Hi everyone, thanks for waiting. This chapter will conclude the first stage of the S-Class trials for our heroes of Fairy Tail, and we'll get closer to the storm that is to come as two of our heroes have a close-encounter with a certain someone.

What is in store for our favorite characters? Find out right now!

Mest

"Tenrou Island is just up ahead." Carla pointed to Panther-Lily as the two Exceeds flew directly toward the aforementioned island.

"Do you think Master Makarov will be angry with us for following them here without permission?" Lily asked.

"I doubt he'll be angry; we're just taking a look around." Carla replied.

"I assume we're here because you're worried about Wendy; even though Modeus is also on the island." Lily guessed.

This proved to be correct as Carla quickly became miffed. "She knew I was firmly against the idea, but she went and did it anyway!" She comically complained in the air. Panther-Lily had something of an amused smirk as he saw Carla acting like an over-protective parent. "A week has passed, but I remember like it was yesterday."

Flashback

Wendy, Modeus, and Carla looked towards the mysterious man named Mest as he walked towards them.

"Can we help you with something?" Modeus asked.

"Actually yes, my name's Mest Gryder, and I was once Mystogen's pupil."

Though Carla and Modeus were surprised by this, none were more shocked than Wendy. "Seriously!? I had no idea!"

Mest suddenly stiffened his neck and turned his head straight up with an open mouth. "I'm surprised Mystogen never mentioned me, but he told me all about you."

The three looked somewhat baffled at Mest's odd behavior. "Um… what are you doing?" Modeus asked, somewhat perplexed.

"I just want to know what fresh snow tastes like." Mest answered as he kept his mouth open and his head in the odd position. "Don't mind me!"

"Okay…?" Wendy seemed perplexed as well.

"He's so… odd…" Carla pointed out with lowered eyelids.

Despite being in the same odd position, Mest spoke to the young girl directly. "Wendy, I know we just met, but I need your help."

"If you're going to ask her for help, you can at least look her in the eyes!" Carla pointed out.

Mest straitened himself out and offered an apologetic look. "Sorry, I tend to get distracted whenever I want to know about something. It's a really bad habit but I can't seem to break it. Please Wendy, please say you'll help me. With you by my side, I know I can become an S-Class wizard."

"You want me as your partner for the trial?" Wendy voiced in surprise as even Modeus and Carla were slightly stunned.

"Yes." Mest bowed his head. "Will you do it? Will you help me?"

"I… I don't know if…" Wendy wasn't sure. On one hand she was glad somebody asked her to be a partner for the trials, but on the other, she knew how strong many of their potential opponents would be, including her teacher, and was quite sure she wouldn't be able to beat them.

"The answer is obviously no!" Carla voiced.

"Is there a particular reason you want Wendy specifically to be your partner?" Modeus asked, having an odd feeling about Mest that he couldn't seem to shake.

Suddenly Mest jumped into the river and floated on his backside. "I had to do it. I had to know what it feels like to float in a river, in the middle of winter."

Wendy, Carla, even Modeus had sweatdrops on their head before Carla turned around to address Wendy directly. "I will not allow you to partner with this cretin, Wendy!"

"He's weird, but he doesn't seem like he's a bad person." Wendy observed.

"Are you considering accepting his offer?" Modeus asked his student.

"Actually, yeah." Wendy answered. "I just feel like I should help him, for Mystogen's sake. He did so much for me, and I've never got to repay him."

"But you've done more than enough, child!" Carla pointed out. "You helped save Edolas!"

"It is true, you even played a crucial part in defeating Faust." Modeus agreed.

"Yeah but, you and the others still pulled most of the weight." Wendy replied. "I feel like I owe him so much more."

"No! Don't even think about it!" Carla was dead set against the idea, but Modeus glanced at Mest one final time before speaking to his student.

"Wendy, are you certain you want to do this?"

"Yes, I am." Wendy nodded, a determined look flashing in her eyes.

Modeus nodded. "Very well, then."

Carla looked appalled at the demon-swordsman. "Modeus, you cannot be serious!"

"It's fine." Modeus looked towards Carla. "I'll be there as well, so Wendy won't be alone." Carla noticed a look in Modeus' eyes that he was directing at her; a look that suggested that he didn't fully trust Mest and would be there to watch over Wendy if something were to go wrong.

End Flashback

"…So, in the end, she partnered with Mest anyway in order to pay her debt to Mystogen." Carla finished explaining it to Panther-Lily.

"And that's the reason the two of you didn't speak to each other for an entire week?" Lily asked perplexed.

Carla sighed. "She's more stubborn than she looks, Lily."

"Same goes for you." Lily chuckled slightly.

"But again, Modeus said he would be here with Wendy." Carla continued. "I trust him completely to look after Wendy, but that's not the main reason we're coming here to Tenrou Island; it's the trial itself that has me on edge. I've got a really bad feeling about it."

"Do you think it's your clairvoyance?" Panther-Lily asked in a concerned tone-of-voice.

"I'm not sure." Carla answered. "I spoke with Master Makarov about it, but seeing how I'm still new to my ability, I don't have a clear picture of what's to come. Regardless, even though he headed my warning, I still feel more comfortable seeing things for myself."

"Personally, I think we need to keep an eye on this Mest-fellow." Panther-Lily voiced with serious expression on his face. "From what you've told me, it seems even Modeus has noticed it as well. He says he was Mystogen's pupil, but that doesn't sit well with me."

Tenrou Island

Wendy and Mest had entered one of the Combat Routes of the trial, and their opponents happened to be Gray and Loke.

