, "Considering Master, Mira and Erza all disappeared at the same time." He chuckled slightly, and they tilted their heads. They were surprised he had come up with the answer so fast, especially only learning what had been going on in the Guild just last night.

"Why is that so weird?" Lucy asked, still confused. Chase shrugged,

"Dunno." He replied. "That's about all I could piece together for that." He said, pointing toward the three at the window.

"... They're all high-ranking members." Lily commented, looking thoughtful.

"That's right, both Erza and Mira are S-Class!" Lucy exclaimed, the thoughts clicking together in her head. "Last time a the S-Class and Master joined up, they announced the participants for the S-Class exams."

"They can't really be thinking about those, can they?" Carla asked, "Surely not after what happened last time?"

"I thought the S-Class exams were only held at the end of the year?" Wendy murmured, looking a little put-off by the idea of the Exams again.

"Juvia wonders if there is something wrong?" Suddenly Juvia appeared to sit next to Lucy, causing the blonde to jump.

"Where the heck did you come from?!" Lucy yelped, but she was ignored.

"That's possible." Lily agreed with the Rain Woman, "Perhaps the Magic Council needed something done, and the Master called upon S-Class to get it done."

They all nodded slightly, considering that explanation to be more likely than another re-run of the S-Class exams.

"It must be pretty dangerous if the Master wants Mira and Erza to take care of it." Wendy mumbled, looking a little scared for the two woman.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure they can handle it." Carla assured the girl. "After all, they are the strongest female Wizards here in the Guild."

Murmurs of agreement rung out around the group, Solana paused suddenly in her fussing over Happy to glance around the table at who was assembled. Unbeknownst to the others, she had in fact been listening to everything that had been said. Carla's comment caught her attention though, because the Exceed was missing a name in her statement. Erza and Mira were not the only strongest female Wizards in the Guild, of that she was sure.

In fact, she would have said so out loud, but stopped herself. Everyone would begin to recognize that other name soon enough, without her help.

So, she returned to doting on Happy, causing the blue Exceed to pure in delight as she scratched him behind the ears.

Aisha looked toward her sister as she saw the Dragon Slayer pause in her attention toward the blue cat in her lap. She raised an eyebrow at the sudden falter, wondering what just the hell was going through Solana's head in that instant. Aisha herself was only half-way following what everyone was saying, she hadn't been in the Guild long enough to know about everything that went on within it, or had happened before her joining.

Nor was she particularly interested, leave the guessing games to the Members who cared.

Loke tapped a finger to his chin, glancing toward the three assembled beside the window, then sweeping his gaze around the Hall.

"Hmm..." He let out a low breath, causing several of them to look his way.

"What's up Loke?" Lucy asked.

"Now that I think about it..." He murmured. "Didn't Master, Mira and Erza disappear on the same day you said Frea and Laxus went on their mission?"

Frea followed along beside Moon, Mira and Erza as the headed along toward the Guild Hall. Her eyes were closed and arms crossed over her chest, a bead of sweat on her forehead. Oh she was so regretting eating the Nullification Magic now, her stomach was flipping relentlessly.

Necessary evil, she reminded herself once more, but she wasn't happy with it.

Even her chest hurt, which she was going to accredit to the fact that she had probably cracked a few ribs in the fight. She wasn't hurt enough to bother Wendy or anyone with it though, and she didn't plan to, if she really wanted she could fix those cracked ribs herself.

She listened to the three talk to each other about what they expected to happen at the Guild once they got back, deciding it better to put her attention on something other than her sore chest and churning stomach.

"I'm betting Natsu and Gray will wanna fight." Moon smirked, "Or at least they'll definitely have something to say about it!" She chuckled a little.

"Hopefully they won't be too upset about it." Mira smiled, "Considering what happened with last years S-Class exams, Master may not even decide to do them this year."

"That would be likely. Too much has happened recently to even think about doing them." Erza agreed with a small nod of her head.

Frea blinked once at the words, somewhere in the back of her mind she sort of knew Master probably wasn't going to do run the S-Class exams at the end of the year. It made sense, she couldn't think that everyone had gotten over what had happened already, even she would not have wanted to do them when the time came around, though that was nothing new.

... Now, that was a different story. She supposed, she wouldn't actually be taking the Exams, instead she'd probably end up helping run them. She sweatdropped, eyes closing and sighing silently. She wasn't entirely sure she was ready for this, she rubbed the back of her neck a little.

With the hits she had taken during her fight, her clothes had become a little ragged, and on their way back, she had decided to change on the train.

