Welcome back friends!

I think chapters will officially return to the usual 7000ish average (today's chapter being an obvious exception) now that there aren't two stories to tell in every chapter.But that should also make it easier for me to stay on top of my weekly updates :P

This chapter has a fair amount of loose ends to tie up and some hints to set up GMG and Tartaros, but I did throw in quite a bit of fun and banter, so hopefully it isn't too dull coming off the craziness of the last arc!
Hope you're all excited for a fluffy-fun interlude before some GMG action!

~Onward

41

Makarov cringed inwardly as he let his eyes subtly sweep over the extensive damage of the halls and chambers they were escorted through. His brats had really gone and done it this time, he was proud of them, really, he was… But he could only imagine the repair bill attached to damage on this scale, hell, the entire west wing of Mercurius was a gaping hole that was still emitting embers, ash, and debris into the air around it. He sighed audibly, on top of that, the whole of Crocus was now fully aware that something big had gone down in the palace, the throngs of people they had had to avoid on their way through the city was testament to that. Massive groups milled around the gates framing the palace, trying to get eyes on a hint of what had happening, what was happening. Makarov was a little nervous that if this story wasn't released delicately that it would do nothing to improve the Guild's damaged reputation with the public.

He took a seat at one end of the long table, sitting properly in a chair for once, as befitting a summons with the King himself. Laxus sat to his left with an air of regality that was nearly on par with the short, crowned man opposite them. Biting the inside of his cheek to keep from bursting out any number of the questions that came to mind, Makarov sat as still as possible and waited for the King's inevitable lecture. But their other company beat everyone else to the punch and didn't seem the least bit concerned with whether or not it was appropriate to reprimand Fairy Tail before the royal family had any chance to conduct the meeting.

"Care to explain to me why you took the authority upon yourself to commence a mission of this calibre without alerting the NMC to what was happening."

Makarov's attention drifted over to the pair of Magic Council delegates along the side of the table, puffed up with their usual arrogance and sense of superiority. The elderly man had met Lehar a few times, the councilman was never a pleasure to deal with, though to his credit, he was a good man. Everything he did, he truly saw as critical to the safety and prosperity of Ishgar, mage and ordinary citizen alike. Lehar's companion, he'd never met before but he'd bet his next day of drinks on the tight-lipped man's identity. Rohan had risen rapidly within the Rune Knight's ranks to Commander, much like his compatriot. The two of them had overseen Jellal and tracking Tartaros' movements and anything else pertaining to the carefully managed rumours of Zeref's revival.

Pursing his lips, Makarov carefully schooled his expression to avoid allowing his irritation with the pompous behaviour show. "The NMC doesn't exactly have a reputation of being subtle," Makarov pointed dryly, "I believed that having massive divisions of Rune Knights piling into the streets of Crocus just weeks before the Grand Magic Games would be disastrous—"

"And you think your mages fit this reputation of subtly?" Lehar asked incredulously.

Undeterred by the counter, Makarov continued, "if Grimoire Heart had become aware of resistance prior to gaining entrance to Mercurius, we could have ended up with a much more precarious hostage situation on our hands." He gestured vaguely in the direction of the King and his daughter who continued to remain silent as they observed the exchange. "I will not be admonished for my decision; it was the right one."

Lehar slammed a fist into the table angrily, "that isn't your place to deci—"

"Enough," the King broke the discussion without having to raise his voice, small as he was, his authority was still undeniable. The Commander snapped his jaw closed with an irritable click but regained his detached stoicism almost immediately. "Fairy Tail did what was required, we are no longer in a place where it makes sense to discuss whether or not there could have been more effective ways to thwart Grimoire Heart's plans. With the immense power wielded by this dark guild, I am not confident your Rune Knights wouldn't have been a hindrance to Fairy Tail's ability to manage the situation."

Makarov barely managed to hide the smug grin that threatened to pull at his face, but a glance at Laxus showed his grandson was openly fixing the NMC representatives with a spectacularly cocky grin. The guild master coughed to hide a sudden bout of laughter and nudged Laxus under the table with his boot as he asked, "your majesty, where are my children now, please tell me they are all alright?"

"They are all okay, some injuries, but none of them life threatening any longer. My medical staff has assured me of that. It appears for the most part, they are just magically and physically exhausted, they are recovering in our medical facilities under the care of our best healing mages."

That was a relief to hear, Makarov nodded to himself as he let his head tip back to stare at the vaulted ceilings overhead to gather his thoughts. A knock rapped at the door to draw him from his train of thought, and all heads swivelled toward the doors with curiosity. The King called out an allowance for entry and the decorative double doors swung open to omit the Twin Dragons themselves, both sporting several layers of bandages, but otherwise looking themselves. Hisui's jaw dropped in a rather un-princess like fashion, her eye twitched as she stood to jab a finger in their directions, "you two should be resting!"

Natsu shrugged a shoulder, smile wide and gaze taking them all in in a quick sweep, "come on Hisui! We're fine, you're always worrying too much!" She stared blankly back at them, and the rest of their company exchanged stunned looks at the familiarity of the exchange between the three. Hisui threw up her hands, grumbling 'impossible,' under her breath as the pair crossed the room to pull out a couple chairs and dropped down directly across from the Commanders who looked entirely unimpressed with their arrival.

"Yo, Lehar, been awhile," the man addressed gave an indignant sound at the pinkette's flippant greeting and nonchalant behavior.

