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Chapter 127

The Lost Seven Years

For the next few hours or so, we celebrated our return from Tenrou Island with a massive party to make up the seven years. There was drinking, good food, dancing, and even singing. I can't remember the last time everyone partied so hard. I felt good being back home, but, some part of me couldn't help but feel a bit bad for Macao and the others. They were waiting for us for seven years for us to come back, and given their circumstances, they must have gone through hell. However, I was a bit relieved that they were still around despite Fairy Tail now being so small in a tavern outside of Magnolia.

As everyone partied on, I spent my time watching while drinking away at a mug of water, of which I hadn't had in a long time since I got to Tenrou Island. After a while, I felt the need to get some fresh air, so I quietly left the party going outside. It was already nightfall, Magnolia ablaze with lights, and a soft breeze blowing through the area. As I observed Magnolia, I could see the guildhall from where I stood, which was the only dark building in Magnolia. To me, I was just there a day ago before all of the craziness with Grimoire Heart started happening. Now it was nothing more but an empty building that stayed like that for seven years.

It made me wonder if anything else happened during the seven years. Not to mention that I was wondering how Finn, Master, and Sieri were getting along. Hopefully, everything was going alright with those three, and nothing horrible happened. Not to mention the fact that for some reason, the other members of Fairy Tail seem to claim that I was there with them seven years ago and disappeared. It seemed that along with the burden of being gone for seven years, more puzzling questions, as well as possible problems, seemed to arise.

Then at that moment, I heard the sound of the tavern's doors opening, causing me to turn around, and I could see Elfman and Natsu standing there.

"Hey! Willy! What are you doing standing around out here?!" called out Natsu.

"Come on back in! You're missing out on the manliest party ever!" added Elfman.

"I'll be right there!" I called back. "Just give me a few seconds!"

And Natsu and Elfman went back inside. I couldn't help but let a smile tug at my cheeks.

"Come on, Willy. Now isn't the time to be getting worried. I'll start asking questions tomorrow when everything settles down. In the meantime, I should enjoy the time I have right now. After all, there's a reason to celebrate."

I then walked back inside the tavern to rejoin the party, which went on all night long.

The next day, after dealing with the cleanup, I was outside helping Kinana with some of the chores along with Mira, Elfman, and Lisanna. The girls were picking berries from the bushes that grew around here, while Elfman went to the chicken coop to collect the eggs. As for me, I was helping fix the Fairy Tail sign by putting the L back into place using my wings, while Max supervised.

"Is this alright, Max?" I called to him.

"No, a little bit more to the right," Max called back.

I then turned it to the right. "How about now?"

Max gave me a thumbs up. "Yeah! That's perfect!"

And while having a couple of nails and a hammer, I hammered the L into place. After I finished, I dispersed my wings and landed back on the ground.

"Now that looks a little better," Max said, as he admired my handwork. "Thanks for doing that, Willy. Having that L sag a little bit bugged me. I'm just surprised no one's bothered to fix that until now."

"Well, I'm happy to help, Max," I said with a smile. "Anyway, I'm going to go back inside and get some water. If there's anything else you need, feel free to give me a shot."

"Will do," Max called back.

I then walked back inside the tavern to see that the other guild members were inside talking to one another and also laughing and having fun. However, there wasn't any time for me to make idle chit-chat. The party had come and gone, so now was the time to handle some business. I looked around the tavern looking for two people in particular until I saw them over at the bar, talking to Makarov as they shared a drink.

"Hey, Macao. Wakaba," I greeted as I walked over to them. "You guys got a minute?"

"Sure, Willy. What's up, kiddo?" said Wakaba.

"Well, it's something that I've wanted to ask ever since we got back," I said. "And I don't want to interrupt you guys, while you're having fun with the Master,"

"Don't worry about it, Willy," Macao said, shaking his head. "Besides, I think I have an idea as to what you want to talk to us about. We were going to tell you and Master about this eventually." He turned to Makarov. "You mind listening, Master?"

"Not at all," Makarov said. "Please. Continue."

