Kyandi: Greetings, all!

Rette: We have returned with one last chapter until after moving day.

Kyandi: Yep. I'm moving tomorrow and won't have my internet set up until three or four days later.

Rette: So, please, be patient with us during that time.

Kyandi: If you all can promise that, then I will leave this chapter with a relieved heart.

Rette: And everyone gets to find out who Torin is in this chapter, right?

Kyandi: Yep. So, let's see whose theory was right.

Rette: Fun.

Kyandi: So, everyone, please, enjoy and review.

Rette: Kyandi-sama does not own Fairy Tail.

Chapter 36 Fairy Heart

Makarov's location, turned out to be the royal palace of Alvarez. While it was a little difficult to get near the palace, getting to Makarov turned out to be the biggest challenge. What they found, had shocked them. They found Makarov, but he was faced with the kingdom's king...who turned out to be Zeref, himself. They were fortunate enough to arrive just in time for Mest to teleport in and save Makarov from Zeref killing him in a bid to anger Natsu into attacking him.

Mest quickly teleported Makarov out of the city and back to the forest where the rest of his team was waiting for him. Instantly, everyone gathered around, thrilled to see their master alive and well.

"Zeref! Zeref was there..." Mest got out between pants.

"Wait, Zeref's here!? On this continent..." Natsu demanded.

"I had no idea myself, that the man who called himself Emperor Spriggan was in fact, Zeref." Makarov said. "And now that you kids are here...did Mest keep you in the loop?"

"Yes." Erza answered.

"We're all so glad you're okay." Wendy told him.

"It was naive of me to think that it'd go so well. He never had an intention to negotiate in the first place. After all I've done...going as far as to soil the guild's long history by coming here...all of this, for nothing. How frustrating." Makarov said, tears in his eyes, his head hung.

"Not all of it was pointless. We've all grown a lot in the span of a year." Gray assured him.

"And we're all back together again." Lucy added.

"If the drive behind one's actions is the thought for another, then it is never meaningless. This was something you taught us." Erza agreed.

Makarov looked up at them all, his eyes wide while tears still streamed from his eyes. Natsu reached out, offering Makarov his hand to help him up.

"We're going home, Gramps." Natsu told him. "Back to Fairy Tail."

Makarov tearfully agreed, his eyes traveling over those before him, before he caught on to something he had missed at first. Turning one way, then the other, Makarov searched for the one person missing from the group.

"Where's Rette?" he asked.

"She's not here?"

Makarov turned, fixing his eyes on Gray when he asked that. When he shook his head, Gray shared a look with his friends. Makarov had a bad feeling about this.

"Why would she be here?" Makarov asked.

"After delivering the message you gave her, Master...Rette vanished. No one has been able to find her in the last year." Erza informed him.

Makarov slapped a hand to his face. He had a bad feeling that Rette had gone against her promise to him. Honestly, he should have known she would. Rette wasn't one to sit back and allow a threat to her family exist when she felt like she could do something about it. He had hoped that one of his friends would have been able to talk her into staying with their guild, but obviously, that had been hopeful thinking.

"I hate to break up the reunion and the conversation, but we've got to leave." Carla said.

"I've used my teleporting skills too frequently today...at this point, I only have enough power to move everyone once more. And I'd like to use that to move us back to Sorano's ship. This being said, we still have to return to the previous drop-off point." Mest pointed out.

There was that to consider and then there was doing that while trying to avoid the mages of the kingdom. They needed to get Makarov home and then they could focus on what happened to Rette.

"Aww, what a touching reunion. You going home, Makarov?" Everyone turned when someone else spoke. They were confronted by one of the Spriggan 12, Ajeel. "Got all your souvenirs yet? I heard mudpacks are a fad now, care to try one out?"

"Ajeel!" Makarov gasped.

"No way...how did he get here!?" Mest asked.

"Sand. Glorious sand. It tells you so much about the land." Ajeel replied. His grin spread wide as he watched each of them brace themselves for a fight, ready to confront anything he threw at them. "Oh, I like that."

"Stop! Don't fight him! He isn't someone you could beat! We've gotta move!" Makarov yelled.

While Natsu wanted to argue, Erza didn't give him a chance. She grabbed his arm and started dragging him away. Erza launched blades at Ajeel as a distraction, giving them time to make it to the magic car that Carla had ready for them. Erza quickly took the driver seat, taking off the moment everyone was inside.

"He's coming." Makarov warned.

Carla and Happy peered out the window, watching in horror as a monster made of sand rose up over them. Erza jerked the wheel, sending the car swinging one way and then the other in order to avoid the fists of the monster as it attacked.

"It's no good, he's catching up! Lucy! Let's intercept the attacks!" Gray yelled.

