"Hey, can you hear me?" Gajeel said.

"Is anyone there?" Juvia added. Flare stood between them, leaning over, staring into the lacrima. They had been trying for a few minutes to contact the guild, or rather the master. They were inside of a tent that had been put up after the combat. There were other tents like it across the town.

The fighting in the town was over. The samurai had all been killed, or captured, or fled. Yoshimoto was no where to be found. He may already have left before the fighting even broke out. Regardless, after the fighting had ended, the three Fairy Tail mages asked around for a lacrima to contact the guild. Eventually someone brought them one, although it may have possibly been damaged. They were having some trouble with using it.

"Looks like we're just gonna have to decide on our own." Gajeel said.

"I can't imagine how the guild will react if we bring the two of them back unannounced." Juvia said. They had been debating whether to bring Natsu and Lisanna back to the guild with them. They agreed to let master Makarov decide for them. Natsu and Lisanna were currently out of earshot, but still close by. They were both talking to some townsfolk. Many were hurt and bloody. Gajeel, Flare, and Juvia had come over to this tent to talk in private.

"I don't trust them." Gajeel said. "I always had a beef with Natsu, and I don't know Lisanna. Don't know what they're thinking."

"Hmm." Juvia said, putting her hand to her chin, thinking seriously. "What do you think, Flare?"

Flare looked at Juvia, taken off guard. "Me? How should I know? I don't know either of them. That Natsu seems kind of crazy though." She said this with an odd smile, as if there was something funny. Juvia and Gajeel exchanged a glance, but refrained from making the obvious comment.

"What about you?" Flare said to Juvia. "You were friends with them, right?"

Juvia looked uncomfortable. "Well, I wouldn't say that. Lisanna… had died long before I joined Fairy Tail. I only just met her for the first time today. I was friends with Natsu though. Well, not exactly friends, but we were guildmates, and fought together. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm not sure that I've ever actually had a conversation with Natsu."

"You're not missing much." Gajeel said.

"Can you hear me?" a voice said nearby. The three of them turned. Makarov could be seen in the lacrima, albeit not entirely clearly. "Gajeel, is that you?" he said.

"What do you know, we finally got through." Gajeel said.

"What's going on? Do you have something to report?" Makarov said.

"Well master, we did make it to the town, like you asked." Juvia said. "Unfortunately, we didn't find Lord Yoshimoto."

Makarov paused for a minute. He said nothing, but it was clear he wasn't pleased.

"Look, things didn't go according to plan." Gajeel said. "We got here, and right off the bat things were…"

"Were what?" Makarov said.

"Things were fucked up." Flare suggested. "Samurai were fighting with the townspeople, and we got involved. We won though."

"That's nice, at least." Makarov said. "I don't suppose you also managed to capture anyone?"

"We didn't exactly capture them, but there are a couple people here I think you'd be interested in: Dragneel and the Strauss girl." Gajeel said.

Makarov was silent. His face underwent several changes, his emotional state hard to decipher. He listened as they explained everything to him, and their debate about whether to bring the two back to the guild. After they were done, Makarov spoke.

"Bring them back." He said in a low but strained voice. "No further debate. Just bring them back, as fast as possible."


A few hours later, all five of them were on the road, heading back to Magnolia. They had managed to find a few carriages to ride in. The problem was, due to the situation at the town they just left they couldn't easily find anyone to drive them. So, they ended up having to drive the carriages themselves. Which was not easy, because none of them had any experience driving carriages. Another issue was that Gajeel and the others weren't sure if they could trust Lisanna or Natsu at that moment. There was the unspoken suspicion that they might still be secretly working with the enemy, and may try a sneak attack. This concern was somewhat allayed by Natsu's notorious motion sickness in vehicles. He wasn't much of a threat if he was incapacitated.

Gajeel and Flare rode in one carriage, with Gajeel doing his best to drive. Natsu and Lisanna rode in the other vehicle, with Juvia driving. Natsu obviously wasn't able to drive, and the horse became fearful if Lisanna got too close. So, that just left Juvia.

