AN: As always before we get started, Reviewer Replies! :D

Raidentensho: No he won't be using 'light make' as that is basically just using telekinesis to make his illusions seem solid. It would be a waste of power, so he won't do it. Also no, there are currently no plans for anything to be under the mountain.

Eluvian Camaris: Ah the sweet imagined sound of laughter. I'm certainly glad you got a lol out of it, and I'm truly delighted that you enjoyed The Road to Mattachu arc. That's been by far the hardest part of this story to write since it was entirely new stuff, so it's very nice to hear that it was well received. Eventually, far far into the future, yes, his ethernano absorption rate will go up, but it will still be a lot lower than anyone from Earthland, so he'll still regularly chow down on ambient light to speed up the process. Also yes, Decomposition will see further use. It'll never be his go-to magic, but I guarantee it's going to play a critical role in at least one major event down the road.

AnimeMyWorld: As always, glad you're enjoying! Yes funnily enough the fluff scenes are often also the easiest to write! Here's the next chapter! :D

Condescension: I'm glad you enjoyed. Yes Azuma was about that surprised by Mystogan's magic.

NightBlood5404: I don't think anyone deserves that kind of childhood. Whether or not Jerry will get the chance to save Minerva remains to be seen, but don't doubt for a second that he would if given the opportunity. Child abuse is his absolute number one berserk button, tied with messing with his loved ones. So yeah, abandoning a little kid in the forest butt naked after beating the crap out of them is pretty much complete and utter suicide if Jerry catches wind of it. Even immortality wouldn't be enough to save someone who did that, it would just be a means for him to ensure that his disposal of them really REALLY hurt, because to quote Jafar, 'You'd be amazed what you can live through...'.

And now, on with the show! :D

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Chapter 38: Party

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==The Next Day==

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In retrospect, I almost regret not sticking around to introduce Dimaria to everybody when we got back, but comforting Mira took priority. Besides, between Natsu, Lucy, Gajeel and Levy, she was fitting right in by the time Mira, Cana and I reached the being quickly rebuilt Guild Hall the next day, and there were still a few people she hadn't met yet.

I didn't spot her right away. Gildarts seemed to teleport over to LOOM at me, his magic power manifesting in a foot thick aura of blinding white around him that obscured his form to nothing but a red eyed silhouette. I also noticed his magic was steadily and rapidly reducing the ground beneath him to powder. I looked him right in the eye and downloaded knowledge of the sincerity and magnitude of my affection for Cana and Mira straight into his head. He snuffed out the disintegrator aura but still grumbled, "Alright, fine. You can go ahead for now, but if you ever make my baby girl cry…"

"Then you have my full permission to stomp me while I'm down and reduce me to a smear on the ground, because if I ever lose her or Mira then I'm going to have one foot in the grave anyway," I replied flatly. I got a kiss on the cheek for that before Mira headed across to the bar.

Gildarts opened his mouth to say something, closed it back and decided he was ok with that answer. Cana had let me in on it the night before that she had been periodically talking me up to Gildarts while my team was in Minstrel and getting him used to the idea of me dating her. He'd given his consent but held firm on his right to be an overprotective dad. I didn't begrudge him that in the least, Cana was very much worth protecting and even over protecting.

Gildarts regarded me with a critical eye for a moment anyway, then he told me, "Well don't make me a grandfather too soon. I'm not old enough for grandkids yet."

"Do you want my kids to call grandpa, pawpaw or old bones?" Cana asked teasingly.

Gildarts didn't have an answer for that one right away and Cana grinned as she smacked him on the shoulder, "Relax, Mira'll have kids way before I do. I'd have to stop drinking for nine months, and I think you understand the likelihood of that."

Gildarts's eyes bugged out for a second and then, "Oh come on! I didn't say I never wanted grandkids!"

Cana smirked, "You'll get 'em, just not soon. Now since you brought it up, shouldn't you be running around all over the countryside making sure you don't already have grandkids?"

Gildarts blinked, blinked a few more times as that processed, and then his face went ghostly pale. Cana looked at him and then laughed, "Oh my god Dad, don't tell me that's just now occurring to you!"

Gildarts wrapped her in a hug, "I love you sweetie gotta go! I promise I'll be back sooner this time!"

Cana sputtered for a moment in surprise and then as Gildarts let go and was about to run away, she grabbed him and hugged him back, "Come back safe okay?"

Gildarts hugged her and it was a very sweet moment.

Said sweet moment was interrupted by a sound like a thunderclap swiftly followed by Gray's naked butt flying through the air and only missing the two of them because I threw up an Archive screen in between them and him. Gray slumped to the ground and I realized he had a bloody nose and looked like he'd been hit with a taser. Then his balled up pants collided with his face.

"PUT SOME CLOTHES ON YOU PERVERT!" Dimaria roared across the construction site before turning back to her breakfast.

I sniggered and grinned down at him, "I see you've met Dimaria!"

