"Aaaaaaah! Why did she do it!? Why!?"

"I don't know Macao, I really don't"

"I thought we were happy together! We have a son and she just up and left for parts unknown! I don't know what to do!"

"You'll get through Macao, you'll pull through. On the bright side, it can't get much worse than your beloved wife leaving you, can it?"

"Why Enno?! Whhhhhyyyyyyyy?!"

The scene I was greeted with was, while funny, a tragic one all the same. Macao and his wife, Sylvia, had been on the outs for the past year do to a whole slew of issues, but the main ones being that Enno was a lot like Gildarts and was very flighty. She had suddenly decided that she wanted a divorce because she was tired of not being able to do what she wanted because, and I quote, "she didn't think being a mother and wife would be such a ball and chain." The two had been trying to work things out, but apparently, she didn't want to put in the effort because a few days ago she had the signed paperwork on the table and was nowhere to be found.

Wakaba and his wife had been trying to help out Macao by taking in Romeo for a few days so he could pull himself together, but Macao was still in the drunk-and-crying-out-why-every-few-minutes stage of the divorce. I felt bad for him, but at the same time he had a responsibility to his son to pull himself together and make sure Romeo was okay.

Aside from that however, the X781 S-class trials were coming up in a few days and as a result, everyone was now rushing around and trying to complete job requests like crazy in order to be considered as a potential recruit. Which reminded me that I needed to get to a meeting with Master.

Waving to all my friends on my way through, I quickly walked over to one of the rooms in the back of the building and knocked.

"Who is it?"

"It's Zephyr Master. You said to be here at nine o'clock for the meeting."

"Oh Zeph! Come on in, we were actually just waiting on you so we could start the selection process."

Opening the door I walked in and was greeted by the sight of Gildarts, Master and Erza giving me warm greetings and Laxus who scowled in my direction as soon as I stepped inside the room. Looks like he still wasn't over the fact I had knocked him out and won our first S-class trials.

"Alright, now that Zeph is here we can start! Firstly, does anyone have any recommendations as for who should participate in the trials and their reasoning?"

"Cana should go. I know that you said she wasn't ready last year Master, but I've been taking S-class requests for the last four months with my team and she's also increased the power and versatility of her card magic. If she isn't ready now, than I don't know when she will be."

Master seemed to sink into himself in thought at my suggestion before nodding his head, causing me to sag with relief. She had been wanting this chance for a while and she had more than earned it.

"Okay, we have Cana, but we can't have an S-class trial with just one person, can we? Does anyone have any other suggestions on participants?"

This time Erza stepped forward, clearing her throat before she spoke.

"I believe Mirajane should be given a spot in the S-class trials. She's improved rapidly over the last three years she has been here and although we have our… differences, I believe she is capable of handling the next level of jobs."

Master seemed surprised at Erza suggesting Mira as a candidate, but she was right. Despite the two hating each other's guts, Mira was one of the front-runners of our generation. Master nodded after a few moments before writing down on the paper in front of him.

"Alright, I want at least two more names so that there will be at least some sort of challenge beside one stage."

This time Laxus spoke up from the corner where he had been scowling at me the entire time the meeting had been going on, his eyes never ceasing their glare even as he named his candidate.

"Let's send Freed. Whatever he lacks in power right now, he more than makes up for in the versatility of his rune magic. If Sword-user's friend is ready, than Freed definitely is."

That comment caused a wave of irritation to run through me and I glared right back at the prick for suggesting Cana was weaker than his lackey.

"You want to say that again loser? I'll show you how ineffective your training is right fucking now. I'll mop the floor with your stupid face."

The air grew thick with the hostility between the two of us and I waited for the inevitable snap from Laxus, eager to put him down for his insults towards my friend.

"That's enough! If the two of you won't calm down and be civil, I won't let you attend the rest of the meeting. Am I clear?"

"Yes Master."

"Tch, whatever!"

"Anyway, back on track, Freed can take part in the trials this year. Now we just need one more name to get my desired minimum number, anyone?"

No one seemed to have any idea of someone else who was ready for the trials, silence permeating the air as we all wracked our brains for an answer.

"What about Gray?"

We all turned to Gildarts as he explained his reasoning for the surprising choice.

"Well, you and Gray have been taking missions together haven't you Erza?"

"Yes, but I don't think he has the power to meet S-class right now."

