It was almost noon as the Thunder God Tribe filed in for the grand re-opening of the Fairy Tail guild building. As they walked through the doors, they could see that the place was packed with nearly every other member of the guild, all eating and drinking at the tables, socializing with each other. But the three of them had no time for such things. They were here for the Master's message and nothing more.

By some miracle they found a small table in the corner that was unoccupied, likely due to how far it was from the rest of the seating. They received many surprised looks as they took their seats, but none dared to approach Laxus's most trusted, and thus continued on with their previous discussions. Only two appeared to immediately reach their table. An orange-haired woman and black-haired woman, with matching-colored uniforms.

"Wow, I can't remember the last time I've seen you three here!" Juliet said as excited as always.

"It has been roughly a half-year since they last visited, as far as I am aware." Heine replied in a much more reserved tone. "Is there anything we can get for you?"

"Hello Juliet, Heine." Freed greeted the two equally politely. The two women had served in Fairy Tail's guild hall for years, joining alongside Irene and Erza. From what anyone could gather they were assistants to the currently missing Wizard Saint, but anything beyond that was a mystery. The most noticeable feature about them was how they haven't appeared to age a day since he joined. "We're fine as is. We're just here for the Master's announcement."

"Ah… That's a shame. I wanted to catch up with you more." Juliet pouted, before Heine tugged on her ear. "Owowow!"

"We have plenty of other work to do, you can socialize later." Heine said seriously, before turning back to Freed. "You three are just in time then. I say the master getting prepared behind stage a minute ago."

"Thanks, you two." Freed said as Heine dragged Juliet off towards another table. He looked around the room and found a lot of his guildmates suddenly looking pointedly away from him.

"Seems we've attracted a lot of attention." Bickslow said quietly, instead of his usual boisterous self. He must have been feeling self conscious about the sudden attention.

"Oh, don't mind them. They're simply in awe of our majesty, after all." Evergreen replied with a flick of her hair. She did appear to have trouble looking out at the rest of the guild though, examining her nails aimlessly instead. Eventually she glanced up for a moment though, scanning her eyes until she spotted Lisanna conversing with Natsu. Their eyes met, and Evergreen could immediately notice an improvement in how the Take-Over Mage looked since yesterday. Lisanna let out a nod, and Evergreen returned before going back to her nails.

"Yeah, isn't that right, my babies?" Bickslow said with a gesture to the dolls behind him, only to find they weren't there at all. "What the-?!" He quickly scanned the room for them, only to spot them crowding around Juvia like yesterday. Gajeel and Rogue, who had been talking to her, looked on edge at the dolls' appearance, but Juvia just patted them as she had yesterday. As they let out a cheer, the other two calmed down, simply looking confused at the display.

"Looks like you have competition now." Freed let out a chuckle. He had never seen Bickslow's dolls go out of their way to see someone. That woman must be quite special.

"Oh, quiet you." Bickslow groaned at his friends teasing. As the five totems flew back to their owners' side, he straightened up suddenly. "Looks like they brought back a new friend. Head's up!"

"What-?!" Freed ducked his head just in a time as a pink blur flew over it and towards Bickslow's totems. When he looked back up, he could see it was the same cat-like creature he had seen yesterday. They floated around the totems, trying to grab the dolls as they scrambled about.

"Frosch! Stop that!" Rogue shouted as he ran up to their table. "It's rude to fly around after people's things like that, especially when it's so busy. You could hurt yourself."

"Frosch is sorry…" They said in shame, floating back down into Rogue's arms.

"It's good to see you again, Rogue, Frosch." Freed greeted the two. He could see as Rogue's companion looked at him in confusion.

"Has Frosch met you?"

"This is the person I told you I met in the library while you were napping. The one who's friends with Laxus." Rogue reminded them. Their eyes lit up in recognition.

"Ah, Frosch remembers!"

"I knew you would!" Rouge said with a nod, looking up to Freed. "Sorry about that. Frosch can get a little excited around other things that can fly."

"It's fine. A little excitement was expected after being away for so long." Freed reassured Rogue, waving off his concern. He noticed that the boy still looked upset over something though. "Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing, it's just that Gajeel got hurt pretty bad yesterday." Rogue revealed, not noticing the Thunder God Tribe all freeze at the Dragon Slayer's name. "He said he got injured on the job, but I overheard what job he took. There's no way he got those injuries while working. I'm just worried for him is all…"

The three were all silent for a moment. As Laxus had predicted, Gajeel hadn't told anyone the truth on how he got injured. As much as it pained Freed, there was no way he could tell Rogue that it was Laxus that injured him. Eventually, Freed let out a cough into his hand.

