Not long after the demise of Zancrow, Mirajane gently helped the mortally wounded Laxus onto the balcony, just as Lisanna, Elfman, Chelia, Wendy, and Meredy rushed into the room and joined Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Lucy, who were heavily concerned with Laxus's fatal injury.

"Mira!" Lisanna and Elfman cried out, rushing to Mirajane's side.

"Are you alright?" Chelia asked Mirajane. "What happened?"

Erza explained worriedly, "That wicked man stabbed Master Laxus through the soft spot from the protective scales that shattered during the battle."

Wendy gasped, "Oh, no…"

Meredy looked at Laxus concerned, "He doesn't look so good…"

Natsu asked Chelia, "Hey, has anyone seen the rest of your pals? Those girls with the short silver hair and the long pink hair?"

"You mean Yukino and Cousin Sherry? They stayed behind downstairs at the garden, convincing the villagers that the Lightning Beast is not a monster, but a very poor kitty," Chelia answered. "They want to let everyone know he's a good guy."

We now cut to Sherry and Yukino explaining their story about the Lightning Beast to the puzzled villagers in the castle gardens.

"The Lightning Beast may be ferocious on the outside," Sherry convinced. "But he's a very good person on the inside. Deep down, he's a very adorable kitty. Why do you all have to waste your senseless violence on a poor kitty? We should give him love instead."

Ren peered from the crowd and spoke up, "When I first joined the mob, I had second thoughts about that monster's look. He doesn't look scary to me, like my wife Sherry said earlier."

Just then, the coat rack servant Sorano emerged from behind Yukino and Sherry. She said to the crowd, "I can see the puzzled looks in your eyes, darlings. We are not your enemies. We just wanted to defend our castle home. If you would all gather round, I'll tell you the full story about the castle, the spell, and the Lightning Beast. Listen carefully."

Yukino nodded, "Yes… please do, Big Sis. Tell us everything."

Meanwhile on the balcony, Mirajane looked over Laxus's bleeding injury and shed a single tear from her face. She gently cradled him into her arms. From the side, Natsu, Gray, Erza, Lucy, Wendy, Lisanna, Elfman, Chelia, and Meredy watched with heavy hearts.

"Laxus?" Mirajane whispered, smoothing her hand around Laxus's face.

"M… Mira…" Laxus groaned and stared weakly at her. "You… You... came back."

"Of course I came back. I couldn't let them…" Mirajane held him close. "Oh, this is all my fault. If only I had gotten here sooner."

"Don't… Don't blame yourself… Maybe… maybe… it's better… it's better this way," Laxus coughed.

"No, don't talk like that," Mirajane cried, almost about to break down. "You're going to be alright. We're together now. Everything's going to be fine, you'll see."

Laxus slowly reached up to stroke her cheek with his paw. He breathed, "At… At least I… I got to see you… one last time."

"Laxus…" Mirajane held his paw to her cheek, unable to stop her tears.

Turning sickly pale, Laxus closed his eyes and his head fell back. His hand slid from Mirajane's face and fell limply to the ground. With a rattling gasp, the Lightning Beast breathed his last.

Mirajane's eyes widened in shock and disbelief, her hands held to her mouth. "No… NO! LAXUS!" She tried shaking him, but he remained limp. "LAXUS, PLEASE! WAKE UP!"

Natsu whispered sadly, "He's… he's gone…"

"LAAAXXXXUUUUSSS!" At the top of her lungs, Mirajane screamed Laxus's name into the rainy night, accompanied by the ongoing thunder and lightning. A stream of endless tears fell from Mirajane's eyes. "No… no… Please, Laxus. Please… Please don't leave me." She buried her face in Laxus's chest and started crying. "I love you."

From behind them, the last petal of the enchanted rose fell off. Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Erza, and Wendy watched sadly as the rose finished wilting. Natsu sadly bowed his head, and Erza started tearing up with Gray placing a comforting shoulder on her back. Wendy and Lucy took it the hardest as they cried uncontrollably: Lucy in Natsu's arms, and Wendy on Chelia's cheek. Lisanna, Elfman, Chelia, and Meredy too, were also saddened by Mirajane's loss.

As Mirajane continued crying over Laxus, small colors illuminated from the clouds. Mixing with the rain, the golden beams of light descended upon the castle. That caught Mirajane's attention as she saw the sparks growing brighter and brighter with each drop. Sitting up, she stopped crying and stared in confusion. Suddenly, the sparks began swirling around Laxus's body, causing him to levitate off the ground and float into the air. The group moved back and watched in awe and anticipation.