"Yeah."

Being careful, the two climbed out the window, climbing on top of the car. Makarov yelled at the two to stop, that Ajeel wasn't someone they could face, but Lucy and Gray weren't going to back down. They wouldn't know until they tried. Black marks spread over Gray's right side as he prepared to use his magic and Lucy Stardressed into her Sagittarius form. Makarov was surprised by the sheer increase in their magic levels compared to what they had been a year before.

Gray froze the monster and the area around it, but Ajeel broke free, his sand following him and turning into smaller, winged monsters. Lucy took over, shooting at the monsters while Gray took on those that managed to make it past her. Ajeel was impressed and seemed to vanish before their eyes. Makarov called out a warning that he was in the sand below them. Using the sand, Ajeel turned the ground under them into a quick sand pit. Quickly, they evacuated the car, fighting the drag of the sand.

"Let me tell you how many I've killed and town I've swallowed with this. This Ant Lion Larva's Pit is my version of hell's door. No one's escaped it before. So listen really closely, since it's the last thing you'll ever hear before you die. I eat mages like you for breakfast! You never stood a chance!" Ajeel declared. "We're just too different in level, you worms! Ishgar's now a land abandoned by the gods! It's only a matter of time until Alvarez takes control over it! You frustrated? I'm sure! Very good! I love the faces you're making right now!"

His words, how they angered Natsu.

With an explosion of his own magic, Natsu freed himself, and his friends, from the quicksand, the Cait Shelter emblem vanishing from his shoulder to be replaced with the rightful Fairy Tail emblem. The emblem replaced the Cait Shelter emblems on each of his friends as well.

"Abandoned by the gods? Just nice then. At least we still have the fairies." Natsu declared before punching Ajeel in the face.

He knocked Ajeel back, the others bracing themselves to fight back. Ajeel quickly rolled back to his feet, grinning despite now having a busted nose courtesy of Natsu.

"It's been too long since I've felt a punch this good!" he cheered. "Very good! Bring me all you've got!"

Ajeel attacked once more, the sand wrapping around them. Angered at Ajeel's attack on his children, Makarov used his magic to increase the size of his fist, slamming it down on Ajeel's head. Ajeel jumped out of the way at the last second. With Ajeel backing off to avoid the giant fist, Makarov scooped up all of his children, shielding them with his body as he expanded it.

"I won't let you lay a hand on my kids!" Makarov yelled.

Natsu protested this, insisting that they could still fight. Makarov wasn't listening. He wasn't going to let them continue a fight that he was sure was going to end up getting them hurt, or worse.

"Oh...did you really think you could protect all of them like that? You don't seem to understand, do you, the power of the Spriggan Twelve." Ajeel said. Something moving in the distance, called Makarov's attention. It was a massive wall of sand moving towards them, heeding the call of Ajeel's magic. "Let the sands of death swallow you whole!"

Erza instantly yelled at Mest to teleport them away, but Mest had no idea as to where he could teleport them to. Makarov was prepared to protect them to his final breath. He braced his feet, ready to take the sand on, determined to keep them safe.

"This is the end! Anyone that comes in contact with this sandstorm dries up from the inside! Ta-da! Mummified fairies!" Ajeel announced, laughing at the thought of their demise.

Natsu and his friends yelled at Makarov to run, to get away from the sand, but it was too late. Running now would be useless and Makarov knew it. Just before the sands hit, though, a bolt of lightning rained from the sky. Looking upward, Makarov was shocked with the sight of Blue Pegasus's flying ship, Christina, flying over head and at her helm...was Laxus.

"Laxus!?" Makarov called out.

"He took out that sandstorm with just one attack!?" Erza asked, surprised.

"Flashy as always, isn't he?" Gray asked with a huge grin.

Gajeel's voice suddenly sounded over the speakers on Christina, Levy's following, telling them to get on the ship.

"Gajeel? Levy and Lily too." Happy said.

"Hey, that's a ship, ain't it! How is it Gajeel and Laxus are completely fine!" Natsu snapped.

Many voices fought over speaking, Juvia, Elfman, and Lisanna among them, before Natsu was finally given his answer that the ship was customized to carry Dragon Slayers as well. Even the Thunder Legion revealed themselves to be there before Cana took over, ordering Mest to teleport everyone onto the ship so they could get the hell out of there. Mest was more than happy to comply with that order, though Ajeel had other plans.

He tried to stop their retreat, but Laxus stood in his way, lighting up Ajeel's world with electricity, and pain.

Leaving Ajeel to deal with the after effects of the attack, they retreated. With Mest's help they landed, though messily, inside the ship, Erza landing on top to squish all those below. Untangling themselves, they were greeted happily by the others.