Juvia's method of driving was to do as little as necessary. Once she was able to get the horse moving, she tried to just let it be. She kept at a steady, if not very fast, pace. Which seemed the safest thing to do. After riding for almost an hour, it was getting dark out. Juvia looked up at the sky. It was twilight, the time in between sunset and total darkness. The moon was visible even though it wasn't totally dark yet. It seemed oddly peaceful and picturesque after the violence and ugliness from earlier. Juvia sighed. She then heard a sound from the back. She turned and looked back. She couldn't clearly see into the carriage, but she heard Natsu moaning. She also heard Lisanna saying something to him. It sounded like she was trying to comfort him.

"Will he be able to last the whole way?" Juvia called back, while trying to watch the road. "This could take a while."

"Natsu's tough, he'll get through it." Lisanna said.

"It should be quicker once we can get to a train." Juvia said.

"I don't know if that's a good idea. We kind of… got into a huge fight with border guards and rune knights before we got to that town. So, we're probably wanted now. Going to a train station might be risky."

"Oh. Well then this might take a few extra days. Because I don't feel comfortable making this horse go any faster."

Lisanna said nothing in response. She seemed to go back to attending Natsu. Another half hour passed by in relative silence. It was now mostly dark, though the carriage had a few lanterns attached. The atmosphere felt peaceful, and they seldom encountered anyone else on the road. And yet, Juvia was starting to feel a little unsettled in the dark, and also a little lonely with no one to talk to.

"Juvia?" Lisanna said.

"Lisanna, what is it?" Juvia said. She was a little relieved to talk to someone, but tried not to show it.

"I wanted to ask you… how long have you been in Fairy Tail?"

"How long? Well, about half a year, give or take."

"Do you like it there?"

Juvia hesitated. "Yes, I do." Her current feelings were a little more complicated than that. But she didn't feel comfortable opening up too much to Lisanna. After all, they had only just met earlier that day.

"That's good." Lisanna said. For a moment Lisanna left it at that. Juvia sensed there was something else Lisanna wanted to say though. Juvia was correct.

"Juvia." Lisanna said. "Do you think that… Do you think Natsu and I will be welcome back there, in Fairy Tail?"

Juvia hesitated again. "Honestly, I don't know. I'm pretty sure there are at least a few people who will be happy to see you."

"Yeah." Lisanna said quietly. After that, the conversation died down, and they rode in silence for a while.


Gajeel drove the other carriage several yards away. They were riding side by side. The wide road allowed them to do that, although they would have to change formation once the road became narrower. Gajeel was currently having a decent time controlling the horse. However, when they first set out his time wasn't so easy. He had never driven a carriage before, but he had seen other people drive them. He remembered some of the things the riders did, and he tried to imitate them. He almost lost control of the carriage a few times. He did not seem to get along well with the horse. Eventually he just decided to copy what Juvia was doing, which seemed to work better.

Like Juvia, Gajeel also rode in silence, while Flare was in the back, apparently napping. Unlike Juvia, Gajeel didn't care about the sky, nor did he feel uneasy or lonely. He mostly just felt bored. It would be one thing if they could go fast, but that wasn't an option. So, he just sat there by himself, with nothing to do except stare at the horse and watch the road gradually go by. It seemed a little anticlimactic after the tense confrontation back in town. He knew that it probably wouldn't be boring when they got back to Fairy Tail though.

After riding for a little while, Gajeel was starting to have trouble focusing. He actually sort of wished Natsu wasn't incapacitated, so he would have someone to argue with. At least that wouldn't be boring. He sighed deeply. Suddenly, he heard a noise behind him. He turned.

"Flare? Is that you?" He asked. He heard no response, and didn't see anything. He then heard something to his other side, and turned. He saw someone there, and instinctively began to shift his arm to attack. After a split second, he realized it was just Flare. She had climbed out and come up onto the seat beside him.

"Boo." She said, looking at him with that strange look of hers.

"Boo yourself. What the hell are you doing?" he said.

"I got bored, and decided to come up here with you. Do you mind?"

