Hello you wonderful people! I apologize for the rather long wait... a VERY VERY VERY VERY LONG WAIT... but I hope you all had a great holiday... Please enjoy your new year and I hope you also enjoy the first chapter of 2015! Aha, thanks again for all the support! Enjoy the story! Again, I am so sorry for the long wait! My hard drive also died on me and I lost a big chunk of what I wrote... poop.

I didn't want to waste another moment. I wanted to help, but Sting only grabbed onto my arm to prevent me from getting up. I was in no condition to do a full on battle, but even Sting knew I wouldn't care. Tears started streaming down my cheeks as the thoughts of a possible apocalypse could be bound to happen. I held him tightly in my arms and continued to sob. I was terrified and scared. There was nothing Sting could do but let me hold him as it could be our last moment together. This was so much to bear that I did not even want to open my eyes and look behind me. Natsu and Gray were going at Mard Geer in the last battle before the activation of the Face. I could hear grunts and cries, explosions of sort. The breeze coming from the shock waves of power could be felt against my back. Sting could feel how much I was shaking at the anticipation of what's to come. Do I really not have enough faith in Natsu and Gray? It is true that I am still a fairly new member of Fairy Tail and I have yet to seen the limits of the Fire Dragon Slayer and Ice-Make Mage, but even Sting had full confidence in them. I heard the sounds of fighting stop and decided to look back to see the damage. But to my relief and somewhat a bit of a surprise, instead of seeing nothing but casualties, it was more like I was witnessing two children bickering.

"I said, I'm destroying it,"Gray pressed on.

"Cut the crap!" Natsu demanded as his body was trembling while trying to get up. I limped over the debris and went to Natsu's aid. I helped him get up since there was no chance arguing at him to not move. The two were so busy getting at each other that they didn't even greet me. Rude. "Igneel asked me to take it back to him."

Though, Gray was not bullshitting around as Natsu was thinking he was. He held in his hands the very book of E.N.D. and was definitely not joking about destroying it himself. He argued how that this torn and battered book was the one thing that created Tartaros. With all the damage that the followers of Zeref has done, Gray claimed that it was all the reason enough to destroy it. The son of Igneel did not care for his reasons, a promise was a promise, especially how this was the first time in over a decade that he has seen his father. However, this also applied to Gray and his promise made to his own father. I had no say in this. Their love for their fathers was incredibly strong and there was no simple answer to this. Though, I just sighed at this stupid bickering. Can't they just use both their power at the same time to destroy it? Zeref did raise me too, maybe I had all the right to destroy it too, whatever. But then, there was something that was able to bring this childish argument to an end.

"Face," I said as the countdown to the activation of all the Magic destroying devices went to zero. It was the end for the world of Magic. Everyone's efforts had become futile. Despite Mard Geer's defeat, he was still able to keep that stupid, little face of his.

"This is only the beginning. The disappearance of Magic will eventually become "emptiness" and E.N.D. shall resurrect by feeding off all that energy...," the Underworld King said as if he was narrating a movie. He looked over with confident eyes and sly smirk. "... and when the strongest Etherious rises, you humans will not have the defense you call Magic."

We had nothing to say back to him. We felt so useless at this point. We had no more options and we were in the dead of helplessness. Natsu cursed out loud to release this build up of emotion, but just as he slammed to the ground, two dragons came crashing down right in front of him. Any close, and the Fire Dragon Slayer would have been crushed by the massive size of the Dragon of the Apocalypse, Acnologia. The sudden cries of Igneel, Natsu's father, roaring out to the humans to not give up snapped everyone out of our hopeless trance and speechless fears. Could the Flame Dragon have something up his sleeve? He may be an extremely powerful being, but what could he possibly do about all the Faces that are activating all over the continent? We could already feel the power draining out of our bodies. But then, the Magic siphoning atmosphere had halted. My train of thought broke when I felt Sting try to get up. I look back down on him and saw him struggle to get up. He seemed so determined that I couldn't tell him to just stay down. I had enough strength to stand a little bit, so I slung his arm over my shoulders and helped him up. Rouge managed to sit up as we all just stared at the scene.

"I-I... I can feel Weisslogia...," Sting said with hesitation as I looked dumbfounded at him. What exactly was happening?

"The dragons that you freed...," The Flame Dragon said in a low tone. "... are dancing in the skies of Ishgar!"

