Happy Friday! This is the last chapter of Much Ado about Nothing. I hope you had as much fun with it as I did. Now that I'm done pulling surprise characters out of my magic hat, I'll update the tags to reflect all ships teased during this fic. :)

But, wait! What happened to the actual dance?! This is a weird place to end a story... We'll pick back up with the actual night of the dance in a separate sequel fic called Victory Gala.

- K. Chandler

Jellal sensed the intruder the minute he stepped foot on the premises. Crime Sorciere HQ was well off the beaten path, hidden away where unsuspecting innocents wouldn't stumble upon it on accident.

No, this was no accident.

Whoever this was came here on purpose. And Jellal was about to find out why.

Ultear caught him in the hall, her expression grim. "Did you sense that? Outside?"

"Yes," he said tersely. "Stay here."

"But—" she protested

"Ultear, let me handle this," insisted Jellal.

Ultear snorted. "Don't be stupid."

The door to Meredy's chambers opened. The girl popped her head out. "What's going on?" she asked. Her eyes widened as she saw the way her mentor trailed after their leader. "Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing. Everything's fine," said Jellal without pausing.

"But Jellal, with you nothing is always something!" said Meredy.

"He's just being reckless. Just like a man," sneered Ultear.

What a time for the girls to gang up on him!

"Go back to your room, Meredy," said Jellal.

"I'm not a little kid!" she insisted, stomping her foot. "You can't just send me to my room like that."

"Really? Your behavior says otherwise," he said.

Meredy looked like she wanted to stick her tongue out, but she didn't. Jellal wondered if this was what it felt like to have a little sister. His time in captivity hadn't afforded him the luxury of a family but he was starting to consider his dysfunctional little guild as such.

"Ultear, please," said Jellal, shooting her a look.

Ultear sighed, but relented. "Come on, Meredy," she said. "We'll leave the idiot to be stupid by himself."

"But, Ul!"

"We'll be on hand for backup when it all falls apart on him, sound good?" said Ultear, her voice soothing.

"Fine," sighed Meredy.

"I appreciate the confidence," said Jellal dryly.

They ran into Sawyer and Macbeth in the entry hall.

"We've got incoming, Boss," said Sawyer.

"I'm aware," said Jellal. "Did you get a visual?"

"Of course."

"And?"

"He didn't even see me coming," said Sawyer proudly.

"What did he look like?" asked Jellal impatiently.

"Big guy. Blond. Scar over his eye."

"It's easier if I show you," suggested Macbeth, making Meredy jump.

Macbeth had a way of fading out into the background. He'd sit there without saying a word, startling those who weren't paying attention when he finally did speak up.

With a wave of his hand, Macbeth brought forth an illusion of a man matching Sawyer's description.

"I recognize him," Meredy piped up. "He's from Fairy Tail. He was with us when we went on that rescue mission up on Mount Hakobe with Juvia and Lyon."

"Just because he's with Fairy Tail doesn't mean he's necessarily a friend," reminded Ultear.

"I'll be careful," said Jellal. "Stop worrying."

"Holler if you want backup," said Sawyer.

With a whisk of his cloak, Jellal stepped out into the forest, letting himself, seemingly, appear in front of the visitor.

"Laxus, was it?" he asked.

"Jellal Fernandez." To his credit, the Lightning Dragon-Slayer didn't so much as bat an eye.

"What brings you all the way out here?" Jellal asked, not bothering to hide his wary look.

Laxus looked indifferent. "I'm not here to turn you in, if that's what you're wondering."

"How did you find us?"

"Is that important? I'm just here because of a mission you were involved with seven years ago. One that involved Fairy Tail and three other registered guilds."

"What do you know about that?" asked Jellal sharply.

Laxus let out a breath. "I know you helped to defeat the Oracion Seis," he offered, his hands up in a sign of good faith. "Isn't that right, 'Mystogan?' I don't know if you're aware, but we celebrate every year with a Victory Gala. We're getting together in Magnolia this Saturday. Master Makarov wanted me to let you know. That's all."

