Cole and Erza walked towards the guild tavern as dusk was about to settle down. Cole opened the door to be greeted by Natsu and Happy.
'What took you guys so long?' asked Natsu as he patted Cole's back
'Erza wanted to buy something at the store, so I had to tag along' replied Cole, scratching his head
'Huh? Since when did Cole become your shopping buddy Erza?' asked Happy
'It's nothing like that, I just wanted to show Cole around' she replied, folding her arms.
'So how about it, did you find something you like?' asked Natsu as he tried opening Cole's bag
'Actually I did, all those jewels I had over here had no use in my world, so I figured I'd get something for everyone' replied Cole as he took his bag and removed a box from it
'Cake!?' yelled out Natsu as he raised his arms in joy.
'Yeah, to you guys!' replied Cole, opening the box to unveil a strawberry cheesecake.
'I'll hand it over to everyone, thank you Cole!' interrupted Mira as she took the cake off his hands and started cutting it.
'I want the piece with cherry on top!' yelled Natsu, interrupted by Gray, who punched him in the head
'No way, I asked for it first' replied Gray
'Well why don't we ask Cole who gets that piece?' yelled out Natsu, after which he pointed at Cole
'Huh? They're arguing over cherry?' 'Uh.. I think...' replied Cole, scratching his chin, only to be interrupted by Erza
'It's obvious, I should get that piece' she said, with narrowed eyelids.
'But that's not fair!' yelled out both Gray and Natsu.
'You have an objection?' asked Erza in an slightly loud tone
'No ma'am!' they replied, being timid over her authority.
'Well that's not very nice' said Cole as he took the slice with cherry on top.
Everyone was shocked as he took the slice and moved around with it.
'I believe this piece should be handed over to me!' he said, giving a smile as he took his fork and was about to eat.
'Nahh just kidding!' he replied as he took the plate and handed it over to Wendy.
'Here kid' he said, as he patted her head.
'Wow, thank you so much!' she replied as she took the cherry and ate it. Erza could only watch with her mouth wide open as Wendy ate it.
'Can't someone go and get more cherries?' asked Lucy.
'Where's the fun in that?' replied Happy, as both of them watched Erza, Natsu and Gray being sad.
As everyone started eating their share of cake, Cole was sitting with Wendy and was having a conversation. Both of them were noticed by Master Makarov, Laxus and Mavis
'So he's getting along pretty well' said Laxus, folding his arms and leaning against the wall
'Yeah, he does' replied Mavis with a smile.
'Can already tell he has a soft spot for Wendy' added Laxus.
'And so does Wendy for Cole' replied Master Makarov, while sipping on a cup of beer
'So that's how I took down 10 armed robbers with one attack' said Cole with a smile, while eating a slice of cake
'Wow, your stories never fail to amaze me Cole!' replied Wendy, with widened eyes.
'I'm glad I get to share them with you' replied Cole as he noticed the bracelet he gave Wendy years ago.
'Hey.. Isn't that..' said Cole
'The bracelet you gave me, 7 years ago' said Wendy, completing his sentence.
'Wow, and not a scratch on it' said Cole, as he noticed how clean the bracelet was.
'I make sure it stays that way' she replied with a smile.
'That reminds me, how's the kid holding up?' asked Laxus as he looked around.
'You mean Ursa? She's alright, she went out to get some milk for my coffee' replied Master Makarov.
'And you had to send her, jeez old man, talk about being inconsiderate' replied Laxus, in a low tone.
'Well she was willing to go out, so It's fine!' replied Master Makarov, in a slightly loud tone.
Meanwhile, at the streets of Crocus, Ursa walked around with a bag full of packets of milk. She came across an alley, where she noticed a group of men gathered around. She felt suspicious and slowly moved towards them to have a look on what's going on.
'Listen kid, hand over the jewels and nobody gets hurt!' said a man out of the group.
'I don't have any!' replied the kid, shocking Ursa, as it was a voice familiar to her.
'Hold it!' she said, as she kept the bag of milk on the ground and posed, narrowing her eyelids, as sparks of white lightning illuminated her fists.
'And what are you gonna do about it missy?' said the man, after which one of the members held his arm.
'We should get out of here!' yelled the other man.
'She's just a little girl!' said the leader as he took out a knife.
'That's no ordinary girl, that's the newest member of Fairy Tail's Thunder Legion!' yelled the goon, as he was about to run away, when suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew away all the men. Ursa quickly held the packet and braced herself, as she stood against the wind. She then looked up to see the kid disappeared.
'Where did she go?' said Ursa as she illuminated the alley by lighting up her hand with electricity. As the girl was nowhere to be found, Ursa picked up her bag and left for the tavern.
'I'm gonna go and get some fresh air' said Cole as he got up with his plate and proceeded towards the kitchen. He kept his plate on the sink and got himself a glass of water. Cole walked out of the kitchen with the glass and headed upstairs, towards the balcony. He took off his bag and amp, walked towards the edge and leaned against the railing.
