Lisanna sat in a chamber in a different part of the building. It was a large room, and within that room was what Nikodias had called a waiting area. If someone else saw the waiting area they might describe it as a large cage, similar to a jail cell, only more spacious and better furnished. Lisanna sat here, waiting for Boudica like she said she would. But she was not alone. Her acquaintance Alrace was there with her. Lisanna wasn't sure why he had been told to wait there with her. Maybe because he wasn't supposed to take her to see Natsu the way he did. She still wasn't sure why he did that. She was grateful, but she sensed that Boudica was displeased with him.

As Lisanna sat in the "waiting area", she looked around. It was a dark room, although there was a lantern hanging from the roof above them, so the immediate vicinity was clearly visible. The door to the area/cage was open. However, there were two large, cloaked figures at the door, like the ones that had watched over Lisanna in the garden before. She still didn't know exactly who or what they were, other than they were some kind of servants/guards. Normally she felt comfortable enough at this place. But their presence made her uneasy. As usual, she tried to ignore them. She was sitting on a bench just a few feet away from Alrace the albino. They both waited anxiously.

They sat there for a while before Nikodias told them that Boudica would be longer than expected. He went off leaving them alone again. With nothing to do, Lisanna just sat there looking down at her hands. Her hands which weren't really hers. That's how she felt. They were the hands of a monster. Almost more like claws. She flexed her fingers. They still moved normally, but they were definitely inhuman.

"Does it bother you?" Alrace said suddenly. Lisanna, startled by his question, looked up at him. "Does what bother me?" she asked. He gestured to her hands. She looked back down at them as well. She closed them into fists, and sat there silently for a minute. Alrace waited until she answered.

"Its not something I would have chosen for myself. They look…" Lisanna searched for a word in her vocabulary. "…Grotesque. They look grotesque." Alrace tilted his head. "I don't think they look so bad. I've seen worse."

Lisanna didn't raise her eyes to him. She continued. "Well, either way, the thing that really bothers me about them isn't that they're ugly. Its that they remind me that I died. I shouldn't even be here right now. I should be dead. I was dead. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful to be alive. But nothing feels right. There's something wrong with Natsu. There are so many things I can't remember. I don't know if I'll ever be able to go home again. And I'm not sure if I want to." Lisanna realized she was rambling and looked at Alrace, seeing how he might respond to this, but he just stared with a quizzical look on his face, as if he wasn't sure how to react. Lisanna didn't know why she said that to him. She didn't know him that well, though she thought he seemed nice enough. And he did go to the trouble of bringing her to Natsu.

"Can I ask you a question? A personal question?" he said suddenly. Lisanna sat there and thought about this. Then she said, "Okay. I guess that's alright." Alrace asked the question bluntly.

"What is your happiest memory?" he asked her. This surprised her. "My happiest memory?" she repeated. He nodded.

"You say you don't remember much. But what memory makes you most happy that you can remember? You seem sad, so I was curious if you remember happy things." He sounded like he struggled to say this, as if he had difficulty articulating it. Lisanna didn't think of herself as sad, but he seemed to think she was. Maybe its because I've been worrying about Natsu, she thought.

"My sister, and Natsu. They're my happiest memories." Lisanna answered his question. Again, Lisanna wasn't sure why she was sharing these things with him so readily. Maybe she was just trying to pass the time somehow until Boudica showed up. Or maybe there was something about him she trusted.

"Why do they make you happy?" he asked her. Lisanna smiled sadly. "I Have more memories of them than anything else. Strong memories. Mirajane, my sister, always watched out for me and my brother Elfman (I don't remember Elfman so well). She was so strong and brave. But she could also be sweet and caring too. There was a time when it was just the three of us. She made sure we survived. Funny thing is, she was actually afraid that she might be a monster because of her magic. She had trouble controlling it, and she wasn't sure that she was human. For her, it turned out to not be true. For me though…" she said, as she looked at her hand again. Alrace tilted his head again.

"Maybe it's the same for you then? Maybe you can change back?" he said. Lisanna shook her head. "No. This is permanent. I've looked like this all these months. Besides, Boudica told me that this was the price to pay for me being alive again." Lisanna fell silent. She tried not to dwell on these things. It seemed morbid to her. But there was a part of her that wanted to talk about it with someone. The only person she had really talked at all about these things with was Boudica, and even with her Lisanna was reluctant. Lisanna felt grateful to Boudica for helping her, but it was obvious that Boudica was hiding something from her. Maybe that would change tonight.

A few more minutes passed in silence, and then Alrace spoke again. "Can I ask you another question, Lisanna?" Lisanna knew he was probably going to ask another personal question. She decided to go along with it. "Okay." She said.

"I'm just curious. Do you remember how you were brought back? What was it like? Was there an afterlife? And what was it like when you returned?" He looked worn and hurt despite being fairly young. But when he asked these questions, he sounded almost like a child asking their parent about how things work. Lisanna found his earnest demeanor disarming. She resolved to answer him. She had been thinking about this for a while, but hadn't really spoken about it before. She realized that she wanted to talk about it with someone.

"Alright. I'll tell you. I'll tell you what happened from the moment I died, and after that." Lisanna closed her eyes as she said this, so she didn't see his reaction. But he didn't say anything, and silently waited for her to begin. And then, she spoke.

"I remember how I died. Its one of my strongest memories in fact."


I died a few years ago. Or at least that's what I'm told. To me, it doesn't seem that long ago. But its hard for me to say what happened and when. I… think I was on a job with my siblings. Mirajane, Elfman. Mirajane looked cool and tough. I remember she liked fighting, and wearing revealing clothes. Elfman… I don't remember as much about him. I think he was more quiet. But when I think about him, I get this bad feeling. I don't know if he was really a bad person, but when I try to remember stuff about him, I just get this creepy feeling. I can't explain it. But I remember what he did that day.