"You two, I want to know, do your skills warrant suck cockiness?" Mest asked the opposing team.

"Be careful." Wendy advised. "They're both plenty strong."

Loke was the first to attack with a glowing fist straight for Mest, which he blocked as Wendy jumped back. Loke tried to sweep his feet, but Mest jumped back and landed on a ridge.

"I don't give a crap about Mest, but I feel kinda bad kicking your butt, Wendy." Loke said.

"I ain't going easy on you kid! Ice-Make: Hammer!" Gray shot a large frozen mallet at the pair, but they were both able to dodge to opposite sides and avoid it. Mest appeared to be much faster than Wendy as he actually appeared directly behind Gray who could just barley block a kick with his arm. "Sneak attack, huh?" The two engaged in hand-to-hand combat.

"Sky Dragon Roar!" Wendy shot a breath attack at Loke.

"Regulus!" Loke shot a blast of golden light which hit Wendy's attack. The two seemed to be evenly matched as they pressed against each other.

Loke smiled, impressed by her strength. "Damn Wendy, I had no idea you were this powerful!"

Gray was able to punch Mest and knock him back briefly before turning his attention to Wendy. "Ice-Make: Floor!" He froze the ground under Wendy, causing her to slip and halt her attack. However, Mest suddenly appeared and swept Gray off his feet before facing him; however, Loke shot a glowing fist attack at Mest, but he vanished just in time, as the only think Loke smashed was a large stalactite.

Mest appeared underneath Loke and was about to strike him, but Loke shined the light from his fists even brighter, briefly blinding Mest and leaving him open for Gray to attack with his Ice-Cannon, scoring a direct hit and sending Mest skidding and crashing into the cavern wall.

Wendy was surprised to see her partner fallen so easily, but she quickly got back up as she now faced both Gray and Loke alone.

"That just leaves you, Wendy. Told ya I ain't going easy on ya!" Gray stated. "Ultimate Secret Art! Eat a bunch of pickled plums!" Gray suddenly pulled out a jar of pickled plums from out of nowhere and scuffled several down; it wasn't long before his entire face and mouth puckered from the intense sour-flavor. However, Gray didn't expect to get a punch to his face and knock him down.

"What the heck was that, Gray?!" Wendy exclaimed, sounding very offended. "What, were you trying to gross me into submission or something?!" Both Gray and Loke looked stunned at Wendy's attitude, clearly not expecting this from her. "I thought you said you weren't going easy on me! So, stop treating me like a little kid and fight me for real already!"

"Huh… damn…" That was all Loke could say.

Gray was surprised at first before looking at the jar of pickled plums he pulled out before shaking his head and throwing them away.

"Sorry Wendy, you're right." Gray stood back up. "This time, for real. Ice-Make Arrows!" Gray created a bow of ice and shot multiple ice-arrows at Wendy, but she was ready.

"Arms! Armor! Vernier!" Wendy casted support magic on herself to enhance her strength, speed, and durability; resulting in a sky-blue aura glowing around her just as she moved out of the way to avoid the arrows and zoomed right at Gray to deliver a punch to his gut and sending him skidding across the ground, though he remained on his feet.

Loke attacked with a glowing fist, but Wendy was able to quickly limbo underneath his punch and sweep his feet to knock him down. "Sky Dragon Claw!" Right as Loke fell, Wendy delivered a kick, her foot surrounded by wind, straight to his face and send him straight up in the air. Loke however flipped and landed on his feet on a ridge, albeit a bit shaky.

"Ice-Make: Ice-Geyser!" Gray shot his hands to the ground to create multiple ice-spikes that shot all over the cave; though Wendy was able to maneuver around most of them with her enhanced speed, and those that she couldn't avoid ended up breaking due to the Armor spell she cast on herself. However, this also ended up obscuring her vision and she lost track of Gray and Loke.

"Where are they?" She asked herself, but as she looked around, she spotted Gray's silhouette in the icy-mist on the other side of the field of ice-spikes. She then jumped right over the spikes and shot straight down towards Gray to land a punch on him, only for Gray's whole body to turn into ice and completely shatter; revealing it to be an ice-clone, much to Wendy's shock.

"You fell for it." Gray grabbed Wendy from behind in the form of a bear-hug. Before she could even struggle, Gray had cast another spell. "Freeze!" Wendy's entire body was completely frozen to the ground, all the way up to her neck as her head remained unfrozen.

"No!" Wendy tried to struggle, but her support spells wore off and she couldn't break free. "This isn't over! I can…" Gray put a firm hand on her head as he gave her a serious look with Loke standing behind him.

"Sorry Wendy, but you're done." Despite not wanting to admit it, she knew they were right. She really was beaten; all the Sky Dragon Slayer could do was hang her head in defeat. "You had some good moves back there, but you fell for my ice-clone decoy." Gray told her. "You should have been able to use your nose to tell it wasn't me, but you rushed in, and that led to your defeat."

Wendy said nothing as she looked as though she might cry, realizing she had let down Mest who asked for her help, but it wasn't just Mest; by failing him, she felt she might have failed Mystogen as well.

Gray saw the expression on her face, causing his own to soften slightly. "Hey, don't be so hard on yourself." He told her as Wendy looked up in minor surprise. "You may not have been training with Modeus for very long, but you've definitely gotten stronger, actually took me by surprise. The reason you lost wasn't because you were weak, I just got more experience than you. But you still got a whole lot more room to grow, and you know where you went wrong." He smiled slightly as he ruffled Wendy's hair. "So, be proud of yourself, kay kid?"