"Why are you people here!?" Gray demanded.

"We've done stuff on our own to save the master too!" Lisanna said.

"And one is Laxus." Mira added.

"This ship is the best! I'm not even sick! Oh hey, let's fight, Laxus!" Natsu cheered, happy to not be sick for once.

"Shut up." Laxus replied.

Looking around at all of his children and being confronted with all they had done just to save him, Makarov couldn't help the tears that streamed down his face, or the smile that curled his lips.

"The best family one can ask for. Fairy Tail!" Makarov cheered.

With their master back, their family was whole. Well, almost. There was still one more person missing from their family.

Rette.

For the moment, though, everyone just wanted to be happy to have their master back. Once they were back home with everyone else, they could decide what they were going.

Whatever they decided, they would bring Rette home.

-0-0-0-0-

"To celebrate Fairy Tail's official rebirth...Cheers!"

Cheers rang out around the guild hall as people greeted Makarov for the first time in a year. With Makarov back, Erza stepped down as the guild master, giving the position back to Makarov. As always, the alcohol was broken out and fights and drunken laughter started to ring out through the guild hall.

"Everyone is so noisy." Lucy remarked, sigh contently.

"But at least everything is finally back to normal." Levy said.

"Yes, but..."

"But what?" Levy asked, looking at Lucy.

Lucy's eyes had been drawn to one of the pictures that had been hung up on the guild walls. There, in the center of the group of photos, was a single picture featuring the indifferent, yet slightly smiling face of Rette as she stood behind the counter, Natsu and Gray rough housing off to the side. Levy followed Lucy's eyes to the picture, instantly knowing what Lucy was thinking.

"Oh right...Rette's still not here."

When Levy said this, all noise in the guild hall died off. A table over, Thyme, sitting on the table in her exceed form along with Carla, Lily, and Happy, hung her head, her ears flattening against the back of her head. Everyone did the same, hanging their heads as they scolded themselves for celebrating when one of their family was still missing.

"No one knows where she went? At all?" Evergreen asked.

"The last known siting of her was when she dropped Master's message off at the Sabertooth guild. After that...she just vanished." Lucy remarked.

"What about you, Thyme? Can't you find her with your bond?" Macao asked.

Thyme shook her head, her head dropping another inch. Lily pat her shoulder, trying to comfort her. He turned to answer for her.

"After Rette's death, the connection was broken. When she was brought back, the connection never reestablished itself. She can no more feel Rette than she could when she first met her." Lily explained, Thyme nodding sadly.

"And she didn't go after the master?" Lisanna asked.

"We didn't come across her in Alvarez and our informnate hadn't been able to find a single trace of her." Mest answered.

"Then how are we suppose to find her?" Jet asked.

"It's Rette we're talking about. Sooner or later, she'll show back up...right?" Gray asked.

Murmuring broke out around the guild hall, everyone stating what they thought and some trying to come up with some plan to find Rette. Some ideas differed, and many disagreed on where she might be and what she might be doing, but everyone agreed on one thing.

She should be there with them.

Especially if a fight was about to come baring down on their heads.

Laxus didn't really care what the others thought. For the last year, he had kept an ear peeled for any rumors on her, had used every connection Blue Pegasus had in order to find her and had come up with nothing. It was frustrating. There were times that he went months without showing his face in the Blue Pegasus' guild hall and that was because he was out looking for Rette.

When he found her, he was going to shake some sense into her.

"Maybe this might tell us something."

Everyone turned to Laki as she stepped forward. In her hand, she held a beat up, worn envelope.

"What's that?" Lucy asked.

"Well, while rebuilding the guild hall, we decided it would be a nice surprise for Rette if we rebuilt her house as well. That way, she could have a house to come home to. Its the least we could after all she did for the guild while all of you were missing for those seven years." Laki explained. "While we were clearing away the crumbled remains of the house, we found this carefully hidden under bricks and stones that were left from her front porch."

Erza took the envelope from Laki and ripped it open. Inside, she found what looked like a letter or diary entry, written in Rette's neat script and signed at the bottom with her name.

"It's from Rette. It looks like a diary entry." Erza said.

"Read it. She wouldn't have left it there if she wasn't okay with someone finding and reading it." Cana encourage.

Erza saw their point. She cleared her throat and begun reading through the words Rette had left. Many smiled as Rette, in the entry, introduced herself as a mage of Fairy Tail, home to the world's foremost trouble making mages. She then went on to explain her life from the time she was born, to her mother's death and her early childhood being raised between her sadistic and abusive father and her beaten and scared into obedience aunt. The latter being a detail she had never shared with any of them.

