The next day, Makarov went with his three S rank wizards, to handle Fairy Tail's biggest problem right now. He was meeting with Twilight Ogre's master, Banaboster.

"I'm telling you, old man, there's nothing to discuss. Pay us back the money we lent you and the slate will be wiped clean." Banaboster told Makarov

"Easy for you to say, but as you know, we have surprising lack of money" Makarov replied, he sat across from Banaboster with a coffee table between them.

Behind him was Erza to the left, Eiran in the middle and Mira to the right.

"Besides, one look at the account book shows that there's obviously something odd about income and expenditures." Mira said

"Are you accusin' me of something?!" Banaboster yelled at them

"Not at all! We'll pay back the money we borrowed along with legitimate interest…eventually" Makarov told him

"And I'm tellin' you to pay it back right now, you old fart!" Banaboster yelled as he stood up

"Look…Let's start by recalculating the interest." Makarov told him

"You beat up five of my guys! First, our debtors open up a can of whoop-ass on us and then they don't pay what the owe, you're makin' our guild lose face here!" Banaboster roared

"Huh? I came here today to talk about money, but you want to bring honor into it, too?" Makarov asked

"We don't have money or honor, thanks to you!" Banaboster yelled as he kicked the table aside

"Pay back what you owe." Makarov said "That's your guild's creed." Before he glared at him "that's how you want to play it, yes?"

"Seven years…of property damage to our guild" Erza said

"Seven years…of injuring and insulting our members and current master" Eiran added

"We're obliged to pay you back for all of that." Mira said

"For seven years…You've made my brats suffer…" Makarov said as he grew in size "It makes me cry just to think about it…" Makarov now overshadowed Banaboster "Hey, boy. It's a war you want?"

Erza into one of her armors, Eiran was now covered in his crystal armor as well as Mira transformed into her Satan form, before hell broke loose on Twilight Ogre.

"Wow!" Raine noted as she stood with Sol behind the guild hall as he showed her his magic skills.

Sol stopped beside her as he stopped his skate board, apparently when the kid told her he was still practicing he didn't mean he was practicing shooting stationary, and that his requip wasn't just for his weapons.

Although even while shooting while on his skateboard and moving around he had hit three of five of his targets in the center.

He grinned at his sister, "You think I can compete with Ullr's aim?" She smiled at him "Want to try it?" She asked him pulling the said orb.

She was proud of the progress her brother has made but it made her sad she hadn't been here for him, especially after promising she would take care of him always.

Lia was heading back home, while dressed all in black, she was planning on heading for the guild after her visit, but now she just wanted some time alone, which reminded her that her house where no longer empty, which led to her standing on the bridge over the cannel as she kept staring at the water lost in thought.

Last night had made her think about lots of things, how everything changed at one point, and how she was mostly to blame.

Also, how everyone had lost seven years, but for her she was now missing eleven years, with those four years' memories not seeming to be coming back any time soon.

That and today's visit made her realized how despite being twenty-one she hasn't done much, if anything at all.

Standing in front of her mother's grave this morning made her realize…how would her mother feel of the seemingly empty years that Lia was losing? Tenroujima made her realize, she had ways to go as a wizard, it made her realize, that even though she didn't want it, she could die any moment with nothing to show for the years she lived…nothing to tell her mother if they met in the afterlife.

She had thought after what happened years back, she had realized the risks, but she apparently had forgotten.

And not just that…She didn't want others to keep protecting her…she didn't want to watch a friend…or a family die because of her weakness.

She was frustrated with herself and she wanted to change it…somehow, which kept making her hand touch her back where she knew the seal where, that was one thing that she knew was holding her back…but she was afraid of completely releasing it…doing it in battle when she had no other way was one thing…but to completely remove it…she was scared.

"Boo" Someone said from behind Lia, but she was too lost to hear it "Earthland to Lia!" Lia snapped out of it as she turned to Venus with Erza beside her, both carrying some bags with groceries.