We all looked up and saw miracles flying through the air. They looked tiny, but we all knew what it was. Every dragon that is associated to everyone here was soaring throughout the continent and most likely taking care of Face themselves. With Wendy, Gajeel, Sting and Rouge's dragons... they brought back our faith. It was extremely astonishing how much ground dragons can cover. Before we knew it, they had already taken care of everything. Face was no longer a threat and we all had our peace of mind again. With our adrenaline cooled off a bit, we could finally calm down. Everyone's efforts was heard, and we were able to stop Tartaros' plan. Sting looked up at the foster father of his idol who was pinning down Acnologia.

"Weisslogia... is still alive?" Sting questioned. The third generation Dragon Slayers were different from the first generation. Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy had their foster parent dragon disappear from their lives without a trace on the same date. Sting and Rouge, on the other hand, witnessed first hand of the death of their dragon parents. Though, Igneel had explained that all of them were sleeping inside their respective Dragon Slayer through a sealing spell in order to prevent them from becoming dragons themselves like what had happened to Acnologia.

"But that doesn't explain why...," I glanced for a split second at the blue and black dragon. "... why Acnologia was inside of me..."

"He had other plans. But the rest of us had another reason why he had to sleep inside of you all. I-"

Before Igneel could finish his explanation, Acnologia took advantage of the moment to snap at the dragon pinning him down. There was no time to have a conversation anymore and the Flame Dragon only demanded that we take care of the book of E.N.D. that was lying around. And once again, the two ended up continuing their bickering about who was gonna destroy it. Even the twin dragons were starting to get tired of their childishness. Gray held it tight in his hands, but then it suddenly vanished. Natsu assumed it was a trick the Ice-Make Mage was pulling, but there was no way he could have done something like that.

"This book is mine," a familiar voice said. "So, I'm taking it back."

We all turned over to see the man behind the voice and it was already who I thought it was. Everyone else had a shocked expression on their faces, even Mard Geer. I wasn't expecting him to show his face, but I'm not surprised that he did either. He did not say a word to me and only went on to whatever he wanted to say.

"You did well, Mard Geer. You may sleep now," with a lift of his hand. Zeref managed to seal up the pseudo-leader of Tartaros into his own little book. Everyone started growing rage against him because it was his creations that caused all of this. If he had the ability to seal them up like that... why did we have to go through all of this suffering?

"I wanted to finish my fight with you today," Zeref said. At first I thought he was talking to me, but his body was pointing in the direction of Natsu. Why Natsu? He looked up at the sky where the two dragons were battling it out and continued to say whatever stream was flowing through his consciousness. "But Acnologia got in the way... will he end history once again? Or will a miracle happen? I'm not sure."

"What are you saying?" Natsu took the words right out of my mouth. None of us could make out what the hell he was talking about? Has Acnologia ended history before? What miracle happened to stop it?

"Zeref...," I called out to him.

"If you can survive this desperate situation... I will give you more despair," he said with a sinister look on his face. I couldn't control myself anymore. I couldn't hold back anymore. In seconds, I let down Sting to sit as I used all the strength I had to quickly appear before him and slap him across the face. How dare he say that... especially in front of me. I don't know what kind of image he wanted to paint in front of everyone's mind, but I won't buy any of it. Just what he said made me so angry and I had watery eyes, but no tears dripping. He made no effort to look back at me. His head stood in the same position when I slapped him across the face. He only moved his hand up to hold my wrist, probably to prevent a double slap. Smart man.

"What game are you trying to play?" the agitation in my voice echoed in everyone's mind. No one had really seen me this mad, not even when Sabertooth and Fairy Tail had that conflict during the Grand Magic Games. This was on another level. This Zeref in front of me did not seem real. I can see right through him. "Why do you always put yourself as the bad guy?"

"...," he was silent, but at least he turned around to look at me for a few seconds. He bowed his head slightly to be adjacent with mine in order to keep his voice low, allowing me to only hear him. "The ties between those with good hearts are held stronger when they have one common adversary. Be close to the ones you love, and let those who love you be closer. Your destiny will fall right into your hands, Clarion."

He placed his hand on my shoulder and smiled softly. I only looked at him with a melancholy aura around me. His words somewhat made sense to me, but I always believed he could do right in the world. Despite how he feels that the world will never forgive him, he can still do something to make a world a better place without destroying it first. I sighed at his response. I'm glad that my instinct was correct and Zeref is only volunteering himself to be the face of evil... but it makes me sad that in this world, only a mutual enemy is needed to create allies. I sighed and took a step back, but I attempted to land a punch on him. It was a way for me to let out these conflicting feelings I had inside, but to also play along with his crap. No matter how much I'm against him doing this for the greater good, there is nothing I can do but to support him. With that being said, he took the opportunity to dodge it and make it look like he's mocking me.