"She hits like Laxus!" Gray declared as he pulled his pants back on, "Where the hell did you find her?"

"Ancient city in the middle of the desert," I replied with a smile, "I'm surprised you haven't heard about it yet."

"Just got back from a job last night," Gray told me as he got up, "Oh, by the way we got Juvia moved into the second floor apartment on the right at your place, Gajeel's on the bottom left. Master said you probably hadn't even been by yet."

"He hasn't," Cana declared with a smile as she stepped past me, "Mira and I kept him busy all night."

Gray's eyes grew to the size of saucers and then he looked at me, "Dude, what is your secret?"

"Complete and utter forthright honesty," I replied with a smile, "If I say something, I mean it, and I don't beat around the bush. Beyond that, unbelievable luck."

"Honesty huh?"

I nodded, "Yep, and insane amounts of luck. Don't know what to tell you beyond that, you'd have to ask Mira or Cana."

"So how'd the job go? I know nobody was expecting you guys back that quick," Gray declared as he pulled his pants back on. A shirt dropped onto his head a moment later and he pulled it off to look at it in surprise. Then he called to Dimaria, "Where was it?!"

"Chair by the bar!" Dimaria called back before noticing me. Her face lit up and she waved at me, "Hi Jerry! I found a pervert!"

I grinned, "Come on, I'll introduce ya." We made our way across the barroom floor, obviously the first part of the Guild Hall that had been rebuilt and I noticed that there were now floor drains periodically spaced across the bar. The second floor had been poured and the roof was under construction, so the walls had mostly only been framed in. Some of the original Guild Hall had evidently survived Mira's fury. The kitchen and store rooms in the back were all still standing apparently completely untouched and a small temporary roof had been built over them while the rest of the ground and second floor were rebuilt. The bar was also standing, now it was an outside bar though.

Master was sitting on the bar when we made it over there and he raised an eyebrow at me, "Did you sleep well?"

I smiled, "Amazingly well if not very much."

Master took a drink, "Well, if Gildarts didn't pulverize you then I suppose I don't need to worry about you being in a three way relationship with those two."

Dimaria's head whipped around and I smiled at the question inherent in her startled gaze, "Mira's best friend is apparently also now her girlfriend, and mine as well. I'm sure you'll be quite welcome as well if you'd like to join us sometime." Dimaria's mouth worked mutely for a moment as she tried to process that and I grinned as I leaned back to give her a view of Gray, "In the meantime though, allow me to introduce you to our guild's resident streaker and ice wizard extraordinaire, good buddy of mine, Gray Fullbuster."

"Streaker?" Dimaria asked in a slightly concerned voice.

"His training involved stripping naked and learning his magic in the snow so that he could become one with the cold," I explained, "He claims he's been randomly losing his clothes ever since."

Dimaria raised an eyebrow, "Do all ice wizards do that?"

"Don't let them lie and say they don't," Gray told her with a nod, "It was part of the training and I'm certain they do it too."

"Even the girls?" Dimaria asked in concern.

Gray nodded, "The wizard who taught me everything I know is a woman."

"Does that mean Lucy's going to start stripping in public all the time now that she's a Snow Dragon Slayer?" Dimaria asked, the source of her concern now clear.

I don't think hitting Gray with a taser would've made him jump that much. He almost fell off his barstool, "LUCY'S A WHAT NOW?!"

"Lucy lost her spirit keys on the mission. She's still very upset about it, DON'T bring it up," I told him quickly and quietly.

Gray looked at me in horror, "Oh shit…what happened?"

I wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pulled him over a little closer, "We met a couple of dark wizards, didn't know they were wizards, let alone infamous dark wizards, traveled with 'em majority of the quest. They saved Erza's bacon and helped us out at the final showdown, found out after they teleported away that one of 'em stole Lucy's keys while she was out cold and injured," I explained in a low voice, "Found out from my spirits that the wizard in question's notorious for killing Celestial Spirit mages. Said wizard also saved Lucy's life and Dimaria's too, and the other one was the doctor that made sure they'd live long enough for the million to one gamble to save them. Now they're both Dragon Slayers. Lucy's snow and Dimaria's storm."

"Well that explains why she hits like Laxus," Gray muttered before pulling back and continuing in a normal voice, "Well even if I can't do anything else about it, now I know that I definitely need to invite Lucy to Master Ur's Ice-Make lessons."

"Ice-Make lessons?" I asked with interest.

"Juvia now knows exactly why Gray is a pervert," Juvia declared as she sat down on the stool next to him with a small smile, "But Gray is also a very good tutor, so Juvia will forgive him." Then she directed her smile past him at me, Dimaria and Master, "Good morning everyone. Welcome back Jerry! Juvia's all moved in and has her first month's rent ready whenever you want it."