I don't remember all the details, but Elfman changed his form. That's his power. All three of us could change in different ways. Its called takeover magic. People said Mirajane was a monster. But Elfman was on a different level. When he changed, he was huge and ferocious looking. And he was horribly strong, too. He changed into his monster form that day, and… he became violent. Was he normally like that? I'm not sure. I think he hurt Mirajane, and I got between them. I couldn't stop him of course. I wasn't strong enough. But I guess I thought I might be able to reason with him. But I couldn't. Honestly, even talking about this right now, that creepy feeling is coming back.

Anyway, I stood there in front of him. And I remember feeling afraid, but… not for myself? At any rate, he swung his huge monster claw at me. I vaguely remember it hurting. And then I hit the ground. I couldn't move. I heard Mirajane screaming. Everything was going dark. I remember thinking that I wasn't ready. But I guess death doesn't care if you're ready or not. That was the end for me. Or so I thought.


Its kind of weird for me to talk about this next part. I mean, when you die that's supposed to be it. At least, that's what I always thought. I've never thought that much about an afterlife or anything. Even now, I'm still not really sure if there's a heaven or hell. But I'll try to explain what happened to me as best I can. Bear with me.

I've heard some people say that dying is like going to sleep. Well, that's kind of what it felt like. Except this was a lot scarier, because I didn't think I'd wake up. But I did. Not with my siblings around me though. Not at the place I died. In fact, I don't think it was anywhere in the mortal world.

It was dark. Like I was surrounded by blackness, and nothingness. Not only that, but I didn't have a body either. Its like I was this… entity. Floating, and drifting. I didn't know where I was. And I didn't know where I was going. It sounds like I should have been scared, but strangely I wasn't. I felt confused, but calm.

I drifted like that for a while. Sometimes there was some light that broke through the blackness. Not bright white light, but more grey, like a cloudy day, or yellow like a distant sun. I know this all sounds really strange. I'm not sure how much of this I clearly remember. I'm not even a hundred percent sure that I didn't just dream this. I'd probably think it all was a dream if it weren't for what happened next.

I'm not sure how long I was like that. Days? Months? Years? I vaguely remembered my old life. But it was hazy and jumbled. I sometimes thought about Mirajane. The last time I saw her. And I missed her. And Fairy Tail. It was the one strong emotion I felt. At one point, as I was thinking about this, it happened. I heard a voice saying something. It was distant. It was a girl's voice, but I didn't recognize it. At first, I couldn't understand what she was saying. But after a short time, her voice got louder, and I heard her say a name. "Lisanna", it said. Lisanna? For a moment I was confused. But then I realized that was my name. Someone was calling to me.

I stopped drifting, and listened. I was curious. "Lisanna Strauss? Is that you? Can you hear me?" I listened to the voice calling to me. I realized it sounded pretty young. Maybe a kid. I wasn't sure that I could answer back. I wasn't sure that I wanted to. "Lisanna. Say something…" it said again. It sounded like it was going in and out. I didn't know what was going on. Some time passed, and I started to move away, but then something happened again.

"Lisanna." This time, it was a different voice. Still female, but older. I paused. Suddenly, I noticed a golden light. Not like before. This was different. It almost had a shape, and it was slowly coming towards me. "We found you." It said in a powerful voice. The golden shape grew something out of itself. It looked almost like a giant hand. The "hand" stretched out like it was reaching towards me. For the first time since I came to that place, I was afraid. I tried to move away from it. But it came closer.

Suddenly, I felt something else behind me. Another light, this one more of a bluish color. It moved closer. It didn't say anything, but it gave off this force of energy. It made me shudder. Well, I didn't have a body, so I guess I didn't technically shudder. But it was something like that. Anyway, golden shape stopped, and backed off a little. Was it afraid? I don't know. I just sat there in between them. Then the golden shape spoke again. "Lisanna, listen to me. I'm here to help you. I want to take you back." I didn't know what it meant.

"Take me back?" I spoke. Apparently, I could do that. It sounded like an echo of my voice though.

"Yes. I can take you back to your life. Back to the world you lived in. Back to Natsu. He misses you." When it mentioned Natsu, I felt something. A rush of emotions. Happiness. Sadness. Longing. I remembered Natsu. I wanted to see him again. But… I wasn't sure that I could trust this being, whatever it was. And I wasn't sure that I belonged in my old life anymore. I had this feeling that I wasn't supposed to be there anymore. I didn't know what to do. The other being behind me shifted. It didn't say anything, but I sensed its feelings. It didn't want me to trust the golden shape. I sensed… not hatred, but something else. Definitely not positive.

"You can see Mirajane again too. Your sister." My sister?

"And Fairy Tail. You can be with all of them again. All you have to do is trust me. Come with me, Lisanna." Natsu. Mirajane. Fairy Tail. I thought about all of these things, and sweet memories came back to me. Like looking at old photographs. It made me feel Nostalgic. And homesick. Somehow, I felt like there were tears on my face, even though I had no body. The decision was made with my heart, not my mind.

Without thinking, I broke from the blue being behind me and rushed towards the golden shape. Maybe I should have been more cautious. But all of these emotions and memories came rushing back to me. I wanted to be with my friends again. My family. Natsu. So, I rushed towards the golden light. I felt its warmth. It embraced me. And then everything went dark again.


Once again, I woke up in darkness. But I wasn't in the place I was in before. I was somewhere very different. I opened my eyes. My vision was blurry, but gradually seemed to get better. It was still dark, but I could make out some things. I knew I wasn't alone. There were people around me, although I couldn't really make them out. My head felt fuzzy. I couldn't think clearly. I was disoriented.