"Yeah, you weren't half-bad, Wendy. Nice job." Even Loke gave a thumbs-up.

This caused Wendy to smile. "Thanks guys. I'll keep trying my best." Gray nodded as he waved his hand to free Wendy of her icy binding. "Good luck, you guys."

Gray said nothing but gave a finger-salute as he and Loke left the cave, having passed the first stage of the trial. Wendy then turned to look back at Mest, though she still felt a bit bad about letting him down, she wouldn't dwell on it, but rather use what she learned to make herself stronger.

Meanwhile; Elfman and Evergreen were both duking it out with Erza as she quipped into her Flight Armor to avoid a punch from Elfman's Beast Soul Take Over, which shattered the large piece of rubble she was previously standing on; she reappeared behind Elfman to slash at him with his swords and send him skidding across the water below.

"You rely far too much on brute force Elfman." Erza lectured. "While strength can be useful in a fight, it won't do you any good if your opponent is far too fast."

"Luckily I've got speed in abundance!" Evergreen flew above Erza. "Fairy Machine Gun: Leprechaun!" She shot a hail of energy-bolts straight at Erza, but the red-haired swordswoman was able to block each attack with her dual swords and used the speed of her Flight Armor to soar right for Evergreen before appearing above her.

"I got you!" Evergreen lowered her glasses as her eyes began to glow with the intent of turning her to stone, only for Erza to slice at her with her swords to send Evergreen flying and crashing into the wall.

"But… that's impossible!" Evergreen thought. "Even with her artificial eye, she still should have turned to stone for at least a few minutes!"

Erza landed gracefully on a large piece of rubble revealing that her eyes are completely closed. "I fell for your trick once Evergreen, it will not happen again."

Evergreen looked in shock. "She fought me with her eyes closed?!" Her look became one of comic anger. "Hey! Did you seriously swing your swords at me with your eyes closed!? What if you cut me in half!?"

Erza opened her eyes. "I've practiced fighting with my eyes closed frequently, sometimes using a blindfold." She explained. "I know what I'm doing." Suddenly Elfman appeared behind her to pull her into a bear-hug.

"Gotcha! Good luck running now that I've got a hold of you!"

However, Erza wasn't the least bit intimidated as her armor began to glow as she reequipped into her Giant Armor. This armor increased her strength enough to the point where she flexed her arms to free herself from Elfman's grip before punching him in the face, sending him crashing into the wall.

Elfman slid down and landed on his feet and a single hand, while using the other to wipe blood off his mouth as he and Evergreen looked at the glaring Erza whose body was glowing with a bright magenta aura.

"Is this really the best you two can muster?" She asked, expecting more as Elfman and Evergreen tried desperately to think of a plan as their chances at victory looked very slim.

Meanwhile; Mest regained consciousness as Wendy tended to his wounds with her healing magic, though they weren't serious, she still wanted to help him.

"You okay?" She asked as she finished healing him.

Mest rubbed the back of his neck. "They got every right to be cocky; they could be the best fighters in the entire guild."

"I wouldn't say they're the best, but they definitely don't mess around." Wendy voiced; even though Gray and Loke were strong; she knew the likes of Dante, Erza, Mira, and Gildarts were even stronger.

"I'll show them!" Mest stood up on his feet. "I'm determined to follow in my master's footsteps! I won't let them beat me!"

"They already did." Wendy said.

"YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!" Mest comically exclaimed.

"Sorry, they beat both of us and moved on while you were passed out." Wendy explained.

Mest looked comically dejected. "Awe, how could I fail this year to?!"

"I'm sorry, I tried to help, but I couldn't." Wendy looked down slightly.

"But you did help." He offered the young girl a sympathetic look. "It's not your fault, don't be too hard on yourself."

"Don't worry, I know." Wendy assured. "I still have a lot to learn but, I'm not gonna get too hung up over this; but I am sorry you failed."

"Forget it, there's always next year, right?" Mest smiled slightly, causing Wendy to smile back. "Come on, let's get some rest." The two sat down to recover before they would leave.

Meanwhile; Gray and Loke were walking down the cave that led away from their battle as they had passed the first stage of the S-Class trials.

"Yeah that's right! We made it through the first-round baby!" Gray exclaimed with a grin.

"Let's hope the tougher guys like Natsu, Freed, or Dante were knocked out this round." Loke said. "With them out of the ring, it'll be a walk in the park. Oh yeah, Cana's a major contender to, and she's got Lucy to help her out."

"Don't be stupid man, you know as well as I do there ain't no easy way to become an S-Class wizard." Gray replied.

"Yeah, I know, I know." Loke nodded. "But you gotta admit, the two of us made beating Mest like that look pretty easy."

"No kidding, I don't remember him being so weak." Gray agreed. "Even Wendy put up more of a fight; I know she's gotten stronger since her training with Modeus, but I doubt she could have surpassed him so quickly."

"Maybe because you've gotten stronger." Loke pointed out.

Gray tried to think but ended up looking confused. "Weird… this is a first. I can't remember if I fought him before and I'm the type who never forgets a fight."

"Sure this isn't a case of selective memory?" Loke asked in a joking manner. "Like he kicked your ass now you don't wanna remember?"

Rather than laugh or look annoyed, Gray only looked further confused. "Hmmm, let's see. Mest managed to get pretty far in last year's S-Class trial, didn't he?"

"He did, so far as I know." Loke tried to think back as well

"I thought so… he, do you remember who his partner was last time?" Gray asked.

Now it was Loke's turn to look confused. "That's weird. I keep drawing a blank."

