"Here is the simple truth about people: Love the ones you want to keep."

"That should do it. As long as you don't try to move too much with that side the wound should be fine."

I smiled at the healer—a young man probably the same age as me. "Thank you."

He returned the smile and bustled out of the medical tent that'd been set up for the mages. It was small and cramped, and I was accompanied by several of the notorious Mermaid Heel witches. They chatted quietly among themselves, and I bowed my head to examine the bandaging that covered my torso. A smile almost crossed my face; I'd only worn a blouse of bandages once before—at Tenrou Island.

The healer had done a fine job, perhaps not as perfect as Wendy might've done, but fine nonetheless. My pain was dull and buried deep now, just a reminder of the battle that'd caused it. Rufus was a fearsome opponent; I could only hope he'd be willing to spar again one day.

Glancing around the room, I discovered that the women across from me were still tittering away to themselves. I used the opportunity to slip out of their midst. The night greeted me with welcome arms, and the warm, velvet air planted a series of humid kisses on my cheeks as I began my tour of the grounds surrounding the Grand Magic Games arena. A gentle breeze brushed past me, settling itself comfortably in a nearby flowerbed. Dahlias winked as I passed them by. But I still did not smile back.

With the recession of my pain came the resurgence of my conscious. What was happening and what was to come. And what I needed to do about it.

My footsteps echoed against the elderly cobblestones that paved all of Crocus' streets. A dirge sounded, one the result of my quick pace and thrashing heart. The only mourners there were me and the moon, who beamed down at me from above. She was lovely, in all her innocence and distance—so unassuming and selfless. I'd always loved the moon. Her attentiveness and compassion. The way she was always there. Breathing. Shining. Just Listening to me.

I swallowed a dry sort of swallow and turned a sharp right. The sound of panting behind me caught my attention, and I was forced to take another left. I threw the hood of the cloak over my head. My chest started crying. Shut up. Shut up. Be quiet.

"You mind if I tag along?"

I didn't stop my pace, if anything my footsteps quickened. "I'm a bit busy."

He jogged to my side. "Busy trying to do something stupid?"

"Busy trying to do the right thing," I retorted, and he scoffed beside me. My eyes narrowed.

"You're too good for your own good, you know that? Obviously you'd never admit-"

I waved my hand and cut him off. "Look, as much as I would loveto speak with you right now; I can't."

"Funny, because you just did."

"Lucy is still stuck at the castle," I snapped, my breath fast and furious, "and Ultear and Meredy are headed there as we speak. The dragons—"

He swept in front of me, his eyes somehow searching mine, though he couldn't see my face. "They're going to be fine, Alexandria." I squared my shoulders.

"How can you be so sure?"

"How can you be so stubborn?" Laxus said, his exasperation only fueling my own frustration. "I want you to listen to me. If the dragons are really coming, you don't have enough time to get to the castle and rescue them. You'll be burnt to a crisp before you can get close." He sensed my oncoming protest and launched back into speech, "The king just called a meeting; maybe you would've heard if you weren't so bent on being a hero. Every wizard in Crocus is to gather at the center plaza within the next five minutes. 'Parently the king's got some announcements to make about this. And as much as I would love to go rushing in to save the pyromaniac and Lucy, I'm pretty sure that they'll be able to take care of themselves. Mira's with them. And if what you said is true, Ultear will be arriving soon. They can hold their own. We need to focus on protecting the rest of our guild. They're our family too."

"Thanks for the lecture, Mom."

"Damn it, Alexandria, will you stop being so childish for once?!"

"Alright, alright. Calm down."

"Will you just come to the plaza?" He begged. "Please?"

"Fine."

My mouth was set in a thin line as I removed my hood and turned on my heel. Regrettably I wasn't able to leave Laxus in the dust to chase after me; his long strides overcompensated for my tumultuous temper.

A silence thick enough to be cut with a knife set in, and I forced all my efforts into charging ahead of the buffoon at my side. It didn't work. I watched as he tugged at a bandage along his ribcage. He coughed. I stared at him; he didn't look at me. I picked at a scab on my chin.

