"Romanticize Everything."

I'd determined that I didn't like Sabertooth much. It wasn't their strength that bothered me as much as it was their attitude; almost every member seemed to be an incorrigibly pretentious snot. Perhaps I was reading into things too much—after what'd happened I was looking for anything on which to blame my burning hatred for the guild.

Lucy was destroyed in every sense of the word. Minerva Orland, a cruel mage from Sabertooth, had beaten the holy hell out of Lucy, and I was still mad about it. It was the fourth day of the grand magic games—the first event; something called 'Naval Battle'. Representatives from each team were gathered up into a great sphere of water, where they were to engage in combat. Lucy was selected from Team A, and Juvia represented our team. The event looked enjoyable—fun even. Fun until Lucy hung from her throat, hoisted outside of the water and hanging only by Minerva's clawed fist. Miraculously, I managed not to snap then and there, and I even avoided any direct contact with Minerva after the event. This was mostly the result of Levy's pacifistic encouragement (screeching).

After the event, I skipped the first battle and made a beeline to the infirmary, where Lucy was being treated. The rest of my team followed close behind, muttering protests in my wake. I shouted Lucy's name the moment we arrived, and was met with a shocked stare.

"Why are you here?" Natsu blurted.

Cana folded her arms. "We may be on different teams, but we're still in the same guild."

Lucy was knocked out, or thoroughly drugged, and she lay motionless on a vinyl cot, enrobed in white sheets.

"How is she?"

The Healer, an older woman named Porlyusica—the very same who'd given Laxus his eye—gave a brisk nod. "Thanks to Wendy, her life isn't in danger."

"I keep trying to tell you that it was Cheria who-"

"I could care less about whichever it was that treated her," Porlyusica quipped. "The point is she's alive."

Then and there I decided that I rather liked Porlyusica.

Natsu opted to change the subject, "The moment I get my hands on those bastards…"

"You took the words from my mouth…" Laxus agreed.

"You two fools had better not run off to do something stupid," said Porlyusica, and I was struck by her mannerism. The way she carried herself reminded me of someone, but I seemed unable to recall who.

I didn't have time to ponder for long, either. Lucy stirred, and with her everyone else. We pressed in around her, our hot breath and sticky bodies more than overwhelming in the unforgiving summer heat.

"Everyone…" Lucy muttered. "I'm sorry."

There was a collective mumble of confusion as we all glanced at each other, wondering what exactly Lucy had meant, and why.

Natsu seemed particularly concerned, and he leaned towards her. "Why are you apologizing?"

"I blew it again…" Lucy said, sinking deeper into the ivory cushions that encircled her head.

Gray folded his arms. "What are you talking about? We took second place thanks to you, Lucy."

"Yeah, we got eight points!"

"You did very well Lucy," Erza said, though Lucy seemed not to register it. For a small, fraction of a second, I wondered if Lucy was concussed, but then I remembered that she hadn't hit her head, so how could she be?

"My keys…" She blurted, and, as if on cue, Happy padded up to her, a miniature wreath of metal cradled in his soft paw.

"Here they are."

Lucy beamed after that, and I was almost afraid she would cry when she said, "Thank goodness! Thank you!" and fell asleep. Her eyes were shut the moment her head hit the pillow—out like a light.

"Damn those Sabertooth bastards…"

The loud squeak of a door with hinges in desperate need of lubrication announced a visitor. Makarov entered.

"Master!"

He ignored Cana's outburst.

"A team, B team, You're all here?" He asked, his eyes perusing the catalogue of ten Fairy Tail members that were harbored in the infirmary. "Good." There was another pause, in which he inhaled a slow and gravelly breath—like a smoker—and watched us with watery eyes, as if he couldn't decide whether to talk or not. After a few moments of wrestling with himself, he spoke again, "I'm not sure if this is good news or bad news, but the administrators told me that teams A and B must combine."

"They what?"

"Teams A and B have to unite?"

I tilted my head. "Why?"

"The disqualification of Raven Tail brings the number of teams down to seven, and an odd number of teams is impossible to equally distribute the battles to. So, both of our teams are going to have to become one, and we're going to have to choose the five members again."

"Chose the five members again?" Erza echoed.

"But what about our points?" Cana demanded.

I interjected, "More importantly, what about our compensation for beating the other team?" I would've loved to have Natsu or Gray as my personal slaves, even if only for a day.

"Apparently the lower score will carry over. In other words, our new team will receive A team's 35 points." Makarov explained, ignoring my question.

"That's terrible!"

"If that's the officiators' decision; there's nothing we can do about it."

