Akane Beach was beautiful. The waters shone a turquoise blue. Palm trees waved gently with the breeze. Assorted small sea life could be seen flitting between rocks in the tide pools.

Gildarts Clive sat with his hands cradling his head between his legs as he listened to the story.

"She was so brave," Natsu was saying, "She didn't hesitate."

"She'd been on that spike for days," Gray added, "The strength it must have taken to do that…"

"Even in the depths of Hell, as scared as she was," Arcadios looked down at his hands, "She kept going forward. She knew it was her purpose in life…to exile Andromeda."

Gildarts nodded into his hands, proud tears running down his face. Gildarts had been out of Fiore, not realizing the peril it faced. It was several months before the news had gotten to him. By then, the war was almost over. He just couldn't get there in time to help. Guilt washed over him.

"I'M RIGHT HERE!" Cana yelled, throwing a crutch at them, "You don't have to talk about me like I'm dead or some shit!"

The men laughed. Arcadios sat at the edge of her chair to kiss the top of her head, careful not to bump her battered body. Gildarts watched the interaction, wondering if perhaps his unattainable, wild daughter had finally found someone to love.

"I should have been there," Gildarts said solemnly, "I'm sorry."

Cana's torso was wrapped. Her leg had snapped at some point, but she was alive. Even so, she'd been ordered by Porlylusica to have absolute bed rest. It took some fancy begging and pleading for Porlylusica to finally consent to her joining the other mages as they vacationed and recovered at Akane Beach.

"It's okay, Dad," she said softly, reaching for his hand, "I think it was something I needed to do. I needed to have a purpose…and I think I know my place now."

He nodded, squeezing her hand gently.

Gildarts turned to Gray, "And you and Juvia are getting married?"

Juvia nodded enthusiastically, "As soon as we can get away to do so. We'll need to help rebuild Fairy Tail and Magnolia first."

"Crocus will need to be rebuilt too," Mira said, "There's going to be a lot of changes now that Hisui has returned to the Celestial realm. With Tomo gone, Fiore no longer has royalty."

"That's where we come in," Arcadios said quietly, reaching for Cana's hand, "Hisui will remain Princess of Fiore. She will make regular visits to the new city once it's built. Hisui has asked us to be advisors. We will reside in Crocus together and help her govern Fiore."

"You're leaving Fairy Tail?" Erza exclaimed.

Cana nodded, tears streaming down her face, "Well, in a sense. I will always be a part of Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail is my home. However, this is my purpose…to help protect Fairy Tail, and everyone else in the country."

"Gajeel and I will be going with Arcadios and Cana," Levy said softly, making mouths around them gape open, "There are going to be some tough decisions to make in the near future as Fiore rebuilds. Gajeel will be a major asset with his Iron skills. And hopefully I can help make an efficient design of the new cities.

Gajeel nodded, "Shrimp has a talent for architecture."

"We will also join you in Crocus," Sting added. His head was bandaged. An eye patch covered the hole his lost eye left, but he was slowly regaining sight in the other one. Even so, his vision would forever be impaired. He sat next to his wife and daughter, Rogue and the rest of Sabertooth on either side.

"Crocus will need to rebuild their army as well. Now that Sting and I are…impaired from active duty…we figured we could help on that front." Rogue smiled in encouragement at his brother. Sting had been through a variety of emotions over the past several weeks. He was only just beginning to accept that his physical capabilities had been altered forever. Not only that, but he had to accept that he needed help from his wife. It was a tough pill to swallow after years of being wildly independent and capable of handling anything.

Awkward silence resided the small group. They were splitting up…going their own ways. The war had changed everything.

A tiny cry sounded, making Natsu stand up.

"That's my cue!" he beamed, leaving the group and entering the hut beside it.

In their Queen-sized bed, Lucy lay with their newborn baby, Corwyn Makarov Dragneel. He was suckling her breast, making some of the most adorable noises Natsu had ever heard.

He bounced onto the bed, kicking his sandals off as he scooted up beside his small family, kissing her as he settled in beside them.

Corwyn had pink hair like his father, but chocolate brown eyes like his mother. He cooed as his father ran a hand over his little face.