"That's Commander—"

"Gramps, Laxus," Natsu said holding up a hand in their direction, completely disregarding the visibly seething councilman. Laxus chuckled as the fire mage turned to set eyes on the royals again, "so, Tomie! What'd we miss?" Natsu continued, throwing his toothy smile at the King. Makarov's eyes blew wide, leave it to Natsu to disrespect the man who currently held their Guild's financial fate in his hands. Surely, they'd be paying the repair bills for the next decade… but to his surprise the princess stifled a giggle behind her hand and the small King just smiled at the two dragon slayers with what looked to be affection. Though the Knight Captain standing imposingly to the King's side did narrow his eyes at the fire mage's choice of address, he remained silent regardless.

When the room returned to relative order again, Haru reported a quick update on their comrade's states, Erza and Mira were relatively unscathed, Lucy, Gajeel and Jellal were in rougher shape, though Lucy's state was mostly magic depletion illness from over expending herself. Gray had a bad tibial break and some internal injuries including a major concussion, but Wendy had gotten him through the critical patch despite having a fractured ulna herself. Mira was currently tending to everyone, and Erza was ensuring everyone rested, whether they wanted to or not… she'd attempted to stop the boys from leaving as well, but they snuck out when she was dealing with Gajeel's attitude.

The King nodded and looked as relieved as Makarov and Laxus themselves did, "well then, we have two major points to discuss here. First, what joint statement are we going to release to the press… and more importantly, Ultear escaping with Zeref, who—" he looked over at the boys for confirmation, "—you said has fully awakened?"

Haru dropped his eyes and Natsu turned away, the mission wasn't really a success with their escape and letting Zeref slip through their fingers grated on both of them. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure… in any case he's definitely far more dangerous than he was. Honestly, if Lucy hadn't stepped in, I'd likely be dead," Natsu said softly.

Makarov recoiled at the thought, and by the look on Haru's face, that information was previously unknown to the water slayer as well. He observed the boys as Natsu caught them up a little on his run in with the black mage, and wondered, not for the first time, how much of the story he might still be missing. It was obvious the pair were skirting some of the details, likely due to their distrust in the Magic Council. Makarov let his mind wander over what the dragon slayers had relayed to him just a couple days ago upon their stunning return.

Flashback

Makarov wandered into the guild hiding a yawn behind his hand and approached the bar, "good morning, Kinana."

The purple-haired barmaid straightened up from where she was digging out some supplies beneath the counter and looked over at him, "oh Master, good morning." The small man jumped up to sit cross legged on the bar top to look out over the relatively empty guildhall. Kinana fixed him a coffee before he even requested one and handed him the steaming mug as she leaned her elbows on the bar next to him. "Strange, isn't it?" she asked.

"What is?" he replied without taking his eyes off the hall.

"How empty the Guild is, what else?" she clarified with a somewhat forced giggle.

Makarov turned to look at her now, humming in thought, most of the guild was away searching for their missing comrades, taking advantage of the time afforded by the lack of missions available to them. "Shadow Gear is off following up on a lead Levy found yesterday… Mira mentioned she and Lucy are heading for Era with Erza and Gray on another lead later today… Cana and Macoa should be back today… Gildarts, Laxus and his team are doing recon on rumors of draconic activity, whether either of those pan out to be our boys or Acnologia remains to be seen…" he continued to list off their absent members. Sighing loudly, he leaned back on to a hand and stretched his legs out, "I feel like an empty nester," he chuckled.

Kinana patted his back, "we'll find them, and then things will go back to normal in no time," she assured.

Tipping his mug back to down the last of the coffee, he jumped back down, "well, I guess I better get started chipping away at the mountain of paperwork Macao so kindly left me…" he drawled. Turning, he headed for the stairs to his office, pausing at the top when Lucy's laughter filtered in from outside, he hadn't heard her genuine laughter since they'd returned. The guild master turned curiously to look at the still empty patch of sunlight painting the wood floor. The guild doors were propped open today to take advantage of the beautiful weather. Lucy's laughter grew louder, and a set of shadows fell across the sunlight as she and her company neared the threshold.

"We made it back alive!" came the familiar greeting.

Eyes going wide in shock, Makarov gaped as Natsu walked into the hall with Lucy perched on his back, gripping his scarf like a set of reigns and still giggling. Haru and Mira were next to them, hand in hand as the foursome moved through the hall as though no time had passed at all. Makarov almost tripped running down the stairs as fast as he did, adopting a partial titan form as moved to tower imposingly over them. "Hey Gramps—"

"And where have you two been?! Do you have any idea how worried we were?!"

Natsu scratched at the back of his head sheepishly as he fixed him with a lopsided smile, "in our defense, we had no idea you all were even back!"

"As soon as we heard, we came right home," Haru added, smiling at him, and adding, "glad to see you're well Master." Makarov broke at that, pulling the two into a titan hug that nearly squeezed the life from them as the girls protested on their behalf, he ignored them. Consider it fair punishment, he thought.

Releasing them to collapse to the ground gasping for breath, he skipped around behind the bar to grab a communication lacrima. "I have to call back the scouting teams!" he announced enthusiastically. After some brief reunions with the few mages that were present, the foursome had settled down for some breakfast while Makarov summoned home the teams that he was able to reach. He approached the group, seated at Dragon Soul's usual booth, despite nearly every table being vacant, old habits die hard.

"So where have you boys been?" he asked.

"Actually," Haru began, "we have some things we need to discuss with you, in private."

"Excuse me?" Mira asked, rounding on him. He glanced back at her before Natsu cut in, taking in both girls who looked a little put off, "don't worry," he said, "we will tell you both every detail you want to know, but there are some things we need to talk over with Gramps first, okay?"