I tried to move, but that turned out to be pretty hard actually. I had trouble moving my limbs. My limbs. Yes, I had a body again. But I wasn't aware of much else at that moment. I heard this noise though. Loud and awful. It was close by. What was it?

After about a minute (though It felt longer), I realized what the sound was. It was someone screaming. It was a girl. She sounded like she was in terrible pain. That poor girl. I feel so sorry for her. I thought. I tried to look around to find her. But as I did, I realized where the screaming was coming from: my own mouth. I was the girl screaming in pain.

My mind became clearer. I was starting to wish it hadn't. I could only see out of one eye. The other was just darkness. People around me were saying something. I think it was some kind of magical chant, but I wasn't thinking about that at the time. My limbs felt like they were on fire. I couldn't move them. I eventually ran out of breath and stopped screaming, which made me realize my mouth was hurting too. My arms and legs still hurt the most though. I noticed someone standing over me, a woman with blonde hair. "It will be over soon. Birth is always painful. And so is rebirth." She said this, but I barely understood what she was saying. After another minute, I blacked out.


I woke up again some time later. I was again disoriented. It took me a few minutes to fully wake up. The pain was still there, but thankfully it was more bearable now. I was starting to get a little tired of not knowing where I was or what was going on. I forced myself to focus. I wanted to know where I was, if nothing else.

I looked around, and saw that I was in a small room by myself. I didn't recognize the place. A lot of the room seemed to be made of stone. There was moss on the walls. There was an earthy smell all around. I looked down at myself. I was on a bed of sorts. I was covered in sheets. Well, they looked like sheets, but they actually felt more like burlap. Not very comfortable. But at least I wasn't in excruciating pain anymore.

I decided to try moving. That was more difficult than I was expecting. I could move my limbs, a little. But they felt heavy, and they still hurt. I didn't want to just lay there though. I tried talking. "Hello?" I said. My voice was hoarse. Maybe from the screaming. I tried saying it louder. "Hello!?" Is anyone there?" I felt anxious. I didn't understand what was happening. How did I get there? And where was I before? My memories felt hazy and jumbled. Suddenly, I heard the door creak open. As it opened, A large, cloaked figure walked into the room. I couldn't see his face. He was wearing a robe, and under the hood something seemed to be glowing purple. He stood a few feet from the bed. Just stood there, with his hands folded. He was tall and menacing. Suddenly, I wished I was still alone.

"Who are you?" I asked nervously. He didn't answer. Just stood there, like a statue. I couldn't really move or run away, so I felt pretty helpless there.

But then someone else walked through the door. For a second I thought it was going to be another cloak, but it wasn't. It was a woman. Tall, blonde, and striking. Her dress looked kind of primitive, and her eyes were all red, which made her look a little creepy. But then she smiled, and she also looked really pretty. She smiled at me. "Hello Lisanna. You're finally awake." She said. I squinted at her. "Do I know you?" I asked. She laughed, and shook her head.

"Not exactly. Although we have already met, in a way. I'm glad you decided to come back to this world with me." As she said this, I remembered being in that strange, dark place, and rushing towards the golden shape. It asked me to trust it.

"You!" I said. She spread her hands and smiled wider, showing her teeth. It came off as kind of threatening, but I'm sure she didn't mean it that way. "Myself. And now, you and I are here together, having crossed the boundaries of time and space, life and death. Its beautiful, isn't it?"

I looked at her funny. "I don't know what you're talking about." I said simply. She nodded. "Of course, you're confused. I'll explain it all to you in time. Besides, I know you didn't come here for me. You want to see Natsu, don't you? You can. He's here, waiting for you." When she mentioned Natsu, my head snapped up. I didn't remember a lot from before my death. But Natsu… him I definitely remembered. Somehow, the thought that he was here and waiting for me made me temporarily forget about all the bad stuff.

"Natsu… Dragneel. He's here? Natsu's here? Where? Where is he?" I asked the woman these questions, and she looked like she thought I was saying something funny. I did want to see him. But I think I was also a little desperate to see a familiar face after all this strangeness and trauma.

"I'll take you to him, soon. But first, there are a couple things we have to take care of. For starters, let me properly introduce myself. My name is Boudica." She introduced herself, and then spread her hands again and bowed.

"I'm Lisanna Strauss. But I guess you already knew that." I said. "By the way, is Boudica your first or last name?" I asked.

"Just Boudica." She said. I guess there was nothing else to say about that.

"Now, the other thing we need to talk about is more important. We need to talk about you." Boudica said.

"Me?" I said.

"Yes. Lisanna, I can't explain everything right away. It would be too much to take in. But there is something very important that you need to understand. You died. Do you remember that?" Boudica said. I stared for a bit.

"I died…" I said. Now that she mentioned it, I did remember that. I was outside with my siblings. And then my brother… he killed me. After that, I ended up… not sure where. Was it the afterlife? If it was, then its not what I would have pictured heaven to be like. Besides, people generally don't come back from that, do they? As I was thinking this, Boudica, as If she were reading my mind, said, "I helped bring you back. Or rather, we did. It was a group effort, truthfully. I'm sure you have questions about that place, but that can wait. There's something more immediate that needs to be addressed."

I wasn't sure what she was getting at. She walked over towards me, standing over me. "Lisanna, you were brought back from the dead. That might sound hard to believe, but its true. Recreating life like this is very difficult, but not impossible. You might wonder why I did this. I have my reasons. I went to great trouble to bring you here. But you're alive, so it was worth it."

I sat there and thought about this. "I believe you. I remember dying. And there are all kinds of strange things in the world. Magic, and monsters, and even demons. If anything, the harder thing to accept is what happened after I died. That was… something else. I felt like I was in that place for a while, but now that I'm here it seems almost like a dream. Unbelievable. And amazing. And scary." I realized that I was rambling. "Um, anyway, thank you for helping me, and bringing me back. I guess I owe you my life." Boudica smiled.