Gajeel didn't admit that he had been bored as hell himself, and welcomed the company. Instead, he said, "I don't mind. Just say something next time instead of crawling up here like that.

"Because I scared you?" She said.

"No, because it's annoying."

Flare said nothing. She sat next to him as Gajeel tried to keep the horse going in the right direction. He wondered if he would get better at it. After a few minutes, he felt Flare poke him on the shoulder.

"What?" he said.

"Gajeel." She said. "Look."

"Huh?" he said. He turned, and saw her holding out her leg, lifting it outward. She pointed to her foot.

"My shoes." She said. She lifted her other leg as well, as she sat in the seat. Flare wore black heels, and they both looked worn and scuffed, as well as dirty. Gajeel barely noticed though. Instead, his eyes were drawn to her bare legs. Her dress was cut in such a way that when she lifted her legs like that, they were fully exposed. Without thinking, his eyes wandered to her thighs and ankles.

"What do you think?" she said.

"Uhh. What do I think?"

"Yeah. About my shoes. They've gotten banged up from all the running and fighting lately. I thought maybe I could get a new pair. Maybe even boots or something. What do you think?"

"Uhh." Gajeel said again. He looked at her shoes, but his eyes kept drifting to her bare legs.

"Hey, watch the road." Flare said. Gajeel suddenly felt the carriage bumping and shaking. He turned and saw they had gotten off the path. The horse was going off course into a rocky area. He did what he could to right it, struggling for a minute. Somehow, he got it to cooperate again, and moved back onto the road. That was probably less to do with his skill and more to do with the horse being well trained.

"Damnit, you distracted me." He said.

"Distracted you? With shoes?" she said, looking at him with a neutral expression. He looked at her for a second. She didn't give any indication that she saw him looking at her legs, but he felt like she must have noticed. She's doing this on purpose, he thought. I don't know why though. Maybe its some sort of game.

"Look, can we talk about something else?" he said.

"Like what?" she said.

"Like those two over there." He said, pointing to the carriage beside them. Although not visible, Natsu and Lisanna were still inside.

"Oh, that." Flare said, looking a little put off.

"You don't think its important to talk about it?" Gajeel said.

"What's to talk about?"

"What's your impression of them? I mean, I've got my opinions of Salamander. Not sure about Lisanna though."

"Natsu screamed at me and threw fireballs at me. He probably would have killed me if you hadn't shown up. Thanks, by the way. He didn't make a good first impression with me."

"Yeah. To be fair though, I don't think either of us made a good first impression on Fairy Tail either."

Flare didn't have a response for that.

"So, what about Lisanna?"

Flare thought it over for a few moments. "She's cute, I guess."

"Cute?" he asked.

"Yeah, like a kitten."

"Even with the monster parts?"

Flare shrugged.

"So, what happens when we take them back to the guild?" he asked. "Probably a shitstorm."

"Heh. Who cares? Not my problem."

Gajeel side eyed her. "If it affects our guild, then it's our problem."

Flare turned to him and gave him a serious look. "Your guild, not mine. I'm just a guest."

"You don't have to be. You could stay. Join up, officially. I'm sure the master would okay it." Gajeel was trying to talk while keeping the horse on track.

Flare looked off in the distance. She looked at the tress and occasional building pass by, but she seemed to be looking past them to something much further off. "I have other plans. I want to go home, Gajeel."

"Home? Home is wherever you hang your hat."

Flare tilted her head at him. "I always heard 'home is where the heart is.'"

Gajeel shrugged. "Hat, heart, what's the difference?" Flare looked like she was about to say something in response, but then thought better of it. Instead, she just chuckled a little. They rode in silence for a few minutes, the discussion seemingly having ended.

Flare then turned to him again and said, "So, heels or boots?"

Gajeel sighed. "This again? Look, which do you think you'd like better?"

Flare looked at him and smiled. "That depends. Which do you think would make my legs looks sexier?"

Gajeel looked away from her, slightly embarrassed. "Just shut up and let me drive."