Lucy pursed her lips but seemed pacified as Natsu pressed his lips to her forehead, Mira grumbled, "okay, I'm holding you both to that." Makarov chuckled at the interaction and waved for the dragon slayers to follow him to his office. They trailed after him and each dropped into a chair across from his desk, launching into the details of hunting the Etherious over the past year and their anonymous alliance with Jellal.

"We have reason to believe Zeref is working to release any of the remaining Etherious from their books and unite them, and other demons, under Tartaros' banner."

The elderly man drummed his fingers over his chin in thought, "Tartaros has always been rumoured to be made of up entirely of demons…" he looked back up at two across from him, "if this is true, it can't be good for humanity."

"There's more," Haru stated flatly, "when we were travelling home, Jellal contacted us. Grimoire Heart has taken Mercurius hostage and consequently, they have control over the Eclipse Gate which, based on our experience, can erode magic seals. It's probable they intend to fully awaken Zeref to his previous power."

Eyes widening the master tensed at the thought and Haru continued, "Natsu and I have friends in Mercurius, we have to go to their aid tomorrow. But we wanted to discuss this with you…"

Makarov watched them consideringly, they seemed more grown up then he remembered, not that they hadn't always seemed capable but this was different. "We should leave the Council out of this, letting them flood Crocus with Knights could only end badly," he began, and the looks on the Twin Dragon's faces told him they'd come to the same conclusion as well.

"When are the rest of the S class due back?"

"Erza is due back later today, but Gildarts and Laxus are both out on recon missions outside Fiore, I managed to contact Laxus and his team, but I still wouldn't expect them back before the week is up."

Haru and Natsu exchanged a look, "then we'd like to propose recruiting Dragon Soul, Mira, Gajeel and Wendy, with your approval."

Picking anxiously at the fur trim of his Wizard Saint robes, Makarov agreed, "each of them are S class, or strong candidates… Wendy is still a little young, but she is strong in her own right, and I agree you need a healer along." Nodding at his own assessment of their choice, he added, "if they accept, then I approve this mission." The boys nodded again. As they got up at the conclusion of the meeting, Natsu turned back to catch his attention once more, seemingly coming to a last minute decision.

"One more thing," Natsu stated flatly, eyes a steely resolve, "you should know, I am also Etherious."

"Haru, how much does the council know about Tartaros?" Makarov reached out telepathically as Natsu, Laxus and Lehar had fallen into a debate about what to do about Ultear and Zeref.

"Not much, we didn't spare any more details than we had to, to gain information from them." Haru responded without so much as a glance, ensuring they wouldn't tip off their company to their conversation. "They don't know much about us either, Jella mentioned they think we are a large team of rogue mages… 'Ghost.' We could likely continue to use Ghost to trade information, though after this, I'm not sure how much longer it'll take them to figure it out."

Makarov cut off the argument between the others and got everyone to agree that the best course of action would be to circulate pictures of Ultear and Zeref (as an unidentified dangerous dark mage) amongst the Magic Enforcement Divisions so they would have eyes across Ishgar without alerting the general population.

"If we are all in agreement, then all we have left to do is decide on a joint statement to release about today's catastrophe," Laxus droned and everyone present slumped a little, however subtly. It took them an additional hour of arguing and deliberation, but they eventually agreed on a statement that met each of the groups' requirements to come out looking good. It would state that Grimoire Heart infiltrated and took Mercurius hostage to try to raise demands on the NMC, who sent in Fairy Tail to eliminate the problem. The Council got to look like they weren't completely in the dark over the entire event, Fairy tail got the heroic treatment for subduing the dark guild despite destroying the palace, and Grimoire's true motives and Zeref's reawakening remained hidden from the public.

Lehar finished drafting the statement, passing a copy to each of them before standing, "alright, then I believe this meeting to be adjourned—"

"Wait," Makarov interrupted and received a pointed look from the Commander, "it is time you release Jellal into our custody as a probationary member, he was pivotal in taking down Grimoire Heart and we are taking him home with us."

Lehar scoffed irritably, but threw his arms up in defeat, tired of dealing with Fairy Tail's total lack of obedience, "yes, fine, whatever. But if he, or any of you Fairies step out of line—" he growled eyeing the three dragon slayers one by one before spinning on his heel and stalking off to the door, white cape furling out behind him. Rohan, who remained silent the entire meeting was right behind him, and they let the door slam shut as they left.

Everyone remaining stared blandly at the door before simultaneously breaking into laughter, "man, that guy will never learn to not take everything so seriously!"

Grinning at the three boys in turn, Makarov suggested, "how about we go check on our comrades and see about getting home?" receiving a round of cheers and agreements.

Fairy Tail

It had been a couple weeks since the Grimoire Heart mission, and the Guild was largely back to normal, aside from the availability of higher-pay and S class missions that usually graced their boards. They were starting to get far more requests again, thanks to the news that had spread around Fiore about their involvement in saving Crocus, but they were still low-class missions. As such, teams were taking more missions than usual to cover their living expenses. None of that got the Fairy Tail mages down though, they were still elated just to all be reunited, and were quickly returning to their usual rambunctious nature.

Lucy wandered into the guild in the early afternoon to find the hall relatively quiet for the first time since the guys had arrived home. Shadow Gear was away on a mission, as was the Thunder God Tribe. Erza had volunteered to go with Jellal as he wasn't allowed to take solo missions while on probation, and Gray, Juvia and Gajeel… the weirdest team up ever, had headed out as well. Lucy wondered if Juvia was suffering the most trying to mediate the boy's fights, or whether Gajeel was for being subject to watching Juvia moon over Gray, or if Gray was for… well all of it. Regardless, it was a weird team. She tapped the rolled-up magazine she was holding on the side of her thigh as she scanned the hall, eyes landing on her friends over at the bar.