Macao paused for a brief moment before resuming. "Well, let me start at the beginning, for starters. It happened around seven years ago, no too long before the core members left for Tenrou Island," he said. "We were enjoying our day just like we always did, drinking it up while others went out on jobs. Then all of a sudden, this guy from the Magic Council named Doranbolt showed up and told us what happened with Tenrou Island."

"Doranbolt told you?" I repeated, surprise, and slight anger in my voice. "Why him of all people? Last time I checked, he was masquerading as one of our members to take our guild down for the Council."

"Whoa, seriously?" Wakaba said. "The Magic Council did that?"

"It's true," said Makarov. "I heard the details from Willy and the others, which was why he snuck out onto the island, despite my better interest."

Makarov then gave me a scolding glance, and I sheepishly looked away.

Macao then continued. "Anyway, he told us that the entire island was wiped out by Acnologia, and there was nothing left except for one person who miraculously survived it all." He looked at me. "That person was you, Willy."

"But I was inside Fairy Sphere," I protested. "How could I have-"

"We know you were there, kid," Wakaba interrupted. "But at the time, we all thought that it was you. We don't know how exactly you, or rather whoever we saw back, managed to get from that alive, despite the crazy ethernano around the area, but he did, and he was in pretty rough shape."

"His body was covered in bandages with major burns underneath them, and to add to that, he had lost your memory like you," said Macao. We did whatever we could to try and get your memory back, but nothing worked. But then something happened while Romeo and I were walking him home. You remember Thibault and his gang from Twilight Orge?"

"Those scoundrels that were threatening to hurt, Romeo?" asked Makarov. "How could we not?"

"Well, I guess that they had a run-in with Willy before, and wanted to get payback," went on Macao. "Especially this fat guy."

At first, I didn't know who Macao meant, but then I remembered the guy in question, which was the guy and his buddies over at the bar a while back.

"Oh yeah. I know who you're talking about," I said. "Unfortunately."

"Well, they all were raring for a fight, and I tried my best to fight them off, but I couldn't, and those bastards even tried to hurt Romeo," Macao said, with a hint of anger. "Not to mention the fact that they were putting down Willy hard because of the rumors floating around about him being responsible for Tenrou Island's disappearance. Then something happened." Macao paused for a few seconds. "Willy seemed to have snapped. He was able to fend off Thibault and the others, but something was different about him."

"Different, how?" asked Makarov.

"He had no emotion, he fought ruthlessly, and had an aura that made a chill go down my spine," Macao went on shivering a little. "He even went as far as to try and kill Thibault."

I could feel my eyes widen a bit as I felt my heart skip a beat. "But he didn't, did he?"

"Easy, Willy. He didn't. If he did, they wouldn't still be alive," Macao said. "Anyway, he calmed down after Romeo, and I convinced him to let him go, and those guys ran for the hills. The next day after that, he was gone."

"Gone?" I repeated. "Do you know where he went?"

"We had no idea," said Wakaba letting out a puff of smoke from his mouth. "When we came into your room at the time, the only thing we found was a note."

Macao then dug into his coat and took out a piece of paper handing it to me. "I've been keeping it over the seven years, just in case."

I took the paper opening it, revealing it to be the note in question, and skimmed through it. When I finished, I looked towards Macao feeling a bit unnerved.

"This is my writing," I spoke. "But...how can that be?"

"We've searched for that guy all around, but there was no sign of him," continued Wakaba. "He practically ghosted us."

Makarov hummed thoughtfully. "This is a puzzling mystery," he said. "I doubt that he's a counterpart from Edolas, because if I recall correctly from Natsu and the others, Willy's was female. I wonder just who exactly that boy could have been."

"We sure could have used him back then," Wakaba said. "If he hadn't left, we never would have ended up having to deal with Thibault and his goons, especially since he had a major grudge against us."

"I'm so sorry," I apologized, feeling guilty. "If I had just kept my mouth shut when I ran into those guys, they never would have-"

"There's no need to apologize, Willy," Makarov interrupted. "I'm sure that those punks were giving you a hard time, and you had no choice but to stand up for yourself/ It's Twilight Orge that decided to hold a grudge and attempt to hurt my precious children. As far as the subject of this doppelganger of Willy goes, I suppose that we'll have to wait and see what happens, since they're nothing we can do about it at the moment."

