Okay this is Chapters 30 - 33 of the original story.

Yeah surprising the chapters were longer then her normal so I only needed to put 3 in this one.

Sorry for the wait.

Life kind of a got bot busy for a bit there.

And with Christmas coming it's only going to get even crazier.

Changing our direction slightly, we followed the yell. After another few short moments, we broke through the trees into a small clearing. There seemed to be dozens of Rune Knights scattered throughout the area, even when we were still running we came across them.

I could hear the sounds of metal against metal, yells, screams, and more explosions in other areas of the forest. In the area in front of us, though, was where all my attention was.

9 people. 6 fighting, 1 standing around not doing anything, 1 smiling maliciously, and the last being held in the air by her throat.

"Levy!" I know I probably shouldn't have shouted that we were here, we could have surprised them.

I just couldn't help it, seeing my best friend like that, with no one able to help, despite how much I know the guys wanted to.

The man who was holding Levy by the throat looked to us and dropped her to the ground with a sickening crack in a crumpled heap.

"Look at that, new opponents for me, you can have one, too, Adrian..." One of them said.

'Adrian' looked over to us and just shrugged his shoulder, as if deeming us unacceptable, though, he did have the smallest of smirks on his face.

"Whatever, Beta, as long as it gives me something to do..." Even Adrian's voice sounded agonizingly bored.

The 2 made no move towards us even though the two clearly thought that they were the stronger group. As we cautiously walked closer, I studied the 2, along with the others.

Adrian stood with a slouched posture, a disinterested expression plastered on his face, looking the epitome of boredom. His short, blonde hair was spiked towards the back and he had an unnaturally pale complexion. Though he looked so placid and calm, something seemed to scream that he was a force to be reckoned with.

Beta, on the other hand almost seemed to be Adrian's exact opposite. He was freakishly tall, well above even Bickslow's height, he hadn't stopped his wide grin and creepy cackle since our presence was first noticed. He had long, straight black hair, with lightly tanned skin.

They both could easily be considered attractive if it wasn't for the sadistic air that surrounded the 2.

2 of the others looked relatively the same, almost like copies of each other, so they were probably twins and each 1 were fighting against Jet and Droy.

The final 1 I couldn't see, though Gajeel seemed to be having a difficult time. We had just crossed a quarter of the field stepping over bodies when Laxus spoke in hushed tones.

"Kay, girly, I know that you aren't going to listen to me when I say not to go after that guy who had bookworm, so, Bickslow, stay with her... You guys have fought against each other before, so you have an idea of how the other fights..." Laxus explained.

"That was a long time ago, and Cosplayer doesn't even have her keys anymore..." Bickslow stated.

"She still has an idea of how you fight, and that's how she works best, working alongside other people to their strengths... Ever, Freed, I want you 2 to help out bookworm's cheerleaders... Whoever finishes up first, if you can, go fight with Metal Breath..." Laxus ordered.

Though, it is a good plan, I don't know if that was a compliment that I'm good support or an insult that I can't work as the lead.

"Compliment, girly, just leave it..." I heard Laxus say before my mind could question it further.

I noticed the confused looks on Bickslow and Freed's faces and the annoyingly knowing one on Evergreen's. Freed and Evergreen broke away from us to go support Jet and Droy.

"Laxus, y'sure you want me to work with the Cosplayer on this? She really can't control her magic that well yet, and I don't know if I'll be able to cover us both if things get rough..." Bickslow asked.

I felt my blood boil at his words, though, I knew where he was coming from. If I can't control the lightning in a fight, he'd have to deal with our opponent and protect me.

"Just watch each other's backs... You both are capable enough that you shouldn't need to baby the other..." After Laxus' words, he walked away from us towards Adrian, and Bickslow and I shared a look that had was both unsure and confident, if that makes any sense.

We were finally close enough that I could see Levy. She was hurt and bleeding, but was breathing. I let out a relieved sigh.

"So, you're the ones left for me..." Beta's voice was loud and boisterous, "I'm almost disappointed..." His laughter was just as loud as his words.

I felt annoyance tingle my skin at his words.

"Cosplayer, don't let his words get to you..." Bickslow whispered over Beta's loud laughing.

