Well, here we are, the final chapter to the first installment of Fairy May Cry. Once again, thank you all so much for your support and praise, it's been one hell of a ride (pun totally intended) and I look forward to the future as we continued with the second installment after this. So, with all that being said, let's close the final chapter.
Epilogue - Fairy Tail's Stylish Return
The year is X791, seven years after the events of Tenrou Island when the island itself, and all the members of Fairy Tail on the island, had vanished off the face of Earthland without a trace. At the end of the doc on Port Hargeon stood a teenage boy with black hair, well-toned muscles and even developed abs. He wore a dark red sleeveless jacket with an orange scarf tied around his neck and green pants, along with a white sash tied around his waist. He also bore the red emblem of Fairy Tail on his left shoulder.
This young man had been staring out into the ocean for some time when a pair of fellow wizards approached him from behind.
"Romeo, how long are you gonna stay out on the sea?" The woman asked the boy, revealed to be Romeo Conbolt.
"Our job's done." The man next to her added. "Let's get back to the guild."
These people were in fact Alzack Connell and his wife Bisca. Alzack's hair had been cut shorter as he wore a light brown poncho over his clothes, with Bisca wearing a more revealing outfit with an open vest and a bikini-top, a short cowgirl-like skirt with boots and a hat.
"Come on kiddo, Asuka will start missing her big brother soon." Bisca said to Romeo.
"Your dad will start worrying even more, you know how he gets." Alzack also said, but Romeo offered no response.
This wasn't unfamiliar with both of them as Romeo had been at this exact spot almost every day for the last seven years, just waiting for someone to come back. But ever since that fateful day, nobody had ever returned.
"Cheer up, l know how you feel but we need to start moving." Bisca tried one more time.
"Bisca." Alzack addressed his wife and gave her a shake of his head, silently telling her that Romeo wasn't going to let this go anytime soon, not that they blamed him as they all felt exactly the same way.
In the last seven years, the town of Magnolia hadn't really changed all that much, it was still as lively as ever. However, the same could not be said for the Fairy Tail guild. Those that vanished on Tenrou Island were its most powerful members, including its Master, and with them gone, the guild quickly fell apart. They were unable to handle all the many job requests they had been getting as they were once the strongest guild in all of Fiore. Since they were unable to meet demand, it didn't take long for Fairy Tail to drop all the way to the bottom, several of its members had already left and there were only less about a dozen members total. Unable to even maintain their previous guildhall, they had to condemn it and move it further away from Magnolia to a more farm-like setting.
The newer guildhall seemed more like a run-down tavern than anything else with an old windmill perched on the top and a clothesline hanging from the side. Currently working with the laundry was the grown young woman Kinana, the only non-mage who could be considered an employee.
Inside, all the old members were at their usual business as the older Macao, who had grown a mustache, slammed his mug impatiently on the table. "Why hasn't Romeo made it back to the guild yet?! I'm gonna be seriously pissed if Alzack and Bisca ditched the poor kid so they can go make out!"
"Take it easy, will ya?" The older Wakaba scowled as he smoked a cigar. "I mean it's not like he's a little boy anymore, he's a young man now!"
The two butted heads with one another. "How many times have I told you to call me 'Master'!? Get it together Wakaba!" Macao exclaimed.
"Fourth master my ass!" Wakaba argued. "I swear I ain't never seen such an undignified and incompetent leader!"
"Well maybe it's because I got stuck with a horrible assistant like you!" Macao argued back.
At the same time, the older Max, who had grown some facial hair on his chin, looked around the guildhall. "So, is it just me, or have we lost a lot of members?"
"I guess that's to be expected, Max." The older Warren sat at the table behind him. "Our guild's reputation and the number of job requests just keep going down. Not to mention Sabretooth and Mermaid Heel have been getting all those demon hunting jobs."
"Since we don't have any Devil Hunters anymore, it makes sense." The older Nab said as he stood next to the barren job-request board, though he had grown quite the gut as opposed to all those muscles he previously had. "We can barely handle all these normal requests."
"What's it matter to you, Nab?" Warren questioned. "You haven't been on a job in over seven years!"
"True." Nab admitted with shame.
"Check it out, you guys." The older Vijeeter, who now wore a dark blue turban and an orange robe over his outfit, as he danced for no apparent reason. "I finally finished my latest routine and it's inspired by the guild. I call it, 'Dance of the Pathetic and Feeble'."
Max's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "If he doesn't cut it out, I'm gonna have to strangle him!"
"Hey Kinana, I'm ready for seconds!" The older Droy called, and to say he had gained weight was an understatement, he was almost completely round.
"Sure thing." Kinana smiled and nodded.
"Um, are you sure Droy?" The older Laki asked. "I think all that food is starting to catch up with you."
"If I didn't know any better, I think you were calling me fat." Droy commented.
"That's exactly what she's doing." The older Jet said as he sat next to his partner, as he didn't appear to have changed much. "Have you taken a look in the mirror lately?! Reedus used to be your size! Look how slim he is now!"
"Oui." The older Reedus said, who looked now had an average build as he worked on his newest painting. "But I was never actually fat, Master put a spell on me."
"I don't know what you're talking about, I'm still physically fit! Just look at my muscles!" Droy tried to protest as he tried to flex, but nobody seemed to buy it.
"Everybody in the guild has matured, even Kinana is more lady-like, you on the other hand…" Jet commented.