"Boudica, can you hear me?" Nikodias said, looking into the lacrima. He was in a private section of the grey building. Torq was also there, and even Cobra. They were in a medium sized room that was mainly used for keeping records. Nikodias had been trying periodically to contact Boudica for the last few days, with no luck. However, a few minutes earlier he had seen something in the lacrima that he thought might be Boudica. He peered into the orb on the wooden table, seeing if it would activate. Suddenly, the image of his wife appeared, clear as crystal.

"Nikodias, I've been busy." She said. "It took me longer than expected to find a lacrima in this city. I should have brought one with me."

"Boudica." He said, happy to see her again. "I hope you and Seraiisa are both well."

As he said that, Seraiisa popped into the image beside her mother. She was smiling. "Hi daddy. Are you having fun? Cause we are. We went to the circus, and saw clowns. Oh, and mom performed a miracle too."

"I would expect nothing less." Nikodias said, looking at Boudica proudly. "But what is this about a circus? That doesn't sound like you, to attend something of that sort."

Boudica smiled a little, and put a hand on Seraiisa's shoulder. "Normally no. Seraiisa noticed that Roveto has a circus troupe, and she wanted to see them. Initially I refused, but… this group is not typical. Their troupe consists of mages. They are in fact a magic guild, as well as a circus act. I thought they would be worth taking a look at."

"I won't pretend to understand all of your designs." He said lightly.

"Hey, I hate to interrupt, but you said I might be needed." Cobra said impatiently. "I don't want to stand around here just watching your family scene."

Nikodias looked with disdain at Cobra. But Boudica spoke first.

"What exactly do you need Cobra there for? I was curious about that."

"Ahem." Nikodias began. "I was about to get to that. There has been a very troubling incident. It happened shortly after you left. I tried to contact you, but there was no way to reach you."

"What is this troubling incident?" She remained patient, but her tone suggested she wanted him to get to the point.

"Lisanna Strauss, and Natsu Dragneel. They've escaped." He said this with an edge of desperation. As soon as he said the words, the lighthearted mood the conversation began with completely dissipated. Boudica's face changed. The change was subtle, and most people wouldn't have noticed. But Nikodias had known her long enough to know that she was very displeased. With each passing second, her disposition slipped closer to a quiet anger. The atmosphere in the room grew heavy.

"Boudica…" Nikodias said, unsure what to say.

"How?" she said calmly. Despite the calm tone, Seraiisa seemed to have stepped away from her.

"They had help." He said.

"I'll bet Alrace had something to do with it." Seraiisa said from somewhere out of sight.

"Yes, actually. He admitted as much. We have him locked up right now."

"Good." Boudica said. "But how did they get outside the barrier?"

"That we don't know." He said. "It seemed to go down temporarily."

Boudica lowered her eyes a little. She put a hand to her chin. "We can talk about how it happened after I return. Unfortunately, there are still a few things I need to take care of before I leave the city. I'll be back soon though. In the meantime, have you made efforts to retrieve them?"

"We didn't know where they were. They escaped the country quickly, and there are many guards at the border. They've probably gone back to Fairy Tail."

"Then send someone to Fairy Tail to retrieve them. Hopefully, you can still intercept them on the way. Don't kill them, mind. Just bring them back. With words, or force if necessary."

"I don't think that will be easy." Nikodias said. "Arnok is away, Yoshimoto hasn't returned, and Sael… I suppose we could get his help."

"I don't think Sael is the right person for this." Boudica said. "Find someone else." She did not elaborate, but Nikodias didn't argue.

"Fortunately, I had the foresight to find Mr. Cobra." Nikodias said.

"Yes. But I doubt that will be enough. There must be someone else. I have to go now, but I'll be in contact with you soon."

"…Very well." He said with some unease.

"Bye daddy. Bring 'em back." Seraiisa said, peeking at the lacrima. It went blank. Nikodias stared at the lacrima for a minute.

"So, what's the plan, boss?" Cobra said. Nikodias turned.

"I'll let you know soon enough." He said. "What I can tell you is that we're going to have to go back to Fairy Tail."