"Natsu deserves some of the credit for you being here." She said. I was about to ask more about him, but she held up a hand and spoke first. "You mentioned demons earlier. That's actually another part of what I need to tell you. There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just say it plainly. Lisanna, you are now part demon." Boudica said this, but I didn't understand what she meant.

"Part demon? What do you mean?" I looked down at my body, but my limbs were still covered by the blanket. Without saying anything else, she pulled the blanket back. For the first time since I woke up here, I was now seeing what I looked like. My torso was covered up by what looked like a makeshift dress. But my arms and legs were uncovered. The lower parts of my limbs looked… wrong. Inhuman. I gasped in surprise.

"This was the only real way to bring you back in a stable form. I'm sorry child, but I'm afraid its permanent. This is your body now. I'm sure in time, you'll adjust to it." Boudica explained all of this to me. I looked down at my demonic hands. I could move them a little. I held them up, and flexed the fingers, confirming that they were really mine. I'll admit, I screamed. Or at least, I tried to, but because I had already screamed so much before, all that came out was a croak.

Its not like I hadn't seen Mirajane in demon form before. And I knew that there were various non-human people in the world. But still, having your body radically changed like that, and being told that its permanent… it's a little much. So yeah, my initial reaction to this was less than enthusiastic. I closed my eyes. I felt Boudica's hand on my shoulder. I guess she was trying to comfort me. But then I thought of something, and opened my eyes.

"My face. What does my face look like?" Was I being vain for worrying about that? I don't know. But in that moment, I really wanted to know I looked like. Boudica turned to the cloak and nodded at him. He walked over to a corner and grabbed something. He brought it over to her, and she held it to my face. It was a small mirror. I looked inside. I saw my face. Mostly normal. White hair, light skin, blue eyes. At least, one of them was. The other had been changed. I looked at my reflection with my mouth open. And then I noticed my teeth. Fangs. I closed my eyes again. "That's enough." I whispered.

"I'll give you some time." Boudica said. I heard her walk back towards the door. "And Lisanna: let me know when you want to see Natsu. He knows what you look like now. He won't be surprised. I think it would do you good to see him." Then, she and the cloak both left the room, leaving me alone. I sat there a little while, all of this weird, new information swirling around my head. After a while I fell asleep.


I slept longer than I meant to. I was told that I slept for twelve hours. They said it was because my body needed to recover, so I needed a lot of rest. The day after I met Boudica, they let me out of the bed. They put me in something like a wheelchair, only more primitive. I met some of the others there. I met Sael, the handsome guy who builds stuff. He's also some sort of royalty, but I didn't completely understand that at the time. I met Arnok too. He was scary, and didn't want to talk to me. And also Nikodias and Seraiisa, who were both nice.

But I wanted to see Natsu. They told me that he was recovering too. He had played a part in my resurrection (its still weird for me to say that), and I guess it took a lot out of him. But they said it was fine for me to see him for a little while. I still needed time to adjust to my new body, and learn to use my limbs. So, I took the wheelchair to see him. Boudica had a couple of her disciples accompany me. That was when I realized that she was the head of a religious group. Apparently Boudica never named them, but people call them The Golden Light. At the time I didn't know enough about them to have an opinion.

So, they took me to see Natsu. He was actually in this room we're sitting in right now. This was before they had fixed the place up, so it was pretty messy at the time. Natsu was inside the cage, with two of the cloaks. They told me he wasn't a prisoner or anything. He was just sick and needed to be monitored. They wheeled me over to where he was. He was crouched in a corner with his back to me. I looked at him for a minute, not saying anything. I recognized him. But he looked different than I remembered. His hair was all messy. His clothes were dirty and torn. Except for his scarf, which was still in good shape. He looked like he was in pain. I wasn't sure what to say to him. I had wanted to see him since I woke up. But now I was at a loss for words. I had known him since we were both really little. He was my friend.

"Natsu." I said. My voice sounded a little stronger by that point. He shuddered. I didn't know if he heard me or not. I repeated his name, a little louder this time. "Natsu. Its Lisanna. Can you hear me? They said you helped me." I spoke to him, and he slowly turned around. "Lisanna." He muttered. I leaned forward. "Yeah, its me. Its so good to see you, Natsu. Its been a long time. I think. How are you doing?" I was trying not to be too dramatic. I wanted to try to lighten the mood a little, after everything that had happened. Maybe I was trying to normalize the situation. Like we were just two friends catching up and saying hi. But when I looked at him more closely, I knew that there was something off about him. He wasn't just dirty and unkempt. He looked… hurt, somehow. I don't mean he was injured. There was just something wrong with him. His eyes looked intense, but unfocused at the same time. He looked like he was grinding his teeth. And his muscles kept twitching. Looking at Natsu the way he was, and myself with my changed body, sitting in a wheelchair, I realized that there was no pretending there was anything normal about this. About us.

Natsu slowly got to his feet. He put his hand against a wall to support himself. He looked at me. Looked me up and down, with his unfocused eyes. Then he said, "Lisanna. You're really alive. It really is you, right? You're actually here?" I wasn't sure what he meant by that. I knew I looked different, but I also knew I was definitely me. "Yeah Natsu, its me. Lisanna Strauss. I know I look… strange. Maybe scary?" I moved my hands weakly, like I was saying 'Yeah, I know I'm kinda horrifying now'. He did look down at my hands for a second. But then he looked back up at my face, and smiled weakly. "You're Lisanna, and you're alive, and that's beautiful." He said. I was caught off guard by that. It was such an un-Natsu like thing to say. At least, from what I remembered. I didn't know how to respond, so I just sat there awkwardly for a minute.

