The group has recently returned to Earthland, and now they have all split up for the time being.
Layla and Gajeel are still in the Fairy Tail hall.
Kori and Saphira took a walk to the edge of Magnolia, where Saphira revealed that she would be leaving her in search of the remaining Royal Dragons. Kori was upset that she would be separated from her mother, however it now occurs to her that she will be unhindered in certain pursuits...
Gray, Natsu, Cana, and Lucy have all gone to the central market area to get something to eat; they had a limited choice of things to eat inside the dimension as it was all tailored towards training, so they are craving for something with flavour.
Erza and Wendy have returned to Fairy Hills to check up on their rooms...
"It's good to be back" Wendy said standing outside the Fairy Hills Dormitory.
"Yes, there is no substitute for home" Erza replied with a smile as the two entered the dorms.
The pair walking up the stairs towards their rooms on the second floor, came across into Levy who was walking back towards her room.
"Welcome back you two, how did the training go?" Levy asked with a friendly smile.
"It went great Levy, I feel so much stronger now" Wendy replied as a small gust of blue wind circled her right arm which she triumphantly gave a small fist pump with.
"You look it" Levy proudly replied
"Yes, and I would like to get your opinion on something Levy" Erza replied with a smile but also a determination in her eyes.
"Sure thing, I'm only reading in my room at the moment, so I have time" Levy responded
"Come with me to my room, both of you" Erza replied as she walked up to her room's door as she opened it, allowing the three of them to enter.
"So what is this about Erza, you're kind of scaring me" Levy said in confusion
"I'd like you to analyse some armor for me" Erza said with seriousness
"I have that book on armors that I got from the celestial realm; should I go get it from my room?" Levy asked
"No, this armor won't be in a book" Erza replied as she began to channel her power; a yellow aura of fire covering her body as a wall of magic pressure shot out shaking the entire building like an earthquake.
"What... What's going on!" Levy exclaimed having never seen such power before, but soon her eyes lit up in amazement as Erza became clad in her new Pandora armor; the golden insignia glowing with power, as a yellow mist fell from the 3 locations.
"I'd like you to tell me everything you can about this armor" Erza asked
"I'm not sure where to start..." Levy said as she put on a pair of glasses much like her wind-reading pair.
"When I was inside the dimension a few days back, I took the time to look at Layla's analyser. These glasses were made based on its design" Levi declared with a proud smile.
"Amazing Levy!" Wendy exclaimed
"Hmm, I don't think they are working correctly though... The readings say Erza's output is 168000 and claims her stats are 99/10 which is clearly wrong... I'm sorry, I think they are broken" Levi sadly replied.
"No Levi... They are correct" Erza replied
"But that is impossible! How can your stats be over 100% and output be that high!?" Levi said with skepticism.
"That's what I'd like you to tell me, it bothers me that it exceeds 100%. When a Slayer is in Dragon Force, it simply fails to register, but for me it doesn't... I want to know why"
"Hmm, well I don't know about the Slayers... But I may have a theory, based on what I think I'm seeing..." Levi said with a look of fear in her eyes.
"What is it Levi?" Wendy asked worried by Levi's look
"This armor... It isn't powered by magic alone... It almost looks like it is drawing directly from your life essence!" Levi proclaimed with horror
"I see, so with continued use?" Erza asked
"It will eventually kill you" Levi replied
"That can't be!" Wendy protested before adding "Layla made it for her to protect people!"
"How long?" Erza asked with seriousness
"It doesn't look to be fatal in a sense, but it will surely take years from your life. Based on what I am seeing, the life drain rate is related to your boosted %" Levi replied with her hand raised to her chin in thought
"You're currently at 897% and the armor seems to draw about 90x the power it should require. Based on that I would guess 1 minute of use would be roughly 1 1/2 hours of life"
"So what you're saying is, I could wear it for 1 month and it would take about 7 years off my life?" Erza replied with an amazing amount of calm
"Yes that would be accurate" Levi replied still extremely worried at the prospect.