"As much as I hate to say it, I agree with you, Master," I said. "It's still crazy, though, the fact that there's another me somewhere out there in Fiore. I only hope he's not an enemy."

"If he is, we'll deal with him when the time comes," said Wakaba. "It's just our luck, though. There's never a dull moment with us, is there?"

I then got up from my chair. "Anyway, that was all I wanted to ask," I said. "I suppose I'll be seeing you around."

I had just barely taken a couple of steps away from them, when I heard a sudden feminine scream to my left, which caused me to turn towards that direction. I could see Bisca, Alzack, Mira, Elfman, and Lisanna, looking at a very flushed and freaking out Erza who was shaking Max by the scruff of his collar.

"Whoa, Erza! What's the matter with you?!" I asked, coming over. "Did Max get you angry or something?"

Erza then looked at me and then suddenly started bawling. "Willy! Alzack and Bisca got married, and they had a wedding without us!" she wailed.

I then looked at Bisca and Alzack, feeling a bit surprised. "Wait, the two of you got married? Seriously?"

"Like we were just telling Erza, six years ago," explained Bisca. "Not only that, but we also have a daughter named Asuka."

"Well, Erza is a bit of a romantic, so I suppose it's expected," I said, as I watched Erza weirdly dance around, continuing to freak out. "But I've never seen her act like this before."

"You can't blame her, though, Willy," said Mira. "I mean, I'm bummed that I didn't get to go myself."

"You never know Mira," smiled Bisca. "I can see you becoming a future bride sometime soon, and I have a pretty good idea who the groom might be."

"You bet we do," added Lisanna with a teasing grin. "Right, Willy?"

Bisca and Lisanna then gave Mira and me a glance, and Lisanna even gave me a small wink, which in turn, caused my cheeks to heat up in embarrassment.

"No comment whatsoever," I said quickly, as I looked away.

"Aw, what a shame," Lisanna pouted. "And here I thought, you'd get all flustered like Erza."

"Now, now, Lisanna. No teasing Willy," Mira smiled. "Even though I think it's kind of cute."

Before I could object, the doors suddenly flew open, drawing our attention towards them. Standing there, was a group of five people. Four of them I didn't recognize, one being a humanoid dog, a man that was short and had big bushy eyebrows, a girl with pink hair wearing a skimpy black vest top with a skirt to match, and the fourth was a man that was tall with spikey light blue hair. However, the fifth was one that I knew right away. He now had a long black beard, held a staff in his hand, and wore a black robe. It was none other than Jura.

"It seems as though the rumors are true," Jura said with a smile. "You all seem to be in good health."

"Hello, my lovelies!" the skimpy pink-haired woman greeted winking. "I'm glad to hear that your deaths were just rumors."

"Well, if you think about it, it's a bit strange to say that to people who haven't aged in seven years," said the big bushy-browed man.

The spikey light blue-haired man, shook his head. "Honestly, you've barely been back two days, and you've already wrecked the place."

"Who are these guys?" I heard Elfman ask.

"I think I know," said Mira. "It has to be..."

"Lamia Scale!" finished Lucy.

"Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus were the ones that helped us search for Tenrou Island longer than anyone else did," explained Max. "Even though things looked bleak."

"Well, then I guess we owe you guys one," said Gray. "Thanks a lot."

"Anytime, Gray, but you should know that now I've got seven years on you now," smirked the blue-haired man. "And I'm not the child of guy who takes advantage of young children. Especially since our skill is superior."

Gray rolled his eyes. "Oh, give me a break."

The woman with skimpy clothes and pink hair then sauntered over to the table, taking a seat, catching Elfman's attention as he blushed, while Evergreen indignantly glared at him.

"By the way, while you guys were in your seven-year sleep, Lamia Scale's climbed up the ranks and is now the second strongest guild in Fiore," she bragged, as she looked across to Lucy. "No hard feelings, right, Lucy?"