Eventually, Natsu sat down on the ground yoga style, and looked up at me. He looked a little better now. Maybe his pain was fading. Or maybe he was just trying to control it so he could talk to me. Not sure. I looked down at him. I wanted to just enjoy being with him, but there were things I needed to know.

"Natsu… what exactly is going on here? Where are we? How do you know these people? Do you trust them? And how was I brought back? I mean, I didn't even think that was possible, but here I am. And here you are, and I don't even know what you're doing here." I stopped, and realized that I was overloading him with questions. But he just smiled a little.

"Gods Lisanna, I don't know where to start. It's a long story." He said.

"I bet." I said back. Natsu put his hands on the floor, looking like he was trying to focus. "I don't think I can tell you everything right now. There are parts of it I don't even understand. Besides, I'm not feeling too hot, and I don't know how long I can talk like this. But I can tell you a few things at least." I leaned forward, completely focused on what he was saying. "Please, go on." I urged him. He took a breath.

"Alright. Where we are? We're in Bosco. Or at least, the outskirts of Bosco. I don't think we're near any cities or anything. And this place?" He waved his hand around, gesturing to the walls of the building we're in. "I don't know. Its some old ruin. Maybe it used to be some place important. I didn't ask. Didn't care." I smiled. Now he was starting to sound more like the Natsu I knew. He continued.

"Now, these people. You met the blonde woman, right?" he said.

I nodded. "Boudica, yeah. And a few others. Most of them seem nice, if a little weird. But maybe its just their culture?" I reminded myself we were in a foreign country, likely with different customs and norms.

"Lisanna… I don't know that much about these people. Some of them rub me the wrong way, like that Arnok guy. But I do know this: they helped me bring you back." He said.

"How, and why?" I asked.

"The how is complicated. I can't really explain it. Maybe Boudica or one of the others can. Why? I made a deal with them. They needed my help. I helped them. And they helped me." He said.

Natsu's explanation raised as many questions as it answered. I felt like we'd be here all day if I asked him to explain everything, and he obviously wasn't up for that. But there was something I was still curious about.

"Is that why you came all the way out here? To bring me back?" I asked. Natsu didn't respond at first. He looked like he was thinking about something. Then he spoke. "Not just you. I did want you back. But there was something else too. Something that happened after you died. It… changed things." Now he was getting morose again. I didn't like seeing him like that.

"What is it? What happened?" I asked. I could tell it was a sensitive topic, so I tried to ask gently.

"I don't want to talk about that right now. Some other time. Let's just say I still have something here I need to do." He suddenly grimaced, and held his head. He breathed hard.

"Natsu, are you okay?" I asked. I tried to reach for him, but almost fell out of the chair. He looked at me, again with pain on his face. "I… I'll be fine. I just can't talk anymore right now. Need to…" He pounded his fist against the floor. I wanted to help him, but didn't know how. But the people who brought me there started wheeling me away, saying that he needed to be alone now. I didn't like that, but I accepted it. I hoped to see him again later that day. But it would be a few weeks before I would get a chance to talk to him again.


During those few weeks, I gradually recovered. I was able to walk on my own again, and didn't need the chair anymore. I still didn't feel like I could run a marathon or anything (not that I ever could), but I could at least move around on my own and feed and clothe myself. That was nice.

I didn't see much of Natsu during that time. I saw him in passing a couple times, but for one reason or another he wasn't able to talk much. I was starting to get a little concerned about him. But Natsu was always strong, so I figured he'd be okay.

I got to know a few people, like Seraiisa, and you, Alrace. And I did get a little more comfortable in this place as they cleaned it up. But I still felt like an outsider. And I still had questions. They didn't want me wandering around unsupervised, and especially didn't want me to leave the building without someone with me. They said it wasn't safe, and that my appearance might frighten people. They also said there were enemies around, but I didn't really know what that meant.

Anyway, there's just one more thing I wanted to talk about. I feel like its kind of important. It was the day I spoke to Natsu again for the first time since that day I came to see him in the wheelchair. Several weeks had passed, and I decided to go to the garden. You know, that one I like to sit in. I decided that I wanted to try using my magic again, see if it would work. I use animal soul magic, in case you don't know. The garden felt like a good place to try it. Of course, they insisted I have supervision. But instead of the cloaks (I found out they were called "keepers"), Boudica herself came to watch me. I was fine with that. I was more comfortable with her than them.

There were a lot of things I still didn't remember. I was told that it was because of how I was brought back. I wasn't whole, physically or mentally. But I did remember I had animal soul magic. I just hoped that I could still use it. When you're a mage, magic is a part of who you are. Losing it would be like losing a part of yourself. I know someone told me that once. I just wish I could remember who it was.

So, I was in the garden, late afternoon, with Boudica nearby watching me. It was pretty looking, with the gold rays of the sun shining down, and the colorful birds. Seeing the birds flying around, and landing at the nearby bird bath, I wondered if I could transform into a bird. I tried to remember if that was one of my forms. I could see an image of myself as a bird, I think. A cute, green bird. I couldn't be sure if that was just my imagination though. Only one way to find out. I concentrated, and pictured the form of a bird. I gathered my magical energy, and then finished the spell. I felt myself changing. The change was rapid. My body growing smaller, and wings sprouting. After just a few seconds, it was over. It worked.

I flapped my wings to test them out. Everything seemed to work fine. This felt good. But something seemed weird. I noticed my wings looked darker than before. They weren't green. They actually looked black. Maybe my memory of the color was off? I went over to the bird bath to look at my reflection in it. The birds there all flew off as soon as I approached. I looked into the water. Something was wrong. I did not look like a cute green bird. I looked like some kind of monster. The beak was all jagged, and my eyes were red. My feathers were black and silver. I reeled back from the bird bath. I didn't like this.

"What is this?" I said, turning to Boudica. I can still talk in animal form. Boudica stepped closer to me. Your transformation was successful. Good job." She smiled. I didn't feel like smiling.

