Episode 11: Fairy Law and the Aftermath

The FT wizards all prepared to get back on the offensive yet again now that the sphere had begun breaking apart releasing the ghosts. The fact they had destroyed the guildhall merely enhanced the FT members' resolve.

"Those shades ain't slowin' down," Bisca said as she cocked her magic shotgun.

"So be it," Alzack said, "they may have destroyed our guildhall, but THIS FIGHT AIN'T OVER YET!"

All of the surrounding FT wizards cheered their agreement with that statement.

Meanwhile, with Natsu…

"I'm gonna make you pay for what you did to my friends!" Natsu shouted as he punched his right fist into his left hand, "Messing with Fairy Tail is the biggest mistake you've ever made!"

"Ha," Gajeel shouted back as green light flared around him, "The only mistake I made, was NOT KILLING YOU SOONER!"

Gajeel then leaped into the air with his right fist cocked back.

"Iron Dragon: Hard Fist!" Gajeel shouted as he prepared to punch Natsu.

However, Natsu delivered a punch of his own. Unlike before, his flaming punch was strong enough to shatter Gajeel's metal scales and skin.

No, it can't be, Gajeel thought in shock, I'm the strongest!

"You're through, Blacksteel!" Natsu shouted.

"Flame Lotus: Fire Dragon Fist!" Natsu roared. Suddenly, he began punching Gajeel at speeds that rivaled even Igrao's dual-wielding flurry. There was absolutely nothing Gajeel could do as he was pummeled repeatedly.

"This is for Levy, Droy, Jet, Nab, Macao, Gramps, Soron, and LUCY!" Natsu shouted during his speed-filled punches. His last punch sent Gajeel flying a few feet away. As Gajeel crashed to the ground Natsu flung out his arms allowing flames to increase around him as he roared. However, he wasn't done yet.

"THIS IS FOR ATTACHING THEM AND DESTROYING OUR GUILDHALL!" Natsu roared as he delivered more punches to Gajeel.

That caused Gajeel to go flying out of the building and sent the castle's head careening into the water below.

"I can't believe this is happening!" exclaimed a PL wizard in both disbelief and shock.

"Gajeel's never lost a fight!" exclaimed another.

"Where is he?" Lucy asked concerned as Happy flew her through the air, "Natsu."

Sagittarius had willingly taken Igrao and Shuzy to safety. Lucy and Happy continued calling Natsu's name till Happy saw the hotheaded hero standing victoriously.

"You can't defeat me," Gajeel said weakly as he lay on a pile of rubble with bruises all over his body.

"Oh yeah?" Natsu said, "I think I just did."

As soon as he said that, he collapsed backward.

"He's down!" Lucy exclaimed as they got closer to him.

"Well," Natsu said as he looked up at her, "That was fun, but I think I'm gonna rest a bit."

"What a mess," Lucy said as she looked at Phantom Lord's castle, "Talk about overdoing it."

"Aye," Happy grinned, "That's Natsu for ya."

At the same time, with Soron and Jose…

Soron stared enraged at Jose and balled his fists while Jose laughed.

"My," Jose said, "What an unruly dragon you have."

"He may be a hotheaded wrecking ball," Diamondhead said as he turned his hands into a bouquet of crystals, "but he's a resilient person. There's nobody else that I'd rather have at my side."

"He's not at your side though," Jose remarked with a raised eyebrow.

"Sounded better in my head," Diamondhead admitted.

"I'm sure it did," Jose said, "Just as I am sure that he's far more powerful than you. After all, he doesn't rely on a machine for his powers. However, that device has made you powerful enough to take me on and live this long."

Does he know? He can't. There's no way… is there? Soron thought to himself concerned.

"You have no magic," Jose sneered, "In fact, should I take that device from you you'll be at my mercy."

"Give it your best shot," Diamondhead said as he got into a stance.

"I shall," Jose grinned. He then sped forward at incredible speeds. Diamondhead immediately fired crystal shard after crystal shard at Jose, but they were dodged each time. Diamondhead could do nothing as Jose punched him in the gut. That sent him flying back through a wall.

"Your form may be durable," Jose said as he calmly walked after Soron, "but it doesn't stand a chance against me. It's just too slow."

"You're right," Diamondhead said as he unsteadily got to his feet, "and I guess that means I have to change."

He then went to slap the Megatrix dial, but his hand was suddenly grabbed by Jose who had sped over quickly.

"I don't think so," Jose said as he smashed the arm with one hand, "I can't run the risk of you turning into something that can take me down with ease."

Diamondhead tried to punch Jose, but his hand was caught and then ripped off along with his arm. Diamondhead let out a scream of pain as Jose used the crystalline arm to impale Diamondhead in the stomach.