"Shut up!" Droy exclaimed. "I have to eat a lot because it increases my magic power!"
"Alright, that's enough you two." Laki tried to break them up.
"I mean, what do you think Levy would say if she ever saw you like this?" Jet questioned to his partner.
"Levy's never coming back! None of them are!"
That comment caused everyone in the guildhall to look down as it became deathly quiet. Try as they might to ignore the loneliness, they had been feeling these past seven years, it was all but impossible.
"How pathetic." A new voice spoke up as a man with a massive club walked in with his gang, and from the looks of things, these guys meant trouble. "No matter what time I come here, the place is always quiet. I guess no one wants to bring the business to your shitty guild."
Several of the other punks chuckled. "Fairy Tail's lost all its mojo." Another punk commented with a smirk.
"Thibault." Wakaba addressed the leader of the gang as he and Macao walked up with scowls on their faces.
"I thought I told you never to set foot in here again." Macao stated with a glare.
"Come on now, show a little respect whenever you talk to your superiors." Thibault said, his smirks still present on his face. "Twilight Ogre is the baddest guild in all Magnolia, you should bow down and kiss our boots." The rest of Fairy Tail gathered together as they glared at the punks. "You used to be the strongest guild in Fiore, but those days are long gone. Now your nothing but a bunch of worthless, out-of-work, wizards. Look at this sorry-ass excuse for a guildhall. Have you seen the palace we got right in the center of town? One look at our guildhall, and it's pretty obvious who can do more for Magnolia, and it ain't Fairy Tail."
"You think you're better than us cause you got a bigger hall?" Max questioned.
"Yeah, who cares? We've got more spirit than you can even imagine!" Warren added.
"Good for you, but you can't make a living off 'spirit'." Thibault continued to mock.
Macao glared harder. "What are you and your lackies doing here, Thibault?"
"We've come to collect this month's payment." Thibault answered.
Macao grumbled. "Are you telling me you ain't paid them yet, Macao?!" Wakaba questioned.
"Hey, didn't I tell you to call me 'Master'!?" Macao shouted.
"If you paid your loan on time, we wouldn't have to drop by like this." One Twilight Ogre grunt said.
"We don't have the money because we haven't had any decent jobs, lately." Macao replied. "We'll pay it in full next month! So, get off our backs, will ya?!"
"Watch your mouth, old man." Another grunt stated. "Let's not forget that you wouldn't have this shubby-pubby you call a guildhall if he hadn't swooped in and saved it for ya!"
"Yeah, you should be thanking us for taking your loan and keeping ya from living on the streets like bums!" A different grunt added.
Jet glared hard. "If we'd known you were gonna charge us so much interest, we never would have asked for your help in the first place!" Even Laki nodded in agreement.
"Wanna say that a little louder, jackass?" A grunt questioned, ready to beat him up at a moment's notice.
"That's enough Jet!" Macao stopped a fight from breaking out.
"But Master…" Jet tried to protest, but Macao gave a him a look that told him not to start something before addressing Thibault again.
"If you can just give us another month, I promise we'll pay you in full." Macao was practically pleading.
Thibault's only response was a smirk and a kick to Macao's face to knock him to the bar.
"Macao!" Wakaba exclaimed in shock.
"Master, no!" Laki also shouted.
"Ah man, he went flying!" A grunt laughed along with Thibault.
"What in the hell did you expect from such a freaking light-weight?" Thibault mocked even further, resulting in his gang laughing.
"You bastards!" Warren exclaimed.
"How dare you!" Max also shouted as they looked ready to fight back, which the gang from Twilight Ogre was ready to accept as they each drew their weapons.
"Oh, you wanna fight us?!" Thibault said excitedly.
"Stand down, Fairy Tail!" Macao told his subordinates as Kinana tried to help him up.
All the guildmembers growled in frustration as they wanted nothing more than to fight back, but it wasn't a matter of whether or not they could take on Twilight Ogre, their guildmaster could easily use this as an excuse to report them and see that they were disbanded entirely. Needless to say, it was a no-win situation either way.
"You heard the man, stand down." Wakaba said reluctantly, resulting in them lowering their guards.
Less than a second, the punks from Twilight Ogre began to tear up the entire guildhall, using clubs and hammers to break tables, chairs, windows, even tear up some of the floor. They even drank some of the booze they had back, one grunt even got close to Laki and practically groped her. It was a sad sight for all of them, they wanted to fight back, but couldn't. It was so frustrating, some of them were even in tears.
"That was fun." Thibault said as he and his gang finished wrecking the place and began to walk out. "Let's go."
"Right boss." All his punks said at the same time.
"You got one more month, and that's it." Thibault gave Macao a final warning before he and his gang left.
"Are you alright?" Kinana helped Macao to his feet, but he only grunted in response.
It wasn't long before the guildmembers of Fairy Tail began to clean up the mess as the entire atmosphere became even more depressing then it was before.
"Looks like Twilight Ogre paid you a visit, huh?" Everyone looked towards the entrance to see an older Morrison enter the tavern. He didn't look that much different, save for some wrinkles, his greying and slightly balding hair.
"Morrison." Wakaba greeted causally. "Something you need?"
"No, just came to pay a visit." Morrison replied as he walked inside. "Sorry I couldn't find any more decent jobs. Guess its first-come-first-serve these days now."