And he was right, there was nothing we could do about it, but it didn't make the decision any less shitty. I personally adored my team; I wouldn't change anything about it even if I could. After all, there was an obvious reason that we were winning, and an obvious reason as to why we, the B team, would have bragging rights for months following the Grand Magic Games.

Makarov gave me an odd look as he was sorting the teams, and I wiped the grin off my face. No time for complaining, regardless of its number of teams, Fairy Tail still had to win.

Much to my surprise, I was chosen for the new and improved Fairy Tail Team. Natsu, Gajeel, Erza, Laxus, and Gray were chosen as well, and that was that. We marched out onto the field no less than fifteen minutes later, and the next battle was announced. Natsu and Gajeel versus Sting and Rogue of Sabertooth.

I didn't like Sabertooth, but in no way did that hinder my enthusiasm for the match. If anything, I was more eager than I ought've been, probably because I wanted to see Natsu and Gajeel destroy the competition.

I shouted quite a bit, even before the match. Things like, "Come on Natsu!", "You've got this, Gajeel!", "Let's show 'em what Fairy Tail is made of!" Surprising encouragement, especially coming from me.

My other teammates were ecstatic as well. Erza kept hopping from foot, like a bunny with a hyperactive bladder. Once, Laxus even shouted so loud that his voice split mid-sentence like a hormone-striken teenager's. I was delighted, to say the least.

The twin dragons of Sabertooth were a force to be reckoned with. But that meant nothing, especially when they were competing against two of the most powerful mages in our guild. The fight was, as a general rule of thumb, fair, and, much to the surprise of the Sabertooth fans, the battle appeared to be evenly matched. I was astonished, however, as I watched Natsu and Gajeel block blow after blow from their opponents, hardly even flinching as they did so. Sting and Rogue should've wiped the floor with Natsu and Gajeel, especially after the seven years they had to train.

I turned to the woman beside me. "Since when were these two this strong?" I inquired, and Erza folded her arms.

"I suppose Gajeel pushed himself to the limit during the three months he had to train."

"And Natsu?"

"He had his second origin unlocked," said Erza, and my brows lifted. Second origins were tricky, and unlocking them was an even more precarious bit of business. Not only was the release of a second origin horrifyingly painful for the individual involved, it was an extraordinarily tedious task. Only an exceptionally skilled mage could liberate someone in such a way as to unlock their second origin. I'd already had mine opened; it was a wonderful tenth birthday present.

Still, I was shocked, and demanded an answer from Erza, "How did you find someone who could unlock his second origin?"

"They more or less stumbled into us, not the other way around."

"Who was it then?"

Erza gritted her teeth before giving me an answer. In fact, I was about to press her when she finally spoke. "Itwasultear."

I didn't understand her, or at least, I didn't want to. "What?"

"Ultear. It was Ultear."

It was like the whole world stopped, leaving me and Erza and a word between us. Ultear.

"Ul… tear?"

"Yes."

I sucked in a breath, my brain the consistency and cognicity of oatmeal. "When did you…" I paused. "Is she here? Is Ultear here?"

"You honestly don't think that she's foolish enough to hide in the stands, do you?"

"Is she in the city?"

"Yes, with that pink haired girl. Mer-something."

"Meredy?" I exclaimed. "Meredy is here? In Crocus?!"

"Alexandria," Erza began, steeling herself. "You can't see them. Not now. If anyone from the magic council were to see you meeting up with two former members of Grimiore Heart…"

"How is she? Is she still…"

"I can't answer all of your questions, Alexandria," Erza deadpanned. "But I can say is that Ultear is no longer the same. She's a member of a new guild, an independent guild that seeks only to destroy dark guilds in repentance for their past."

"A new guild?"

"Crime Sorcerer, or something like that," said Erza. "You've no reason to worry about her, not now. She's different and she's changed. The only thing she wants now is to cure the world of its darkness and any wounds she may have inflicted upon it. Or at least, that was how Jellal phrased it. I didn't spend much time with Ultear or that Meredy woman to begin with."

"Of course not."

Erza harrumphed and returned her gaze to the field, but I couldn't bring myself to do such a thing. I sank into one of the padded chairs we'd been provided and felt my eyes begin to sting, which only made me more frustrated. Erza's eyes followed me as I left our seats, but I shot her a scathing glare and hoped that I had managed to communicate that I needed a moment to myself.

Once I arrived in the stone corridor, my body melted against the cinder blocks of the wall.