With Erza…

Erza had just slashed a phantom when she heard a scream of pain, and something told her it belonged to Soron. She immediately requipped and bolted through the air leaving the courtyard behind. She crashed through wall after wall till she had found Diamondhead. He was on his knees and Jose had Diamondhead's head in his hands.

Before Jose could decapitate Soron, Erza flew towards them and slashed down at Jose. However, Jose was quick enough to back away.

"Titania Erza," Jose said calmly as he looked at the busty redhead, "At last we meet."

"You alright?" Erza asked ignoring Jose.

"Oh yeah," Diamondhead snarked, "I'm just fine. It's not as if I was stabbed with my arm!"

"Put yourself together," Erza said.

"Not with this form," Diamondhead said as he did his best to get to his feet, "would you mind lending me a hand?"

Erza sighed and touched the Megatrix symbol. In a golden flash, Soron was a gelatinous being with a strange mechanic device hovering over him.

"Goop!" soron said with a higher voice.

"Gross," Erza said a little revolted.

"I may be slimy," Goop said as he walked to Erza's side, "but I'm not smelly. That's Swampfire's thing."

"What a disgusting and yet amusing creature," Jose said as he looked at Goop.

"Yeah, well," Goop said as he tried to come up with a comeback, "Your mustache is lame."

Erza and Jose both raised an eyebrow at that.

"What?" Goop asked with a shrug.

"I'm surprised at you Titania," Jose said as he looked at her, "Associating yourself with the Fairy Tail morons, and frauds like him. You're as strong as me when you're at full power, and yet you choose to surround yourself with those less than yourself?"

"Everyone at Fairy Tail is equal… in their own unique way," Erza said sternly, "and that includes those without magic."

"That's debatable," Jose concurred as his gaze.

"You know what irritates me about Fairy Tail?" Jose asked.

"It's that so many powerful wizards like yourself," Jose said with angered eyes as he raised a hand at both Erza and Goop, "align themselves with Makarov."

Suddenly, he flicked a finger and Erza raised her eyes. Goop could if he had eyes, but he doesn't… not really. Erza was sent flying back, and goop was splattered everywhere.

"Since you can't be tempted to join Phantom," Jose said as purple-black energy built up in his fingertips, "There's only one way to change that."

He then fired the purple-black energy at Erza who was lying on the ground. However, she deflected each blast before taking to the air.

She landed on the ground and had to go airborne to avoid yet another blast. However, she couldn't evade all the blasts as she took one to the chest and was knocked to the floor.

"That'll send the old coot into deep despair," Jose said with his eyes glowing red and his head partially hidden in shadow.

"Imagine how he'll feel when he awakens to find his guildhall destroyed and his children dead and gone," Jose sneered.

"I know how he'll feel," said a voice behind Jose. Jose turned to see that goop had transformed into a man in a black long coat. That man was Krypto-man.

"I have seen that myself," Soron said as he balled his fists, "and I felt nothing but RAGE!"

He then blurred at Jose. Everything around him seemed to slow down, but Jose was equal to his speed. Soron and Jose traded blows with each other as they sped about. Soron rammed Jose's face into a wall, and Jose kicked Soron in the stomach before preparing to uppercut him. However, Soron blasted him with heat vision right into his knee. Jose cried out in pain as his knee gave way, but he grabbed Soron's neck in the process and slammed him down onto the ground.

"This form of yours may be the most powerful I've yet encountered," Jose snarled, "but not even it will be good enough to face me!

"Know this," Jose said as he began to squeeze Soron's neck, "I will make Makarov suffer before I kill him!"

Suddenly, someone slashed at him. However, Jose was no longer strangling Soron. He was a foot or so behind Erza who held the sword that went along with her Black Wing armor.

"Nobody that is a member of Fairy Tail or a friend will survive my wrath," Jose said as he looked at both Soron and Erza. The former was massaging his throat.

"Why does it matter so much to you that Fairy Tail is wiped out?" Soron asked as he stood up, "Ya know, besides the fact you're a dick?"

"My guild has always been at the top," Jose explained, "We have the most powerful wizards with the strongest spells. We also have more capital and more members than any other guild."

"However, recently," Jose said as he glared at the two FT members, "Fairy Tail has begun to catch up, and our position as leader is in jeopardy. The names Erza, Laxus, Mystogan became widely known, and stories of Salamander spread across the land like wildfire. Now Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail are considered equals. The top two guilds representing this kingdom."

"Ha," Jose added, "the thought disgusts me. I REFUSE TO BE ACQUAINTED WITH SUCH A FEEBLE GUILD!"

"All this because of your ego getting hurt?" Soron said disappointed, "man, you're such a whiny bitch. I thought you'd be one of the cool villains, but no. You're just having a tantrum because you're not numero uno anymore. So cliche and so boring."

