"As humans we ruin everything we touch, including each other"

Erza and I had crossed a large expanse of forested, root—infested ground, yet still no Wendy appeared. No other mages were to be found. At that point, I myself had descended into a genuine panic, and with each passing minute, I found my heart racing faster and faster, prepared to explode.

I was wound tight like a coil, ready to spring. Grimoire Heart would destroy Fairy Tail, if not with the Seven Kin, then certainly with the power of Hades. My mind spun. If my fellow mages found one of my former kin before me… If someone stumbled across Hades… I swallowed. No. That wasn't possible, was it? They were supposed to be evacuating now. Gajeel had promised to get them out. We just needed to buy them some time.

I opened my mouth to speak, "Erza—"

"Well," a voice interrupted, "would you look at what we have here?"

I froze. Every single muscle in my body contracted—my heart stopped beating—I couldn't even breathe. The pain I felt when I heard that deep voice rolling over every syllable, dragging them out in a such a warm, familiar way—it hurt worse than any kind of physical pain I'd ever endured

"Are you ladies lost? Certainly, you Fairies wouldn't want to wander into me at a time like this?"

I clenched my fists. I'd finally found him. After spending the past hour searching for him, I'd found him. Azuma. My best friend, my playmate, my childhood sweetheart.

"Come down and fight, coward!" Erza shouted from her position beside me, and I could feel the tension emanating in waves from her as she turned to face the man that was materializing behind us from his home in the trees. I gritted my teeth and grabbed the bare skin of Erza's arm. Anxiety filled her eyes as she met my solid gaze, and I simply shook my head.

"Get away from here, Erza," I hissed, my voice dropping into an almost threatening tone.

She blinked in confusion. "What do you mean get away?"

I ignored her and turned, my sore body moving in an achingly slow manner as I turned to face the familiar man, and with a deep inhalation of breath, I shouted his name. "Azuma!"

His mouth went slack, his jaw falling to the very ground we stood on. Azuma stared at me with a pair of sable eyes, the most beautiful chocolate color in the entire world. I breathed. Brown eyes were just brown eyes until you loved someone who owned a pair.

We drank each other in, and I knew he couldn't believe he could see me; if his shocked facial expressions weren't enough to convey his surprise, his body language was. The way he kind of crumpled, his once prideful demeanor fading into one of confusion. All he could do was gape at me, as if I was some kind of alien—which I supposed I was.

"Alexandria?" Azuma breathed, and I formed my mouth into a hard line.

"In the flesh."

His eyes raked over my body a few times, looking me up and down in something I recognized to be concern and… betrayal. I could sense the tension emanating off of him in waves. "What are you doing here?"

"I believe I should be the one asking you that," I said, my tone hollow and empty. He screwed up his face at my comment.

"How does this man know you Xandria?" Erza cut in, but I shook my head again.

"It's a long story."

"The hell do you mean it's a long story?! Alexandria, you're a mage of Grimiore heart. Even if you went missing, you're still one of us. You're still—"

"I am nothing to you, Azuma. To any of you. I made my choice, and I left because of it!" A screamed bubbled in my throat, but I pushed it down. "Unlike you. All of you! You just believed whatever lie that bastard Hades spoon-fed to you. Never wondering… Never doing anything about what you—"

Azuma looked like a kicked dog. "Five months," he gasped. "It's been five fucking months since you left. And you didn't tell anyone anything—not even me. We had no idea… We were so worried…"

"Sorry I didn't have the time to send a postcard; I guess I was too busy running for my life. Do you really think Hades would've let you liveif he knew that you were hiding information about my whereabouts? No. It was better that you didn't know anything."

"Lex—"

"It's Xandria now," I interjected. "I've changed—a lot has changed since then. I'm a member of Fairy Tail now, Azuma, and I hear you've been attacking them." My voice twisted in anguish as I spoke, and I cursed myself for it. "You have to understand… They're my family now. I—I can't just let them be hurt like this."

"Xandria? You were a member of Grimiore Heart?" Erza breathed, her shock of red hair reflecting as much surprise as her stunned face. "Why did we not know this?"