I looked over to see Bickslow studying Beta as hard as I was on the walk over, at least I think so. It's so hard to tell what he's thinking with only his mouth and jaw visible.

"Try only using your whip and attacking him directly..." Bickslow said after a few moments. I raised my eyebrow, and he seemed to notice, for he spoke again. "If you use the lightning magic too soon, he might perceive you as too much of a threat, and since you can't use the lightning to your advantage yet, we can't have him focusing all his attacks on you until we know what he can do..." Bickslow explained.

"So you're wanting to have him focus on you until then?" I say quickly, I doubt Beta will let us talk much longer, judging by the annoyed look that is steadily appearing on his face.

This doesn't stop me from looking at Bickslow like he's missing a few screws in the head with his plan.

"I know the magic I'm using forward and backwards, I'll be better equipped for whatever he sends our way..." Bickslow spoke with a sense of urgency, probably also getting the idea that Beta isn't a very patient person.

"Fine..." I sighed, "I'll stay back, but I ain't promising not to use that magic if I need to..." I stated matter-a-fact-ly.

Bickslow stepped in front of me and forward towards Beta, his 'babies' have an almost ethereal glow to them. I put my hand to the whip at my side, lightly caressing the handle, now more than ever before missing my dear spirits who are cut off from me.

'I could really use you guys now, I hope that you're alright, and that we'll see each other again soon...' I said inwardly.

Shaking my head clear of the thoughts as I heard a crash where Bickslow was once standing. I took my whip quickly in my hands as my eyes searched for both Bickslow and Beta in the dust cloud.

I caught sight of Bickslow jumping back away from Beta, who was moving at an unnatural speed. Beta was punching at Bickslow with his hands and arms looking like mere blurs.

Bickslow was either dodging or using his dolls to block the fists. I'm almost happy that he decided he wanted to be the one Beta focused on, but, what am I supposed to do? Beta's moving too fast for me to attack with my whip and I wouldn't be able to handle the speeds this guy is doing if he turned to focus on me if I used my lightning magic.

I saw Bickslow's jaw clenching, he was completely unable to attack because he had to put all his attention into his defense.

'Dammit! I can't just sit here and do nothing!' I could feel the lightning dancing beneath my skin, just begging to be released against this guy. 'No!' I forced myself to calm down. Bickslow said no lightning until we know what we're up against. It isn't necessary that I use it now so I can't.

I looked to Bickslow again, willing him to give me a sign as to what to do. It was at that moment that Bickslow stepped a little too close to the crater that was created at the beginning of the fight, I'm assuming by Beta. The side collapsed in, causing Bickslow to fall to his back with a grunt.

Beta stopped his quick movements and, with his unnaturally sized grin, reeled back and went to punch at Bickslow. Bickslow's arms crossed into an 'X'.

'I know this! It's his defensive move, the X formation...' I said internally.

The small totems went to their master's aid in an instant, creating a small shield between Bickslow and Beta's fist. Beta's eyes glinted in excitement, as if the dolls weren't even there. Beta shattered the center doll and Bickslow's eyes went large in surprise as he tried to figure out why.

My eyes widened as I realized what happened, my mind went to the possibility of Bickslow getting hit by his attack and my whip was headed towards him in an instant.

Bickslow barely had time to register what had wrapped around his arms and pulled him away from Beta, Beta's punch just missing his feet and hitting the ground, causing another loud crash.

Bickslow landed on the ground a few feet in front of me. Once I saw that he was no longer in any danger, and Beta didn't seem to be attacking again, I allowed myself to relax a little as I took my whip from around Bickslow's arms.

'What the hell happened!? Bickslow's X formation is strong enough to withstand Loke's Regulus punch, so why did it break when Beta punched it...' I asked internally.

"Bickslow, have you figured out what's up with this guy?" I said, gaining Bickslow's attention for the moment.

"He uses a speed magic, though, he isn't very good with it..." He started, still faced towards where Beta should be, looking for him. "It seems he can't use it around his entire body, so he focuses it into his arms... He has another magic as well... I think it's Shatter magic... It's a magic that's very close to Gildart's Crash magic, the only difference is that while it completely destroys what he touches it also causes a large explosion in its wake... He probably caused the explosion back at the council library..." Bickslow explained.