Erza suddenly leaped towards him as she slashed, but once again Jose dodged.

"Krypto-man won't do for this," Soron muttered to himself as he slapped his chest again.

"So," Erza said angrily as she pointed her sword at Jose, "We're fighting for our lives just because you had a fit of jealousy?!"

"Jealousy?" Jose smirked, "That's absurd. We simply want to prove to the kingdom, that WE are the dominant guild."

"How could you?!" demanded Erza, "And for such a petty reason!"

She then leaped into the air and slashed multiple times, but Jose kept dodging the attacks easily.

Suddenly, Jose blasted her with black-purple energy. Her sword was sent flying and cackling tendrils wrapped around her before shocking her with magical electricity. She screamed in pain because of it.

"While I've never been particularly fond of your guild," Jose said calmly with his hand raised, "my distaste for you is not what triggered this war."

"We were hired by the patriarch of the Heartfilia family to find his missing daughter," Jose explained, "The child of one of the kingdom's wealthiest men is now in Fairy Tail."

"So Makarov's trying to buy his way into the top, isn't he?!" Jose added as he put more into the electricity.

"Now that your guild has unfettered access to the Heartfilia family fortune," Jose said with certainty, "It's only a matter of time before that happens."

"That is," Jose said as he sent another surge of electricity again causing Erza to scream, "If we don't completely wipe you out first!"

"Heh," Jose laughed before he saw Erza's expression.

"It's laughable how concerned you are with your guild's ranking," Erza said with anger and amusement, "but I'm incredibly amused with how misinformed you are about Lucy."

"What?!" Jose exclaimed.

"She came to us as a runaway!" Erza explained, "She doesn't have access to her family's fortune!"

"She rents a place for seventy thousand jewel a month," Erza continued as Jose stood shocked, "she works hard to make a living. She fights alongside us, she laughs with us, and she cries with us. She's no different than any other member of our guild!"

"And she's why we're at war!" Erza continued furiously before resuming a calm tone. "She may be the daughter of the Heartfilia family, but just as flowers don't get to choose where they bloom, children don't get to choose their parents!"

"You don't know anything about Lucy or the tears she has shed!" Erza shouted as she began pushing against the mystical tendrils.

"Well, I'll find out soon enough!" Jose stated as he applied more power to his magic. "I'm not going to hand her over to her father without reaping a benefit of some sort."

"I'll make her my prisoner until her father reaches my demands!" Jose continued. "I'm going to bleed the Heartfilia family of their fortune and their precious money-making businesses!"

"You!" Erza shouted as she struggled.

"I wouldn't keep struggling like that if I were you," Jose smirked as he conjured some more purple-black mystical energy which started sucking the life force out of Erza. "It's going to make this more painful!"

"You're not feeling very well," Jose sneered, "Are you dear?"

"You're gonna have to buck up," Jose continued insanely, "because it's almost time! You're going to make an appearance before your peers! Once they see their beloved Erza in such a pitiful state, they're sure to surrender to us!"

"Get your slimy tentacles off my friend," said a voice behind him. Jose turned around just in time to get punched in the face. He was sent flying into a wall, and Erza fell to the floor now that she was freed from the attack.

"Damn," Jose said as he stood while massaging where he was struck, "I forgot about you. Won't be making that mistake again."

"You may be able to severely harm Erza with your magical energy," said a crystalline being that was thinner than Diamondhead he stared at Jose, "but I doubt it'll work against me."

"I'll be the judge of that," Jose said before he blasted his magical energy at the crystalline creature. However, the creature just stood there and took the attack. To Jose's surprise, the creature was entirely intact.

"Here," the creature said as it held out a hand, "have some of your own medicine... refined and filtered of course."

Suddenly, a rainbow beam of energy blasted out of the creature's hand and struck Jose knocking him through a wall.

"Soron," Erza said in relief as she shakily got to her feet, "I was worried you had run away."

"Why?" Soron asked as he regarded her with his one eye, "because I got my ass handed to me twice?"

"When Erza didn't say anything, Soron sighed.

"You know me very little," Soron said with a serious tone, "so I'm going to say this once. I never abandon my people. Where I'm from, there's a saying. 'No man gets left behind' and then it became 'No person gets left behind' due to everything having to be politically correct and gender-inclusive. Point is, I'll never run away if at least one of us is physically incapable of leaving. Now, tactical retreats… that's another thing entirely."

"How long do you think you'll survive Jose with that form?" Erza asked to change the subject.

"No clue," Chromastone shrugged, "Not my favorite form, so I hardly use it. However, I reckon it's the best form to use against the jalapeno over there."

"He's not food," Erza frowned confused.

"Guess Jeff Dunham isn't a thing in this reality," Chromastone sighed.