"Do you have any idea what Master Hades would think if he heard this shita?" Azuma blurted. "None other than his own prized daughter betraying him and returning to Fairy Tail. Do you have any idea how much damage you've done?! You left us—you left me, and I—"

"I'm not his daughter and I'm not your anything, Azuma! The past is the past and it's time to move on. I don't owe you anything and I never did. I know how much damage I've done, to that sick and twisted group of us that used to call each other family, but it's nothing compared to the suffering I caused while I was still a member of Grimiore Heart." My throat tightened. "Haven't you ever considered in the least leaving the guild? Have you never thought, for once, that their ideals were corrupt? Have you never realized how evil they truly were—or how, through all these years, all Hades has ever taught us is lie? At least consider the things I'm telling you. He may have said that he was teaching you a Lost Art, a sacred form of magic close to the very origins of it, but in truth, the man was only using you as a tool, a weapon. The moment he gets Zeref, the moment he finally gets what he wants, he's going to abandon all of us as quickly as he took us in. There will be no loving goodbyes or happy endings. That man—that monster—doesn't contain a single ounce of compassion in his shriveled-up, old heart."

"What are you speaking of Xandria?" Erza interjected, but I ignored her.

"I'm sure you have your mistakes as well, Erza, the obvious places you fell short in your past, but mine have always been intertwined with my own demented will. It wasn't until I saw through Hades' trickery that I was finally freed from my prison. My ideals changed, and, though it broke me, I realized that my whole life was made of shattered fragments from the start. Now it was just time for me to pick up the pieces and start making something out of them. So I fled, seeking out a better life for myself."

There was silence, Azuma taking in my words and shaking his head.

"I love you, Lex," he choked, and I felt the words pull at my heart, threatening to snap the fragile strings. No, Alexandria, don't let him do this to you. I fixed him with an empty stare, ignoring the overwhelming emotions that were raging through me.

"No, Azuma, you love the idea of me. You love how I make you feel. You never loved me. You barely even know me."

"Lex, you know that's not—"

I jerked my head away. "That's the truth, Azuma! Whatever we had is over with now. Hades ruined it for me, just like he ruined everything else." I took a labored breath. "Love is for children. I know now that no one could love what I really am. What matters now is protecting those I care about, and right now you're getting rather low on that list."

"You've changed."

"Time changes people." I fired back, and he frowned.

"Surely you don't wish to fight me?" He blurted, crossing his arms over his bare chest in surprise. I narrowed my eyes.

"You'll have to go through me to get to my guildmates." I declared. "And you've never been one to turn down a battle, Azuma."

"Alexandria, you're not serious?"

"Surely you aren't scared of fighting me?" I interrupted and he shook his head.

"I don't want to fight you," He muttered, and I laughed, the sudden sound erupting from me in a loud burst.

"You should be elated to finally have a challenge, Azuma!" He scowled at me, the dark look taking over all of his features in a particularly unnatural way.

"Do not speak to me with such contempt, Alexandria." He spat, taking a threatening step in my direction. I scoffed.

"I can speak to you however I please. I'd like to see you stop me."

"Watch me."

I turned to the woman who was still at my side. "Erza, please leave. This is my battle. I need you to get back to base camp and inform everyone who isn't aware of what is going on." Azuma was summoning the magic power for a strike as I spoke, and Erza gave me a silent nod before finally turning and running in the opposite direction. I turned back to Azuma. His mouth was set in a straight line as he stared me down, prepared to attack.

"Let us begin, then."

My combatant stepped forward, raising his arms to attack me, and I watched as he uttered a few spells, setting off a series of explosions around me. But I was too well-trained against his attacks. I dodged each, using my magic to bend the energy and light around me, creating a barrier.

"Don't you dare go easy on me!" I bellowed.

Azuma growled, clapping his arms together in front of him and causing the ground to split beneath us. I hissed in annoyance, having to jump out of the way at the last moment to avoid falling into the earth and being crushed in a crevice. I scowled at him, raised my arm, and sucked in a breath. I cast a simple blast of magic in his direction, fully aware that it would have no effect. Focusing my energy however, while he was preoccupied by my pitiful spell, I uttered a few words under my breath.

"Astral proiectura."

With a simple tearing sensation, I felt my soul being ripped away from my body, which still stood dumbly at the other end of the clearing. By using this technique, I was able to transport myself in the blink of an eye to another location. By separating my spirit from my body I could travel quickly, and then materialize, thus surprising my target. This form of astral projection was a fighting technique convenient for surprise attacks and stunning enemies.

"Is that really the best you've got?" Azuma said, but by the time he had finished speaking, my spirit was already standing at the other end of our battlefield, only a few inches behind him. "I really expected more—"

"Astral coniungere!" I shouted, and suddenly the rest of my physical body was transported to where I stood behind Azuma. I blinked, and raised my arms to strike as he turned to protect himself, but it was already too late. "Pugnes Autem!"