He opened his mouth; closed it. Spoke. "I'm happy that we won. At least we got that part of the plan over with."

"Yeah, I'll be happy once this is all over with. As long as no one dies."

He rolled his eyes, "I love having someone as positive as you in my life, you know?" He said the 'you know' so fast that it sounded more like yanno. He did that a lot when he spoke—slowing down his speech and then speeding it up at the end of the sentence.

"You're lucky you have me."

"And you're lucky you have me," He deadpanned, and I huffed. And apparently he was offended by my huff because he decided to talk back. "What? You hate me or something?"

I bristled. "Can you do me a favor and not be annoying? For once in your life?"

The moment I said it I regretted it, because the dejection that passed over his features was obvious, even from a side profile.

"Alright, fine, I'll be quiet."

And he was. It was like he'd thrown up a thousand walls at once. He wouldn't even fight back. We were worlds away and yet standing right beside each other.

I inhaled sharply, "Laxus, no. I was an asshole. I'm sorry."

"It doesn't matter," He stated with an abrupt wave of his hand. I shook my head, but didn't say anything. We kept walking.

I noticed a definite stiffness within him that I had never seen before. He was a spring, all coiled up and ready to pounce at any given moment. His eyes darted around, his movements were mechanical. He was bracing himself; that much was clear. It troubled me.

We arrived at the plaza. Mages were milling around and conversing in hushed voices. Everyone was concerned. Laxus placed a hand on my back and ushered me towards the members of our guild. The touch was austere, but whatever. I graciously accepted.

Evergreen was saying something to me. I couldn't hear her, my brain was in a fog. The king appeared. He spoke.

I was too concerned about what was happening at the castle and what I'd said to Laxus to hear what His Lordship was saying, but I did catch bits of it. And I knew what he was talking about. The king spoke of the dragons, and what little hope we had of defending ourselves from the beasts.

"Alexandria!"

I blinked at turned wide-eyes to the one who'd called my name. Freed was staring at me, his gaze piercing my eyes.

"Huh?"

"Did you hear anything he was talking about?"

"Something about fighting the dragons?"

Freed sighed. "They've got a weapon at the castle that can take care of most of the dragons. We've got to fight the rest."

"What?"

"The mages of Fiore will be making battle against the remaining lizards," Evergreen announced.

I blinked. My eyes landed on the mages from my guild. My jaw tightened and I returned my gaze to her.

"We can't take on hundreds of dragons, Eve."

"We have to try."

I wanted to say something else, but I realized my voice would strain if I tried.

What if I lost them? What if they died tonight?

I'd never be able to forgive myself.

So I did the one thing I did best. Survive.

My feet carried me from their midst, moving from person to person, circling around the crowd, rallying the warriors and preparing them for battle. I became a warlord, a great gladiator. A general gathering her troops.

"Mages, gather your leaders!"

And they did. The leaders were gathered together. Guild masters and champions of guilds gathered their strongest fighters for the front lines. I bided my time discussing strategy with Erza and Kagura of Mermaid Heel. Kagura would take her guild to the far left wing of the city. Fairy Tail would be guarding a large portion of the heart. Other guilds divided the rest of the land among them. Some of the lesser mages would be working to evacuate the citizens and tourists to somewhere temporarily safe. Weapons were given to people demanding to stay and fight. What little armor we had was given to those most in need. The military of Fiore mounted their warhorses. The mages of the country readied their magic with what little time we were given.

I lost track of many of my guildmates and sought out a Fiore general. Someone who would know. And she did.

"Some of my comrades were captured by the royal army; I-"

She cut me off, "They're safe. I heard they just rendezvoused with the Princess."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes, I-"

We were cut off as a brilliant white light erupted from the west, bolting upwards through the blackened sky. My attention followed it, straight to the heavens, where I saw a great warrior wounded. The moon was pierced, and great splatters of blood painted her body, the sun too far away to heal her, to douse her in the alabaster shimmer she almost always maintained. Brilliant veins were illuminated across her chest, the moon's body a network of crisscrossed capillaries and blood vessels. An intense magic power crackled through the air, the result of the blood moon and the bright light and the black earth. An eclipse. The eclipse.