Lucy walked down the streets of Magnolia along with her companions, the guild hall finally in sight. It had taken them days of uncomfortable travel, and more uncomfortable walking. But they were finally almost back home after their adventure at Lamia Scale. It was early afternoon, and a clear day. Gray was carrying the mechanical parts of the machine in a sort of wheelbarrow, which made it easier. Happy was making small talk with Carla, while she acted disinterested. Wendy seemed distracted by the mundane goings on in the city. Lucy herself was just looking forward to having something to eat, and then going back to her bed to sleep. After that, she would need to start looking for another paying job, since she was running low on money, again. Lucy's thoughts were interrupted by Gray.

"Hey, what's going on?" he said.

"Huh?" Lucy said. She had been lost in thought for a minute, and didn't know what Gray meant.

"Did something happen?" Wendy said.

Lucy looked towards the guild, now closer. She saw that many of the guild members were gathered around outside the entrance. It looked like there was some kind of commotion. She picked up the pace and began walking more quickly to the guild. The others did likewise. They walked quickly, and then began running, with a growing feeling that something bad had happened. They ran towards the guild, their comrades coming into sight. They could see Elfman, and Mirajane, and Macao, and Cana, and even Makarov, among others. When they got close, several of the gathered mages looked expectedly in their direction, but then relaxed a little when they realized who it was. Lucy and the others slowed down.

"Hey, what's happening?" Gray said.

"Gray, Lucy, its you." Mirajane said.

"You're back." Cana said.

"You're here." Elfman added.

"Why is everyone stating the obvious?" Happy said.

Gray stepped forward and looked around at the gathered crowd. "Something tells me you're not all here just to greet us."

"You'd be right about that." Makarov said.

"Was there some kind of attack?" Lucy said.

"No, not an attack." Makarov said. "We are expecting someone though."

"Expecting someone? Like a guest?" Wendy inquired.

"You could say that." Makarov said. "We would have told you about this sooner, but we had no way of contacting you while you were gone."

"Told us about what?" Gray said. "What's happening?"

"You guys might want to sit down for this." Mirajane said.

"Something big happened while you were away…" Makarov began. He then noticed something, and turned his head. He focused, and then turned his body to face that way. "Nevermind. "Sorry, but it looks like there's no time to explain. They're here."

"They?" Lucy said. She followed Makarov's gaze, and noticed several figures approaching from the distance. They were walking down the road straight toward the guild, just as Lucy and the others had done moments ago. The first three were instantly recognizable: Gajeel, Flare, and Juvia, all walking together. With them were two other figures, wearing conspicuous hooded jackets that covered their heads as they walked down the street. Lucy didn't know who they were. She looked to the crowd to gauge their reaction, since they apparently knew something she didn't. Their reaction was hard to read though. Nervous? Excited? Master Makarov specifically had a very serious expression on his face, an expression that he had worn too often lately.

Lucy watched as the figures approached. Gajeel didn't look entirely happy, or comfortable. Juvia seemed a little apprehensive. And Flare was Flare. As for the other two… Lucy realized that the hooded figures were a man and a woman. The man looked tense, and was clenching his fists. He seemed familiar to Lucy somehow. The woman seemed a little more reserved. She stood close to the man, but also a step back. She felt unfamiliar to Lucy. The two groups now stood several yards apart from each other. It stayed like that for a few moments.

"Welcome back." Makarov said levelly. He looked at Gajeel as he said it.

Gajeel matched Makarov's expression, and folded his arms. "Yeah. We brought them back, like you said." He didn't elaborate. He was being unusually quiet. Makarov started to respond, but Mirajane stepped forward. She walked closer to the hooded figures, but the woman took a step back.

"Please, let me see your face." Mirajane said. The woman slowly approached and took off her hood. Lisanna and Mirajane stood across from each other. They stood like that for a long moment.

"Lisanna. You're back." Mirajane said. Her voice was choked with emotion.

"Mira." Lisanna said. The one syllable she spoke was full of varied emotions.

Lisanna? Lucy thought. Then that must mean… She turned towards the other hooded figure. He too stepped forward and revealed himself. For the first time in many months, Lucy laid eyes on Natsu Dragneel. She saw his distinctive pink hair, grown out a little since last time. He still had the same hardened expression that she remembered seeing from their last talk. But she thought she saw a hint of sadness in his eyes. She wondered what he had been through.