"Well, you said he's a Dragon Slayer, right? I'm sure he will be fine. I've seen Natsu shrug off more than any ordinary man could take with ease." Freed said, trying to calm Rogue down. The younger mage nodded slowly.

"I suppose you're right" Rogue eventually agreed, letting out a sigh. He decided to change the topic with a grin. "I suppose you three are here for the announcement. What do you think it is? There hasn't been one yet since I joined."

"The Master is probably just trying to get everyone back in the spirits for the Fantasia Festival next week." Bickslow said, happy to have changed topics. "Everyone's still probably all antsy about what happened with Phantom Lord. Err, no offence kid."

"None taken. Honestly, I'm just glad they let us all help still, after everything." Rogue said, looking back at the rest of the guild proudly. As he did, the other three followed his gaze, and saw everyone hanging out, drinking, and partying. It was… satisfying. None of them had seen another Fairy Tail Mage in almost half a year, and for all of them to be in one room was almost too much for the Thunder God Tribe to handle. As they watched their guildmates, Rogue turned back to them. "Hey Freed, do you want to meet Gajeel?"

"What?"

"You haven't been back for a while, right? How about meeting him for the first time? And the others that joined recently, while you're at it!" Rogue gave him a pleading look, and Freed had trouble resisting the kids request. He knew that he shouldn't, that if Laxus found out he would be on the receiving end of one of his leader's rants for an hour. But a part of him really did want to meet the new guildmates. "I suppose a quick chat wouldn't hurt. At least until the Master's announcement."

"Wait, Freed?! We have a job to-" Evergreen began frantically, interrupting herself just in time. "I mean… Are you sure?"

"It's just a greeting or two. Besides, learning more about our fellow guildmates will be important for the future, won't it?" Freed said knowingly to his friends. It was a poor excuse, but he wasn't particularly worried about his friends tattling on him to Laxus.

"Err, I guess?" Bickslow replied lamely. "It's no skin off our back, right Evergreen?"

"If we must." Evergreen said with a huff, stealthily glancing towards Lisanna's group.

But before they could approach anyone, the lights in the room began to dim, and the stage lit up. Makarov stood there, waiting for the rest of the guild to calm down from their parting. As everyone slowly quieted, he looked somberly at his guild. It was an unusual look for the perpetually cheerful elder, but he quickly pepped himself up as he began to speak.

"I'm so happy to see so many of you here for the grand re-opening of our wonderous guild building. I know how much all of you sweat in order to get this place ready before the festival, and it fills this old man's heart to see you all working together after recent events." Makarov looked around the room again. Freed swore he saw his face twitch in surprise as it passed him and his friends. "I'm also proud of you all for being so accepting of those willing to turn over a new leaf. I know it must have been strange, but I hope you've seen that actions speak louder than words.

Freed heard a surprising number of cheers and affirmation at Makarov's words. He was clearly referring to the Phantom Lord members. He could see Gajeel and Juvia looking surprised by the sudden attention, and Rogue was very unsubtly trying to hide behind him.

Scanning the room for Team Shadow Gear, he could see Jet and Droy looking down at the ground in shame, with Levy giving them both a pitying look. She clearly wasn't as interested at getting back at Gajeel as they were if her reaction was anything to go by.

"But as we prepare for this years Fantasia, I can't help but think back to the first time I had organized it some forty-eight years ago. I have been Guild Master of Fairy Tail for almost half a damn century, and to see how much this guild has grown each year, to see the crowds grow bigger, is my greatest pride." Makarov let out a sigh. "Which is why it pains me to tell you that this will be my last year organizing the Fantasia."

There was an uproar from the crowd at Makarov's words. Even Freed himself had to stop from gasping at the statement. The Guild Master loved organizing Fantasia, why would he suddenly decide to stop? It couldn't be for his health, or he would have stopped decades ago, so why? Makarov eventually raised a hand, and everyone reluctantly quieted.

"I understand this may come as a shock to you all, but this is not the announcement I have called you here today. The main reason I will not be organizing Fantasia after this year is because it is traditionally the responsibility of the Guild Master to do so."

'No…' Freed stared in shock as the words registered in his mind. A growing silence followed as everyone in Fairy Tail realized what their Master was implying.

"I have led you all for so long, and I will always view you as my precious children. But it's a new era now, and you all deserve to have someone more appropriate for the current times at the helm."

The rest of the Thunder God Tribe began to sweat as their fears were slowly confirmed. Freed closed his eyes and began frantically letting out a silent prayer. 'Anyone but him! Please, let it be anyone but that man!'