"Are you okay?" Erza asked her

"Yeah, was just lost in thought!" Lia told her shaking her head "What are all those for?!"

"I thought, since we'll be having guests for a while it was time to stock up on supplies!" Venus grinned "Erza volunteered to help me"

"It's what we should do since we're intruding on you" Erza replied

"it's okay Erza, you guys would have done the same, we're family after all!" Lia told her causing Erza to smile while Venus grinned

"You're right!" Erza agreed

Lia took some bags from Venus to help her. As They started walking back to their house "So, why the black?" Venus asked gesturing to her clothes

"I was visiting mom" Lia replied before she used her magic to change it "It's just, been so long"

"You didn't get to visit before Tenrou?" Erza wondered as Lia nodded with a sad smile

"Why don't you tell me about her, how was she when she was alive?" Venus asked her as Lia smiled

"She was great, a little childish, friendly, overprotective over everyone in the guild" Lia said as she remembered "You know those albums, she took every photo in it…she knew Requip magic but the only thing I ever saw her requip was her camera."

"Well she did a great work with those photos!" Venus said laughing as Lia rolled her eyes but smiled anyway.

"She was a force to be reckoned with, and kept the guild in line" Erza added

"She wasn't as strict as you Erza, the guild was more afraid from your wraith" Lia added shaking her head "Which was funny surprising considering you were supposed to be the kid!"

That day, Lucy had gotten her house back but she did receive the news of her Father's death. A few days passed as everyone settled back and started going on jobs again…almost everyone, Lia hasn't gone on any job since they came back and she would come to the guild in the morning before she disappeared for the rest of the day, she had been pushing some training on her own at that time.

But that wasn't the main reason she opted out of taking jobs, the guild only had a handful of requests and as far as money was concerned her friends needed them more than her.

"Good Morning, Mira" Lia greeted the white head as she sat at the bar, who greeted her back, before serving Lia with a morning coffee, which Lia drank as she wrote down in a small note book

Lia had been opting to keeping her hair in a ponytail with her bangs as they are, she was wearing a beige colored sleeveless sweetheart neck top, with a long sleeved brown jacket, and dark blue skinny jeans tucked into brown mid-calf boots. She had her messenger bag with her, which was on the ground now.

"I thought you would have disappeared by now" Eiran said as he sat beside her grinning as Lia rolled her eyes

"You know 'good morning' would do" She told him

Eiran had changed his usual 'work' clothes, he was wearing a black long sleeved hoodie with white trims with a long sleeved black button up shirt with the neck unbuttoned under it and white long pants and black sneakers.

Near the request board was an overly excited Natsu and Happy, before they were joined by Lucy as they checked the request for catching the fugitive, Velveno.

"Who's the client?" Lucy asked as they read the request

"Um…It says count Balsamico" Natsu told her "That's a sour name!"

"Like balsamic vinegar!" Happy noted

"Balsamico?" Macao wondered "Hey, I heard that Velveno guy is gonna show up at the Balsamico family's magical ball."

"Magical ball?" Natsu asked

"It's a ball that's held once every seven years and only wizards can attend." Wakaba told them

"Isn't that the one Venus is playing at next Saturday?" Lia wondered as she walked up to them, she was about to head out to start today's training

"Yeah, that's the one!" Wakaba told her

"Then let's go to the ball and capture Velveno!" Happy said as Natsu cheered and they both ran off before they were stopped by Lucy.

"Wait a sec! If you're gonna participate in a ball, you'll have to practice dancing!" Lucy told them

"Dance?!" Natsu asked with shock

They ended up sitting outside and Venus who arrived minutes later, agreed to play what she planned for the ball to help them practice, Lia thinking it would be fun to watch opted to stay and head out a bit late today.

Venus stood to the side, Natsu stood in the middle facing Lucy with Macao and Wakaba watching from one side while Lia, Romeo and Happy sat on some seat to the side.