Mira was sitting on the counter, working the bar for the first time in weeks, however she didn't currently appear to paying attention to orders. Her arms were looped over Haru's shoulders, who happened to be standing on her side of the bar between her legs with his forearms resting on the tops of her thighs. Though it looked like they were only chatting, however intimate the proximity. Natsu had half his torso draped over the counter, head propped lazily in his palm, facing the couple and away from Lucy as she approached. But when Happy saw her and leapt up calling her name cheerily, the pinkette sat up as well and looked over in her direction. He must have been out of it if Happy saw her before he caught her scent, the mild surprise on his face seemed to announce that he'd had the same thought.

Leaning down to give him a fleeting kiss, Lucy then greeted each of them in turn as she pulled up a bar stool next to Natsu. Greetings out of the way, she held up the magazine she was holding with a silly grin, "cat's outa the bag, guys," she proclaimed.

"What cat in what bag?!" Happy yelped, looking around uncertainly.

"It's just a saying Happy," Haru assured, dropping a hand on top of his head to ruffle blue fur. He turned to face Lucy better, without removing himself from Mira's loose embrace. "So, what truth did Jason stumble onto this time," Haru asked astutely, likely having picked out Sorcerer's distinct font even with the magazine coiled in Lucy's grip. All the most shocking new stories were uncovered by Jason, though he seemed like an empty-headed fanboy, his investigative skills were unparalleled.

Lucy fixed him with a knowing smile, "your identities," she pointed matter of fact and watched the colour drain from Haru's face, "Jason finally put it all together." Natsu immediately roared with laughter and snatched the new issue from her hand, but Haru remained rooted to the spot. Tossing the magazine down on the bar top between them all, Natsu jabbed a finger at the explosive cover image, "well now, no denying that!"

"Oh my…" Mira said from behind a hand, stifling a giggle.

Reluctantly, Haru leaned over to get a closer look, and seemed to immediately regret it with an audible groan. Slapped in bold black text in a column down the edge of the cover, Jason promised a multipage feature… one packed with interviews, reactions, and photos.

Twin Dragons' Identities Finally Revealed!

And After Vanishing for Two Years,

Former Strongest Guild Fairy Tail,

Returns with a Vengeance!

Dark Guilds Beware! Fairy Tail is Back!

Worse, the cover boasted a full colour image. Smoke pouring out the crumbling side of Mercurius, and the unmistakable forms of both Natsu and Haru in full dragon forcecolliding with Hades in a final attack surrounded by the multilayer cast of one of Grimoire Heart's master's Amaterasu configurations.

Mira giggled more as she drew her nails through the hair at the nape of Haru's neck soothingly, though he didn't seem anymore pacified by the gesture. "So, I guess you're out of excuses to not take part in the Games now, hey?" she asked, eyes sparkling, and received a pointed look from the water mage in response.

"Just who's side are you on?" he grumbled.

Makarov had announced to the entire guild just a day after Dragon Soul and company had returned home, that he'd entered the guild into the Grand Magic Games. Citing the prize money and publicity as the fastest way to skyrocket them back to their former prestige and get consistent high-status missions rolling in again. They'd had to have their six-mage team selection in by the end of the week, but they could swap alternates whenever they chose, so long as they were Fairy Tail members.

Lucy had been surprised at the surge of excitement that rushed through her at the chance to duke it out amongst the top mages in Fiore after a year of growth with Fairy Tail, (she refused to include their time lapse). Predictably, at the other end of the spectrum, Haru had been much less impressed with the announcement and had spent most of the week following, rebutting Natsu's attempts to convince him to take part. Haru just kept saying that he was plenty confident that Fairy Tail could take back their number one position in the Games without his involvement. Far too much spotlight.

Before he could refute Mira's comment, Natsu broke in again, "oh shit! Nooo, no way! Those damn cocky, petulant…" A smile pulled at his face suddenly and he declared haughtily, "oh, you're entering Haru." His tone sounded as fired up with excitement as Lucy had ever heard, but an underlayer of indignation existed at the same time.

Interest peaked, the blonde's eyes crawled over the section of article that had triggered Natsu's sudden outburst, and she rolled her eyes, 'good to know his undying competitive streak hasn't changed… at all,' she thought dryly.

"Check this out," the fire mage said, spinning the magazine around so that Haru and Mira on the other side of the bar could properly read the featured interview. Haru's eyes narrowed as he skimmed Jason's interview with Sabertooth's own Twin Dragons on their reactions to the resurfacing of Fairy Tail's. Once again, Sting had openly challenged them in the most obnoxious way possible, vowing to decimate them with 'the true power of dragons,' at Domus Flau in front of everyone to finally prove their superiority. Haru blew out a puff of air in exacerbation and dropped his chin into the palm of his hand on the counter looking incredibly conflicted now. Lucy knew he was nearly as competitive as the pinkette was, however well he hid it, and the challenge had clearly grated on his unwavering resolve to not get involved.

"Six-mage team's already been finalized, Natsu, get over it."

"Team battles don't start until day four though, and alternates can be chosen at any time."