"That's right! This years Fantasia will be not only to celebrate the guild, but the inauguration of your fourth Guild Master!"

Freed heard the sound of the stage curtains sweeping aside, and when he peaked open his eyes, he saw the one person he didn't want to be standing proudly next to Makarov.

"Starting after the Fantasia I, Jellal Fernandes, shall be your Guild Master!" The blue-haired man declared. He was wearing a much more regal looking coat, like the one Makarov wore on official business. It made the man look far older and mature than Freed knew he really was.

As the crowd erupted into cheers and cries, they began to move towards the stage. With everyone's attention drawn forwards, Freed wordlessly turned on his heels and made haste for the doorway. He blew through the open doorway, nearly knocking over a small blonde child peering through it.

"Sorry." Freed said politely, but not even sparing a glance back at the child as he kept putting distance from the guild. His mind was racing as he went over the announcement in his head. His breathing grew erratic. What did this mean for Laxus's plan? Evergreen and Bickslow quickly caught up to him, and began peppering him with questions.

"What are we supposed to do now?!" Bickslow frantically asked.

"I don't know."

"What do we tell Laxus?!" Evergreen questioned in the same tone.

"I don't know!"

"What about the plan-"

"I don't fucking know, okay?!" Freed said with a shout, turning to his team behind him with a panicked look. He tried to calm his breathing as the other two stared in shock at his lost composure. "What we're going to do," he said through a shaking breath. "Is go tell Laxus as soon as possible."

"What?!" Evergreen flinched back. "But how do you think he's going to react when he hears what we have to say?"

"Probably better than if he heard it from someone else." Freed replied darkly, thinking back to their leaders encounter with Gajeel and Team Shadow Gear. "And he will hear about it eventually. Half of Magnolia will probably know by the end of today."

"I guess you're right. I just hope he doesn't do anything too crazy once he hears about it." Bickslow said.

Evergreen nodded frantically. "Yeah… I mean, you know how he gets about that man."

Freed held his tongue as he turned to continue back to Laxus's abode. His leader seemed to have passed that line ages ago. He wanted to follow the man without question, but he was finding it harder and harder to do so.

"I'm counting on you to keep Laxus from acting to much like a fool, Freed."

He thought back to the request Master Makarov had asked of him so long ago. He thought about the game Laxus had come up with, the one that he himself had helped set up. He had tried to talk Laxus out of it so many times, but he always found some way to convince himself to continue. Laxus had said this was best for Fairy Tail, but…

'I'm sorry Master, but I don't know what to do anymore. No matter what I try, I'll let someone I respect down. How am I supposed to choose?'


Rogue had been trying to follow the Thunder God Tribe during their sudden exit, but stopped himself at the door as Freed barreled past a blonde boy his own age, knocking him to the ground. Something about the boy was familiar, and Rogue felt his attention change from the Thunder God Tribe to him.

"Sorry." Freed said apologetically, but not stopping as his team quickly disappeared into the busy streets of Magnolia. That really surprised Rogue, as Freed seemed to usually be so polite and caring, from what he'd seen. Rogue quickly ran up and offered the blonde a hand instead.

"Hey are you okay, Sting?" Rogue asked as the boy gripped his hand. He looked Rogue in the eyes finally as he was pulled to his feet.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Rogue." The boy responded gratefully, before they both froze, still holding each other's hand. The boy, Sting, according to Rogue's mind, suddenly paled. "Wait, how did you know my name? How did I know your name?!"

"I… I don't know." Rogue admitted. He couldn't help but think back to the first time he had ran into Gajeel at Phantom Lord. How he had been drawn towards the man before even being told by anyone he was a Dragon Slayer, and how the man himself reacted after getting a peek under his hood.

"Huh? are you… Rogue?"

"Wha-?! N-No, it's, umm… Ryos?"

"Sorry, but I have to go!" Sting cried suddenly, ripping his hand from Rogue's grip, and running away from him. Rogue stared as he disappeared, but eventually began to chase after him, disappearing into shadows until he was within Sting's. Sting ran for a couple blocks, before turning into a nearby park. He eventually sat on one of the park benches and tried to catch his breath.

"Hey Sting! You're back already?" A creature just like Frosch floated down from a nearby tree, but with red fur with a blue vest. "You only left a couple minutes ago. Don't tell me you chickened out?"

"Of course not Lector! You know I would never run away from a challenge!" Sting replied proudly, but Rogue knew he wasn't being entirely honest from within his shadow. "I just showed up at a bad time is all. They had just announced a new Guild Master, and everyone was freaking out over that."