He wasn't looking at her though. He was looking broadly at everyone gathered. He stared at the group, taking them all in one at a time. He stood with his mouth open a little, as if he was unsure what to say. Then, he noticed Lucy. He locked eyes with her. Lucy whispered his name, and without thinking started walking towards him. She started to reach out to him, but Gray rushed in front of her. He quickly advanced on Natsu. The last time they met Gray had attacked Natsu. This time though, Natsu was ready for it.

Natsu put up his fists, and started walking as gray picked up speed. Gray raised his own fists. As they got within a few feet of each other, something stopped them. It was Makarov. He grabbed them both with one hand each. He had used his magic to grow giant, having seemingly anticipated this. He held the two young mages apart from each other.

"Let me go, damnit!" Gray said.

"That's enough!" Makarov said, his now giant voice booming. Gray and Natsu stopped struggling. Makarov let them down apart from each other. "I wanted Natsu and Lisanna brought here. I asked for them. So no fighting, at least until we've had a chance to talk." Gray and Natsu both stood there. Gray was clearly not happy, but said nothing. Nor did Natsu. Lisanna moved closer to Natsu, and put a hand on his shoulder. Natsu met her gaze, but still remained silent.

Mirajane walked over to where the two of them were standing. Lisanna stopped and looked at her sister, wide eyed. "Mirajane." Lisanna said in an almost-whisper. Mirajane almost responded, but then someone came walking up behind her. Mirajane turned, and saw Elfman. He looked at Lisanna with a mixture of relief and anguish. Everyone watched silently as the siblings stood there. Lisanna approached Elfman.

She stopped in front of him, and he looked down at her. He waited to see what she would say to him. She looked up. "Elfman…" she said. "I'm sorry." She slowly lifted her arms and hugged him. He stood there, staring off into nothing. A single drop of moisture fell down his cheek.

"What are you talking about?" he said. "I'm the one that's sorry. If it wasn't for me, you…"

"No." Lisanna pulled back a little and looked up at him. "I know you would never hurt me on purpose. I never should have said those things. You're my big brother. I love you." Lisanna turned to Mirajane, standing nearby. "You too Mira." Mirajane smiled, and joined in the hug. They just stood there like that for a minute.

Natsu watched as the siblings embraced. After a moment, he turned away. He noticed Lucy again. She had been standing there the whole time, although he didn't know it.

"Natsu. Hi." She said, more meekly than she had intended. Her emotions were so jumbled, she wasn't sure what she was feeling. But she knew that Natsu was finally back, after all this time. Part of her wanted to just run over and hug him. But she wasn't sure if that was appropriate at that point. She didn't really know what he had been through, or how he was feeling at that moment. There was also a smaller part of her that wanted to lay into him for leaving the way he did, and… for other things. Things she didn't know a great deal about, but had heard stories. But still…

After a long moment, Natsu gave her a small smile and said, "Hey, Lucy." She liked that. It reminded her of old times. Somehow though, it was different. In the past, his smile would have been wider, and his "Hey Lucy" would have been more enthusiastic. Now, it felt almost like a ghost of his old expressions. That made her feel uneasy. As she was thinking this, Natsu looked down. Happy was there at his leg. Not quite a hug, but Happy was gripping Natsu's pants.

"You left me behind. You didn't even say anything." Happy's voice strained a little as he spoke. His eyes welled a little. Natsu put a hand on Happy's head, but said nothing.

"I think its time we all went inside so we can have some privacy." Master Makarov said. He was back in his normal form now. He turned, and headed back for the guild, and everyone else started following his lead.

"Are you serious?" someone said loudly. Everyone turned. It was Gray Fullbuster who had said that. He looked out on the crowd with a scowl. "You're all fine with just letting them back in here after everything that's happened? Not one of you has a problem with this?"

"Gray, everyone deserves a second chance." Mirajane said.