However, one of Reedus' sketch books fell from a broken shelf. Once it hit the ground, all the paintings and pictures he drew inside scattered all over the ground. They were headshots and group shots of all their missing comrades; Makarov, Natsu, Erza, Gray, Lucy, even a few pictures of Dante, both single pictures of him and even group shots of him with Lady and Trish. There even some of Gajeel, the Exceed trio of Happy, Lily, and Carla, the Thunder Legion, a few drawings of Levy, Juvia, Cana, and Gildarts, one with Lisanna, Elfman, and Mira together. There was also a group picture of Wendy, Modeus, and Carla together, even an old picture of Laxus before he was expelled from the guild. There was even a massive group drawing of the Fairy Tail seven years ago with all of them together. They all looked so happy and full of life.
Seeing all those pictures was enough to move them all to tears, even Morrison lowered his hat to hide a single tear that was in his eye.
"It's hard to believe it's been seven years." Wakaba said as he blew a smoke from his cigar.
"Has it really been that long…?" Macao asked, stifling a sob.
"Those were better times back then." Max looked down.
"The Fairy Tail guild just isn't the same without all those guys…" Warren said with teary-eyes.
"When we found out Tenrou Island had been destroyed, we started searching for any sign of them." Jet recalled.
"But not a soul turned up." Vijeeter looked down in sorrow.
"And it was a dragon that did them in?" Morrison asked. "I thought they were all extinct."
"Yeah, apparently it was the worst of the bunch." The teary-eyed Laki answered.
"If the Magic Council told us the truth, the island was wiped out by this 'Acnologia'." Nab said with grief.
"So many other guilds and organizations donated their time to help us search; even Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus volunteered." Reedus remembered. "Despite our best efforts, we didn't find a single clue."
"It's not surprising though." Jet said. "The Ethernano levels we recorded around Tenrou Island that day were off the charts. In fact, the levels were so high that no living thing, not even demons, could survive that."
"Is that Acnologia-thing really so powerful that it could destroy an entire island with just one attack?" Morrison asked.
"Yes, it is!" The teary-eyed Warren held a book labeled 'Dragon Historia'. "I just don't think you understand! It destroyed an entire nation all by itself! There's no way anyone could face that monster and live to talk about it!"
"Why did it have to go and kill all our friends?" Droy questioned in tears.
"Without them, the guild was doomed." Max remembered the downfall of Fairy Tail as clear as day, they all did. "It got weaker and weaker, and all we could do was watch. And while that happened, Twilight Ogre took over Magnolia."
"Well maybe it's time to call it quits." Wakaba suggested with a tone indicating he was ready to give up.
"How can you suggest that?!" Laki stood up in frustration.
"I'm sorry." Morrison said with a grimace. "But he may have a point. If nothing short of miraculous happens soon, Fairy Tail will have no choice but to disband."
"Hey, listen Morrison." Wakaba began. "Thanks for sticking with us. You didn't have to help, I'm sure there are other ways a broker can make a living."
"It's not always about the money." Morrison replied. "Why do you think I stayed with Dante so long even after he owed me such a debt?" He noticed the painful look on Macao's face. "What's up?"
"It might not… be about the money…" Macao's voice cracked. "But… I don't know how much longer can keep this up…!"
Wakaba gave his old friend a small smile. "Don't worry, you're doing a fine job… Master."
Macao's fists continued to shake as tears were already flowing down his face. "Poor Romeo… I haven't seen him smile once… since the day they disappeared."
However, the depressing mood was soon brough to an end as a loud noise could be heard outside, with the entire building shaking slightly, getting everyone's attention.
"What's that sound?" Laki questioned.
"I don't think I like it." Droy said, as he was already eating a turkey leg with a barrel of booze in his other arm.
"Don't tell me its Twilight Ogre again." Jet said in an annoyed tone.
However, that was not truly the case. Once they all ran outside, they looked in complete surprise to see what it really was. It appeared to be a giant flying ship with massive aqua-colored wings on its side and a stone white horse emerging from the front.
"A giant flying horse?" Vijeeter questioned in surprise.
"That's the flying ship belonging to the Blue Pegasus guild, the Christina Advanced!" Morrison stated, sounding just as surprised as everyone else.
"Sniff, sniff." A certain man voiced aloud as he stood at the top of the helm of the ship as it descended, letting everyone get a closer look.
"Hang on… is that…?" Vijeeter was the first to recognize the man in question.
"No way…" Warren didn't expect to see him either.
"Aww, not that guy." Max seemed more annoyed than anything else.
"What is that fowl stench?" The man said aloud. "My, my, this insipid parfum is not a pleasant one."
"It's a troll!" Laki exclaimed in surprise.
"Well sorta." Wakaba commented.
"What's he doing here?" Macao questioned.
The man was none other than Ichiya from Blue Pegasus. His hair was slightly longer and a small five o'clock shadow underneath his nose and at his chin. He leapt dramatically from his spot on the Christina. However, such a dramatic moment was brought to a comic halt as he landed face-first on the stone pathway leading to the guildhall, much to Fairy Tail's shock.
However, despite that, Ichiya still gave a dramatic pose, despite laying on his side with a comic bump on his head. "I apologize for making you wait. But Sir Ichiya, is at your service."
"You okay?" Macao asked with concern as Ichiya attempted to pick himself up. But he didn't come alone as three wizards of the same guild descended to the ground via air magic. These were the Tri-men of Blue Pegasus, who didn't appear to look all that different in the seven years that passed.
"You know there are better ways to get off the ship than jumping, boss?" Hibiki commented to Ichiya.