The poor woman who had been left to raise her sister's daughter in a world that was cruel to her. Many of them felt bad for Rette's aunt, Seraphina. She had to live in the same place, with the same man that had killed her sister, had to raise her niece and watch, helpless, as Lachlan relentlessly tortured and abused the child. But she had been the one to teach Rette her beloved Light of Creation magic, had been the one to finally help Rette escape from her father.

What happened to her after that, not even Rette knew.

Rette went on to explain her naming, how she came about her nickname, her day to day goal of trying not to anger her father, and all the things her father had done to her, right done to dressing her only in a rag. She even theorized that perhaps that was the reason why she hated underwear. And she explained how she had finally snapped, had succumbed to the voice in her head that they now knew had been the demon of tribulation talking to her, and had attacked her father after he had punished her for standing up for a child that had helped her.

She laid out the story of how she had met her dragons, making them all smile and laugh when she added in the bit about asking her dragon mother where babies came from. She even surprised them when she revealed that her dragons weren't the only ones she had met back then. Rette described her feelings for her dragon parents, how she had closed herself off and how she had thought it better to keep the hell of her life to herself.

She wrote about how she went traveling after her dragons vanished, always alone and always keeping others at a distance. From what the entry said, it was then that she started collecting books, reading up on every kind of magic she could, applying the mixing technique she had learned with her Dragon Slayer magic. A year later, she found Thyme's egg. She even reminisced on how, when Thyme had been too tiny to fly steady, she had carried the exceed in a sling across her chest.

Thyme smiled brightly, especially when Rette's entry revealed that Thyme had been the first creature she had felt like she could let down even a small amount of her guards around. And then she described when she first came to Fairy Tail. Laughter rang out as Rette described meeting all of them as being overwhelming and saying that any sane person would have balked in the face of the guild. She described how, despite all the rowdiness and quirks, Fairy Tail was full of good people and how she had slowly fell in love with the guild until they had completely stolen her heart away and had become her God given solace.

Then, she went through each member of the guild, taking a few sentences to describe her feelings about them, what they meant to her. Makarov bit his lip as Erza read through Rette's thoughts on him. He could feel the tears returning to his eyes as he listened to the way Rette had praised him, basically calling him her father. To her, he probably was the closest thing to a father that she had.

When Erza read the part on Mira and her siblings, Mira and Lisanna, tears in their eyes, laughed, Elfman scratching sheepishly at one cheek. All three were over joyed to know that Rette thought of them as her siblings. Next Rette had covered Erza. Erza coughed, trying to cover the reddening of her cheeks even as a smile spread across her face. With the first few sentences on Natsu, Natsu grew annoyed, only to calm down when Rette praised him as a loyal friend and called him a brother she wouldn't trade for the world.

For Gray it was the same, though he quickly looked away from Juvia when Rette brought up her feelings for Gray. Lucy blushed when the entry turned to her, calling her smart, reliable, and strong, claiming her as the glue that kept their team together. Next was Wendy, Rette describing feeling like a proud, big sister, and then Carla, the exceed blushing when it appeared that Rette saw right through her crass words. Happy deflated when Rette described him as not having a fully functioning brain and felt torn when she claimed he was cut from the same cloth as Natsu. She moved on to Thyme, claiming her as her best friend and wishing only the best for Thyme in the future.

Finally, she came to a part about wanting to learn to open up again and that she wanted to because of one person in particular.

Laxus.

It surprsed a few of them, as Rette's entry described her feelings for Laxus, to realize that Rette had actually fallen in love and that she had been starting to realize it. And with Laxus no less! All eyes turned to the big blonde, whose cheeks were starting to turn a little red, his eyes wide. Finally, he dropped his face into his hand, unable to show his face to his guild mates.

"I knew she had been getting awfully close with him!" Laki cheered.

"You better not hurt her, Laxus." Erza orderd sternly.

"Just shut up." Laxus retorted, still unable to look up as the Thunder Legion grinned at him.

He was too embarrassed to look up, but inside...he was grinning like a fool. At least now he had some kind of confirmation on how she felt for him and that went a long ways to building his confidence where she was concerned. It didn't mean, though, that he wanted his guild mates to tease him about it.

Smiling at the thought of Rette finally finding someone who made her truly happy, Erza continued. According to the entry, Rette had felt her father's impending approach for a while before he actually showed up. She talked of her position as half demon and half human, and how she was different now than she had been as a child, though, at the core, she was the same. How she had feared for her friends, that she should have known better than to join Fairy Tail because it brought them to Lachlan's attention, but how she could never regret a single moment spent with them. She wrote about how much she loved her guild, how it had been the best time in her life, and that despite all the trails and stupid fights the guild came with, that it was more of a real family than some blood related families were.

And then she credited them with being able to finally trust others again.