I swung a magically enhanced fist forward, landing a solid blow on his upper jaw. He stumbled backwards, but I was still on him, swinging my black fists at the man. I nailed him again in the chest, hearing a painfully satisfying crack when my hand landed. He grunted in pain, and suddenly, I felt my body being ripped off of his, a powerful collection of branches wrapping their prying fingers around me.

He gasped and stood upwards, releasing me from my place now high in the air to fall flat on the ground. I caught myself, however, and was back on my feet before I could be captured by the branches of yet another tree.

"Bleve!"

More explosions were fired in my direction, but this time I was not prepared enough to defend myself against the attacks. I was knocked backwards, the breath being knocked out of me as I hit the ground. When I rose, I glared at the man, and he returned my look with equal arrogance. But on a whim he paused and released a sigh. I tilted my head in confusion.

"I wish I could fight you fair and square, you know?" Azuma hummed.

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean your time is up."

The earth began to shake, and I wobbled precariously on my feet. My opponent raised his arms, firing off several explosions around us as he began to sink into the ground. I furrowed my brows.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"You know my magic. You know of its power—its strength. And you know well the many things I am capable of doing because of that." He paused, shaking his head slightly as the entire world around us began to crumble. "There was but one reason for me to arrive on this island before everyone else. It was so I could prepare to take control over this island's magic."

"This is ridiculous!" I shouted, my eyes widening as his body began to be absorbed by the surrounding branches from the trees. He sighed.

"It is not what I would have wished for, but I cannot disobey a direct order." He explained, a slightly remorseful look stealing across his face for a moment before he hid it. "Master Hades knows the power of this island well. The giant tree growing in the center, the Tenrou tree; it provides divine protection to those with the Fairy Tail mark, and protects them from dying while on the island. It has a special ability to enhance magic power."

"And you're destroying the it?!" I exclaimed, earning a nod from the man.

"Yes, that nullified the divine protection on your lives. And now, I am stealing away the magic of every Fairy Tail wizard." The way he said it, so calmly, as if stealing the very source of life away from dozens of mages was as simple as breathing, was unnerving to me. He was what I would've become if I would not have left—a monster.

"Stop!" I ordered, leaping forward from the unstable branch I stood on and towards one in front of me. He sighed as he sunk further into the trunk of a nearby tree.

"I can't. It's already complete. Fairy Tail has surely been wiped out." He paused. "Although I control the magic of the island, I have left you as you were—in an attempt to save you for a fair battle. Now then, Alexandria. Your friends are at death's door around the island! You are the only one who can save them! Let's just see how great this power is that you have to protect your friends."

"Azuma, why did you do this?" I asked, my voice wavering slightly as I did so. I frowned at myself, my voice never wavered.

"It was Master Hades' order. He told us to get rid of every Fairy Tail wizard, without exception."

"Why is it that you purposefully left me free to act?" I continued, trying to hide my irritation with his terrible excuse of an answer.

"I told you why. I want to fight you seriously, as you requested of me," He said, crossing his arms as his body was separated from the tree. Stepping back out onto a waiting branch, he stared me down. "And, Alexandria, in case you have yet to notice, you still bear the mark of Grimiore Heart. Whether you wish to be or not, a piece of you, a small one, is still a part of our guild. I could not remove that from you. It protects you from having your magic power sapped."

"Stop spitting these lies!" I exclaimed, my face taking on a dark look as I glared at the man. "I may still have the scar on my skin, but I am not a part of your guild any more than you are a part of mine. If you wish to fight me seriously, Azuma, then fine. But the moment I defeat you, you will return everyone's power."

"That, I promise." He sighed. "Lex, this is not how I would prefer to do things. You know that don't you, Alexandria? You can still come back."

My face contorted, and I released a roar. "I will never, ever, return back to that filthy fucking guild."

Azuma threw his hands up. "Fine! If a battle is what you want—then let us fight!"

"I couldn't have said it better myself!"

And with that he rushed forward, preparing to attack me with all of his might.

~Azuma's POV~

She was stronger than I could recall, and although she currently stood hunched over in pain and exertion, I never could he asked for a more formidable opponent. She was bloodied and beaten, surely, but so was I—and I had hardly ever encountered someone that could do such a thing to me.

We had both taken our swings, quickly warming up the fight with an array of powerful spells. We had knocked each other back and forth, each of us receiving more than a few bruises, but after a bit of time, my clear height and weight advantage began to become clear.

But Alexandria still struggled onwards, fighting with honor and a surprising amount of grace, truly showing her power for the first time in almost a year. After a while, it became clear that her spells had the upper hand over my magic, and I had no choice to move to my last resort.