"That's acceptable" Erza replied as she changed back out of her armor and back into her standard heart kruez.
"WHAT!" both Levi and Wendy said in shock
"But it's killing you Erza!" Wendy replied with a tear running down her face.
"No, I don't see it that way... It enables me to exchange a small portion of my life, to protect those around me from potentially fatal situations. The cost is less than I actually expected" Erza replied
"You knew?" Levi exclaimed in surprise
"I suspected... Ever since Layla told me it was bound to my blood, I knew there would be a cost" Erza replied with a smile
"But Erza..." Levi said as her eye's welled up with tears.
"Don't worry, this armor is a trump card. With the strength I have gained, my existing armor will be more than enough for most situations" Erza replied with a reassuring smile.
"Thank you Levi, you have confirmed my suspicion." Erza added
"Still 168000 output? What did you guys do in there?!" Levi replied
"Oh it's not just me, have a look at Wendy with your glasses" Erza said with a proud smile
Levi readjusted the glasses on her face and looked at Wendy, her eyes becoming wide in shock.
"Wendy... Is this for real?" Levi exclaimed with surprise.
"You haven't seen anything yet" Wendy said with a grin as she began to eat air and a blue glowing aura surrounded her body
Levi's stared at Wendy in amazement; watching the output tick up rapidly in her glasses.
A small blue tornado appeared, encasing Wendy like a cocoon; blue scales began to cover her arms and the sides of her face and her eyes changed colour from brown to Cyan. The wind suddenly dissipated around her, allowing Levi to see Wendy in her Dragon Force state for the first time.
"Amazing Wendy!" Levi exclaimed as she stared in shock at the output reading
"Layla helped us so much while we were in there. She taught us the power of our Dragon Slayer Element, and what you see now is the result of my mastery of Wind" Wendy replied with pride
"Gajeel also?" Levi said as a small blush came over her face
"Yes, Gajeel and Natsu both have similar Dragon Forces. We saw Natsu's red scaled look first hand." Wendy replied
"I'm sorry to do this, but I really do need to arrange my armors" Erza said with some bluntness
"That's okay Erza, I'm glad I could help" Levi said with a smile
"Oh, could you also keep what you have seen a secret. It goes without saying that this armor is not something I want to casually show" Erza said with seriousness
"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me" Levi said happily as she left the room.
"You look strong Wendy, I'm proud of how far you have come" Erza said with pride as she thought back to Wendy during Oracion Seis' quest for Nirvana and her lack of confidence, to her battle with Chelia at the Grand Magic Tournament. To her now standing strong brimming with power and being able to enter Dragon Force so easily after consuming some air.
"Thanks, I want to always be strong for my friends" Wendy replied with a smile as she exited Dragon Force, and then also left Erza's room.
Meanwhile... Lucy, Natsu, Cana, and Gray had ended up at a Ramen stand that Cana suggested, having frequented it in the past. They were genuinely amazed, as it was some of the best Ramen they have ever had; the chef was even happy to set Natsu's on fire for him, much to his delight
"Wow Cana this is amazing!" Lucy exclaimed as she would never have thought to stop at such a place before.
"I know right!" Natsu said as he sucked in some of the spicy flames burning over his bowl.
"Yeah this place doesn't look like much from the outside, but it is hands down the best in Magnolia" Cana exclaimed with a smile
"Yeah you're telling me, this is great" Gray said as he noisily slurped down his noodles.
"Hey try not to eat like an animal!" Natsu exclaimed as he slurped down his fire
"Look who is talking flame brain!" Gray angrily replied as the 2 of them growled at each other
"Calm down you two! Don't make me bring out Gemini as Erza to control you" Lucy announced which immediately shut the two up.
"Wow never thought I would see that" Cana replied with a laugh before adding "Can you really copy Erza?"
