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Everyone stared in shock and amazement at the five foot tall heap of sparkling black dust that was all that remained of the feared nightmare dragon Shadowlogia.

Cole stood in the semicircle of dragonslayers, shock coming onto his face as the clashing colors drained away.

Black hair streaked white, weary violet eyes, mellow brown clothes and boots, brown headband with two brightly dyed red and blue feathers. White guild mark exposed.

Cole Wingheart collapsed forwards, face planting onto the ground, head turned to one side, his eyes closed, his fists relaxed, and before the dragonslayers could reach him, a certain red head that had run onto the field arrived.

"Cole!" Jack cried out, dropping at his side.

She'd knelt at the side of to many fallen friends that day.
"Cole? Cole can you hear me? Please wake up!" Jack begged as the dragonslayers all maintained their distance.

Several long seconds passed in silence before an exhausted voice was heard.

"I'm...alive." Cole managed.

Tears came welling into the red heads eyes, and without thinking, she bent right over and kissed him.

"Love!" Cheila cheered from the side.

Jack broke away from him and Cole full on stared at her.

"Don't do that again." She ordered him.
"You mean kiss you or kill a dragon?" Cole asked, keeping a straight face.

Jack rolled her eyes, leaving the question unanswered.

As the armored rose mage helped her friends, perhaps more then a friend, to his feet, Natsu had wandered over to the glittering pile of black dust.

He stared at it forlornly, thinking of Gray's final words to him.

Who knows...maybe it's time to end this grudge? He's gotten beaten to the ground for it. He died protecting my guild.

Natsu let out a silent breath, and that was when he saw a slight shifting under the dust.
"Natsu?" Misty asked, turning to look at the pink haired slayer, who was watching the black dust intensely.

It shifted yet again, and Natsu pounced, seizing a fistful of some soft fiber that was moving under the dust and dragging it out.

He'd wound up seizing a fistful of white hair.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!"

Lyon yelped as Natsu dragged him from the dust pile.

His shirt was missing and his pale skin was smeared with blackened dust, but he was alive all the same.

"Lyon! Guys! It's Lyon!"

"What!?"

Cheila came racing over, running as fast as her legs would carry her.

As Natsu dove into the dust again, the pink haired girl threw herself into Lyon's chest.
Lyon, who had just managed to get to his feet, stumbled back a few steps in order to receive the weight of the sobbing girl.
"I thought you died!"

"Sorry to worry you." Lyon replied soothingly, patted the girl on the back

Natsu, meanwhile, had found something else in the black sand, and had latched onto it, pulling out Bacchus by the wrist.
"So not wild." He croaked as Natsu helped him to his feet and sent him limping forward, where he was promptly seized by Cana and some of his guild mates.

Natsu continued digging as more and more mages appeared all around him.

Finally, he felt his hand latch around some sort of cloth, and yanked hard.

He pulled out Gray's white shirt.

"God, stripper!" Natsu groaned, tossing the shirt over his shoulder and digging in deeper, finally finding something else more solid.

He pulled.

Out came Gray, the moment his face was exposed to air he started coughing and gasping.

Natsu helped the Fairy Tail wizard stand, and Gray stared at him for a long moment.

"You beat the dragon?" Gray tried.
"Nah."

Natsu pointed to Cole, who'd been surrounded by Romeo, Wendy, Jack, Kylie and Asuka.

"Cole was the one who really pulled it off, I just helped out. Now..."
Natsu looked down at the sparkling onyx dust.
"That nightmare is over."

Gray nodded.

Natsu let out a breath.

"So..."

"What?"

Natsu gave Gray an appraising look.

"You sticking around? I'm sure we'll be throwing a party."

Gray stared at him in disbelief. Natsu wanted him to stay?

Natsu rolled his eyes, "Course ya don't have to. Now c'mon. We've got a lot of cleaning up to do."

Gray nodded, "Right."

So they turned their backs on the remains of the dragon of nightmares, and made their way back to the castle, just as the first rays of sunshine started to peak through the clouds, just as the downpour started to lessen, and just as more smiles started to appear, and more laughter was to be heard.

Ha, ha, Gray, your still not off for what you did but your getting closer. Only took you over a year and a half. Well, please favorite, please follow, please review!