"So why didn't he destroy your, um, babies earlier?" I asked. 'Would he take offense if I called them dolls?' I asked internally.

"Well, I thought he had that magic when he first attacked, but then I figured he didn't when my babies weren't destroyed during his attacks against me before... Just now though, he went right through them without a problem, so I believe he can only use 1 type of magic at a time..." Bickslow said.

I've never heard of that before, usually when people have more than 1 kind of magic, they can use them at will. But then again, I never thought I'd be able to use lightning magic, since I'm a holder type mage.

"He was using his speed to try and hit me while I was moving so he couldn't use his shatter magic, but when I fell, he knew I wasn't going anywhere so there was no need to use his speed magic, so instead he used his shatter magic..." Bickslow stopped looking for Beta and looked towards me for a few seconds, a grateful smile on the half of his face that I could see. "Don't know what would've happened if his fist connected... Guess it's a good thing we were paired up... Thanks, Cosplayer..." Bickslow said.

I was going to reply, but before I could, a deep wound appeared in my right shoulder. The pure unexpectedness of the wound, plus the pain, caused me to collapse to my knees on the ground.

Bickslow was at my side in an instant. "What the hell happened!? Your arm is bleeding!" Bickslow was very nearly shouting in panic.

"You need to calm down... I'm fine..." I started to say but Bickslow cut me off before I could say more.

"How can you say that? Your arm just split open for no reason and you say I need to calm down and that you'll be fine! Are you nuts?" Bickslow said in a panic.

"Bickslow!" He stopped talking, his mouth was still slightly agape though in surprise at my shout. "It's healing already... Look..." I said gesturing to the wound.

And I was right. It had already almost completely sealed again.

"How?" Bickslow asked dumbfounded.

"I'm guessing Laxus got hit in his fight..." I said.

"You get each other's wounds..." His voice still held immense amounts of shock.

"Ya, but we also heal a hell of a lot faster, so it kind of evens out..." I said as I looked behind Bickslow, and saw Beta still standing in the same spot that I pulled Bickslow from.

He was looking at me with a peculiar look on his face. I knew he couldn't hear our words after Bickslow had stopped shouting, but that wasn't what I was thinking about. Why doesn't he ever come towards us? It's almost as if he can't, or even doesn't want to.

"Come on, we've got a fight to finish... There's something I want to check out so keep him coming after you..." I said as I stood up.

Bickslow seemed to just remember where we were as he stood up as well. Bickslow was walking towards Beta. Bickslow's 4 remaining totems floated around him. Beta was still unmoving, his eyes trained on me.

Bickslow seemed to notice this, as he sent his babies flying towards Beta, garnering his attention. Beta used his speed to get away from the dolls at the last second and had spun to the side.

"She's not where your eyes should be..." Bickslow's voice had gone deep and had added a dangerous edge to his words.

I heard Beta let out a low growl, "I'll look wherever my interest is, damn it... And right now, it's with her and her healing ability..." Beta said as he lunged at Bickslow, and with that the fight between the 2 had started up again.

Bickslow was being all the more careful now that he knew the magic this guy had could destroy what he uses for his magic, only using his dolls to block when he knew that Beta was using his speed magic, using his amazing acrobatics to dodge and trying to get a hit in while Beta was between attacks, me all the while standing, observing, while getting injuries from Laxus for reasons unknown to me.

At least this way I know the injuries he's getting aren't life threatening, and even if they were, they heal within minutes. It continued this way for a few more minutes before Beta had focused his speed magic to his legs and ran at Bickslow and kicked him hard in the chest, sending Bickslow flying back towards me.

I rushed to his side to see if he was alright. Bickslow slowly sat back up, breathing hard from having his breath knocked out of him, a layer of sweat coating his face, dripping down along his jaw. He's barely used any of his magic in comparison to his other fights that I've seen, and I can still feel so much magical energy in him, but he's exhausted. He can't continue dodging Beta's attacks like this.

"Bickslow, why don't you let me fight him for a while? I mean, I can use the lightning magic for speed, like earlier when I was trying to get to the library, and I can use my whip to try and keep him at a distance, and-" I began to say until Bickslow cut me off.