Haru groaned, deep blue eyes shifting over each of them in turn, Lucy knew she probably looked as pleased with the developing situation as the other two did. "Fine," Haru conceded,"if it comes down to it—"

Lucy and Mira both broke off in exuberant cheers, clapping their hands together, and Happy bounced around on the counter between the foursome singing, "Twin Dragons vs. Twin Dragons!" Natsu grinned approvingly, having finally won the ongoing battle and held his hand out expectantly. With one final eye roll, Haru grumbled something that sounded like 'how I let you guys talk me into this shit,' before slapping his hand into Natsu's, mirroring his smirk.

. . .

That afternoon the team found themselves in the well-worn training grounds behind the guild that led out to the cliff that edged the ocean. Laxus had strolled up to their table looking indifferent, as was common for him, and stunned the group when he announced it was time for some serious training. Erza had arrived home a while after they'd started and joined them when someone had alerted her to their location. Now Erza, Mira, and Lucy were enthralled in a three-way sparring match on the far end of the field, and similarly, Natsu, Haru and Laxus were colliding on the adjacent side. The Games were just a month away now and most of Fairy Tail's mages were involved in some sort of training plan, to be ready to represent the guild should they be called on as an alternate.

Gajeel had been entirely unimpressed with not being named part of the starting lineup, but Makarov had simply pointed that the choice hadn't been as simple as raw power. The fact was the six chosen, of the mages who'd expressed interest in competing, happened to have unparalleled team work as well. Levy managed to pacify the iron slayer, coaxing him out on a training trip with Shadow Gear. She'd gotten so skilled at calming his outbursts that the Guild had begun calling her 'the Gajeel whisperer,' much to her embarrassment and his annoyance.

Makarov strode out from the rear exit of the guild and Kinana followed with a tray of ice-cold drinks. Jumping up onto the bench next to the cats and Wendy who was currently taking a break from training drills, the Master dropped into a cross legged position and offered a greeting to the young slayer.

"Good afternoon Master," Wendy chirped, her eyes barely flickering away from the action of the intense sparring matches.

"How long have they been at it?" he mumbled as Kinana set the tray down on the end of the bench and headed back in to manage the bar and Cana's bottomless drinking habits.

"Erza and I just arrived about an hour ago, but the others have been at it since this morning, I think," she replied. They watched, impressed, as Mira entered Satan Soul and took to the sky for an aerial assault and not missing a beat, Lucy and Erza each donned a powerful transformation that granted flight and were fighting again in the sky not a moment later. The trio whirled around each other with various spells, diving and rolling around one another's attacks in streaks of red, gold and white. Wendy turned to look at the small elder, "they've been swapping between magic drills, and various combinations of sparring match ups… I think Natsu and Haru are at Laxus' level… it's possible they've actually surpassed him with the extra years of training."

Makarov's face etched in awe, turning to meet her eyes now. He was aware that together their Twin Dragons had had the power to take on Laxus, but it had still always been an even matchup. Now Wendy was suggesting that individually they may have surpassed his grandson's power. "What makes you think that, Wendy?"

Attention trailing over to the three-way battle between dragons, Wendy considered her thought process, "well, they've been sparring for a good hour, and they all seem to be in a total dead lock, no one is slowing down, and no one seems disadvantaged," she began. Makarov raised a curious brow, and Wendy gave a knowing smile, "but Natsu and Haru aren't in Dragon Force…" she trailed off. Even after all this time, it seemed the guys were still her idols, her inspiration as a dragon slayer.

The guild master's lips parted in recognition, "you're telling me they have control over Dragon Force?" The boys hadn't mentioned that when they'd given him a cliff notes version of their activities during the Tenrou Team's absence. Wendy nodded happily, and Happy cheered, "aye sir! They used it to finish off Hades!"

"They've really come a long way then."

"If you include the year they spent in the past, then they've had three solid years of training. Not to mention the long-term S Class level missions they've been tackling, it isn't so hard to believe," Wendy pondered out loud. Makarov had to agree, but his attention was now fully fixed on the girls who had randomly paused in their fight and were currently discussing something. Then all at once the airborne trio vanished and reappeared in a blindside attack on the unexpecting guys. Lucy dispelled her wings and swapped her transformation for Taurus' star dress, taking advantage of the speed of dropping from the sky to launch a brutal kick at Natsu.

He reflexively got a forearm up to guard just in time, but the force still sent him sailing back straight into Laxus, "what the fuck?!" the blonde male growled, stabilizing the pinkette as they both slid back.

The girls didn't let up on their ambush for a second. Erza swung around behind the fire and lightning mages with a spin kick made far more powerful by her requip but Laxus caught her by the shin. He grinned at her, "alright, if that's how it's gonna be…" he trailed off as he braced his stance and threw her harshly, back at Lucy.

Natsu exchanged quick looks with each of the guys and slammed a fiery fist into an open palm, "I'm all fired up now, guys! Let's get 'em!"

Makarov and Wendy sweat dropped as the six abandoned their previous matches and began exchanging enthusiastic blows in a new guys vs girls, all out brawl.

Realizing this group was not going to stop anytime soon if he didn't intervene, Makarov finally gave up waiting. "Alright brats!" he interrupted; he was rewarded with all six reining in their magic to turn their attention to him. Pointing out the tray of drinks, he announced, "Kinana made lemonade for you all, and I have news to share. So, take a break!"

Natsu cheered loudly and bolted over, snagging a drink as the others chorused their appreciation and moved to gather around the bench as well. While the group enjoyed their refreshments, Makarov revealed six passes to Akane resort and received curious looks in return. "Your guildmates pooled some jewel to provide an all-expenses paid trip to the resort for our starting team to have some fun, and time to focus on preparing for the Games."