"Especially when I can use air magic." Ren added.
"Long time no see, you guys." Eve greeted as they all set down. "You're looking a lot older, Macao."
"Wow, it's Blue Pegasus. They're so cool." Droy said with a slight blush on his cheeks.
"What in the heck is this about?" Jet didn't seem all that impressed, however.
Suddenly, the Tri-mens had surrounded Laki and instantly began to flirt with her.
"Laki, you're as pretty as ever." Hibiki complemented.
"Yeah, you look hot. For a girl in glasses." Ren said, playing coy.
"May I call you 'Big Sis'?" Eve asked.
"Well… uh…" Laki wasn't quite sure what to say.
"Did you come here just to pick up chicks?!" Max questioned in comic anger.
Now it was Kinana's turn as they surrounded her and repeated the same flirtatious routine, much to her discomfort.
"Kinana, you have plans tonight?" Hibiki asked like a gentleman.
"Why do you have to look so beautiful in that dress?" Ren asked, still playing coy.
"Tell me, would you like to have a little brother?" Eve asked.
"Well… uh…" Kinana didn't know what to say either.
"Seriously, what are you guys doing here?!" Max questioned, still in comic anger once more.
"Ahem." Morrison coughed aloud to get everyone's attention. "I'm guessing you all didn't come this way just for a social visit. Is there something you need?"
"Man." Ichiya said dramatically as the Tri-men regrouped behind him. "I shall never forget the sweet parfum of friendship we've created, facing our foes together!"
"We've been flying Christina around Fiore, surveying Ethernano levels in the area." Hibiki began. "And if Archive's data-analysis is correct, all of our hard work is paid off."
That got everyone's attention as they looked in surprise. "Are you ready for this?" Ichiya asked as he posed once more. "Tenrou Island still exists!"
It didn't take long for Fairy Tail to get a ship and sail out onto the ocean where Ichiya and the Tri-mens told them to look. The ones using the ship to search were Alzack, Bisca, Max, Warren, Jet, and Droy. Bisca looked through a pair of binoculars, but all she could see was the vast ocean that stretched out in all directions.
She gave a sigh when she found nothing. "Are you sure we're looking in the right area?" Bisca asked her husband.
"It does seem odd that we haven't seen a thing." Alzack replied, sounding a bit unsure himself.
"This is where the Pegasus guys told us to go." Warren said as he tried to use his Telepathy. "They said there's something up with the Ethernano levels."
"So, what is Ethernano anyway?" Max asked as he looked at a map in his hands.
"Heck if I know." Warren answered. "I'm guessing it's magic particles or something."
"Having any luck with your Telepathy?" Max asked once more.
"I'm not picking up anything at all." Warren said with disappointment.
"You know, hun? I feel kind of bad leaving Romeo behind." Bisca said to Alzack.
"Me to." Alzack replied. "Maybe we should have brought him along after all."
"Nah, it's better this way, cause there's no guarantee they're still alive." Max said bleakly.
"That's the grim truth." Even Warren seemed to agree. "There's no point in getting everyone's hopes up."
"We'll see Levy!" Jet and Droy both shouted at the same time as they danced in place with hearts hanging over them.
"Well so much for not getting our hopes up." Bisca said with a sigh at the pair's antics.
"I can't say that I blame them though." Alzack commented.
"WOULD YOU PLEASE SHUT UP!?" Warren shouted at Jet and Droy, causing them to calm down. "It's been seven years since we last heard from them, we gotta consider the worst-case scenario."
"We know." Jet sulked.
"Sorry guys." Droy also sulked while helping himself to a bag of fires.
The mood on the ship turned somewhat depressing, and despite how much they all wanted to hang onto hope, they still also had to face the reality that their hopes might be in vein. After all, there was no guarantee they would find their friends.
However, Bisca was quick to notice something in the air. "That's weird."
"What is it?" Alzack asked.
"It's like the breeze just stopped." Bisca observed in surprise.
"Now that you mention it, it is strangely quiet." Alzack said.
"And there's no birds." Jet saw that all the seagulls in the area have left.
"Whoa, what's going on?" Droy asked, while eating a turkey leg.
Max looked off the side of the boat and gave a small gasp in surprise when he noticed something. "Anyone see that?"
Everyone looked in the direction Max was pointing toward and could vaguely make out two figures in the distance. "A person?" Jet asked.
"No, it looks like two people…" Droy observed in surprise.
"There's no way." Warren seemed skeptical, despite him barley making it out as well. "They're floating above the water."
Bisca got a good look at them through her binoculars. She could definitely see two people; a man wearing primarily purple with white hair, and a girl with a light pink dress and flowing blonde hair. "Yeah, a guy and a girl are definitely out there!"
Unbeknownst to them, these were the same two individuals that had been watching Fairy Tail's battles against Grimoire Heart and Acnologia on Tenrou Island seven years ago. The ship sailed closer to the pair and they got a good look at the pair in question.
"Whoa, they're standing on the water!" Max exclaimed in shock.
"Who could it be?" Warren wondered.
The man shared a smile with the girl in question as he gave a nod. With that, the girl began to spread out her arms, where several pillars of golden light began to emerge from the ocean in the form of a circle around herself and the man with her. The water began to shift and pull as the golden light reflected off the water. The waves intensified and began to rock the ship back and forth, much to the shock and displeasure of the six members of Fairy Tail on-board. But that wasn't what they were the most shocked about.