Suddenly, a purple-black tendril of energy grabbed Chromastone and yanked him through the wall.

"Soron!" Erza exclaimed as she rushed to the hole in the wall. She saw that Jose was on a roof of a portion of his castle and Chromastone's neck was in his hands.

"Gajeel told me how to take you down," Jose sneered as he touched the emblem on Chromastone's chest. In a golden flash, Soron was back to his human form.

"How?" Soron asked shocked.

"He overheard Erza speaking to one of your forms about it," Jose said smugly, "and if he hadn't told me, I'm certain you would have won."

"However," Jose said, "that is not the case."

He then slammed Soron onto the floor and stepped on his chest to keep him there.

"I'm going to kill you slowly," Jose said with insanity in his eyes, "but first I'll make you watch as I kill Titania Erza: The Queen of the Fairies!"

He suddenly whipped out a purple-black tendril and wrapped it around Erza's neck. He sent waves and waves of magical electricity through the tendril into Erza making her scream in extreme pain. Soron could do nothing as he watched it happen. However, suddenly the purple-black tendril vanished as a bright light shone. Erza's armor was being repaired, but what caught their attention was where the light came from. Jose squinted at it unhappily as he saw Makarov descending through the air. Makarov wore a white and gold fur coat.

"You have shed the blood of children," Makarov said angrily once he landed on the roof, "and that is unforgivable. They have been made to suffer because of the incompetence of their parents. We are both to blame, Jose."

"This war between us," Makarov continued, "has gone on long enough. Let's end this, HERE AND NOW!"

"Master," Erza said pleased and relieved to see Makarov.

"Hello," Soron said with pain, "I'm kinda stuck under an idiot's boot. Any help would be nice."

"You're right," Jose agreed with Makarov, "and it shall end with your death!"

He stepped off of Soron and fired a purple-black tendril of energy. Makarov fired a blast of bright energy in return and stopped it in its tracks. Jose began walking forward, and Makarov did the same. However, neither stopped blasting their magic.

"All of you need to get out of here," Makarov said sternly as he glanced at Soron and Erza, "I've got this."

Soron realized that Makarov was right and turned to leave alongside Erza.

They encountered Grey, Elfman, and Mirajane who had woken up thanks to Makarov's light.

"Gramps!" Grey hollered.

"We'll stay with you!" Elfman put in.

"No," Erza said sternly, "We have to do as he says. We just have to trust that he'll be able to handle Jose."

"She's right," Soron said, "If we stay, we'll only be in his way."

"You survived this long against Jose?" Grey asked impressed. Elfman was also impressed. Mirajane smiled a relieved smile that Soron was still alive. They all then hurried off to put some distance between them and the two wizard saints.

"It's been six years since we last came face to face," Jose said a little calmer than earlier, "Then, Phantom was number one, and nobody knew how much Fairy Tail would become. Haha, but now it's been reduced to rubble."

"Our guildhall may have been destroyed," Makarov said angrily, "but we're strong as ever!"

"I must admit," Jose said, "I'm looking forward to this. Although it's frowned upon by the council, I can't wait to see who's the superior wizard saint!"

"I couldn't have done this without you, my children," Makarov said, "Bless you all. Be proud that you are members of Fairy Tail!"

Suddenly, lightning began striking around the castle and water was rising around it.

At the FT courtyard…

The FT wizards looked on in confusion and fear at what they were seeing.

"What's going on?!" Alzack exclaimed as he held a magic revolver.

"The sky!" Bisca exclaimed.

"Watch out!" shouted another.

"We're shaking," said a fourth.

"It's an earthquake!" shouted a fifth as the ground shook.

Back with Makarov and Jose…

Makarov and Jose continued blasting their magic at each other, and both of them got direct hits.

"Dead Wave!" shouted Jose as he sent a gigantic blast of purple-black magic energy at Makarov.

That caused a shockwave that sent the water around the castle crashing around and wind blowing strong. When the dust settled he saw Makarov hadn't been harmed and was preparing another spell of his own. Makarov blasted Jose with a beam of bright white light.

"I'm impressed," Makarov said as he landed on a pile of rubble as they were now back inside the castle, "You've so much power at your command. I can see why the council named you one of the ten wizard saints."

"However," Makarov continued with disappointment, "You're misusing that power for your own personal gain. You could've become a role model for the younger generation. Instead, you've become a lesson in what NOT to do."

"What is this?" Jose asked bored, "A lecture?"

"I have a rule that seems to work well with my fairy tail kids," Makarov said, "I'll give you to the count of three to do exactly as I say."

Jose just groaned in annoyance.

"Kneel to me," Makarov said simply.

"What?!" Jose exclaimed.

"One," Makarov counted.