Taking everyone in with a sweeping glance, Lucy pursed her lips, "but we—" she gestured to her teammates, "don't want to go alone and split up our group." The rest of the team nodded their agreement.

Haru shrugged, "we can always just pay for our own stays and join you anyway. Come on, you guys deserve this, you're going to be representing Fairy Tail!"

"What if we traded these passes for cabins again? Akane owns both resorts anyway, and then we could all go without having to pay for additional rooms!" Mira suggested, slipping her hand into Haru's and smiling up at him.

"Yeah! That's perfect, good thinking Mira!" Natsu shouted excitedly.

Shrugging, Makarov handed the tickets to Mira, "whatever you like, just do us proud!"

Akane Cabins

It didn't take Mira much effort to convince an Akane rep to convert their passes from all-inclusive five-star resort stays for five cabins instead. In the staff's eyes, Fairy Tail was requesting a downgrade without seeking any compensation, so they were all too happy to oblige and not two days later, the group had checked into their cabins.

Natsu and Lucy wandered down the shore toward the fire that was already roaring on the beach up ahead, the smells of the cookout their comrades had started wafted through the air. Happy and Plue skipped ahead of them in sporadic dance-like movements, it hadn't taken long for the two to become fast friends.

"This really brings back memories!" Lucy chirped happily, Natsu smiled down at her, "though, I could do without the training-related soreness," she added with a laugh. He joined in her laughter as he wrapped an arm around her waist and snuck his hand into the back pocket of the denim shorts she wore. "I think Laxus may actually be even more sadistic than you and Mira."

"What's that? Did I just hear, 'Laxus is the best?!'" the lightning mage joked as they neared the fire.

A mix of laughter and groans filtered together from the group lounging around the fire as Natsu reached over to snag a fish and settled down for dinner. "Yeah man—we particularly enjoy the way you continue to discover creative new ways to use lightning to torture us!" Natsu joked back around hearty mouthfuls. Everyone laughed or shuddered at Laxus' idea of training, some of them sporting impressive bruises from the first couple days under his watchful eye.

"Just wait 'till you guys see what I have planned for tomorrow!" Laxus grinned, static crackling up his arm as he gave them a thumbs up. Gray groaned loudly, and Juvia curled herself further into his side as she eyed the lightning mage with a touch of distain.

Erza laughed, "bring it! I've got my—"

"—No Lightning Empress armour."

"Wha—Laxus!" she yelped, and the rest of mages laughed at seeing even Titania dread the next day of training routines.

. . .

Mira wandered along the sandy shore, the moon large and bright in the night sky above to cast the beach in a pale light. She was glad they'd all returned to the same resort to train for the upcoming GMG, gladder still, that Happy agreed to spending nights with Erza and Wendy in their cabin. Though she knew that was more to do with having an excuse to spend time with Carla than it was to grant his favourite humans with their alone time…

Haru had disappeared for his evening swim after dinner was long over, and the rest of team Dragon Soul and company had split off to each of their own cabins after a solid day of Laxus' torture-training. The promised hour turned into two before Mira knew it, and her impatience had gotten the better of her. Put Haru in the ocean and the man couldn't track time to save his life she'd thought affectionately.

She paused in her steps, finally catching sight of his form cutting through the calm ocean waters so precisely that he barely disturbed the surface, sending only the slightest ripples out with his strokes. Mira stood with a hand propped on a cocked hip as she watched briefly and considered her options. He'd hear and join her if she called to him, she knew… Smirking, she disregarded that idea and shed her dress instead, discarding her undergarments along with it. Striding boldly into the embrace of the cool waters, Mira dove under when the water lapped at her thighs and swam further into the darkened ocean. Begrudgingly, she realized she'd lost track of him at some point and was forced to break the surface to catch her breath. Pulling long white locks back out of her face, she treaded water as she scanned the ocean searching for the water mage.

With a yelp, she flinched back when he unexpectedly popped up mere inches in front of her, tossing dark wet bangs back out of his eyes and fixed her with a coy smile. "Can't sneak up on a dragon slayer, Mira, you know that," he said in a whisper, so close now that his lips brushed hers as he spoke. A hand found her waist to trail up the length of her side and back down to her hip as they treaded water. The corner of his lip quirked up as he noted the absence of her bikini. He pulled her flush to his body, and she gasped when her breasts pressed into the trained muscle of his chest, her nipples stiff and sensitive from the cold water.

Haru gazed down at her, a cocky smile now firmly in place as he manipulated the water around them to keep them both afloat in the deep water. "So, what brings my Siren out for a late-night swim, am I rubbing off on you?" he asked in a teasing tone as he eased himself into a back stroke, paddling shoreward with one arm and keeping her against his chest with the other.

"I was lonely, I think my boyfriend wants to be in the ocean more than me…" she trailed off with a mock pout. The effect was lessened due to her hand snaking down to palm his now hardening member through his swim trucks.

Haru quirked a brow amusedly at the inuendo behind her comment, moaning lowly at her touch. His feet found the sandy bottom again, with Mira still caught in his arms, the water now just reaching the bottom edge of his guild mark.

"Is that so?" he asked, rolling his hips against her to ensure she could feel the full effects she had on him, "your boyfriend would have to be an idiot if that were truly the case. Though," he paused, gesturing widely at the ocean, "the ocean could be a legit challenge for those attentions…"

Mira gasped with a playful smile and smacked an open palm over his chest as she often did when he said something flippant. Catching the offending hand to pin against his pec, he finally leaned down to capture her lips in a slow tantalizing kiss that quickly deepened. His free arm wrapped around her lower back to pull her closer and without breaking the kiss he guided the hand he had trapped down his body to dip into the waistband of his swim shorts. Taking the less than subtle hint, Mira snuck her hand in further to grasp his erection firmly and inhaled sharply when she felt his fingers rub across her own sex in turn.