Both the mysterious man and girl hovered in the air as the girl used some kind of magic to pull something unbelievably massive out of the water, something that carried a brilliant golden light, almost like the sun were rising from the horizon. The water parted off the rising object to reveal something that caused all Fairy Tail members' eyes to widen and jaws to drop.
It was Tenrou Island! The entire island appeared to be surrounded by a golden sphere with the emblem of Fairy Tail near the top and a set of angel-like wings along the sides.
"Oh my god… is that it…?!" Bisca stated in disbelief as Alzack wrapped his arms around his wife to keep her from falling down on the rocking ship.
"I think so…" Even Alzack couldn't believe it as the water settled and the ship steadied itself on the ocean's surface.
"It's Tenrou Island!" Max exclaimed in shock and disbelief.
"It came out of nowhere!" Warren shouted as well as Jet and Droy's jaws dropped.
The golden shield that had surrounded the island suddenly vanished, allowing the island to fall back into its natural place. When it was done, the mighty Tenrou Island appeared as if nothing had ever happened to it before, as if it had just popped back into existence out of thin air.
When it was all done, the mysterious man in purple placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and the two turned around to hover closer to the island.
"Those two are heading to the shore!" Warren pointed to them.
"Quick, let's follow them!" Max stated as they were quick to leap off the ship and into the water, which was surprisingly shallow, so they didn't have to swim.
"Hey! Wait up!" Droy called to them as they made their way onto the beach of Tenrou Island in pursuit of the mysterious duo.
The group had saw that man and girl were already in the woods and had almost completely vanished from sight. "Hey!" Max tried to call to them again.
"Any idea who those two people are?" Bisca asked as they tried to catch up.
"Nope, I've got no clue." Alzack answered. "All I know is that they helped us find Tenrou Island!" He said as they entered the forest. "Maybe they're taking us to the others!"
"Man, I hope so!" Droy said as he was already out of breath due to his over-weight status.
"Go Jet! Don't lose them!" Warren told their fastest comrade.
"On it!" Jet already used his high-speed magic to zoom faster into the forest in an effort to catch the pair they had been following. However, despite running at his top speed and already in the middle of the forest, he had completely lost sight of the man and girl.
'That's weird. I should have caught up to them by now.' Jet thought.
However, Jet spotted something that made him literally stop in his tracks, he looked down a cliffside to see something that made his eyes waver. It didn't take long for his friends to catch up to him.
"What is it!?" Max called.
"Yeah, what's the deal?!" Droy also called to him.
"Where'd they go?!" Bisca exclaimed.
"Do you see something?" Alzack asked as they were already at the spot Jet was. They all looked down the cliffside he was staring at and saw something that made their hearts almost completely stop; or rather, they saw two somethings.
Both of them were young men, lying face-first on the ground and partially buried in rubble. One had pink hair and a white scarf; the other had white hair with a torn red jacket, and a familiar sword in his right hand.
"No way…" Alzack couldn't believe it.
Fairy Tail guildhall
"Hey Romeo." Macao turned to his son that sat at a table and read a book in his hands. "Hope you're not too upset about staying behind."
Though he didn't turn to his father, he still gave a response "Nah, even if they're lucky enough to find Tenrou Island, I doubt that anybody's still alive."
"Don't lose faith, kid." Morrison spoke. "Those are some of the toughest guys I've ever met. You've known most of them longer than I have."
"But they've been gone for seven years." Romeo replied, not taking his eyes off his book.
Macao and the others each gave something of a sigh when the doors opened up with a familiar face walking in.
"Holy cow." It was none other than Thibault again and his gang of cronies. "This dump looks even more deserted than it was yesterday. Seems less like a guild and more like a kid's clubhouse."
"Thibault! I thought we'd agree that we'd pay you next month!" Macao told him.
"Yeah, I mentioned it to our master, he said 'no way in hell'." Thibault smirked as his punks chuckled. "He said we're gonna have a problem if you don't cough up the money. You'd better pay up, because our master always gets what he wants."
Romeo stood up from his seat as he closed his book. "Your master can go screw himself." He glared at the punks of Twilight Ogre.
"Watch it, Romeo." Macao tried to ease his son.
"You're not getting any money from us today." Romeo began to walk straight up to Thibault.
"I suggest you drop the attitude, brat." Thibault advised, but Romeo wouldn't budge.
"You may be able to boss Dad and the others around because they're scared of standing up to you…" Romeo stated as he produced a purple flame in his hand. "…If they won't, I will! I'm not gonna let you guys disgrace Fairy Tail's good name!"
"Romeo!" Wakaba tried to stop him.
"Stupid kid!" Macao also tried to run in.
However, Thibault blew out Romeo's purple flame with little effort. "Hate to tell ya, but the name's already been disgraced." He drew his massive club.
"Leave my boy alone!" Macao exclaimed, more than ready to jump in and fight.
"You can train hard your whole life, there's still no way you'd ever beat me!" Thibault was ready to bring is club down onto Romeo, but…
*BANG!*
A gunshot ranged through the air as the mallet was shattered by a single bullet, much to Thibault's shock. "What the hell…?!" He was so shocked, he and his goons didn't notice a familiar red blur shooting above them and landing in between Twilight Ogre and Romeo.
Everyone in Fairy Tail looked in shock with widened and shaky eyes, mouths hanging open, and shaky bodies. Almost none of them could believe it. Even Romeo was completely stunned as he saw the back of someone standing protectively in front of him; though it was torn and battle-damage, nobody could mistake the familiar red jacket that waved with a breeze like a cape, or the flowing white hair.