"Hello, Fire-Fart!" he greeted, kissing his son's tiny head.

"Don't call him that," Lucy chided.

"Why not? It's true! Have you changed some of his diapers?"

Lucy landed a playful smack on his arm.

Natsu grinned ear-to-ear. He moved his lips back to her mouth. They kissed lazily as their son nursed.

"We have to go home tomorrow," Lucy sighed, "I don't want to. It's so peaceful here."

"We have to face it sometime," Natsu replied, leaning in for another kiss, "It's been a month. Crocus and Magnolia need to be rebuilt."

"So much serious stuff," Lucy sighed again, turning to her husband, "You and I need to have that talk...about END."

He nodded, "There's not a lot to tell. But yes...we can have that talk."

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked. She looked hurt. Not just sad, but hurt.

He took a deep breath, "Believe it or not, I didn't want to hurt you."

"It hurts more that you didn't trust enough to tell me," Lucy said softly.

"I didn't want to scare you," he confided, placing his hand on the side of Lucy's face. He leaned in, kissing her gently, "Besides..I can control it. I can push it back down. END cannot take control. His consciousness is gone."

"Andromeda wanted our baby because he's part demon, part Dragon Slayer, part Celestial mage, and part Celestial spirit," she said, watching Corwyn as he fumbled with his mouth, "That kind of scares me...is he going to be okay?"

"You have no side effects from being a spirit for that short time," Natsu reasoned, "And I have control of END. The rest is what's going to make him amazing. It's going to be fine. Look at him. He's perfect. He's the perfect cross between you and me."

They watched Corwyn open his big brown eyes and regarded both his parents, cooing at them. Lucy adjusted him so that he was on the other side. Immediately, he latched on and went back to eating.

"He has an appetite like you too," she giggled.

Natsu kissed her again, a long, loving kiss, "I love you so much, Luce."

"I love you too, Natsu...more than anything. Okay," Lucy said, looking straight into his eyes, "No secrets, got it?"

"I promise," he said, "I will never keep a secret from you again."

"I'm holding you to that, Natsu Dragneel."

He nodded, "We need to get moving. Tonight, we have the ceremony,"

Natsu kissed both of them, loving his new little family. It was a large source of joy to him in a such a sorrowful time.

Lucy nodded, "I'm not looking forward to the ceremony. How do you say goodbye to the man who has literally guided so many of us into being who we are? Speaking of which, can you take Corwyn please? I need to see what I can do about getting ready."

Natsu gladly took his baby boy from Lucy's arms, patting him gently on the back to get a burp from him. He left his wife to start dressing, bringing the baby outdoors with him to join the others, still lazing around in the beach chairs.

Natsu got his burp as he went to settle in a chair – a miniature fiery explosion erupted from the tiny baby's belly, blowing over Natsu's shoulder and harmlessly into the air. Natsu let out a laugh as he felt some of his hair singe.

"That kid is going to be a handful," Gajeel commented, arriving with Levy. They were holding hands.

Juvia leaned back against Gray's chest, "But he is awfully cute."

"Soon," Gray murmured into her ear, nibbling around the edge of it.

"I want my nephew!" Mira cried as she and Laxus joined the group. She B-lined, leaving everyone laughing as Laxus sighed heavily. She was going to want children as soon as possible.

Mira smiled at Baby Corwyn, stooping down so that Everden, who had just arrived with Elfman, Evergreen and Enna, could see him.

"He's so red," Everden commented, poking at Corwyn's cheek. Corwyn moved his mouth like he was going to bite the finger that poked him, "Red like a MAN!"

"One hour!" Erza yelled, tearing off her chair and through the group on her way to her hut when she realized the time, "Why are you all sitting here, people? Get moving! We have to be ready!"

Sighing, the group of mages all got up, going to their perspective huts to change as well.

Jellal groaned as he maneuvered to heave his body off the chair. It had taken weeks for the infection to clear. Even now, he was still overwhelmed with fatigue. He hurried to catch up to her. Far be it from him to keep the woman waiting.