"H-Haru—" she breathed as he penetrated her with two fingers, adding a third not long after, he thrust the digits slowly in time with her own strokes. He lifted her further from the water to properly latch his mouth to a waiting breast and Mira breathed a long moan, wrapping her legs around his hips in turn. She dropped her head back and she looped an arm around his neck to bury her hand in his hair, keeping him in place.

When pleasured sounds chorused through the silent night from both lovers, Mira withdrew her hand and tugged impatiently at the fabric keeping her from her goal. Haru released her long enough to finish the task and slung the trunks over his shoulder for safe keeping as he returned to her with another fervent kiss.

Taking his cock in her hand again, a pleasured hiss escaped him as she hoisted one leg up over his hip and guided his swollen member along her folds, lined up, he sunk into her heat to fill her completely. "Y-yeah, you might have a leg up on the ocean…" he joked breathlessly, gripping her under the thigh to trap it against his body and brought his free hand to her hip to stabilize her as they found a slow deep rhythm.

"And d—ah, Haru—don't you forget it!" she bit out warningly as she grazed a hand up his abs to roll a nipple under her thumb, fixing him with a sly smile. She leaned into to claim his lips again.

As their movements became more erratic, Mira yelped when she felt her back press into a freezing surface and vaguely realized Haru had summoned a wall of ice from the ocean floor to brace against for better leverage. He smirked at her as she brought one hand up along-side her head to hold the ice for additional support, "could have warn—" her complaint was cut off when he adjusted and took full advantage of the new stability, driving himself even deeper, "—oh fuck!" Mira's head lulled back against the frozen surface, the ice a stark contrast to the heat pooling in her core, sending her senses into overdrive. Her head spun with the onslaught of sensations and Haru maintained a strong grip under the thigh hiked over his hip, finding a fast pace of deep thrusts that sent the water rippling out around them.

He kissed her again, tongues dancing as his hand came back up to grope the breast neglected earlier, rubbing the pad of his thumb over her nipple and pressed her back further into the melting ice. She cried out, head whipping to the side to break their kiss and sucked in a sharp breath when her orgasm coursed through her intensely. Dropping his head to suck at the base of her neck, Haru continued to pound into her ruthlessly as she rode out the waves of ecstasy. Her eyes fell back to his, a moment later to find the slight pink of exertion on his cheeks, bangs clinging to his forehead and eyes half-lidded with the lust as he admired her. She coaxed him to his finish, hands exploring whatever skin she could reach, and an elongated groan fell from his lips.

"Gods Mira—" he said reverently, her name breaking into a drawn-out moan as he came hard and allowed her to pull him back into a bruising kiss despite being breathless. She pulled away and he dropped his forehead onto her shoulder to recover as she carded her fingers through his still-damp hair.

"Well, that was an unexpected and welcome surprise," he breathed.

Giggling she admitted, "I thought it would take far more seducing on my part to get any public action out of you…"

"You cheated and used the ocean," he alluded cheekily, being surrounded by water always increased the chances of abandoning his common sense and better reasoning.

The white-haired beauty hummed in thought, "so I could convince you to fuck me in the guild pool? Or the hot springs?"

Haru groaned at her lewd choice of words and the tone that told him she was already scheming for another public exploit. Lifting his head from her shoulder to find mirthful blue eyes shining with anticipation, he countered, "there is a big difference between the expansive ocean, deserted in the middle of the night, and the pool at the guildhall!"

Smiling mischievously Mira pointed, "but I have a set of keys to the hall…" Haru rolled his eyes at her antics and released her to pull his swim trunks back on. 'Challenge accepted…' Mira thought in amusement as the water mage ignored her previous comment, taking her hand to lead her back to the pile of clothing that she'd left ashore.

. . .

A light rapping on the door broke through the quiet and Haru cracked his eyes open to a curtain of white, he blinked and rubbed at his eyes as he untangled himself from Mira and eyed the door. "Hey, Haru! –Get up!"
Haru rolled his eyes at the sound of his partner's rambunctious wake-call, wondering what had gotten the pinkette out of bed so early. "I'm coming Natsu, shut up before you wake up the entire cabin block. Personally, I don't want to know what Erza will do to you if you ruin her sleep..." he admonished telepathically to avoid disturbing Mira further.

"Hurry up! We're gonna go exploring!"

Without the foggiest idea of what Natsu could possibly be planning, Haru climbed out of bed mourning the loss of his peaceful morning. He pulled on a pair of deep blue swim shorts and a short sleeved white shirt that he left unbuttoned and pulled the door open, quirking a slightly irritated brow at the fire mage. Natsu was similarly clad in black shorts and a moss-green sleeveless shirt, his ever-present scarf still around his neck. Grabbing his wrist wordlessly, Natsu pulled him out of his cabin and started down the beach. The fire mage was alone, surprisingly, neither Lucy nor Happy had joined him for whatever (likely) crazy idea he'd gotten into his head this time.

"Natsu, geez. We're supposed to meet up with everyone in two hours for training… where are we going?" Haru finally barked out as his patience waned.

Natsu looked back over his shoulder, grin stretching across his face, "to find a boat!"

"Yeah… that doesn't help me."

"I told you, we're going exploring!" Haru exhaled in exacerbation, resigning himself to an apparent surprise.