"So you want me to concede and kneel before you," Jose said amused, "No way in hell!"

"Two" Makarov said as he summoned a bright ball of energy between his hands.

"Why would the master of a dark guild in this kingdom ever stoop so low as to kneel before you?!" Jose shouted angrily as he summoned purple-black tendrils around him, "Technically we are equally powerful, but my ability to be heartless makes me even stronger!"

"Three," Makarov said as he made the light ball shine even brighter.

"You are the one who should be kneeling before me!" Jose shouted, "Now, you and your precious fairy tail children are going to DIE!"

"Times up," Makarov said as the light ball began shining brighter.

"This is it!" Jose said as he launched his tendrils towards Makarov. As they got closer to him, Makarov pressed his hands together which made the light ball shine even brighter. So bright that it destroyed the tendrils and began to remove all shadows from the room.

"I invoke," Makarov said quietly.

"Fairy Law," Makarov finished as he opened his eyes. A golden magic circle appeared in front of his left eye. It then formed above the castle before closing suddenly which made the light so bright than anyone in Magnolia would have to cover their eyes.

With Soron and co…

Soron and Erza turned to look at the light, but Soron was more shocked by how bright it was.

Not even the sun is that bright.

"That's Fairy Law," Erza said.

"Huh?" Soron asked confused.

"What's Fairy Law?" Grey asked.

"A spell that vanquishes darkness with sacred light," Erza smiled, "It only affects those who the caster sees as their enemy. Incredible isn't it. It's one of the most legendary spells in existence."

With Jose and Makarov…

Jose stood shivering with his clothes having faded in color and his hair had gone white. There was a look of utter terror on his face.

"You will never bother fairy tail again, understand?" Makarov said sternly.

"I'm sure the magic council will be watching the magic council after the chaos we've caused," Makarov said as he turned around, "You better be on your best behavior from now on."

"I know I will," Makarov added as he walked off. Unknown to him, Aria appeared and floated after him.

Our master has fallen. How sad. The old man's left himself open. This is my chance! Aria thought as he prepared to attack, but suddenly he was bashed in the face by Makarov's fist. Makarov had known Aria was there and stretched his arm to take out Aria.

"The war is over," Makarov said after Aria crashed into a remaining piece of wall, "There is no reason for us to fight anymore, but if you push me to the point of anger I'll wipe out your entire guild without hesitation.

"Now you kids get out of here," Makarov said with a much nicer tone as he suddenly looked back towards the air wizard, "and take Jose with you."

With the rest of the FT guild…

Soron let out a genuine smile as he was relieved that the war with Phantom Lord was over.

We did it. We won, and with zero deaths on our side. Soron thought to herself.

The FT wizards cheering quieted down when they noticed that Makarov had appeared at the edge of the castle.

"We are victorious!" Makarov shouted, "but I had very little to do with it. This victory is yours, my children!"

Later…

Soron walked over to Shuzy and Igrao who were both on the ground. One with her back broken and the other with his leg dismembered.

"Man," Soron said as he looked at them, "They're in bad shape."

"Yeah," said Macao who walked up, "Surviving Phantom Lord wizards brought them over. Unlike most of them, these particular ones felt bad for their part in this war."

"So," Soron said, "Can this reality's magic heal them, or…"

"I don't know," Macao said grimly, "The only one who does is Porlyusica, but she doesn't like people in general."

"What about you?" asked Wakaba as he walked up, "Can't you use that time noble?"

"Timelord," Soron said immediately, "and no. It takes a lot out of me, and it doesn't reattach human limbs or fix spines."

"Oh," Wakaba said disappointedly.

Soron looked around and saw Erza talking to Mirajane and Elfman. For some reason, his chest hurt when he saw her. It wasn't a bad hurt either.

"She'll rip your heart out," Macao said when he noticed where Soron was looking, "She has rejected several people. There is plenty of other fish in the sea."

"Whoa whoa whoa," soron said quickly as he looked at the wizard, "I don't have a thing for her. How could I? I mean she's… she's…"

"Scary?" Wakaba suggested.

"What he said," Soron nodded.

"True," Macao smirked, "but you're not scared of her, are you? I'll be honest. You share the intimidation factor."

"He used to," Wakaba said, "but when I look in his eyes… I see loneliness and sadness."

"This is getting uncomfortable," soron said as he backed away, "I'm outta here, ya weirdos."

As soon as he turned around, he found himself face-to-chest with Elfman.

"Where do you think you're going?" Elfman asked.

"Away?" Soron suggested.

"A real man doesn't run," Elfman declared as he forcefully turned Soron around, "He faces his problems and embarrassing situations head-on!"

"Everyone!" Elfman bellowed attracting the entire guild's attention, "This guy here is the manliest of all of us!"