"No..." Bickslow's face was scrunched like he was squinting his eyes shut, "Not when you have no idea when you could get hurt... Look at you... You're covered in blood and you haven't even gotten into the fight... If Laxus gets a major injury at a critical moment in your fight, you're screwed..." I was about to argue that I could handle it when Bickslow spoke again. "And if Beta gets close enough to use his shatter magic on you, you aren't only dooming your fight, but Laxus' as well, and he doesn't have anyone to cover him for those minutes that it would take for it to heal..." When Bickslow spoke of the repercussions on Laxus' end too, I couldn't bring myself to argue with him again. Everything he said was true, after all.

I nodded slowly, showing that I understood that I couldn't get involved. Bickslow sighed in a slow, apologetic way, knowing how useless I felt now. He placed a hand on my shoulder as he stood. I didn't bother to stand with him. And for the first time since this whole mess began, I felt completely and utterly useless.

'Stupid Link spell! If I can't fight with this magic I get from it, then what the hell is the point of learning it... It's not even a for sure thing that I get to keep it after this damn spell wears off... I never even thought about the fact that I'd screw with Laxus' fight if I'd gotten involved and hurt... Damn it, I should have stayed back with Wendy, at least there I would have been of some use... I don't even have my keys to at least send someone in with Bickslow, even if it meant not being able to fight alongside them...' I berated myself internally.

I felt another gash appear on my head just above my eyebrow, the blood flowing freely into my eye. I lifted my head to continue to watch Bickslow's fight against Beta, wiping away the blood once I felt the cut had healed.

Beta didn't seem to be moving as fast, allowing Bickslow to take on the offensive, getting in more than a few hits. Beta must be getting low on magic.

My face scrunched in concentration as I thought of something. Beta hasn't stopped using magic this entire fight, which is normal considering it is a magic fight, but Master once told me something that goes against this.

No matter how great the mage, if they are using more than one type of magic, their magic will drain faster, especially when they aren't proficient in the magic.

It was part of the explanation he gave me back when I first started learning the lightning magic. And taking in the amount of magical ability that I had felt at the beginning, which honestly wasn't much, and the amount of times he's switched between his magic types, he should be out of magic by now, especially since his speed magic isn't very well developed.

So why hasn't he?

Bickslow was getting in more and more attacks as I thought.

Going back to the multiple languages thing. Imagine how tired your mind would get if you had to write, or read, a letter where every word would switch to a new language.

My eyebrows drew together more as I tried to figure out why Beta hadn't completely drained his magic.

Right, because despite a person knowing all the languages, having to go through all of them every second would be exhausting for the mind.

I felt more cuts appearing on my arms, all very shallow, healing in seconds.

So, using multiple magics has the same effect on a person's magical energy. Is that why most people who know several kinds of magic usually only use one kind if they can help it?

'He has magic left because... Absolutely, it makes it easier on them, but it also helps to surprise an opponent with a different kind of magic when they aren't expecting it...' I exclaimed internally.

"Bickslow! Get away from him!" I heard myself yell before my thoughts could completely make sense. Standing from my spot on the ground, I get my whip ready to rip him away from Beta if he didn't listen.

As I sent my whip towards him, a second Beta appeared behind Bickslow and a translucent black hole that looked to have small blue glitter trails swirling in them was beside Bickslow right where my whip was going to be, disappearing and reappearing through another black hole on the other side of him. I could only watch as the second Beta went to attack Bickslow from behind while the original Beta continued to distract him from the front.

Bickslow, who thankfully heard me and saw my whip go through the holes, was luckily a very acrobatic person and was able to avoid being hit directly by the two Betas. Though he wasn't quick enough to remain unscathed.

"You know, my Shatter magic doesn't work very well on object that aren't completely solid, so the human body usually only gets minimal damage in comparison to other things like trees or rocks..." Beta spoke as if it was thoroughly disappointing that people didn't explode like everything else he uses his magic against. "It delivers enough damage, though, that you won't be able to use that arm for quite a while..." Beta's head quirked to the side, his endlessly flowing hair following, "Unless, of course, you heal like the girl behind you..." Beta added after a short pause.