"Ah, so that's it! You didn't want to upstage their own Guild Master by joining!" Lector said in an understanding voice. "You're real smart Sting. I wouldn't be nearly as humble."

"Yeah well, you know me. Humility is a strength in itself and all that." Sting said with a laugh as he glanced away from his friend, clearly not wanting to correct the feline companion. Rogue felt bad for eavesdropping, and planned to leave the two friends to themselves. But before he could, a familiar voice cried out into the park.

"Rogue?" Frosch cried, floating through the park towards Sting and Lector. They floated down to the two. "Hi there! Have you seen Rogue?"

"Huh? Who's that? And wait, who are you?!" Lector asked back.

"I'm Frosch! Rogue's my friend!" Frosch replied.

"Sorry, Frosch. I only saw your friend at the guild. I don't know why he would be here." Sting explained to Frosch, who looked confused at him.

"But he ran after you? I even saw him go into your shadow!" Frosch declared.

Busted

As Lector and Sting both turned to look at the boy's shadow, Rogue slowly came out of the darkness with a sheepish look on his face. Lector jumped up into the air with a flap of his wings as Sting just stared.

"Um, sorry. I didn't mean to stalk you or anything. I just wanted to talk to you more." Rogue said, glancing shyly up at Sting. Frosch quickly floated over to him and landed in his arms.

"Woah, that was… equally cool and creepy. I didn't even know you were there." Sting said, surprisingly not upset at being followed.

"Thanks, I guess?" Rogue decided to take it as a compliment. "So… I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but you want to join Fairy Tail?"

"Y-You heard that part?!" Sting exclaimed in surprise. "I mean, I do, it's just…"

Rogue raised an eyebrow at Sting's sudden hesitance to talk, but noticed him glancing over at his feline companion, who appeared to be hanging on his every word. Silently piecing together his worry, Rogue reached into his pocket and dropped some coins into Frosch's paws. "Hey Frosch, how about you bring Lector to that stand with the fish-shaped cookies that Happy showed us yesterday?"

"Frosch would love to. Come on!" Frosch said, hopping out of his arms and suddenly dragging a sputtering Lector off to the other end of town. As they disappeared, Rogue took a seat on the bench next to Sting.

"That should keep them busy for a while." Rogue said knowingly, glancing at a silent Sting, who stared at him for a few moments, before letting out a sigh.

"…Thanks. I just didn't want to let Lector down. I told him when I came back it would be as a member of Fairy Tail, so when I didn't, I wasn't sure what to say." Sting explained, looking in the direction his friend had gone. "I wanted to join the guild and be just like Natsu, but when I saw him in the crowd, I got cold feet."

"Natsu?" Rogue looked at his new acquaintance quizzically. The Fire Dragon Slayer was well known to any member of the guild, but he rarely made an impression on any publications. Well, besides the Council's damage reports, if he had to guess. "Well, he is really cool. But I don't see why he would have a problem with someone like you joining?"

"You don't know that!" Sting suddenly shouted. He turned away, scrunching up his face as a mix of emotions crossed it. "If he found out who I really was, he'd hate me!"

Rogue felt that the words were familiar, and he stared at Sting with an analytical look. After a few moments, he believed he figured out what the boy was talking about. "You're like me, aren't you?"

"W-What is that supposed to mean?" Sting replied confrontationally.

"You're a Dragon Slayer as well, aren't you?" Rogue asked, receiving a shocked look from Sting. "Let me guess, you also have a Lacrima in you from your parent." The flinch across Sting's paling face was all the answer he needed.

"H-How do you know that?" Sting asked as he listened to Rogue in complete shock.

"Because I'm in the same boat as you." Rogue revealed, giving Sting a sympathetic look. "Skiadrum was sickly, but he always took care of me. Despite all of that, I remember one day waking up alone with the memories of killing him."

"Wait, it happened to you too?" Sting said in confusion.

"Yeah, and it probably happened the same day too. July 7, X777, when everyone else's Dragons disappeared." Rogue explained what he had heard from the other Dragon Slayers.

"The same day?! But that's… That can't be a coincidence!" Sting shouted. "And wait, everyone else's? How many people like us have you met?"

"Five, counting us. There's Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy." Rogue listed of the names. "They're not even the only Dragon Slayers in the guild, but Juvia can only use Dragon Slayer Magic due to a lacrima she got somewhere."

Sting was still reeling from everything that had been dropped on him. "Wait, you know someone else with a Dragon Slayer lacrima?"

