Hello everyone! Welcome to another chapter of "If we could only go back in time." I hope that you are all enjoying it! Oh, a reviewer a few chapters or so ago said that they felt the implied Lyon/Freed. You're not wrong my friend! There is implied Lyon/Freed which may or may not end up happening. Who knows. (whispers~ It's not...) ANYWAY! I hope that you guys like this chapter and that you tell me what you think! Do you have an recommendations?


Freed slowly broke free from the group of mingling mages only to have Chelia cling to his arm.

"What in the world are you doing?" He asked her.

The only response he got from the girl was a shake of her head and worry in her eyes.

Rolling his own, he pulled away from her with some effort. "Chelia, why don't you talk to Yuka about some strategies? Maybe something that can help us get the upper hand after only coming forth." He offered.

At the thought of having something to do, Chelia was glad to give Freed a quick hug and run over to Yuka.

When he was alone on the outskirts of all the socializing guilds he tried to keep his head down so as to not look at them in fear of catching a certain someone's eyes. He knew that somewhere in that group Laxus was keeping close to his team. Hopefully, he wasn't trying to find him or encounter anyone from Lamia Scale.

Knowing Laxus, Freed was certain that it would not end well. Especially if he were to come across Lyon.

Keeping his head down, Freed let everything that he had to face today sink in.

He was given the chance to see his family again, the family that he had thought dead for six years. The situation itself was emotionally taxing to say the least. He was confused and hurt. Knowing that he betrayed his guild was something he never thought he was going to have to live through, but there he was, in the middle of the royal city ready to fight his friends and family to try and claim victory for another guild.

But when he thought about it, Lamia Scale wasn't just another guild. They were family just like Fairy Tail. The friends he made and the relationships that he was blessed with were nothing to just gloss over. He loved them with every fiber of his being, he would do anything for them and with that he knew that he couldn't leave them. Not like he did to Fairy Tail.

"You look so different, but not in a bad way." Said a soft and familiar voice.

Freed was violently ripped from his thoughts by the voice, so much so that he had to take a step back to try and regain his composure.

"Mirajane?" He asked in a whisper.

All he got was the woman's signature smile and the slightest of head tilts.

"Well, that isn't a proper greeting Freed." She playfully scolded, but it was clear there was hurt in her eyes. This obviously hadn't been what she expected. She had thought that Freed wouldn't have changed and that there would still be some familiarity between them. Yet, with the way he was looking at her with such fear and uncertainty it was enough to break her heart.

"Freed, stop it!" She begged.

To her dismay, the Rune Mage didn't. He was so used to feeling grief, sadness, and loneliness that he didn't know what else to feel.

"I can't Mira, not after what I did to Fairy Tail." He whispered back weakly.

The She-Devil would have cried if it weren't for the unbearable need to hold her dear friend.

"You haven't done anything wrong!" She said lastly.

Without a moment of hesitation, she closed the space between them. Throwing her arms around his neck, she pulled down his lean body so that they were pressed against one another in a long awaited embrace.

"You promised me that we would go to the Fantasia Parade together. I'm going to hold you to that." She said into the crook of his neck.

Freed was too stunned to say anything. He was overcome with emotions. His eyes began to burn and soon after he could feel his cheeks getting wet from his tears.

His walls fell down until only his bare soul was left. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her that much tighter. His throat was tight, but his vocal cords allowed him to speak a few important words.

"I thought that you were all dead…"

When Mira caught wind of his weak voice her eyes widened in astonishment. Then the weight over her heart just grew that much heavier.

She bit back her own tears and with a wavering voice said, "No need to think of that anymore, we're all back, safe and sound."

Freed relaxed into the woman's arms, content to finally have that sense of belonging once again, but it wasn't complete. There was something missing. The arms around him weren't that ones that his body craved.

Pulling away, Freed let go of Mira and quickly wiped away his tears.

Mira did the same, but the only difference was that she had a small smile on her face.

After a moment of calm both friends looked at one another. A look of wonder lit up both their eyes.

