AN: thanks Goku275 and jamman428. Also, you are dead wrong jamman428. There is some fluff this chapter, but fluff will not be the focus of the remainder of this arc. I hope that you (and everybody else reading this fic) enjoy the story regardless.

P.S. I have been fully vaccinated since posting last chapter.

Porlyusica took a sip of her cup of tea. Today had been rather peaceful. Laki, while still heavily injured, had recovered enough to leave Porlyusica's care. Droy had not suffered any significant injuries during the competition, allowing her to kick him out of the emergency room as soon as he regained consciousness.

As Fairy Tail's medicinal advisor, she would be returning to her home the outskirts of Magnolia Town by the end of the day. For now, though, she would enjoy this peace and qui–"

Bang!

The door to the emergency rooms was kicked open by "Guild Master" Natsu. He was princess carrying Millianna, and the couple was being followed by a number of the guild's other members.

"The baby's coming!" shouted Natsu, panicked.

Porlyusica sighed, putting down her tea. So much for peace and quiet.

"Put her down on that bed," commanded Porlyusica in a profession tone, indicating to one of the beds. "Then, everybody other than the husband, get out!"

The mages of Fairy Tail obeyed, terrified of their medicinal advisor. Soon, the only ones in the room were Porlyusica, Millianna, Natsu, the unborn baby, and Happy.

"I'm staying," proclaimed Happy. "Natsu and Millianna are my family!"

"Fine," responded Porlyusica, deciding that preparing for the baby's delivery was more important than arguing with the Exceed.

Besides, like with Natsu, it would be more annoying to deal with Happy if she tried to make him leave than if she let him stay. Otherwise, she would have kicked out the dragon slayer alongside the rest of the Fairy Tail mages.

"Agggggggh!" screamed Millianna as she experienced the agonies of childbirth. "It hurts so muuuuuch!"

"Let her squeeze your hand!" ordered Porlyusica, focusing on her patient.

"Agggggggh!" screamed Millianna again, squeezing the hand that held hers.

"Agggggggh!" echoed Happy, his hand being crushed by Millianna's grip.

"I meant Natsu's hand, you idiots!" shouted Porlyusica as she turned towards Natsu and Happy, her voice full of irritation.

"That does make more sense," replied Natsu, taking his wife's hand. "It takes a lot more to hurt me than it does to hurt Happy."

"Agggggggh!" screamed Millianna for a third time. She clenched her husband's hand with enough force to bend metal.

"See," said Natsu. "Compared to the monsters I beat on my S-Class Jobs, this doesn't hurt one bit!"

Porlyusica took a moment to roll her eyes at the antics of this trio.

The rest of Fairy Tail's mages spent hours waiting outside, staring at the emergency room's door nervously. The members that weren't there from the beginning, like Laki and Kinana, all arrived by the end of the second hour.

Finally, Porlyusica opened the door.

"You all can come in now, provided you're not too loud," announced the medicinal advisor. Then, she cracked a small smile. "Millianna has given birth to a healthy baby girl."

The Fairy Tail mages rushed into the room… as quickly and quietly as they could without incurring Porlyusica's wrath.

Inside, they saw Millianna lying in bed, holding her blanket-wrapped child. Natsu and Happy were standing beside her. All three gazed at the baby with expressions of awe-filled joy.

The guild members approached the family, excited to meet its newest member. As they got closer, Natsu, Millianna, and Happy turned towards their nakama.

"Everyone," began Millianna, almost whispering. "Say "Hello" to little Erza Dragneel, mya."

As the new mother spoke, she pulled back part of the blanket, revealing her child's head. The baby, clearly named Erza, had her mother's dark-brown eyes, and a tuft of her father's pink hair atop her head.

"Awwwww," cooed the female members of Fairy Tail, finding little Erza adorable. The men stayed silent, but the doting looks on their faces made it clear that they agreed.

"We named her after the strongest woman we know," said Natsu, beaming with fatherly pride. Then, oddly, his expression shifted to one of discomfort.

"Before we get into anything else, though, I have something important to say," started Natsu, his face becoming serious. "I was wrong before."

This made everybody confused, including Happy and Millianna. Natsu was apologizing? What did he even do that that warranted an apology?

"Fairy Tail doesn't have nothing," continued Natsu, making his audience realize that the dragon slayer was talking about his rant after the battle royale. "We have our nakama, and that's all that matters. So what if everyone looks down on us? So what if we've lost the guild hall and we're practically broke? As long as we stick together, Fairy Tail will remain our eternal adventure!"