"Yeah, me to. And my memory's not that bad." Gray voiced.

"Mine's not either."

Gray had a serious expression on his face. "I can only picture a few things about Mest and their all hazy."

Loke pushed his glasses up as he had a similar expression. "It's like I try to think back, but I hit some kind of block. I can't seem to remember anything before it."

As the two continued to think, they found the exit to the cave and walked out into the daylight where they were greeted by a familiar voice.

"Hey, what took you guys so long." Dante greeted with his titular smirk as he and the confident Lady leaned casually against a rock. "We were getting bored waiting for you guys to show up."

Gray chuckled slightly. "Can't say I'm surprised that you passed Dante."

"Wasn't just us, take a look." Lady pointed her thumb back to reveal Lucy, Cana, Happy, Levy, and Gajeel; with Lucy and Canna haven gotten out of their bikinis and into some real clothes; Lucy wore a green sleeveless top with a pink skirt and sandals while Cana had a pair of brown pants and a black bra underneath a white jacket.

"Sup guys, I knew you wouldn't have too much trouble making it past the first round." Lucy had a confident smile as she greeted Gray and Loke.

"Nice work, congratulations." Cana nodded with her own smile.

"I told you, we were lucky to get the Serenity Route." Levy said to Gajeel who looked more comically angry than relieved.

"Lucky?! But I didn't get to beat up a single person!" The Iron Dragon Slayer exclaimed.

"Wow, we were the only ones to clear the first round?" Gray asked in minor surprise. Loke noticed Happy was present but saw that the person he was supposed to be with was missing.

"Hmm, where's Natsu?"

"He's sitting right over there." Happy pointed to a nearby rock as the Fire Dragon Slayer sat down, his face away from the rest of the group as he was deep in thought.

"He seems kinda down." Gray noticed.

"What happened?" Loke asked.

"It's a long story." Happy shrugged.

"Hey! Over here!" Everyone looked down one trail to see the smiling Lisanna waving to them as Trish walked alongside her. "Glad to see everyone!" Lisanna greeted.

"Whoa, Lisanna and Trish passed to?" Gray looked in surprise.

"Looks like you two ladies made it, nice work." Dante nodded with a smirk.

"Thanks." Trish replied as they joined everyone else.

"Hey Cana, Lucy, I'm glad to see you made it to." Lisanna smiled at the pair, as she was inwardly glad Cana passed with Trish feeling the same way.

"Yep; nice to see you guys to." Cana nodded.

Makarov then walked onto the scene. "Alright, I believe all our winners are here now."

"Got that right, old man." Dante said.

"Well, in that case, here are the results thus far." Makarov began. "Dante and Lady have vanquished the She-Devil; can't say I'm surprised seeing how they're both professional Devil Hunters, but nice work you two."

"Wasn't easy though." Lady commented even though both she and Dante were smirking. "She was S-Class for a reason."

"Cana and Lucy have defeated Freed and Bickslow in battle. Nicely done ladies." Makarov continued as he congratulated the next pair.

"THEY BEAT FREED! HOW?!" Gray comically exclaimed.

"Natsu and Happy have surmounted the obstacle known as Gildarts, good job!" Makarov continued, even though Natsu still looked deep in thought.

"NO WAY! THOSE TWO BEAT GILDARTS!?" Gray voiced in the same surprise.

"Yeah, but I didn't really do much of anything." Happy pointed out.

"Lisanna and Trish have managed to overcome the team of Juvia and Modeus!" Makarov announced as the two young women stood proudly.

This time Gray looked in more honest surprised as opposed to comical. "They actually beat Juvia…?" He sounded both surprised and disappointed, feeling a bit bad that she didn't make it.

"Modeus lost? That's a surprise?" Dante raised an eyebrow, he'd be curious to see how that happened; not that he doubted Trish or Lisanna, but this was unexpected.

"Levy and Gajeel have chosen the Serenity Route, well aren't you lucky?" Makarov continued to announce as Levy smiled and brandished a peace-sign with her hand while Gajeel's eyebrow comically twitched.

"Well I think it's sucky!" Gajeel was still annoyed.

"Gray and Loke defeated Mest and Wendy, way to go boys." Makarov announced once more.

"Hey, where's Elfman?" Lisanna looked around to find her older brother wasn't present.

"Hang on…" Dante did a count. "Lady and I got Mira… Natsu and Happy got Gildarts… Lisanna and Trish with Modeus and Juvia… Lucy and Cana with Freed and Bickslow…Wendy and Mest with Gray and Loke…" He winced slightly as he had a nervous laugh. "That means Elfman and Evergreen are stuck with a certain red-headed swordswoman…"

Everyone comically winced. "Oooh, yeah sucks to be them." Trish grimaced. "Sorry Lisanna, but your brother's probably dead." Lisanna didn't say anything to argue it, but she was a tad upset at the thought of her brother beaten to a pulp.

"I feel sorry for those two." Levy gulped as Gajeel smirked.

"I can take her, but those two don't stand a chance."

"Don't count us out yet!" Everyone looked in honest surprise to see Elfman and Evergreen struggle into the clearing with the woman holding the muscular man's arm over her shoulder to help him stand. "Didn't think we'd make it, did ya?"

"Guess who's moving onto round two?" Evergreen challenged.

"My word!" Makarov couldn't contain his own surprise.

"THEY BEAT ERZA!" Happy practically screamed.

"Big brother…!" Lisanna was also surprised but it was a welcomed one. "You made it! I'm so glad you did!"

"Hey little sis…" Elfman smiled. "Glad to see you made it to."