"Power isn't everything you know. Look at Zeph, most of his magic is based around technique but he still beat out Laxus for their S-class exam. Power can always come later, but versatility and quick thinking are also just as important, if not more so than power. If he passes, we'll set up a training schedule for him and have a chaperone until we think he can go out on S-class jobs by himself."

While Laxus simmered at the comment about his loss to me, the rest of us thought over Gildarts' suggestion and couldn't really find any fault with the idea, considering he was right. Power could always come later, but creative thinking was just as important.

"Okay, we have our four candidates, now we need to discuss where we are going to have the trials!"

A medley of answers were shot forth ranging from the beach, to an island or something or the other until I had an idea that I thought would work really well.

"What about the desert?"

The talking stopped at my answer but Master motioned for me to go on with what I was saying.

"Well, we keep talking about versatility and creative thinking, so what if we test that during this year's trials by forcing them into a harsh environment. Why don't we tell them where we'll be holding the S-class trials this year, but then change the location to the desert and test them by throwing them into a situation they hadn't prepared for. These types of things happen all the time, so whoever does the best in this test will move on to the next portion of the exams."

"I like that idea! I like that a lot! This year's S-class trials will be in the desert, now what will the actual tests be?"

~x~x~

"Alright brats, listen up! Myself and the S-class mages have decided on who will be taking part in the S-class trials this year. First up, we have Cana Alberona!"

There were a few groans of disappointment, but a smattering of applause as well while Cana herself looked to me where I gave a thumbs up and a wink.

"Second, we have Mirajane Strauss!" Several people winced and a whole lot more groaned at the thought of how unbearable Mira would be if she actually won the trials.

"Ha! Suck it losers, I'm going to be the next S-class mage!"

"Sis! Don't cause any trouble for the rest of the members!"

"Hm! Anyway, the third participant will be Freed Justine! And the last participant will be Gray Fullbuster!"

"What?!"

"Ha! Looks like I'm better than you are flame-brain!"

"You take that back you damn stripper!"

"Shut up!" Master pounded his fist on the two as they attempted to fight after their name calling before going back to normal.

"The location of this years trials will be in the mountains by Clover! Pack up and meet us here tomorrow because we're taking a magic airship! Dismissed!"

As the rest of the guild surrounded the candidates for this year's trial, Cana pushed her way through to Gildarts and I before asking us her question.

"I'm really in the trials? You guys didn't bribe the master did you? I'll hurt you both if you did!"

"No, no! When Master asked for recommendations for the trials Zeph here immediately through in your name along with a bunch of reasons for you to take part in the exams. Master readily accepted his reasoning and you were the first to be added as a participant."

"You recommended me?"

"Of course," I gave her a smile before ruffling her hair, "I know firsthand how much you've been training for this and I want to see you succeed. We've been a team for three years, you're more than capable of wiping the floor with Laxus' ass kisser and all the other candidates!"

Cana seemed pleased at my answer if her smile was anything to go by before she lunged forward and caught me in a tight hug.

"Thank you, Zeph."

"What are friends for Cana?"

"Yeah… friends." She grew a little dejected when I said friends before immediately bouncing back and started running her mouth about all the ideas, she had on how to conquer the other participants.

"Cana, maybe you shouldn't speak your plans out loud where the competition can hear you. You can come over to mine and Sif's place and tell me there."

"Okay!"

For the next few hours, Cana ran her ideas to me before deciding to go pack her bags for the trip while I decided to get some more sleep in before being a proctor for the exams. The next day, I was at the air field of Magnolia bright and early, waiting until Erza showed up as well and the two of us went to the office to rent an airship for Master so that he wouldn't have to do it when he got there.

"So, who do you think has the best chance of becoming S-class this time around?"

"Well, if it was anything else besides a test on creative thinking and versatility, I'd say Mirajane, but since Master took my ideas into consideration and the location, I would have to say either Freed, as much as I hate to admit that, or Cana. The both of them have the most versatility out of the four, and while Gray will be able to keep cool and drink water, the heat will be hell on his magic for extended combat."

"I see what you mean, but I still think Mira will be able to hold on and make it through to the exams second stage."

"She may make it through, but no offense to Mira, she's little more than a demonic wrecking ball right now. The only magic she has in her arsenal right now is satan soul, and she never thinks ahead, only charges in and tries to beat her problems into submission. She's as hard headed as Natsu."

"You may have a point, but I'd like to think there's a brain underneath all that bad attitude and inappropriate clothing."

"Hey you two!" We both turned to see Master strolling up with the rest of the S-class mages in tow.

"What are you guys doing here so early?"