Tentatively Mira rose a hand, running her fingers through the now shortened emerald hair. She moved it out of Freed's face and noted how much older he looked. There were slight wrinkles in places where his skin used to be smooth and firm. Something in his eyes seemed to have a dulling effect to the light that she was so used to seeing.

There was something nagging at the back of her mind. Something that she needed to voice.

"Are you going to come home?" She asked softly.

Freed stiffened at that, moving away from the woman. With the added distance between them Mira was forced to let her fingers slip through Freed's hair and fall heavy at her side.

It broke both their hearts when Freed said the following words. "I don't think I can go back to Fairy Tail. Lamia Scale is my home now."


"I'm going to warn you now, stay away from Freed."

Laxus knew that voice anywhere. With just having to hear it Laxus was already starting to see red clouding his vision.

Turning around, Laxus was face to face with Lyon.

"Listen hear, Ice Princess. Freed is my friend, my family. I'm going to do whatever I want. Which means finding him and bringing him home." Laxus all but growled.

Who the hell did Lyon think he was? Of course Laxus knew Freed the best. He knew for a fact that the moment they saw each other and finally got talking that Freed would want to come home right away.

Lyon was just putting up an act to try and scare Laxus off. As if that was ever going to work.

Then, it seemed that Lyon read his mind.

"Seven years is a long time, don't you think Dreyar?" Lyon said, his voice already dripping with cockiness. "People change in that amount of time."

Laxus was about to snap back a response, but those words got him thinking.

Seven years is a fucking long time.

"I don't care…" Was all Laxus could say. Deep down, however, he cared. He cared far too much.

"Yes, you do, you're trying to hold onto the idea that Freed was that loyal housewife waiting for your return. Just wait until Freed pushes you away. He's not leaving this city with you, he leaving with his family and his guild. Which happens to be me and Lamia Scale." Lyon said.

Laxus took a threatening step forward. The air around them suddenly dropped a few degrees and was filled with electricity.

"I will do whatever it takes to get him back. I'm Freed's family, no one else." Laxus was practically vibrating with anger and jealousy.

Freed is not yours to take!

Laxus was angry. How dare some stranger go up to him and think that he can take away his Freed?

Wait, my Freed? What did that even mean? The things that he was feeling should not be felt for just a mere friend. Laxus felt like he was falling down some hole. It was confusing and near impossible to figure out his emotions for the Rune Mage.

There was one emotion that he was sure would sum up everything that he was feeling at that moment, but he was too scared to voice it.

Lyon narrowed his eyes to angry slits. If what he was seeing was right, then he knew that he and Laxus were going to fight, and it wasn't going to be for the title of the strongest guild in Fiore. It was for someone far more important.

"I'd like to see you try…" Lyon growled.

At the sound of those words Laxus straightened up to his full height. His hands were balled up into fists and he was ready for a fight.

Then the wind began to blow against him. With it came a clear and distinctive scent.

Laxus ripped his eyes away from Lyon to follow the scent with his eyes.

When he was able to find the source of it his heart stopped.

Finally!

Freed was standing a few yards away from him. Their eyes met and everything froze into place.

"At the end of the day, you or I are not the ones who get to decide for Freed. He's the one who will choose who he wants to leave this city with, and I'm not worried who he will choose." Laxus said softly, his voice distant and almost whimsically absent.

He pushed past Lyon who was staring at him with his mouth wide open.

Freed took note of what Laxus was doing and took a shaky step back. His eyes widened with so many emotions that Laxus couldn't figure out what they were.

The blonde was half way to Freed's side when he was suddenly stopped.

"Oh no you don't Sparky! We still have a game to win. Talk to your Princess later." Gajeel snapped.

He held out a muscular arm as a sort of barrier for the lighting dragon.

Laxus was going to just punch him in the face so he could make it to Freed's side, but it was too late. They were announcing who won first place.

All the guilds took their spot with their respective teams and were ready to welcome their competitors.

It took everything Laxus had to not scream out to Freed as he watched him walk away.

"Laxus, he's okay." Mira said as she walked up to the two struggling dragon slayers.