Morrison was the first to smirk. "I knew it."
Dante, the Crimson Knight, and the Son of Sparda, turned around to face his friends and guildmates with a smirk.
"Is… Dante… is… that you…?" Romeo stuttered.
"You know another man as good looking as I am?" Dante asked rhetorically. "The correct answer is 'no', by the way."
"Who the hell do you think you are, ya punk?!" Thibault and his gang were ready to pounce and ambush on Dante from behind.
"Hey, how about we save the heart-warming reunion until after we take out this trash?" Dante suggested calmly as he glanced behind him.
A blast of fire had blown away Thibault, another one was frozen in a cluster of ice, a third was zapped with lightning, a fourth was pounded in the face with an iron-club, a fifth was sliced up with a familiar sword, and the sixth and final grunt was pounded into the ground with a giant fist.
The smoke cleared to reveal it was not just Dante who returned, but all of the two dozen members of Fairy Tail that had vanished seven years ago, and none of them appeared to have aged a single day. It was Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Lisanna, Gray, Erza, Makarov, Modeus, Trish, Lady, Wendy, Carla, Gray, Panther-Lily, Levy, Juvia, Elfman, Mirajane, Cana, Gildarts, Freed, Bickslow, Evergreen, and even Laxus. They have all returned along with the happy search part of Alzack, Bisca, Jet, Droy, Max, and Warren.
"Look who's back!" Natsu said with a wide and toothy grin.
"Sorry to keep you waiting for so long." Happy hopped in the air.
To say they were all stunned was an understatement. Everyone shook with shock as emotions of pure joy filled their whole bodies.
"I can't believe it…." Macao breathed in disbelief, silently hopping this wasn't a dream.
"How… how are you guys even here…?" Wakaba stuttered as well.
Lucy had something of an apologetic smile. "It's kinda like this…"
Flashback
"Hey Natsu! Wake up!" Jet tried to shake up to consciousness along with Droy.
"Pull yourself together! Dante!" Max and Warren also tried to wake him up as well.
The Son of Sparda was the first to open up his eyes with a dizzy expression. "Ten more minutes mom…"
Natsu's awakening was much noisier as he shot up. "Gah! Let me sleep jerk!"
"Natsu! Dante!" Jet, Droy, Max, and Warren engulfed them both in a hug that almost knocked them onto the ground as they cried tears of pure joy.
"Wha… what the hell…?" Dante tried to push them off. "Hold on… what happened? Why do you guys look… older?"
"Droy! You're so fat!" Natsu comically exclaimed as the four were still crying tears of joy.
Alzack and Bisca turned around when they heard a familiar groan to see a certain half-buried blue Exceed pulling himself out of the dirt. "Is it morning already…?" Happy asked with a groan. "Can I have some fish for breakfast…?"
"HAPPY!" Both Alzack and Bisca also cried as they scooped up Happy out of the dirt and hugged him so tightly, he was comically suffocating.
Dante held his head as he sat on the ground. "Damn, I've got the worse headache… why does it feel like I just woke up from a hangover?" His and Natsu's eyes suddenly widened as they remembered what they went through recently. "What happened to Acnologia?!"
"Where's everyone else?!" Natsu questioned with worry and seriousness.
"They're over here."
Everyone turned around and looked upward on a cliffside to see the mysterious girl in pink that spoke to them along with the man in purple that stood next to her.
Most of them all looked confused, but once Dante saw the man in question, he looked uncharacteristically shocked.
"Who are you?" Natsu and Happy asked bluntly.
"Don't worry, we mean you no harm." The man assured.
"My name is Mavis Vermillion, I'm Fairy Tail's first guildmaster." The girl introduced herself.
"WHAAAAAA?!" Everyone, excluding Dante, exclaimed in shock.
The girl, now revealed to be Mavis, giggled slightly. "You were right." She told the man next to her. "Their reactions really are funny." The man chuckled.
"So… that's the guild's first master…?" Droy questioned, not over his shock.
"Yeah but, who's the guy next to him?" Jet also wondered.
Dante stood up, albeit shakily, as he still wasn't over his initial shock upon seeing the man, something his friends noticed. "Dante?" Bisca asked.
The man smiled warmly as he looked down towards Dante. "You've grown so much, Dante. It's almost hard to believe."
"D… Da… Dad…?" Dante stuttered.
That caught everyone's attention. "Hold on… did he just say… 'Dad'?" Natsu questioned.
The man chuckled. "Here I thought the resemblance would be a dead giveaway." He adjusted his hair slightly. "But perhaps this might help." His body was suddenly engulfed by a bright flash of light as everyone closed their eyes to avoid being blinded. When the flash subsided, and everyone could open their eyes again, none of them were prepared for what stood in the man's place.
It appeared to be a demon, but not just any demon. He was at least seven feet tall with a dark scaly hide, with a slight hint of purple on his scales. He had two large bat-like wings on his back with a set of cicada-like wings underneath. He also had two demonic-skull like features on his knee-caps with two downward curved ram-like horns on his head, with a red diamond-shaped gem in the middle of his forehead, and glowing red eyes.
There was no mistaking it, the present members of Fairy Tail had read the legends ever since his son had joined their guild and they all recognized him instantly.
"No way… Sparda…?" Natsu could not believe it, but none where more surprised than Dante as his eyes continued to shake.