"But, if you're the second strongest guild," Lucy hummed thoughtfully. "Does that mean that Blue Pegasus is number one?"

"Oh, yeah, right! As if!" the dog man ranted crossly. "Like those lame wads could ever be at number one!"

"Calm down, Toby. You're embarrassing yourself," the big browed man scolded. "You know it's not Pegasus, so why are you even bothering?"

Jura then chuckled. "Toby's rant aside, we're all just glad you're all alive and well."

I then walked over to Jura. "Mr. Jura. It's so good to see you again," I greeted, looking up at him. "It's been quite some time since we've seen each other, hasn't it?"

"It certainly has, Young Willy," Jura greeted back. "I've heard from Makarov that you've joined his guild, and you seem to be doing well, I see."

"Speaking of guilds, I don't believe I've met your other members yet," I said, turning towards the others. "Mind introducing me?"

"But of course. These are a few of the many other members of my guild, Sherry, Toby, Yuko, and Lyon," introduced Jura. He turned to the others. "This is the boy that I told you about a while back, the one that we rescued along with Richard, Willy Falconer."

"It's nice to meet all of you," I said, slightly bowing.

Then someone came up to me, drawing my attention, which was Lyon.

"So you're the famous Willy Falconer," he spoke with an intrigued smile. "We've heard quite a lot about you from Jura. I hear that you're a disciple of one of the other Wizard Saints, Tu-Chi, and are skilled..."

At that moment, Lyon trailed off, for he saw something that made his eyes go wide, and his cheeks turn pink, staring into the distance behind me. He walked past me, and headed towards Juvia, approaching her.

"My God," Lyon spoke, his eyes filled with admiration as he placed his hands on Juvia's shoulders. "I've never believed in true love until now! Is this what they call love at first sight?!"

This caught me a bit off guard, as did Lucy, who happened to see this too.

"I've heard of people being straightforward, but this seems a bit extreme!" I gasped.

"And I don't think he's playing around either!" Lucy squealed, her hands clasped over her bright pink cheeks.

"That dude's either brave or stupid," Gray scoffed. "Either way, he's got no idea what he's getting himself into."

Juvia slowly backed away, appearing to be frightened, but then her cheeks took on a bright shade of red as steam erupted from her head. "No! The love triangle has become a love maze!"

"What the heck does that mean?" I wondered to Lucy and Gray.

"I don't know, but she's sure got one healthy imagination," Lucy said.

"Healthy is a bit of a stretch, if you ask me," Gray spoke flatly.

The guild then continued with its usual behavior, acting wild and a bit crazy, while having a good time with Lamia Scale joining in on the fun. It was a heartwarming sight, seeing everyone look so happy. I couldn't help but smile a little as I watched from afar. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder, causing me to look up to find that it belonged to Jura.

"Young Willy, may I speak with you for a moment?" asked Jura. "In private, please."

"Well, sure, but is there something wrong?" I wondered.

"I'll explain once we're alone," said Jura. "For now, please come with me."

I was a bit puzzled, but I decided to do as Jura said and walked with him outside of the tavern. We walked down the path and turned into the forest until we were a few feet away from it. Jura then stopped and faced me. He once bright and friendly smile had been replaced by a neutral expression.

"Young Willy, before I begin, I wish to ask you a question," Jura said. "Tu-Chi, one of the Wizard Saints, is your master, correct?"

"Yes. She is," I replied.

"And from what I hear, she also had a young disciple who had taken you in as your foster father, named Finn," went on Jura. "Is that true as well?"

"Yes. Finn's the one that helped me when I happened to wander into Osia, back when I was little," I said. "Why are you asking, Jura? Did something happen?"

Jura hummed stroking his beard. "Well, it's hard trying to find the words for this, I don't know where to begin," he said. "And I'm honestly not sure if I should be telling you this, due to you and your friends just coming back after your deep sleep, but you have a right to know."

There was a long silence, with only the wind whistling through the leaves of the trees, making them rustle. Finally, Jura looked towards me, his eyes having a hint of sorrow as he spoke these words.

"Young Willy, I'm afraid that your foster father, Finn, has passed away."

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