"You will forever own a piece of me that I can never take back."

There weren't any dragons. None in the sky, none on the ground, none anywhere to be found.

Naturally, I was pleased, but a sinking seed of fear was planted in the pit of my stomach. Where were the people? For a split-second, the thought crossed my mind that maybe they'd all died. Maybe Ultear and I were the only ones left.

Then a rather tipsy soldier had crossed my path and informed me that we'd won—that the dragons were dead and that we'd never have to worry about them again.

I'd almost collapsed in relief.

The soldier informed me that almost all the citizens of Crocus had been spared, and that he didn't think there were any causalities among the mages. Apparently every got extremely lucky all at once and managed to defeat the dragons.

I'd have to let Ultear know her spell had worked.

After a bit more prowling of the city, I discovered a makeshift medical tent set up near the building Ul and I inhabited. Naturally, I ducked inside to ask for supplies and help.

The healer in charge, upon realizing that I had a basic understanding of first-aid, immediately thrust patients into what he called my "capable hands". And I would've left, but then I saw the line of wounded that snaked through the crumbling streets of Crocus and I knew I couldn't leave.

It was a humbling experience. Thankfully, no one had been beaten up too badly—small fractures and minor burns mainly, and quite a few concussions. Only a few brave warriors had lost limbs or received any serious burning. Quickly, I was shown how to put a dislocated shoulder back into place, which was equal parts revolting and intriguing. At some point a mage from Twilight Ogre joined us, and thankfully he knew his way around a needle because I couldn't sew up a wound or a shirt to save my life.

I mainly treated burns and concussions, because, according to the healer, "that was my forte". Really I think he wanted to say that I was shit at treating anything else, but maybe he was just trying to be nice. Although, I did give someone who'd lost a lot of blood an infusion of some fluid via a vein, which the healer called an "I.V." and I'd never heard of it before, but it seemed to work.

The sky was just starting to lighten up when I left, much to the healer's protests, but I ignored him. He would be finished seeing patients within another hour, if that. The line that had once stretched in front of us was considerably short, and I had my own patient to worry about.

It was a pleasant surprise to find Ultear sound asleep when I returned home, and I sank down on the bed near her feet, preparing to investigate her wounds and keep watch. But the room was so dark and the threats were all gone and I…

I woke up disoriented. I didn't know where I was, what was happening, and for a moment I almost forgot who I was in the first place. Then I felt a lump of a body underneath me and it all came flooding back.

I flew from the bed, where I must've fallen asleep the night before, and staggered backward in surprise.

My shock was only further cemented upon peering at the woman that lay on the bed.

"Ultear! What the hell?!"

The comment caused the woman in question to bolt awake as well, and my eyes to widen in disbelief.

"What, why are you shouting?"

"Your skin," I blurted, and, indeed, her skin was abnormal. Because where there had been blistering burns the night before, there now were great expanses of a healthy pinkish white skin, with little to no scarring.

Her hands moved to her face, and after a moment of confusion, she released a peal of laughter. "Oh, this."

"Why are you laughing? What did you do?" I demanded. "Your hair…"

"It's gray, isn't it?" She inquired, a smile still tugging at her features.

"I—no. Not completely," I replied. "What –"

Ultear rolled her eyes and began removing the bandages that I'd placed on her skin the night before. "I don't see why you're so shocked. You know how the spell works."

"Arc of Time is supposed to kill you, but you didn't die so-"

"So you thought it hadn't succeeded?" She finished, and I nodded. "That's what I thought too, for a while, at least. But upon realizing that I was very much alive, it occurred to me that the side effect is not instant death, but rapid aging that results in an eventual, natural death, thus why I have the graying hair and more obvious wrinkles."

"But you only look like you're forty."

"I'll be looking sixty soon enough, Alexandria," Ultear said, and before I could press her further, opted to change the subject. "Where were you earlier, by the way?"

"Excuse me?"

"I woke up in the middle of the night after a fitful sleep, and I was going to ask you for some more water. But you weren't here."

"Oh," I said, brushing off her comment with a wave of my hand. "I went out to find news of the dragons, and a healer ended up asking me to help the wounded."

"What of the fighting?"