"Role of the composer!" Venus casted the spell as green stick formed in her hand "Whenever you're ready"

"Alright, We'll start with the basic steps." Lucy told Natsu "Okay, hold my hands."

"Jeez, this is a pain in the ass…" Natsu said before he took Lucy's hands

Venus started moving her hands and music started to play, even though there were no instruments but the music notes were formed in the air and flew around them.

Lucy and Natsu started dancing as well to the music.

"What are Natsu and Lucy trying to do?" Romeo asked

"Social dancing!" Happy answered

"Social dancing? What's that?" He asked just as Natsu stepped on Lucy's foot, Kinana, Mira and Eiran had come to watch too.

"So it's a game where you step on each other's feet…" Romeo said

"I don't think that's the aim…" Kinana told him

"No it's more like what they're practicing to avoid" Lia told him

"Social dancing is where a man and woman pair up and dance at a ball" Mira explained

"That looks like a fun game!" Gray stated as Lia face palmed.

"It's not a game!" Lucy shouted at him, he took off his shirt and tried to dance with Lucy before he got kicked away by her.

"If it means being able to dance with Gray, Juvia will strip, too!" Juvia yelled as she took off her cape.

"I was once known as the 'dancing demon' so if you want to learn social dancing, leave it to me." Erza said as she joined as Natsu freaked out she requiped into a dress "All right, Natsu! Let's go!"

"Nah, I'll pass." Natsu replied

"No excuses! Dancing is all about…Fighting spirit!" Erza said as she started spinning Natsu around, when she finally stopped Lisanna stepped in and ended spinning him even more.

Erza ended up dancing…spinning Elfman.

"Somehow that's what you'd expect when you sent Fairy Tail to a ball" Lia said

Lia watched as Warren and Wendy danced together, Happy and Carla, and even Romeo and Kinana started dancing.

Macao and Wakaba both asked Mira to dance with them which turned to a fight between them, by the time they turned Mira was dancing with Eiran.

The same repeated with Jet and Droy who both asked Levy, but she ended up dancing with Gajeel.

"It looks really fun!" Raine stated as she and Sol watched

Raine ended up dancing with Freed and Sol with Laki, as the rest of the guild ended up joining, Lia slipped away and made her way to train in the forest like she was used to.

On her way, there though as she passed through Magnolia first, she was lost in thought over how to deal with that spell that kept misbehaving as she read through her notes, she was so lost that she ended walking straight into someone.

She squeaked as she was about to fall but was immediately caught with a hand going behind her and catching her by the waist.

"Easy there" The person who caught her said as he helped steady her on her feet "You okay?"

Lia looked at him while fighting a blush, He was a handsome muscular guy, slick blonde hair, hazel eyes, he was taller than her.

"Uh" Lia tried to formulate words, she coughed taking a small step back "Yeah, thanks for helping me. Sorry I ran into you…I wasn't…"

He chuckled "It's okay, getting hit by a cute girl, isn't bad" He told her as the blush she fought showed, he crouched down picking up her fallen notebook "You dropped this"

"Thanks" She said as he gave it to her

"Fairy Tail?" He noted as he saw her guild mark on her hand "So, I'm guessing your part of the Tenroujima group?"

News was flying around about their return, it's not everyday people come back from the dead while not looking a day older, even with magic.

"Yeah, but why did you assume it?" Lia asked him

"I go through Magnolia a lot, so I have seen the few wizards that were left at Fairy Tail before, and I don't think they'll be getting new recruits, so…" He shrugged, as Lia grimaced people weren't gentle when they talked about Fairy Tail, given he didn't tell her straight on, that Fairy Tail sucked and they have been losing all their members was probably him being considerate. "Sorry didn't mean it like that…uh…It's great they're still holding like that…"

Lia waved him off "We'll show everyone, so just be prepared to be impressed" as he chuckled

"Now I remember, Lia…Lia Sephiran, right?!" He asked her

"Yeah, but how did…" She was asking but he already answered

"I read about you in that article seven years ago, I just remembered the photo from back then" He told her shrugging while smiling. "My name's Xenos…Xenos Aura"

"Well nice to meet you Xenos" She told him "I should get going, thanks for catching me again and sorry I hit you"

"Never mind it! See you around" He told her winking as she started walking away, this time her notebook shut as she paid attention, maybe stopping using her sense wasn't that good of an idea.

