A/N: Nice to see you guys again! These stories are still fun to write, I've just been doing other things. None of my stories have been abandoned, they've just taken a back seat, and I work on chapters whenever I feel like it. I still read and reply to review frequently, so keep leaving feedback! I will say, and this probably goes for all authors, that we feel incentivized to upload more when people take the time to tell us how they feel about what we do. With that said, enjoy!
~ Ad Vitam, Ad Mortem ~


"What's with your obsession with flame-brain's love life? I still say he barely knows what love is," Gray scoffed.

"That kid better knows what love is!" Gildarts yelled. "I certainly tried!"

"And what does that mean?" Erza growled, glaring at the well-known perverted mage. "You didn't happen to ruin Natsu's innocence, did you?"

"I didn't do anything to the kid!" defended the crash mage, holding up his hands. "I just taught him everything he needed to know."

"Gildarts!" Makarov yelled out in a serious tone. "Did you use the special magazines?" he followed up with, giving a perverse grin.

"Master! That is inappropriate!" Erza scolded.

"What kind of magazines?" Wendy asked innocently.

"That is not important, child. You'll find out when you're older," Carla quickly answered. "You hooligans should be ashamed of yourselves! There are children present!"

"Aren't you younger than Wendy?" Romeo pointed out.

"I'm an Exceed, so it's different."
"I don't see how that matters…" Romeo deadpanned.

"If you all are done with your bickering," Evergreen interrupted. "I picked one out."

"Is it a love song?" Cana asked.

"What letter does it have?" Levy asked, flipping the page in her notes.

"It might be, but it doesn't have a letter," Evergreen responded, approaching the player.

"How can it be a love song if it doesn't have a letter!" Cana groaned.

"Because of the name of the song."

"Which is?" Lucy goaded on.

"Her Name is Alice," the brunette answered, pressing play on the lacrima player.

"Ho ho ho!" Cana exclaimed excitedly, shooting up in her chair. "Maybe it's time to add a third to the pile!"

'Who the hell is Alice?' Mira thought, angrily.

'I wonder if L was actually for Alice? It probably would've been A, but maybe someone else had A already?' Lisanna wondered to herself, sadly.

Fortunately for their wandering imaginations, the song began with an almost haunting piano sound. It was followed shortly after by a young girl's voice. (Song: Her Name is Alice by Shinedown)

[?]

If I had a world of my own,

Everything would be nonsense

Nothing would be what it is,

Because everything would be what it isn't

"WAS THAT ASUKA?" Bisca yelled.

"Look, mommy! That was me!" Asuka exclaimed.

"Honey, when did you record a song with Natsu?" Alzack asked, though before an answer could be provided, the song began again, this time, with lyrics sung by Natsu.

[Natsu]

I invite you to a world where there is no such thing as time

And every creature lends themselves to change your state of mind

And the girl that chased the rabbit drank the wine and took the pill

Has locked herself in limbo to see how it truly feels

To stand outside your virtue

No one can ever hurt you

Or so they say

"No way!" Levy exclaimed.

"Who would've guessed it was that Alice!" Lucy added, equally as surprised. The music sure had a way of interrupting today, because no one was able to question their surprise, as the lyrics continued again.

Her name is Alice

She crawls into the window

Shapes and shadows

Alice (Alice)

And even though she's dreaming

She knows

Sometimes the curiosity can kill the soul but leave the pain

And every ounce of innocence is left inside her brain

And through the looking glass, we see she's painfully returned

And now off with her head, I fear is everyone's concern

"Is he afraid of someone getting executed?" Mira asked, confused.

"It sounds like he's on drugs," Cana piped up.

"Natsu does not do drugs!" Lisanna shot back.

You see there's no real ending

It's only the beginning

Come out and play

Her name is Alice (Alice)

She crawls into the window

Shapes and shadows

Alice (Alice)

And even though she's dreaming

She's unlocked the meaning, for you

This kingdom

Good riddance

Good freedom

And innocence

Has brought this whole thing down

Her name is Alice (Alice)

She crawls into the window

Shapes and shadows

Alice (Alice)

And even though she's dreaming

She's unlocked the meaning

[?]

Red knights, white knights, marching into the fight

Drink me, shrink me, fill me to sink me

Red knights, white knights, marching into the fight

Drink me, shrink me, fill me to sink me

"Ok, who was THAT?" Cana asked.