She called them her greatest gift, claiming that while life had dealt her a poor hand at first, it had eventually dealt her the greatest hand she thought she could ever receive. It put smiles on their faces. In the entry, Rette thanked her birth mother and her dragons for all they had given her, saying that she still had a lot ahead of her, but her family needed her. Then Erza trailed off, her eyes growing wide as she read the rest of the letter.

"What is it, Erza?" Gray asked.

Erza grit her teeth, fighting not to rip the papers in her hands. Taking a deep breath, she read the last bit of what Rette had wrote down.

"'I don't relish the punishment I'm going to get from Master Makarov for deceiving him, but in the end, if I accomplish what I'm setting out to do, then I will gladly accept it. It's with that mind set that I'm setting out on a solo adventure of sorts. I'll take Wendy and Carla to Lamia Scale, will pass on the message that Master has given me, and then I will face the future with my shoulders squared and my chin held high. I'm coming for you, Lachlan. And, this time, I won't back down until the job is done. I will come home, though. I won't be throwing my life away again. I have too much waiting for me here in Magnolia. I'll go, and I'll come back. After all, I have a house to rebuild. Forever a fairy, Rette Starrilia.'"

Silence fell over the guild as the meaning behind the words sank in. Rette...Rette had gone after Lachlan, even after promising Makarov she wouldn't. Makarov cursed himself for not knowing better. Of course Rette wouldn't so willing sit back and do nothing while her father was still out there, threatening to hurt her family.

"You don't think she's d-"

"No! Don't even say that!" Natsu snapped, cutting off Droy. "Rette's alive. She said she wasn't going to give up her life again, didn't she?"

"Yeah, man. Have some faith in her. Since when has Rette given up on something she claims as hers?" Gray asked.

"True. She's finally laid claim to her life. I can't see her giving it up so easily." Erza agreed.

Agreement spread through the others at Erza's words. Smiles were just starting to appear on everyone's faces at the thought of Rette kicking her father's tail and making it back to them when the loud sound of Makarov slamming the end of his staff down on the ground, sounded throughout the room. Everyone turned to the old man.

"Everyone. I'm sorry. I won't make any excuses. I'm the one who lost everyone's home, and I'm the one that sent Rette away after knowing how far she would go to protect us. I'm really sorry." Makarov declared.

"I heard from Mest." Max replied.

"You did that to protect us, right?" Warren asked.

"We aren't angry and I bet Rette isn't either." Nab added.

"Yeah, and it's back already!" Jet piped in.

"Don't say depressing things. The drinks are gonna taste awful." Droy slurred.

"Besides, it's Rette, right? We've already seen just how difficult it is to kill her. She'll be back, Master. Don't you worry one bit." Mira assured him.

Makarov wasn't exactly reassured by their words. In the end, his plan had failed and now they had Alvarez breathing down their necks. Together they were, but, in the end, Rette was still missing and they were all still in danger. Makarov got down from his seat and headed for a table where a map had been spread out, a chess piece of sorts, marking where the Alvarez kingdom stood.

"In the end, my plan was a failure too. Alvarez is going to attack us. A huge country is marching towards this guild." Makarov said.

"So what!?" This yell came from Natsu who came stomping up to the front, annoyed with the whole doom and gloom feeling Makarov had filled the room with. "We've fought for this guild many, many times. No matter how strong the enemy is, the wish to protect the ones important to us has always made us strong."

Natsu finally reached the table, the attention of the whole guild on him as he slammed his hands down on the table. He glared across it's surface at Makarov as he continued on. It was easy to tell that he was refusing to back down.

"It's not that I'm not scared. It's like a parcel you don't know how to put down. But...everyone will definitely help us." On the table, flames burst to life around Natsu's hand, burning away the map until it caught the piece representing the Alvarez Kingdom, on fire. "The real fear...is the thought that these happy days might not continue. To be able to laugh together once again. We have to fight. Our goal is not victory! We're gonna fight to live! That's our battle!"

Grins spread to every face, everyone agreeing with Natsu completely. They had to fight for what was their's, just like Rette always did. Their enemy was seeking to take away their lives, their tomorrow. They would fight, not to win, but to ensure that they would have a tomorrow to spend together.

"It seems like everyone is ready." Laxus remarked.

"I am too." Makarov agreed. He just needed a little reminder that Fairy Tail was a family that wasn't to be messed with. "They will regret challenging our family! We will strike them back!"

Everyone had their reasons for fighting and while some of them differed, everyone was fighting for their loved ones, for the guild, and for themselves. It wasn't a fight they could afford to lose, so they simply wouldn't. They wouldn't give up until everyone was safe once more.

"There is something I need to tell you before the battle. The official name of Lumen Histoire is "Fairy Heart"." Makarov announced to the guild.