~Xandria's POV~

I paused, panting as I stared him down. I could not lose to Azuma. The fate of everyone in Fairy Tail was resting on my shoulders. If I lost to this man…

Inhaling deeply, I adjusted my ripped shirt and prepared to summon the strength for a final blow. If I ended the battle right here—if I ended it now, I still had a great chance of saving the lives of all of my guildmates.

I raised my arms, preparing to cast the incantation that would put us into the endgame, but before I could even utter the first word of the spell, much less finish the rest of its complexities in my mind's eye, I was cut off by large branches snaking their way around my body and my mouth. I tried to shout, enraged by the fact that I was being dragged into the air by the branches, but the sound was cut off by the limb that had encircled my mouth. I writhed in the strong grip of the trees, but it was no use; I could not escape from Azuma's hold on me, not with physical strength nor magic.

"Release the magic of Tenrou that sleeps in the great land! The cries of the great land, Terra Clamare!"

And all of a sudden, the rain around me stopped, for a moment, just a moment, I thought nothing had happened. I believed—I hoped—that his spell had failed—that he hadn't had enough energy to truly be able to perform such a powerful spell. But I was wrong.

I blinked, and before I knew it, a bomb had gone off—an explosion aimed solely at me. Large blasts of fire and magic energy had come from the very stomach of the earth to engulf me—its target—in a massive explosion. I never really stood a chance.

I tried shielding myself, bracing myself—to do something, anything—but I couldn't. I was frozen where I was—the branches held me in place like iron chains, shackling me to the center of the magical bomb. It was like torture, the heat of the blasts tearing at my skin—at my clothes—at me. I could feel it physically, as if it was burning away every single layer of my skin, but I knew that this was false. The true power of this spell lay not in its ability to make its target feel pain, but its ability to sap the magic energy from its target.

I closed my eyes, and finally the branches released me, the blistering sensation subsided, and I felt myself falling, falling…

~Azuma'z POV~

She fell. I watched her as I released the limbs that were wrapped around her body, panting from overexertion as I did so. It was a slow fall, but that was characteristic of her—I knew that. Her body—gracefully—elegantly dropping from the air, falling gently through the smoke until… It hit hard. Too hard. I shouldn't have allowed her to fall like that, so unnaturally, with her limbs splayed everywhere. It would be a miracle if she hadn't broken anything. A curse if she had died.

And immediately the weight of my sins began to bear down upon me. I had loved her; I really had. But looking at her then, lying motionless on the ground like that, I realized now that it was I who'd been the monster all along. I was too far gone. There was no help for me. There was nothing that could heal me from my incurable darkness. I had almost killed the woman I loved. She, at least, had shown some restraint.

Maybe she was right when she said that Hades had turned us all into demons.

~Xandria's POV~

"Get up. Please, you have to get up. We're relying on you."

The voice reached me—a small, delicate one—like that of a child, and I peeled my eyes open. Coughing, I stood up, my body immediately protesting in pain as I did so. I tried to push these physical ailments to the back of my head, and focus on adrenaline and the task at hand. I was still ok, and I was sure as hell going to save my comrades.

Azuma turned his head, noticing as I stood. His mouth fell open in shock.

"How?!" He demanded, standing much closer to me than I remembered before I had fallen from the sky. "You were hit with a massive amount of Tenrou Island's magic power!"

I coughed again, keeling over this time as I spit out blood. Standing up straight I took in a shaking breath, trying to center my body and my magic power that remained. I glared at him.

"I am going to make you pay for your sins," I bellowed, beginning to take a few meaningful strides towards the tall man. "I am going to make you pay for what you did to Fairy Tail! If you ever think of laying a hand on Wendy, or Mira, or Erza, or any other member of my guild, again…"

My magic energy could no longer be contained inside the vessel of my body, and suddenly the dark purple aura that was signature of my being exploded around me. My hair was blow away from my face, and the air around me began to change pressure, making my ears pop. The wind picked up around Azuma and I as I raised my arms preparing to cast my spell.

He looked invigorated. He looked apologetic. He looked angry. He looked scared.

Azuma shot out his branches towards me, but they did not reach me. The moment one of his precious limbs touched my aura, it wilted, turning into little more than dust under the power of my magic. His eyes widened in horror as he stared at me.

"Terra Clamare!" He shouted, summoning the large explosion to engulf me.

I closed my eyes as the massive power surrounded me, and, focusing my efforts, I casted my own spell.