[Natsu]

She's unlocked the meaning for you

[Asuka]

And contrariwise, what it is, it wouldn't be

And what it wouldn't be, it would, you see?

"Did you hear me, mommy?" Asuka asked excitedly.

"I certainly did sweetie. Could you tell mommy when you recorded a song with Natsu?" Bisca asked her.

"Nope!" Asuka exclaimed back.

"Why can't you?"

"We didn't!"

"How did flame-brain get Asuka's voice if the two never recorded a song together?" Gray asked.

"That's what we're trying to figure out, snow queen!" Gajeel shot back.

"Shut it, iron-breath," Gray retorted.

"Both of you, be quiet!" Levy yelled, surprising quite a few that the timid bookworm would raise her voice. "Asuka, if you never recorded anything with Natsu, how did your voice get on the disk?"
"Mommy and Daddy went on a mission so Uncle Natsu and I were playing together," Asuka explained giddily. "Uncle Natsu asked if I wanted to read his favorite book with him and those were the parts I read!"

"How did he get the audio of it then?" Levy asked aloud.

"Natsu lives in the woods, so it's quiet enough that he could have had a microphone pick up her voice," Lucy suggested.

"I'll have to speak to Natsu about recording our daughter without our permission," Alzack said mostly to himself.

"Oh, relax. I'm sure he would have asked us if he was planning on showing people," Bisca pointed out. "Besides, we wouldn't have had a problem with it anyway."
"I guess you're right," Alzack nodded.

"Are we all going to ignore the fact that Natsu has a favorite book?" Gray asked bewildered. "I thought flame-brain could barely read!"

"You also thought he had no musical talent whatsoever," Mira pointed out. "And it must be obvious by now. Levy keeps talking about the references to books that he's been making."

"Mira's right, he does have a lot of literary references," Levy agreed. "This one was entirely about Alice in Wonderland, which is a fantasy story for children."
"Oh, yeah, I've heard of that," Evergreen noted.
"It's about a girl who goes into a magical world full of strange creatures and has bizarre adventures," Levy explains. "That's what he was talking about when he said 'I invite you to a world where there is no such thing as time.' It's a reference to the book and Alice is the main character."
"Ugh," Cana groaned. "There has GOT to be something more interesting in there than books."

"Would it help if your dad picked the next song?" Gildarts asked, grabbing Cana in a hug and rubbing his face against hers.

"Ugh! Get off me, old man!" she yelled.

After a short while of Gildarts showering his daughter with affection, he headed over to the boxes of disks to choose one.

"So, what are we going to do about Natsu when he gets back?" Wendy asked nervously. "We went through his stuff without permission, are you sure that it's ok?"

"Flame-brain invades our privacy all the time, who cares," Gray lamented, waving off her concerns. "Besides, he won't be back for another day or two."

"Wait, when exactly did Natsu leave?" Lisanna asked. Nobody seemed to know, so they all looked towards the cat.
"Happy, when did Natsu go on the search for that dragon sighting?" Mira asked him, but before he could answer, Gildarts spoke up.

"PERFECT!" he shouted, running over to the lacrima player.

"Did you find a good mushy love song?" Cana drawled.

"Nope! Even better!" Gildarts proudly exclaimed. "It's called Song of my Father."

"Of course you'd pick one about yourself," Cana groaned.

"Wouldn't it be about Igneel then?" Levy pointed out. "Sure, Natsu sees Gildarts as a second father, but Igneel was first."

"Maybe it has a letter," Mira suggested.

"It has an I," Gildarts sighed. "And here I thought he would write a song about me."
"Just play the song already, you old geezer!" Cana shouted.

Grumbling to himself, he started up the player. For the first time in a while, it started with a message from Natsu. (Song: Song of My Father by Urban Rescue)

"Igneel," Natsu started. He took a deep breath and you could hear the pain in his voice, like he was trying to keep himself from crying. "I know that you had to...but...I wish we had a little more time together. I...I wrote this song for you...and...I hope that wherever you are...you can hear me."

With the guild's eyes already tearing up, the song began to play with some simple chords, though the sound they gave off wasn't particularly sad. It was almost joyful, in fact, which surprised some of the guild members, who were expecting something similar to what they'd listened to earlier. Natsu then started to sing and his tone matched those chords, with a sound of fond reminiscence.

