Two years later...

Sorcha walked down the winding roads back into Magnolia, her pack shouldered and her coin purse bouncing at her hip. It was another beautiful day in Magnolia, the spring air a cool welcome on her return to town from her job. She made her way to the Fairy Tail guild hall, nestled quietly in the forested outskirts of town.

"Hey, Kinana!"

Kinana looked up to see Sorcha entering the guild hall and she smiled. "Hello! How was the job?"

Sorcha smiled, grabbing her coin purse and a nearby bowl. "It went well. The contact gave me a bit extra since I helped them rebuild their town after that Vulcan attack. Those giant furballs are getting really ballsy lately, not sure why though."

"Wow, that'll be enough to help us get through the next few months on its own!" Kinana stared at the bowl, now almost overflowing with money. "I'll take it to Master Makao right away."

Sorcha smiled. "Thanks, Kinana. I'm gonna grab another job and head out, so I'll see you when I get back?"

"Of course! Be safe?"

"Always am."

"Oh, Sorcha, you're back."

Sorcha looked up as Makao came out of his office. "Hey, Master. Ya, I just returned from my job."

"Look, Master!" Kinana presented him with the bowl of money.

"Whoah, that's a lot of money." Makao said, looking from the money to Sorcha. "You keep up like this, we'll be able to get back on our feet in no time."

Sorcha smiled, glancing at the job board. Her smile faded a bit and she sighed. "There aren't many jobs coming in still. We got lucky with the last few I took." She looked at Makao. "Anyway, Master, I'm going to grab another job and head out."

"Oh, um, before you do..." Makao pointed behind her.

"Sorcha..?"

Sorcha's eyes widened at the sound of a voice she hadn't heard in years. She turned and stared at its owner, not believing her eyes. "Lucy?"

Lucy stared at Sorcha, tears in her eyes. "I don't believe it..!" She ran to Sorcha and threw her arms around her. "You're back!"

Sorcha was taken aback, but she wrapped her arms around Lucy and hugged her tightly. "Lucy... I thought I'd never see you again..!"

Lucy stepped back and smiled, wiping away her tears. "We got back a few weeks ago."

"But how? Tenrou Island disappeared along with the rest of you!"

"Long story short, the first master of Fairy Tail- Mavis- was able to activate the spell 'Fairy Sphere' using the bounds of our friendship and saved us when Acnologia attacked. Now, after seven long years, we've returned."

Sorcha looked over as Erza made her way to her. "Erza?" She hugged her as well when Erza pulled her in for one. "Thank goodness you're all safe." She stepped back and looked around the guild hall, seeing Gray, Mirajane and Elfman, along with a few faces she didn't recognize- people who had joined the guild after she went into her slumber- in the guild hall.

"No way, is that really you, Sorcha?"

Sorcha smiled as the others joined her. "You're all here..!" She looked around the guild hall, but saw no one else. "What about the others?"

"Natsu and Happy are training." Gray said.

"Hello, you must be Sorcha Robasan."

Sorcha nodded as the blue haired woman smiled. "Yes. Are you a new member of Fairy Tail?"

"This is Juvia. She joined our guild not long after you went to sleep." Mira said. "And there are a few others who joined as well."

"Come on! Everyone has been dying to see you again!" Lucy said, grabbing her hand.

Sorcha followed her outside into the courtyard and towards the back of the guild hall where their garden and clothes lines were.

"When we heard that you had woken up, we were all so happy to see you again. But Master Makao said that you were still out on a job, so we've been waiting for you to come back." Lucy explained. "Hey, Natsu! Happy!"

Natsu and Happy turned around, smiling when they saw Lucy. Natsu sniffed the air, his smile growing. "Sorcha! Long time no see!" He sniffed again. "You smell kinda different, though."

"Sorcha!"

Sorcha caught Happy as he flew into her arms, crying. "Oh, Happy." She held the little cat close and smiled. "There's no need to cry."

"But we were all really worried and we really missed you!" Happy said, sniffling.