Juvia's gotten a hair cut and now had a short bob cut that looked very good on her, and she'd traded out her dark blue overcoat and hat for a white and blue dress with a matching hat. If Julie hadn't once sported a similar look in high school, there's a strong chance I wouldn't even have recognized Juvia had she not spoken.

I blinked a few times and then remembered that Juvia now had the upstairs apartment on the right and grinned, "Oh yeah! Forgot about that. Don't worry about rent, were you here when we called in to report yesterday afternoon?"

Juvia tilted her head, "No, Gray and I didn't get back from Mt. Ivor until last night. Did something happen?"

I grinned, "Well first of all, allow me to introduce our newest member, Dimaria Yesta the Storm Dragon Slayer."

Juvia nodded with a smile, "It's very nice to meet you Dimaria. I'm Juvia Lockser. If your magic is Storm based then we should definitely swap pointers sometime since I'm a Rain Woman."

"Rain Woman?" Dimaria asked curiously.

Juvia nodded, "My emotions directly affect the weather. When I'm happy, the weather's fine, but if I'm sad then it rains and if I'm angry then storms pop up. I've recently come off a years long streak of depression where I made it rain all the time and then nobody wanted to be around me because of it which just made me sadder and the sadder I was the more it rained. That's why I'm called the Rain Woman."

Dimaria's eyes lit up, "That's so cool! Terrible about the depression," she clarified, "but still really cool! Can you do it without the emotional triggers?"

Juvia nodded, "It's a little bit more difficult but…" her face suddenly lit up, "Mira! You're back!"

Mira nodded as she stepped up behind the bar with a smile, "Nothing like some good loving to fix a bit of heartbreak. Can I get you anything?"

Dimaria looked at Mira in surprise and then back at me. She glanced at Mira again and then asked me, "So, that's your girlfriend you were telling me about?"

I nodded with a smile, "I certainly don't deserve her, but yes, by some miracle she is. Mira, let me introduce you to Dimaria. She's a Storm Dragon Slayer."

Mira looked at Dimaria with interest and then furrowed her brows slightly, "Jerry, is this…"

I smiled, "No, Mordred's eyes were green. Dimaria's got a lot in common with her though." Four sets of eyes were suddenly switching back and forth from me to Mira and back in confusion as Dimaria, Master, Gray and Juvia visibly puzzled over who Mira and I were talking about.

Mira nodded, "Ah, Lucy's sister then?"

Dimaria jerked in surprise, "Huh?!"

"You look just like her aside from the hairstyle," Mira noted, "I guess you're not then?"

"Um, no," Dimaria replied as she blushed a little, "I'm Dimaria Yesta, last survivor of the city of Mildian."

Mira, Gray, Juvia and Master all four froze. Dimaria seemed to shrink in on herself a little nervously, "Um, did I say something wrong?"

"You didn't tell me you were from Mildian," Master noted as he recovered his composure, "I suppose it shouldn't come as much of a surprise given that we just found out the City of Gold is real, but I'd heard Mildian was wiped out completely by Zeref centuries ago. Many believe it to be just a legend." Gray and Juvia's heads snapped up in surprise at that.

Dimaria's expression darkened a little and she glanced down at her plate, "Yes, all except for a few of my ancestors were killed in Zeref's first rampage. My parents and I were the very last ones, and… now it's just me," she added quietly. Everyone was quiet for a moment as the somber truth of that statement sunk in.

Then Mira suddenly hopped over the bar with ease that even I didn't realize she was capable of and pulled Dimaria into a hug. Dimaria looked utterly stunned and then Mira told her quietly, "No. You're one of us now, you're never going to be alone again."

Dimaria took a few seconds to register that and then suddenly she absolutely broke. It caught me completely off guard, but I immediately stepped over and joined the hug, with Gray right behind me and Master extending his arm with magic to lay a hand on her shoulder. Juvia slid over as a small flow of water and rematerialized to hug Mari's fourth side.

I gently glowed out a wave of Sense of Security and Mari only hugged tighter as her sobs intensified. Gray, Mira and Master looked on sympathetically as Mira tried to console her, and it suddenly dawned on me how many orphans there really were in Fairy Tail. This was almost certainly far from the first time they'd welcomed someone who'd had no family into ours.

About the time Mari calmed down from bawling to quietly hanging on while the last few tears trickled down her face Lucy asked from right next to us, "Why don't I get a group hug?"

Without even looking Mira and I reached out and tugged her into the middle next to Dimaria and I suddenly felt three more bodies pile on, including one who took the opportunity to cop a feel of my ass. I looked up and around and saw that it was not three bodies, it was seven. Erza, Cana, Natsu, Levy, Gajeel, Jet and Droy had all joined in the hug. Gajeel was the only one who surprised me. Levy is very naturally a hugger and Jet and Droy will follow her anywhere. Cana was the one with her hand on my ass. She just winked at me with a cheeky grin.

"While I am always up for a group hug, may I ask the occasion?" Erza asked.

"We're welcoming Dimaria to the family," Master explained.