Bickslow's right arm was dangling at his side, rivers of blood flowing from his bicep and dripping off his fingertips.

"Bickslow, you can't fight alone now... Especially with what he can do... Let me help..." I begged him from my spot.

"We can't risk it... It's too dangerous... And not just for you..." Bickslow said.

"But-" I was going to argue more, but was cut off by Beta.

"The way you spoke about me, you sound as if you know what I can do..." Beta said looking directly at me.

"I have an idea... Mind filling in the blanks?" I asked sarcastically, not expecting his response.

"Only if you tell me about your healing ability..." Beta said, making it sound more like a question, as he rose a n eyebrow.

Before I can even think about it, Bickslow opens his mouth. "No way..."Bickslow snapped.

Beta's face gets an annoyed scowl across it that's so very different from, but just as terrifying as, his maniacal grin.

"That's not for you to say..." He grates through his teeth at Bickslow, then turning to me, all traces of the scowl gone. "Well?" He asked.

"Fine... But only if I like what you tell me..." I say after a few seconds.

"Lucy!" Bickslow snapped.

"Seems fair... What's your idea?" His tall form seemed to relax as he crossed his arms in front of him, obviously not planning on attacking, and just talking.

He seems to be more consumed by his curiosity than his bloodlust.

"I don't know why, but for some reason you are able to use several forms of magic but only one at a time, other than that last attack, though you seem to be more proficient in your shatter magic... Also I believe that in some way, maybe another form of magic you have, you're borrowing magic energy from other people, which is why yours doesn't seem to be draining... It's almost as if you haven't been using your energy since the beginning of the fight..." I explained my thoughts.

Beta smiled his wide grin. "You're a smart girl... And you're very close... But in one way you're right, I haven't been using my own energy in this fight, and I have been using someone elses magic, though not because it's something that I can do... You see, there's a brain behind this operation, a new leader, you could say, and they aren't here, but they have this magic that's called Share... Very rare, very old... Each of us here got a special brand from them... These brands do 2 things, 1 is that everyone with matching brands can use each other's magic abilities... My true magic ability is Shatter, while the others here can use Speed, Multiply, and Portal, which is why I'm not overly good with them... The only downside is that we have to stay within a certain range of the others, and if we break line the others are cut off from not only the one who left, but everyone else who isn't close enough... So, for example, if I were to break line, the one fighting your black haired buddy, he could still use Adrian's magic, but not mine or the guy over on the other side of me, but when we're all together, we can all use everyone's magic, even the guys on the end who are too far from each other to use it otherwise... Got it? If you don't, too bad... I ain't explaining it again..." Beta explained.

"The second use of the brand is that when we use the other people's magic, we use the magic energy of the person who uses the Share magic, therefore we don't use our own magic energy... The downside to this is that we don't know when it will suddenly get cut off... Now, about your healing ability..." Beta said in almost a demanding tone that I decided to ignored.

I heaved a sigh and opened my mouth to start, when Bickslow spoke again. "Lucy, it doesn't just affect you when you tell him..." Bickslow said with a slight snap to is tone.

"His explanation was too good, there's no reason not to tell him, and as the kind of mage that I am, I am bound by my word... I was hurt a few months ago, I would have died in minutes, and in order to save my life, a friend of mine had my life force connected to another person's and now I heal faster than the average person thanks to that..." I explained briefly.

"And judging from the amount of blood on you, the healing goes both ways, but your downside is that you also share the injuries... Other than the original injury, I'm guessing, otherwise you both would probably be dead..." Beta said but I just stared back at him.

I agreed to tell him why I could heal the way I do. Not anything else. My promise is done. I couldn't tell him whether he was right or wrong either way though, thanks to me being unconscious for those two days.

"Well, now that we both have our answers... The fight can continue now..." And just like that Beta had tensed again with his arms back in front of him, waiting for Bickslow or I to attack.

Bickslow forced himself up, and I walked forward with the intent to help him stand, when Beta, and all the others either yelled or grunted in pain. I looked to Beta and saw some strange symbol, like a scythe in front of a crescent moon, on his forearm glowing a deep red, looking almost as if it was burning him. That must be the brand he was talking about.