And then it happened. A horrific cry split through the silence of the night, and a great rumble tore through the earth. The ground broke, the world shook, and a malevolent thunder rumbled beneath our feet. My attention snapped back to the castle, and it sounded again.

The roar of a dragon.

Something was wrong. Something was horribly, unequivocally wrong.

Regrettably, I didn't have time to sit and ponder what exactly wasn't right. There were more pressing matters at hand. My guildmates, for one. I tore off in their direction, my boots hitting the ground and pounding against the earth beneath me.

The cries from the castle continued and intensified as more dragons appeared, great bellowing shouts that emanated magic energy. I couldn't help but wonder how many creatures had arrived, or where they'd come from, or, more importantly, how we'd be able to fight them.

But the most prominent thought that penetrated my mind seemed to be about my guildmates. Because who would reach them first? Me, or the dragons?

I came to a skidding halt among the members of Fairy Tail, my feet scraping wounds into the gravel beneath us.

"What's that?!"

I turned my head to what Max was pointing at. A brilliant golden light lit the sky above the castle, shooting dazzling comets of color down to the earth. My attention turned to a nearby spot in the heavens, where a colossal dragon beat its wings, soaring above us in all its beauty and terror. Another released a thunderous roar that pealed through the sky.

I heard a scream to my right, and I turned my attention to the other mages.

Erza spoke before I could, "Throw up what wards you can! We need to set up a defense in case one of the dragons-"

She was too late, we all were.

The earth shook as an abominable creature landing before us, its wings ripping through the buildings around us, and its claws tearing gashes into the ground we stood on. My comrades screamed and shouted, cries of disbelief and terror filling the night and mingling with the rasps of smoke the dragon breathed from its nostrils.

I darted to the front, beside Erza who would be leading the counter offense. She turned to me, her voice rising to a shout to sound over the roar of the beast in front of us.

"Has the city's evacuation been completed?"

"I've no idea," I said. "I went to find out about the others at the castle before I returned here."

"Well we've got to know if the people are safe before we can start attacking the dragon!"

"Erza, I think-"

Macaco interrupted us, "They're safe. The Royal army is protecting them."

"Are you-"

We were cut off by another roar from the dragon, and I turned to the mages behind me, but they were one step ahead. Juvia and Gray released their unison raid, allowing freezing water to rip into the flesh of the fire dragon that waited before us.

The attempt was futile; it only served to further anger the creature.

The dragon cackled a rasping laugh and addressed us, "Foolish creatures! I am the mighty Atlas Flame! My fire consumes all that stands before me!"

He released a roar so raw and so powerful that everyone was knocked off their feet. I threw myself to the ground, trying to avoid as much of the damage as I could. My back seared under the heat, and the buildings around us creaked and groaned as they too were consumed within the flame.

Someone tugged on my bandaging, and I grasped onto their arm. Erza tugged me up, brushing a bit of rubble off my arms.

"We cannot lose hope," She shouted to the rest of our guild. "We have to keep fighting!"

Shouts of agreement echoed from among us, and I slapped my comrade on her back, shooting her a grin.

The dragon bellowed again, "Still standing after the roasting I gave you? You must be wizards!"

"Damn right we are!"

My vision swiveled, and I turned to see Makarov evolving into a beast. His small stature disappeared as he grew, taller and broader until he too towered over us, standing level with the dragon. The guild master pulled his arm back and swung it forward, swinging a hard punch into the dragon's shoulder.

The only creature the blow actually hurt was Makarov himself, who released a cry and pulled back his burnt fist.

"There is nothing you can do! Humans will never defeat a dragon!"

Atlas Flame released another roar of flames, throwing the master backward and throwing everyone else yet again to the ground. The heat returned along with the blistering sensation, but I forced myself upward. My hands encircled Erza wrists, and with a tug I pulled her to my side in an attempt to return her former favor.

I turned to our comrades, many of whom lay scattered across the ground.

"Where the hell is Laxus?"