When silence falls

I hear you call

In a secret place

You still my soul

With quiet joy

And I'm wide awake

In the middle of the night

I look up to the sky

I can hear you singing over me

Through the fire and the flood

I know that I am loved

I can hear you singing over me

There was nary a dry eye in the room as they listened to Natsu sing about his father. He sounded fulfilled, almost, that his father was in a better place, and that he had always loved him, never abandoning him.

'You, my boy, never cease to amaze me,' thought Makarov, as the song continued.

You spoke the earth

With just one word

And you hold my heart

Oh, my every step

My every breath

Is your work of art

In the middle of the night

I look up to the sky

I can hear you singing over me

Through the fire and the flood

I know that I am loved

I can hear you singing over me

Particularly affected by the song were other dragon slayers, Wendy and Gajeel, though Gajeel was trying rather hard not to show it. Wendy, however, was bawling her eyes out. She was in a near-identical situation to Natsu, though Grandine didn't die directly in battle, as Igneel had. Part of the reason she was crying so hard was that she felt similarly to Natsu about knowing her dragon-parent was in a better place watching over her, but the other reason was that Natsu never got the amount of closure that she and the rest of the first-generation slayers got. All of their dragon-parents got to talk with them, however briefly, before passing on, while Igneel hadn't had more than a passing moment with Natsu.

I hear your melody

I hear your symphony

There's nothing louder than the song of my father

I hear your melody

I hear your symphony

There's nothing louder than the song of my father

In the middle of the night

I look up to the sky

I can hear you singing over me

Through the fire and the flood

I know that I am loved

I can hear you singing over me

In the middle of the night

I look up to the sky

I can hear you singing over me

Through the fire and the flood

I know that I am loved

I can hear you singing over me

I hear your melody

I hear your symphony

There's nothing louder than the song of my father

I hear your melody

I hear your symphony

There's nothing louder than the song of my father

(Yeah, Yeah)

There's nothing louder than the song of my father

With the song fading out, leaving sniffles of guild members in its wake, they began to once again dissect the song.

"Mommy, if Natsu was singing about his daddy, why did he sound so happy if he won't ever see him again?" Asuka asked.

"That's a very good question, Asuka," Bisca replied, still drying her eyes and smiling. "I think the master could explain it better than I could. Would you mind?"

"Not at all, dear," the elderly guild master replied, smiling towards the family. "You see, when someone passes away, and we can never see them again, your first response is normally sadness. And it truly is a sad thing; never being able to see a loved one again will always be hard. That's simply the way life is. However, after we pass away, we go on to a better place and keep watch over those that are still here on earthland. That's why Natsu sounded so happy, because even though he'll never be able to see Igneel again, he knows that Igneel is in a better place with the rest of Igneel's family that passed away before him and that he'll watch over Natsu from the heavens until Natsu, one day, joins him up there. That is the circle of life, my dear."

Being at such a young age, it is entirely possible that Asuka did not fully grasp the concept, the answer seemed to satisfy her curiosity, and put a smile on everyone else's face, as they thought about loved ones they knew that had passed on and were now watching over them. Gray thought of Ur, Mira thought of her parents, Lucy thought of her parents, and Elfman thought of his dear parrot.

"I think that song was fairly simple," Levy finally broke the silence. "Though it was really beautiful. 'The song of my father' is essentially his legacy or the lessons he left behind."

"So, when he said 'there's nothing louder than the song of my father,' he was talking about how what Igneel taught him were the most important things he'd learned?" Lucy asked.

"Exactly," Levy nodded. "The same thing when he said 'I can hear you singing over me.' The fire and the flood are essentially bad things that he experiences, though considering it's Natsu, it's surprising that he thought to associate fire with something negative, and that no matter what he will always remember what Igneel taught him."

"The words of someone you look up to always stick with you. I'm sure many of you have similar experiences," Makarov stated, nodding his head in agreement with Levy.

"Aye, sir!" Happy agreed. "Like Natsu taught me how to fish and I'll never forget that!"

"Sure, Happy," the master hesitantly answered.

"Alright, sounds like everyone's had a turn," Cana said. "I'm going again."

"Fine," Erza replied with some frustration in her voice.

Cana rustled through the disks briefly before pulling one out. "Here we go! A letter and everything."

"What have you got this time, Cana?" Mira asked with a sigh.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll love it," the lush answered with a wink. "It's called Angel."