"I look horrible." I said. She tilted her head. "You think? I think you look beautiful." I didn't agree with that, but that wasn't really the point.

"I didn't look like this before. I mean, I know I don't remember everything, but I know my bird form didn't look like this." I wasn't really hiding my feelings here. Boudica put a finger to her chin. "If I had to guess, I would say that its probably a result of your new demon parts. Its not just your regular body that's changed, but your animal forms too. Which makes sense. You essentially are part demon now, Lisanna." Boudica said all of this causally, like it was nothing. Part demon. Up until that point, I had convinced myself that the demon parts were just like prosthetics or something. That I could deal with. But, she says that I'm actually part demon. Not human. I can't say I was okay with that. I didn't say anything, but I guess she could tell from looking at me that I was bothered by this.

"Its okay, dear. You're still Lisanna. But better. For example, you should be stronger now." She said. I looked up at her. "Stronger?" I asked.

"Yes. In fact, why not test it out right now? See that tree over there? Try rushing at it and hitting it. See how much damage you can do." She said. I looked over at the tree she indicated, a few yards away.

"I don't know…" I said. She put her hands together. "Please? I'm curious to see what you can do." Even though I hadn't known her that long, I had grown to like Boudica. I felt like I could trust her. And I didn't want to displease her. "Well, okay. I guess I could try it."

I turned towards the tree, and positioned myself for a charge. After a second, I ran towards the tree and jumped at it, talons first. I figured I might leave a few marks in it. But when I hit, there was a loud impact. The tree shook. As I stepped back, I realized that the loud sound was the tree breaking. It was broken more than halfway through its trunk, and was leaning diagonally now. There was also a small crater where I had hit it. Maybe I should mention it was a thick, old tree. "Did I do that?" I gasped. Just then, the tree made an awful sound, and fell over the rest of the way, hitting the ground with a loud thud. Boudica laughed.

"Yes, you did that." She said, obviously pleased with what just happened. I actually felt a little scared by it. I instantly changed back to human (er, semi-human) form. Boudica turned to me. "Now I'm curious to see what you can do in your other forms." She said. I looked back at the fallen tree. "Maybe some other time." I said in a small voice.

"As you wish." Boudica said. After that, we called it a day, and left the garden. Boudica said she had important matters to take care of somewhere else. I went back to the room they had given me. I hadn't decorated it yet, so it was pretty bare. But on my way back, something happened. In a hallway I ran into Natsu. Or rather, I saw him leaning against a wall, and he looked awful. I ran over to him. "Natsu!" I said, and ran up and put my arms around him. He slowly lifted his head and looked at me.

"Lisanna?" he said. I nodded. "What's wrong? What happened to you?"

"Nothing happened. I'm still not better yet. But I'll get better. There's something I gotta do…" he said, sounding weak.

"Still? You mean you never recovered from before?" I asked.

"Guess not." he said. I was worried. I was sure he'd be better by now. I considered calling for one of the doctors around here (I think its weird that they call doctors here "leeches"), but on an impulse I decided to take him back to my room instead. It was close by, so it wasn't hard to get him there. Maybe that was irresponsible, but I didn't think he was in danger of dying right there. Besides, I really wanted, maybe even needed, to see him privately. Don't get the wrong idea though, I just wanted to talk to him.

I helped Natsu back to my room. I noticed that I was able to support him easily, which made me remember what Boudica had said about me being stronger now. Natsu didn't object to going to my room, although halfway he insisted on walking on his own. I guess he felt a little embarrassed at me helping him walk like that. So, he stumbled along next to me as we got to the door. Once inside, he flopped down on my bed. He didn't seem sleepy, just out of energy. I sat down on the bed next to him.

"Natsu, there's something wrong with you. What is it? Can you tell me? I'd like to help you, if I can." I said. He was laying down face up, feet hanging off the side of the bed. He stared up at the ceiling, and didn't say anything at first. Then, without turning, he said, "I'll be alright Lisanna. Trust me." That didn't make me feel better.

"Are you sure about that? Do you even know what's wrong? I do trust you Natsu, but this place is still weird to me. And I don't know what you've been doing. I feel like I'm being kept in the dark a lot. Even by you. Do you trust me?" I asked. He turned to me.

"Of course I do. I've known you longer than… Well, most people. You're Lisanna." I don't know why, but the way he said 'you're Lisanna'; it made me feel something. I looked away from him for a moment and felt heat on my face. Was it getting hot? I suddenly touched his arm with my hand/claw, and said, "This doesn't bother you at all?" He looked at me with a confused expression. "What do you mean? Does what bother me?" he said, sounding like he really didn't know what I meant. I couldn't help but smile. I wasn't sure if he was being sweet, or dense, or both. Either way, I found it endearing. But there was a question I wanted to ask him.

"Natsu… Is there anyone else you're close to? Someone special?" I waited for Natsu to answer. Finally, he said, "Fairy Tail is special to me. Or at least, it was. I mean, it still is. Its complicated." Natsu sat up. We were sitting next to each other now.

"Look Lisanna, since you've been gone, some fucked up stuff has happened." I was caught off guard by him saying that. It wasn't like Natsu to use that kind of language. At least, I don't think it was. I looked him in the face. "What kind of fucked up stuff happened, Natsu?" I asked. I was being serious, but Natsu smirked at me when I said that. I guess it wasn't like me to talk like that either. But then he got serious again.

"People got hurt. And killed. And it hurt like hell for me to watch it. People started leaving the guild. It felt like Fairy Tail was being torn apart from the inside out. I couldn't stay there and watch that happen to the guild I love. That's why I came here." I listened as he explained all of this.

"It sounds like the guild needed you Natsu. I mean, I'm grateful to be here, but are you sure you made the right choice?" I asked. He looked at me with a serious look.