"He said he was going to look for you after you disappeared!"

"He what?!"

Something crackled above our heads, and before I could express my outrage, a tremoring voice began to speak.

"Can you hear me? Let's quit playing around and use our dragon slayer magic!" It was Natsu. Natsu was safe. But if he was safe, were the others safe as well? It sounded like he was somewhere above…

"Gods, he's in the sky! Look!"

Natsu was indeed in the sky, mounted atop a great beast and wobbling only slightly as he stared down below. Impressively enough he didn't seem to be motion sick, which was a first.

He continued his speech, "There are seven dragons, and we've got seven dragon slayers! We can do this! It's what we were born for! Our whole lives have led to this day. Let's use our powers and slay some freaking dragons! Who's with me?!"

I would've been with him, but, for me, slaying any dragons was out of the question, considering my lack of any sort of slayer magic. And the absence of a particularly bothersome mage.

"Doesn't anyone have any idea where Laxus is?!" I shouted, my temper blazing as hot as the dragon in front of me.

No one heard me over the sound of a roar overhead. The beast that Natsu rode atop bellowed a warcry, releasing a plethora of circular, white objects from its belly.

Eggs. Hundreds of eggs fell from the sky and to the ground. And I wouldn't have worried. I would've been fine.

But then they started hatching, and an army of metal plated dragons were released.

We were surrounded, not only by Atlas Flame, but also by the newborn wyrms.

I shifted my body into a defensive stance, readying my magic and preparing to engage the smaller creatures, when I felt the crackle of a familiar magic in the air. No sooner had I noticed the shift than had Laxus rammed himself directly into the side of Atlas Flame, setting the fire dragon alight with electricity.

I could hear Romeo's cry of delight from behind me, stating the obvious, "It's Laxus!"

I felt a smile tug at my lips upon noticing the arrival of the dragon slayer. At least, until he opened his mouth.

"Quit gawking, or did you not notice there are dragons to slay?" Laxus said, cracking his knuckles and smirking like a fiend. "I'll take the big guy himself."

What an arrogant asshole.

"Nice of you to finally show up," I snapped, and Laxus rolled his eyes.

"I could say the same to you. You realize how much time I wasted looking for you? I thought you'd tried to go back to the castle."

"I don't need you to worry about me, Laxus! You could've gotten killed wasting your time searching for me!"

"Oi! We don't have time for you two to start bickering," Evergreen exclaimed. "In case you hadn't noticed, we're in the middle of a war."

I grumbled and rolled my eyes.

"Whatever, just…" I glanced at Laxus. "Try not to die."

Evergreen placed an arm on my shoulder. "We'll be fine, Xandria."

"You better," I said. "Because if any of you die, I'm coming to get you, and there'll be hell to pay."

"Yeah, yeah," Bickslow chimed in.

I turned away from the Thunder Legion, but before I could escape to my next battle, a hand landed on my shoulder.

"Evergreen I said I'd—oh, Laxus."

"Alexandria?"

"What? We haven't got all day, and there's no way I'm telling you goodbye," I deadpanned, my blunt words and cold countenance trying to cover the fear I felt.

"Alexandria, you're shaking."

I paused and, sure enough, my entire body was quivering. "Huh, weird."

"Xandria, I—I uh," He hesitated, inhaling deeply before he spoke again. "Just be careful."

"You too," I said, offering a strained smile. "I'd be kinda sad if you died."

"Kinda?"

I laughed, and without second thought I threw my arms around his neck, wrapping him in a terrified embrace. Laxus was frozen in surprise, but only for a moment, and as suddenly as I'd enveloped him in my arms, he was bundling me in an embrace. I sighed and buried my head in the side of his neck. What if he died fighting this dragon? What if this was the last time I saw him? What if—

No. Now was not the time for such thoughts.

I extracted myself from his grip and found his hand with my own, interlacing our fingers for only a second. He glanced down, confused, and I gave him a strained smile.

"Yeah," I said, "only kinda."

And with a final squeeze of his hand I was gone, his hand slipping from my own as I tore off in the other direction.