Two days later, Lia was hearing all about the ball from them, and how they didn't get the reward because Velveno ended getting the ring, but instead of stealing it, he proposed to Aceto, the daughter of the client.

"It's so Romantic" Lia commented in agreement.

"Would have been better if we got our reward though" Lucy stated "I will get kicked out, if I can't pay my rent!"

"Sorry, Lucy!" Venus tried to comfort the blonde

"We all need the money though" Levy said from beside them on the table, Shadow gear had ended up with half the pay of their last job because the criminal they were supposed to catch, ended up destroying half the town as he tried to hit them "Sorry about staying with you for this long, Venus, Lia"

"Never mind it, Levy" Venus told her

"Your welcome for as long as you want" Lia added

Evergreen had already managed to save enough money to start renting an apartment, So that left Levy, Erza, Cana, Juvia, Wendy and Carla.

"That doesn't solve the money problem though" Carla stated standing on the table, Wendy though was busy playing with Asuka.

"True" Levy agreed as Lucy groaned, Erza and Gray had ended up going on a mission alone earlier, since they couldn't find Natsu, and Lucy was late coming to the guild, and since Natsu haven't come back from where ever he was, she couldn't head out by herself.

Coincidentally, Juvia had disappeared, just as Erza and Gray left.

A loud squeak though interrupted their conversation as everyone in the guild to the source, Raine, standing at the request board, with her hands now covering her mouth as she blushed red.

After the rest of the guild went back to what they were doing, Raine sat with Lia, Lucy, Venus and Levy as she showed them what got her excited.

"Ancient text got discovered while they were expanding the mines" Levy read as she got excited too

"But apparently since then the mines have been haunted by ghosts" Lia finished which made both Lucy and Venus pale.

"G-Ghosts?!" Lucy questioned as Lia nodded

"Weird accidents and sounds have been heard, and even when people avoided the mines the 'ghosts' started coming out at night" Lia read

"Would explain the reward though" Levy said "5 million jewels"

Lucy reaction switched from scared to excited "Can I go with you Raine?"

"But why did you react like that?" Venus questioned as she swallowed trying to forget about the ghosts

"They wrote one of the runes, that appeared the most" She told them as she pointed at the symbol written "It's Dagaz!"

"Isn't that you're the rune you use for transformation?" Lia asked as she nodded while looking excited

"But If it's a place filled with ancient text and that rune repeats the most it's probably an altar" She explained "A place where an orb is hidden!"

Sol had gone on a job with Bisca and Alzack, which meant Raine was left to go on her own.

"Alright, let's go on this job!" Lucy cheered

"Can I come too, Raine?!" Levy asked her

"The more the merrier" Raine said "Besides I have no idea how to deal with ghosts"

"Deal with ghosts?" Venus muttered "I don't think…"

"Come on it'll be fun Venus" Lia smirked at the girl "Besides I doubt they are actual ghosts!"

Venus ended up going with them, they next day, they had made their way by carriage to the mining town, Rubyreach, reaching it by the afternoon.

Rooted next to a mountain, Rubyreach, mainly depended on the mines for profit. The town looked different, for one most of the buildings were cottage like built out of wood, the dirt roads stretched through the town, and with the ghost stories the town looked like a ghost town.

"I wonder where everyone is" Raine questioned with a sad expression, Lia knew why…this was how Lilac village looked while they were being threatened by that dark guild.