Her words did nothing to sooth his desperation, but knowing that his Captain was alright was enough to make him stop fighting.

"Get the hell off me metal mouth!" Laxus ordered.

Pushing the red eye man aside he stomped towards Juvia and Jellal, Mira close behind, who was followed by an angry Gajeel.

As they were walking, the announcer began to speak.

"Alright, we've just got one more team left to introduce!"

The moment the announcer said that the entire crowd went crazy. Everyone was cheering and chanting to Laxus' annoyance.

"That's right, you know who it is! They're the strongest, invincible, indisputable champions! SABERTOOTH!"

Out of the dark hallways came out the most powerful guild in all of the land. Sabertooth.

The twin dragon slayers were leading the group. Slightly behind them was a beautiful young girl with very light blue hair. Then there was a large lumbering man who could rival Laxus himself.

Immediately Laxus could sense that their magical ability was very similar.

Was it another Lightning Dragon Slayer?

Behind the man with the dull green hair was another male who was far shorter and very similar to how Freed used to look. His long blonde hair kept neat by a large red hat and a mask that covered his eyes giving him a false sense of mystery.

Laxus and Gajeel were not impressed.

Both men just rolled their eyes ready to kick every single one of their asses.

Next to Laxus, Gajeel visibly stiffened. "Who the hell are you starin' at?" He demanded.

The mage who he was trying to intimidate was a boy with rave black hair and striking red eyes.

All he said in return was, "Gajeel…"

Laxus found that strange and just kept to himself.

Sabertooth stood out amongst the rest of the guilds. They stared down at all their opponents trying to use intimidation as an advantage.

Juvia appeared at Mira's side to say, "So that is the strongest guild? The one we must defeat?"

Laxus heard and turned to look at the two women.

After sparing them a glace he looked behind him to try and catch another glance of Freed.


Freed's heart was still racing from his earlier reunion with Mira. After she had digested what he had said all she did was smile warmly up at him and left with a soft kiss on his cheek. When he was alone, he was left to figure out what had just happened.

The way that Mira had treated him was not at all what he had expected. He expected accusations of betrayal and cowardice, but all she did was greet him with open arms and a reassuring smile.

Yet, that didn't stop the heart wrenching fear he had when he saw Lyon and Laxus together.

He could see the tension between both men. It was not hard to see their clear dislike for one another, but that wasn't what unsettled Freed the most. It was the fact that the moment Laxus looked up their eyes locked for a brief but wonderful second.

In the back of his mind Freed wanted to rush up to Laxus, welcome him back to the land of the living and hold him and not let go.

But old habits die hard. The moment that Laxus pushed past Lyon and began to walk towards Freed, he knew it was too soon for him to have this encounter.

Freed wasn't ready to face Laxus. He needed some time to process everything. Coming to terms with his guilt was something that he needed to do in order to move forward.

His meeting with Mira gave him hope that he might still be able to reconcile with the people most important to him. So he was both annoyed and relived with Gajeel appearing to stop Laxus.

That intervention gave him enough time to search for Jura and the others.

When his guild was found he stood alongside Yuka. His head was swimming from all he had gone through that morning, but in a way it was nice.

He no longer had that dark cloud over his head when it came to Fairy Tail. There was now a sort of light and excitement that took its place.

Freed couldn't stop staring up at Fairy Tail members in the stands and then back to the teams themselves.

The feeling within his heart was so pure that he was sure to be showing it somehow.

Then suddenly he heard his name being called out.

"Freed! Freed over here!"

The voices were so familiar that he didn't even have to turn his head to know who they were.

Even when Freed was in a different guild Evergreen and Bickslow were cheering for him.

Slowly, he turned to face them and for the first time in a really long time, he smiled as wide as his lips would let them.

They haven't changed in the slightest.

Sadly, there were no other words exchanged before Sabertooth was announced.

Reluctantly he heard the cheers of the crowd and the announcer speak.

"And now, all of the teams are here, but what are your impressions, Yajima-san?"