"We won. Apparently the Eclipse Gate was broken and the dragons were sent back to their time," I stated. "No mages died as far as I know. The soldiers weren't as lucky, but they still escaped relatively unscathed, all things considered."

"Anything else?"

"Ul, it was your spell that saved most of them," I retorted, a grin tugging at my lips. "I heard that all at once something like a great premonition came over almost all of the people. For many it was an omen of death, for others it simply served to help guide their attacks and aide their comrades. You saved a lot of lives last night."

"And you saved mine, so I believe if anyone owes anyone anything, it's me," Ultear announced, removing the last of her bandaging and offering me an uncharacteristic smile.

"Well you're in an awfully cheerful mood."

"I guess I'm just happy to be alive."

I narrowed my eyes but didn't push her. "Well, we'll need to be getting back soon. I want to see my friends, and I'm sure you want to see Meredy."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, but, regrettably, I see to have an unfortunate lack of clothing," Ultear deadpanned, and my gaze flitted to the blanket that covered her torso. I nodded.

"I'll see if I can find something."

The house was rather understocked in the way of articles of clothing, and in the end all I was able to scrounge up was a repulsively pink sweater set, complete with a button down turtleneck and knee length tweed skirt.

I returned to the room to find an unimpressed Ultear. "You're joking, right?"

"I thought you said you were going to be sixty?" I teased, a soft smile breaking across my features. "Might as well look the part."

She sighed and I tossed the clothing in her direction before I exited the room to offer her a bit of privacy. The halls were filled with pale yellow wallpaper, decorated with sparse, caricaturesque flowers. I ran my fingers over a bunch of parchment petunias, crinkling my nose in disdain as dust collected on the tips of my fingers.

"What do you think?"

I turned my head, and the visage of Ultear standing in the doorframe, donned in what had to be the most conservative clothing she'd worn in her life, made me snort.

"You look fantastic, grandmother," I retorted, and she rolled her eyes.

"You haven't got much room to talk, Lexie."

"Hey, don't call me that!"

She laughed and ruffled my hair before striding down the hall in front of me. I released a huff of frustration and charged after the woman. Ul was crazier than I was.

Tossing her head over her shoulder, she spoke, "Where're we headed, then? Meredy and Jellal?"

"No, actually," I stated, striding to her side. Ultear inclined a questioning eyebrow, and I shook my head. "I need to see my guildmates—make sure everyone's safe and let them know I'm alright."

"Oh," Ultear muttered. "Then I'll-"

"You'll be coming with me, of course."

She seemed wary of the thought. "Alexandria, are you really sure that's the best idea?"

I scoffed. "Of course I'm sure it's the best idea. When have I ever been wrong?"

"Well…"

"Don't answer. That was a rhetorical question."

"Right, of course it was."

I waved her words away and released a soft laugh. "You know, we haven't had the opportunity to talk in ages?"

"I believe we spoke only a few days ago."

"I meant like the old times, when we used to stay up all night whispering to each other."

"On the few occasions that we didn't detest one another," Ultear remarked, but the ghost of a smile was apparent on her face, regardless of how much she may've wished to mask it.

"Yeah, on those few occasions."

She chuckled and shook her head. "You know, I seem to recall you constantly mentioning some adventure or another you were plotting to go on in the future… Remember when you said you were going to steal a villager's boat and travel the world on it?"

"How could I forget?" I said, my lips quirking up in a smile. "Or the time that I convinced Kain to control that poor bird from Bosco so that I could fly on it?"

"I told you that ostriches couldn't fly, but did either of you listen? No. You just went on your merry way and the damn bird ended up turning on you both."

"And you stepped in to save the day, like you always did."

She rolled her eyes, but the smile was obvious on her face. "You were so annoying. You still are, honestly."

"Love you too, Ul."

We both laughed, and our merriment, mixed with the comfortable warmth that swam through the streets, made for a very content moment. I didn't want to change anything, just wanted to remain like that forever—bruised and brilliant and elated and also maybe a little sad too, but the good kind of sad one thinks of when reminiscing over events that happened lifetimes ago.

"What else was it that we'd talk about?" Ultear asked, and I offered her a resplendent smile.

"Well, you always talked about wanting to have kids one day—said you'd be the best mother the world ever saw."

"Well, that obviously didn't work out," She jeered, and I frowned.