Natsu's head suddenly popped up from the other side of Lucy, "Wait a minute, we haven't thrown Dimaria a welcome party yet?"

The whole group froze and then Master jumped up on the bar, "EVERYONE! WE FORGOT TO THROW OUR NEWEST MEMBER A WELCOME PARTY!" He thrust his fist into the air and yelled, "PAAARTYYY!"

"PAAAARTYYY!"

"Oh boy, here we go…" Mira groaned quietly, "Okay, watch out everybody. Head cook, coming through!" Mira quickly waded back out of the group hug, hopped over the bar again and headed towards the kitchen. A moment later magic started roaring through the kitchen and I did a bit of a double take as I could've sworn I heard Mira singing Bibbidibobbidiboo.

"Didn't we just have a party yesterday?!" Dimaria asked in confusion.

"That was the 'we made it back alive and finished a decade quest' party," Erza explained, "This is going to be your Welcome Party."

"So does that mean that I haven't gotten a welcome party either?" Gajeel asked.

Everyone looked at him in surprise and then Master yelled, "EVERYBODY! WE'VE BEEN SLACKING! WE FORGOT TO THROW GAJEEL A WELCOME PARTY TOO! JUVIA TOO NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT! SO WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?!"

"PARTY!" the whole guild roared back.

"YER DAMN RIGHT!" Master shouted, "WE'RE GONNA PARTY FOR THREE DAYS STRAIGHT!"

And we did too!

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…

"Hey Jerry, you don't mind Dimaria staying with me for a bit right?" Lucy asked as the second day of partying started to wind down. I had stepped out back to the lake shore and thrown out one of my cards as a comfy spot to watch the sunset. Lucy had only followed me out a few minutes later.

I nodded, "Mmm…that's fine."

Lucy sighed in relief, "Okay good, that'll definitely help with the rent."

I turned and looked at her dryly, "Lucy, I've already told ya, you don't have to worry about rent. I'm a bloody billionaire, paying me rent is like pouring a cup of water into the lake over there. Besides, if it bothers you that much," I winked at her with a crooked grin, "you could still take me up on the payin' me off in kisses idea."

Lucy blushed as pink as Natsu's hair, "Kisses?"

I blinked and remembered that I'd told Mira about that idea and Lucy had actually already bolted by the time I'd voiced it that day I bought the building, "Oh yeah, forgot you chickened out of my teasing before I could even suggest it that day. You remember when we were discussing what your rent would be, you tried to argue with me about it because you didn't feel comfortable about such a cheap rate and I offered to make it super awkward if you wanted to argue about it? I was going to offer to let you pay me off in kisses at a thousand jewel off whatever debt you'd stacked up per kiss." I snorted with a grin, "I'd never enforce a deal like that th…oh?"

Lucy had without the slightest warning straddled my lap, "So I owe you twenty kisses for last month and another twenty in case I can't come up with twenty thousand jewel by this evening? Which I probably can't?" she added with a very seductive grin as she pressed her admittedly very exceptional chest against mine and wrapped her arms around my shoulders.

I wanted to. I really, really wanted to. Under different circumstances I almost certainly would have. I shook my head with a frown, "No. No you don't, and you don't owe me forty thousand jewel either. Now get off me before Natsu looks out here and sees us like this."

Lucy pouted and got off, "Is this about Galuna being Natsu's idea of trying to ask me out? There's nothing there! There's nothing going on between me and him!"

I raised an eyebrow at her, "Lucy, have you actually talked to Natsu about it? Honestly I'm surprised you even know about that. Everyone I've heard told about it has been all but sworn to secrecy."

Lucy blushed and then glared out at the lake, "Natsu told me about it when we found each other in the Tower. Happy says I'm the first girl he's taken an interest in since his previous girlfriend died. Normally I'd be super flattered, but with the way everything's turned out…"

It didn't take a genius or a mind reader to figure out she was thinking about her keys, "That and the fact that he's an immature blockhead. I mean yeah, he's hot, and not in the 'constantly setting things on fire' sense. If he'd actually just asked me out instead of that stunt with Galuna and everything that happened, I'd probably have said sure just for the hell of trying it with him."

"He's an idiot," she declared quietly as she pulled her knees up to her chin, "He's got no sense of what's actually dangerous for someone normal like me and a lot of his antics honestly annoy the hell out of me." She took a deep breath and sighed, "For all that though, he is still actually one of the nicest people I know. I know he'd protect me like I was a princess and he was my dragon, and I think a lot of what's not jiving between us is just the fact that we're from completely different backgrounds. I'm a sheltered heiress who never had any friends aside from my spirits until I met you, him and Happy, and he's been a rough and tumble Fairy Tail wizard since he was a little kid. I'm still getting used to everything about this being a guild wizard thing and he's like a solid manifestation of everything about Fairy Tail that's hard to get used to."

Then she added quietly, "But he's also a pretty good representation of everything I love about this place."