Gray turned to her. Lisanna was looking down at the ground. Elfman was nearby clenching his fists. "Look Mira, I know you're going to stand by Lisanna, because she's family. Truth is, I know she's probably not to blame for most of this. But Natsu is a different story. He's been helping them, helping them to hurt us, and lots of other people too."

Natsu, unusually, kept silent during this. Someone from the crowd answered instead.

"We don't know the whole story, Gray." Cana said. "I've known Natsu a long time, and I don't think he would intentionally try to hurt any of us."

"It doesn't matter what his 'intentions' were." Gray said coldly. "I can't be the only one who feels this way."

"I don't really trust him either." Gajeel said. "But I guess I'm not one to talk."

"That's enough." Makarov said loudly. By this point a group of onlookers were watching the scene play out in public. "We'll talk about this inside, in private."

"Why not just talk about it here?" Gray said.

"Because I'm the master and I said so." Makarov said.

Gray stood there for a moment, knowing no one else was going to argue. "Yeah." He said, and slowly started marching towards the guild.

While this was playing out, Lucy had stood by watching. She felt she should have stepped forward and said something in Natsu's defense. But the truth is, she still had questions of her own. Natsu leaving the way he did hurt her, and at one point she had given up on ever seeing him again. And then there's all the Bosco stuff that he was mixed up in. She didn't know what to think. She was glad he was back. But she needed to talk to him. She needed to know how much he had changed.


A short time later, they were all inside the guild. Lisanna and Natsu were both inside the main hall, looking around. Makarov stood a few feet across from them. He had made sure to tell everyone in the guild not to stand around staring at the two prodigals, and to try to go about their business as normal. Many people made a token effort to do that, but were secretly stealing glances at Lisanna and Natsu. Elfman and Mirajane were on the second floor talking. The team of Juvia, Flare and Gajeel, now known as Stormbreaker, had gone off somewhere else rather than hang around for the spectacle. And then there was Lucy, who was sitting at a table, eating some kind of slapped together lunch. She wasn't spending a lot of time eating though. She was doing her best to see what was happening with Natsu, and hear what he was saying. She was curious about Lisanna too, especially her… changed nature. But that wasn't Lucy's main concern.

"So, we're back in the guild now?" Natsu asked.

"Don't get ahead of yourself." Makarov said. "You were never actually expelled from the guild Natsu, but I don't know if I'm willing to just let you back just like that. After all, a lot has happened over the past year. I'm sure you know a lot about that."

"…Right." Natsu said. Lucy only saw him from the back, but his body somehow looked both tense and slouched.

"What about Lisanna?" Natsu asked.

Makarov looked from Natsu to Lisanna. She just stood there with her hands behind her back, looking uncomfortable. Makarov's expression eased a little, and he took on a somewhat gentler tone. "I'd really like to say Lisanna can resume normal activities, but… The truth is, we have a lot of things to work out. There's a lot we need to talk about. Some things we should have talked about last year." Makarov said this last part with a certain emphasis. "But we'll talk about that later, when we can have a little more privacy. Besides, you two need a chance to get settled in."

"I still have my own home to go back to." Natsu said. "And Lisanna…"

"I'm afraid not." Makarov said. "If you want us to trust you, then you're going to have to stay here for now. We can't have you coming and going until we're sure of what's going on."

"You don't trust us?" Natsu said.

"I have developed a few issues with trust lately." Makarov said. "That being said, I would very much like to trust you. But there is an old proverb: trust, but verify."

"Are we prisoners then?" Lisanna said.

"Not at all." Makarov said. "You have the option of leaving. But if you do, then don't come back. If you are going to stay here, then I'll want someone keeping an eye on you both."

"That sounds like prisoners to me." Natsu said.

"Well maybe if you hadn't-" Makarov started to say. He stopped, closed his eyes for a second, and said, "As I said, we can discuss this further later. Maybe once we have more information we can compromise. So, are you staying or leaving again?"

Natsu turned to look at Lisanna. She looked back at him with a tender look. "I want to stay." She said. "But if you want to go, then I'll go with you. I'll go anywhere with you." She grabbed his hand with hers, and squeezed lightly. Natsu reciprocated.