"Ultear, you are one of the best mothers the world's ever seen. Meredy's lucky to have you."

"I was the one who took her away from her family."

"No, Ul. Hades was the one who took her away from her family. You were the one who saved her life," I stated. "How is she, by the way? She looked so happy when I saw her last."

Ultear laughed, the rare smile once again making its appearance. "Meredy's doing fantastic. She's thrived over the past seven years—grown into a wonderful young woman. A bit naïve, but I think I could use a bit of naivety in my life. You know…" Ul hesitated, and I inclined my head, waiting. "I've been doing a lot of thinking recently, and I believe it's about time that she left Crime Soircere."

"What?"

"Meredy's a good person who's done many good things in her life. She deserves a better life—a more wholesome family. The last thing I want is for her to lead the life of an outcast."

"Well, I can tell you right now that the last thing Meredy wants is to lead a life without you," I said, and my words quieted Ultear. The silence preparing to set in was not the good kind of quiet, so I opted to change the subject. "What of the others?"

"Huh?"

"What about…" I hesitated and swallowed hard. "What about our brothers and sisters? Any news of them?"

Ultear sighed a sad, painful sigh, and took a rather liberal pause before she spoke. "Zancrow's dead."

"Dead?"

"Yes, I'm sorry, Alexandria."

I steadied my breathing and shook my head. "No, I—it's alright. You don't need to be sorry, not for me."

"He was like a brother to us, of course I'm sorry."

I shook her off and pressed on. "And the others? Is anyone else dead?"

"I don't know. I've heard rumors of Rustyrose from the dark guilds we've taken care of, all bad things of course. At one point I think he was searching for any artifacts of Zeref he could procure."

I gnawed on my lower lip. "And Kain?" I hesitated, and Ultear noticed.

"You want to know about Azuma," She replied, and the way she said it made it sound like more of a statement than a question. All the same I nodded, and she rolled her eyes. "I never understood what you saw in him. He was so arrogant, so contemptuous."

"And he the only one other than Meredy that still possessed a scrap of humanity."

She was silent for a moment, considering my words. "Did you love him?"

"What?"

"Did you love him—Azuma?" She repeated, knowing as well as I that I'd heard her words the first time. "He loved you. That much was certain." I scoffed and shook my head, causing her to quirk a brow. "What's so funny?"

"He proposed, you know?"

"He what?"

"Yeah, he did. Only a few months before I ran away he said we should get married. Said when we built the new world with Hades we could have our own ceremony, make it official or whatever," I stated, shrugging. My feet scraped against the dusty road we traversed as I recalled distant, fading memories. "Of course, I said no."

"Alexandria, you should've told me…"

"No, I shouldn't have, and I'm glad I didn't," I retorted. "It wasn't your problem. And, to answer your question, I don't know if I ever loved him. I… I think I was just guilty. Guilty that I'd never return the ardent feelings he felt, and guilty that I would use him, because I used everyone then and he just made it too easy. And I was scared too. Scared to settle. Azuma wanted someone to need him, but I wasn't looking for a hero. I was looking for a sword." I shrugged again. "But it's whatever. I don't love him now, and I don't really think about him anymore. I don't feel guilty now, and I don't blame myself for what happened to him. Love destroyed him, yes. But it was his love of power that killed him in the end, not whatever feelings he had for me."

"And what if he walked into your life again? Right now?"

"And what if he did?" I quipped. "I have more important things to worry about than Azuma. Maybe I loved him once, but like I said, I most certainly don't love him anymore."

Ultear seemed pleased by my response, because the proud smile she reserved only for Meredy was plastered across her aging features. "Well said."

We were silent the rest of the way to the inn, the only sounds that accompanied us were the soft slap of our feet hitting the ground and the quieten noise of our breaths against the wind.

A/N: IMPORTANT: I just updated Chapter 25 (in which Laxus fights Alexei) and added in Laxus' POV (which pretty much doubled the length of the chapter). I'd definitely recommend reading it as it's important to Laxus' backstory, his relationship with Xandria, and why he acts the way he does!

Hope you enjoyed Chapter 36! Don't worry, we'll be seeing Laxus in the next chapter, so don't panic too much ;)

As always, R&R!