Instead of her newly decided Mission Attire she had been wearing earlier, she had changed into the spare clothes she had kept in her bag, a black tank top with a silver shirt over it that hung off her shoulders to leave them bare, and a pair of dark jeans. She had left her combat boots on, and tied her hair back into a loose, messy bun with Virgo's Ribbon.

She had sent her bag and her tattered clothes back to Fairy Hills after that, feeling a lot better being out of the dust, and blood stained outfit she had had on.

While she had been changing, that had given her some time to look herself over a bit more. Several bruises across her back, and even some small cuts, but that was about it for wounds, beside the scratch on her cheek, the cracked ribs, and the ache all over her body.

She had gotten out of that fight pretty well off, which both surprised herself, and the people who had witnessed the battle.

She glanced toward Moon, her Exceed Partner's prediction suddenly ringing in her head.

'I'm betting Natsu and Gray will wanna fight. Or at least they'll definitely have something to say about it!'

She didn't doubt Natsu was going to challenge her after Master made the announcement, and even Gray was likely, seeming as how much the two of them had cared about the Exams back on Tenrou.

However, Moon was missing two other people, two others who Frea guessed were going to have a few things to say about her unexpected, and 'rare' Exam.

Exams were never held any other time than at the end of the year when Master chose who would participate. Sometimes there were many Members chosen, sometimes only one or two. While she had been aware that Master could test someone separately, and at a different time of the year, she had never expected him to do so for her.

She didn't like how they had tricked her, and she was still slightly pissed at Laxus out of all of them, simply because he was the easiest to be pissed at.

Not only was he the one that had ditched her, even if he had been ordered to, but he was also the very Mage within the Guild she had never quite seen eye to eye with. Laxus had been pissing her off long before he ever left her to fight alone, just as he had been pissing her off relentlessly all the years she had known him since joining the Guild.

She was going to he angry for awhile yet, and she was definitely going to find some way to get back at him.

But, back to those four she expected to hear complaints, and even exchange fists with once Master announced her sudden promotion.

The two obvious ones were Natsu and Gray, and just as obvious, at least in her opinion, were Gajeel and Elfman.

Elfman had shown he was just as concerned with the Exams as Natsu and Gray were, and she was sure to earn a lecture and maybe even a fight from the Take-Over Mage.

And Gajeel, while he hadn't been selected for the Exams back on Tenrou, he had clearly been interested in them. Gajeel liked the idea of a challenge, and even becoming S-Class was something he wanted to achieve. He often brawled with Frea, and she could tell he enjoyed it, as did she. They were both strong opponents, and they both enjoyed the challenge the other brought to the table.

Although, Gajeel had yet to actually beat Frea in a brawl, the same can be said for Natsu, Gray and Elfman.

As they neared the Guild Hall, she was convinced her assumptions were true.

Guess who could be seen staring out a window at the front of the hall, eyes narrowed and completely tense?

Gajeel, Natsu and Gray.

Three out of four I guess?

She suddenly wanted to stop walking. She didn't want to go in the hall. She didn't want to deal with them, she really wasn't in the mood.

But she knew that stopping and leaving wasn't an option at this point. This was what was going to happen, she had to deal with it, and the reactions she would receive from everyone else.

"Gildarts, Gramps!" Natsu rushed out of the hall immediately, looking happy with Gildarts appearance and almost demanding of an explanation for Master's disappearance.

Natsu came to a halt once he saw who else was with the two men who had been leading the small group, Gray and Gajeel coming to a halt beside the pinkette.

"Laxus, Erza, Mira, Frea!?" Natsu and Gray shouted, eyes wide an sweatdropping.

Moon blinked, raising a paw slightly, with Mavis raising a hand as well, "We're here too." The Exceed and the Spirit mumbled.

"What the hell are all of you doing together?" Gray asked, his eyes sweeping over all of them. Master smiled slightly in return to the Ice-Mage,

Mira POV

"What indeed!" Master chuckled, continuing on toward the front doors. "Come along, I've something to announce!"

Gildarts, Laxus and Erza followed Master closely, while Mira and Moon hung back a little with Frea. Frea took a slow step forward, eyes narrowed and sweatdropping slightly.

Mira seemed to notice her reluctance, because she smiled reassuringly and placed a hand on Frea's back to gently urge her forward a little.

Mira didn't see the Energy Dragon Slayer's hesitation as fear or weakness, she had come to realize over the years how flustered Frea was with any sort of attention given to her. That had been clear when so many Mages had crowded around Frea back in Crocus at the party within the castle.