"You guys actually beat Erza?" Dante said somewhat skeptically. "How'd you managed to pull that off?"

Elfman's smirk vanished as he winced out of embarrassment. "A real man doesn't… brag about his win…"

Evergreen seemed equally embarrassed. "Let's just say… we took full advantage of catching her off guard…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lucy thought out of confusion.

Makarov cleared his through to get everyone's attention. "Back to the trail, as it stands there are seven teams left: Dante and Lady, Natsu and Happy, Gray and Loke, Cana and Lucy, Lisanna and Trish, Elfman and Evergreen, and Levy and Gajeel. Congratulations on passing the first round! Now that everyone's here, let's move onto the second round."

Lisanna noticed how everyone was standing expect Natsu who continued to remain sitting deep in thought. She walked over to him.

"Hey Natsu, you beat Gildarts! That's great!" She tried to cheer him up, but he didn't seem as celebratory, causing her to look at him with concern. "Hey." She shook him gently by his shoulder. "Natsu, are you okay?"

"Yeah… I'm just thinking about some stuff…" He muttered, causing Lisanna to look in confusion.

"YOU'RE THINKING!?" Happy comically screamed. "YOU NEVER DO THAT! BE CAREFUL YOU MIGHT HURT YOURSELF!"

"Geeze, how little do you think of him Happy?!" Lucy questioned.

"Yeah, isn't he supposed to be your friend?" Lady questioned. "I know he's not the brightest, but come on, that was just harsh."

Natsu thought about a lot of things. He thought about how strong he was now, as well as his battles against his friends and enemies, particularly Vergil. He was once afraid of him, the first opponent he was genuinely afraid of and could never beat single-handedly but refused to admit that. However, Gildarts gave him a taste of reality and helped him to accept his fear, now Natsu could say that he actually was afraid, but strangely… that felt pretty good, like a weight off his chest.

"I'll take you on again, anytime. Now go become an S-Class wizard, ya hear me?"

Those were Gildarts' words; the words of the man he looked up to almost as much as Igneel. The man he admired told him he had the potential to become an S-Class wizard and one of the strongest people out there. Replaying those words in his head gave Natsu the confidence he needed. He stood up with a smile on his face as he looked towards Lisanna.

"I'm doing great Lisanna, thanks. And hey, you passed! Nice." He gave her a thumps up, causing her to smile with a small blush. "But don't think that means I'm gonna go easy on ya!" He then turned to the rest of his friends and rivals. "Dante, Gray, Cana, Levy, Elfman; the same goes for you guys to! Only one of us is gonna become an S-Class wizard! And that's me!"

"We'll see about that." Dante smirked.

"Yeah right, there's no way I'm losing to you!" Gray smirked as well.

"Not gonna happen." Levy had a serious look on her face.

"Challenge accepted! Cause I'm a real man baby!" Elfman had a wide grin.

Cana said nothing but had a confident smirk as she nodded to Natsu. Lisanna had a similar expression on her face, glad to see Natsu looked so confident, but she wasn't about to go easy on him either.

Natsu's fist lit on fire. "Ah yeah! I'm all fired up now!"

"Aye sir!" Happy floated next to him, just as confident.

"I'm gonna do whatever it takes to make you an S-Class wizard, Cana!" Lucy vowed to the smiling brunette.

"Better hope you won't have to fight me, because I won't go easy on ya." Loke said confidently, causing Lucy to look nervous.

"Big talk for a bunch of wimps." Gajeel said with a confident grin.

"You won't be saying that when we put you six feet in the ground." Lady challenged with a smirk.

"Care to put those words into action?" Trish replied with her own challenge.

"Sorry Elfman, but I don't plan on losing to you." Lisanna said confidently to her brother.

"I ain't loosing! Sister or no, I aim to win this!" Elfman voiced but winched as he felt some ache in his bones, still recovering from his battle against Erza.

"Come on Elfman, pull yourself together!" Evergreen told him, only for her bones to ache as well.

Gray smirked. "Well, we know who's not gonna make S-Class."

"Listen!" Makarov got everyone's attention as he stood on a rock. "I'm about to give instructions for the second part. The next stage of the S-Class trial starts now!" All seven teams gave their guildmaster their undivided attention as he spoke. "To pass the next round, you must search the island for the grave of Fairy Tail's founder: Mavis Vermillion!"

"I forgot she was buried here." Lucy uttered.

"And we gotta find where that is." Cana said in a serious tone of voice.

"And let me guess; we gotta get passed some kind of guardian, right?" Dante guessed. "What's it gonna be? Fight a giant monster? Answer an unsolvable riddle?"

"Nope." Makarov shook his head. "No guardian, no monster, no riddle."

"So, we're just going to find the grave? That's it?" Lisanna asked in mild surprise and confusion.

"That's it." Makarov confirmed.

"Come on Gramps, that's almost too easy." Natsu pointed out.

"No joke." Happy added.

"You have six hours to find it or you fail, no excuses." Makarov told them firmly. "Is that challenging enough?" He turned around to leave. "Very well, I'll be waiting for you at Mavis' grave."

Once he left; the teams began to disperse into separate directions. "You ready?!" Let's go!" Natsu exclaimed excitedly as he ran off.

"Aye sir!" Happy flew after him.

"Guess it's a race then." Dante commented.

"Seems that way." Lady voiced. "But I got a feeling there's more than what the old man let on."

"We'll guess we're about to find out." Dante and Lady went in one direction. "See ya at the grave, chumps!" He called to the opposing teams as he and his partner left while everyone else went off in their own directions as well.