"Let me talk about that, Sixth...no, Eighth." At the sound of the voice, Makarov turned, finding Mavis standing behind him. "Everyone, Fairy Heart has been our guild's most protected information so far. That's because it has a secret that the world must not know. However, you also have to know the reason Zeref wants the power. And my sin..."

"First." Makarov called, silently telling her that it was alright not to tell them.

"It's okay. It's time to reveal the truth. This is the story of a cursed boy and a cursed girl. And of the single magic they were pursuing. This was a story that happened a hundred years ago, slightly before Fairy Tail was formed. Magnolia's West Forest. That was where we met by chance. He was suffering from the Ankhseram Curse, a curse that toyed at the fates of others by robbing them of their lives. But I was intrigued by him. He taught me most of my magic. At that time, Magnolia had been under the control of a dark guild. And we had to learn magic as fast as we could to free magnolia from them.

"That was when it happened, in the midst of battle...I used a black magic spell that was still incomplete but we won anyway. However, the price I had to pay was a body that stopped aging. I didn't think much of it back then. April, Year X686, Fairy Tail was formed. It was a time when the lords were in a feud over their trading rights. The second trade war was just about to begin. Guild wizards were roped into the battle as soldiers for these lords." Mavis said.

The guild listened as Mavis spun a tale for them of how she met had first met Zeref, starting with the beginning of the second Trade War.

"Year X690, the end of the second Trade Wars. The number of those injured and the death count were ten times higher than in the first war. It was said that the reason behind this was the mage guild interventions. That was when the world of magic decided that guilds could no longer wage war or be a part of any war by drafting a treaty. With that, a short era of peace dawned upon the world of magic. Six years later, year X696, I met with him again, pure coincidence."

Eyes stayed riveted on her as she told them of how she became cursed with the same curse as Zeref. Of how she was there when Makarov was born, that she had actually been the one to name him. And of how, after the death of Makarov's mother, Rita, Mavis ran away from the guild.

"A curse of contradiction. The more you love life, the more it will steal from those around you. But if you stop loving, then it will stop taking as well. I've taken the lives of trees, animals, and now, people too. From that point onwards, I stopped showing up at the guild, aimlessly wandered around and unwillingly stole a few lives from those near me. Then a year went by..."

Mavis continued, telling them of how Zeref found her once again, dirty, her clothes torn, starving, and living deep in the wilderness, far away from all people. But Zeref found her, none the less, and told her that, in his infinite amount of time, he had created demons to possibly, one day, kill him and how he had started his own country. She told them that it was then, talking to Zeref, that she realized that after a while, the curse even turned one's thoughts into contradictions. It was also about that time that she learned that she truly loved Zeref and Zeref her.

But even the love between two curse, wasn't to be allowed.

"Everything begins in the deep abyss of magic. A magic that unites it all, love. Love can cause miracles, and sadness as well. And the love between the two that have been living with the curse...have brought upon the highest level of contradiction. The more one loves, the more one will take away from another. This curse...has taken my life from me. Even when I was suppose to be immortal."

After her supposed death at the hands of Zeref's love, Mavis told them that Zeref returned her body to Fairy Tail, handing her over to the man that would later become Hades. Noticing that while her heart had stopped beating, some of her magic remained, Hades had put her in a lacrima deep beneath the guild in hopes to bring her back.

"And that's how my body came to be inside that crystal. He tried as many resurrection spells as he could, but nothing worked. And soon, Precht himself realized that I had the curse of Ankhseram. And ultimately forced him to keep this whole thing a secret. Year X697 Percht chose to announce that I had died and that my grave was on the guild's hold ground, Tenrou Island. Tenrou Island was my birthplace and also where I met Precht for the first time. The same year...Precht officially became the second guild master. And this was done according to my will before I had departed. Precht balanced his job as a guild master while trying all sorts of ways to bring me back.

"Year X700, three years later, Makarov's dad, Yuri passed away. Unaware of the circumstances that caused his wife's death. And then fifty years goes by, Precht never stopped trying. Everything was becoming very unpredictable. Precht was a genius, and even with his unrivaled knowledge and talents, I was stuck with the curse. I had become somewhat suspended in animation. Alive but dead at the same time. But that combination gave birth to a new indescribable magic. Eternity magic, Fairy Heart."

"What is that?" Erza asked.

"Just like it's name suggests, a limitless magic. One that will never run out." Mavis answered.

"An everlasting fountain of magic!?" Happy cried.

"For example, there once was a weapon called the Etherion that the old magic council had. And one attack from that weapon could wipe out an entire country. With the Fairy Heart, you could fire that Etherion repeatedly without worrying about the magic. Or should I say, it has enough magic to enable that...but then again, it's hard to explain just how much is has. It is infinite, after all." Mavis explained.