"We decided to rent the airship before Master got here so he didn't have to do it himself, speaking of, here's the paperwork and the key Master."

"Thank you both! Now, before the victims get here, listen up. You already know we'll be taking them to the desert, but they don't know that so keep quiet about it! Second off, look at this."

Master pulled out a map and pointed to the desert section of the map, marking an X in one spot with pen and then another at an oasis about twenty miles to the east of it.

"When I tell you all to, we're going to push them out of the airship and to the desert below after we explain what is going to happen. The first part of the exam is that they have to make it to the oasis within three hours. After that we'll start the second portion, you all understand?"

"Yes Master."

"Indeed!"

"Whatever."

"Good, and it seems like our gallant champions are here now."

The group of four was walking up and I could already tell that some of them were going to have an easier time than the others. While Cana was still in her usual sun dress, with only the addition of leggings and a jacket to go with her boots, and Gray was probably going to strip before all this was said and done, both Freed and Mirajane were going to have a terrible time.

Freed was wearing his red coat that made the temperature go up by ten degrees just looking at it, and was fitted with woolen pants and boots. Mira on the other hand, brought nothing thick or warm and wore her usual revealing clothing. She was going to learn that the desert at night was not as warm as it was during the day.

Once they all lined up, Master ushered all of us on to the airship we had rented and we were taking off within twenty minutes.

After a while, Cana called me over and we began playing card games to pass the time, along with Erza, Gray and Mira while the others all went to do their own thing.

"So, you guys going to give us any hints as to what we should expect on this trip."

"No, I can't think of anything. Can you Erza?"

"That's strange, me neither. Must be something in the water."

The three others groaned at our answers before Cana got a devious look.

"Well, if we're going to the mountains how come you didn't bring Sif along. You always take her with you unless the environment would be bad for her."

"She caught some deer last night, but she got sick so I think it might have had a bug or something. I left her with Polyruscia in order to make sure she was okay."

Did I feel bad for playing on Cana's soft spot for the loyal pup, a little. But lying a little with a valid excuse was better than having her figure out that we weren't taking the group where we had told them we were. But saying Sif was sick brought me whole other slew of problems in the form of mother hen Cana.

"What, she's sick? Why didn't you stay with her!? Did you give her a good blanket? What about plenty of water?" If there was one thing that could get Cana to act out of character, it was her love for the wolf.

Pretty soon, we were coming up on the location that Master had marked on the map and he called us all to the open bay doors of the airship.

"Alright, so in all honesty we lied to the lot of you and the real location of the exam is the desert. Your goal is to reach the oasis twenty miles east of here in under three hours. The first three who make it will move on to the second stage of the exam and the last will be forced to watch as their friends move on. Now!"

We all moved behind the person we recommended for the exams and pushed them out of the bay doors to the sand about twenty feet below us. Mira slowed her descent by flying with satan soul, Freed used his runes, Cana summoned wind and Gray made a slide with his ice-make magic.

As we all watched them descend, there was only one thought that went through our minds.

"I've got twenty jewels on Cana being the first person to make it there and another thirty on Gray getting there second."

"Ha! You wish! I got fifty on Freed beating all those losers by an hour."

"The hell did you just call my daughter?!"

The gambling continued while we all kept a bird's eye view on what was going on beneath us. Mira had chosen to fly and so had Freed, but the two hadn't thought about the heat and had to take breaks to cool off every so often. On the other hand, Cana and Gray had chosen to work together in order to make it to the goal. Cana was using her magic to either make water or make a cooling breeze while Gray had been smart and made a floor for them to walk on so that they didn't waste energy trudging through the sand.

"I'll take my jewels now if you all don't mind." My cheeky response caused all the others to glare at me.

"It's not over until it's over!"

"They've still got this; they cover a lot of ground since they can fly!"

Unfortunately for them, my prediction was extremely accurate and at the end of two and a half hours Cana strolled into the oasis with Gray trailing behind her, the two sporting smug looks as they looked back at Mira and Freed both flying to cross the end line.

"Move Freed! I'm going to be S-class!"

"No! I must show that Laxus' faith in me was not misplaced!"

The two fought each other in mid air in order to get a lead, wasting more energy than was necessary, but in the end, Mira crossed just a few seconds before Freed did and secured the third spot in the second part of the exams.

"Alright! The three moving on to the next part of the exams will be Cana, Gray and Mirajane. Now, you all get an eight-hour break."

The group cheered while Master gained a devious look on his face and announced the twist.