"I'm alright now, Happy. And I missed you, too."

"Sorcha?"

She looked up and her eyes widened. "Lisanna?"

Lisanna ran to her and threw her arms around her just as Happy took to the air again. "It's so good to see you!"

Sorcha hugged her and looked down at her. "But, we thought you were dead!"

"It's a long story, but basically I was sent to Edolas when their Lisanna died. I was stuck there for two years, then when everyone was brought to Edolas by the king, a whole bunch of stuff happened and I was sent back."

"I'm so glad you're alright." Sorcha hugged her.

"Sorcha, is that really you?"

"Levy!"

Levy ran to her and joined in the hugging, smiling. "It's been too long! We were all relieved to hear that you had woken up again!"

Sorcha smiled. "It took awhile, longer than I thought. I'm sorry I worried you guys."

Levy and Lisanna stepped back and smiled, then stood aside as a few others stepped forward.

"Is that Pixie?"

"I do believe it is!"

Sorcha smiled and embraced Evergreen as she, Freed, and Bickslow approached her. "You guys!"

"Oh, Sorcha, we've missed you dreadfully!" Evergreen said. She stood back and looked her over. "You've really changed! I love your hair!"

Sorcha smiled, then hugged Freed and Bickslow, giggling as his babies surrounded her and cheered with glee. She looked around, her smile fading a bit. "Is he..."

"He isn't here, but I'm sure he's fine."

Sorcha looked down and saw that Makarov had joined them as well. "Makarov!" She leaned down and hugged him. "I'm so relieved to see everyone safe again." She stood and stepped back, looking at everyone. "When I woke up and found my way to Fairy Tail's 'new' guild hall, Makao filled me in on what happened. We were all so worried we'd never see you again. Poor Romeo hadn't smiled once since you guys disappeared." She looked at the rundown tavern they had come to call their guild hall. "I've been taking as many jobs as I can, trying to do extra work along the way, and bring in any money I could. But the number of job requests has gone down so much over the years." She looked back at her friends- her family- and smiled. "But with everyone back again, we can really rebuild our guild's reputation and get more jobs coming in again."

"So who the hell are you?"

Sorcha looked up as a black haired, gruff looking young man with iron all over his face and arms stepped forward. "My name is Sorcha, I've been a member of Fairy Tail since I was a child."

"How come I've never seen you before then?"

"Gajeel, don't you remember people talking about the girl in the willow tree?"

"Oh, that's you?"

Sorcha nodded. "Seven, nearly eight years ago, we faced an enemy that was stronger than we thought. I lost my brother in that battle and used up nearly all of my magikal power trying to save everyone. As a result of the spell I cast, the amount of magikal power I had used was not replenishing like it should so I had to go into a deep sleep in order to restore it. If I hadn't, it would have killed me." She looked at the young man. "Your name is Gajeel?"

"Ya, what of it?"

Sorcha smiled. "Welcome to the Fairy Tail guild, Gajeel. Though, it comes years too late, it is wonderful to see another strong wizard within our ranks."

"So, Sorcha, what was it like being stuck in a deep sleep for so long?" Natsu asked.

"It wasn't as boring as one might think." Sorcha said, smiling. "I was actually training the entire time, though it was more on an astral level than physical."

"You reached the astral plane?" Makarov asked.

Sorcha nodded. "While I was sleeping, Phesoria came to me. She reached out to me through the realm of spirits and drew me to the astral plane. She actually taught me a lot of the spells she knew, the ones that had been saved by the scholars when they were exiled. She helped me gain more power, more knowledge, and she helped me train until I mastered the spells given to me."

"What about your hair? It used to be all green." Levy pointed out.

"When my training was complete and my magikal power was nearly restored, Phesoria and I became one. I guess you could say that whatever power she had left fused with my own and she passed on finally. As a result, some of her energy altered my appearance a bit."

"That explains why you smell different!" Natsu said.

Sorcha nodded. "Mmhmm."