"Yeaaah!" cheered everybody, forgetting to keep their voices down for the baby.

Luckily, little Erza giggled and made happy noises, having apparently inherited her parents' "enthusiastic" personalities.

Unfortunately, Porlyusica was less forgiving. She forced everybody out besides the Dragneels, and then gave Natsu a stern "warning" that he wouldn't be exempt next time.

"I'm glad you're feeling better now," spoke Millianna to her husband.

"Yeah," replied Natsu sheepishly. "I guess I got so caught up in keeping Fairy Tail exactly how it was for the Tenrou group's return that I forgot about what was really important."

"I hope that means you'll be around more often," responded the cat-like mother. "I don't want to raise little Erza all on my own, especially not if she grows up to be as hyperactive as we are."

"You bet I will," answered Natsu excitedly. "There's no way I'm going to miss out on teaching our girl how to fight and use magic!"

To the side, Porlyusica grumbled about how that was not what a normal parent taught their child. Because he was so happy, Natsu chose to ignore the insult.

The freshly minted parents continuing talking about little Erza for a while, before Macao and Wakaba poked their heads in to grab Natsu for a meeting with government officials about the Grand Magic Games.

Natsu begrudgingly followed the two, but not before assigning Happy to guard his family.

"Aye, sir!" saluted Happy, determined to protect the two with his life.

Jiemma frowned as he walked down the streets of Crocus. While his guild was celebrating their victory in the Grand Magic Games, he had elected to spend the night strolling through the city. Jiemma did not care much for parties, preferring to bask in the admiration earned by his guild's — no, his — power.

Unfortunately, while many celebrated the power of Sabertooth, the guild master's ears picked up murmurs of doubt.

"It's a shame Salamander and Gajeel weren't on Fairy Tail's team. They would've slayed Sabertooth's dragons, easy!"

"Titania would have dominated any opponent. None of Sabertooth's mages can compare to her!"

"Dude, could you imagine if Gildarts had been here? With his magic, earning all 35 points in the last event would have been a legit possibility!"

The phrasing varied, but the idea was always the same: "the lost members of Fairy Tail (and Natsu Dragneel) were stronger than Sabertooth, and they would have won the Grand Magic Games had they been here."

"It's absurd!" seethed Jiemma internally. "The entire guild consists of trash who believe that their emotions somehow change the fact that they're all weak! How could anyone possibly consider such sentimental fools stronger than my guild?"

However, Jiemma was not foolish enough to just ignore those idiotic rumors. If he did, then they would only spread and grow, tarnishing Sabertooth's reputation.

No, he would find a way to demonstrate to everybody that Sabertooth was superior to Fairy Tail. Perhaps organize a battle between the two guilds.

Convincing Fairy Tail should be easy enough, given what he knew about their financial situation. The trash that comprised the guild was predictably desperate for money, and Sabertooth's status was more than worth the price.

Then again, simply "competing" was not the same as "fighting with all their might." Jiemma needed to put something else at stake, something that would truly drive home the fact that Sabertooth was better than Fairy Tail in every way. But what would accomplish this?

As Jiemma was pondering this question, he overheard part of a conversation that gave him an epiphany.

"I heard that Salamander's wife gave birth earlier today."

"Yeah, apparently the whole guild rushed her to a doctor when she went into labor, stampeding through everything in their path!"

The plan that developed in Jiemma's mind was perfect! Not only would the members of that pathetic guild go all-out against Sabertooth, his guild's victory would also disprove Fairy Tail's ridiculous beliefs about "the power of heart." Plus, Jiemma wouldn't have to pay the guild any money. He hated to idea of prolonging the existence of such trash by even a little bit.

First, though, he would have to kidnap the wife and child of Fairy Tail's guild master.

"Little Erza really likes you," Millianna told Happy.

Indeed, the baby had been fascinated by the Exceed watching over her. She giggled whenever Happy got close and cried when he got too far away.

"Aye," agreed Happy. "I bet she'll grow up loving cats as much as you do."

"She is my daughter, after all," declared Millianna proudly.

"I don't think that loving cats is genet–"

Bang!

The emergency room's door was flung open for a second time that day, revealing Guild Master Jiemma. This time, however, the person entering had much darker intentions.

"I've come for Guild Master Dragneel's wife and child," announced Jiemma.

"What do you want with them," responded Happy, voice full of hostility. The Exceed stood between his nakama and the Sabertooth guild master, spreading his arms out protectively.

"Oh?" uttered Jiemma. "Is a weak, little cat all that Salamander left to defend his wife? How foolish."