"I guess, you just seem a little bit more approachable," she continued, "Natsu's a Fairy Tail wizard through and through, but you're like a fairy tale p…"

"Don't," I interrupted, "Don't call me a prince." Lucy looked over at me in surprise and I shot her a wan smile, "You and Natsu aren't the only ones with emotional baggage. I went a long way towards sorting mine out at the Tower, but that wound's still deep even if it's starting to heal. So you gravitate towards me more than Natsu because I seem like a good midway between the life you had and the life you've always wanted eh?"

Lucy blinked and then nodded before glancing out at the reflection of the sunset on the water, "Yeah. You're…honestly, I think my parents would both be jumping up and down with excitement if I dated a guy like you. You're honest, good looking, thoughtful, caring, responsible, smart and absurdly wealthy. Daddy'd like that last one," she added with a wry little smile.

"And Natsu?" I asked quietly.

Lucy sighed, "Reckless. He's reckless and wild, but I know he means well. Even with how much I still totally blame him for the Galuna Incident and losing my keys, I know, I know. We saved the world and would probably all be dead right now if things hadn't played out the way they did. It still hurts though, and I…I guess I need somebody to blame."

I gently knocked my shoulder into hers, "Then how about ya blame the guy who brought Sorano and Erik along in the first place?"

Lucy froze like I'd doused her in ice water and looked at me in shock. I raised an eyebrow, "What, did you forget that they were only with our group because I was banging Sorano like a drum for two thirds of the cruise?"

Lucy's brain was trying like mad to process that and her expression was an interesting mix of shock and horror and confusion. Then I looked back out at the lake, "Something I think you should consider though, is that even though Sorano took your keys, she also saved your life."

Lucy jerked slightly, "What?"

I glanced over at her, "Who did you think put that lacrima in your gut? It wasn't Dimaria, she got stabbed like a dozen times right after you did, and none of the rest of us would've come up with that. Heck the rest of us were busy fighting trying to save the world. There's no way we would've made it to you in time. I couldn't even have sent Virgo to help you because of how badly returning to her origin drained her. You and Dimaria would both have bled out if Sorano hadn't been there. "

"Something else to consider," I added quietly, "Sorano's infamous for killing Celestial Wizards to get their keys. She's the one who offed Leo's previous wizard, and she's killed several more besides. We never realized it because I didn't summon Leo the whole trip, but the instant I showed him a picture, he nearly had a heart attack at the thought of her being that close to us."

Lucy was staring at me in horror now and I nodded, "Mmhmm, but when she had a chance to leave you for dead, she actually did everything she could to save you. She saved Erza too. We won't know what she was thinking until we find her, but Leo says she hasn't even tried to contract with any of your spirits yet. Honestly Lucy? I think Sorano might consider you a friend."

"A friend?" Lucy asked in shock, the word sounding like it felt completely foreign in her mouth.

"You two were getting along pretty well on the way to Mattachu if I recall right," I noted, "She's one of the most wanted dark wizards on the continent, who if I recall a certain offhanded comment right very badly misses her little sister, and judging by Erik's farewell, considers her handful of guildmates to be her brothers. We're probably the first actual chance those two have had to make friends in years. There's something seriously not matching up between the Sorano we traveled with and the dark wizard who's been offing Celestial Wizards for years," I mused.

"I don't believe she could've faked her persona around us, especially how she acted around me, and given that we're apparently some of the first people to ever see those two and live to talk about it, I don't think she'd feel the need to, especially given that her entire disguise consisted of dying her hair. Something is very much up with those two, and my gut's tellin' me that it's somethin' we're not gonna like, but we're not gonna know until we find them, and we will find them Lucy," I added, "Don't doubt that for a second. On what I believe to be the very slim chance they were playin' us for saps, I'm gonna take the opportunity to beat the hell out of both of them, fantastic romp in the sack or not."

I frowned, "But if that was the real them we were travelling with, then they may actually be friends in very dire need of help. Matter of fact, given that she hasn't even tried contracting with your spirits," I mused aloud as the thought occurred to me, "Taking your keys might've been Sorano's way of asking us to find her again."

Erza suddenly plopped down and leaned against my back, "That actually seems likely. Disturbing, but likely. Erik and Sorano were two of the slaves at the Tower before the man who's now their Guild Master came and got them out. Erik told me right before they teleported away that that's why they felt indebted to me."

I went ramrod stiff as the memory of my first night with Sorano flashed vivid in my mind, "And it explains why Sorano had the same reaction you did when she saw my face."

"So we've got two friends backed into some kind of corner who need our help," Erza declared quietly.

I cracked my knuckles as a very grim expression settled across my face, "Then somebody's going to die."

Lucy looked like her entire world had just been turned upside down, "She was…calling for help?"

There was a sudden camera flash and a voice muttered, "Uh-oh! Not cool!"