"Dammit! Now?" Beta's mark stopped glowing and he let out a small growl, "Well, I can't play here anymore... Too bad... I was looking forward to seeing how much your healing could withstand..." And staying perfectly in a line all of them walked off into the forest.

Laxus walked over to me and Bickslow. "Laxus, shouldn't we go after them?" Laxus gave Bickslow a solemn look.

"We can't, Bicks... We're all hurt... If we go after them, we'll just get killed..." Laxus said but I stopped listening as I walked over to Levy.

I turned her onto her back and saw that she had several injuries that were similar to Bickslow's. I heard a low growl and my eyes flickered to the side to see Gajeel standing beside me.

"Laxus, we have to get Levy to Wendy fast..." I said not realizing my tone made it sound like an demand then a request.

~~Back At The Library~~

"Why were you here instead of out capturing the people who blew up these walls?" I could hear Lahar yelling at Doranbolt through the thick wooden door of the library.

Wendy was still working on the injured Rune Knights when we got back and Lahar had arrived back at headquarters soon after. Apparently council members had some business elsewhere that day and Lahar was gone escorting council members when the library had been blown up.

Laxus and I had given a brief summary of what we had found out, which was mostly me repeating what Beta had said about the brands and what they can do. Shortly after, Lahar had taken Doranbolt into the hall to speak, but not before telling us not to leave the library.

It had been only a few minutes since then. During the time since we got back, none of the rest of us had left the broken down library,

Gajeel, Jet, Droy and I almost completely focused on Levy's wounds slowly getting lessened by Wendy. Levy's injuries weren't life threatening, thankfully. I don't know if we could have stopped the 3 males surrounding her from going after Beta, even if they were injured.

I could hear the muffled sounds of Doranbolt's voice through the doors as he answered Lahar, though I couldn't hear what was being said. Lahar started answering him in a quieter tone, though it was still clear that he was speaking loudly and firmly at Doranbolt.

In the background I could hear snippets of Laxus' conversation with his team, mostly consisting of whether or not we should go back to the guild.

Evergreen and Bickslow were saying that we should go back to the guild because it was made clear that the Rune Knights couldn't protect us like they said, and whoever those guys were, they were clearly after the library, or rather information, and quite possibly, me.

And now they knew we were here, in a damaged building they could apparently already get to, destroy, and get away from. Freed agreed with their arguments, and also wanted to go back home to Magnolia.

However, he also thought that we should stay because we still needed whatever information we could get about the group that had targeted my mother. Laxus has yet to say anything towards one side or the other.

"I don't think that's a good enough reason to stay..." Bickslow argued against Freed with Evergreen nodding beside him.

"I agree with Bicks, for once... I mean, they didn't just break into Council Headquarters library for fun, there's no reason to believe that whatever there was on that group is still here and not destroyed or was taken with them..." Evergreen said in agreement.

"These people held their own against 9 Fairy Tail mages.." Freed let out a long sigh, his voice quieting down even more, sounding almost resigned, "Most of whom were S-class or qualify for S-class ranking, when there was only 4 of them... Those guys were more than likely part of that group, so it's more crucial than before that we get whatever information we can... It doesn't matter if there's a lot, or practically nothing..." After hearing Freed's reasons for wanting to stay, and more than likely understanding why, Bickslow and Evergreen released a defeated sigh.

They stayed quiet for a few short minutes, and I felt a nagging in my mind that let me know that Laxus, being the leader that he is, wanted to say something to his team. But, we all also knew that Laxus wasn't the greatest with words, so I suppose this can be where I join the conversation.

I groaned as I pushed myself off the ground from where I was kneeling beside Levy's legs, wiping away dirt, dust, and pointy little bits of debris off my legs as I went. I frowned when I realized I was still covered in blood with no injuries, and nothing to show that I had done anything in the fight against those 4.

Not that I had, Bickslow told me to stay out even before he knew about me and Laxus sharing injuries.

I shook my head clear of the thoughts. 'This is not the time to pity yourself, Lucy...' I said internally as I made my way to the part of the room where the Thunder Legion were sitting on and against large debris, broken tables and whatnot.