The gold sparks started covering Laxus's body and slowly, he began to change before everyone's eyes. His paws shrunk down into normal human hands, his scales became a muscular body with a black tattoo, and his feet changed into human feet. Soon enough, the rest of Laxus's body glowed, and in a flash of light which caused everyone to shield their eyes, another man was in the place of the Lightning Beast.

As the light faded, Mirajane and the others watched in amazement as Laxus gently floated down to the ground. Mirajane cautiously motioned to touch him, but quickly jerked her hand back when he began moving on his own. He stood up shakily, looked at his hands in amazement, and finally, he turned to face Mirajane. The face of Laxus's new form had blue gray eyes with his hair slicked back, its numerous spiky strands pointing backwards, though some hair fell down in a small tuft on his forehead. The one thing that hadn't changed, though, was the lightning-bolt scar in his right eye, and he still wore the purple shirt and black pants.

Laxus felt a wave of excitement and relief as he realized that not only was he alive, but he was human again. The spell had been broken!

Lisanna gasped, "Wow… He turned into a…"

"…real man?" Elfman added.

"No way…" Meredy exclaimed. "Is that… Could it really be…?"

Laxus took Mirajane's hands, the latter looking very confused and a little skeptical, as if she had never seen him before. He spoke, "Mira… it's me."

Looking him over, Mirajane could hardly tell if she was looking at the same person and decided to take a better look at his face. She then noticed his brilliant blue gray eyes and the lightning-bolt scar. Remembering them from before, she smiled widely, knowing for sure who he was.

"It is you!" Mirajane exclaimed, hugging him tightly. "Oh, Laxus… I thought I lost you…"

"You almost did… but never again," Laxus said, returning the hug. "You saved me, Mira… in more ways than one." After releasing the hug, he continued, "Mira, I just want to say… I love you." He caressed her hair, "I always wanted to tell you, but I was just too afraid to tell you."

"And I love you too, Laxus," Mirajane confessed. "I always have and I always will."

Smiling back at each other, the two leaned in, wrapped their arms around each other, and shared a kiss. As soon as their lips touched, the ground around them began to glow and the sparks of light reappeared. Spinning quickly around them, the sparks shot off into the sky and exploded into a fireworks display. The villagers in the castle gardens said 'Oooooo', amazed by the exploding bright lights.

From the fireworks, a shower of gold rained down and covered the entire castle, dissipating the gloom and transforming from dark and dreary to light and vibrant. Night changed to day, stones turned to marble, gargoyle statues turned to angels and cherubs, and the broken parts of the castle instantly repaired themselves.

Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Lucy went up to Laxus and Mirajane, and as they did, they started to transform as well. With a pop, Natsu changed into an 18-year old young man with spiky pink-colored hair and wearing a black open-collared, one long-sleeved waistcoat, a white scarf that looked like a dragon scale, white knee-length trousers, and black open-toed sandals.

"Natsu," Laxus whispered.

Then Gray changed into an 18 year-old young man with short black hair and wearing a white long-sleeved trenchcoat and a blue t-shirt with belt straps around it.

"Gray!" Laxus recognized.

Then Erza changed into a 19-year old young woman with crimson long hair and wearing a black gothic Lolita outfit.

"Erza!" Laxus cried.

Lucy was the fourth person to change, as she transformed into a 17-year old young woman wearing a blue sleeveless shirt with the mark of a heart, a small blue jacket, and a blue skirt.

"Lucy!" Laxus exclaimed, before he happily hugged the four of them. "Look at us!"

"Hey, it's my turn now!" Wendy cheered, and she jumped onto the balcony and transformed into a 12-year old girl with long dark blue hair tied in two ponytails at the left and right, and wearing a white dress with a red bow tie.

"Oh, my gosh! You're your old self again!" Chelia shouted with tears of joy. "THIS IS THE HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE!" She ran towards Wendy and gave her a big hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Chelia… too tight…" Wendy wheezed under the tight hug.

"Oops, sorry!" Chelia blushed, releasing her. "I'm super-duper glad to see you again, Wendy!"

"I'm super-duper glad to see you again too, Chelia!" Wendy cried.

"Let's be friends again," Chelia suggested. "For the first time in forever!"

"Yeah! Let's be friends again!" Wendy nodded happily. With that, the two childhood friends hugged with open arms and tears of joy, overwhelmed by the feeling of reuniting for the first time in seven years.

"Wendy! Hey, Wendy!" shouted a voice.

"Aye!" shouted another voice.

Everyone turned to the door and watched as Romeo and Happy entered the balcony. With two pops, Romeo transformed into a 13-year old boy with short dark hair and wearing a long sleeveless open jacket, a yellow scarf tied around his neck, green shorts, and black boots, and Happy transformed into a blue Exceed with a pouch tied around his neck.