"If Mira tries to kill me for disappearing again—"

"You disappeared?"

"Not actually… I went for a swim last night—"

"Ah. Say no more!" Natsu interrupted again, chuckling as he continued to lead the way to the beach-side village on the other side of the large inlet. "Face it Haru, you're a complete space case when the ocean is involved…"

"This coming from you?!"

Natsu smirked back knowingly, "sooo, yougot it on in the ocean—"

Skidding to an immediate halt, Haru gawked, "what?! How in the hell—" he sputtered back, cheeks colouring.

Breaking into an uncontrolled fit of laughter, Natsu keeled forward under the weight of apparent hilarity as he wrapped his arms around his middle. Once he'd calmed slightly, he straightened again to swipe at tears and met Haru's increasing irritation, "just a guess!" he offered through his amusement, "—one that you just confirmed, I might add!"

Haru stared wide mouthed and wide eyed at the fire mage, shocked that he'd caught him up in that particular admission. Natsu turned to continue their journey along the beach, admitting, "Mira and I had a bet going that she couldn't get you going in public… looks like I lost. Though, I'd argue that using the ocean is cheating."

"…That's what I said," Haru grumbled, sighing in defeat at the behaviour he'd come to expect of his mischievous girlfriend and his best friend.

"Here we go!" Natsu called abruptly, they emerged around a bank of palm trees to find multiple rows of boats of varying sizes lining the docks and shore of the small fishing village. "Let's see if we can rent one!"

Eventually, for a hefty sum, Natsu managed to convince one of the fishermen to rent his boat to them for the day. He'd had to fork over enough to replace the vessel should they not return it, but that barely seemed to faze the pinkette who was cheering his gratitude and leaping into the boat the next second. Haru shook the villager's hand and turned begrudgingly to join Natsu, "alright… where to, you going to tell me what this is about yet?"

"Back to the cabins o' course!" Natsu declared. At his partner's rightly confused look, Natsu gave him an incredulous look as though he should have known that already. "What, you didn't think we were going without the others, didja? Why do you think we got a larger rowboat?"

"My Gods, Natsu, sometimes I wonder about the state of your sanity…"

Haru said no more as he began whipping up a current from the Ocean waters that would carry them back to the cluster of cabins in time for breakfast.

. . .

As the boat neared the opposite beach across the cove, Natsu shifted to lean over the nose of the small boat to get a better look at the specks of their comrades ashore. They appeared to be running laps up and down the beach, while dodging bolts of lightning that shot down from clear blue skies above.

"Laxus is at it again…" Natsu pointed, the corner of his lip twitching upward.

"When he spots us, you'll be lucky if he doesn't sink the boat, you so desperately had to have, trying to zap us for being late."

Luckily, he didn't notice amidst his own training, the others would sporadically throw attacks his way when they thought he wasn't paying attention. Bragging rights on the line for anyone who managed to take him unaware. As such, the Twin Dragons were pulling the boat up the shore before any of their friends took notice of their arrival, but when they did… they were faced with various shouts and reprimands.

"And where have you two been?!" Erza growled as the first to come to a stop in front of them, hands on her hips.

"Getting a boat!"

Apparently, Natsu wasn't much more forthcoming now than he had been on their trip over, Haru threw his hands up, "your guesses are as good as mine," he told the group that had now gathered around them.

Natsu leaned forward conspiratorially, "have you guys heard the rumours about the island not far from here?" he asked with uncontained excitement.

"Galuna island?!" Lucy snapped, "the island the villagers were talking about when we went for dinner the other night?"

"Yeah, that's the one!"

"The one rumored to be cursed by ghosts, or demons, or monsters—depending on who you ask? –have you lost your mind?!"

"Ah, come on scaredy cat!" he bounded over and threw his arm over her shoulders, smiling brightly at her, "you took on the Black Wizard, what's scarier than that?!" Watching her eyes narrow into slits at him, he nudged her and gave her a wink, "don't worry Luce, if you get scared, you can hang on to me—tight as you want!"

She cuffed him for the remark but after a few additional questions and a little convincing the majority of the group was on board. They were staying here for two weeks… so it seemed fun to explore a new island to change up their training regime. Lucy caved in eventually, she had been intrigued by some of the myths surrounding the island… call it writer's curiosity. So, with that decided, the entire group piled into the vessel Natsu had managed to secure and they were off to the island shrouded in mystery.

A/N. Thank you for all the lovely comments on the last arc, it means the world that you all enjoyed the original material. It was a major challenge and outside my comfort zone for sure, but it was a lot of fun to bring to life on paper.

Consider Galuna to be a short interlude not a full arc, so we shall see the start of the Games next chapter!

*Thank you to Joker D. Zero for catching my misspelling of Makarov's name! I actually just started going back and editing my earlier chapters of some of the errors and holes that I've caught in them over the past months, so perfect timing! If anyone catches mistakes, do let me know! (I tend to be a wee bit of a perfectionist…).

*SuperSayajin4Vegeta, rest assured my friend, Tartaros will be pretty powered up and Laxus will def be making solid appearances. Though I wouldn't say Grimoire got a major downgrade, just that the FT team is more powerful than they are in Canon, and I wanted to do some different Amaterasu formulas instead of the eye magic/weird heart stuff haha.

And this week's undying appreciation to Roll24k, SuperSaiyajin4Vegeta, Joker D. Zero, Valerioux, EternalFlame, FireShifter and all you guests, you make my world go round!

'Till next week,

R&R

xx. Loka Muse