"Thank you," he said quietly again to make me the only one to hear. Using this opportunity, he turned his back on me and slowly walked away and eventually disappeared without any interruption. I dropped on all fours and began to repeatedly slam my fist on the ground. The eyes of everyone here grew more agitated from his leave. But I can't do anything about it. This is the most I can do. Zeref wants everyone against him to retain their good nature and close bonds. I would say there is another way. But is there really?

After assessing the situation and reassembling with the rest of Fairy Tail, the dragons have also came over to meet their respective children. Seeing so many dragons (that aren't trying to destroy humanity) was a very pleasant sight, especially when they were the ones that helped us defeat the activation of Face. I stood by Sting as he was still in shock at how his foster father was still alive. Weisslogia looked very beautiful. Pure white, like his Magic, with wings reminiscent to that of an angel. He looked wise and intelligent, makes me wonder how Sting ended up how he was while he was raised by him.

"I'm pretty sure I killed you...," Sting said rather boldly to Weisslogia followed by Rouge's own experience of witnessing Skiadrum's death. The twin Dragon Slayers' use to abide to the fact that they killed Dragons in order to feel superior to the first generation Dragon Slayers. Although they admitted that their murder was premeditated by their fathers, they still witnessed their deaths instead of experiencing the disappearance.

"We can alter human memory essentially at will," the White Dragon revealed with a smile on his face. Igneel was apparently against him and Skiadrum from doing so. But ultimately, they chose to do so in order to get them stronger. It a sense, I guess it kinda worked. But in the end, I bet the two were glad to see their foster fathers nonetheless.

"Can you alter Sting's memory to make him not remember he's such an idiot?" I jokingly asked with Sting cupping my mouth to silence me. It was cute seeing him embarrassed like this. I couldn't help but muffle my giggles in his hand as he started giving me a noogie to mess with me.

"Is this your lady, Sting?"

"Yeah, isn't she something?" he responded back almost sounding like he's ashamed of me. Of course I know he's joking.

But with that, the dragons had to leave eventually as they could not stay materialized in this world any longer. With their souls extracted by Acnologia, their life span has shortened considerably low only to utilize their children to prolong their love. At least this time, they will be able to say goodbye to their beloved parent instead of them disappearing without notice. It was a sad, but enlightening moment as the dragons promised to always protect humanity as they grew to love us. And I promise too, to always protect those I love despite technically being a Black Mage. This Magic does not dictate who I am, it is how I use it. And although one day, I may have to face Zeref one day. I hope the next time, I will help him find a way to move on in the afterlife. I think we will all try our best to be stronger now. There will many more hardships to face in the future with stronger people and malicious intentions.

But a week later, nothing got better. Everyone took that week to recover a bit before moving onto our normal routines as if our lives were going back to normal. Makarov, along with most of the guild, looked down at the rubble and damage caused by Tartaros. It felt almost futile to rebuild the building again if it will just get destroyed by some other mess we'll get involved with. Clean up and construction plans were delayed by Master, but not for the reason we all thought. The next day, we all got word that Fairy Tail is now disbanded. It was heartbreaking to hear news like that. But everyone seemed understanding. Why does it matter if a name is no longer a legal guild anymore? Isn't it about who sticks together than makes up a guild? Can't the rest of us just stay close collectively? But no one else seemed to have the same idea as everyone had new goals and new paths they want to take. It is strange, but perhaps Fairy Tail was the one thing that held everyone back from pursuing what they really wanted to do? I didn't want to think like that about the guild. It was a really warm place where everyone called home. But since Fairy Tail was no longer a guild, there was no way for people to send in their requests. We don't have the means to make a living anymore and I suppose that alone is what forces all of us to separate. But before I could even think of a place to go, I already had a certain someone ready to claim me. A few days later, I was sitting on a bed, hugging my legs, and my head buried in my own body. An idiot sat behind me and wrapped his arms around me with his head resting on my head. He knew very well that I was going through a lot and wanted to provide as much support as he can. He didn't say a word, but at times, I wish he did because I didn't really know what to say.

"... Sting...," I said with my voice muffled. He responded to me to make sure I knew that he was listening. "What should I do now?"

"Whatever you want to do. No matter what you decide, I'll be with you."

That answer did not really help me since I was hoping for something more definite. I need someone to guide me because I don't know what I really want. Should I just wait it out until Fairy Tail decides to reunite? What if that never happens? What am I suppose to be doing now? Train? Jobs? Anything else?