"You realize that I'm not—"

"Sure, you did," said Laxus, cutting him off. "In fact, you actually managed to beat them twice, right, Mystogan?"

There it was again. That name. Laxus seemed to be missing the point on purpose.

"Let's say I am who you say I am—" started Jellal.

"Who else would you be?" asked Laxus.

"—what then?"

"If anyone deserves to be recognized at this event, it would be you. Your part in this was off the record, but Dragneel seems to think we couldn't have done it without you."

Jellal couldn't hide his surprise. "He said that?"

Laxus shrugged. "I was surprised too. We can't credit you formally, but the least we can do is ask you to join the party."

"I don't require credit," said Jellal. "This is simply part of my penance. I am atoning for my sins."

For Jellal, these weren't empty words or some kind of mantra. Atonement was his new-found purpose in life. There was little he could do to make amends for his actions, but such a life was already far better than he deserved.

"Say what you want. The invitation stands."

Jellal letting out an impatient breath that sounded almost like a scoff. "You are aware of my… status, yes?"

"Last I checked, Mystogan wasn't accused of any crimes," said Laxus mildly. Then his mouth pulled into a grim line. "The Old Man took a risk and pulled some strings to make this work. It should be safe enough, but this is not a free-for-all. You'll keep your face covered if you come."

Jellal bowed his head. "Of course. I wouldn't want to cause any further trouble for Fairy Tail."

"Good to see we understand each other," said Laxus.

But there was still one question working at the back of Jellal's mind.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked.

"The Old Man believes in second chances," said Laxus disdainfully. But then his expression softened. "And so do I."

For a moment, the two mages just looked at one another. Jellal suddenly had the feeling that he was dealing with someone who was not too different from himself.

Laxus broke eye contact first. "I'll see myself out," he said, turning to leave.

"Laxus!" called Jellal, making the other man pause. "How is Erza?"

The Lightning Dragon-Slayer didn't look back. "Ask her yourself."

Jellal returned to HQ to find his teammates still assembled.

"Nothing to worry about," he reported. "I've answered Laxus' questions and sent him back to Fairy Tail."

"But he didn't seem to have answered yours," commented Ultear.

"Hm?"

"And just how is Erza?" crooned Ultear, a smirk pulling at her lips.

"I thought I told you to stay here," said Jellal irritably, though he could feel his face heating up.

"You didn't say not to listen in," Sawyer pointed out.

Jellal snorted.

"I'm not just fast on my feet. My wit's pretty quick too," bragged Sawyer.

"You're going aren't you?" chirped Meredy. "The Victory Gala?"

"Of course not," said Jellal. "There's no way that would work."

"But Fairy Tail's Master made all the arrangements. They're practically asking you to make an appearance as Mystogan," Meredy protested. "And Erza will be there," she whispered, making Sawyer snicker.

Jellal shook his head. "It's a formal dance, not a bank heist. This isn't the sort of thing I can show up to in a balaclava," he deadpanned.

Meredy pouted, but she seemed to realize that he was right.

"Phantom of the Opera," said Macbeth, sounding bored. He shrugged as he stood up, disappearing down the hall toward his quarters.

Jellal frowned to himself. Phantom of the Opera, huh?

So who knew I was going to bring in Jellal? (He was the only protagonist from the Oracion Seis arc that we haven't seen yet—minus Wendy, who got all of two sentences last chapter—so it seemed pretty obvious to me... XD)

I loved Laxus and Jellal's weird little connection in GMG. That camaraderie... Since there is no GMG in Mazeverse, this was my way of working that in.

So the next story is... actually not The Victory Gala. We've got two side-stories that need to come first. The first involves my headcanon that Gray has a motorcycle. It was originally part of Much Ado, but I sort of fell in love with the idea of bad-boy biker Gray. (You'll notice that some of my Gray's in other universes start becoming bikers. XD) It's way too long to be a chapter and it works better as a stand-alone.

Stop back next Friday for [Mazeverse] Joyride, or just follow me, Karine of R011ingThunder.