I snapped a hand out and snatched the person holding the camera with my telekinesis before yanking him out into the open. I held him upside down and gave him the flattest, driest glare I could muster, "Care to explain why you're sneaking around in the bushes taking pictures of me and my friends before I get irritated and fling you into the lake?"

The blonde cameraman looked like he couldn't decide whether to hyperventilate or have a freaking orgasm, "So COOL! I'm Jason, a reporter for Sorcerer Weekly! I heard, that Erza Scarlet, Natsu Dragneel, Gajeel Redfox, and the secret twin brother of MYSTOGAN who is actually SIEGRAIN THE WIZARD SAINT had just come back from a super top secret quest and taken out an evil cult that was working for one of the most infamous dark guilds on the continent in passing! And now the secret twin brother is holding me upside down with magic interrogating me! SO COOOOOL!"

"You heard correctly even if you clearly haven't heard the whole story," I replied dryly, "But you should bloody well ask before you start taking pictures. It's friggin' rude to be sneakin' around like that, not to mention a good way to get hurt. You're lucky I didn't chuck first and ask later or you'd be swimming back to shore right now." I spun my finger and turned him back right side up before setting him down.

Then a thought struck me and I lifted him back into the air, turned him upside down again and pulled him over a little bit closer, "More importantly though," My glare would've ignited an ice cube, "How much of our conversation just now did you hear?"

I felt more than saw Erza stiffen with worry behind me and Jason the reporter blinked at me in confusion which I could tell to be genuine, "Um, nothing? Was it something I wasn't supposed to hear?"

I set him back upright and put him down because I could tell he was being honest and actually hadn't heard anything. I love my telepathy. "Good. That was a private conversation you just interrupted. I'd have erased the memory from your head by blunt force trauma if I'd had to."

"SO COOL!" Jason exclaimed, "YOU'RE SO INTENSE! THAT'S SUCH A FAIRY TAIL THING TO DO! SO COOL!"

I reached out and gently bopped him on the head with a light chop that was loaded with Sense of Security, "Calm down."

Instead of calming down he somehow got even more excited, but he did try to hold it in…for about ten seconds. "SOCOOLSOCOOLSOCOOLSOCOOOOOOOOOOOOOL! Was that calming magic?! I've never seen calming magic! What does it do?! Is that your magic, calming people down?! That's so cool!"

Thankfully Erza was there or I might've teleported either me or Jason somewhere considerably far away. It was getting seriously awkward. "Are we to understand that you would like an interview?" Erza asked over my shoulder.

"YES!" Jason was suddenly totally still and attentive, his pencil and pad at the ready.

Erza moved up to sit next to me, "What would you like to know?"

"So, what was the quest?!" Jason asked excitedly, "All I've heard is that it was a decade quest! Nobody's been able to tell me which one it was though!"

I swapped a glance with Erza, "Sorry bro, we're keepin' that under wraps for now. What I can tell ya is to be absolutely sure you do not miss Dr. Miguel Whistler's address to the Royal Archaeological Society."

Jason's eyes went wide, then his gaze riveted itself to his pad as he muttered, "Dr. Miguel Whistler, address, Royal Archaeological Society. DO. NOT. MISS." He glanced up, "When's that going to be?"

I shrugged, "Dunno, we only just got back into the country a few days ago. I doubt Doc's had time to set it up yet, but it'll be soon I'm sure."

Jason nodded, "Right, I'll keep my eyes peeled and my ears open! Alright, next question, this is the one everyone's been asking about for weeks but nobody can tell me what happened." He looked like he might legitimately wet himself with excitement as he pointed to the darkening sky, "The moon?"

"We had a run in with two of the Alvarez's Spriggan Twelve," Erza explained, "They caught us off guard in our first encounter and we were scattered across the desert. When they arrived unexpected at our team's rendezvous point, Jerry engaged them and held them off until the rest of us could arrive. That's when the first Etherion blast was fired. The second one was a few minutes later after I arrived to assist him."

"So…who stopped it?" Jason asked as his glance bounced from Erza to me and back.

I smirked lightly as I raised my hand, "That'd be me."

"SO COOL! I'd expect nothing less from the twin of a Wizard Saint though!" Jason declared excitedly as he scribbled that down, completely missing my grimace at the mention of the Wizard Saint thing, then he looked up, "So, did you win?"

I swapped a glance with Erza and Erza shook her head, "Regrettably we only managed a draw, and very narrowly at that."

"Ajeel had me on the ropes until he got cocky at the last minute, and Wall would've probably killed the lot of us if he hadn't prioritized getting Ajeel some help over kicking our asses," I explained, "We got very lucky. I'm gonna have to get a lot stronger before Ajeel comes back for a rematch."

Jason's considerable cowlick stood straight up on end, "REMATCH?!"