With this realization, the whole room was shocked into silence. Such a magic...it really could shake the foundation of the magical world. Especially if Zeref was able to get his hands on it.

"My son, Ivan, once wanted this as well. I wonder how this got out but now Alvarez is aware of it as well." Makarov said.

"So you're saying Alvarez is attacking because they want the Fairy Heart!?" Elfman asked.

"But what for?" Lisanna asked.

"They should have enough power already on their own." Mira remarked.

"I would think it's because they're planning on taking down Acnologia. It's been getting on Zeref's nerves this whole time." Mavis replied.

"But if we look at it from another angle, we'd need that much power to defeat it?" Cana asked.

"Hey, I have a really simple question. If it was that powerful, couldn't we just beat both Alvarez and Acnologia?" Happy asked.

"He has a point. I once thought of it as well when we had to deal with the Faces, but even if we won that round, there's no telling what would happen next. What would we do if we could no longer control the Etherion that now has an infinite source of magic?" Makarov said.

The mere thought was scary. If a canon like that was to go out of control? It would spell disaster for all of Fiore, and possibly the world.

"The Fairy Heart is something that should not be introduced to the world under any circumstances." Mavis said, the guild agreeing with her. "That being said...it's possibly already has been."

Makarov turned to look up at Mavis hung her head.

"What do you mean, First?" he asked.

"A magic born from my sins...I never thought it would drag all of you into this mess..." Mavis said.

"It's not a sin to fall in love. You can't even arrest someone over that." Gajeel said.

This, coming from Gajeel, surprised everyone and that surprised ticked Gajeel off. That being that, several were still stuck on what Mavis had just said.

"First, what do you mean it might have already been introduced to the world?" Erza asked.

Mavis looked down at the ground, as if ashamed of her actions. Finally she heaved a sigh and spoke.

"A year ago, not long after the Grand Magic Games, I noticed that Rette was really starting to suffer from fits of chest pain. During those fits, her magic would become unstable and would basically start tearing her apart from the inside. I knew, from watching her, that it would kill her before long. How she had made it that long already, was surprising. It only speaks highly of the amount of will power she has." Mavis started. "I knew something had to be done to stabilize her magic and when I saw the seal around her neck...I knew what it was. I had hoped that by sharing what power was trapped in the Fairy Heart's crystal, I could help keep her magic stable, stop the fits, possibly heal her. So..."

"So you lead her to Lumen Histoire." Erza said, Mavis nodding.

"That's why we found teeth marks in the crystal. Rette really did eat the crystal." Lucy said.

The mere thought had others making faces. They all knew that, as the Crystal Dragon Slayer, Rette ate crystals. She ordered them with her food all the time, but for her to eat a crystal that held the First's body in it? It was a disturbing thought.

"Rette didn't want to do it, but I pleaded with her. I couldn't stand to watch a member of our family died in such a painful way. I knew, the moment the magic settled into her body, that it had fused with her magic and had forged a link between her and me." Mavis said.

"But that's different than linking her directly to Fairy Heart, right?" Gray asked.

"Did any of you notice her running completely out of magic in the fight with Tartaros?" Mavis asked.

Everyone froze as they thought about this. While there had been times that Rette had run low, as if she was getting down to the last bits of her magic, she had almost instantly got her second wind, her magic rocketing back up to give her another fighting chance. The only time her magic had dropped to zero was when she had died. Horrified realization dawned on them all.

Rette...really was linked to Fairy Heart.

"I don't think Rette realized it then, herself, but because of this, I can always feel Rette, can feel her heart beating, as if it's my own. About eleven months ago, her magic suddenly dropped, dropping dangerously low, as if something had suddenly sucked out all the magic she possessed." Mavis told them.

"What!? Is she alright!?" rang out from several members of the guild.

Laxus tensed in his seat, his eyes narrowing as he waited to hear what, exactly, that meant. Mavis held up a hand, silently asking that they calm down and listen.

"Despite this, I could feel Rette fighting. Even with her magic, her very life force, low and struggling, I know she fought and she, unconsciously I bet, drew on the power of Fairy Heart. If anything, her heart beat is stronger. I can feel her, even now." Mavis said, pressing a hand to her chest. "Her heart beat is strong and confident and she is growing stronger with every day that passes. Her magic has become so strong, I can feel it singing through my very being. Rette is alive...and she's on her way home. That much, I can tell."

Hearing this, smiles spread across everyone's face. Rette was coming home.

"But, to drag you all into this mess..." Mavis trailed off.

"First, please don't blame yourself so much." Erza told her.