The only man in question just let his shoulders fall. "I envy their youth."

The announcer was a bit uncomfortable with the response, but recovered quickly. "That's not what I meant…"

Turning away he went back to his commentary. "Okay, everyone, you've waited long enough. I'm going to announce the program of the Grand Magic Games!"

Yuka hadn't been blind to the little show his friend put on. As a matter of fact, he was beyond ecstatic. He had never seen Freed smile like that and with that smile came a light that Yuka never thought he'd see from the older man.

Pushing away the thought, he looked at his team and saw the way Lyon was pouting behind Jura. Chelia only waited with baited breath to see what event was going to be declared.

Luckily she didn't have to wait much longer because a few moments later something erupted from the arena floor.

Dust flew everywhere making Freed and the others shield their eyes.

When it settled they looked up at the giant pillar of earth to see what the schedule for the Games would be.

Freed crossed his arms over his chest scrutinizing the pillar. "So there is going to be a competition and battle every day?"

Lyon walked behind his guild to reach Freed's side. "Seems that nothing has changed from last year." He said tightly.

Something was off in his voice. It didn't take Freed long to figure out that something was wrong.

"Lyon are you alright?" He asked quietly.

His friend didn't say a word and just moved closer Freed.

Then Freed was hit with the sudden revelation. Lyon had just spoken to Laxus, that must be what had him upset.

The Rune Mage knew that it wasn't the time or the place to address something like that, so all he did was accept Lyon's strange behavior.

"Starting with the competition, points have already been divided among the teams, according to their ranking on the elimination round, from first to eighth. Now for the competition part, each team can select one of their members to take part. And for the battle part, the results of fan votes will be taken into consideration when the sponsors make the pairings."

Freed rolled his eyes and the announcer.

"This is why I hate these Games." He voiced.

Chelia giggled beside him. Yuka just shook his head. Lyon cracked a smile.

Seeing that put Freed at ease for the time being. Lyon was alright, he didn't need to worry too much.

Out of habit he rested a hand on the ice mage's arm.

"The rules for the battle part are simple," the announcer continued, "As you can see, the teams face off against each other, with the winning team receiving ten points and the losing team getting zero points. In the case of tie, both teams will receive five points. And now, the Grand Magic Games' opening game! Let's begin 'Hidden'!"

At the name of the game the pillar cleared itself. In a show of bright magenta light Hidden was soon engraved into the stone.

"Sounds interesting…" Jura examined.

"One person from each team will compete. I'll explain the rules of the game after all of the players are on the field." The announcer declared.

Before Freed could voice his wanting to compete, Chelia was already thinking of a strategy.

"Being small may be the advantage here, so it should be either me or Yuka." She said with a smile.

Yuka of course took offense to that. "Don't call me small!"

Freed smiled down at his two friends until Lyon pulled away from him.

"No." He said clearly. "I'm going to make sure we have the lead from the start. I'll do it."

Everyone stared at him in shock, but didn't question his motives.

Freed was about to say something again to only be interrupted. He was starting to get annoyed with that.

"Huh, in that case, I guess I'll compete too." Gray said with a smirk. He turned to face Lamia Scale to stare down Lyon. "You can show me what this tournament is like."

As if him entering the competition was a sign, Juvia excitably said, "If Gray-sama is going to be in it, them so is Juvia!" One could practically see the hearts in her eyes.

Gajeel using his brain for once said, "Hey! If you lose on purpose there'll be hell to pay!"

Freed chuckled softly at the display.

"All of the participating players from the eight teams are set!"

With that said all the other guild members began to leave the arena.

Chelia wished Lyon luck with a large hug. Freed feeling like it was his place to do so said, "Be careful Lyon."

The man in question smiled softly at Freed. "Before it starts can I have a kiss for good luck?" His voice was lace with amusement, but you can tell there was some sort of seriousness to it as well.

Freed only rolled his eyes. "Cheeky…"

Lyon chuckled as he watched the green haired man walk away.

The announcer cleared his throat to further explain the game.

"And now for the rules of the opening game, 'Hidden'!"


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