"I... just want to keep moving forward," I sighed out. I didn't mean it in a sense of forgetting Fairy Tail and leaving it behind. But no good will come out of it if I just mope around about its disbandment. There is no way for me to keep things as if Tartaros never happened, so the only thing I can do is make the most out of what has already happened. I should focus my time on getting stronger. I'm sure that is what everyone else is utilizing their time off with. There is no doubt that everyone will not allow Fairy Tail to die off like that. One day, we will all come together again, stronger. I shift my body over to let my legs fall over the side of the bed. Sting released his hold on me and leaned back against the wall. I looked over to him with a strong, serious look. "Teach me White Magic."

"Wait, what?" his eyebrow raised in confusion as he tried comprehending what I just requested him to do. He gave me a weird look but seeing the certainty in my eyes were enough to prove how I'm not joking around. Sting looked away with an unsure face. But after a few seconds, he focused his eyes on mine. "Are you sure about this? Is it even possible?"

"I don't see why not," I told him. I practically looked like a child asking her parent for a toy, only to argue back and forth with no sense of logic. I leaned closer in on his face, with a slight pout since I sensed the possibility of him saying no. "Mages are fully capable of learning more than one elemental type of Magic, even ones that oppose one another like yours and mine."

"I know, I know," he pushed my shoulders back a bit and sighed. "I'm just-"

"Just what?"

"Can I tell you something? Promise not to judge."

"... I promise...," I said with suspicion.

"Never mind, forget it. I'm not teaching you. After seeing what eating White Magic does to you, I don't want you learning that stuff and find out the hard way that it is something toxic for you."

"Don't be crazy," I said as I got up from the bed. I turned around to look at him with my hands on my hips. "I only got sick because I consumed your Magic. I get that we're natural opposites but-"

"Are you just using me for my Magic?" he blatantly said out of no where, cutting me off from my sentence. The question he asked was so profound that I was taken back by it. It isn't like I physically sought out the Sting Eucliffe, the famous White Dragon Slayer to seduce him as my partner and trick him into teaching me White Magic for the sake of whatever purpose I had? I was left speechless for a moment because I didn't know what to say. Sting looked disappointed as he probably interpreted my silence as me thinking of an excuse. He sat on the side of the bed with his body leaned forward and his elbows resting on his legs. His head looked down as he intertwined his fingers together. Not wanting him to feel unloved, I quickly moved in close to wrap my arms around his neck in an embrace. I held him as tight as I could to snap him out of whatever worst case scenario he was probably coming up with. I suddenly felt the coldness of his hands holding onto my wrists.

"I'm sorry," I immediately said in fear of him forcing me to stop hugging him. My heart was beating very hard, I'm sure he was able to feel it. "I'm sorry. I won't push it anymore. I didn't mean to make you feel less than what you are to me."

"Why does it feel so wrong to be with you?" he asked softly. The warmth of his breath trickled on my arm. Confused at his rhetorical question, I loosened up the hug for me to look at him. His facial expression was solemn and I didn't know what to say. Was the contrast of our Magic getting to him? I had these thoughts before too, but I took it as something good for the both of us rather than something bad. Sure we are complete opposites in our power, but is it really that bad? Perhaps he thinks that I am a Black Mage, therefore, I should stick with my Black Magic. Maybe I should focus on who I am rather than find ways to get away from it (even though I didn't choose to know Black Magic).

"Does it really bother you that much?" I asked him with a low tone voice and sat down next to him. I kept looking at him the whole time, but he has not moved from his position. He continued having that little serious and somewhat saddened look on his face.

"You know it scared the hell out of me when you ate my Magic," he admitted, picturing the scene in his mind so vividly. "And it terrifies me to think what could happen if you learn White Magic. What if you explode or something?"

"Thanks for your concern (I think). But I understand (I think) that you don't want me to explode," I said kinda sarcastically.

"So, it doesn't bother you how I have these stupid thoughts?"

"No, it surprises me more how you're so capable of such deep thoughts," with one comment, Sting was able to snap back to his usual carefree self again. His free spirit lifts up my mood. I don't mean to be mean to him all the time. I love teasing him in a humorous way cause it makes me smile. Bullying him is just an easy way to get him back into being playful. "What do you think I should do?"

"Just focus on you. You're a Black Magic user, so hone in on that so you would have a complete mastery over it."

"I wish I could feel the same way," I leaned over slightly and started staring at the ground. "I'm a living, breathing, walking taboo. A Black Mage... who uses Black Magic for good. Sounds like an oxymoron."