"I… I don't believe it!" Romeo exclaimed. "I'm a normal boy again!"

"I'm a cat again!" Happy yelled excitedly, and he spread his wings and flew around in circles. "Look, everybody! I can fly again!"

"My goodness!" Erza chuckled happily.

"It's a miracle!" Natsu proclaimed. "The spell is broken! We're all free!"

Meredy's expression soon turned into realization, as the sights of the castle, the living furniture, and the Lightning Beast finally added up. She said, "Of course! Prince Laxus had been the Lightning Beast all along!"

Laxus turned to Meredy, "Huh?"

"Prince Laxus, it's you!" Meredy cried. "You're the Lightning Beast! And this is your home, Fairy Tail Castle!"

"H-How'd you know the beast was me, and what this place is?" Laxus asked in surprise.

"All the rumors and speculations… it all makes sense," Meredy replied. "The Lightning Beast turned out to be the prince transformed into a monster by some sort of enchanted spell. Fairy Tail Castle was enchanted too, and in the end… the power of true love broke the spell. Just like every fairy tale."

"How were you that quick to figure that out?" Natsu asked Meredy.

Meredy chuckled, "Oh, I learned it from the best in urban legends I know; my best friend, Ultear."

Lucy remarked, "Wow. It took a lot of homework to learn our little secret…"

Laxus turned to Lisanna and Elfman and said politely, "You're Lisanna and Elfman, right? It's a pleasure to meet you again. I know our first meeting wasn't the best, but I'm here to let you know that I'm different now. And I'd like to apologize for causing you so much trouble."

Lisanna smiled warmly, "It's alright. Apology accepted."

Elfman added with a proud grin, "After all, you took care of our Big Sis. A manly beast with a manly heart. No hard feelings, right?"

Laxus chuckled, "Yeah. No hard feelings."

"Mira! Lisanna! Elfman!" called another voice.

The group turned around to see Yukino, Sherry, her husband Ren, and a now human Sorano entering the room and approaching the group.

"There you are!" Sherry cried. "Thank goodness no one's hurt."

Ren said, "Everybody in the castle's changing back into people…"

"…including my older sister!" Yukino added, holding Sorano's arm. "That means the spell is broken!" She turned to Yukino with a warm smile, "It's good to have you back, Big Sis."

"Thanks, Yukino," Sorano grinned back.

Sherry sighed affectionately, "True love transforms everyone."

Gray exclaimed, "You know about the spell, too?!"

Sherry explained, "Sorano told the villagers the whole story." She added with a giggle, "Everybody was so gullible to think they're attacking a monster, until they realized too late they attacked a fabulously handsome prince!"

Blushing, Ren turned to Laxus and bowed respectively at him. He said, "Prince Laxus, we're all very sorry for breaking in uninvited. Can you ever forgive us? We hope we didn't startle you."

Laxus grinned, "It's alright. And just for the occasion, you're all invited to Fairy Tail Castle for a big party."

Everyone turned to Laxus and gasped in excitement, "REALLY?!"

"Of course! After all, what's a good guy like me to do now that I'm human again?" Laxus nodded with a shrug. "There's gonna be a big party tomorrow morning."

And just like that, the whole group cheered in excitement.

"OH, YEAH!" Elfman shouted. "LET'S HAVE A MANLY PARTY!"

Chelia cheered, "It's party time!"

Sherry added, "A party of love!"

Meredy suggested, "I should invite Ultear over!"

Laxus turned to Mirajane with an affectionate smile. He said, "You've got room for one more dance at the ballroom?"

Mirajane giggled, "I would never say 'no' to a prince in disguise."

In the midst of the celebration, Laxus lifted Mirajane and spun her around, the two laughing together.

The next day, Mirajane and Laxus were in the ballroom, wearing the same attire they had been wearing the previous night. And this time, the whole ballroom was packed with hundreds of people from Fairy Tail Castle and the village, invited for the celebration.

"Maestro, music!" Natsu called out.

"It is my honor," Freed Justine the court composer replied. He raised his stick and directed the members of the orchestra to perform serene music. Laxus and Mirajane both kissed and began their dance, with several others from the castle and the village joining in. And look! Wendy and Romeo were dancing with each other, too! The crowd couldn't help but sigh at how cute those two kids were as they danced.

"Ah, young love," Natsu sighed affectionately, until Lucy passed him, having fluttered her feather duster on his face. She then winked her eye and gestured for Natsu to come with her. Natsu smirked and raised his eyebrows in symmetry with a confident chuckle as he went over to her, but was stopped by Gray, who shook his hand.