"The way I see it, there wasn't any choice to make. What was I supposed to do? Make flowery speeches and inspire people? That's Makarov's job. I couldn't just sit around doing nothing. I'm the kind of guy who needs to get out there and do something, not just wait for things to happen around me, and then react to it. So that's why I came here. I heard about these people and what they can do. They have the power to bring the dead back. To heal. Power we need." The way Natsu was talking concerned me. I don't remember him ever sounding like this before. What happened to make him feel this way? It must have been something awful.

I gathered my thoughts. I looked at him. "Natsu, I trust you. But how much can we trust these people? They seem nice. Well, not all of them. But many of them seem like decent people, if kind of strange. And I believe they can probably help. But how did you meet them? What's your relationship with them?" I had more questions, but Natsu slumped, looking tired again. He took a breath.

"It would take too long to explain it all right now. Let's just say, they were trapped. They asked for my help. I helped free them. In return, they promised to help me. They brought you back. That goes a long way towards earning my trust. But they made another promise too." I waited for Natsu to elaborate, but he didn't. It seemed like it was getting harder for him to concentrate. I wanted to help him with whatever was wrong with him. I needed to find out what the problem was, I decided. But right at that moment, I just wanted to enjoy being with him a little longer.

"Hey, Natsu. Do you remember how we took care of Happy's egg together when we were kids? And we tried to keep it safe and warm until it hatched?" I asked. Natsu turned to me, and had a hard to read look on his face.

"Yeah, of course I remember that. A little surprised you do though. I heard your memory isn't too good." He said.

"That's true. There's a lot I don't remember. But I seem to remember stuff about you more clearly." He looked surprised by this.

"Really? And you even remember stuff from when we were little?" he said.

"Yeah. I was the mommy, and you were the daddy, right?" I smiled at him. He looked embarrassed, and turned his head. "Uh, right. You know, that was a long time ago." He said.

"I know. I guess, for some reason, it was just something that was important to me. But I know that's silly." I turned away, starting to feel a little embarrassed myself. But then I felt his hand on my shoulder, and I turned to see him looking me in the face. "Just because I don't feel like talking about it doesn't mean its not important to me." He paused a moment, then continued. "Lisanna, I hate that you have to be here in this place, and go through this stuff. But I'm also glad you're with me. I guess that doesn't make sense." I was not expecting him to say that, and wasn't sure how to respond. Before I could think of something, there was a knock on the door, and then the door to my room opened. It was one of the doctors, or "leeches", and a keeper was with him/her. It was hard to tell the gender, because the leeches dress funny. At least, I think so. They wear flowy white robes and hoods, and also wear masks. I know doctors wear face masks and stuff, but the leeches wear white masks that cover their entire face, which with the robe and hood make them look like ghosts. I'm not sure that's the impression a doctor should give.

"Natsu Dragneel, we are here to help you. Please come with us." They said in a dull monotone. They way they talk only added to the "ghost" thing. I stood up with Natsu.

"Lisanna Strauss, your presence is not required. Boudica requests that you stay here." The leech said. I notice that everyone just calls her "Boudica". No title or anything, even though she's one of the leaders here. At any rate, I would have made a case for coming, but Natsu held up a hand. "Its fine. I don't want you to see me like this anyway. We'll talk later." He said, and started walking out the room.

"I'm counting on it." I said. He left with the two others, and I was left alone again. After that, I did see Natsu a few times, but always with supervision. I couldn't talk to him alone, which was frustrating. And then tonight you brought me to him, and I saw some of what was going on. As usual, it raised more questions though. I hope tonight I finally get the answers to them.


Lisanna let out a long sigh. Her mouth felt dry from talking so much. Alrace had sat there listening to her story without interrupting.

"Geez, I really went on, didn't I? I didn't mean to. I guess I just had a lot to get off my chest. It felt nice to be able to tell all of this to someone. Thanks for listening."

Alrace nodded. "It was interesting to hear. You're a good storyteller. I hope you two both find what you're looking for. And I hope Boudica tells you what you want to know." He said.

"Well, why don't you just ask her right now?" a voice said. Lisanna and her companion turned to the darkness, and saw a figure moving towards them. Stepping into the light, it was Boudica herself.

"H-how long were you standing there listening?" Lisanna asked. Boudica shrugged. "Not too long. I didn't want to interrupt you though. Not when you were talking about dear Natsu." Boudica said. Her tone and expression were neutral. Lisanna became a little embarrassed. "I'm just worried about him." she said softly. Boudica clapped her hands together. "Of course you are. He's your oldest friend. You want to know what's happening with him right now. And I'll tell you."

Boudica walked up to the cage and grabbed the bars while looking at the two of them. Alrace kept his head down, while Lisanna looked at Boudica expectantly.

"You want to know why Natsu has been so out of sorts? So tired? In so much pain? There's a simple explanation for that, Lisanna: its because of you." As Boudica said this, Lisanna's eyes widened.

"What?!" she exclaimed. She looked confused and alarmed. Boudica smiled.

"Maybe that wasn't the right way to put that. Its not that its anything you did. It's the fact that you're here. Or rather, the fact that he played a crucial role in bringing you back. We never did tell you how we accomplished that, did we? Well, its complicated. I won't explain the entire process, but I, along with a few others, used powerful magic to bring you here. But that wasn't enough. The ritual that we used required life energy from a still living person. And not just any person. It had to be someone who knew you personally. Someone who remembered you, and had strong feelings for you. That's just how it works. It would have been easier without those stipulations. Then we could have maybe used someone else, like one of my disciples. They have no qualms about sacrificing themselves for a good cause. And we all agree that restoring your life was a good cause, don't we?"

Boudica paused, and Lisanna appeared distraught at hearing all of this. "So, your saying its my fault that Natsu's suffering?" Boudica shook her head.