"Wait, wasn't that the name of the chick from the Oracion Seis?" Gray asked, bewildered. "Why would he write a song about her."

"Well, unless her name starts with an M, I'd say it's about our resident demon barmaid," Cana grinned. Mira's face grew red, but she was rather excited to hear the song.

"I don't think anyone knows her real name," Gray sighed.

"I think it's about you, Mira," Lisanna said. "Sounded to me that he thinks you're more of an angel than a demon when he sang about you earlier."

"Just play the song!" Mira squeaked out, earning a laugh around the room.

"Alright, let's get going!" Cana shouted, pressing play on the machine. (Song: Angel by Theory of a Deadman)

The song began with a quick, but catchy, guitar riff and the words started right towards the end of the first repetition.

I'm in love with an angel

Heaven forbid

Made me a believer

With the touch of her skin

"Alright!" Cana cheered. "Told ya!"

Mira was too focused on her own thoughts to really listen to what Cana was saying. 'Is he really singing this to me?'

I'd go to Hell and back with you

Stay lost in what we found

Worlds apart we were the same

Until we hit the ground

Maybe I'm crazy

Maybe I'm weak

Maybe I'm blinded by what I see

You wanted a soldier

But it wasn't me

'Cause I could never set you free

So fly on your own

It's time I let you go

Go!

"I wonder why Natsu thinks he isn't a soldier?" Wendy asked. "He's always fighting to protect everyone."

"I can't think of a time when he failed to save anyone," Lucy agreed.

I'm in love with an angel

Who's afraid of the light

Her halo is broken

But there's fight in her eyes

"That's definitely Mirajane!" Levy exclaimed, but the song continued before anyone could comment.

Walls are built to keep us safe

Until they're crashing down

Worlds apart we were the same

Until you hit the ground

Maybe I'm crazy

Maybe I'm weak

Maybe I'm blinded by what I see

You wanted a soldier

But it wasn't me

'Cause I could never set you free

So fly on your own

It's time I let you go

Go!

"He's definitely crazy!" Cana said. "Crazy in love with you, Mira!"

"He loooves you!" Happy cheered.

Walls are built to keep us safe

Until they're crashing down

Worlds apart we were the same

Until you hit the ground

Maybe I'm crazy

Maybe I'm weak

Maybe I'm blinded by what I see

You wanted a soldier

But it wasn't me

'Cause I could never set you free

So fly on your own

It's time I let you go

So fly on your own

It's time I let you go

Go!

Go!

"He looooves you!" Happy teased again, not quite creative enough to come up with anything else.

"Definitely," Cana agreed. "Wonder how long until we have a bunch of little demon-dragon babies running around. Huh, Mira?"

"That song doesn't have to be about me!" she protested, her face a deeper shade of red than Erza's hair. "Why would he write a song called Angel about me? I use Satan Soul magic! That's the exact opposite!"

"Nope, it's definitely about you, Mira," Levy piped up. "There were a bunch of super obvious lines about you. He said 'I'm in love with an angel who's afraid of the light.' That in itself is basically a demon. 'Her halo is broken, but there's fight in her eyes' is also definitely about you."

"I still don't understand what he meant by he could never set her free. What did Mira need freeing from?" Lucy asked curiously. "Was it from Tartaros? I guess it wasn't Natsu directly who rescued her, but we still saved her."

"Perhaps," Makarov spoke up. "It was after Lisanna's 'passing.' Mirajane lost the ability to use magic in its entirety. Natsu may blame himself for his inability to help her. Perhaps that's why he said it's time he let her go. He fails like he's in some way failed you, Mira, and that you'd be better off with someone else."

While most of the guild processed this, Mira just clenched her fist. "THAT IDIOT!" she yelled.

"Sounds like someone hopes he's not over her yet," Cana teased.

"He'd better not be," she said darkly. "How could he even think that that's his fault?"

"It's just who he is, Mira," Lisanna reassured her.

"But still," she answered, deflating slightly. "He did everything for me...Even after everything I had done to him...he stayed with us...and let us yell at him for no reason...and made sure we all got past it...If it weren't for Natsu, I don't think Elf or I could have kept going…"

"Natsu is a real man!" Elfman agreed.

"Hell yeah I'm a real man!" yelled a new figure bursting through the door. "I'm back early!"

"NATSU?!" the guild shouted in panic.