"There you are, old buddy, old pal," Gray grinned. "I've been looking all over for you."

Natsu asked, "Oh, you have?"

Gray replied, "I'm just asking if I missed anything."

"Oh, nothing much," Natsu shrugged, gesturing to Laxus and Mirajane dancing. "Laxus and Mira just started their second dance."

"No arguments there," Gray smiled, crossing his arms. "Things are gonna be a lot different, now that the spell's broken. It gives everyone a chance for a whole new beginning."

Natsu asked, "What do you mean?"

Gray replied, "What I mean is, we have to forget that crazy, ongoing feud between us. So what do you say, pal? Let bygones be bygones?"

"Why not?" Natsu grinned. "I told you she would break the spell."

Gray laughed slightly, "I think you're mistaken, Pyro. I believe I'm the one who told you."

"No, you didn't," Natsu said, starting to get angry. "I told you!"

"You most certainly did not, you pompous, paraffin-headed knucklehead!" Gray shouted defensively.

"Oh, so you wanna fight, huh?!" Natsu yelled, sticking into Gray's face. "Bring it on, you overgrown pocket watch!"

"I'm gonna pound you a hundred times all over the place, Smelt Head!" Gray shouted, a spark between them indicating the impending feud.

"Is there a problem, boys?" Erza butted in, showing a terrifying face in front of Natsu and Gray. The two yelped seeing Erza and held each other's shoulders with horrified, nervous smiles.

"No, nothing," Gray shuddered. "We're just hanging out, like old friends tend to do."

"Aye," Natsu nodded.

"That's my line," Happy pointed out.

Natsu whispered to Gray with a frown, "And here, I thought things were bad when Boss was a beast and Erza was a teapot."

Gray replied, "Yeah. But now that she's human again, she's got her scary looks back. She wants us to stop this pointless fighting and get along."

Natsu grumbled, "Why would I get along with a snow freak like you?"

Gray grumbled back, "And why would I get along with a pyromaniac like you?"

"What do you say, Gray? We duke it out at the Kardia Castle Gardens while everybody's asleep?"

"Definitely! We'll settle this there!"

Juvia was silently observing the scene from a pillar. Now a human, she has long blue hair and was wearing a black coat and a Russian Cossack hat. She smiled affectionately, "Oh, my beloved Gray! You're a hunk!"

As Laxus and Mirajane continued their waltz around the floor, they danced past Lisanna, Elfman, and Chelia.

Lisanna shed a tear of joy from her eye, "Don't you just love happy endings?"

Elfman shouted, "Yeah! Because happy endings are manly!" All of a sudden, he bumped into Evergreen, who has light brown hair tied to a ponytail and was wearing a green outfit that looks like a fairy. "Oops. Sorry, miss."

"It's alright. I'm…" Evergreen then stopped and stared at Elfman with a blush around her cheeks. "Oh, hello. I haven't seen you before. I'm Evergreen, by the way."

Elfman grinned, "The name's Elfman."

Evergreen shyly asked, "Would you like to join me for a dance?"

Elfman shrugged, "Uh, sure. Okay." Evergreen took his hand and dragged him to the ballroom floor.

Lisanna rolled her eyes with a smile, "Love's full of surprises, isn't it?"

"Hey, pretty lady!" called Bickslow, who was a tall man wearing a black outfit and a knight's mask concealing his eyes. "Dance with me!"

Lisanna was hesitant at first, but she complied and went over to Bickslow to share a dance with him. Wendy and Romeo then stood beside Chelia, having finished their dance, with Erza joining afterwards.

Chelia echoed Lisanna's words, "Love's full of surprises, isn't it?"

Erza replied, "Love is a transcendent force that goes through even the darkest times. But the greatest love of all is the one found within." She gestured to her heart, "And there is no greater treasure than this."

Romeo asked Erza, "Are they gonna live happily ever after, Miss Erza?"

"Of course, sweetie," Erza said happily, lifting Romeo in her arms. "Of course."

"After all, what's a fairy tale ending for?" Chelia added, putting her arm around Wendy.

Wendy smiled, but then a thought occurred to her and she asked Erza, "Do we still have to sleep in the cupboard?"

Erza, Romeo, and Chelia looked at Wendy in surprise and just laughed. In the meantime, Laxus and Mirajane continued dancing to the music in the middle of the ballroom with the crowd watching, and an off-screen choir began to sing.

Choir: Certain as the sun
Rising in the east
Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the Beast

Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the Beast

And truly, just as Erza said, for this Beauty and the Beast, this was indeed their happily ever after.

THE END