"Yeah while we were in the training dimension I was able to copy Erza, but I still can't do Kori" Lucy replied with a smile
"That's amazing Lucy, you all must have got really strong in there" Cana said with a slightly depressed smile as she wondered about her own strength
"Hey don't worry about any of that, we are all strong here" Natsu said with a reassuring smile to Cana
"That's right, we all look out for each other. We are family in Fairy Tail!" Lucy replied with a beaming smile
"You're right" Cana replied with a warm smile
"So this is where you all are" Kori said coming out of nowhere
"Kori! What brings you here? You hungry?" Gray replied offering her a seat
"No it's ok, I'm not hungry..." Kori replied with a glint in her eyes as she stared at Gray which both Cana and Lucy noticed
"Well I'm full, I think we should head back" Cana said with a smile
"Yeah, me too" Lucy added with a smile as they both stood up and grabbed Natsu
"What! I wanted another bowl!" Natsu exclaimed as the two girls dragged him off, leaving Gray and Kori alone.
"Feel like getting out of here Snowflake?" Kori said with a smile
"I really wish you wouldn't call me that" Gray replied with embarrassment
"You're just too easy... Come with me, we have something to talk about" Kori said with a grin as she took Gray's hand
Gray smiled at Kori and said "Okay, where are we heading?"
"How about your place?" Kori replied as a mischievous smile flashed on her face that caused Gray to almost choke in surprise
"Wh... What... M...M...My place?" Gray stuttered in shock
"You're just too cute!" Kori said with a wink before adding "Seriously though, I'd like to talk to you in private"
Gray noticed that Kori's voice seemed to take on a more serious tone so he responded "Sure, but my place is at the boy's dormitory, so it's not exactly private"
"So want to get a hotel room?" Kori replied once again with a grin that put Gray on edge but he wasn't going to fall for it this time
"How about we go for a walk in the nearby forest, it's secluded so you can tell me what is on your mind" Gray said with a smile.
"Sounds kinky but Okay" Kori said with a laugh as Gray lead the way to the forest
About 20 minutes passed with the two of them walking, Gray was sweating profusely as idea's rattled around in his head; Kori didn't say a word, but she did enjoy watching him squirm.
Eventually they came to a clearing in the forest and much to Kori's surprise, it had flowers growing in pockets where the sunlight pierced the overhead canopy.
"I would come here between jobs. This place is kind of my sanctuary, it would just calm me down and it's peaceful" Gray said with a smile as he looked back at Kori
"It's beautiful..." Kori said with surprise almost having to catch her breath
"So, what is on your mind?" Gray replied as he sat down on a bed of grass next to a group of flowers and looked up at Kori
Kori had originally planned to seduce Gray, but now that she was alone it dawned on her that Saphira really had left. She had never been separated from her mother for any real extended period of time over the last 9 years, and being alone now and knowing it would be a few months, made it all too real.
A tear ran down Kori's cheek much to Gray's shock before Kori said "Saphira, she had to go away"
Gray sprang to his feet and rushed over to her, wrapping his arms around her in comfort before saying "Please don't cry"
"She left, and I just don't know what to do" Kori said as she sobbed into Gray's chest.
"You do what ever it is you want" Gray said with a smile as he held her, Kori grabbing his shirt burrowed her head in his chest, not saying a word as she thought to herself (whatever I want...)
"Did she tell you why?" Gray asked
"She has gone to find the other Dragons" Kori replied with a tear
"She will definitely be back" Gray said reassuringly as he stroked Kori's hair with his right hand that he used to support her head
"That Dragon loves you... More than I ever thought possible... The time I spent with the two of you made that abundantly clear to me" Gray said with a smile as he looked down at Kori who looked up into his eyes.
Gray moved his hand to her cheek, wiping away a tear with his thumb, Kori smiled at the gesture and she closed her eyes and leant forward, meeting Gray's lips; the two kissing for the first time...