Mira had also come to the conclusion it was also one of the reasons Frea hadn't told the Guild the truth about Solana, what had happened, and what she knew.

Frea didn't like being the center of attention, she wasn't comfortable with praise, and she definitely wasn't one to go looking for the spotlight.

Although many may not know it, Frea was a rather modest and shy person at heart when it came to talking about herself, and it only made her a kinder person in the end. Frea used her fists a lot, and she was definitely scary when she wanted to be, but it was all a side of her that happened to show more often than the Energy Dragon Slayer's kinder, softer side.

Mira smiled to herself, Frea walking forward a little faster at the soft touch of the white-haired woman's hand. Frea was going to be embarrassed with this for awhile, but eventually she would fall into her new rank as an S-Class Mage rather well, of that Mira was certain.

She had watched Frea change throughout the years, learned about her more, come to understand her better. Mira was one of the people in the Guild who had given attention to Frea more than others had.

Not to say that the rest of the Guild hasn't cared to pay attention to the Energy Dragon Slayer, some were just a bit more observant than others.

Mira had come to understand how Frea thought, acted, felt, worked, and spoke, in the years she had grown up with her.

It was Frea, Erza, Mira and Laxus who had all come to the Guild all those years ago and they had all been around the same age, they learned together, fought together, and with each other, and eventually grew to know one another better than some.

Mira smiled a little more, Frea had learned a lot over the years, from both the Guild, her past battles, and her friends.

And Mira had learned several things from Frea, and become better Mage for it, even if Frea was unaware of it.

Frea was one of the best Mages in the Guild, both in terms of strength, skill, and power, as well as things such as trust, courage, loyalty and heart.

Mira chuckled under her breath a little, falling behind Frea as they entered the Hall.

Frea POV

Frea kept her eyes on Master's back as she followed him inside, not wanting to meet the gazes of the people in the Guild. She could easily tell they were all interested, and many of them were confused, while others were impatient.

By now it had become clear that something had gone on, how often was it that all the S-Class Mages and Master went somewhere together? Even Gildarts' appearance was making people begin to wonder, though no one forgot to call out cheerful greetings to the returning Member.

Even the appearance of Laxus and herself with the group was odd, considering that to the Guild, they hadn't all left with each other.

Frea followed the other S-Class and Master to the stage, coming to a halt between Erza and Mira, Moon breaking away to take a seat down at a table with several of their friends. Mavis stopped at the edge of the stage to watch.

The hall went silent, everyone's eyes turning toward the six atop the stage.

"What's going on Gramps?" Natsu called up.

"I have an announcement to make!" Master called out, crossing his arms behind his back. "As I'm sure you've all noticed by now, the Guild's S-Class and I all went on a little trip together." Frea blinked at the fact he hadn't called her out of the S-Class group in the statement, but no one in the Guild seemed to notice the assumption.

"We've been discussing this a long time, and we all felt it was time to bump another Member to the rank of S-Class." Master smiled, "For that, we put together a special test, and Frea passed with flying colors!" Master swept his hand out to the side to gesture toward the Energy Dragon Slayer.

Several people's jaws dropped and hit the floor around the hall, Frea sweatdropped slightly at the reaction.

Master continued, seemingly not noticing the initial reactions. "Frea has now been promoted to the rank of S-Class!" His announcement was made, and the noise that followed was deafening.

"YEAH!"

They cheered. Shouted, congratulated, rose their voices in a chorus of happiness, surprise and praise. Many jumped from their seats, raising their fists in the air and grinning widely, others bounced up and down, everyone smiled.

Frea sweatdropped more, the reaction catching her off guard by a mile.

"Great!"

"Its about damn time!"

"That's so cool!"

"You deserve it!"

"Finally! How long were ya gonna wait?!"

"Always knew ya had it in ya Frea!"

"Yeah!"

Frea blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of the situation as best she could, her silver gaze sweeping over the crowd slowly.

The Mages standing atop the stage with the Energy Dragon Slayer smiled, the answer from the Guild is what they had expected. Because everyone in Fairy Tail had known this would happen someday, and many had expected it to happen a very long time ago.

Frea was a strong Mage, she was very good at what she did, she had proven over and over her loyalty to the Guild, and the willingness to fight for it. They knew Frea had never been below the level of S-Class for very long since she joined the Guild. She had grown stronger at exponential rates, she was truly the level of an S-Class.

Frea smiled nervously, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment, eyes closing. "Uh... Thanks..." She mumbled, her voice nearly lost to the noise. Most everyone on the stage chuckled at her embarrassment.