Sparda and Mavis both nodded as they gestured for everyone to follow them. It wasn't long before they found everyone else scattered throughout the forest of the island. First to be found was Lucy, Trish, and Lisanna; next was Lady, Modeus, Wendy, and Carla; followed by Gray, Erza, and Juvia; then they ran into Gajeel, Levy, Panther-Lily, Mira, and Elfman, with Jet and Droy in total tears of joy at seeing Levy again; they even found Cana, Gildarts, Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen, Makarov, and even Laxus, whom they were all beyond shocked to see as well.
Once they were all gathered together and tearfully reunited, they stood before the figures of Mavis and Sparda; though they were all shocked to see Mavis, none where more surprised to see Sparda right next to her.
"Master…" Modeus walked up slowly to his former teacher, his eyes shaking with emotions. "Is it… is it really you…?"
Sparda, still in his demonic form, smiled and nodded. "Yes, Modeus, my old friend. It is me."
Modeus instantly kneeled before his former teacher. "Master!"
"It… it's an honor…" Makarov walked up toward the Dark Knight as well as the girl next to him. "To be in the presence of our first master and even Sparda himself. I am truly humbled to be in your presence." He bowed his head toward him, followed by Erza, Freed, and nearly everyone else in the guild.
"The honor is all mine." Sparda assured as he motioned to them to rise. "You were the ones who kept the guild going even in mine and Mavis' absence, and made it stronger than even I could have imagined. But the greatest honor I could have, was how much you've looked after my son." He looked towards Dante with something of a sad smile before he smiled gratefully and bowed his heads to the members of the Fairy Tail guild that stood in front of him. "Thank you, for watching out for him."
"Aye sir!" Happy hovered in the air. "But really, he's been more looking out for us."
"Dante's loyalty to our guild is nothing short of rock-solid." Mira smiled.
"Yeah, Dante's the manliest man I've ever met!" Elfman gave a thumbs up.
"Having him with us has been really amazing." Wendy smiled.
"And it's because of him, that we're even in Fairy Tail too." Trish said, refering to herself and Lady.
"You really got one hell of a kid, ya know that?" Lady nodded to Sparda, who nodded back in return.
"But, how is this possible?" Erza asked. "How are you… and the first master… even here?"
"Well you're looking at my spirit." Mavis gave a simple answer. "I won't go into details, but my spirit has remained on Tenrou Island for a long time."
"As for me, the answer lies with the Devil Sword Sparda." The Dark Knight continued as all of them, especially Trish, looked at the aforementioned sword in surprise. "It's not just called that to honor me or anything like that. That sword carries my 'essence', if you will, that combined with the same magic Mavis uses to project herself, allows my spirit to manifest as well. Though my body has long since died, my spirit lives on."
This was quite a surprise for all of them, but a few still had some questions they needed to ask him as well as Mavis.
"But how did we survive Acnologia? Shouldn't we be dead?" Gray asked.
"When Acnologia attacked, you tried to concentrate all your power into a defense spell." Mavis began to explain. "Sparda and I used that and combined our own powers with it to cast the Fairy Sphere spell; one of the three Grand Fairy Spells of the guild. It is an absolute defense spell capable of protecting the guild from all manner of evil."
"However, because our bodies are incorporeal, the Fairy Sphere spell… glitched a bit as we casted it." Sparda added.
"What do you mean, 'glitched'?" Lisanna asked.
"Fairy Sphere did indeed protect you from Acnologia's attack." Mavis explained. "But it also protected you from literally everything else in the physical world; essentially placing Tenrou Island and every living thing on it in a state of suspended animation."
"It was not our intent for the spell to last so long." Sparda continued. "It took us seven years to undo its affects, and for that, we express our most sincere apologies."
Everyone in the guild looked towards each other in wonder, amazement, surprise, and even a bit of understatement. "So, it really has been seven years?" Levy asked.
"Yeah, it was." Jet confirmed as he and Droy nodded.
"So, is it true?" Dante asked his father. "You created Fairy Tail?"
Sparda nodded. "Yes, Mavis and I founded the Fairy Tail guild. And as a few of you were already told, I was originally meant to be it's first master. But, fearing this would put a target on the guild for the Underworld, I gave that responsibility to Mavis. Everything you already know about her and her teachings are all true, the only thing left out was my involvement in the guild's founding." He answered as he rubbed the girl's head with his clawed hand, causing her to giggle slightly.
"Hey, you also knew Igneel, right?" Natsu asked. "You got any idea where he is?"
Sparda's smile faded. "I am sorry Natsu, but I don't." He answered. "The same goes for Grandeeney and Metalicana." He spoke to Wendy and Gajeel, causing them both to look down slightly. "But, I did know those dragons very well, especially Igneel. And I can say that if each of them saw you know, they'd be nothing short of proud of you. All three of you have come a long way and have grown into exceptional Dragon Slayers." He said with as genuine smile.
This seemed to work as Natsu and Wendy shared smiles, even Gajeel smirked, being praised by the Dark Knight felt like quit the honor for all of them.
"Uh, Sparda…" Lucy walked up next. "Dante and I already know about this but… I just want to be sure that…"
"You want certainty as to whether you and Dante are maternal cousins?" Sparda finished for Lucy, resulting in her nodding in response. "It is true. My wife's full name was Eva Heartfilia, the elder sister to your mother, Layla Heartfilia. Capricorn has already told you the reason why that had to be kept secret." His smile faded. "All the good that did, my wife was killed, and your mother died around the same time as well. But I know that she would be happy to see how well you've grown, Lucy. You are truly her daughter, every bit as kind and noble as she is, and just as stubborn." He added a bit of humor in to lighten the mood slightly.