Akane Beach was filled to the brim. The entirety of Fiore sat on the beaches, the surrounding hillsides, and even in boats. They were there to honour the lives lost in the war.

Laxus took the podium, eyeing the humongous crowd. Lacrima speakers were placed throughout Akane Beach, allowing the massive crowd to all hear and see him. This was his first duty as master…to say goodbye to their fallen comrades.

Fairy Tail and the other guilds sat front and centre, Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, and Sabertooth on either side.

"We are here to celebrate the lives of the men and women who gave their lives for us," Laxus gestured across the great crowd, "Because of their bravery and sacrifice, we will rebuild. We will survive. We will move on. Please stand with me."

Across the beach were large, gold-framed pictures of the fallen leaders of the war. One by one the pictures were unveiled as Laxus continued to speak.

"King Tomo of Fiore. Master Makarov Dreyer of Fairy Tail. Master Ooba Babasaama of Lamia Scale. These are three of the great warriors that were instrumental to the downfall of Hell," Laxus paused, taking out his lantern, "In addition, we have many other contributors to thank for the successful conclusion of this war: The Celestial King and Queen and their Royal Guards; Princess Hisui of the Celestial Realm and also of Fiore; the brave mages who ventured down to the depths of Hell; the guilds who held their ground as Crocus was destroyed."

He nodded to Gray, Gajeel, Levy, Juvia, Erza, Jellal, Cana, and Arcadios, then to Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, and Sabertooth.

"The Celestial King and Queen as well as the Princess Hisui have asked that we perform this ceremony together in honour of the three heroes, as well as the Royal Guard, as well as every other brave mage, man, woman, and child that gave their lives."

Indeed, the casualties had been heavy. The Royal Guard had been wiped out, several thousand of them. 300 people from Magnolia had been caught in cross-fire as they escaped the tunnels, running for the forest.

There wasn't a sound in the huge crowd as all eyes were on Laxus. Mira sat on a chair with her acoustic guitar and began to sing. It was an old Celtic song, soft and sad in nature.

Laxus bent down beside the ocean, lighting his four lanterns. They glowed blue. They were different than the other lanterns the general public had. These ones were for King Tomo, Master Makarov, Ooba, and the Royal Guard. The general public lanterns had the names of every other person who had fallen in the war written on the side and would glow orange. With Mira beside him, singing louder with the most emotional part of her song, Laxus released his lanterns into the sky.

The Fairy Tail guild were next in line. Each of them had lit their lanterns already, releasing their simultaneously. Soon, every person in the crowd had lit a lantern. Literally tens of thousands of lanterns took to the skies.

Every eye took in the sight. The lanterns were majestic and an amazing tribute. Just as they thought the sight couldn't get any more amazing, streams of rainbow ribbons and fireworks danced in the sky around the lanterns.

"Atria and Hisui," Lucy whispered, knowing the display was orchestrated by them. Natsu squeezed her hand. Even Baby Corwyn seemed to take in the display. At only 2 weeks old, Lucy couldn't be sure though. The song ended. There was complete silence other than the fireworks.

The blue lanterns danced amongst the countless orange ones, fireworks, and rainbow ribbons. A full two minutes passed of absolute, complete, and total silence.

A tear ran down Laxus's face as he raised his forefinger and thumb into their air. Fairy Tail followed suit, then the thousands of people within the crowd behind them.

"Thank you, Master," Natsu said softly, wrapping an arm around his wife.

"You will be so missed," Gray whimpered, wiping a tear from his eye. Juvia kissed his cheek, her own tears flowing freely.

"We won't forget you," Erza promised, holding Jellal's hand.

"Thank you for believing in us," Cana whispered. Arcadios and Gildarts each had a hand on her shoulder.

Even if I can't see you... no matter how far away you may be... I will always be watching you.

Mira buried her head in Laxus's shoulder, freely sobbing.

"Goodbye Gramps," Laxus whispered.

He noted Mavis beside him. He looked up to the sky, fingers still raised in the Fairy Tail symbol as she joined them, repeating the gesture with her own hand.

"I'll take care of them, Gramps. I promise."