"But it's still you, right?" Levy asked, a worried look on her face.

Sorcha nodded. "It's one hundred percent still me, Levy."

"Well that's a relief." Lucy said, smiling. "What are you up to today? It'd be nice for us all to catch up."

"I was going to head out on another job actually, but I think I can take a day or two off first. I haven't seen you guys in a long time; it'll be nice to catch up."

Sorcha stood off to the side, watching as her family and friends rejoiced in their return and reuniting with her after so long. The guild was still a lot smaller than it used to be, but its major members had all returned and things seemed like they were getting back to normal.

"Miss Sorcha?"

"Oh, hey Freed."

"Are you doing alright?"

Sorcha nodded. "Ya. It's good to see everyone again."

"And we are happy to see you well again, too." Freed looked from her to their comrades. "He never stopped hoping you'd return someday, you know."

Sorcha sighed, knowing who he was talking about. "I know... but I can't expect things to remain the same as they were before." She looked at Freed. "Makao told me what happened to get him exiled from the guild."

"We all made mistakes that day. And while it seemed like he was trying to destroy the guild and rebuild it anew, the truth shined brightly when he cast Fairy Law and no one was hurt."

Sorcha sighed and looked at their friends. "Fairy Law is designed to take out any one the caster deems an enemy. If no one was hurt..."

"One's heart and magik cannot lie. Deep down, he loved the guild and all its members, which is why the spell didn't work. He never truly saw any of them as an enemy."

"Freed, how was he when I went to sleep?"

"He changed, as one might expect, but it was clear that he missed you very much. As we all did. I do believe that many of his actions since the day you fell into a deep slumber were a result of your absence. As long as you and Laxus have known each other, he was always a better person with you around. When you grew together in your relationship, he was a different person- a happier person. But when you left us, it was as though his world came crashing down and he lashed out at those around him."

Sorcha sighed. "I was afraid that would happen..." She placed a hand on Freed's shoulder. "Thanks, Freed."

"Of course."

"I think I'm going to head home for the night. Let the others know if anyone asks?"

"I will."

"Thanks." Sorcha began turning away.

"Miss Sorcha?"

She stopped and looked back at him. "Hmm?"

"It is wonderful to see you again."

Sorcha smiled at that. "It's good to see you, too, Freed. All of you."

Sorcha walked through the dark streets of Magnolia, heading home. She stopped by the field where the lilies and willow tree grew, passing through it every time she went between the guild hall and her apartment. She walked through the grassy field, stepping through the ring of white lilies, and she stood in front of the willow tree. She reached up and touched the trunk where she had slumbered for five years, sighing.

"Thank you for helping me, for protecting me." She said to the tree. 'If only it hadn't have come to that, the others wouldn't have suffered as much... especially Laxus...'

Sorcha stepped back and turned towards the road, stepping through the lilies. A breeze blew through the field and she looked up at the sky. She sighed, aching to see Laxus again but fearing that they could never be together again.

"I'm sorry..."

"Who are you?"

Sorcha's eyes widened and she looked towards the road, seeing Laxus approaching.

"I'll ask you again. Who are you?"

'He doesn't recognize me...' Sorcha looked away, her heart heavy.

Laxus came to stand just in front of her and he looked from her to the tree. "What business do you have here?"

Sorcha kept her face down. "Just giving thanks to an old friend." She started to walk away, passing by him as another breeze blew through the field.

Laxus sniffed the air, catching a familiar scent on the wind. His eyes widened and he looked after the woman who had been standing near him, seeing her hair swaying in the breeze. "Wait."

Sorcha stopped.

"Turn around."

Sorcha turned and she watched Laxus' eyes widen as the moon came out from behind the clouds and shined down on the field.

"Sorcha..?"

Sorcha looked at him, thinking back on what Freed had said and thinking about how much she must have hurt him. She turned away, afraid to face him in that moment, and she took off running, heading straight home. She opened her door, and closed it quickly behind her, leaning against it as the tears streamed down her face.

'I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Laxus...'