Lia stretched her sense, before she caught something "This way" She told them leading the way.

"Are you sure?" Venus asked nervous

"What if everyone's hiding for a reason?" Lucy wondered nervous as well, all though of money gone for now.

"But they said the ghosts come out at night" Levy told them "We're still in the afternoon"

The four girls froze though when music reached their ears, Lia though kept walking, she was leading them to where the music was coming from anyway.

"Well at least it got good taste" Venus said as she tapped her feet to the western music.

"It's not the ghost" Lia told them chuckling "I can sense people from there, actually I think the entire town's in there"

They reached the somewhat large building, with the word Saloon on the building, the music was louder than ever as they pushed the double doors and entered.

People were dancing in the middle, with others sitting at the bar drinking and chatting, other sat on the tables eating, drinking and talking and there were those that stood and watched in the first floor or from the balcony view from the second floor as they clapped in rhyme for the dancers.

At the stage on the other side, were a music band that was playing for them.

"This is…" Raine stared in awe

"…Unexpected" Lucy finished

"It doesn't look like the ghost bothers them that much" Levy said

"The music is amazing" Venus said grinning.

"Howdy, Ladies!" An old man greeted with a grin as he approached them "I don't think I have seen your beautiful faces before"

"Oi, Milton! who are you botherin' now?" Another man asked as he approached them

"None of your concern, Hubert!" Milton yelled back

"Excuse me, we're looking for August Bush" Lia told him, Venus was meanwhile too engrossed with the music, Raine shying away from all the unfamiliar faces, Lucy and Levy were still paying attention to the conversation.

"Why would you want that old guy?" Milton asked them still grinning, and it was obvious he was checking Lucy who was wearing the most revealing clothes out of all of them, Lucy cringed hiding behind Lia.

"We're Fairy Tail wizards" Levy said "We came here for the ghost request"

Milton's grin was gone instantly as he frowned "Alrighty, Oi, August!" He turned around calling "The wizards are here!"

The loud call seemed to have frozen the previously carefree and chaotic atmosphere, everyone watched them now, as they whispered between themselves.

Levy had now retreated as well at all the attention, so that both her and Raine were hiding behind the rest of the girls.

"Guess there's trouble after all" Venus said swallowing

"But is it really that dangerous?" Lucy wondered with all the pity looks they were being given.

"Back to your business people!" An old short man shouted as he approached them "Welcome to Rubyreach, Ladies! The name's August, the mayor of this dandy burg!"

He led them to another building, where they each sat on a chair, while the man sat on top of his office desk.

"About dang time someone took the request, although I hoped for a better guild, goes to show Actual doesn't everythin'" He said which made both Raine and Levy flinch, Venus and Lucy nervously stare away, and Lia narrow her eyes "and I didn't expect women and so young too, you really think you can handle it, when men twice your size couldn't?"

"I assure you, we're up for the task" Lia said crossing her hands while narrowing her eyes at him "Fairy Tail is better than you think, and just because we're women doesn't mean we're weak"

August laughed "It isn't about bein' strong, dang ghosts play on the mind" He told her grinning "heap of my miners, come out part loon, part embarrassed, part depressed and All to Pieces horrified."

"Loon?!" Venus questioned

"Embarrassed?!" Raine wondered

"Horrified?!" Lucy asked as she and Venus were white sheet

"We can handle it" Lia told him "Just point us to the mines, we'll also need a map of the tunnels"

"You're brave, suit yourself, just remember I warned ya" He told them He jumped from the desk and grabbed a large map from one of the drawers.

"Here" He said handing them the map, before he led them to the mine entrance and left them with warning again to turn back.

"Um…Lia?!" Levy asked slowly, out of all the girls, Levy knew Lia the longest, and she knew Lia didn't like anyone insulting Fairy Tail.

"Let's go we're getting rid of that ghost, one way or another!" Lia said as the others didn't even try and show how scared they were with the anger seeping in her tone.