Then, the guild master turned his attention from Happy to Millianna and little Erza.

"I suppose that just makes kidnapping you two easier," continued Jiemma.

"Nekōsoku…" began Millianna.

"I wouldn't do that," interrupted Jiemma as he raised his right hand, which started to glow. "Not unless you want your daughter's first day of life to also be her last."

Millianna froze, a look of horror and disgust making its way onto her face.

"You wouldn't," she said.

"I would," he replied.

Then, Jiemma turned back to Happy to give the Exceed an order.

"I want you to find your guild master and tell him that if he wants his family back, then tomorrow he must…"

Fury welled up in Happy as he listened to the head of Sabertooth. Sadly, there was nothing he could do to interfere with the cruel man's plot.

"I'm sorry, Natsu," apologized the Exceed mentally. "I failed."

"I still can't believe that you, of all people, are a father," exclaimed an intoxicated Macao to Natsu. "No offense."

The two of them and Wakaba had met up with the rest of the guild at the bar Fairy Tail had been frequenting during the GMG. They all had decided to spend the night here, celebrating little Erza's birth in standard Fairy Tail style.

"None taken," replied the dragon slayer in question, a bit drunk himself. "I can hardly believe it myself. It's actually a bit scary to think about."

"Well, if you need any advice, I've got close to seven years of experience with Romeo," responded the older man.

"Thanks," replied Natsu, touched. Then, feeling a bit mischievous. "Though, shouldn't I be asking your ex-wife for advice? I know how much time you've spent just sitting around the guild hall, drinking and flirting with younger girls. I wouldn't want little Erza to pick up that behavior!"

Macao reacted by sputtering with faux anger. However, before he could come up with a retort, Happy came flying through the door with a terrified look on his face.

"Natsu!" yelled Happy. "Your wife and daughter have been kidnapped by Sabertooth's guild master!"

The bar went silent, everybody staring at the Exceed with a mixture of shock and horror. Why would Jiemma kidnap Natsu's family?

"He said that if you want them back," continued Happy. "Then tomorrow, Fairy Tail has to go to Sabertooth's guild hall and fight for them."

The mages of Fairy Tail broke out into dumbfounded murmuring.

"It's horrible…"

"How could they?"

"A Guild War!"

"…have to fight the strongest…"

"THOSE BASTARDS!" Natsu roared, silencing everyone else. "Beating up our mages during a competition was one thing, but this… this… RAH!" Natsu's face grew bright red, his rage so immense that he couldn't even articulate Sabertooth's actions. "I'LL BURN DOWN THEIR GUILD HALL AND PUT EVERY! LAST! ONE OF THEM! INTO FULL-BODY CASTS!"

Flames shot out of Natsu's mouth as he spoke, accentuating his wrath. The employees and patrons of the bar were terrified. The Fairy Tail mages, on the other hand…

"YEAAAAAH!"

Every last one of them agreed wholehearted with Natsu's words. Sabertooth had kidnapped their nakama, declaring war on Fairy Tail. It didn't matter that Sabertooth had just been declared the most powerful guild in Fiore.

Tomorrow, they would meet the same fate as Phantom Lord.

Omake

"Little Erza's so adorable," cooed Bisca.

"She's Millianna's daughter after all," agreed Natsu, who had quickly become a proud dad.

After Porlyusica kicked everybody out of the emergency room, they had gone back to the bar that Fairy Tail had been patronizing during the GMG to celebrate. Natsu and his advisors had dropped in right after sunset, joining the party.

"I do have a question, though," noted Alzack. "What do you plan on calling little Erza when big Erza and the others return?"

"Eh? Uhhhhh…"

As the dragon slayer trailed off, everybody in the bar realized that their guild master (and possibly his wife, too) had not planned that far ahead.

Thus began an impromptu, semi-drunk conversation about what nickname Erza Dragneel should have, so that people could tell her apart from Erza Scarlet.

AN: as I was writing it, I felt like the Omake did not match the serious ending of the chapter. However, I have been planning it for a while and refused to change it. Especially because the Omake is my invitation for every person reading this to offer up potential nicknames for Erza Dragneel. My current best is calling her "Zee."

On a different note, I may not have Omakes for the entire rest of the arc. Aside from one for the end of the conflict, I do not currently have any ideas. Some plans may come to mind, though, so nothing is certain.

The plot for the second half of this arc has finally been revealed. A Guild War with Sabertooth to rescue the kidnapped Millianna and Erza Dragneel. Tune in next time for the beginning of the battle!