"It took us a long time to get back here." Natsu said. "I'm not leaving. Besides, you belong here."

"We do." She added. Natsu didn't respond, but just looked at the ground. Lisanna squeezed his hand tighter.

"Let me know when you're ready Natsu, and I'll find a room for you. Lisanna, Mirajane can help you find one." Makarov stepped away, but didn't go far.

Meanwhile, Lucy had sat at her table watching the whole time. She had expected Makarov to be more angry with Natsu, and for there to be a bigger scene. When it didn't happen, she was relieved, but still surprised. She still had so many questions, and wanted to talk to Natsu. But then, she noticed Lisanna grab Natsu's hand. At first, she thought Lisanna was just comforting him. But they held hands long and tightly. And the way they looked at each other… At that point, Lucy found it difficult to think of much else. She watched as they walked off, and then Makarov took Natsu away to find a room. And then, Lucy looked at Lisanna. For the first time, Lucy began to think about how many months they had spent together in Bosco. Months. A lot can happen in that time.


A short time later, Lisanna was up on the second floor with Mirajane, who was helping her find a room to stay in. "Normally we don't let people stay at the guild like this." Mirajane said. "But lately we've had to make exceptions for that. Hopefully it doesn't become the norm."

"I'm sorry for being an inconvenience." Lisanna said.

"Don't be silly." Mirajane said. "You'll always have a place to stay. And about what the master said…"

"I understand. I'd be suspicious too if I were him."

"I don't think he's suspicious of you exactly. He's just being cautious. A lot has happened."

Lisanna wasn't sure how to respond, so she kept quiet. After a minute they came to a room. Mirajane opened the door and looked inside.

"This might do." Mirajane said. "What do you think?"

Lisanna looked inside the room. It looked as though it is, or was, a study. There was a desk, and some bookcases. There was also a small table, and a chest for storage. No bed though. There was a single window in the room with some shabby looking curtains. The room looked slightly dusty. Not as though it was long abandoned, but just like it hadn't been used much recently.

"It looks nice." Lisanna said in a neutral tone.

"I know there's no bed, but we can find something for you." Mirajane said.

"Oh, that's okay. You don't have to go to any trouble. Just give me a few sheets and I'll be fine."

Mirajane looked at Lisanna and smiled.

"Did I say something?" Lisanna said.

"No. I'm just happy to see you." Mirajane said. She reached a hand out to Lisanna, but then paused. "Do you have all of your memories back?"

Lisanna cocked her head a little. "Not all of them, I think. But a lot of them. I remember you, and Elfman. And Fairy Tail."

"I'm glad. Do you want to talk about anything?"

"…Not right now. Don't take this the wrong way, but I kind of want to be alone right now."

"Oh, I understand. You need some time to get settled. Just relax. You're home now. And I'll be right downstairs if you need me." Mirajane turned and walked to the stairs. As she was about to go down, she turned back and said, "Welcome home Lisanna. Now, I'll go find you a bed." Before Lisanna could respond, Mirajane quickly went down the stairs. Lisanna smiled a little, and then went into her (maybe temporary) room, shutting the door behind her. Lisanna stood there for a minute and looked around.

She walked over to a chair and sat down. For a minute, she just sat and did nothing. When she came back to Fairy Tail, she wasn't sure what to expect. Would it be a warm homecoming, or would she and Natsu be greeted with anger and hostility over everything that happened? As it turned out, it wasn't exactly either of those things. Gray was vocally unhappy, and Lisanna's siblings were loving and supportive. The rest of the guild was harder to read. They didn't seem angry, but she didn't exactly feel at ease here either. She hugged herself, feeling a little cold.

She turned her head and looked out the window at Magnolia. The streets and buildings were now familiar to her. And she was back in her guild. She was at least glad to be there, instead of the valley in Bosco, where she had been since her resurrection. But she couldn't help thinking, Where do I go from here?


End Notes: The team of Flare, Juvia, and Gajeel now has a name, if only so I don't have to keep calling them by their individual names as a group. I will try not to take as long with the next chapter.