Laxus had been watching me from the second I first moved to stand, I saw the confusion that flitted across his face when I thought about not being any help, and felt the slightest amount of worry. Freed raised a brow as I stopped about a foot away from them.

"Sorry, but I could hear what you all were saying... About returning to the guild, I mean..." I shuffled from foot to foot, unsure if I should actually give my input now that I was standing here.

They were off by themselves, they probably didn't even want to have anyone else hearing their conversation, but we were stuck in one room together so they had no choice. I was biting my lip when I heard a slapping noise on the ground.

"Come on, Cosplayer..." Bickslow, who was sitting and leaning against a large piece of fallen ceiling, was lightly hitting his hand against the clear spot beside him.

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding and stepped over other fallen stones to sit beside him and I was practically dwarfed by the man.

"What were you wanting to say, Lucy?" Evergreen asked in a slightly impatient tone, which I saw through to the curiosity that was in her words.

"Oh, right... Well, I agree with everything I heard you all say... But there's a few things I want to add... Freed, while I agree that we should find any information we can on them, I think Evergreen is right that they came here to destroy whatever information there was on them... I believe that means that this group is planning something, and whatever that something is, it's going to happen soon... If that's true then we need to leave here and go anywhere else that there might be something on them..." I explained.

"And where did you have in mind, Lucy?" Freed's voice broke through my short rant.

"Well, our guild isn't the only one with a bunch of brainiacs, and the Light Alliance just so happens to have someone who specializes in information..." I stated.

"The hell is the Light Alliance?" It was the first thing Laxus had said since the discussion to go home had started.

Freed looked back at Laxus from me at the question and cleared his throat, "The Light Alliance was an alliance between several of the guilds to take down the Oracion Seis back when you were excommunicated... Other than that, none of us really know what happened or really even who else was there, other than the guild names... Only 1 team from Fairy Tail went and that was Lucy's team..." Freed explained.

Laxus looked expectantly at me. I gave a small sigh. I had forgotten that he wasn't there for any of that.

"The Light Alliance, as Freed said was between several guilds... Well... Actually, only 4... With only a few people from each guild... Many of those people participated in the GMG, actually... It was between Lamia Scale, who sent Lyon, Jura, and Sherry... Blue Pegasus, they sent Ichiya, Hibiki, Ren, and Eve... Fairy Tail, who sent my team... And, finally, Cait Shelter, who only sent 1 little girl and her cat..." I explained as I watched as Laxus' eyes, along with everyone else's, widened and each pair flickered to Wendy and Carla.

"Damn..." I heard Bickslow whisper from beside me, "I knew she went, because it was right after you guys returned that she joined our guild, but I didn't realize she went alone with just Carla..." Bickslow's words seemed to convey everyone's surprise as they all turned to look at me again, waiting for me to continue.

I begin to tell them of the first and, so far, only mission of the Light Alliance. Everything that I knew, anyways. I tell them everything from the first meeting, Wendy getting kidnapped, Erza getting poisoned, my fight against Angel with Hibiki, Nirvana activating, Hibiki almost being overtaken by Nirvana's spell, but then fighting against it and showing me Urano Metria, my gaining of 3 celestial spirit keys, Hoteye's temporary part in the alliance, the Nirvit tribe, Jura's defeat of Brain, Brain reawakening as Zero, revealing that the other members sealed him away, Natsu, Gray and I being utterly defeated by Zero, Hibiki speaking to us about the way to immobilize Nirvana, all of us getting back up to fight, the fall of Nirvana, the rest of us finding out Jellal is still alive, Hoteye, Jellal and the rest of the Oracion Seis being arrested.

I hadn't realized so much happened, and this was just everything that happened on my end.