"That's right. It's coincidental that the bad stuff kept piling up on you." Mira agreed.

"If you weren't here, we wouldn't have Fairy Tail at all." Lucy remarked.

"Which means we never would have met you." Cana added.

"You being here is what connects us all, Rette included, First." Gray said confidently.

"We want to protect the guild you built. So we'll fight." Wendy agreed.

Mavis couldn't stop the tears that rolled down her face. Even as no more than a spirit, she still felt the tears as if the warm liquid spilled down her true face.

"It's become a fine guild, First." Makarov told her.

Even Juvia started crying then. Confused, Gray questioned why she was crying. With tears still in her eyes, Juvia explained.

"Master Mavis has to fight the person she once loved." Juvia explained.

"That was a long time ago. Zeref has now become a threat to mankind. We have to defeat him." Mavis told her.

"But...even if we did do something about the Alvarez soldiers..." Bickslow started.

"Zeref's immortal, isn't he?" Freed finished for him.

"He can't be killed then!" Evergreen added.

"How do we do this..." Erza pondered.

Natsu started laughing then, drawing attention back to him. Everyone turned him as he jumped up onto a table, declaring for all of them to leave it to him. He clapped a hand down on the bandaged covered bicep of his right arm, a grin on his face.

"I'll take Zeref down. I've been developing this technique in secret anyway!" Natsu declared.

Clapping from a single person suddenly rang out through the guild hall. Everyone begun twisting and turning, trying to locate whoever it was that was clapping. Finally, all eyes locked in on the door to the guild hall. One side was open, a solo form leaning against the frame and clapping. Natsu turned, freezing on the spot when he saw who it was.

"Bravo. Such confidence, such bravery. I was not lied to when I was told you had both in over abundant levels, idiotic levels." There, standing in the door way, a small, crooked grin on his face, was the guy that had butted into Natsu's fight with the god that Avatar had summoned. "Yo, what's up. Long time no see, Natsu Dragneel."

"You!" Natsu jumped off the table. "You were the one that butted into my fight!"

"Yeah, something like that." the guy replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

"He...he looks like Rette..." Mira gasped.

"You know this young man?" Makarov asked.

"He showed up when we were dealing with a cult of Zeref a while ago." Erza answered.

"You're welcome, by the way." the guy called out.

"How long have you been standing there?" Gajeel demanded.

"Hmm...nearly the whole time?" Everyone stared at him, shocked that none of them had noticed him one bit. "I heard everything. Going up against Alvarez and the Black Mage himself? You all got some courage, that's for sure. Let me guess...you're banking on Rette showing up to help you at the last moment?"

"How do you know Rette?" Erza asked.

"You get outside of Fiore and more people than you think, know about her. You are aware that she's originally from an island that is apart of the Alvarez kingdom, right? She's well known in certain parts of Alvarez." the guy replied.

"You're from Alvarez!?" Natsu growled.

"I was born there, if that's what you're asking. But that's beside the point. You're all banking on Rette's return, right? But what if she isn't the Rette you remember?"

"What are you talking about?" Lucy asked.

They watched as the look-a-like spread his arms, still leaning casually against the door frame. If anything, his grin became a little more crooked.

"She still had that demon in her and, believe me, she's been fighting a losing battle against that creature for years. She knew she couldn't keep up the fight any longer, she'd lose. It was why she went to seek out Lachlan." he told them.

"That demon could not completely take over Rette's body unless she died. I can still feel her heart beating, can still feel her magic." Mavis said.

"You can feel her heart. Her heart doesn't need to die for the demon to take hold. Only her spirit. You can't feel that dying, am I right?"

Mavis froze. He wasn't wrong, she knew that. But was he right? Was she really only feeling the beat of a heart taken over by a demon?

"All I'm saying is...don't be surprised if the Rette that shows up, isn't the one you remember." he added, his grin vanishing. "Zeref can pull some pretty cruel tricks. Especially where Rette is concerned. After all, she's defied him just as much as she's defied Lachlan. He's not happy about it."

"Just who the hell are you!?" Natsu demanded.

"Me? That's simple." the guy replied.

"Then answer the question." Gray snapped.

The grin returned to the guy's face and what came out of his mouth next, shocked them all into open mouthed silence.

"My name is Torin Starrilia...I'm Rette's brother."

END

Kyandi: Those who guessed that he was blood related to her...good job! You were right.

Rette: Yeah...I have a little brother.

Kyandi: But now, the question is...is he a good guy or a bad guy?

Rette: You've already seen one example of the males in my blood related family. What do you think?

Kyandi: I think they will have to continue to read.

Rette: True.

Kyandi: So, everyone, enjoy and review.

Rette: We'll return as soon as possible.

Kyandi: Bye-bye!