"Yeah, and she was pretty confident in the fact that a Dragon Slayer lacrima doesn't have to kill a Dragon to be created." Rogue said. "Don't you think it's weird that we would kill our parents for no reason, and that it happened on the very same day that the others disappeared?"

"Are you trying to say that… I didn't kill Weisslogia?" Sting asked in disbelief.

"I'm saying there's a chance. Until I figure out the truth of what happened, I'm willing to hold out hope." Rogue said confidently. He was going to find out what happened to their parents with Natsu, no matter what.

"But what if you're wrong!" Sting shouted back frantically. "What if it turns out I really did kill him! What then? What would Natsu think?!"

Rogue just gave him a warm smile. "They would probably still accept you anyways. At least, that's what they told me." Sting looked conflicted for a moment, but eventually he began to tear up. As he began to cry, Rogue looked around frantically trying to figure out what to do. Only one thing came to mind though, and he threw his arms around the boy next to him. "I-It's okay…"

They sat together on the bench for a while, until Sting finally stopped crying. Once he quieted down, Rogue awkwardly let go of him. Sting was looking down at the ground now, deep in thought. Rogue figured that he would probably want some time to himself and slowly got up from the bench.

"Well, I'll suppose I should get going-"

Rogue stopped as he felt a tug on his hand. Looking back, he saw Sting gripping it again. He looked up at Rogue, cheeks flushed. "Um, I know it's asking a lot, but… Could you ask your Master if I can join Fairy Tail?"

"I have a better idea." Rogue said, pulling his new friend up to his feet. "How about we go together, and you can ask him yourself?"

Sting quickly brightened up, finally giving a confident smile like the one he had given Lector earlier. But Rogue could tell it wasn't just false bravado this time. "That sounds great!"


"THAT BASTARD!"

Laxus let out another cry as he hurled the glass in his hand at the wall behind the cowering Thunder God Tribe. It flew past Freed's head and shattered into pieces, staining the wall with blood red wine. The rest of his room was in a similar state of destruction, with broken chairs and tables littering the floor.

"I knew that worm had gotten into my grandfather's head, but I didn't think he'd be daring enough to try this!" Laxus shouted as he paced around his room with the furor of a wild animal. "To think I ever showed that faker any pity…"

Freed took the chance while Laxus trailed off to attempt an interjection. "Laxus, sir-"

"What?" Laxus's head turned on him like a predator tracking prey, but Freed managed to continue through the glare.

"Should we call off the plan?" Freed dared to suggest, receiving horrified looks from his companions. "I-If the Master has already handed the title to someone else, then there's no point in continuing with our game, right?"

"I do hope you're joking Freed. I would never give up my rightful title to a thief like him." Laxus spat out, as he stalked towards his allies, producing a collective gulp from them. "Besides, there's no need to change our plans at all, is there? You sure what you told me were Gramps' exact words?"

"Y-Yes, sir." Freed squeaked out as his commander leaned over him, his breath smelling of alcohol.

"Then you know that he won't be in charge until after the festival, and our plan starts during it. We'll be able to force Gramps to give over the title before it officially gets handed over." Laxus explained as he walked over to the tipped over wine bottle lying next to his couch, taking a swig directly from what was left of it. He knew his grandfather loved the Fantasia, and wouldn't stand to not oversee it for one more time. "Keep putting things together as scheduled. I'll come up with something special for that would-be, and his weak little friends as well."

The Thunder God Tribe stood there in silence, and eventually Laxus whirled around to face them with mad eyes, face flushed from either the yelling or the wine. "Well, don't just fucking stand there! Get going already!"

"Of course, Laxus!" Freed said, as the three nearly scampered out of his house. As the door shut behind them, Laxus finally let out a sigh. He ran his free hand over the scar along his right eye, thinking about the one who gave it to him.

"I was just trying to protect my family…"

"You've done nothing but ruin my family, you snake!"

Laxus went to take another swig from the bottle, but nothing came out. He investigated the bottle, and seeing it was empty, chucked it across the room, breaking into piece on his kitchen floor. No matter what he did, he could feel his anger growing. Sparks flew off him, trailing across the room with black scars and shorting out the lights. He didn't care though, as only one thing was on his mind.

'Jellal Fernandes… everyone may think you as some golden child, but I know what you really are! Once my little game is over, everyone will see the truth of who you are, and I'll reclaim my rightful place as Guild Master. You'll pay for everything you've done, for poisoning my own grandfather against me and my dad! By the end of this week, I will beat you!'

Next Chapter: A Little Spark and Star