January 2nd, x778

Fairy Tail Guild

12:00 PM

Christmas had come and gone in the blink of an eye, and new years was the same. As promised to Master Makarov, the duo arrived at the guildhall shortly after checking out. Lucy smiled softly as she stared at the old building. Memories of her first few months as a Fairy flooded her mind along with her first impressions of everyone. She had come a long way since first joining, not only combative-wise but as a person. Whether it was accidental or not, Lucy found herself holding her head higher with each passing day and becoming more strategic. Of course, the Celestial Wizard wasn't as confident as Erza or some others, but it was still a noticeable difference.

"Ya good?" Sting raised an eyebrow. "You're crying again."

"Oh, I'm fine, just a little nostalgia," Lucy reassured him as she wiped the tears away. "Come on, we shouldn't keep Master waiting."

The Celestial Wizard pulled open the grand doors and exposed the interior to Sting. While Fairy Tail kept its door open to the public, it was rare for someone outside the guild to visit, given everyone's...exciting tendencies. Lucy was relieved to know the inside remained relatively the same when she first joined, give or take some tables.

Upon their arrival, Natsu and the other children rushed towards them with excited eyes. Although they weren't allowed to disclose their real names or purpose, it was nice to see her friend's faces again. Aside from Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow, the guild took their presence fairly well.

Natsu was quick to throw a flaming punch at the Light Dragonslayer but easily swatted away. Gray and Mira laughed at their rival's pain without realizing the ice wizard lost his shirt in the process. Erza shook her head in disappointment as Lissanna, Levy, and Elfman checked on the small boy. Laxus stood a good yard away from the group, but his eyes never wander away from Sting. For better or for worse, Laxus had deemed Sting and Lucy worthy of his suspicion.

While the two settled at a nearby booth, Lucy noticed a bashful Natsu and a wide-eyed Lisanna approach them. "Well, good morning you two, did you enjoy your New Years?"

"Yeah! Gramps let us play with firecrackers!" The fire dragonslayer happily exclaimed. "They tasted so good!"

"Natsu, you weren't supposed to eat them." Lisanna shook her head as she lightly reprimanded her friend. "Cana and Gray didn't get the chance to enjoy the festivities."

Natsu reassured her with a toothy smile. "It's fine. Once I find Igneel, then that pervert and Cana will see a real fire show!"

"Okay Natsu, but remember to play nice with the others until then," Lucy ruffled his hair. She knew her words would fall on deaf ears since he was still too young to understand. "Both humans and spirits deserve your kindness."

"Spirits?" The little dragonslayer blinked twice out of confusion. "Like a ghost?! I wanna see one!"

"Natsu, I think she means Celestial Spirits." Lisanna corrected. "Like the ones Levy was telling us about!"

"Either way, I think I know two spirits who would love to meet you all," Lucy smiled as she brought two golden keys out from her pouch. "Open! Gates of the Twins and Ram! Gemini and Aries!"

On cue, the two zodiacs appeared, and Lucy saw the children's eyes widen with excitement. The fairy children were drawn the Twins and Rams, and Gemini was quick to throw themselves into entertaining the guys with their transformation magic. Aries was a bit hesitant, but she warmed up to the quieter kids.

"Your magic container has grown a lot," Sting commented as he watched the children play. "Two spirits without batting an eye?"

"Ever since I mastered six of my Star Dresses, summoning spirits have gotten much easier," She answered sincerely. "Also, I'm getting close to beating you."

"Just wait until I throw White Drive into the mix. You'll be begging for mercy."

In the midst of the usual chaos and chatter, Macao called down Master Makarov from his office. The elderly man stood at the top of the second floor and watched the developing situation. "Ah, Wiess and Rebecca, welcome! We can talk more in my office."

Lucy glanced at Aries and Gemini one last time before following behind Sting. Her spirits were tough, so she didn't have much to worry about. Gemini would naturally gravitate towards harmless pranks, and Aries would, no doubt, appeal to the gentle souls with her wool clouds...if only all her spirits were this cooperative.

The Celestial Wizard locked the office door before glancing at the Makarov's third invited guest. To Master Makarov's left, there was a relatively young orange-haired man. He was around Gray's size, in terms of height and physique, but looked fashionable in his elegant dark suit, with the jacket left unbuttoned and the loose pants held up by a light-colored belt, over a lighter shirt with a zebra-striped tie. Lucy let out a soft gasped when she recognized the man.