"Enough of your 'real man' nonsense Elfman," shouted a female voice.

"He has defeated two of the Element four all on his own!" Elfman boasted, "He has also fought Jose and survived!"

I'm gonna kill him. I'm gonna kill him. I'm gonna kill him, Soron thought to himself as he crossed his arms.

"Did ya now?" Cana asked impressed, "Nice job."

"Somebody's going to win the next S-class trial," remarked an FT wizard also impressed.

"I know who I'm rooting for in a fight against Fairy Tail's strongest team," said another.

"Okay," said Makarov as he walked up, "Enough. You can see she doesn't like the attention."

Reluctantly, the wizards stopped and turned their attention to where Makarov was looking. He was staring at the guildhall's ruins with sadness.

"It's in ruins," Makarov sighed, "They really did a number on it, huh."

"Master," said Lucy as she walked up, "I'm… I… I'm so sorry."

Makarov turned to look at her after he heard that, but it wasn't with disappointment or anger. It was sympathy and kindness.

"Ah child," Makarov said kindly, "You've been through a lot lately, but don't let it get you down."

"Yeah," said the voice of Levy who had gotten back to full health, "Let's see a smile, Lucy."

"Levy?" Lucy asked surprised as she turned to look at her friend.

"Yep," Levy smiled, "We're back."

"You're alright," Lucy said happily and still surprised.

"We beat phantom," Levy reassured, "So there's no reason for you to be sad."

"Sure they might've destroyed our guildhall," said Droy.

"But we're going to rebuild it even bigger and better," Jet finished for him.

"Oui," Reedus agreed.

"I'm sorry that we had you so worried, Lucy," Levy said.

"No," Lucy said, "It was all MY fault."

"We heard about your secret," Levy said reassuringly, "but there's not a single person in the guild who thinks you're to blame."

"She's right," Reedus spoke up as he scratched his head, "In fact, I owe you an apology."

"Lucy," Makarov said attracting her attention. He had turned back to the rubble. "Though we may not be able to share our feelings of happiness and sadness entirely, we do share them to some extent. That's what happens in a guild. One person's happiness becomes everyone's happiness, one person's anger becomes everyone's anger, and one person's tears become everyone's tears. There's no reason for you to feel guilty, so don't cry. You should already know how much everyone here cares about you."

"Hold your head high, my dear," Makarov continued as he looked back at her sobbing form, "because you are a proud member of the Fairy Tail family."

Man, she cries a lot, thought Soron dryly. Suddenly, Makarov also began crying. However, he had no real reason to and everyone was shocked. Of course, if they knew what was going on in his head they'd understand.

About a week later…

They had started rebuilding and everything was quiet. Save for the usual squabble and construction work. Of course, the squabbling just made the construction take twice as long as it should. Especially with Natsu getting into fights with just about everyone. Shuzy and Igrao had to leave the active status of the guild due to their injuries, but they weren't about to leave their new family just yet. Soron was less broody, but he was still a bit of a jerk some of the time. He also glanced at Erza now and then. To help with the reconstruction, he had transformed into Four-Arms to deal with carrying heavy objects.

That was when the Rune Knights, the magic council's army, showed up.

"Oh boy," Wakaba said.

"Guess our secret's out, huh," Macao said

"Should I-" began Four-Arms.

"How much charge do you have on your device?" Elfman asked.

"I never really measured it," Four-Arms shrugged.

"Then it might be a good idea to revert to normal," Elfman said, "We'll hide the light as best as we can."

He then stood in front of him as Four-Arms slapped the Megatrix symbol on his chest. In a golden flash of light, Soron had returned to normal. His normal attire now consisted of a jean jacket with a red Fairy Tail emblem on the right shoulder, a red t-shirt, and jeans. His hair had also grown a little.

"Run!" shouted Natsu as he tried to escape, but the Rune Knights trapped him in a blue magic circle.

"Silly Natsu," Mirajane said amused, "You know there's no escaping the Rune Knights."

Once again, Makarov exploded into a crying fit much to their shock. The Rune Knights gathered everyone and took them to a military camp to interrogate them. Towards the end of the week, Soron was finally selected for interrogation.

Inside of an Interrogation tent…

Soron sat on the opposite side of one Rune Knight as three stood guard. Sitting at one side of the table was a frog wearing clothes waiting to record.

"You've been with Fairy Tail, how long?" asked the Rune Knight interrogator.

"About two weeks," Soron shrugged, "To be honest, I don't know what day it is. No calendar back home."

"It's Friday," the interrogator said.

"Ah," Soron said, "Then definitely two weeks."

The interrogator nodded and wrote it down.

"What sort of powers do you have?" the interrogator asked.

"I can transform into various creatures," Soron said, "some humanoid, some not."