"The catch is that it's about to become nighttime and we have all of your guys supplies on the ship, which none of you can get back on until we say so. Your second part of the exam is to either get your bag from the ship or to survive the night without anything but your magic and the clothes on your back… or lack of clothes if you're Gray."

"Dammit!"

"You aren't allowed to help each other, and the ship will be guarded by an S-class mage, with the guard changing every two hours until the eight hours are up. Begin!"

I volunteered for the first watch and took my seat at the foot of the airship while watching the three winners set to work, the daylight fading almost as soon as I sat down and the temperatures reaching freezing.

Gray… literally just sat there and went to sleep. His training for ice-make magic made him unusually prepared for this challenge so surviving the night in freezing temperatures really wasn't that hard for him.

On the other hand, Cana just took out one of her cards and used it to start a fire, sitting by it and stoking the flames every so often to make sure it stayed lit before snuggling up in the jacket she brought. Unless the fire went out, she was pretty much set.

And then there was Mirajane, which brought me a sort of sick and twisted amusement as she realized her mistake. She was wearing super skimpy clothes and had no supplies like a sleeping bag unless she got past me so she sat there shivering, every time she looked at me and seemed like she was going to risk it I leaked magic pressure until she changed her mind and continued this for the rest of my shift until Gildarts came over and tapped my shoulder.

"Two hours are up, try and get some sleep for tomorrow."

"You got it man."

I closed my eyes and pretty soon I was woken by the sounds of combat. I immediately jumped up assuming the worst but calmed down when I saw who it was the had made the noise.

Erza was the last shift of all of us, and apparently that was exactly what Mirajane had been waiting for in order to pass the test. Unfortunately for Mirajane, she had spent the whole night waiting and staying awake, so while we had all taken turns sleeping, she was about as fresh as a wilted flower. Lacking energy to do much more than exist.

"Circle Sword!"

"Gah!"

And that was match. Erza struck Mirajane hard enough that she flew back into the water of the oasis and skipped across the surface before landing on the other side. The other two were just watching with amusement as Mirajane struggled to get up again before collapsing.

"All right kiddos, the eight hours are up! Who should get to move on to the last stage of the S-class trials?"

"Cana and Gray."

"Cana and Gray."

"Do you really need to ask?"

"Okay Cana and Gray, the two of you are moving on to the last stage of the S-class exams. Now the last stage is to answer an important question. What was our goal here by taking you guys to a completely different location than what was planned before? Gray?"

"Um… ah! To test our survival skills since we might be out in the field for months at a time on missions and the like."

"Close, but that isn't the answer that we're looking for right now. What about you Cana?"

Gray began to sulk about not getting the question right while Cana began to think deeply and was furrowing her brow.

"Well, each test forced me to think of and use my magic in a way I hadn't really thought of before. First it was getting through the desert to this oasis, than it was to just survive the night with my magic. It really made me have to think smaller and outside what I would have to usually do so… it was to test my problem-solving abilities. Sometimes things go wrong and need different solutions than what I would usually do like brute force it."

Master seemed to grow more serious by the second which made Cana nervous before breaking out into a wide grin and nodding his head.

"That's right! One of the most important aspects of being an S-class mage is their ability to think creatively, especially in tough situations where the only thing you can rely n is your magic. Congrats on the promotion Cana!"

There was a light applause from everyone before Gildarts rushed forward and began swinging Cana around in his arms.

"Oh, I knew you could do it! Daddy's little girl is the strongest and smartest of this years candidates and I couldn't be prouder!"

"Let go you stupid old man! You're smothering me!"

We all laughed, but I secretly knew that Cana was enjoying the attention that Gildarts was showering her with.

"All right, since that's all over and done with, lets get back on the ship and head to to the guild. We have a promotion to celebrate!"

"Alright!"

"Party time!"

~x~x~

"Hough!" The sound of someone else vomiting after a rough night of drinking echoed out into the guild from the bathrooms while Cana and I sat at the bar with Sif at our feet, the she-wolf enjoying a rib eye that I'd brought from the fridge in the guild's kitchen.

"You know, for a guild so focused on having a good time and partying, no one can really hold their liquor that well. You'd think that they would have built up a tolerance by now."

"What can I say but that not everyone can have an iron liver like mine!"

"That too! The legal drinking age is fifteen yet you hold your liquor better than anyone else. You just started being able to drink like six months ago… actually, I don't want to know what illegal shenanigans you get up to when I'm not around. The less I know, the better off I'll be when the magic knights show up at my door."