"Loke," Lucy stumbled backward when the name left her mouth and almost lost her footing in the process. "I-I'm sorry. I meant Leo...Leo the Lion. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Ah, the pleasure is mine," Loke purred as he studied Lucy. "Makarov, you never mentioned the Celestial Wizard was a belle."

"It seems she's well acquainted with you because I never told her who you are," The guild master answered. "May I ask why you called him Loke?"

"Well, I met him when he was going under the alias of Loke, so it's more of a habit," She answered truthfully. "Aside from Virgo, Loke is my most trusted spirit."

"I'm honored to hold that status, but I don't believe we've met before today." The Celestial Spirit apologized. "Normally, I have no problem recognizing someone as stellar as you."

Sting shot the Lion an annoyed glare. "That's because we're not from this time period, dumbass. Didn't Makarov tell you that much?"

"I'm sorry about him," Lucy quickly reprimanded her partner's cold words, "But, Sting is correct. We traveled back in time to correct our future, and now we need to find Pisces."

"Which brings us to this briefing's purpose," Makarov cleared his throat with a healthy cough. "Leo has located Pisces but requires your assistance. I assume this would make eleven for you."

"Yeah, but why do you need us if you know where they are," The dragonslayer raised an eyebrow.

The lion let out a deep sigh. This dragonslayer will the death of me. "Because a dark guild not only has Pisces, they also have traces of magic enhancing drugs in their systems. Normally, I would sneak in and beat the guild master myself, but that won't solve anything. They'll only come after a different key holder, so that would be putting an unnecessary target on Rebecca and Karen. No...I need your help in taking down Tartarus."

"Tartarus?! The same ones that were in the Veilstone Tournament?" Sting exclaimed to which Loke solemnly nodded. "Well, that explains why Nyx and Thanatos were there in the first place."

"Tartarus is a large dark guild divided into fourteen factions. I suspect that Nyx and Thanatos align with the same faction that has Pisces." Master Makarov noted. "Although the factions might have an alliance with each other, they act completely independent of each other. So, if we subdue one, then others may not retaliate."

"Unless, they think we're trying to take them out one-by-one," The Sabertooth mage frowned. "If there are fourteen factions, then there have to be fourteen leaders, right?"

Lucy stood up from her seat and began pacing the room. An organization this large required much more than a quick brainstorming session. "No, there would need to be a guild master ruling over everything unless they have their own faction. What else do we know about this dark guild? Magic? Faction Size? Any important information?"

"The Faction Master intends to fire the Eclipse Cannon in an attempt to destroy the Magic Council's base. The leader already has one key component. However, they're missing three important pieces." Loke pointed out. "For one, they'll need a Celestial Wizard who can fire it. Then, there's the need for two human sacrifices to power the machine."

"Okay, but what is this Eclipse Cannon? Is it anything like the Eclipse Gate?" Sting asked as he leaned back in his chair.

"Not really, the Eclipse Gate was created to allow people transcend time. The Eclipse Cannon was created to transcend the laws of magic." The Lion Spirits crossed his arms against his chest. "This Cannon defies the nature of magic and evaporates everything in its path. However, it destroys the zodiac key, cuts the life span of the humans, and severely burns the Celestial Wizard as a consequence."

"Hold on, the key gets destroyed?! Like the spirit dies too?"

"No, the Celestial keys are a means of allowing spirits to cross into this world. They're certainly not our lifeline. The key will reform in a year's time." Loke reassured the dragonslayer. "The Cannon was created as a precaution and a last resort. To think, it would fall in the hands of a dark guild."

"Oh so, they can only fire it once! If we have ten, counting Leo, and Karen has one, then Pisces is the only key they can possibly use." Sting sneered. "But they won't get the chance to do it cuz we'll beat them. Right Hearts?"

"We don't have a choice unless we want to waste another year in the past," Lucy sighed as she scratched her head. "In the meantime, we need to alert the Magic Council to construct a Maginium barrier. In case we can't reach Pisces in time, then we can at least protect the council from their attack."

Loke wanted to believe the matter was this simple. "Unfortunately, the Eclipse Cannon can tear through even magic resilient alloys. If we alert the council, then Tartarus might speed up the process."

"Then, it is decided." Makarov declared in a solemn voice. "The three of you will secure Pisces and save anyone who might be abducted. I'm sure that I do not need to remind you of the stakes at hand."

"Yeah, the future and our lives," Sting responded as he stood up. "But, we've faced worse for less. Hell, we fought the best of this year has to offer and won. Lucy and I got a good track record! We've faced dark guilds before, so we ain't throwing ourselves into anything new."