"Caelus, god of the heavens, lord of the stars, grant me the power of the cosmos—"

The burning sensation began to scrape at my skin, and I sucked in a final breath, preparing to give it all or lose it all at once.

"Allow this vessel to harbor the power of the planets. Oh Caelus, hear my cry!" I paused, and threw my head skyward, my eyes rolling back as I began to lose my grip on reality. "Clama caelorum!" I screamed, and suddenly, I felt myself being ripped apart.

~Third Person POV~

To any onlooker, it would have seemed impossible. To any passersby it would have seemed horrifying. If anyone in their right mind would have seen the battle, they would have run in the opposite direction. The sheer amount of magic power used by only the tree man was astounding. He was, after all, one of the Seven kin of Purgatory. It was expected of him to be able to use an exceptional amount of large magic. But he paled in comparison to the beast that he was fighting against. She was supernatural—ethereal—not of this world. She fought with the strength of a demon, and the skill of the gods she invoked.

One moment the girl had been engulfed in her opponent's ball of flames, the explosions seemingly overcoming her. But it was only temporary. Within seconds, she had turned the spell backwards on the boy, managing to absorb much of the magic energy from the blast and using it to fuel her own ragged body. Chanting the incantation, and throwing her head skyward, she summoned massive amounts of energy, almost completely forgetting that her own body served as the passageway.

A ball of energy slowly formed in her hands—the inky purple surface coming into existence slowly at first, and then all at once—a powerful melon sized ball of light and energy that came straight from the stars themselves. And for a moment, her skin continued to burn under the boy's spell. But it was only for a moment. She exhaled, and suddenly it caved in on itself, exploding in the largest blast of darkness one could have ever imagined seeing. A supernova.

And that's why, if you were an onlooker, you would have wanted to escape. Because in that moment, her spell, her magic energy, was enough to destroy the entire island.

The trees around them collapsed as if they were nothing more than a blade of grass. Every single plant in the surrounding half mile radius were flattened as a result of her spell—trees and bushes and forms of life blown over as if they were nothing more than pieces of paper.

And they both came falling, her and the ever affected combatant. No longer were either of them held up by the branches that stretched across the extent of the forest, the only comfort they had left was the harsh dirt ground.

~Xandria's POV~

I had softened my landing enough so that I wouldn't die when I fell. I had already come this far, death by a fatal fall wouldn't exactly be the most valiant way to go out (although, I did feel rather dead already). It was a miracle that I hadn't been ripped apart by the spell, one I had only ever attempted once, and it hadn't worked then.

A loud groan interrupted my thoughts, and I turned my head, noticing where a very beaten Azuma was lying a few yards away from me on the bare ground. I blinked, noticing as his body began to sink into the ground.

And I swore.

Desperately, I dragged myself over to him, noticing as a few branches began to snake their way out of his torso body.

"Azuma," I muttered, my breath heavy and labored as I tried to speak. "Y—your body…"

"Don't worry about me. I knew—you should have known something like this would happen. You should have expected me to use it—" He paused, coughing until his breath had almost left him. My face fell, and I edged even closer to him, clawing at his body.

"Is there nothing I can do?" I whispered, trying to pull him away from the ground, but it was too late, he had already merged with it, his arms becoming one with the moss covered dirt. Azuma simply looked up at me, smiling faintly.

"Ever the fighter, Alexandria." He muttered, and for some strange reason I felt tears beginning to prick at my eyes. "I will certainly remember you, even when I am like this."

"Don't talk like that." I begged, kneeling at his side while more branches began to emerge from his body. "Please. I've only just found you again."

"No," He grunted, the pain clear in his voice as he looked at me. "No, I don't want you to think over me that way. You said yourself you didn't love me, and you were right. Don't fool yourself into thinking you do just because I'm dying now. You don't owe me anything."

"Azuma…"

"Please… It's too late for me. Just promise—promise me that you'll be happy. You deserve that. You deserve someone better than—"

But it was already too late, entire trees were beginning to burst forth from his chest, from his heart. There was no more man; there was only nature and what she wished to do with him. His soul may have remained, but he did not.

So I did the only thing I could do, the one thing I hadn't done in a long, long time. I fell against one of the trunks of the trees that now stood in the place of my childhood sweetheart, and I wept.

A/N: Lot's of fun POV changes and the agonizing pain of losing a former lover! Sorry for the angst, but you'll be happy to know that we'll be meeting our beloved (and slightly douchebaggy) Laxus in the next chapter! I know what you're thinking. Finally! So go ahead and hit that 'NEXT' button, and, as always, don't forget to R&R!