"Ha! They would have to catch me first. Besides, we both know that you would hide me before ever letting the magic knights get their hands on this fine piece of meat."

Sif's head shot up at the mention of meat and we both laughed before I tossed her another steak to chew on.

"So, how does it feel to finally be on the same level as yours truly? You going to leave our team and go off on your own, the lone wolf?"

"I think we both know I still have a bit of catching up to do before I can consider myself at your level, besides what was our motto again? 'When the snows fall and the white wind blows, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives.' Face it, you and Sif are going to be stuck with me for the rest of your lives."

"That doesn't sound too bad actually."

And it didn't. Cana had always been my closest friend in the guild since we had joined in the same year and we spent a lot of time together, especially once we became an official team. Every job, every fight, every training session, for the past three years we had just been one tightly knit unit.

"You're right, it doesn't." Suddenly, her hand was in mine and her fingers with interlocked with my own.

"Cana?" She had been doing this a lot lately, randomly showing signs of affection before laughing it off as friendly gestures.

"Just be quiet for minute. I need to think for a minute."

"Okay."

So, silence was what she got, the only sound being the occasional drunken mumble or someone getting up to go and puke in the bathroom. Typical, peaceful noises that were common in the guild hall. The silence continued for a while longer before Cana spoke again.

"We've been through a lot these last nine years, haven't we?"

"Yeah, we have. First there was Sif, then there was that one mission in Clover when we destroyed the clients house."

"Ha! Remember how she threatened to tell Master, but she didn't believe us when we said that our guildmates did worse on the daily."

"Hm, and when Master laughed in her face when she started complaining?"

"Oh, that was the best!"

The conversation went from there as we discussed past missions and the trouble we had got in and the fun we had had.

"Don't you kind of wish we could sometimes go back and live it all again?"

"As long as I end up back here, then I think I could go for it… hey Cana?"

"Yeah?"

"My past before coming to the guild kind of sucked, but in a way I'm a little grateful that it led me to the guild where I met you and everyone else."

I meant it. Losing my life, being reborn as Zephyr Halliwell, being run out of my village by bandits, for a while I had wondered why I had been sent here. What my purpose was, but the past seventeen years made me realize it was to be here and protect my friends. I would bleed before anyone touched my new family.

"So, thanks. You guys all got me off the dark path I was headed down and I couldn't be more grateful for it."

She didn't speak, but she squeezed my hand and seemed to be deep in thought about something.

"Zeph?"

"What's up?"

And then she kissed me.

It wasn't long, but she stayed pressed against me for about a minute before pulling away and seemingly realizing what she had done.

"Oh geez, I'm sorry! Let's just blame it on the alcohol, I don't know what came over me but…"

I pulled her in again before she could apologize, this time I initiated the kiss, both of us moving our lips in sync and I could feel her breath on the side of my face. It was longer this time before I pulled away and grinned.

"Don't be sorry."

"When did you get so corny?"

"Just now actually, but be careful. It might be contagious."

"I'll take my chances."

We moved in again and the night was perfect.

~x~x~

Holy shit! Three days and three chapters, I am really on point lately. Really, they just kept coming out of my desire to get to canon. Hope the last part of the chapter was decent and doesn't feel rushed, but I really wanted to have Zephyr and Cana get together before the main story line happened and I didn't want to get lazy and go and be like "it happened off screen!" to you guys. On another note, I decided that this was going to be the last prologue chapter instead of chapter ten because the plot I had in mind originally revolved around the Strauss siblings taking the Beast King quest… but then I realized that by having Cana become the S-class mage in X781 because of the butterfly effect that Mira wouldn't be qualified to take the quest and threw that potential chapter out of the window. Instead of what I had originally planned, there is going to be a brief overview of some of the things that happened in the three years between this chapter and canon. I'm also not sure if anyone picked it up, but the whole idea behind the S-class trials this time around was based off the tests that Bumi gave Aang in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Greatest cartoon ever and no one can change my mind, so excited because it is apparently being put on Netflix on May 15th. Anyway, I felt that the lesson of thinking outside the box was something that would be more important to be S-class than power, especially since that's the route I'm trying to send Zeph down since he himself is a technique-based fighter. I hope it turned out okay and that the ending was written well, so until next time; favorite, follow, and review with constructive criticism!"

*5/13/2020 Updated because it was pointed out to me that Macao's wife's name was Enno. I legitimately had no idea so I went back and fixed it after making sure that it was true. Thank you to the people who pointed that out to me.