Lucy giggled slightly as she felt some tears of joy flowing own her eyes. "Thank you, Sparda."
"No need to be so formal." Sparda patted her head with a smirk. "We're family. Call me 'Uncle'."
This caused Lucy to stifle a laugh as she tried to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Yeah, okay…"
Sparda ruffled her hair a bit before walking to face his son. The situation seemed rather tense as all the Fairy Tail members, Mavis included, backed up slightly to let the two have their moment.
"Dante I… I imagine you must have complicated feelings about me…" Sparda began. "And I understand… what happened with your mother and your brother… please understand that I never wanted this sort of life for you. All I've wanted was for our family to live in peace and happiness; the last thing I wanted was for you to deal with my past and my problems."
"Well, given your rep in Hell, it makes sense." Dante said.
"It doesn't matter, that's no excuse." Sparda continued. "I made many enemies and I've left quite a bit of a mess, which I've done my best to clean up, but it wasn't enough. If you believe me to be responsible for what happened in your life, I understand; I don't blame you one bit for resenting me."
Dante sighed. "Old man, I don't hate you." That took Sparda by surprise. "Yeah, you left a lot of baggage. But I mostly blame all those nutjobs and freaks that did all that crazy stuff. And maybe I did resent you for a while, but… I learned how to take care of myself… and I learned it was alright to have friends. Believe it or not, despite the hell I went through, I'm actually glad for it. It led me to finding Fairy Tail, and I couldn't be more happy at that." He turned back to all his friends and surrogate family with a smile. "Besides, my dad wiping the floor with all sorts of nightmare fuel monsters sounds pretty badass."
Sparda chuckled. "Yes, and as you have said, I've made plenty of mistakes, but my single greatest regret was never before having the chance to tell you, just how proud you've made me." Dante looked in genuine surprise as Sparda gently caressed his hand down his son's cheek. "Dante, you've not only grown into a capable warrior, but a kind and caring man, willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of the friends and family you have made. It makes me so happy to see how much you have grown, and I know your mother would be beyond proud as well."
Before Dante even knew it, tears were already flowing down his eyes almost automatically. "Dad…."
Sparda smiled. "I know." He used one arm to pull his son into an embrace, which Dante was quick to return.
Such a touching scene caused everyone around them to smile in his or her own way; with Lucy, Lisanna, Trish, Lady, Wendy, even Mavis shedding some tears of joy for the father-son reunion that played before them.
Sparda and Dante broke off as the Dark Knight gazed to the Fairy Tail members. "Thank you all, for giving my son a home."
"No problem, it's what Fairy Tail does. But you already knew that." Natsu gave a thumbs up with a smirk.
Dante walked back towards his friends as Sparda rejoined Mavis, both their spiritual forms began to ascend towards the sky.
"To think we were saved by two of Fairy Tail's founding members." Makarov smiled with his own tears of joy.
"It wasn't just us." Mavis said with a smile. "We only casted the spell, it was you who gave us the means to do it."
"Not just the magic power you provided, but the unshakeable faith you had with each other, and your willingness to never give up." Sparda added as well with his own smile. "Now go into the world and keep doing what you do, that's what makes Fairy Tail so special."
Reality
"…Well, that's it." Makarov had finished explaining everything to those in Fairy Tail that had aged seven years while they were away.
"Hey Natsu." Lisanna got the Salamander's attention as she pointed to the side with a smile. Natsu looked to his side to see Romeo, looking with widened and shaky eyes, not believing that the role-model he looked up to had just returned.
Natsu couldn't help but chuckle. "Look at you, Romeo. All grown up." This alone caused Romeo to release all the pent-up emotions he had all these past seven years in the form of happy and joyous tears.
"Alright everyone! It's been seven years, so let's hit up the booze and party!" Dante shouted as he stood on a table with a beer bottle in each hand.
Everyone in the guildhall laughed, cheered, and cried in celebration as the party was already underway. "Everyone…" Romeo stuttered as he cried joyfully. "Welcome back… you're home!"
The End
And that, my friends, brings the first installment of Fairy May Cry to a close. It has been a long and happy journey, and I am glad I got to share it with all of you. Natsu, Dante, and everyone else returned to Fairy Tail after being frozen in Fairy Sphere for seven years (and I hope I gave a logical explanation as to why it took so long, which the cannon show didn't necessarily provide).
We also got the chance to meet Sparda, or rather his spirit, face-to-face and we've had some of our questions answered. (Note: he might have said he doesn't know what happened to the Dragons, but in truth, he really does, and he just feels that they're not ready to understand the truth just yet). We even had a heart-to-heart with him and Dante, and I really loved writing that, and I hope you all enjoyed that to.
Just for fun, if he had a voice actor (at least in the English Dub), his would be Neil Kaplan, who was the voice for Madara.
But, while the first book might have closed, our journey is not yet over. Dante, Natsu, and all their friends have a lot of work ahead of them as the world has changed and new threats from this new world as well as the past begin to reveal themselves. I will start the sequel fic real soon and I hope that you all enjoy it as much as I do.
I will see you next time with "Fairy May Cry: Devil's Retribution"