"What is your strongest form?" the interrogator asked.

"I call it Krypto-man," Soron said.

"I don't…" the interrogator said confused.

"It's a long story and I don't think you want to spend a lot of time listening to it," Soron said.

"What is your name?" the interrogator asked.

"Soron MacLeod," Soron said.

"That's a strange name," the interrogator frowned.

"I'm from a part of the country that is so remote that nobody except the occupants knows where it is," Soron said.

The interrogator looked at Soron for about a minute before jotting down notes.

"There's a story going around that you took out two of the Element four singlehandedly and lasted in a battle against Phantom Lord's master," the interrogator said, "Is it true?"

"You're afraid that I could be a threat to the council, aren't you," soron said in realization, "Well, they shouldn't worry. As long as they don't try to take out Fairy Tail, I'll have no reason to fight them."

"You didn't answer the question," the interrogator said after writing a note down.

Shit. Probably shouldn't have said that Soron thought.

"Yes," Soron said after a minute, "Yes, I did."

The interrogator gulped but gave no other visible sign of being unnerved by the info. After he wrote it down, Soron was escorted out of the tent and towards the rest of his guild.

Sometime later, back in Magnolia…

The guild had gotten back to work on rebuilding the guildhall, and some were making stupid decisions. Specifically, Natsu. Not much of a shock, I know.

"Ha ha ha!" Natsu laughed as he held a ton of boards above his head victoriously. However, he soon fell to the ground with the boards landing on top of him not a second later.

"Oh, Natsu," Mirajane sighed as she looked over to see what he did.

"That's what you get for carrying too much, you moron," Grey said as he walked past with a board rested on his left shoulder.

"What'd you call me?!" Natsu shouted as he suddenly got to his feet.

"You got a problem?!" Grey asked as he bonked his head onto Natsu's and pushed.

"Yeah, I got a problem with your face!" Natsu said angrily as he pushed back.

"Cut it out, you two," said the voice of Diamondhead as they were both picked up, "or I'll slam you into the other."

"He started it!" Natsu and Gray shouted in unison.

"I did not!" Natsu and Gray shouted at each other again in unison.

Diamondhead sighed before ramming their heads together and throwing them onto the ground in a heap.

"Now you two going to get along?" Diamondhead asked as he crossed his arms.

Before Natsu or Grey could speak, not as if they could due to being dazed, Erza appeared in some construction clothes.

"Get back to work," Erza said sternly to Natsu and Grey, "We got a lot to do, so no more lollygagging!"

"Aye," Natsu and Grey groaned weakly.

"I wouldn't want to work for those two," said Droy from his position atop a crate.

"Did she requip into that outfit?" Jet asked curiously.

"Hey," Macao asked Soron as he walked up, "Don't you have a form that can do this quickly?"

"Sure," Diamondhead said, "but this way, it'll get Fairy Tail used to that water hag and the iron douchebag being one of us. That's what Makarov wants after all."

"I'd rather kick their asses," Macao grunted.

"Same," Diamondhead agreed.

"Ya know," Macao said thoughtfully, "The construction kinda…"

"Looks a little too big," Wakaba finished as he arrived.

"We figured we may as well expand the place," Mirajane said smiling as she held up a paper, "Look. I've got the plans right here."

"Oh, yeah?" Macao asked as he looked at her.

"I wanna see," Wakaba said doing the same.

"I liked it just fine how it was!" Natsu exclaimed as he got to his feet. He and Grey recovered quickly from Diamondhead bonking them.

"What's it gonna look like now?" Grey asked also standing up. It was a badly drawn picture with smiling animals and flowers on it as well.

"What the?" Macao said disappointed.

"Wow… that's uh…" Wakaba lied poorly, "looks great."

"Uh," Natsu asked confused, "so which way is up?"

"Man," Grey said as he looked closer, "These are the worst plans ever. What idiot came up with these?"

Mirajane stayed calm with her smile for a few seconds before she burst out into sobs.

"Now look what you did," Diamondhead said as he bonked Grey on the head while walking to Mirajane, "cold-hearted idiot."

"I didn't know it was her!" Grey exclaimed as he rubbed a bump that grew on his head.

"Hey," Soron said as he reverted to normal, "How about I take you away from the snowflake. Get your mind off his rudeness."

"That's nice of you to offer," Mirajane said as she sobered up a bit, "but I've seen how you look at Erza. You should make that offer to her."

"And get the cold shoulder?" Soron said, "I'd rather not. Besides, I have a feeling she's not emotionally available. Who knows she might never be. In any case, I was just offering as a friend."

"Then as friends," Mirajane smiled. He then walked away from the reconstruction alongside her.

Erza happened to look up just in time to see them walk off. She didn't know why, but she suddenly became unhappy. With a frown, she returned to transporting 2x4s.