Meanwhile; Wendy and Mest continued to sit in the cave where they were defeated. "You know, you actually took our defeat better than I thought. Better than how I did anyway." Mest pointed out.

"Yeah, normally I would cry my eyes out at something like this." Wendy said. "But, there are worse things to worry about." Her eyes widened, realizing what that could mean. "Not that you passing the trial and making S-Class isn't something to worry about! I just…"

"It's okay, I know what you mean." Mest assured. "You had some decent moves back there though, so don't sell yourself short."

"Thanks, but… I can't take all the credit." Wendy said. "It's all been what Modeus taught me."

Mest chuckled. "Must be lucky, to be trained by someone who trained directly under Sparda himself. First Sparda's son joins the guild now Sparda's apprentice? For a guild called 'Fairy Tail' it seems to have a thing for demons."

Wendy giggled slightly herself. "Yeah, but they're really good people; they've helped me so much, they're part of my family and I love them."

This caused Mest to smile slightly, but it faded as he spoke. "Listen Wendy, let me ask you something; Makarov said this island is considered Fairy Tail's sacred ground, so do you know why?"

"Well yeah, I think so." Wendy answered. "Because this is where the guild's first master is buried."

"Yeah, although that can't be the only reason." Mest began. "Tenrou Island's protected by a powerful forcefield that hides it from outsiders. Apparently, it's impossible, no matter what kind of magic you use." Wendy listened carefully as Mest continued. "Mavis was special, but I don't think they'd go to such lengths just to hide her grave. Supposedly, there's a major secret regarding the Fairy Tail guild, that's hidden on this island."

"Do you know what the secret is?" Wendy asked.

"Nope, I have no idea." Mest stood up. "So, what do you say? You wanna do some exploring?"

This seemed to cause Wendy some excitement as she stood up. "Yeah, it sounds great! I'm sure the Master won't mind!"

Mest had something of a playful smirk. "Hey, maybe we might find something connected to Sparda? I mean since his son and apprentice are both part of the guild, why not?"

Wendy giggled. "Yeah, but I don't really think so."

"Why's that?" Mest asked, looking intrigued.

"Well, to be honest, everyone thought Sparda was just a myth before." Wendy began as the two walked out of the cave. "I never even heard of him till I met Dante. If there is a connection between him and the guild, I don't know about it."

Mest had a serious look on his face. "Hey, doesn't Dante also have a brother?"

Wendy stopped in her tracks as her smile vanished. Just the mention of that individual was enough to make her heart skip a beat.

"Vergil…" She muttered. Mest was mildly surprised to see the frightened look on Wendy's face.

"All I did was mention him, I didn't even say his name." He thought before he spoke. "I heard that despite his brother being a part of the guild, Vergil stands against it. Is there a specific reason for that?"

Wendy tried to push her fear aside and answer Mest. "Well… I don't know the details, but I guess it has something to do with Vergil's wanting for power." Mest looked intrigued as Wendy continued. "Vergil thinks that power is the only think that matters, and that friends and family are meaningless. It's hard to believe he's even Dante's brother."

"I see…" Mest looked a bit in thought for a moment. "Hey, I'm sorry if I made you upset. Just curious, I never really met Vergil, so I was just wondering. Come on, let's go explore a little."

This seemed to take Wendy's mind off Vergil as she smiled, and they left the cave.

Meanwhile; Carla and Panther-Lily had landed on Tenrou Island walked along the beach as Panther-Lily spoke.

"The Prince… I mean Mystogen, felt it was best to avoid contact whenever he visited this world."

"I've been told he would put everyone to sleep whenever he dropped by the guild." Carla said. "I assumed he was trying to prevent them from seeing his face."

"And that's why I find it hard to believe he'd have a pupil here." Panther-Lily said.

"What are you trying to say?" Carla asked, not liking where he was going with this.

"Well, it's nothing more than baseless speculation, I have a theory." He stopped walking and looked at Carla with a gravely serious expression. "I know it might sound crazy, but I'm not sure Mest is a member of Fairy Tail."

Wendy was on a cliffside and got a good view of the ocean, which caused her to look excited. "It's so pretty up here!"

"Be careful." Mest advised as she was rather close to the cliff. However, she failed to notice a suspicious look on his face, one that said he doesn't have her best intentions at heart.

"PLEASE DON'T EAT ME!" Lucy screamed as she and Cana ran away from a giant lizard creature that chased after them with drolling jaws.

"PICK UP THE PACE LUCY!" Cana shouted to her as Lucy barley avoided a bite from the giant reptile.

"PRETTY PLEASE WITH SUGAR ON TOP!" The blonde screamed. "NO! I'M TOO CUTE TO DIE!"

Gajeel and Levy hid behind a rock to avoid being seen by a giant beast that seemed a mix of a whale and a tyrannosaurus rex.

"Man, I hate this island." Gajeel grunted.

"I'm starting to think I might die here." Levy said in a frightened squeak.

Lisanna and Trish were in the branches of a large tree as they were surrounded by a pack of direwolves that snarled and barred their fangs at them.

"I'm guessing these weren't on the brochure." Trish commented.

"Somehow I knew this wouldn't be easy." Lisanna muttered.

Gray and Loke ran as fast they could to avoid a flock of massive green birds cawing at them with deadly intent.

"This ain't nothing but a bump on the road to me being S-Class!" Gray said as he tried his best to hide the frightened look on his face.

"Sure! Whatever you say!" Loke replied.

Elfman and Evergreen were presently being chased by a large warthog-like beast with sharp-fangs.

"Run! A real man needs to get to safety!" Elfman screamed.