"You're technically a Black God Slayer, okay. Don't think of yourself as someone that shouldn't exist. You use Black Magic, but not for the sake of taking away lives, but to rid of those who do," he said sternly as he placed his hand over mine. His comment made me feel better secure about myself and I smiled to myself. "C'mon, let me take you somewhere."

Without a second to lose, the soft placement on his hand on mine quickly turned into a grasp. He grabbed my hand and instantly started to heard for the door, forcing me to come along with him or else he'd start dragging me. Simultaneously, he was getting himself dressed which almost looked hilarious if I wasn't demanding he tell me where he was taking me to. Despite how more rough I am on Sting, he was really more physically stronger than I was. If not, I would've taken myself out of his clutch and smack him. Though, once he was opening the door, I just gave up. But there was something blocking our way.

"... May I help you?" Sting asked with a suspicious look on his face. There were a group of men right outside of his door. They were all wearing the same uniform that the knights of the Kingdom of Fiore wear. I didn't know what the Fiore knights wanted with me and Sting kept me behind him as precaution. The group of knights looked serious, but unsure at the same time. They gave each other looks before giving Sting an answer.

"Clarion Ferez, you are under arrest," one knight said.

"Wait, what?" I called out in confusion. I moved in front of Sting to confront the situation. Having someone try to hide me would only make things look bad on my part. I'm no criminal (aside from being affiliated with Zeref and Grimoire Heart at one point... and... communicating with fugitives from Crime Sorciere...) and I should be able to take the accusation head on if I know I'm innocent of any crime. Sting didn't stop me, but he held onto my shoulders in a defensive manner. "For what crimes exactly?"

"Possession of Black Magic," he responded.

"Black Magic? Even so, I have the royal family's appro-" I quickly shut my mouth after remembering exactly what the King and Princess of Fiore said to me. It was true that they gave me their approval and I was pardoned for having Black Magic. However, the only condition was that I'd be in a legal guild. Fairy Tail has been disbanded and I am technically guildless. I couldn't weasel my way out of prison by giving my part in the war. I heard rumors that memories of that moment had been wiped out to avoid mistrust on the royal family. I felt stuck and I found myself stumbling on my words. I didn't want to go to jail for being a good person, but I didn't want to go against the law and go into hiding.

"Yes, the seal of approval is only recognized if you, Miss Ferez, is affiliated with a legal guild," the guard explained.

"What are you talking about?" Sting came into the conversation. His grip from the sides of my shoulder loosened up and his hands were now resting softly on top. "She is in affiliation with a legal guild. As Master of Sabertooth, I can confirm that Clarion is a part of my guild. Don''t worry, I have my eye on her."

"Sting-" I looked back at him only to be shushed from saying anything more. I looked back at the royal guards to see them consult one another. After a very brief deliberation, they looked back toward us and gave us a nod. Without another word they were on their way. It was confusing at first, but I assume that the royal family understood my condition. No one, not even the members themselves, were prepared or even aware that Fairy Tail would ever be broken up. Kind of a good thing that Sting just so happened to have become a Guild Master and cover my butt, however, I didn't want to feel like a burden. After the guards were out of sight, I muffled my face into his chest and called him an idiot.

"Sorry," he said as he held me close in his arms. "I didn't want to pressure you or anything about joining Sabertooth. Fairy Tail will always be the-"

"I know, idiot," I said to him. "But thanks."

"I'll be here for you in the mean time, okay?"

"You always are...," I said to myself hoping Sting didn't hear it. "So, where did you want to take me?"

"Something worth checking out," he simply said which annoyed me yet again. It's not that I don't like surprises, I just hate how I get so curious. Without further arguments, I just let Sting take me to wherever. We had to hop on a train to our destination, but I still couldn't tell where we were going based off of the direction we were heading in. I just kept staring outside the window looking at the things that go by. Sting was getting motion sickness out of his mind, but it was kind of amusing me so I did nothing to help (not that I could anyways). He just laid his head on my lap for most of the time being. I was afraid he'd make us miss our stop, but luckily he was conscious enough to remember where we get off of.

After walking for a bit, I started noticing something spiral-like in the distance. As we got closer and closer, I realized that it was a building: the Magical Library.

Okay! Don't worry guys, this time it will be the long awaited OC arc! Let me know if there is anything you want to see happen during her arc or whatever else you guys have in mind. Thank you again for the patience and I am happy you have bore with me this entire time! I am very grateful to have many readers that enjoy this story!