"Don't misunderstand. Natsu chose this. He knew what the price would be, and he agreed to pay it. He felt it was worth it. Do you disagree?" Boudica looked at Lisanna with lidded eyes. Lisanna stood up.

"I'm glad to be alive. I'm grateful. But Natsu shouldn't have to suffer like this for me." She said.

"I agree. Which is why we're helping him. He's starting to get better now." Boudica replied.

"He is? Really?" Lisanna said. Boudica, walking around the cage, nodded. "Absolutely. You know how? By getting stronger. He's making himself stronger, more powerful. That will give him more control. He's pushing his magic potential to the limits, and its impressive. Its possible there are other methods that would help, but this is the easiest and surest way."

Lisanna paused to consider all of this. This was, as usual, a lot for her to take in all at once. But she nodded. "Okay then. So, he'll be fine then?" she said hopefully. Boudica stopped moving again, and looked at Lisanna.

"Its not that simple, child. There's another aspect to this you should be made aware of. You see, you and Natsu are bound together. I'm not speaking metaphorically. There is literally a magical bond between the two of you. Which has been the case since you were brought back."

Lisanna grew concerned again. "What does that mean?"

"I told you that this ritual required life energy. Natsu's, for you. You now have some of his life essence. You are linked to him. It sustains you. This has taken a toll on Natsu, both physically and mentally. But if his magic power grows, then I'm confident he can overcome the effects. But there is a catch. Since you two are linked, that means there's a limit to how far his power will help him. It would be a lot more effective if you grew in power as well. The stronger you are, the less you, that is to say your body, will depend on him. In other words, it would benefit you both to become stronger. But of course, that's up to you. How badly do you want to help Natsu?" Boudica finished her explanation. Lisanna stood there silently for a minute, absorbing all of this. She took a few breaths.

"I… want to help him. I just need some time to get this all sorted in my head." Lisanna said. At this point she didn't know how to feel. Boudica spread her arms. "Of course. You need time to digest this. But you do remember I said I wanted you for a mission of sorts? That's tomorrow. You don't need to decide anything immediately, but I would advise you to come with us. It could give you a chance to sharpen your skills. Besides, it would also give you the opportunity to finally see more of the country, instead of being cooped up here all the time. I won't force you to do this. But I do recommend it." Boudica finished. Lisanna stepped forward.

"I said I would go with you. And I will. I wanted to know what was going on, and you told me. I appreciate that. But I still want to know more. Maybe going out with you will help with that. I want to know more about you, and what you do. What your mission is." Lisanna said this soberly. Boudica raised an eyebrow, but also smiled. "Fair enough. Now, get some sleep. You'll need it. We leave tomorrow." Boudica then turned to Alrace, who had kept silent for a while. "And Alrace; I want to talk to you privately. There are some things we need to discuss one on one." Alrace looked bothered by this, but said, "Of course. Whatever you want." He bowed. Lisanna hoped he wasn't in too much trouble.

Boudica turned back to Lisanna. "You can go now. Good night Lisanna." She said. Lisanna watched as the cloaks left, easing some of the tension. "Yeah. Good night." Lisanna said and left the cage. But before leaving, she turned back to Budica.

"I have one more question for you. If you don't mind." Lisanna said. Boudica turned back to her. "And what would that be?" Lisanna considered saying "never mind", and leaving, but she had to know this.

"I want to know who Erza is. You mentioned her earlier. She's someone Natsu knows, right? Do I know her too? I can't remember." Boudica regarded Lisanna for a moment, and then folded her arms.

"Erza is Natsu's friend. And guildmate. And yes, I believe you knew her too. She's dead now. The details aren't important. Natsu wants her back. Just like he wanted you back." Boudica spoke plainly.

"But… wouldn't that require more life energy from him?" Lisanna asked. Boudica didn't immediately respond. Lisanna sensed that she didn't want to talk about this anymore, and her next statement confirmed that.

"We'll talk about this more another time. For now, you'll just have to trust that I know what I'm doing. Good night Lisanna." She said this politely, but firmly. Lisanna wanted to question this further, but Boudica made it clear the conversation was over. Lisanna wanted to trust that Boudica and Natsu knew what they were doing, but she couldn't help being concerned. Nevertheless, she said good night and left the chamber.


Lisanna got back to her room. She laid down in bed, thinking of everything that she saw and learned today. She would need time to figure this all out. For now, she would just need to sleep on it. And maybe tomorrow, things would become a little clearer for her.

As she fell asleep, she did at least know one thing for certain; she was determined to help Natsu, one way or another.


Endnotes: This chapter ended up being longer than I intended, which is why it took so long.

At this point I want to mention a few things. I haven't kept up with the more recent Fairy Tail canon stuff. In fact, I pretty much stopped keeping up with it after the Tartaros and Fairy Tail Zero stuff. I did see some spoilers though, so I have a general idea of how the main story ends. I'm not familiar at all with the 100 Year Quest stuff though. So, if any of the characters or concepts in this story seem similar to anything from the later Fairy Tail stuff, then its coincidental.

This is especially true of the Bosco stuff. Obviously, I am using Bosco in this story, and will explore its culture (as I imagine it) in the story. Part of the reason I decided to use Bosco is because it had never been explored in the canon, so that would give me room to do what I want with it without the restraints of the canon. If Bosco ends up appearing in 100 Year Quest or something, then just remember this is supposed to be an AU. I'm also aware that some fanfic authors may have used Bosco in their stories, but I haven't read those.

At any rate, the next chapter won't focus entirely on Lisanna and the Bosco stuff like this chapter did. If anyone has any comments or questions about the original characters and concepts I'm using in this story, then say so in the comments. I'll just say that I fully intend to have the canon characters remain the main focus of the story most of the time.