'The sky, it's so beautiful here' Cole wondered as he gazed at the night sky, illuminated with stars.
'Back there it's so polluted, can barely see a thing' he kept looking and took a deep breath. He felt a bit surprised as he felt someone pat his back.
'Fresh air huh' said Erza as she stood beside him and looked at the night sky.
'Well, I don't get this kinda view back at my place' replied Cole with a smile.
'Your world sounds so, dull' said Erza as she looked at him, seemingly interested to know more
'It actually is' replied Cole, as he looked down for a while.\
There was an awkward silence in the air, followed by a shooting star in the sky, which both of them noticed.
'A shooting star, you guys make wishes while seeing them too?' asked Erza while looking at him.
'I never believed in wishes' replied Cole
'Well, you're not in your world now, so give it a try' she said, patting his back.
'Heh, alright then', Cole closed his eyes, and made a wish in his mind, after which he opened his eyes to see Erza staring at him
'So, what did you wish for?' asked Erza
'Am I really supposed to tell?' replied Cole
'Come on, spill it' persuaded Erza further.
'I'll tell you once it comes true' replied Cole, for which Erza laughed and stared at the sky
'So Cole..' said Erza, getting his full attention
'Yeah?' asked Cole with a puzzled look
'What happened with Trish?' she asked.
Cole suddenly lost all the enthusiasm he gained, he looked at his arm and then spoke out
'Back at Empire city, when I was an ordinary bike courier, I had a girlfriend. Trish..' he said, while holding the rails
'Everything was fine, we had it all, but after the blast, the one which activated my powers, everything changed' he added. 'Her sister died in the blast, and she blamed me for it' said Cole with his tone getting lower
'Cole.. I' interrupted Erza
'I had to make a choice, to save her or some doctors, I tried to save her, with all my powers I couldn't do a thing. For a second she sprung to life, told me how disappointed she was at me, said God had given me these powers and I was being selfish. Those were her last words' said Cole, after which a teardrop rolled down his cheek
'They called me the Demon of Empire City, I never really knew how it felt to be called that way, until I realized what I've lost. Looking back at the choices I've made, even though people call me the savior of New Marais, I never really forgave myself for what I did back at Empire City.' Cole completed, while wiping off his eyes.
'Cole, you don't have to hate yourself, you can't save everyone... That's something I've learned a long time ago. And regardless of what you did before, what you choose to do next is what should matter now. Sure she might have told those words before dying, but trust me Cole, somewhere in heaven she's looking down on you, being proud of what you've become' replied Erza
'If it makes any difference to you, just remember there are people who still believe in you, over here in Fairy Tail' she added, while giving a smile.
Cole had flashes of Wendy, Natsu, Lucy and all the other members of Fairy Tail giving him a smile. He gave a smile as another teardrop rolled down his cheek
'You guys are the best' he said, as he wiped it off and turned around.
'Thanks Erza' he said as he wore his back and mounted his amp.
'Don't mention it' replied Erza, while giving a mild punch on his shoulder.
Cole and Erza walked into the main hall and noticed how everyone was busy talking.
'Heyyy Cole! Wanna fight?!' yelled out Natsu
'Give it a rest Natsu!' yelled Erza, soon after which the doors of the tavern opened up.
Ursa walked in with the bag of milk packets, getting greeted by Mira. She kept the bag on the counter, and looked around. She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
'Hey kid, what's up?' asked Cole as he stood beside her
'Hey, Cole. I'm fine, just a bit tired' she replied as she sat down
'We didn't get to talk after your match' said Cole, after which Ursa was a bit upset.
'I'm sorry I couldn't win' she said as she stared at the ground.
'Hey, don't worry, you tried your best, that's what matters' replied Cole, keeping his hand on her shoulder.
'Besides, our team is already at 2nd place' he added with a smile on his face
Ursa smiled back, after which Mira brought her slice of cake. Erza looked a bit surprised as she saw the slice getting handed over to Ursa
'But but.. You told me it's all over' she said
'Of course I had to, otherwise who'd save a piece for Ursa?' replied Mira, to which both Cole and Mira laughed
After an hour, Cole stepped out for a walk, all by himself. He moved around the streets after twilight faded, noticed how some shops were setting themselves up with bright lights, as a part of the festival. He felt the cold breeze of the night move around his face.
'Man, it's getting pretty chilly, should I wear my jacket' Cole walked around for half an hour, stopping near the park, where he saw a bench. He sat down and took a bottle of water out of his bag and drank.
'Who or what is that?' thought Cole as he looked at something move around between the trees. Cole felt alarmed and stood up, raised his right arm and charged it with lightning. Cole walked towards the trees.
'A girl?' Cole felt surprised and lowered his hand
'Hey, are you lost...' he said,while standing near the girl, wearing a black robe
'Blue hair?' Cole stood and bent, right after which the girl removed the hood of her robe
'W...Wendy!?