"It's sad that this our norm now," Lucy groaned while she met her partner's eyes. "But, Sting and I are strong enough to handle this. With Loke's support, there's not much to worry about."

"Very well," Makarov agreed as he followed us out the door.

The four of us stood against the second floor's railing. Makarov and Lucy watched happily as the spirits entertained the children. Gemini caught a glimpse of the guild master. When neither Gray nor Natsu was paying attention, the twins took it upon themselves to change into the elderly man and playfully scold the boys. Lucy and Loke conversed as they went downstairs to join the others.

"May I ask one question pertaining to the future, Wiess?" Makarov asked while the two watched from the second floor.

"Hmm? What's up?"

"Who gave you that mark on your hand? I've only heard stories about it."

"It still doesn't make much sense to me. After some kind of flash, I saw a little ghost girl standing in front of me, and Rebecca kept calling her Master Mavis." Sting answered, but he still couldn't make much sense out of the whole fever dream. "All I know is that only Fairies can see her, and this mark makes me an exception."

The guild master nodded as a small mischievous smirk graced his face. "I see... Thank you for your honesty."

"Between you and me, this generation of Fairy will change everything," Sting answered in a solemn tone. "I just hope what we're doing now will make a difference."

"It will, my boy." Master Makarov reassured the dragonslayer. "So long as we learn from the past, live to our fullest potential, and work towards a better tomorrow, we can face whatever comes our way together, as a family."

There was that word being thrown around again. The word wasn't as foreign to Sting as he once believed. He felt his lip twitch upwards at the thought of being loved and welcomed somewhere. The dragonslayer wasn't sure if he was ready to give up that idea anytime soon. "As a family huh? Hey Makarov, when everything is said and done,...can I, ya know, visit and do some missions from time to time?"

"My boy, the doors are always open to anyone willing to first walk through them," The Fairy answered. "I will not ask you to do anything you're not first willing to do for yourself. All I ask is that you remain true to yourself and your beliefs."

"I...I think I can do that," The dragonslayer gave himself a chance to think about Makarov's words. "Can I get your opinion on my guild master? I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do about him."

"Very well, speak your mind."

"He's kinda a dick to everyone in the guild. Like he's obsessives with being the strongest guild in Fiore, and it's gotten to the point where he'll banish you for losing a fight, even when it's clear you're outclassed." Sting felt a chill go down his spine when he thought back to Yukino. "I lost to Natsu pretty badly, and my Exceed tried to reason with the guild master even though he was scared shitless. And...without a second thought, that bastard vaporized Lector...and I-I killed him for it."

"I'm sorry you had to experience such a devastating tragedy."

"It worked out in the end. The guild master's daughter held my Exceed captive for the final day of the games, but Erza managed to save him for me." He let out a dry chuckle. "It's just that...I don't know what to do. Should I kill him again or should I let him continue terrorizing everyone? For fuck sake, he made a girl strip down to nothing just to make her remove her own guild mark."

"A guild such as that is doomed to fail in a matter of time, my boy. However, you are presented with the rare chance to right those wrongs." Master Makarov answered. "A corrupted soul as his own will only darken if left unchecked. However, you can rewrite history in your way. I would never recommend blooding your hands in a peaceful option is possible. Use your position in the guild to advocate change amongst your friends. It will not change in a single night, but change will occur. If all else fails, you fight for those willing to stand by your side. By doing so, you will see your group and guild grow in ways you never expected."

"You think?" Sting raised a brow out of skepticism.

"I know, my boy." Master smiled before walking down the stairs to join the others. "You don't get this old without learning a bit about how people act, but that's a different story for a different day. For now, there's a more important matter at hand."

Sting thought hard about Makarov's words. His friends suffered at the hands of Jiemma, and Sting knew inside his heart he couldn't stomach watching Yukino's ordeal again. The dragonslayer cringed when he thought back to his cold words. She was weak, so she's gone. The strongest guild doesn't need those types, right? He was so drunks with power, he never realized how far from the truth he was. But now, things were different. Sting had the foresight and strength to protect Yukino. If she was willing to sacrifice her life to give Sting at a chance to live, then he'll repay his friend tenfold.


Key Obtained: Cancer, Aquarius, Capricorn, Crux, Virgo, Taurus, Sagittarius, Aries, Libra, Gemini, and Leo

Key Needed: Pisces, and Scorpio

A/N: So can someone from the BNHA fandom explain this one to me. Because I was on google minding my own business researching Mineta, and I delete Mineta from the search bar and type 'ende'. The second result is Endeavor x Mineta. I want to know why there are fanarts of this cursed ship.