"After their arrest, we all went to Cait Shelter... There we discover that everyone that Wendy grew up with were illusions of the Nirvit Tribe, and not the descendants like we had thought... Roubaul, the leader, revealed that he was the one who created Nirvana 400 years before and created the village his people lived in... The darkness that Nirvana removed went to the Nirvit tribe and caused them to kill everyone there, Roubaul escaped and died later... He carried on as a spirit, sealing away Nirvana, swearing to watch over it until someone could destroy it, completely alone... That is, until Wendy was brought there, by who they thought was Jellal, but we found out later was actually Mystogan, him asking Roubaul to take care of her, creating the Cait Shelter guild, and its people, just for her..." I felt my throat tighten as the tears from before came back. Clearing my throat to force it open, I continued, "Roubaul, Cait Shelter, and all of the people then began disappearing, Roubaul saying that Nirvana is gone so they can leave, along with Wendy no longer needing them since she had found real people to be with... It was a little while later that Erza invited her back to Fairy Tail with us..." I lifted my head when I heard a tell tale sniffle, I had been so wrapped up in my memories during my story that I hadn't realized the others came over and listened in.

Several people's eyes glistened with held back tears, but I was looking for 1 certain girl and her cat. I noticed Levy awake, mostly healed, and gave her a relieved smile, which she returned. After a second longer of scanning the people who had gathered I saw Wendy and Carla, tears pouring down their faces. Carla trying to hold them in as much as possible, and Wendy attempting to hide her face behind her bangs.

I leaned forward onto my hands and knees, and lifted one arm towards Wendy.

"Wendy, Carla..." I whispered.

They both reluctantly looked at me, I gave them a gentle smile, and that was it. They both could no longer hold back their tears. While it happened almost 8 years ago to the rest of the world, it was barely six months ago to me and these girls.

If I still got teary eyed after only knowing the Nirvits for a few minutes, then these 2 can sure as hell cry as much as they want after having been raised by them. Wendy lifted Carla in 1 arm and put her other hand in mine.

Bickslow moved away as I sat back, pulling Wendy towards me and I let her and Carla rest and cry on me, Wendy's face in my shoulder, her arms wrapped around my waist, as well as holding Carla. Carla held both me and Wendy as far as her small arms would allow, I couldn't even bring myself to care that her claws were digging into my side.

I heard the shuffling of clothing and feet as I assume everyone else was leaving to a separate part of the room to give us at least a little privacy.

"I'm sorry..." I said softly as I ran my fingers through Wendy's hair and stroked Carla's head. "I didn't want to bring up such painful memories for you 2..." I felt 2 very small nods as they continued to cry.

By the time that Lahar and Doranbolt came back into the room, Wendy and Carla had worn themselves out completely, and had fallen asleep against me.

"'Bout damn time you got back... How long were ya plannin' on keepin' us here, dammit?" Laxus asked with a snap in his tone.

Over past months, I'd come to realize that Laxus drops random letters from his words more often when he's annoyed, frustrated or uncomfortable. When he's completely relaxed or focused, though, he speaks very articulately. This rarely happens when he's out of his home or outside a battle zone.

"What'ver... We've decided that we're goin' back to Fairy Tail..." Laxus stated not really leaving room for arguments or so someone would have thought.

"I can't permit that..." Lahar spoke with a glare.

"Too damn bad..." Laxus growled out, "We came of our choice, now we choose to leave... Our reason for being here is gone, and since we've done nothing wrong, you can't keep us here..." Laxus stated.

"Until we know who those people were you aren't leaving... You're better off here..." Lahar said.

"Ya, better off where some of your soldiers died before the fight even started, and 1 of our own could have been killed... Those bastards got close enough to destroy your building and no one even noticed... There ain't no way we're better off here where y'can't even protect yourselves, let alone protect who those guys are after..." Laxus snarled in return.

Lahar pressed a hand to his forehead and let out a defeated groan. "Fine... But if you won't stay here then I'm sending Doranbolt with you..." Lahar said causing Laxus to growl low. "Just as surveillance... He won't get in the way of whatever you're going to do... And neither will we... He'll report to us just for us to keep track of what happens..." Lahar said in a defensive tone.

"Fine..." Laxus said before coming to pick Wendy up off me. I quickly place Carla on top of Wendy once Laxus had her settled in his arms. "Everyone, go get your stuff... We're leaving now..." Laxus ordered in a tone that said 'move your ass, I want to get the hell out of here'.

Which I'm pretty certain that is what he was actually thinking too.

Okay the next chapter probably won't be out until after the New Year.

I'm going to try and get the next up before then but don't count on it.

Take care and just in case...

Merry Christmas!

Take care and be safe everyone!