"Time to Celebrate with Booze!" Cana called above the rest, raising a mug and smiling widely. A chorus of approval rose up, the day and night was sure to turn into one of the Guild's famous celebrations.

Nastu, Gajeel, Gray and Elfman all smirked at the news, cracking their knuckles in anticipation.

They were happy to hear of her promotion of course, probably at a level higher than most others because they had always thought of Frea as being on par with Erza, Mira and Laxus alike.

"Hehe! Alright!" Natsu called out, grinning widely.

"Way to go Frea!" Gray smirked.

"But now its time to test our strength against yours, Gihi." Gajeel grinned.

"Fighting with you as an S-Class now is a real Man!" Elfman roared, smiling.

Frea's eyes turned to them, and she smirked in reply. She wasn't comfortable with the praise everyone was giving her, and she was more than happy to fall into a fight, more comfortable with going up against the four than standing there and accepting the praise and attention everyone was giving her.

She didn't care that her stomach was flipping of that her body hurt in that moment, she wanted to fight with them, just to get past the embarrassment of the announcement.

She slammed a fist into her palm, cracking her knuckles and smirking as Magic began to spiral up around her feet. However much Magic she had been drained of, it had regenerated in enough time she had plenty to kick those four's asses with.

"You got it! Think all four of you can beat me?!" She called down, her usual demeanor returning in seconds.

The four boys smirked, their own Magic beginning to flare up.

"Oh hell yeah!"

Chase POV

Chase smiled, leaning his chin in his hand and letting his eyes fall closed. The sound of destruction erupted in the Hall soon after the announcement, telling him that Frea had begun her fight with the four men.

He opened his eyes to glance sideways toward his old mentor, "Good job Teach." He murmured, he glanced to her smirking at the four men she had already started a fight with, having successfully destroyed every single Ice Lance Gray sent her way.

It hadn't been hard for him to sense that Frea was pretty low on Magic Energy when she had come in, he guessed that would have to be because she spent it while doing her exam/test. Though, the lack of Magic Energy hasn't seemed to have deterred her from leaping into a fight at any rate.

He had to wonder just how Master had managed to get her to even take an Exam to become an S-Class..? His eyes landed on Laxus and he blinked once.

His guess was the mission with the Lightning-for-brains had just been a set up, where Frea had thought she was being sent on an everyday mundane mission, she was probably tricked into taking a test to become S-Class.

He smiled slightly, he knew Frea wouldn't have taken the test had she known about it, so he was certain she had been tricked into it.

Frea had made it clear that she had no interest in the S-Class Exams, or becoming S-Class at all. She had told him exactly that when they had been a pair back in Tenrou, during the first Trial.

His smile faded as he focused his attention on Frea again. Teach hadn't ever wanted to do the Ezams, because she had not trusted herself with the responsibility of becoming an S-Class Mage. She had, and probably still did, see herself as a threat to the Guild should she get out of control.

She had hurt the Guild before, and she had never forgiven herself for it, he doubted she ever would.

He smiled again and turned away, closing his eyes.

This was going to be good for her, she would learn to trust in herself, and he was certain she would fit in as an S-Class Mage rather well.

She had already accepted her new rank, so she was at a good start.

No One POV

As the fighting between Frea and her four challengers continued on, the Guild Hall was engulfed in the loud, rowdy atmosphere it usually was, something that had been missing for those seven years many of the members had been gone.

Everywhere around people were smiling, laughing, drinking, talking. Everyone was happy with the announcemt, glad that Frea had finally been promoted, because it was something they had expected to happen long ago.

But even more so, they were happy because this was the Guild they knew. The attitude of every Fairy Tail Member they had grown to know so well, and they felt at home with it.

Sitting by himself near the edge of the hall, palette in hand and canvas set before him, Reedus smiled as he looked out over the Hall, a painting of everyone on the canvas in front of him, brush in one hand. He sighed, smiling more.

This was Fairy Tail, when everyone was happy, together.

Hey Guys! I got another chapter posted! Hopefully you enjoyed it, even though its not so exciting! I would like to thank all of you who read, follow, fav and review for this! You have no idea how happy it make me when you guys read it, follow or fav it, and review!

With this chapter up, the next one I plan to make a little funny besides all the serious action stuff that's been going on!

And, now I have to actually get to writing the Harvest Festival chapter for my 'New KeyHolder' story! I will try to get that up as soon as I can for any of you who are reading it, and then I'll be trying to post another chappy for my Soul Eater story after that!

Thanks! Please, follow, fav and review! Thank you!