"Oh, shut up! You're not the boss of me!" Evergreen exclaimed.

Dante and Lady stood on a small hill as they were surrounded by a large pack of velociraptor-like creatures; but despite their hissing and sharp fangs; the pair wasn't the least bit intimidated.

"Guess the grave's got no reason for a guardian." Dante voiced. "This island's freaky wildlife does a pretty good job on its own."

"They're not demons, so I'm not gonna hurt them too bad." Lady said with a confident grin.

"Well, we both wanted a challenge." Dante drew Rebellion as both his and Lady's eyes became four-pointed stars. "Let's see if these things can live up to it."

"Stop interrupting me or you're gonna get charred!" Natsu threatened a large humanoid-frog like creature with a flaming fist; the creature snarled at Natsu before he threw a flaming-punch at the monster's face. "I warned ya!"

"There's no stopping Natsu when he wants something, and he wants to finish this test." Happy commented as the monster fell down in a thud from one punch, with several of its teeth missing. "Hooray! You ready to get going Natsu?"

"No, not yet. Give me a second." Natsu then began to pull on the monster's face. "You better tell me where the First Master's grave is right now or I'm gonna burn you to a crisp! You got it?!"

"WHAT!? Happy's eyes comically shot out of his face. "THAT'S COOCOO!"

"I don't know…" The monster muttered.

"That's cool." Natsu said with a straight-forward face.

"IT ANSWERED YOU!?" Happy screamed.

The two continued their search but had yet to find even a sign of their goal. "How does Gramps expect us to find Mavis' grave when he didn't even bother to give us any clues?"

"Pretty sneaky, I guess this round's gonna be harder than we thought." Happy commented.

An idea soon came to Natsu. "Hey, we should check the top of that giant tree!"

"Why there?" Happy asked.

"I mean, this is Gramps were talking about, he doesn't ever make things simple for us." Natsu explained. "So, the top of a giant tree is the last place anyone would put a grave! Be the perfect place to hide it!"

Happy thought about it. "Huh, that actually does make a bit of sense."

"And even if it's not up there, we got a good vantage point. Right?" Natsu said.

"Wow! Look at you, thinking so far ahead!" Happy said. "I always thought you were just a brainless meathead!"

"Hey, I got a brain up here!" Natsu complained. "It's just easier to punch stuff. So you wanna go to the top, little buddy?"

"Right behind you!"

Meanwhile; Modeus, Juvia, Erza, and Mira all sat under the tent that served as Fairy Tail's makeshift base for the trial.

"What?! Elfman and Evergreen said they were getting married?!" Mira practically screamed; even Modeus and Juvia were somewhat shocked.

"Yes… that's what they said." Erza commented as she rubbed her bandaged cheek. "But that may have just been a strategy to catch me off-guard."

"A surprising yet effective one." Modeus commented. "Sometimes catching your enemy by surprise can be the key to your victory."

"Well, it's certainly something that would catch me off-guard." Mira said. "I can't imagine the two of them getting married and having babies."

She already began to think of a baby with Elfman's face, Evergreen's hair and glasses complete with a diaper and bikini that said, 'I'm a real baby!'. Immediately, Mira began to cry.

"I'm too young to be an aunt!"

"There's nothing to cry about." Erza said. "It's kinda cute, depending on how you look at it."

Juvia's face became red as steam flew out from her head. "They're… gonna have… babies…?"

"I'm quite certain those two aren't anywhere near that sort of stage yet." Modeus said. "I would assume they'd be in a relationship for a while, possibly a few years before they even consider marriage, and even longer before thinking about having children." He looked around. "Where is everyone else?"

"Apparently Freed, Bickslow, and Gildarts went back home." Erza replied.

A serious look formed on Modeus face. "Who else failed the first stage?"

"Aside from you and Juvia, it was Mest and Wendy." Mira answered.

"And they haven't come back yet?" Modeus questioned.

"We haven't seen them." Erza answered, she noticed the look on Modeus' face. "Is something wrong?"

"What do you know of Mest? When did he join the guild?"

Mira began to think. "You know… I really don't remember."

"Neither do I." Erza added. "But I feel he's always been a member."

"He said he was Mystogen's student." Modeus said, getting everyone's attention. "But that doesn't make sense. Why would Mystogen have a student if he kept his identity a secret from the rest of the guild?"

"Maybe he needed some extra help." Mira assumed. "I mean, even Laxus had the Thunder Legion with him."

"But that's not all." Modeus continued. "I've never even heard of Mest until the maser announced the trial. And even so, why wasn't he around in Edolas? The whole reason Mystogen even came to Earthland was to close the anima-portals and prevent Edolas from stealing our magics; one would think that Mest would be there to aid his teacher when Faust and Nelo Angelo were attempting to destroy both Earthland and Edolas; but he wasn't."

"Could he have been turned into a lacrima with everyone else?" Juvia asked.

"I'm certain Mystogen would have provided him the means to survive that." Modeus replied. "And even if Mystogen himself was occupied, he could have sent Mest to aid myself, Dante, Wendy, and Natsu when we were in Edolas. And, I'm even more concerned why he choose Wendy as his partner for the trial."

"Yes, you may have a point." Juvia seemed to agree. "Virtually every candidate for the Trial choose a partner who would help give them the best chances at passing."

"And while Wendy has gotten stronger; she isn't quite on the same level as the likes of those on this island." Modeus concluded.

"Modeus… what are you saying?" Erza asked with a serious expression.

"I don't think Mest is who he says he is." Modeus stood up. "I'm going to look for Wendy, something isn't right."