It hurt; it really did. After all the time I spent trying to get her to leave, she'd just abandoned it all to go traipsing across the world and fighting evil with Meredy at her side, and Jellal, whom she'd tortured all those years. I couldn't believe it either. I knew people were capable of change, but I didn't understand how anyone could undergo a complete and total transformation. Ul was cruel, and Ul loved power. As someone who shared the same traits, I would know. Because of that, I was capable to conclude one of two things.

Either 1. Ultear had come to accept her past or 2. Ultear was actually evil and was just trying to lie low long enough so that she could gain respect and potential followers. Neither option seemed likely. The first because Ultear hated the past. Absolutely loathed it. She spent her whole life running from it and trying to figure out a way to correct it, and I didn't understand how she could possibly come to terms with it, nor with the things she'd done to fix what she continued to break. Her whole 'the ends justify the means' nonsense was something I'd put up with for years.

The second was impossible. Ultear would've killed Gray and Natsu if she saw them, especially after the events at Tenrou Island that she'd experienced firsthand. And, while Ultear certainly had the patience, the motivation, and the drive to spend seven years in a lie, she would not make Meredy do the same. Ultear had her faults, but deep down she was still a compassionate being. She still cared. Meredy was her weak spot.

I sighed and returned to my seat, my mind swimming with great waves of thought. And, even though a fantastic battle was raging below me, I couldn't bring myself to observe. The thing constantly pervading my thoughts was Ultear, and there was nothing I could do to escape her.

Someone was shaking me. I glanced up to see Laxus, kneeling beside me, his features drawn.

"What?"

"I asked if you were alright; you seem kind of out of it," he said.

"I'm fine."

"Really? Because it seems a lot like you're lying, to me."

"I said I was fine, Laxus. Give me a break alright?"

I must've snapped, because he was scowling and standing back up. I followed him back to the viewing box and sank into a chair, observing him stomp away to mutter something to Erza, who was engrossed in the game. She glanced at him, then at me, then back at him, and rolled her eyes. Laxus looked peeved, and I felt a momentary flash of affection for Erza, pissing him off like that. He stalked out of our box, and I decided to pay attention to the games. My mind managed to clear, and I was capable of watching the match with my full attention.

There wasn't much left, but what there was turned out to be fantastic. Laxus returned roughly five minutes before the end, a drink and a pretzel in hand. I crept over to where he stood near the opposite side of the box, leaning over the ledge as he watched. Apparently he didn't notice me, and apparently he was in a particularly assholeish mood that day, because the moment I ripped off a piece of the pretzel he snapped.

"Hey!"

"Well hey yourself!" I replied, half smirking through a mouth of mustardy pretzel. He scowled at me.

"So you're all cold with me earlier, but the moment I get food you won't leave me alone?"

I shrugged. "Sounds about right, yeah."

He sighed and rolled his eyes, and I could tell that he wanted to say something else. He had the foresight to bite back whatever sharp retort it was, and instead changed the subject. "Natsu's really good isn't he?" It took me a moment to realize he was talking about the match.

"Oh, yeah. Fantastic really. I don't think I've met someone with so much magic potential."

"You've met me, haven't you?"

I rolled my eyes and tore off another piece of pretzel, savoring the warm, nutty flavor of the dough. "His dragon slayer magic is a lot different than yours," I remarked.

"Natsu and Gajeel were raised by dragons, and I want to say that Sting and Rogue were as well, considering that their fighting styles are so similar," Laxus said. "But I wasn't raised by dragons, and I wasn't originally taught dragon slayer magic to begin with. You know that."

"Yeah, I do," I paused, swallowing the pretzel. "Hey, does your body turn all scaly like that when you go into super mega dragon mode?"

"Super mega dragon mode?" He echoed, the ghost of a smile on his face for the first time that day, and I shrugged.

"Yeah, super mega dragon mode. What the hell else am I supposed to call it?

"You've seen me in 'super mega dragon mode' before, though. Don't you remember? Back in April?"

I placed my hands on the rail and leaned forward as far over the edge as I could. "Sorry, but my memory from our little 'Fighting Festival' is a little fuzzy, considering you knocked me out."

"Oh, yeah. Well, the answer is yes, my body does begin to take on dragon-like attributes if I'm really exerting myself and pushing my dragon slayer limits."

"Scales and all?"

He seemed a little embarrassed when he replied. "Yeah, scales and all."

"Nice. I wish I had scales sometimes."

I didn't miss the look of incredulity he fixed me with upon my statement, but I did choose to ignore it. I had better things to do than explain myself to him. Like watch the match.

Natsu inevitably won, and we wound up in first again. I could've kissed Natsu I was so happy. Erza gave me a jarring slap on the back she was so happy, and Laxus gave me a delighted hug, lacking any scales, which was sort of a disappointment.