Later, in town…

Soron and Mirajane had found a spot on a hill to look over the city and just sat there. From there, the city looked peaceful as if nothing had ever damaged it.

"You've changed since you arrived," Mirajane spoke up as she bit into an apple. "I'm not complaining, but what caused it?"

Soron just stayed silent as he stared over the city. He knew she was right, and what caused it. However, he wasn't sure if he was ready to talk about it.

"You don't have to tell me," Mirajane said as she looked at him, "but keeping these feelings inside is bad for anyone. You need to tell someone."

Again, Soron knew she was right. With a sigh, he turned towards her.

"During the fight against Sol," Soron said with a serious tone, "He created a statue form of my dead sister."

"Her name was Sara," Soron said as he looked away. Unknown to him, she widened her eyes upon hearing that. "She always wanted me to be the kind of person Ben was. Ben is a dead friend. Killed by his most powerful foe. Anyway, she wanted me to be as merciful and heroic as him. I haven't been a good man for most of my life. I was always greedy, and maybe a little self-absorbed. I have killed a lot of times, and I could've saved that element guy, Sol, but I just let him die. However, I can't be who I was and honor her memory at the same time. I have to become better. The type of person she could be proud of."

"With a backstory like that, you're definitely a member of fairy tail," Mirajane said with tears streaming down her face. She was both sad and happy.

"Why are you crying?" Soron asked confused as he looked at her.

"Your story of your sister reminded me of my sister," Mirajane said as she looked away, "Her name was Lisanna and I'm pretty sure she would get along very well with yours."

"Was?" Soron asked.

"She died," Mirajane said before she went on to tell how she lost Lisanna.

After their chat…

Soron and Mirajane got to their feet and headed back to town.

"Thanks for this," Mirajane smiled, "A nice quiet time away from the guild is good for one's sanity. I may find their constant squabbles as amusing, but still…"

"No judgment here," Soron shrugged, "They drive me nuts too."

"As they walked, Soron couldn't help but feel if he was being followed. He bid Mirajane goodbye and stopped at a newsstand to pick up a paper. However, even though he opened it, he wasn't reading it. Not far away, somebody was watching him. That somebody wore a white shirt under a red jacket and black jeans. Her hair happened to be blonde, and she was incredibly beautiful. However, her beauty was marred by bags under her eyes. She hasn't been sleeping much.

Soron then put down the paper and continued on his way down the street until he reached an alleyway which was hidden by passing people. He quickly ducked into it and waited. When that woman walked past, he grabbed her and pulled her in. He slammed her against the wall and stared at her sternly.

"Why were you following me?!" Soron demanded.

"I need your help," the woman said quickly.

"That doesn't explain why you were following me," Soron said.

"I couldn't risk sending out a request to Fairy Tail," the woman explained, "My people have been cut off from the world by a ruthless warlord. I only got away because he and his men are oblivious to women."

Soron looked in her eyes for any possibility of her lying, but when he could see she was truthful he let go of her and backed away.

"How can I help?" Soron asked.

"You're not going to ask what reward there would be?" the woman asked confused.

"I won't lie and say that a reward wouldn't be nice," Soron admitted, "but I'm trying to be more selfless."

"We need you to either convince the warlord and his men to leave or take them down," the woman said, "You can bring anyone you want to aid you, but you are who we need."

"Why me?" Soron asked confused.

"You were the one that took out that mad scientist who had taken over an isolationist community," the woman said, "At least, that's what we heard from a medic that passed through a couple of weeks ago."

Isdarg, Soron thought.

"When do we need to get there," Soron asked.

"As soon as possible," the woman replied, "It took me a week to get here."

"Okay then," Soron said, "Meet me at the Fairy Tail guildhall reconstruction site and look for Mirajane. She'll keep you company till I get there."

"Thank you," the woman said as she headed towards Fairy Tail.

Don't thank me yet, Soron thought as he walked along the sidewalk. He didn't know why, but he felt the perfect person to help with this quest was Erza. He also had a feeling that she wasn't at the soon-to-be guildhall.

I had to combine two episodes into one. I removed most of "my resolve" as I didn't feel like centering on Lucy. I don't know when I'll do episode 12, because I have to do an original story arc. Will also go into what Erza, Igrao, and Shuzy were up to before their arrival at Phantom Lord before Makarov was ambushed. Also, I won't be doing the story arc involving Loke's reveal as a celestial spirit. I know Ultimate10 did so, but that doesn't mean I have to include it. for him, he didn't like it. for me, It's just not memorable. Also, only one OC is left unharmed after the war with Phantom Lord. don't really have anyone to spare other than Isdarg Chabil, but I don't think he'd be best for that story arc.