"He put up one hell of a fight. Came within an inch of killin' me, but he was cool about it when they had to retreat because of the great big hole in his chest. Definitely a worthy opponent and one whose strength I can legitimately respect," I nodded, "I hope he's alright. That fight was nothing personal, and I bear him no grudge, so I'd hate to hear he died from that wound."

"So, you actually beat him?" Jason asked with wide eyes.

I snorted, "No, not even close. He beat me into hamburger and was one more hit from killin' me. I got one good shot in that saved my ass at the very last second, but our fight was interrupted when our allies intervened. I definitely did not win that fight, and it was interrupted, so yes. I very much expect him to come back for a rematch one day. Not too soon I hope, like I said, I've got a hell of a lot of training to do before I can even begin to consider myself an equal combatant to him."

"So, how strong is he?" Jason asked in a tone of reverential awe.

"Every bit as strong as Wall, and Wall can fire that Etherion cannon of his by himself if you give him about two minutes," I replied, "If Alvarez has got ten more like those two, then it's little wonder their empire is that big. Even one of them would probably be enough to wreck a small country."

"Can you give a play by play?" Jason asked hopefully.

I snorted, "I could but I won't. Those two have clearly worked hard to get that strong, I'll not go tellin' the secrets of their combat styles to all and sundry for their enemies to exploit."

Jason looked like he wanted to press for more but he swallowed his curiosity and nodded, "Ok, so do you know anything about the way the sky suddenly went dark across the country a few days ago?"

I blinked and swapped a surprised glance with Erza, then I looked back at Jason, "Ancient evil giant flying snake, living embodiment of chaos and primordial darkness, would've caused the end of the world." I replied nonchalantly, "Guy who I sincerely hope was the strongest dragon slayer in the world showed up and blew its head off. Dunno who that guy was, but he saved the world."

"GOD SERENA SAVED THE WORLD?!" Jason exclaimed in shock.

"Dunno, what's he look like?" I asked. Jason immediately dove into his bag and pulled out a stack of pictures before shuffling through them to fish one out. I took one look at the goofy looking man posing for the camera and shook my head, "No, that's definitely not him."

I manifested a life size hologram of the guy who'd taken down Apophis, "That's him."

"So cool…" Jason muttered reverentially as he snapped a picture, "Do you know who he is?"

I shook my head, "He didn't give his name. He showed up, saved our team, stared down the end of the world and then when the monster demanded to know who he was because he had just punched its face into a mountain hard enough to break the mountain, he just said," I cleared my throat and used Transformation magic to alter my voice into a perfect mimicry of his, "I am a dragon slayer, and this is over." I switched back to my voice, "Then he jumped all the way up there into the sky and blew its head off in one shot that made the Etherion look like a water pistol."

"A WATER PISTOL?!" Jason squeaked in awe.

Erza nodded, "He was by far the most powerful wizard I've ever seen."

"SO COOL!" Jason exclaimed as his pencil flew across his pad.

Erza and I waited for him to finish writing and then he looked up, "So, is there any way I could talk to the other members of the team?"

"Sure," I replied nonchalantly as I gently tugged Lucy over and gestured to her, "This is Lucy Heartfilia, Snow Dragon Slayer. The others are inside."

"I'll go get them," Erza declared, narrowly beating Lucy to the punch. Lucy watched her go looking a little put out. I couldn't blame her, Jason's over enthusiasm was rather difficult to get used to, and she had his full and immediate attention.

"Snow Dragon Slayer?" he asked excitedly.

"I…don't know that I really count," Lucy deflected, "I've got Snow Dragon Slayer magic, but I've always been a Celestial Wizard prior to this mission."

"So, you learned it while you were on the quest?" Jason asked curiously.

"It was part of a procedure to save her life," I interceded before Lucy could accidentally spill the beans about Dimaria's lacrima, "It was a one time thing, extremely high risk and a desperate last resort. That's all we need to say about it," I added as I shot a meaningful glance at Lucy. Honestly bringing up the Snow Dragon Slayer thing might not have been the best idea.

Thankfully though, Jason understood that when a wizard says 'no comment' they mean it and he immediately changed topics, "So, you must be pretty new, right? I haven't heard about any insane escapades like what I usually hear about Natsu and the others."

Lucy grimaced, "Yeah, I've only been a Fairy Tail wizard for…Jerry, how long has it been since we joined?"

"It'll be three months the day after tomorrow," I replied, "And yeah, you actually probably have heard about us before since we've been Natsu's team since Hargeon."

"HARGEON?! That giant fight was you guys?!" Jason exclaimed in shock.

Lucy gave me an annoyed glare and I chuckled, "No, that was all Natsu, but we're the ones who tipped him off about the slavers and while he was handling their only wizard, we were beating down the rest of them at the docks. After that we followed Natsu back here and joined the guild. Then a few days later the three of us formed a team."

"We've only been on a handful of jobs together, but we work together pretty well," Lucy added.

Jason thought for a moment and then, "Wait! So you guys were a team when Natsu took out that counterfeiting operation in Tulipville?! And when he took out the Red Raven's Rogue's guild?!"