"I'm coming with you to." Juvia said stood up.

"So am I." Erza joined in.

"I'll stay with the camp just in case they show up." Mira said.

With that; Modeus, Erza, and Juvia left the campsite to look for Wendy with their suspicions held high.

Dante and Lady in front of a pile of beaten monsters. They were all comically bruised and battered but alive.

"Well, looks like none of them knew where the grave was." Dante said as the pair walked away.

"I'm actually surprised they can talk." Lady commented. "This island's pretty messed up." Dante slid down a rocky terrain on his feet before landing just as Lady did the same. "So, you got any idea where this grave is?"

"No clue, but right now, I'm not thinking about that." Dante said.

"What do you mean?" Lady asked, sounding confused.

"What do you know about that Mest guy?" Dante asked, causing Lady to look in more confusion.

"Not much, doesn't seem like the guy to make an impression." Lady answered. "Why?"

"I just got this bad feeling about him." Dante commented. "I can't explain it, but my gut's telling me something's off with him; and I'm not comfortable with Wendy being alone with him."

Lady had a feeling she knew where the red-clad Devil Hunter was going with this; she'd seen that look on his face before. "What about the trial?"

"It can wait. Right now, I just want to make sure Wendy's safe. I can't shake this feeling." Dante said seriously.

Lady looked at him with a small smile. "Yeah, that sounds like you. You act cocky, but when someone you care about gets hurt or something, you drop everything to make sure they're okay." She had genuine smile on her face. "Well, I can't say that I don't like that side of you."

However, their attention was caught by a ruffle of leaves in the bushes in front of them. "People?" A man stumbled out to look in confusion. This man wore a black and white robe with long black hair and black eyes. "I'm confused. Why have you come to such a desolate place?"

"Who's this guy?" Lady questioned.

"Never seen him before." Dante looked at him with a serious expression. This guy definitely wasn't on the ride to the island.

"I was under the impression this island had been uninhabited." The mysterious man said.

"Hate to tell ya, but this island's actually private property." Lady told him. "And it looks like you're trespassing."

"I'm trespassing? Forgive me, I wasn't aware."

Dante walked forward slightly. "Hey, you lost or something? Maybe we can help."

The man saw Dante's face and looked in surprise. "Is it… is it… you?" Dante looked in confusion. The man also saw Rebellion strapped to his back. "That sword… Sparda… can it be…?"

"You knew my old man?" Dante asked with a somewhat surprised expression.

The man's look faded into one of disappointment. "No… you're not him. Your voice is different and… you look too young and yet… you look… so much like him and… you have one of his swords…" He noticed the red and silver amulet around Dante's neck. "You even carry… the Perfect Amulet…"

"He's my father." Dante told him as he kept his eyes trained on this man, not sure what to expect.

That caught the man by surprise. "Your father? You're his son?" Something of a sad smile formed on the man's face. "That means… he found someone… someone to love… and had a family. That's good. After everything… he deserves it."

Lady looked towards Dante in confusion. "Hey Dante, I get a lot of people know your dad cause he's a legend and all, but it sounds like this guy knew him personally."

"Yeah… maybe." Dante tried to walk toward him. "So, you know my dad, but I don't know you. How about we start with a name…"

"No! Stay back!" The man said suddenly, causing Dante and Lady to look in surprise. "If you value your life, don't come any closer to me. Your father may have survived my curse, but I don't know if you can."

"Curse? What are you talking about?" Dante asked.

"You looking for a fight or something?" Lady questioned, more than ready to give it.

"I'm not." The man insisted. "I don't want to fight you. I'll leave the island peacefully… please just don't come near me." However, his eyes suddenly widened in terror. "No… here it comes…" He held his head as dread filled his whole being.

Dante and Lady instinctively backed up as something felt very wrong.

"Get away from me…" The man uttered fearfully. "I can't stop it!" The falling leaves around him began to wither as a large sphere of black magic formed around the man. It expanded quickly, shooting out a wave of the same sort of magic. Instantly, everything around the man withered and died; the trees, grass, and bushes all became brittle and barren. Dante and Lady didn't even have the chance to move themselves as their hearts stopped for a brief second.

"GET DOWN!"

Natsu suddenly appeared and forced them to the ground; covering them with his body as he stuck close to the ground himself just as the wave of black magic passed over them completely. Lady looked around at the dead landscape with an open mouth, never having seen anything like this before.

"The hell…?" Dante couldn't contain his own surprise at seeing what just happened; he had never seen this type of magic before.

The black-haired man's own heart skipped a beat as he set his eyes on the Fire Dragon Slayer. His face was filled with so many emotions: fear, sadness, relief, happiness, it was all so overwhelming that tears were already streaming down his face.

"Natsu…"

"Who are you?!" Natsu demanded. "You better answer me or else!"

Done.
So, the first stage of the S-Class is over and all those who have passed have moved onto the second stage. Even though Wendy failed, she put up more of a fight than she did in the cannon; I honestly thought that whole thing with the pickled plums was really stupid, so I thought I'd give Wendy a more decent fight, and it's fitting considering she's been training with Modeus, so she's already showing signs of maturing, but she still has a long way to go.

However; things are starting to take a turn as everyone is now getting suspicious of Mest; even Dante and Modeus think something's off with him. But even more serious; Dante, Lady, and Natsu have made contact with you-know-who, and it seems he knows Sparda on a personal level. What can this mean?

Things are about to get crazy as a certain Dark Guild makes its appearance in the next chapter and war is about to break out on this island. See you soon with the next chapter of this exciting arc.