"What are you talking about?" Lucy demanded, "Jerry's the one who came up with the plan for the Red Ravens job and he's the reason we were able to clean up those counterfeiters! I've been on a few jobs with Natsu and Happy since then and any time Jerry doesn't come along it's complete chaos!"

"SO COOL!" Jason exclaimed and then something clicked with him, "WAIT! YOU TWO WERE AT OSHIBANA WEREN'T YOU?!" He quickly checked through the roster on his fingers and then looked up at me, "Does that mean you're the masked wizard who took out the entire Eisenwald Guild?!"

I grinned, "Guilty as charged, I can't take all the credit though. Gray's the one who iced 'em after I blew 'em up, and Lucy here's the one who got me out from under that demon's feet."

"So, why were you wearing a mask?" Jason asked.

"He wasn't," Lucy clarified before gesturing to me with a thumb and a catty little grin, "Genius here blew up a mountain just outside of town by mistake and got caught in his own avalanche. He was covered in bandages not a mask. It's how he got this scar," she added as she reached over and tickled the side of my face over my scar with one finger, "He honestly had me worried, insisting on joining the team for that when he'd only gotten to where he could even walk a few days earlier. Then he goes and uses the exact magic Ms. Porlyusica told him not to like a complete dumbass trying to impress Erza by taking care of the whole thing by himself."

"Erza smacked me for it when I woke up," I grimaced as I rubbed the back of my head, "And I don't know what Ms. Porlyusica put on me to light my nerves up like that, but I don't want her doing it again!"

Jason was looking at me in awe, "Whoa, you're dating Erza?!"

I blinked and then smirked lightly, "No, I'm actually in a very happy relationship with Mira and Cana. Erza and I just…I guess you could say we've got a bit of history with each other. It's a very long story and not one I'd feel comfortable sharing right now, especially in light of recent events."

Jason was quiet for a second and then, "You mean that cult you guys took out a few days ago?"

I went slightly stiff before forcing myself to relax, "Yeah. That was some… really REALLY nasty business. Before you even ask, no. I don't want to talk about it."

"Nasty's an understatement," Lucy grumbled as she rubbed the back of her neck, "I think that woman with the sword was as strong as Erza. She hit like a freaking train. Don't even get me started on that stupid owl guy that ate Natsu."

"ATE NATSU?!"

"The Trinity Raven team from the Death's Head Caucus Assassin's Guild," Erza explained as she walked up with Dimaria and Natsu, "The leader of the cult hired them to ensure his plans weren't foiled."

"He wasn't expecting four Dragon Slayers," Dimaria grinned and I saw Jason's eyes nearly pop out of his skull as he noticed her scars.

"WHOA! Are you alright?!" he asked, "Those look seriously new!"

Dimaria blinked in surprise and then looked down at her admittedly very ravaged looking torso, a lot of which was on display since she was wearing a white tube top and had a jacket tied around her waist. She looked up at him in confusion, "Well, this one is, and so's this one," she pointed to a particularly vicious looking red line across the patchwork of scar tissue across her stomach and then again to the side of her leg, "the others happened…" she thought about it for a second, "Has it really been less than a month?"

Jason's jaw dropped, "That recent?!"

Dimaria nodded, "I'm a Storm Dragon Slayer. Part of my abilities include healing magic, so I've recovered a lot more than natural."

"What did all that? If you don't mind me asking?"

Dimaria thought about it for a second and then looked at her stomach and started pointing, "Uh, let's see…spear from behind, spear, spear, spear, spear, spear, spear, basically a lot of spears, and this one," she drew her finger across the angry red line across the pink patchwork of scars, "was a sword the other day."

"Someone stabbed you that many times?!" Jason exclaimed in horror.

Dimaria crossed her arms and pouted, "Hey! I deflected the other six hundred or so. Stupid witch targeting my friend while she was unconscious…" she muttered, "Glad we got rid of all the skeletons before that…"

"Skeletons?!" Jason asked excitedly.

Erza cleared her throat, "We're trying to keep the details under wraps."

Dimaria flinched, "Oh right! Ah, yeah, can't really say too much more about it yet."

Jason nodded, "Right, so you said you're a Storm Dragon Slayer, can you tell me anything about that?"

Dimaria nodded, "Yes, I use magic I inherited from Lord Notus the Storm God Dragon of Mildian. I can generate rain, wind, lightning, and thunder, and I also have healing magic that I can use to heal myself or my friends."

The interview went on for over an hour, but I wound up wandering off not much later since Jason was about out of questions for me. I did wind up posing for a picture before that though, I wasn't sure how it turned out, but Jason assured me it was going to be 'seriously COOOOOOOOOOOOL!'

...

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NEXT TIME on Mad Little Slice of Heaven...

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"No, I swear to god, we are ACTUALLY GOING FISHING THIS TIME!"